𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 - this week: Navigate - Forever Forever

Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly - an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙉𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙚 - 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧

Charles is dressed for the occasion…

Being a Londoner has had various effects on me. One of those is confidence. Not arrogance in the slightest, but the confidence to be me. The confidence to not really care what others think of me, while still retaining enough modesty and manners to respect them. The other day I went shopping with my girlfriend. Clothes shopping. Something I detest - how typically “man” of me. Navigation is key, here. There’s the Tube (London Underground) to navigate, with its many lines, branches and hot platforms. Eventually, we came up for air at the recently modernised Tottenham Court Road Station - ugly. Here we were, standing on the corner of Oxford Street. God: Oxford Street; I have not been here in years. And so we sauntered. It has changed a lot. I assumed that it would be a nightmare, but surprisingly it was actually rather exhilarating and fascinating. I felt like a tourist, marvelling at everything and everyone! We navigated in and out of various shops, stopped for a bite to eat in Soho Square, then continued navigating. Despite being busy, it was never too much. I never felt panicky or claustrophobic. It was simply enjoyable. “But Charles, what has this to do with confidence?” - good question…

The confidence was in the shopping itself, and the fact that I am relaying this little story in public. I am tiny. An absolute midget of a man. I am far smaller than the smallest men’s size available. This is one of the reasons I despise shopping. I can’t really do it. Nothing fits. Everything makes me look like a child wearing his father’s clothes for a photo album filler: “Awww, that’s a keeper” - says mother. So what do I do? Initially, I navigate the aisles and racks and stacks, hoping that London has realised I am not the only petite man in the city. Alas, I am apparently the only petite man in the city. This is size-ism at its extra largest. So, do I mope in the changing rooms before going home empty-handed? I do NOT!! I’ve come all this way. I need clothes. Let’s do this. Here’s the confidence aspect: I navigate from men’s to women’s. “This flowery dress’ll do nicely” - no, not quite. You see, these days, fashion in London is fuzzy when it comes to gender. The men’s clothing is feminised. The women’s clothing is somewhat manly. Meaning that there is little difference between them except the actual size. I tried a men’s “extra small” shirt: I swear I could have fit my thigh in that sleeve. I then tried an almost identical shirt, but this time it was women’s “small”. MUCH better. But still quite roomy. It turned out that women’s “extra small” was perfect. God. The weird thing is, I’m not actually a midget. I am indeed small, but I’m not pocket-sized. I’m not freakishly titchy. I still tower (maybe not “tower”) above small women. I bought the smallest size they made, so where the hell do THEY shop; Gap Kids?! Been there; done that.

How I choose to shop is a far cry from cross-dressing (you should have seen how I USED to dress). I am not particularly looking to stand out. I care not in the slightest that my clothes are women’s. I just like clothes to fit. I think most men would never dream of wearing women’s clothes, let alone admitting it. Which might explain why whenever I see small men, they are usually dressed in clothes far too big for them. I simply enjoyed my day in Central London and we navigated our way back home to North London. The north of London tends to be called North London (understandably). Central London, however, is called the West End. How satisfyingly confusing. East is content in being called the East End. And South…? Well, I just call that the Bitter End. London is without a doubt a weird one. It is unique. Anything goes. It is the most liberal, open-minded place in the world. Many will argue, but I'll stick with that statement (okay, maybe Los Angeles, but you get the picture). However, there is no part of London more “anything goes” than the East End. Camden and Soho seem positively musty compared to THIS vibrant scene! It is vehemently progressive. One could attempt to navigate its streets via Google Maps, but I think it’s best to throw that compass to the wind and let the area’s sights, sounds and scents be your guide. One thing you might stumble across is a man wearing a dress and high heels. Perfectly normal around there. A bearded man so clearly a man, in a dress and high heels. I wouldn’t bat an eyelid. Besides, it might mean something else if I WERE to bat an eyelid. If I were to compliment the chap’s dress, I might get a “Cheers, man!”. But I also might be unlucky enough to get a “Don't you be misgendering me, bish”. A simple error based on what I see and what I know. Much in the same way that I was often thought to look like a girl as a child, with my long blonde hair, long dark eyelashes and bright red lips. The beard hadn't quite grown in yet. But then again, neither had the bountiful bosom. I suppose these days, navigating one's genderality is part and parcel of being human. I'm far too old for that lark, but if one feels the need or wish for such pondering, one can genuinely feel free to do so. They must however understand that it is very easy to “misgender” someone through genuine error. There is no point being made. There is no offence to be taken. For example, “I like your purple trousers” - “They’re blue, damn it!!”… Okay. Simple mistake. Won’t happen again. This is relatively new territory for traditional people. The good news is, everyone can now be who they want to be. But patience, kindness, respect and balance has always to be at the heart of it. Peace and love, man!

As I see it, gender is not the be all and end all of life. It is one factor that used not to be a factor. It was simply a fact or a hindrance. "A man should man up and be a man", and "A woman's place is..." - I won't even finish the line. These are past notions. Relics, even. You see the hindrance now. But gender was never questioned. The lines are blurred now. But more importantly, we must now navigate past this and stop thinking of it as “taboo”. It’s all just a personal choice, and shouldn’t be anything more. Hence why I would rather not dwell on whether a man chooses to wear a dress. If a man wants to wear a dress, good for them. But it has nothing to do with what I'm interested in: their personality and their talents. THAT'S what tickles MY peach. It’s time to navigate LIFE!! Which is exactly the route East London band, ‘Forever Forever’ has taken. They describe themselves as “a genre-blending gender-bending London-based quartet”. On the surface we have four members. I say “on the surface” because this is what we see in their press photos, and their self-confessed quantity. But there are many more people involved in the making of everything that goes into the band. Three of these four official members navigate towards being addressed as “he”, while the remaining member prefers “they”. Cool. In all their press photos they can be seen to be wearing traditionally female clothes. Cool. Whatever they wish! It’s a look, it suits the scene, and it’s very natural. They’re being them. Cool. Besides, it draws attention! Sensible if ya wanna make it. They scream East London at its coolest. Cool. But what else? What else, is the MUSIC!!

The lead man is Fionn. We have something in common. Aside from occasionally wearing women’s clothing, that is. Put it this way: this time it really is Connolly’s Corner. His name is Fionn Connolly. I really do want to call him Fionnolly, but I must refrain. Although I’m sure he would argue, I would call Fionn the backbone of the band. A producer and sound engineer in his own right, he writes and produces all of the band’s music. He takes the lead vocal and plays most of the instruments. Their previous single was even mixed by him, but this time he left it to a chap called Jasper Trim. I mentioned their previous single for a reason… Boy, am I annoyed with myself. While navigating through the glut of fab new releases on the New Artist Spotlight playlists in recent weeks, I kept coming across their previous single, ’Stasis’. I loved it from the moment I first heard it. It was high up on my list of possibles. I ended up opting for another great by another great. The following week, I thought would be perfect timing. It just felt right. But as I went to look for them on the NAS, I just couldn’t find them. I assumed their inclusion on the playlists was an error and that they were not in fact members of the community. The error was mine. There they were, all along. So, for FOMO, I thought I’d take this opportunity to plug their brand new single. Even better timing! I say FOMO (fear of missing out - for those who’ve been dead for the last 15 years - evidently no FOMO for you), because I have an inkling ‘Forever Forever’ is gonna hit BIG, and quite suddenly. They have that THANG!

Speaking of which, I really think I need to see them live. I get the feeling they’re ALL about being live. Four-part harmonies from Fionnolly (sorry - couldn’t resist), Sam Porteous, Es George and Harry Swanson, backed by a whole host of horns (Ben Gardiner, Jared Bennett and Clara Daly Donnellan), as well as the foursome playing their own more usual band instruments. I think it might be quite thrilling live. But the main reason, is Fionn’s gift. His main talent. Songwriting and production. Now, before you all get excited, I have made the band sound like a rocky funk band. I didn’t mean “thrilling” in that way. I am probably thrilled in a different way to most. I am thrilled by things that hit my soul. Essentially, “Navigate” - their brand new single - is an acoustic song, that then coasts electrically. But it does so in such a mainstream way. I usually speak of the mainstream in a bad light, but not this time. You see, the mainstream has polish. It has slickness. It has professionalism to the end. The East End. I see Fionn as being behind it all, much like Chris Martin is behind Coldplay. People know Chris Martin, but they don’t know Guy Berryman. Just like in time, people will probably start to know the name Fionn Connolly, but they might not be familiar with Sam Porteous. The thing, the other members are vital. ‘Coldplay’ is ‘Coldplay’. ‘Forever Forever’ is ‘Forever Forever’. Everyone is necessary. The song’s piano is magnificent and modest, the panned backing vocals are lush and subtle. The lead vocal is cushioned yet confident. The horns are even more subtle, acting like soft synths, proving that even the slightest thing needs effort and bother. Then the real soft synths introduce the bass, guitar and drums. Speaking of drums, these are modern mainstream indie drums. Think Sam Fender. Plenty of delicious, wide saturation. Simply put, this is a glorious sound with a satisfying gleam.

Think of this less as a song review, and more as an introduction to a band that I am sure will go far. And I don’t say that often. Hopefully I’ll catch them live before they become London’s hippest new beat combo of East End alley cats.

Once home from my shopping excursion, I put my new clothes away. The wardrobe door closed neatly with a contented click. The chest of drawers, however, scraped shut like an angry bark as I closed the top drawer. I seem to have one happy wardrobe and one cross dresser! I can't wait to wear my new clothes - they'll soon be coming out of the closet.

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