Ramirez, Erika (22 August 2012). "Lianne La Havas, Reps Talk 'Is Your Love Big Enough?' Album & Stardom". Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved 22 February 2013. percent of number one hits between 1958 and 1990 were in multiple keys,” he noted. “What’s odd is that after 1990, key changes are employed much less frequently, if at all, in number one hits.” Jones, Bridget (10 November 2010). "Fraser experiments with Flags". Fairfax New Zealand . Retrieved 22 February 2013.

In the late 1990s, while I started to discover new music by this new phenomenon called internet, I found a lot of music that was kind of similar - but I could not sort by a genre. The songs where very melodic, pop-like and beatlesesque but anyhow different. Years later I learned the genre was named PowerPop. So I started this blog. It's called PowerPopSquare, though I'm not sure if it fits to all the musicians here.

CRITIC REVIEWS

BRIGHTER THAN SUNSHINE: "2003 10 09 Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/.

At Aqualung’s recent ‘one night only UK tour’ (his first performance in the UK for 12 years at Bush Hall, London) Matt Hales let his devoted audience know just how clued up he is on streaming trends: Fool’ starts off as a sombre piano ballad. As the song progresses strings and guitars gently explode from the speakers. These tiny maelstroms match the lyrical content of the song. “It’s been a while since I told the truth”; “You think I’m a fool / I think you’re right” and “You are the hurricane that blows me away” are wonderfully telling lyrics. Hales grew up in Southampton, where his parents ran an independent record shop. [10] He aspired to be a musician from an early age, writing songs using the family piano when he was just 4 years old. When he was 16, Hales was awarded a scholarship to study music composition at Winchester College. Within a year, he wrote his first symphony titled "Life Cycle", [11] and formed his first band, which carried several different names during its lifespan. In the spring of 1990, the band (known at the time as Mecano Pig) [12] produced their debut self-titled album, but broke up soon afterwards. That same year, Hales moved to London to study music at City University, [13] and in 1992 formed a new band with his brother Ben called Gravel Monsters. [14] RUTH / the 45s [ edit ] I’m sort of thumbing my nose at the world of streaming” he told me recently on The Art of Longevity podcast. Well it’s paid off. Dead Letters is less strange, more beautiful, and the best work Matt Hales has made so far as Aqualung.As early as 2004, Hales began collaborating with other artists as a songwriter and producer. He co-wrote " UR" by Tiësto which featured his lead vocal, and was released as a single and featured on the album Just Be. [37] He worked with Leona Lewis on her album Echo in 2009, [ citation needed] and in 2010 he co-wrote songs appearing on albums by Brooke Fraser, [38] Christophe Willem, and Boyzone. [39]

As a songwriter and record producer, Hales has collaborated with Lianne La Havas, [6] Bat for Lashes, Tom Chaplin, Mika, Daniel Wilson, Kina Grannis, Andreya Triana, the Fray, Kwabs, Jason Mraz, Reignwolf, Sara Bareilles, [7] Jacob Banks, Paloma Faith, [8] Disclosure, Alex Clare, Mansionair, Mikky Ekko, For King & Country [9] and many others. Maynard, Trent (17 December 2012). "news: Lianne La Havas' year in review". Box Television. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013 . Retrieved 22 February 2013. Our full range of studio equipment from all the leading equipment and software brands. Guaranteed fast delivery and low prices. Also the Aqualung records " Still Life" and " Aqualung" will be released on colored vinyl in November 2022.Ashari, Nazirah (26 March 2010). "First Impressions: Aqualung, "Magnetic North" ". Filter . Retrieved 29 May 2013. Dead Letters is the new album from Aqualung - aka songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Matt Hales - his first in more than seven years. One of the great things about streaming is that the system tells you what the best songs are that you’ve ever written. It ranks them, so you can also see all the songs you’ve written that aren’t very good as well. Accordingly this next song is…absolutely worthless!”. Brown, Helen (6 July 2012). "Lianne La Havas, Is Your Love Big Enough?, review". Telegraph Media Group . Retrieved 22 February 2013. Aqualung first came to attention in 2002 when the debut single ‘Strange & Beautiful (I’ll Put A Spell On You)’ became a surprise UK Top 10 after being discovered via a Volkswagen Beetle advert. While that song created a magnetic allure, the strength and versatility of Hales’ songwriting further enamoured audiences. The debut self-titled Aqualung album reached Gold status in recognition of over 100,000 domestic sales, while the brighter symphonic scope of his second album, ‘Still Life’, led to another chart hit with ‘Brighter Than Sunshine’. By the time Aqualung’s third album, ‘Memory Man’ emerged, glowing comparisons had been made with everyone from Bacharach to Radiohead via The Beach Boys, while his music has featured in ‘Twilight’, ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.

A quirky little thing here, is that the cover of Dead Letters will tell you side one isn’t done. But it is. STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL: "2002 09 22 Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/.A dead letter is one that is undeliverable and unreturned by the post office. A message that sits in purgatory. A dead letter drop is a place where messages and other material can be left and collected in secret, without the sender and the recipient meeting. All of which feels like the perfect metaphor for the songs that Hales had written. It’s funny, but some musicians who have long careers are often apologetic about their most recent work. While this might have a touch more humility than the usual brazen fib “this is my best work ever”, they needn’t be. I wonder, has streaming got something to do with this? When an artist’s new work is so transparently ranked against their biggest hits, it must send a disconcerting message.