NEW SINGLE '' BREAK INTO MY HOUSE'' RELEASED 9th MAY 2026
W: Karl Watson I: ©Cosmo Mclaren
When you strip away the lights, the stage-fright, and the noise of the London scene, what remains is the music that truly matters. The Lifeboat Playlist is a raw, deep dive into the sonic foundations of the artists we love, forcing them to curate the ten definitive tracks they would take with them into isolation.
For the members of Candide, this isn't just a list of songs; it is a survival kit. These ten tracks serve as blueprints for their own creative journey—the anthems, heartbreaks, and high-octane riffs that define their approach to songwriting and performance. From stadium-sized roars to vulnerable, late-night confessions, these are the songs that keep the fire burning.
Here are the nine tracks that form the foundation of Candide’s world, in no particular order:
Eddies Choice: 1.Palma Violets - Best Of Friends
Youthful exuberance in spades. Saw them at Wolverhampton Slade Rooms when I was 14, first
proper gig where it felt like something chaotic and ours rather than something distant and polished. Got a picture with the keyboard player like it meant everything, which it did at the time. Got kicked in the mosh pit as well, which also felt important.
2. Beck Loser
Learnt the whole rap for karaoke with my nan. It’s one of those songs that shouldn’t really work
but absolutely does, half nonsense, half genius. I think that mix of humour and looseness stuck
with me, the idea that you can be playful and still hit a nerve even if you're not sure what
ligament that nerve attaches to. Also just a great party trick.
3: Led Zeppelin - Dazed & Confused
Encapsulates my favourite guitarist of all time’s style, layers of texture, bowed psychedelia,
everything feeling like it’s slightly on the brink of falling apart.. Those volcanic solos that just
keep building, and the sense that the song is less a structure and more a space you move through.
And Bobby Plant being from Kidderminster somehow makes it feel even closer to home. It’s
excessive in the best way.
Milo's Choice: 1.T-Res - Chariot Choogle
Heard it at a school disco on what must have been terrible speakers, but it still cut through. There’s something about T. Rex that’s just instantly infectious, simple but confident. Proper introduction to glam without realising that’s what it was at the time. R.I.P.
2: Anti-Nowhere League - I Hate People
This pretty much summed up my worldview at certain points. It’s not subtle and it’s not meant to
be, just a kind of blunt honesty that feels good to shout along to. Hopefully heading toward a
slightly more positive outlook these days, but it still hits me when it needs to.
3: Pom Poko - My Candidacy
Total opposite energy, this one. Makes me dance happily into the merry sunrise, slightly delirious but in a good way. It’s chaotic but joyful, lets you let go of whatever you were thinking about five minutes ago.
Jasper's Choice: 1. Michael Nyman - Chasing Sheep
A piece of classical theatre that stuck with me early. Saw it with my uncle at the Barbican in 2004, and I think that was one of the first times music felt like it could be something bigger than
just a song. Repetition, movement, tension, all building in a way that feels almost visual.
2: The Jam - To Be Someone
Life goals, pretty much. There’s a clarity to it, knowing exactly what you want and saying it
outright. It’s aspirational without being soft about it, more like a statement of intent. Proper sense
of direction in a song.
3: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard The Dripping Tap
Love King Gizz. Saw them play in a prison in Lithuania, for real look it up… “Cray cray” is about right.
10: Pulp - Common People
Feels like the thread that ties a lot of this together. Observational, slightly biting, but still full of
character. It’s got that British storytelling thing where it’s funny until it isn’t, The kind of song
that makes you want to be in a band in the first place, or at least believe you could be.