If you don’t know what I’m talking about by now then, quite frankly, you haven’t been paying attention. Screaming Maldini are a progressive pop group from Sheffield that specialise in bright, happy music with intelligent lyrics and delightful melodies. They’ve vowed to gift fans with a free single every month for 2014 and tease them with the prospect of a “mysterious finale” in December.
The thing about these #MonthlyMaldiniXII songs is that each one manages to be dynamically different, highlighting the creativity and skill that Screaming Maldini should be proud of. Confidence starts with solid percussion from Tim Walker before Nick Cox joins in on vocals; it’s also worth commending Annie Rushworth on bass here because (as my sister keeps telling me) “she’s amazing”. But the band would be nothing without Ben Hoblyn (trumpet), Jonathan Cornish (keys) and Gina Walters (vocals); this six piece really do bring out the best in each other.
‘Confidence’ is another upbeat song with a positive narrative; “This whole world is stretching out in front of me, and I’m feeling my confidence growing with every step” is sung with surprising certainty and the track washes away any self-doubt you may have had.
A word must be said about the exquisite artwork that has accompanied every single so far; Ralph Wilson is the man behind the masterpieces and each image complements its accompanying song beautifully. The above piece shows us a pile of “luck six pences”… I’m not sure what this means, but I think this band of six have had their fair share of luck this year.
But there’s that number again, 412150. It’s a mysterious number that has appeared on every single piece of artwork so far. Has anyone figured out what it means yet? Is it linked to the “mysterious finale” in December that we’ve been promised?
Listen to ‘Confidence’ below: