I have nothing funny to say today. Some of you might say “You never have anything funny to say” but that’s just cruel. Why say something like that? That’s really hurtful. It’s ok, it’s ok. I’m fine.
Bumper edition of new tracks this week. Positively overflowing with them. Tracks of the Week. There’s something new, something old, something borrowed (probably, there’s only so many notes) and something blue (that Ella Fitzgerald was a proper potty mouth).
Have a drink, have a dive, go and see what you can find.
Parastatic – Tear It Down (feat. Late Girl)
Why we love it: because Brutalism continues to inspire. This architectural style of building design developed in the United Kingdom in the ‘50s not only lends its name to the epic drama The Brutalist which has recently earned 10 Oscar nominations, but it also provides the concept behind Parastatic’s next album. Concrete Reborn will be out on 21st February and Parastatic have just unveiled the second single to be be taken from it.
Just like Brutalism itself, ‘Tear It Down’ refuses to compromise. It exudes confidence, vigour, and a strange eloquent beauty through its sheer sonic force. Joined by fellow Newcastle artist Late Girl, Parastatic bring us a stirring voice of dissent against the continuing loss of these buildings.
Parastatic said: “We saw the climax of this song representing the fury that some people had towards Brutalist buildings finally coming to a conclusion as buildings are demolished, detonated and deconstructed. As the song plays from its calm beginnings we hear the fervour of protest and anger rise in Late Girl’s spoken word delivery.” (Simon Godley)
DARKSIDE – Are You Tired? (Keep on Singing)
Why we love it: because DARKSIDE are back. In March, the trio – Nicolás Jaar, Dave Harrington, and new member Tlacael Esparza – will begin their first North American tour in 11 years.
Before that, though, they will release their third album, Nothing. Out February 28th on Matador Records, the track ‘Are You Tired? (Keep on Singing)’ heralds its arrival. Clocking in at nearly seven minutes long, it is another piece of sonic wonder from the New York City experimentalists. Here they splice together three mysterious stretches of ambient, electronic, and West Coast acid-country music into one seamless movement. (Simon Godley)
Ella Fitzgerald – Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love)
Why we love it: because the legend lives on. She may have passed in 1996 but the legacy of Ella Fitzgerald and her music still endures. If in any doubt, take a listen to this.
Recently discovered in the private tape collection of Verve Records founder Norman Granz, the never-before-released album, The Moment of Truth: Ella At The Coliseum – recorded at the Oakland Coliseum, California in 1967 and featuring Ella Fitzgerald, her trio of Jimmy Jones, Bob Cranshaw, and Sam Woodyard, and members of The Duke Ellington Orchestra – will be out on February 28th this year via Verve Records.
The second single to appear from the album is ‘Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love).’ Backed by these stellar musicians the First Lady of Song takes this old Cole Porter tune from the 1928 Broadway show Paris and further redefines this timeless classic. With Ella’s remarkable, incomparable voice and its pure tone, perfect pitch, and her endless capacity for improvisation, the song positively swings. This is as close to perfection in concert as one can possibly get. (Simon Godley)
Guiltless – One Is Two
Why we love it: because the Guiltless eagle has landed. This new noise rock bird of prey – comprising Billy Graves (Generation Of Vipers, A Storm Of Light) on drums, Dan Hawkins (A Storm Of Light) on guitar and noise, Sacha Dunable (Intronaut) on bass, and Josh Graham (A Storm Of Light, Battle Of Mice, Neurosis’ former visual artist) on guitar, vocals, and noise – will bring us their debut album Teeth To Sky on 7th March via Neurot Revordings. Ahead of its release, though, Guiltless share ‘One Is Two’ from that record.
And as the sum of its constituent parts might have suggested beforehand, the end product is as relentless as it is remorseless. ‘One Is Two’ is a huge tectonic plate of industrial-strength tumult that slowly shifts before absorbing itself into our bloodstream.
By way of explanation Josh Graham says: “This was the first song to come together on Teeth To Sky. Experimenting with an abstracted, head-on song structure and more seasick guitar bends (as heard on the Thorns EP) we are in a sense channeling our love for Meshuggah, played our more Kiss It Goodbye lo-fi/less-technical approach. The lyrics discuss the duality of humanity as a species, and how, while some of us are good, we are still part of the human assault on our planet. It’s not meant to deter the idea of fighting for environmental change, as much as it acknowledges that every single person on earth is using natural resources, and contributing, either directly or indirectly, to climate change. The lyrics themselves also work in duality – a sort of self-recognised defect merging with the acceptance of both our role and the consequences that are sneaking up all around us.” (Simon Godley)
DOPE LEMON- Electric Greeen Lambo
Why we love it: Because it’s like time hopping into a velvet, smoky neon-lit world. Funky, widescreen, smooth and irresistibly cool, ‘Electric Green Lambo’ is the perfect introduction to DOPE LEMON‘s hotly anticipated fifth album ‘Golden Wolf‘ out in May. Paired with soulful lyrics and sophisticated production, the track embodies the bold sonic evolution listeners can expect from the full album. Each new release from DOPE LEMON draws fans deeper into Angus Stone’s immersive world, where music becomes a gateway to another realm. It’s a real trip.
DOPE LEMON said, ‘Electric Green Lambo’ is like stepping into a lucid dream — part reckless adventure, part hazy nostalgia. It’s about chasing untamed energy, getting lost in neon and smoke, and breaking free from what holds you back. There’s this tension between wild freedom and the pull of something darker. It’s raw, dripping with mood, and, like the ride itself, unapologetically slick. Buckle up.” DOPE LEMON’s Golden Wolf album, will be available everywhere on 9 May 2025 via BMG. Pre-save/ order here.(Carmel Walsh)
Chloe Slater – Sucker
Chloe Slater has just released her fantastic new EP ‘Love Me Please’. It follows a string of awesome singles from the Manchester based artist, blending her anthemic widescreen indie rock sound with a searing honesty that is dripping in knowing irony, touching on feminism, satirising social influencers and taking apart inequality. Making her debut with ‘You Can’t Put A Price On Fun’ last year, Chloe has been making a real mark in the last twelve months, and now shares her brand new EP.
‘Sucker‘ is an anthem that skewers social media influencers, beauty expectations placed upon young women, superficial TikTokers, and the pointless divisiveness of social media (“why try to reason with the people that I just resent?” ), but also calls out the inequality (“how does it feel to know your millions could feed a ton?”) and “American dream” that feels like a fallacy, especially under Trump 2.0 administration.
It’s punchy, addictive, and insatiable as she sails into a kick-ass chorus sea sawing with fuzzy guitar riffing, thudding bass lines and bounding drums, her vocals are hooky and yet splattered with fantastically socially aware lines coacted in the caustic wit and self-awareness-of-a generation that has been left behind. With hints of Wolf Alice, the likes of Beach Bunny, it’s a breathless assault and utterly fantastic, some have called Wet Leg conscious, but Chloe Slater is a star in the making on a whole other level, with depths you can uncover with each listen.
Chloe Slater calls the EP “amped-up indie music, all centred around love and life in the 21st century…”
“The first three singles explore themes like influencer culture, feminism, and social class, while songs like ‘We’re Not the Same’ and ‘Imposter’ reveal a more personal side to my music—one I haven’t shared as much before.
I feel like my sound, as well as my confidence in my own opinions and interests as a young woman, has really grown throughout this project. I’ve poured my heart into every song, and seeing how my audience has grown with me has been incredible. The response to the releases so far has never ceased to amaze me!” (Bill Cummings)
Selma French – Little Sisters and Friends
Norwegian singer-songwriter, Selma French‘s gorgeous new single ‘Little Sisters and Friends‘, is out now on hip Oslo indie, Hype City. It’s warm open window to her upcoming, second album, No Sign Of Rotten Leaves, which arrives with us in April.
With the longing meditative quality and slowly enveloping textures ‘Little Sisters and Friends’ collapses into your arms, as elegant strums and wandering bass lines, are tiptoed through by French’s glorious vocal tone that transfixes, gliding into an iridescent falsetto effortlessly, peeling back the petals on each note it evokes warm and comforting feelings of empathy for siblings and friends. Sublime, it’s slowly unfolding and swelling: a majestic composition, sewn with sighing violins and a melodic heft that slowly unfurls echoing the wonderous subtle sounds of Cate Le Bon, the emotional resonance of Mazzy Star or Low. Exquisite.
French’s 2025 reemergence follows last autumn’s quietly released single, I Think I Knew. As uneasily compared to similarly existence-affirming Norwegian artists, Susanne Sundfør and Jenny Hval, as to holders of other passports, including This Is The Kit, French’s collage of ideas form as many pools of deft simplicity as deep lakes of rewarding complexity.
Committed to her UK audiences, French was last seen here in 2024, completing a 16-date UK Tour with former Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, singer and songwriter, Euros Childs, and she will be touring again soon. (Bill Cummings)
Radio Anorak – Sword of Moses
Why we love it: A lucid dream of guitar and drum orchestrated and conducted by the spidery arms of foil-hat wearing rebels. A sonic decoupage of grifting bass, beat poetry and espresso shot-downing guitar licks. Nothing makes sense, it’s not supposed to, but it sure sounds like something that ought to.
Brighton’s underground sometimes coughs up little obscurities like Radio Anorak. We know very little about them, other than the song’s architects are vocalist/poetry/diatribe purveyor Hugo Winder-Lind, and percussion/other sounds provided and produced by Toma Sapir-Stevenson. Live, when joined by members of other city legends Ideal Living and the New Eves, this band are absolute chaos incarnate and so much fun. ‘Sword of Moses’ is their first adventure and we’re here for it. We also hear that there’s an album somewhere out there in the ether, ready to be received by antennae and translated for human ears. (Trev Elkin)
Alba Fury – This Is Why
Why we love it: Alba Fury, the Scottish four-piece alt-indie/post-punk band have released their new single ‘This Is Why’. It’s an edgy track, referencing the deep-seated anxiety we can feel about sharing our true feelings and emotions. The opening guitar riff creates twitchy tension and initially the tone is reflective. However ‘This Is Why’ quickly builds, expressing frustration, acknowledging how bottling up our feelings can lead to issues later. The pounding tom-heavy drums and the continuous guitar never letting go of the tension create an atmospheric backdrop to the vocals delivered in Scottish brogue.
In keeping with the band’s DIY ethos, the single was produced largely by the band themselves. It was recorded in part, in Aberdeen, with billboard-charting producer Ryan (RYZY) MacKay tracking the drums and bass guitar. The guitar and vocals were recorded by the band in Edinburgh, with mixing and post-production handled by the band’s bass player (and songwriter-producer), Jamie Thomson who shared the following on the track:
“‘This is Why’ is a song about acknowledging when you need help with emotional issues, whatever they may be. It’s about the anxiety that stems from our fear of being judged, rejected, or hurt as a result of revealing personal weaknesses or insecurities. Ultimately though, it’s a hopeful song about how facing vulnerability can lead to self-awareness and emotional resilience.” (Julia Mason)
Cathedrale – South Life
Why we love it: French post-punk quartet Cathedrale shares the third single ‘South Life’ taken from Poison their fifth album, set to be released on 14 February via French indie labels Howlin’ Banana Records and Regarts. ‘South Life’ was recorded live at Chez Nini Studio in Brussels with producer Mathieu Versini. The song portrays the daily struggles of life on the Toulouse ring road. A universal theme if ever there was one. Lyrically, it captures the exasperation of drivers trapped in relentless traffic jams and the vocals are appropriately shouty and forthright. The instrumentation complements the theme, the opening electronic twitch quickly shifting into a raw energy reflecting the frustration. Lyrically Cathedrale are also poking fun at drivers questionable driving skills, lightening the mood perhaps but the underlying message is still clear: the yearning to escape the stress of city life exists but moving too far away risk bringing boredom or a sense of disconnection.
Cathedrale further expand on the background to ‘South Life’:
“We met up every week to work on our album Poison. There wasn’t much of a plan—some weeks, we’d just end up doing nothing, having a drink. Other times, we’d dive into writing lyrics. Sometimes it started with a riff or just a vibe we wanted to explore. For ‘South Life’, though, Jules (guitar/vocals) showed up completely wound up. He’d just witnessed total chaos on the Toulouse ring road and in the city—cars were going crazy that day! He was brimming with anger, and that energy is what inspired the song.’ (Julia Mason)
