A bloody great bumper edition of TOTW this Monday. It’s big and chunky like a Yorkie Duo except its not just for men. There’s a hell of a lot great stuff below so let’s just get the fuck on with it. Stick it in your canals, let it coat your inner ear gizzards with aural elixir. Mmmm. Yummy.
Enabling Behaviour – Stressor
Why we love it: Cornwall-born, Cardiff-based group Enabling Behaviour have shared their new single ‘Stressor’ ahead of their debut album GILT!
Simmering with foreboding and menace, Stressor is an intoxicating concoction that bubbles with slithering bass lines, clipped drum thwacks and nagging early Cure- like guitars and creepy, whispered in your ear vocals. Skirting the lines of shoegaze, post-punk and goth, the final section of the track develops into a clanging horror soundtrack as guitars spiral and drums skitter. This ghostly and insidious offering is a tantalizing glimpse of their debut album. (Bill Cummings)
Drahla – Default Parody
Why we love it: Leeds-based art-rock experimentalists Drahla return with their second album angeltape. Due out 5th April via Captured Tracks, the first release from the album is lead single ‘Default Parody’. It’s an off-kilter track, all chaotic sax lines and thumping drums. The vocals blend into the mayhem, although blend is probably the wrong word. ‘Default Parody’ is spikey and yet dance-floor friendly, the underlying rhythm is a constant amongst the bedlam. It’s immediately captivating with that beat becoming an earworm.
Vocalist Luciel Brown shares the following on the new single: “It’s controlled chaos, lots of different ideas that resolve at some strange harmony. It was the first realisation of writing something from start to finish with the addition of Ewan (Barr) on guitar so there’s more freedom of interplay and from our previous roles in the band.”
Interesting to note the influence behind the creation of the single. Brown shares:
“lyrically it’s taken inspiration from Shakespeare’s ‘to be or not to be’. It’s navigating loss of life and life with loss. ‘To be, I see, what is, to be’ it’s a one-way deconstructed conversation with yourself.”
(Julia Mason)
Murder Club – Picture Of Myself
Why we love it: Newport’s Murder Club return with new single ‘Pictures of Myself’ a bittersweet gem that skirts the lines of indie pop, with a underbelly of riot-grrrl and poppy- punky attitude. An infectious earworm sewn with an almost girl group harmony, fizzing riffs and a perky rhythm, the lyric houses the insecurity inspired by the selfie age for young women, it also pays tribute to the ritual of getting read to go out. Drawing from shared experiences, as well as a mutual love for the Ramones and The Shangri-La’s, ‘Pictures of Myself’ proves to be a sassy, addictive tune.
“Pictures of Myself is an anthem for the folks who like to take their time when they’re getting ready. We will not be rushed!” reveals bass player and vocalist Kristy Cromwell. “We cover the big issues. Was cutting bangs a bad idea? Am I too old to wear these heels?? What is the best light for my selfie? In all seriousness, getting ready for a night out is a holy act. Whether alone or with your besties, it is a rite of passage to have fun and panic in equal measure. Is it better than the night out itself? That’s a personal decision.”
‘Pictures of Myself’ is taken from their upcoming ‘The Night Out’ EP. Since forming during lockdown just over four years ago, the quartet completed by Ellie Couburn (guitar, vocals), Elisha Djan (drums), and Lily Gray (synth, vocals) have toured throughout the South East. (Bill Cummings)
The Klittens – Reading Material
Why we love it: Amsterdam’s The Klittens share new single in ‘Reading Material’, the third song to land from their upcoming EP Butter out 8 March. This is music that somehow makes you smile. It’s quirky and bouncey with the most glorious harmonies. The indie pop sensibilities are a joy and provide a much required shot of serotonin in these winter days. ‘Reading Material’ represents the push and pull of trying to appear energetic while there’s little to no energy left internally. The song was written by guitarist Winnie Conradi in a period of extreme illness and fatigue, in which her days would fade into each other. Winnie says of their latest single:
“This song was an attempt to uplift myself and I am happy to say that it did. In these periods of fatigue everything feels shallow – thoughts are short, emotions are stunned. These were the few notes and melodies I could come up with, while hearing the danceable beat that I had set the metronome to.”
The Klittens have been borne out of the fervent Amsterdam underground scene and will be joining Personal Trainer and Pip Blom on some of the UK dates, as well as doing a few dates of their own.
(Julia Mason)
Tapir! – untitled
Why we love it: Because Tapir!’s star is currently in the GIITTV ascendancy. Last week their debut album The Pilgrim, Their God and the King of My Decrepit Mountain received an 8* review on these very pages and this week the South London-based sextet feature on the 261st edition of Tracks of the Week with the song ‘untitled’, taken from that very album.
Y’know, I thought they were a bit special when I caught them on the Heavenly Recordings stage at last year’s KITE Festival, and ‘untitled’ affirms that first impression. A beautifully melodic song, featuring an irresistible mix of fantasy and truth it takes me right back to that bucolic, early summer afternoon in Oxfordshire. (Simon Godley)
The Runaway Models – Pretty Little Lies
Why we love it: Fife born and Glasgow-based The Runaway Models have released their new single ‘Pretty Little Lies’. It’s a 2-and-a-half-minute blast of punk. The opening few bars may seem gentle enough, but it doesn’t last long. Short and sharp, raw and edgy, just as punk should be. With an attitude and swagger that is also little rough around the edges, The Runaway Models are part of a group of artists coming out of Scotland who are taking punk but also the likes of Idles and Turnstile and chucking them all into the mix of their influences and producing their own sound. Those gloriously scuzzy reverb fuelled guitars and a vocal which is sung and shouty with layered combinations add to the mayhem. And do make sure you listen to the very end by the way!
Taking their name from a line in ‘Boys in the Better Land’ by Fontaines D.C. The Runaway Models established themselves in the Scottish music scene with the release of their debut single ‘Riot‘ in 2020 and a national tour. If you catch them live, I’ll see you down the front! (Julia Mason)
Adult Jazz – Dusk Song
Why we love it: Because the Leeds-based experimental four-piece Adult Jazz have just released their first new music in eight years and ‘Dusk Song’ has been well worth the wait. Singer Harry Burgess’s eerily treated vocals combine to unsettling effect with Tim Slater’s brass drones as they slowly emerge from what feels like an ominous nighttime river fog.
As Harry Burgess explains: “It’s loosely about slowness and panic coexisting and not really being able to comprehend those paces alongside each other when it comes to how to respond to the climate crisis.”
Just as disturbing is the song’s accompanying video, shot by Harry Burgess and featuring a hypnotic performance from his cousin, Callum Burgess. This fusion of sound and vision may unquestionably be disturbing but it also makes for a fascinating and most welcome return from Adult Jazz. (Simon Godley)
Melts – Figment
Why we love it:
Dublin’s MELTS share their new single ‘Figment’ which is also the first track on their second album Field Theory. The album was produced by Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox and is set for release 12 April via cult indie label Fuzz Club (The Jesus And Mary Chain, Night Beats).
‘Figment’ is immediately entrancing. It opens with sharp pulsating beats, that somehow fill the room. Expansive and captivating, it never lets up. Eoin Kenny’s commanding vocals add to the wall of sound, and what sound it is. Melts have made the right decision on ‘Figment’ to let the instrumentation dominant. Those beats never stop and the guitars and drums add to the cacophony of sound which continues to the outro. This is a track that immediately requires a repeat play.
The band share the following about the single: “’Figment’ is about the relationship we have with the world around us, filtered through our own imagination, shaped and coloured by how the individual see’s the world. The difference between the concrete and imagined. The video for ‘Figment’ was shot by Irish filmmaker Andy Parkes and explores similar themes as the song – how the mind perceives the world subjectively based on key elements: time, emotion and distance from the person or event.”
MELTS have also announced UK/EU April tour-dates including a show at London’s Moth Club on April 30.
Just imagine hearing this live……. (Julia Mason)
Ogun – ‘Set Pace’ featuring ManLikeVision and MIRARI
Why we love it: ‘Set Pace’ is lifted from Ogun‘s forthcoming EP and shows off a confidence, inventive production and offers a window into his formidable talent. Ogun anchors the tune with his seizing the moment delivery and laser focussed confidence, that bounds forth on resounding bass and beats, and a hooky keyboard and strings sample. He’s joined by fellow collaborators emerging MCs ManLikeVision and Mirari as each takes turns to spit bars layered with impressive quickfire wordplay, witty and addictive as each one share their ambition, with their eyes firmly planted on the partying of a night ahead and their undeniable futures.
Ogun’s journey so far has been a turbulent yet incredibly rewarding one. His Nigerian mother headed to Italy in search of work opportunities, however upon arrival a debt was placed on her head in exchange for illegal travel arrangements and her hands were forced to crime. Ogun and his siblings spent the first few years of their life in Italy, until his mother eventually made the decision to return to Nigeria and enter the UK legally as an asylum seeker. They were placed in Newport, Wales, and he was unable to speak a word of English. His mother was naturally weary of the past catching up with them, alongside the looming threat of strict immigration laws, so Ogun was told not to speak Italian outside the house. He essentially spent his early years in Wales silent, disconnected and frustrated.
Ogun says: “‘Trial By Fire’ is a term that embodies that sense of being thrown in the deep end and forcing yourself to swim so that you don’t sink. My life has been a series of trials and tribulations that resulted in me being moulded by the fire. The fire in my belly, the fire in my heart and the fire that’s often been at my feet as well. A Trial By Fire questions one’s ability to not just cope with pressure but to conquer that pressure. This project is the sonic summation of everything that has fanned the flames”. (Bill Cummings)
Gemma Hayes – Feed The Flames
Why we love it: Because it is hard to believe that it is now almost a quarter of a century since I first saw Gemma Hayes in concert at The Cockpit in Leeds, but just as reassuring to hear that after all that time her songwriting ability and voice both remain firmly intact.
This much is true upon listening to the Irish singer-songwriter’s brand new single ‘Feed The Flames’, the second track to be taken from her as yet unnamed forthcoming album, her first LP in a decade.
Speaking about ‘Feed The Flames’, Gemma Hayes says: “I originally began writing the song after watching Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Knowing a bit about their relationship off screen I was really taken by the depth of their connection, it was a living, breathing fire. What I got from delving into their relationship is that you can love something or someone so much only for your human fallibility to come along and destroy it.”
In a voice burnished by experience, Gemma Hayes captures the true essence of this often volatile union and conveys all of the passion and imperfection that lay within. It’s so good to have her back. (Simon Godley)
Seymour – Blood On Hands
Why we love it: London based indie-pop singer/songwriter Seymour has released new single ‘Blood On My Hands’. The quality of the vocal here is sublime, full of emotive passion and seemly effortless in its delivery. The theme of the track explores the guilt Seymour felt at leaving a relationship she was groomed into as a teenager. There is a heart-wrenching honesty in the expression of this experience. However, ‘Blood On My Hands’ does not tell this story within a wrapper of melancholy, far from it. It has a lightness of touch and the jazzy, indie pop vibe gives an expression of taking back control. Seymour shares that this song was written to demonstrate to others who have experienced similar situations, that there is no correct way to feel after experiencing such trauma.
Seymour shares the following on ‘Blood On My Hands’: “Where I grew up so may young girls were manipulated into being with older men then when they’d finally grown the confidence to leave them, they were demonised by the people around them.” (Julia Mason)
Y Dail – The Piper Pulled Down The Sky
Why we love it: – Y Dail (The Leaves) is the bi-lingual project of 20 year old Welsh songwriter Huw Griffiths. His vivid storytelling within an unapologetic pop framework is refreshing and earworm addictive.
Commenting on the song, Griffiths says: ‘It’s a glam pop song inspired by lines from William Burroughs’ sci-fi Western novel The Place of Dead Roads, topped and tailed with Wings-y Moog synth.’
Produced by Kris Jenkins, Y Dail’s songwriting has had much support from Marc Riley on his BBC 6Music show, and he performed a radio session for Huw Stephens, on BBC Radio Wales. Gruff Rhys has called the band ‘magnificent’, working with he and Jenkins on the Ni collaboration releasing ‘Llochess’ (Welsh for shelter) to raise money and awareness for the Yemen Crisis Appeal in 2022.
‘The Piper Pulled Down The Sky’ from the forthcoming debut album Teigr to be released in April, is both charming and witty. Griffiths describes the long player as ‘a collection of songs written in my bedroom between the ages of 16 and 19, high on lapsang souchong tea and Jaffa cakes’ and will be performing songs from it at the Wales Goes Pop Festival in March, along with other dates.
Read our Introducing Y Dail interview from 2021 here. (Cath Holland)
