Welcome to our latest selection of new sounds! Follow our playlist here, with more new tracks added every week.
Bambara – Birds
Why we love it: Brooklyn based Bambara are back with new single ‘Birds’ the second from their forthcoming mini LP Love On My Mind set for release on 25 February on Wharf Cat Records. ‘Birds’ is a brooding atmospheric track. William Brookshires’ bass gives the ominous feeling as if on the edge of danger, and lead singer Reid Bateh’s vocals are full of emotion and passion. The lyrics follow a couple but touch on the darker side of the human condition:
“And the boney kid who broke my nose,
Was glad to pose
Biting on a Bodega rose”
Bambara are completed by Reid’s brother Blaze on drums. Together they have an extraordinary ability to convey a feeling, their music is almost cinematic in its depth. Bambara leave the listener with such stark imagery and ‘Birds’ is no exception as Reid explains:
“’Birds’ compresses the events of many months into three and a half minutes. A time when the couple we follow throughout the record are growing closer together. On the train, they fall in and out of sleep, reliving shared moments, when a childhood memory bubbles up to the surface of the protagonist’s mind, revealing his complex relationship to the idea of love.”
Bambara have also confirmed their 2022 UK headline dates, rearranged a couple of times. In addition they have upcoming EU shows with IDLES. Like I said, Bambara are back. (Julia Mason)
Eades – Delusion Spree
Why we love it: ‘Reno’ by Leeds quintet Eades was one of my standout tracks in 2021, and they have now released new single ‘Delusion Spree’, the title track from their debut album out digitally on 4th March and physically on 6th May via Heist or Hit.
The distinct vocals, reverbing guitars and pounding drums dominate here to produce a track perfect for the dancefloor. Eades work ethic has seen them garner a growing fanbase and even though ‘Delusion Spree’ has a slightly gentler groove it is still very much Eades. This band stands out in the current wonderfully crowded place of quality young bands as the vocals are sung not shouted or spoken. Musically it’s the funky yet scratchy guitars alongwith the bass, synths and drums combination that Eades employ that gives them a distinctive sound. Lyrically ‘Delusion Spree’ is about self-reflection and that battle between our public and private selves which can feel particularly conflicting in our formative years.
Eades expand on the inspiration behind the song:
“’Delusion Spree’ was a very special song for the band when writing the album. Finishing the song felt like a turning point when we finally knew how we wanted the album to sound, and the direction we were headed in lyrically and sonically. It kind of opened the floodgates for the rest of the tunes!
Thematically it summed up the disillusionment and confusion we all felt in our early twenties, trying to build a life for ourselves whilst the world around us seemed to be falling apart. Two years on I think we all feel quite differently towards the world and we’ve learnt to be a lot more positive as our hard work over the last couple years has started to pay off. Although at the time I think it’s safe to say we were all feeling pretty lost.”
Live Eades are the real deal and with the announcement of a headline tour through the UK in April, I’m delighted to say I’ll see you there…… (Julia Mason)
Peaness – How I’m Feeling
Why we love it: Chester indie-pop trio Peaness have released ‘How I’m Feeling’ the second single to be taken from their forthcoming debut album World Full of Worry which is set for release on 6 May through the band’s own label, Totally Snick Records. Peaness are a band full of charm, with glorious harmonies and indie pop to make you smile, but do not be fooled. As you may perhaps suspect given the bands name if you listen closely their music is firmly placed in reality. ‘How I’m Feeling’ opens with crystal clear vocal and precise sharp guitars before packing an extra punch in the chorus. But then an unexpected turn as another shift in pace underline the fact that Peaness do not play by the rules.
Lyrically rebellion against the ordinary and dissatisfaction with some aspects of life are the themes. Peaness are reminding us that change is possible:
“We gotta take a risk,
We’ll burn our uniforms
Break the ordinary
Isobars”
Commenting on the track, the band said: “In an unfulfilling job? Need a shake up with something in your life or you’ll go mad? Well, that’s ‘How I’m Feeling’ and it can’t be ignored anymore! Amongst self-loathing and melancholy there are sparks of determination and a belief that you deserve more. I hope it works out.”
If this is a taste of what’s to come on their debut album then I’m in. (Julia Mason)
Pillow Queens – Be By Your Side
Why we love it: Dublin-based band Pillow Queens have announced their new single ‘Be By Your Side’, the first from their second album Leave the Light On, which is set for release on 1st April on Royal Mountain Records. Pillow Queens tug at the very core of your being with their expansive sound and glorious vocals. ‘Be By Your Side’ has a constant beat throughout and yet still soars. It grows in passion as it progresses, carrying you along with it. Pillow Queens’ vocal harmony is simply glorious and the electric guitar solos add an additional layer of emotion. Its reverb at the end is simply divine.
“This song is about the mechanisms that are used to hide your vulnerabilities and carry on,” explains singer/bassist Pamela Connolly. “But also, the feeling of being about to burst and how cathartic it could be to allow yourself to let your emotions out and feel the world around you. This was one of the first songs we finished on the album as it was the quickest to become fully realized by all of us.”
The fact that Pillow Queens state this was one of the first songs they finished on the album surely demonstrates their talent. At almost 5minutes it ebbs and flows with varying parts quiet and loud, and yet the whole is another joy from this band who I have no doubt are going to continue to build on the success of their debut album into 2022. (Julia Mason)
English Teacher – A55
Why we love it: it’s an instant ruddy classic. The intro repetitive riff cycles around your lug holes like elixir, but then strings and synths that sounds like a countdown for a space rocket about to take off takes over, but they drag you back into the calm but slightly menacing harmony dripping verse for it all to start again, and then again, taking you to breaking point before it explodes into life. Never mind the A55 it’s more like the Autobahn, roaring like a super car approaching maximum speed. Absolutely stunning. It could go on for ten minutes and it’d be too short. (Jim Auton)
Good Looks – Almost Automatic
Why we love it: Keeled Scales is an independent record label based in Austin, Texas who can list amongst its artists such firm God Is In The TV favourites as Renée Reed, Karima Walker, and Buck Meek and it sounds like they have once again struck gold with their latest signing, Good Looks.
Born and raised in small towns in the Lone Star state, the members of Good Looks met and began playing together in Austin and are now about to unleash their debut album upon the world. Recorded and produced by Dan Duszynski, the album is called Bummer Year – due out on 8th April 2022 on Keeled Scales – and its opening track is ‘Almost Automatic’ and do you know something, it is absolutely superb.
Tyler Jordan of Good Looks explains that the song is about “two intelligent decent human beings who haven’t put it all together just yet. Oblivious trauma bond lil cuties, caught up in playing out their pasts in the present moment. Wanting to be wanted, wanting someone that’s committed to someone else, wanting someone that you can’t have.”
What Tyler Jordan doesn’t tell us, though – probably because he is far too self-effacing to do so – is that with ‘Almost Automatic’ Good Looks have created an emotionally eloquent epic that just soars from the get-go before eventually disappearing into a vortex of sound care of a preposterously insane guitar solo that conjures up fond memories of former Big Star man Chris Bell’s delicious break in the middle of ‘I Am The Cosmos.’ (Simon Godley)
You can pre-order Bummer Year HERE
Georgia Maria – An Indian Summer
Why we love it: Singer-songwriter Georgia Maria’s Facebook page has candidly stated that her blistering latest single ‘An Indian Summer’ is all about “The defiance of clinging to star-crossed love, despite knowing that it’s hopeless.” Propelled by both insouciance and heavy heartedness. This follows October’s EP, Only One Another has a ‘last roll of the dice’ cinematic production courtesy of producer Dax Liniere. The A-list late-’80s atmospherics of Daniel Lanois undeniably spring to mind, evoking a redemptive ‘of the moment’ acceleration across an arid plain. (Humphrey Fordham)