If you’ve woken up in a puddle the size of an Olympic Swimming Pool, don’t worry it’s probably sweat from a horribly sticky night. Unless you were on the cans all afternoon in the garden, in which case it could be something else. Good news, it’s gonna get hotter. Because these tracks are (sizzle sound effect) smokin’ hot. Have a big glass of water and chill out, dudes. Check it!!
Seafret – Pictures
Why We Love It: Can it really be almost seven years since I caught Seafret playing to a double-handful of people in a former working men’s Club in York? Since that time, the folk-leaning duo of singer Jack Sedman and guitarist Harry Draper have released a couple of albums, several EPs, and in so doing have amassed more than one billion streams of their music across various streaming platforms.
Now Seafret are back with a new single, ‘Pictures’, released through Nettwerk. Speaking about ‘Pictures’, they said: “This song was inspired by images of having a child and how you never want them to grow up. It can also be totally open with moments in life that you just don’t want to end.”
It’s great to be once more listening to the warmth of Jack Sedman’s voice as it dovetails perfectly with Harry Draper’s intricate fret work. (Simon Godley)
Pale Blue Eyes – Star Vehicle
Why We Love It: It is a brave step to take your name from a Velvet Underground song – and one no less than the sweet love tune that appears on the seminal band’s third studio album – but it is a move that is paying off handsomely for Pale Blue Eyes, the exciting new pop-rock project from Totnes in South Devon. Their debut album Souvenirs is on the horizon, due for release in early September, and a tour of the UK supporting Public Service Broadcasting gets under way the following month.
Pale Blue Eyes have just shared a track, ‘Star Vehicle’, from the forthcoming album. “It’s a hopeful and uplifting track,” says PBE singer/guitarist Matt Board. “It’s about daydreaming of the future and riding out difficult times together – kind of fantasising about somewhere far away. It touches on times at art college, where there was a student bar called The Rat & Emu, out in the middle of the countryside. I remember the stars seemed so bright overhead.”
Do yourself a favour and give ‘Star Vehicle’ a spin and embrace some of the trio’s triumphant ascendency. (Simon Godley)
Jesca Hoop – Hatred Has a Mother
Why We Love it: Jesca Hoop has just unveiled the video for her new single ‘Hatred Has a Mother’, the first track to be showcased from her forthcoming album, Order of Romance which is due out on 16th September this year.
Speaking about this, her latest collaboration with Lebanese-Greek film director and screenwriter Elia Petridis, Jesca Hoop says: “I’ve been making videos for many, many years with Elia Petridis and his film company Filmatics. These little videos as short as they are big undertakings and I thank Elia and his team for taking them on with real heart, passion and dedication. ‘Hatred Has a Mother’ took us into new territory, the animated realm. Thank you Filmatics for your will to venture. Thank you, Elia, for diving into your imagination once again and for working with joy to make this little flamboyant burst. That was fun!”
California-born but now based in Manchester, England, Jesca Hoop is a musician for whom innovation, off-kilter, and the wholly unexpected are often by-words for the unique sounds that she creates. ‘Hatred Has a Mother’ continues in that exploratory vein, its infectious stridency amplified by the playful surrealism of the accompanying video. (Simon Godley)
Saint Jude featuring Sarah Downie (Drug Store Romeos) – Feedback Song
Why We Love It: because anything with Sarah Downie of Drug Store Romeos ethereal voice is going to be worth listening to, and this brooding, slow burner of a late night, hazey track of improvised lyrics over percussion and a sense of dread synth that evokes Massive Attack ‘Teardrop‘ certainly is. It feels like an opener to something as it is criminally short but all good things come in small packages.
Saint Jude is South London producer and artist Jude Woodhead, who said about the collaboration: “It’s one of my favourite songs I’ve been involved in making,” Jude explains. ‘Sarah improvised her whole lyric and melody, picking out words from an encyclopaedia in my room. Her lyrics kind of wash over you, creating these abstract images in your head, like little scenes.’ (Jim Auton)
Susie Merry – Weatherman
Why We Love It: because it has finger picking arpeggios that brings me to my knees, a beautiful voice that has echoes of Laura Marling that makes you forgot your worries for a while, a big double bass and strings that sound like all the best bits of Pink Moon which is the whole thing. Then a subtle electric guitar brings texture and depth. It’s just fucking gorgeous.
Susie Merry is a London based singer songwriter who binned her job after an endometriosis diagnosis and started doing something she loved instead. Inspiring. She says about he debut single:
“‘Weatherman‘ is about one day being smacked in the face with the realisation that you have ended up somewhere completely different from where you first intended (and not in a fun, interesting way). That we can do the same thing over and over, and be so habitual without being intentional, that we don’t really feel recognisable to ourselves anymore.
“Why do we feel so duty-bound to things that might actually be harmful to us in the long run? Can we break free of that expectation to be dutiful in order to be happy? People make a lot of prescribed choices – and I don’t think that’s always a bad thing – but it doesn’t work for everyone all of the time. That was what I was trying to explore.” (Jim Auton)
Humour – yeah, mud
Why We Love It: Glaswegian band Humour have released their debut single “yeah, mud!”. Combining erratic off beats and a stop-start rhythm it jumps around all over the place. Unpredictable and raw, edgy and disarming, it’s not easy to dance too, but somehow you just know the delivery is tight. It therefore comes as no surprise to discover that Humour live together in Glasgow and were formed during the 2021 lockdowns. They wrote and recorded material at home with the music intended as a backdrop to Andreas Christodoulidis’ lyrics.
The band further expand on the track:
“This song was one that just came to us. I think it came together in less than an hour and everything just seemed to fit first time. A lot of the lyrics are inspired by an old book Andreas read. In this book a soldier realises he’s about to die and writes his mother a note. I think it’s interesting to think about what you might have to say if you realised you were going to die in a few minutes, and what you’d then say to your mother. Lots of pressure to come up with something important.”
Humour explain that their songs are just trying to paint a picture, with Andreas drawing sketches to go along with each of their songs. This includes the artwork and visuals behind the lyric video for “yeah, mud!”. The good news is that further new material will follow from this intriguing band throughout the year. (Julia Mason)
Exit Kid – Sura
Why We Love It: Exit Kid have followed up May’s alt-rock stomper ‘Out Of Time’ with new single ‘Sura’. The duo, who were born out of vocalist Emre Türkmen’s former band Years and Years, have created a soaring track. It opens with a grunge-rock thunderous soundscape. Expansive and obviously created to be played loud, it does have a quieter period about 2/3rds in, however the vocal is still otherworldly. And then that final blast powers on to the end.
The music of Exit Kid is as far as you can get from Years and Years. Emre and Dylan Bell (drums) met fatefully during the band’s 2017 tour. The new friends would go on to found the weekly “Metal Night” backstage where they’d rally the roadies and play 90’s and 00’s hard rock as loud as was tolerable. What an absolute riot that must have been, and this sowed the seeds of Exit Kid. From here they initially made a name for themselves with a string of high-octane fuzzed out releases, leaning on the most exhilarating elements of 90s alternative. You suspect that the experimental and no-holds barred attitude of Exit Kid will generate yet more compelling music and take them down paths so far unexplored.
Türkmen explains the inspiration behind ‘Sura’:“’Sura’ is about the futility of trying to please everyone and the disconnect between who we claim to be and who we really are”. (Julia Mason)
M(h)aol – Bored of Men
Why We Love It: M(h)aol return with new single ‘Bored Of Men’. Reverbing guitars full of static and a percussive beat throughout, it’s a track which repeats and repeats, emphasizing the point of being bored. Singer Róisín Nic Ghearailt delivers the vocal in a monotone, encapsulating the feeling being highlighted. M(h)aol, pronounced male, have announced they will play festivals this summer including Latitude Festival and Pitchfork Paris. The band are currently based between Dublin, London, and Bristol and are formed of Róisín, Constance Keane, Jamie Hyland, Zoe Greenway and Sean Nolan.
Róisín says of the track:“I wrote the lyrics of this song in a matter of minutes while we were recording together. The ideas had obviously been fermenting in my head for a while, and it was written during *that* extremely disconcerting & alarmingly public court case. The title of the song is very tongue in cheek for me, but it does reference a very real sense of frustration and exhaustion with the Patriarchy. When I say the Patriarchy I don’t mean individuals (although they can obviously perpetuate it), I mean institutional and structural oppression.”
She adds:“I’m bored with the conversation in the media solely focusing on damage that’s been done rather than thinking of ways to evolve and heal and challenge the systems that prop these individuals up. I’m bored of always *just* talking about men.“ (Julia Mason)
Bex – Bite My Tongue
Why We Love It: Guildford singer-songwriter, bassist and producer BEX has released her new single ‘Bite My Tongue.’ It’s a track that stands as a mantra for BEX, emphasising just how important it is to her to stand proud, speak up for the things she cares about and to not be afraid. Music can be affirming; songs can act as a release of frustrations and an expression of disappointments. Wild, raucous and with a hardcore attitude ‘Bite My Tongue’ is all of these. Recognising and learning from these experiences are positives and BEX has produced a song which encompasses these emotions, within a tornado of sound.
She expands further on the track:
“’Bite My Tongue’ is written about times I have not stood up for myself. In the last couple of years I have been really finding myself and it has caused me to reflect back to times where I didn’t truly know who I was or what I stood for, times where I bit my tongue instead of sharing my opinion. Musically it’s riffy and simple, it has that raw punch in the face, I love all my songs to be simple and short.
Always stand up for yourself and share your opinions, but at the same time listen to others. “I’ll hold it in so you have fun” I think this lyric is important because it reflects how I used to not speak so I wouldn’t upset anyone or ruin anyone’s night even if I was having a bad time. SPEAK, always speak, don’t hold back, share what you wanna share, just don’t be a dickhead.” (Julia Mason)
