Apologies for the small break so soon after the Christmas gap in proceedings. The bloody New Music Editor fucked off to India. What an inconsiderate twat. But I’m back now, so normal service is being resumed.
Go to India though, I highly recommend it. Goa is very nice, especially this time of year. I’m not being paid by the Indian Tourist Board. Just being friendly. Food is excellent. If you like curry that is. Spicy curry. If not, maybe give it a swerve.
Anyway, here’s some wicked tunes. I’ve not heard these yet. Only got off a plane last night. Give me a chance. Christ. Enjoy though. Namaste!!
SUMAC and Moor Mother – Hard Truth
Why we love it: because in our otherwise very busy lives, listening to ‘Hard Truth’ is not going to take up too much time. 110 seconds to be precise. But it will be time well spent. It is the latest piece to be taken from The Film, a collaborative album from the metal monsters SUMAC and the musician and poet Moor Mother which is due out on 25th April via Thrill Jockey.
‘Hard Truth’ is a dark, foreboding swell of distorted electronic noise over which the distant voice of Candice Hoyes floats.
Around the time of the record’s release, SUMAC and Moor Mother will be premiering their collaborative performances in Berlin and at Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands. SUMAC will also be heading out on a European tour this Spring with special guests, Japan’s ENDON, while Moor Mother will be playing select European dates with Lonnie Holley in May. (Simon Godley)
Grandma’s House – From The Gods
Why we love it: Bristol based Grandmas House are back with their electrifying new single, ‘From The Gods’. The single comes ahead of their new EP, Anything For You set for release on 11 April. Known for their raw energy, powerful vocals, and gripping instrumentals, ‘From The Gods’ is an angry, powerful break−up song about being made to feel inferior, holding your tongue out of fear of judgment and suddenly feeling disconnected from someone, like they’re slipping away. Now a 4-piece Grandma’s House share a track which blends gloriously raw vocals, blistering riffs and wild drums. The snarling vocal delivery is at times deadpan and at others full of disdain, spitting out the lyrics. The instrumentation appears to blend together effortlessly, the crashing drums holding everything together. Welcome back Grandmas House. Looking forward to hearing what’s next. (Julia Mason)
Sally Shapiro – The Other Days
Why we love it: because everyone loves a little bit of mystery in their lives. And the Swedish duo Sally Shapiro are here to provide you with it. The musical project is that of producer Johan Agebjörn and an anonymous singer who goes under the name of Sally Shapiro and they have just announced a new album, Ready to Live a Lie – out on Italians Do It Better on May 30th – and shared a new song, ‘The Other Days’ from it.
Accompanied by a suitably nostalgic video that harks back to a bygone era, ‘The Other Days’ also steps back in time to the early part of this millennium and the abiding memory of dream pop. But rather than repay some debt to that time, Sally Shapiro transports this sound to the present day with a delightfully forward-facing raft of irresistible electronic pop. (Simon Godley)
Pynch – The Supermarket
Why we love it: London based Pynch return with new single ’The Supermarket’, their first new music since 2023. It opens with bobbing beats which quickly head into a wistful lo-fi desire for calm within turmoil. It’s an indie gem, an introspective expression of hope for a more straightforward way of being. There are times when stability and a sense of being “normal” are all we want, especially if life has been tumultuous. ‘The Supermarket’is an intensely personal track but has a lightness of touch which brings with it a sense of hope and moving forward. Those bobbing beats never let up and indeed by the end add to the uplifting feeling, further heightened by the final lyrics: “I don’t want to feel strange anymore.”
Speaking on the new single, vocalist and guitarist Spencer Enock shares:“‘The Supermarket’ is sort of about craving normality and coming out the other side of a chaotic year. I guess it’s a hangover song about choosing life. It’s been one of our favourites since I first sent an acoustic voicenote of it over to the guys so we’re really excited for it to be out!” (Julia Mason)
rat bag – juliet & juliet
Why we love it: because ratbag is going places. Auckland’s Sophie Brown is ratbag and on the evidence of her latest single ‘juliet & juliet’ alone it is little wonder that those esteemed organs the NME and Rolling Stone have recently named her as one to watch for 2025.
‘juliet & juliet’ is ratbag’s latest single and alongside the earlier ‘look what you’re doing to me’ it is taken from the New Zealander’s forthcoming new project. A suitably strange love song, it is as bitter as it is sweet and you need to get it in your ears right now.
Speaking about the track, ratbag says: “‘juliet & juliet’is about that feeling you get when you’re with your partner in crime. romantic or not, they’re that one person who just gets you and can make any night better by just existing. think of it as a tribute to all the Juliets out there.”
The track has already been performed live during ratbag’s recent Australian tour dates supporting Magdalena Bay on their Imaginal Mystery Tour. Following headline shows across Australia and New Zealand last year, she is set to perform at Iceland Airwaves festival in Reykjavík. (Simon Godley)
BOLD LOVE – Talking and Drifting
Why we love it: because BOLD LOVE‘s ‘Talking and Drifting ‘is a glistening slice of indie-electro bliss. The Fast-rising Dublin outfit BOLD LOVE have built on their string of standout alt-rock singles last year taking their sonic palette to new heights. Twinkling riffs and syncopated rhythms dance beneath lush, sweeping harmonies and buoyant soul-bearing lyrics, capturing the sonic synergy of love.
On the new single, lead vocalist Cian Ó’Maonlaí said: “I was trying to give a glimpse into love’s first night—the excitement, nerves, and energy. It’s an energy that soars and heals. Sometimes there is no need to touch, just talking through the night is enough. It makes you feel like someone else, someone better. This is a love song.”
BOLD LOVE have already built a formidable following in Ireland under their former, name Big Love. They were tipped by Hot Press (Hot for 2024), Whelan’s Ones To Watch, and RTE 2fm’s Rising list for 2025 with only two singles under their belts. Now, under their new moniker, BOLD LOVE are ready to take 2025 by storm, with their debut body of work arriving later this spring and tastemaker festival slots already confirmed, including The Great Escape, All Together Now and Forbidden Fruit Festival Catch them while you can! (Carmel Walsh)
About Bunny – Bad Fit
Why we love it: About Bunny are a London based four-piece indie rock band with Jemma McKenzie-Brown on vocals, Alex Malseed on bass, Karl Hopkin on guitar and Amanda Dal on drums. Their recent single ‘Bad Fit’ bounds in on a Pixies style bass line, and scything riffing that reminds one of Nirvana, but its the vocals of McKenzie Brown that make About Bunny stand out from the pack. Riven with attitude and frantic delivery that bounces all around the room, is equal parts Bikini Kill and Elastica, that kisses off men who think she is too much or a “bad fit” to date. Brimming with spite, tunefulness and a fuck you attitude it’s a fantastic introduction to About Bunny! They say they “create an intoxicating hook laden riot, that refuses to be quiet or go down without a fight.” (Bill Cummings)
La Sécurité – Detour
Why we love it: Montreal-based art punk collective La Sécurité‘s recent single ‘Detour’ was a joint release between Bella Union and home label Mothland. Taking up the baton from their last album Stay Safe! , ‘Detour‘ is a fantastic journey, a tightly wound spring that skitters with motorik beats, bounding bass lines, hand claps, lazer focussed hooks, winding guitar licks, all manner of quirky toe tapping instrumentals and playful vocals that two step across the notes, its unique and fun with echoes of Talking Heads, CSS and early B52’s It could easily fill a dance floor, take a delightful detour with La Sécurité!
Lead singer Éliane Viens-Synnott says, “We recorded the song with an old friend of mine Renny Wilson. It was refreshing to watch him work on his instincts, trying to keep takes and tones as natural as possible, keeping everything open-ended to see where it could lead us. And since we know each other so well, it felt like he already knew what our music should sound like.” (Bill Cummings)
Midding – Clem’s Crime
Why we love it: Tough Love recently released the debut EP Nowhere Near Today from massively promising Cardiff-based five-piece Midding. It shows how they have grown as a group utilising home recording techniques, their new EP shows a real evolution, skirting the edges of garage rock, psych, lo-fi and shoegaze. They also made use of a studio facility based in a disused shopping centre basement that was made available through SHIFT, a local artist collective connected to the band. The track ‘Clem’s Crime’ is awesome, it sounds lo-fi, it sounds gnarly and it sounds pissed off. These are all good things, underpinned by a stark drum machine, it allows them freedom to splatter the canvas with squalling guitar fuzz, and plaintive vocals. It exists somewhere between the fuzz box assaults of early Jesus and Mary Chain and the sonic experiments, floaty vocals and widescreen guitars of Spaceman 3. Highly promising
The idea for the band was originally conceived by Cardiff singer-guitarist Joe Woodward whilst writing and recording songs in his kitchen on a 4-track recorder, and over time eventually found help from like-minded friends, Elliot Roberts and Cam Wheeler. The three of them would spend their nights experimenting with cassette recording with the admirable if not challenging aim to recreate the symphonic sounds of Phil Spector on a DIY budget. With growing confidence and having amassed a small catalogue of songs, a few aborted attempts were made to get a live band together before they found help from a second guitarist, Eli Allison, who had recently relocated from Cornwall. As necessity would dictate, the first shows as a quartet made use of a drum machine, but the ideal formation for the band wasn’t truly complete until meeting Nia Abraham, whose live drumming would add a more physical quality to the band’s sound. (Bill Cummings)
Greta Isaac – I’m sad and I’m angry and I’m scared that you hate me
Why we love it: Greta Isaac (she/them) recently released their excellent new EP ‘Productive Pain’. Created to be listened to in one sitting, the EP explores the complex emotions behind love, identity and heartbreak, pondering the unanswered questions, the pursuit for truth and all the poetry that lies in between. The track ‘I’m sad and I’m angry and I’m scared that you hate me‘ is one of the stand outs from raw and haunting, it shivers through twinkling keyboard notes, stomping through clusters of sharp diamonds, into a fantastically hollered catharsis of a crescendo that rushes in like a bolt of realisation. Isaac shows their sheer range as a songwriter, Isaac’s inventive vision and ability to access emotional nuance and brutal introspection that makes their confessional and inventive songwriting stand out and constantly keep you on your toes.
Greta speaks on ‘Productive Pain’.“I wrote this in a time where I was feeling emotionally overwhelmed, and needed an outlet to untangle the knots that had formed in my heart and head up until then. Every song was written in direct alignment with every current of the new direction that my life was heading in, and the thread had slowly started to unravel the more I understood my experience. I hope this work encourages anyone who listens to feel deeply, unashamedly, to always be in dialogue with yourself and to see your emotional depth as the rich, expansive, rare trait it is”.
A multi-faceted, genre bending artist from Wales, Greta Isaac encompasses the broad spectrum of what it means to be a woman through their music. Having been surrounded by music their entire life, she continues to generate impactful work that is equal parts emotional, funny, fearful, messy and beautiful; carefully holding the complexity of their lived experience at the centre of it all, where there’s space for multitudes to exist. (Bill Cummings)
