With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Music reviews, gig reviews, fun trivia and extra added random stuff!

“Keeping On” – away//fans November 3, 2025

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 8:56 pm
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Indie rock band from London away//fans have a banging new song out. “Keeping On” is a celebration of percussive danceable rock music with a great pop twist. The repetitive chorus refrain of “come on home” is one of the strongest earworms that has inhabited my head in ages. If you are able to just sit and listen to this track without even thinking of dancing there is clearly something seriously wrong with me. For the first time the band have collaborated with SEY.MOUR who provides some sublime, ethereal backing vocals. Soundwise they remind me of the Beloved, HardFi, Lost Trends and LCD Soundsystem.

The band’s lead vocalist Tom Fisher had this to say about the track “The song is about that moment post-argument with your partner, when the initial anger has faded and you just wanna sort things out but don’t know how. That sort of malaise when you’re desperate to get back to how things were but aren’t quite sure how to get there“. In respect of where the band took some inspiration Fisher said “We took inspiration from bands like Primal Scream and The Prodigy, who managed to keep the live feel of a band, whilst still fitting in with the rave and party scene“. I am new to this band and I bloody love them!

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“Like I Need” – Lloren June 12, 2025

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 10:04 pm
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Lloren last appeared on the pages of With Just A Hint Of Mayhem when we reviewed her single “Mad Woman” last September. Back then I sensed an element of the dark side of Lana del Ray in her music. That is still there with new single “Like I Need”. But this time there is a Sophie B Hawkins vibe and Taylor Swift, modern country pop feel. The track is underpinned by a pulsing, bassy synth riff which drives it as the perfect vehicle for Lloren’s impassioned soaring vocals. This is a truly fabulous song and I love it!

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“BLOW” – Kety Fusco February 21, 2025

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 2:04 pm
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Kety Fusco is an unbridled and immensely talented musician. She has been dubbed the Queen of the Electric Harp. She was born in Pisa, Italy in 1995 and is Swiss by adoption. She has a Master of Arts in Music Performance at the Swiss Italian Conservatory. She first discovered the electric harp at just six years old. Her second album ‘BOHČME’ is released later this year and now she has unleashed “BLOW” the first single from that sophomore collection. I love music that is a bit different and properly “out there” and “BLOW” ticks both of those boxes strongly. It is a riveting instrumental track that contains more emotion than many songs with vocals. It took me to another place, it made me want to dance, it made me smile and it made me want to be who I am. It is injected with elements of classical, electronic and even dance music. This is most definitely a sound from and for the 21st century. Kety says this of the track “I sought to transform it into something wild and untamed, capable of expressing emotions that transcend tradition, projecting it toward a bolder, unknown future”. We live in a strange and frightening world and music helps me weave my way through it. If you love great music then take a listen to “BLOW”.

The video is dark and wonderful. It feels like an update on classic British folk horror films with a bit of archetypal slasher movie tropes thrown in for good measure. Kety wrote the script and also stars in the film which was directed supremely well by Studio Asparagus. This one song and its accompanying video has turned me into a great fan of Kety Fusco!

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“Fortune” – Dead Chic October 19, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 6:41 am
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Dead Chic is a collaboration between Damien Felix (Catfish) and Andy Balcon (Heymoonshaker). They used to run into each other while touring with their respective bands, spoke about collaborating, and finally came together in 2020. Why did they get together? Based on their new single “Fortune” clearly to make awesome rock music. The meaty, explosive percussion sound opens and drives the song, making it hard to ignore. That mountainous drum sound is created by Rémi Ferbus. Balcon’s vocal talents are immense and as a listener, you are drawn into this track as though he is a dark, but ultimately good, preacher sermonising on what life as a human in huge cities is like and how we can, and sometimes fail to cope with it. The guitar soundscapes from Felix are immense and soulful. “Fortune” is a taster for their new album, ‘Serenades & Damnation’, which is out next month. This song, which has a hopeful mood, deserves to be huge. Make it so good people of the world!

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Wow That’s What I Call Mayhem – Volume 4 September 30, 2024

Filed under: Now That's What I Call Mayhem! — justwilliam1959 @ 8:31 pm
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With continued humble apologies to the creators of the iconic NOW series of compilations that began in 1983, I posted and compiled the first WOW That’s What I Call Mayhem collection back in March, with volumes 2 and 3 following just a few weeks ago. So are you ready for volume 4? I certainly hope so, because here it is! This includes the fourth 20 singles we reviewed in 2024 in another maniacal eclectic playlist for your listening pleasure! With more than 60 minutes of music, click the Spotify link below and lose yourself in the music!

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“Mad Woman” – Lloren September 25, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:32 pm
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Lloren’s gorgeous new single “Mad Woman” evokes the dark side of Lana del Ray and Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game”. The darkly, enticing ballad washes over and into you with a sublime majesty. Lloren’s voice is emotional, yearning, ethereal, darkly angelic, and with a clarity like none of her contemporaries. Lyrically she seems to deal with the weird line between men and women which appears to let men get away with almost anything. I was haunted by this incredible tune on first listen and it seems to refuse to leave my head!

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“Peaches In My Halo” – Veronica D’Souza August 16, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:58 pm
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Veronica D’Souza is a former fashion pioneer and now an independent producer and songwriter. She is of Indian/East African/Danish descent. I believe that cultural melting pot makes her such a musical talent. She is a strong advocate for women and has helped many people on her life journey. With her music, she has the talent and the ability to help all of us through this troubled journey that we call life. “Peaches In My Halo” is a stunning inspirational and inspiring summer anthem that leaves you with a head full of heavenly hooks’ and, ears filled with majestic melodies and a wide smile on your face. The percussive drive to the song sticks with you long after it is over. The song is almost hymnal at times. It is a powerful song about breaking free and becoming you and not what other people’s expectations of you are. Veronica has said this about the track “We all live under a carpet of external expectations and internalized limitations. This song says to defy the confined boundaries and societal norms, dare to dream, and allow yourself to live out all the different versions of you. It’s about rebelliousness, transformation, and social critique. Throw your head back, take space, be it all, live it all. What would happen if you did, just for a minute.” I can see myself becoming a huge fan of Veronica D’Souza! Click here to listen to “Peaches In My Halo” on Spotify.

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“Here Right Now” – Jessica Wilde May 22, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 8:46 pm
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South Londoner Jessica Wilde’s new song “Here Right Now” challenges our enslavement to electronic devices meaning that we miss out on so much that is here right now and in the moment. It is a summery, jazzy, funky tune with elements of P-Funk, Lizzo, and the Average White Band. Her vocal performance is top-drawer and with oodles of class. The song has a hook that just won’t let you go….. ever!

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“Keep Me Breathing” – Brandon Ambrose May 12, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:49 pm
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Brandon Ambrose is a 23-year-old music artist from London. Based on his latest single “Keep Me Breathing” he is very much the tortured artist and most definitely for real. The lyrics deal with his own struggle with addiction and how he finally found redemption. These words are brutally honest and pull no punches. It is a magnificent track and will be played regularly by me in the coming months. Stylistically I sensed some Sam Fender, Jake Bugg, Just Jack and perhaps digging a bit deeper the Red Hot Chilli peppers too. While the subject is dark the song gets into your head via some great hooks and melodies

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“The Only Queer In The Van” – G.H. Francis April 30, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 10:06 pm
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Gregory Hoepffner has just released a new single from his forthcoming EP “Why Does Anyone?” He is now recording and releasing under his own “G.H. Francis” nome de plume. It is called “The Only Queer In The Van” and it documents his experience while coming out on tour with a rock band. Hoepffner has toured the world with a diverse range of bands and artists including Almeeva, Sure, Ghoster, Kid North, Time To Burn, and Kabbel. He has also performed with the man who invented the laser harp, Bernard Szajner. The song is a delightful track with some great guitar and some great Pet Shop Boys musical moments with a vocal performance reminiscent of Beck at his finest. The hooks are abundant and bring out the fine melodies and lyrics. The track is ethereal and anthemic with some gorgeous multi-tracked harmonies. I can imagine that Gregory’s experience of coming out in these circumstances was difficult, but that experience has helped give birth to a fabulous song!

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