I’m not going to lie, dear reader, but I’m a bit broken. We walked flippin miles round Victorious this weekend. It was a wet one at times. It was windy. We’re convalescing on comfy chairs and tea and toast. Plus these beautiful ditties. Business as usual from tomorrow. Have a good BHM. I’m off for a kip.
Abstract Crimewave – Flyga Fram (with Dungen)
Why we love it: because what’s in a name? They used to be called Smile, but are now known as Abstract Crimewave. Their line-up and pedigree, though, remain exactly the same. Abstract Crimewave are Joakim Åhlund and Björn Yttling. Joakim was in Teddybears, Caesars and Les Big Byrd. And he has written for and produced the likes of Robyn, Charli XCX and Giorgio Moroder. Björn is from the band, Peter Björn and John, and has similar credentials from working with Lykke Li, Primal Scream and Neko Case.
And as ‘Flyga Fram’ firmly attests, regardless of their name change there has been absolutely no drop-off in the quality and class of the music that the two men create. ‘Flyga Fram’ is the second single to be taken from the band’s forthcoming new album The Longest Night which is due out 4th October via Chimp Limbs. The song features their fellow countryman Dungen from the Swedish rock band of that name. As Joakim Åhlund explains:
“When we started writing ‘Flyga Fram,’ we both pretty much instantly had Gustav (Dungen) in mind for the track. Even just the main melody at its core had this sort of hippie, 70s vibe to it, which is something Dungen are obviously masters at. Once he was quite literally on board, we got him to record his vocals and flute parts from a boat that he was on at the time, on vacation just off the coast of Croatia. I myself was on a tiny island in Italy, and my wife and I actually recorded the backing vocals there, while Björn was back in the studio in Stockholm working on the drums with Nils from Amason. I think that makes it a Europop tune, right?”
‘Flyga Fram’ may well gently lope along with all the peaceful intent of travelling to Yasgur’s Farm in August ’69, yet it’s subtle movement creates a perfect illusion of life in the present day. (Simon Godley)
The Hard Quartet – Rio’s Song
Why we love it: because The Hard Quartet confirm that so-called supergroups did not merely exist in the 1970s. The Hard Quartet officially came into being on the 30th of July this year and comprises the stellar talents of Emmett Kelly (The Cairo Gang / The Double), Stephen Malkmus (Pavement / the Jicks), Matt Sweeney (Chavez / Superwolf), and Jim White (Dirty Three / Xylouris White).
The band’s first single ‘Earth Hater’ was released on that very same date and now they have unveiled its follow-up ‘Rio’s Song’ which comes complete with a video that pays playful tribute to the one that accompanied ‘Waiting On A Friend’ with Kelly and Malkmus reprising the roles of Jagger and Richards.
“The “Rio’s Song” video is The Hard Quartet’s homage to street rock in the hot afternoon & clowning around with lifer friends in downtown New York City. Director Jared Sherbert shot it guerrilla style on St Mark’s Place and in The International Bar on July 15 2024. It features local NYC artists, musicians, activists, skaters and icons who are dear to the band.” :The Hard Quartet.
‘Rio’s Song’ also shares some of those country-honk ballad elements of that Rolling Stones’ single from 1981 as it just shuffles along decadently with such unfettered rock’n’roll insouciance. (Simon Godley)
Spielmann – Just Like Everyone Else
Why we love it: because Spielmann may well have one of those glorious 80’s-infused voices – a bit like some lower octave Billy Mackenzie of The Associates – and a new single entitled ‘Just Like Everyone Else’, but I can assure you that he is anything but.
Ben Lewis, the man behind Spielmann, has returned to his debut EP Fifteen Minutes With Spielmann, hooked himself up with a full band and gone on to record three of the EP’s four tracks as live sessions.
Speaking about the live sessions, Ben Lewis says, “It’s amazing to hear these songs in this context. So far it’s been me in my attic recording and then playing live shows on my own, running around like a madman to try keep people entertained, with the band there’s now 5 of us trying to keep people entertained, and the songs sound like the biggest, baddest versions of themselves. We can’t wait to get out and play it and thought releasing the sessions into the wild was the perfect way to get people as excited as we are.”
‘Just Like Everyone Else’ comes suitably armed with Spielmann’s huge voice and customary steepling choruses but with even more oomph and pizzaz. As he modestly observes, he is just a product of his generation but also one who has now come up with the feelgood hit of the summer. (Simon Godley)
Odlaw – Friends Lose Friends
Why we love it: Boorloo/Perth’s indie-folk-punk collective Odlaw cut straight to the point on their latest single, ‘Friends Lose Friends’. Taken from the upcoming album Mi(l)d Life Crisis, the title should be a sufficient content warning, but it doesn’t prepare you for the headlong dive into vulnerability. Blending midwestern emo’s introspective vibe with their own unfiltered energy, the track deals with heavy themes of loss, grief, and the irreplaceable ties that bind us. Frontman Mark Neal channels genuine pain into his lyrics, recounting a night spent with bandmates where shared sorrow became a strange kind of solace.
The result is a song that’s as chaotic as it is cathartic, but what makes ‘Friends Lose Friends’ so compelling is its dual nature: deeply personal yet universally resonant. It’s clear that as it builds up to its teary, singalong conclusion, this is not just another “emo song about grief”; it’s a candid reminder that life’s ups and downs are best faced together, that leaning on each other during tough times is not just okay—it’s necessary. The honesty in this song, its warmth and offer of a comforting hand reminds us loss is part of the human experience, and no one should bear it alone. (Trev Elkin)
The Bug – Buried (Your Life Is Short)
Why we love it: because the tingles you feel listening to this could very well be your spine separating from your body. Kevin Richard Martin, under his alias The Bug, drops his first depth charge for new label Relapse Records with ‘Buried (Your Life is Short)’, one of two pre-release tracks from his forthcoming double album Machine, out October 4th. ‘Buried’ is intense, unfiltered, and unapologetically powerful. It hits hard with a relentless mechanical riff grinding against a pounding beat that’s built to obliterate dancefloors. You can feel its ribbed edges eviscerating the sides as it tears through the mix.
Martin is a master of texture and drone, with The Bug being an outlet for the darker, swarf-heaving sounds in his brain. On Machine, Martin assembles selected tracks from previous self-released EPs, his “floor weapons”, into a singular, devastating experience. ‘Buried’ is the perfect introduction to an album that promises a heavy, futuristic blend of dub and industrial doom, with bottomless basslines that will challenge your speakers (and your sanity). (Trev Elkin)
HANNAHBELLA – Skin
HANNAHBELLA‘s new single ‘Skin’ is a riot of intimate and inventive future pop, riven with a invigorating blend of glitchy hyper-pop, techno elements, grime and alt-rock. Sounding like the teasing alure of Charli XCX hot stepping with the electro clash of Peaches. Recorded and mixed alongside acclaimed producer Jessica Richardson (WhenTheBeatIsBad), the melodies bounce off the wall, cutting between close up and in focus to elusive, the hooky melodies cut up against grinding guitars, electronic bass drops and off-kilter beats, encapsulating the feeling of desire it constantly keeps you off guard, it’s a promising single you won’t be able to resist.
Speaking about the track Cork artist HANNAHBELLA shares: “I wanted to create a haunting love song but ultimately I wanted it to be hot and sharp. I loved the idea of two spirits/souls being infatuated or intertwined with one another so I ran with that in mind when writing the lyrics.
Sonically, Jess (WhenTheBeatIsBad) and I wanted to keep in line with this theme so we kept it minimal yet making what we had huge so when that fierce bass line was born we were obsessed.” (Bill Cummings)
Aderyn – Hangxiety
Aderyn returns with a visceral and dizzying new single ‘Hangxiety’, out today that further cements the different faces to her work. Channelling 90’s riot grrrl influences such as Bikini Kill and Sleater Kinney, its a abrasive shot and a raucous journey through a wild night out. It’s the most kinetic and dischordant release from Aderyn yet, but its quite frankly brilliant.
Driving, fuzzy bass underpins the song, as squealing guitars and a tangle of twitchy drums are a messy twister game on the floor, while righteous vocals are smothered in distorted and restless anxiety as the racing thoughts spin through your head the morning after the day before. ‘Am I
wasting my life, or having the time of my life?’ She chants as the existential dread builds, the
music switch cutting between heavy groove based riffs and climaxes into a ferciously punky outro. Addictive and absolutely essential.
Aderyn says: “I wrote this song after a big night out in Bristol. I literally quit drinking
after writing this song, I was so hungover. It was very much a ‘never again’ moment.”
Aderyn won the Welsh Music Prize Triskell Award in 2022, her 2nd EP Foreverever is set for
release in late 2024. (Bill Cummings)
Ewen Henderson ft. Julie Fowlis – Cailleach Beinne Bric
Why we love it: because Scots wha hae. And ‘Cailleach Beinne Bric’ is a case in point. Scottish folk artists Ewen Henderson and Julie Fowlis combine to mesmerising effect on the new single taken from the forthcoming album Highlands which is due for release on 27th September via Cosmetic Warriors.
Created by some of Scotland’s finest folk artists, Highlnds is described as “a new traditional folk album which aims to take you on a journey deep into the Scottish Highlands.” Performed in Gaelic, and arranged by Ewen Henderson and Simon Richmond and featuring the additional vocals of the multi-award winning singer, Julie Fowlis, ‘Cailleach Beinne Bric’ – The Old Woman of Ben Breck – is “a beautiful traditional song about Scottish folklore, a harmonic ode to the Cailleach (a supernatural being said to have shaped the landscape of the Highlands).”
‘Cailleach Beinne Bric’ is a deeply affecting tune that affords the listener a firm musical connection to that enchanting and mystical part of the world. (Simon Godley)
