It’s Monday. But its not Monday, its Easter Bank Holiday Monday. Sit in the garden and listen to some choice tunes.
Wyldest – The Best Is Yet To Come
Why we love it: Zoe Mead is the London-based songwriter, composer and producer who performs as Wyldest and she has followed up the success of last year’s excellent album Monthly Friend with her powerful new single ‘The Best Is Yet To Come’.
Speaking about ‘The Best Is Yet To Come’, Zoe Mead says the song “is about being hopeful that all the great things we had once are also mapped out in the future too, life is long and comes in multiple different chapters, it’s all part of the journey and we should never lose sight of the present as things are constantly changing and evolving, so we can just sit back and enjoy the ride.”
Out of the darkness and into the light, ‘The Best Is Yet To Come’ emerges, full of optimism and a new direction ahead. Zoe Mead’s voice is rich and commanding as it soars, reflecting the song’s hope for the future as her guitar and electronic percussion engulf the words and reflect their positivity. (Simon Godley)
Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals – Death of a Constable
Why We Love It: Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals return with a new album King Cobra, out 17th June on the Phantom Limb label. It is a masterfully executed expression of both ferocity and joy. “Not a checklist of all the ills in the world,” says the band, “but it feels like darkness”.
The Baltimore based duo have already released 2020’s Dear, Sudan – Infinity Knives’ solo LP that heavily featured Ennals on vocals – and 2021’s brutal post-George Floyd manifesto Rhino XXL, their first duo record.
Pairing 80s-esque electro beats/synths and inventive rhymes ‘Death of a Constable‘ is a hard hitting hip hop joint that lands somewhere between Run the Jewels and Afrika Bambaataa. The duo spar over over this skittering beat and punctuated by a sing-along chorus, it’s the sound of honouring black lives lost and going on hand to hand combat with injustice. (Bill Cummings)
Lo – Giver, Lover, Pet
Why We Love It: Lo’s first track of 2022 was recently released via label samesame Records (ADA/Warner).
Australia’s Lo emerges with ‘Giver, Lover, Pet’. This insidiously lush tune is riven with bittersweet lyricism, with a glistening guitars and a hooky chorus that rushes like a wave over you, this is a hook-laden and infectious track that harks back to the guitar pop sounds of the early 90s and chronicles the different face of a toxic relationship. Very promising. (Bill Cummings)
Melts – Signal
Why We Love It: Dublin 5-piece Melts have released ‘Signal’, the latest track to be taken from their forthcoming debut album Maelstrom set for release on 13 May via Mother Sky. The album was produced by Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox who has been in the producer’s chair for a number Irish bands including Sprints, Silverbacks, Bullet Girl and Turnstiles.
“Repetition is definitely the key to Melts,” says Gaz Earle (drummer). “It’s about just keeping it simple and driving and fucking stomping.”
Melts have a history which has included various band members and experimenting with different sounds. Now they have a settled line-up which was galvanised with the arrival of lead singer Eoin Kenny. With Robbie Brady (keys/synth), Colm Giles (bass) and Hugh O’Reilly (guitar) the band have evolved their sound away from garage rock and rather expanded into immersive pulsating grooves. In ‘Signal’ they have achieved this from the very first beat. It cascades straight into a thunderous track which has driving beats and is captivating in its immediacy. Reverberating throughout ‘Signal’ is the ferocious drums and guitar riffs, but with the added synths the overall soundscape is larger than life. (Julia Mason)
Witch Fever – Blessed by Thy
Why We Love It: Witch Fever return with new single ‘Blessed Be Thy’ which was produced by Pigs x7’s Sam Grant at Blank Studios in Newcastle. Building on a successful 2021 which saw the band sign to Sony’s Music For Nations, and release their debut EP Reincarnate to critical acclaim they return with this confrontational wall of sound. ‘Blessed Be Thy’ sees Amy Walpole (lead vocals) tailor language, cadence, and the rhythm of a traditional hymn to deliver her own message:
“Blessed be thy shame
It makes us remember truth
A slow decline, the cursed divine
A place to hang your youth”
Bassist Alex states of the track:
“It was literally the last song we wrote before we went into the studio but came together really quickly. I think it still has an essence of some of our older material, so it’s a good way to bridge the gap.”
The Manchester four piece have delivered yet again a confident track which speaks their own truth and delivers it amidst a thunderous soundscape. They have been nominated for Best UK Breakthrough Artist at the Heavy Music Awards. 2022 is quite rightly looking bright indeed. (Julia Mason)
The Swedish Railway Orchestra – The Ballhaus
Why We Love It: The Swedish Railway Orchestra have released their new single ‘The Ballhaus’. Written several years ago in Berlin, it has a darker, more melancholy vibe than their previous releases. The Swedish Railway Orchestra is the brainchild of Dublin based musician, DJ and producer Rob Smith. He has stated that he is influenced by bands like Suuns, Jape, Talking Heads, Daft Punk and The Brian Jonestown Massacre and this can be heard in ‘The Ballhaus’. It’s a brooding piece of electronica with a light vocal overlain on the top. The deft synth also adds a lightness bobbing along with a beat consistent throughout the track.
Smith expands on the origins of the track:
“’The Ballhaus’ was actually one of the first songs I recorded as The Swedish Railway Orchestra and, at the time, I never released it anywhere and only showed it to a few friends. It was an instrumental piece, as were all the very first tracks. I revisited it around a year ago, added some vocals to the piece, mixed it a touch better and, hey presto, the finished product is a fine song.”
The new album Dance To The Drum Machine is set for a vinyl release on 27 July 2022 via Blowtorch Records. (Julia Mason)
Declan Welsh and The Decadent West – Impermanency
Why We Love It: Declan Welsh & The Decadent West have released their new single ‘Impermanency’ taken from their upcoming EP of the same name. The quartet from East Kilbride have been building a loyal local fanbase evidenced by three sold-out headline shows at Glasgow’s King Tuts before heading out on a UK and Ireland tour in support of fellow Scots Twin Atlantic throughout May.
With influences including The Velvet Underground, Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes, ‘Impermanency’ demonstrates a mature sound, anthemic and unashamedly Scottish in flavour. Full of power and passion the combined vocals as the track progresses and the increasingly scuzzy guitars scream of frustration. Surely this will become a favourite live. Play loud.
Welsh further expands on ‘Impermanency’:
“It’s about death, really, and the terrifying inevitability of it. But the other side of that to even get to live is such a gift, even if it is fleeting, and possibly even because it is fleeting. It’s about cycles.’’ (Julia Mason)
