Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard – ‘Love Forever’

So good they named them thrice, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard are a Cardiff foursome with a serious love and affinity for 70s rock.

The Welsh outfit strut into our lives with a sound heavily indebted to the ’70s and latest single, ‘Love Forever’ is a sumptuous slice of retro rock ‘n roll, and one that really feels like a labour of love. It is a hypnotic and gently swaggering jam with a seductive melodic allure, reverb-heavy guitar riffs, hooks you could hang your hat on and choruses that will, like those riffs, buzz around your head all day all while embracing a glam rock-esque spirit. The confidence and ambition of the arrangements and song makes ‘Love Forever’ an overwhelmingly joyous and infectious listen as they borrow from all the aforementioned bits and pieces, blend them together to create something that is fresh, fun and fuzzed-up, and importantly on the right side of familiar.

You can listen to their brand new track ‘Love Forever’ below as well as ‘Daffodil Hill’; the official song of the 2019 Homeless World Cup, taking place in Wales (July 27 to August 3), and commissioned by actor Michael Sheen.

Mat Creedon – ‘The Time Has Come’

Mat Creedon is an Australian artist from Melbourne with a penchant for dazzling, swirling synth-splashed psych-pop, or ‘Strange pop’ as he describes it himself.

Creedon’s latest single (a third in a trilogy of reworkings) ‘The Time Has Come’ sets out his stall for ‘strange pop’ as he ekes out a perfect balance with quirky and cool in an alluringly understated manner. A dazzling blend of parts Air, Beck, The Flaming Lips and Tame Impala, all wrapped up in delicious, swaggering pop package. ‘The Time Has Come’ is a colourful confection of quirky pop layered in psych brush strokes; it is transfixing, escapist and spacey odd-ball pop. Synths pulse as electronics fizz as we are moved along an alluring swagger groove washed with melody, hooks and harmonic qualities. ‘The Time Has Come’ is a joy as Creedon manages to create something on the right side of familiar.

Tune into ‘The Time Has Come’ below:

Laughed The Boy – ‘Sun’

Comprised of brothers Chris and Sean Panacci and Brennan Hrehoruk, Toronto-based indie trio Laughed The Boy have made a name for themselves in embracing and exploring a genuine love of unpretentious 90’s nostalgia.

The Canadian trio’s work to date has been marvellous and littered with easy going tunes filled with catchy melodies and fuzzy guitars; and they are back with new single ‘Sun’. Lifted from their forthcoming album Change of Scenery – follow up to their resplendent debut LP Here is Fine – that ear for melody and affection for 90s nostalgia is ever present. ‘Sun’ is a rich, heartfelt and swooning pop song, dripping with melody and adorned with lush, alluring hooks, sweeping grandiose violin and all coated in a mild coat of light fuzz. This is simply divine and all bodes rather well for the new record.

Listen to ‘Sun’ below:

New Age Healers – ‘The Souls of Lost And Found’

New Age Healers are a shoegaze foursome who wear their fuzzed-up influences on their sleeves; something patently clear from their third album Debris – released at the end of June.

Lifted from said LP is new single ‘The Souls of Lost And Found’ and it lays out everything that is wonderful about the LP (and band) in four-and-a-half minutes. A charming and melodic delight as sporadic guitars mesh with sweet harmonies, ethereal tones, rich melody, reverb, seductive rhythmic swagger and all things psychedelic. All engulfed in a mild blanket of warm fuzz and distortion, ‘The Souls of Lost And Found’ is adorned with a bright, sunburned sheen, filled with an effervescent rush and a general air of coolness, ‘The Souls of Lost And Found’ is an intoxicating piece of psych-rock. It has all been moulded into something beautiful, lulling you in and transfixing; it is warm, melodic, charming and deeply alluring. New Age Healers have figured out the deceptively simple, age-old secret to transcending influences: just write top notch songs.

Listen to ‘The Souls of Lost And Found’ below:

Joviale – ‘Taste Of The Heavens’

Joviale is a musician and songwriter from London with a flair for colourful, infectious, effervescent and soulful psych-pop.

Joviale is readying the release of her debut EP ‘Crisis’ September 6th, and has shared the vibrant breath of fresh air that is ‘Taste Of The Heavens’ as a taster. Drawing inspiration the from the Greek legend of Nar­cis­sus, it is an off-kilter confection, unconventional but utterly charming enchanting incantation as it drifts along a shuffling beat, flitting in and out of psych dreaminess with a jerky groove, bouncy beat and splashes of otherworldly oddball synth and sumptuous melodies. Joviale’s vocals are spellbinding as they weave their melodic and soulful spell. ‘Taste Of The Heavens’ is peculiar but in the best way possible; playful and intriguing, soulful and melodic, it is bright, gorgeous and intoxicating.

‘Taste Of The Heavens’ is below. Tune in now.

Safetalk – ‘I Know’

Since introducing themselves in 2017, Anglo-French trio Safetalk – comprised of two Parisian producers Hugues Tonnet and Thomas Desnoyers and Berlin-based British vocalist, David Harks – have yet to disappoint.

A slew of seductive singles – ‘Universal’, ‘Static’ & ‘Layback’ to name a few – served as a nexus to their lush electronic-pop; of cosmic vibes, inspirational lyrics and shimmering synthesis. The trio’s latest ‘I Know’ is cut from a similar exquisite cloth. It is sonic sculpture that slinks along in a slow mo fashion with some deep heavy future R N B overtures and skeletal beat coupled with a passion for surreal storytelling. Harks’ hypnotic vocal transmit a tale of digital darkness amid gloriously lush backdrop of enveloping flickers of light and shimmers of warm synth. It is a seductive slice of lush and transfixing electronic-pop; and one that will leave you all the better for making its acquaintance.

The superb ‘I Know’ is out now – tune in below:

Party Hardly – ‘Rats in the Kitchen’

Following a string of singles and last autumn’s debut EP, Leeds-based outfit Party Hardly are readying the release of their second EP Modern Strife is Snobbish.

Ahead of the new EP, primed for release before the summer is out, the quartet already shared bright, upbeat and breezy indie-pop jangle ‘The Hopskotch Man’. Now, zoning in on the July 26th release date, they have shared another cut in ‘Rats in the Kitchen’. It is much more muscular than its predecessor as they unleash a feverish onslaught of aggressive punk-laced indie, propelled by the combined rhythmic power of their exhilarating bass and drum combo. The groove is quite danceable, in a skittish kind of way as its dosed with a healthy blast of meaty and sometimes jangly guitars, jerky riffs, and topped off by rowdy and raucous vocals. ‘Rats in the Kitchen’ is a feverish onslaught of aggressive punk laced with jangly guitars and jerky riffs. Loud, aggressive and highly charged – ‘Rats in the Kitchen’ leaves nothing in the tank

Tune into ‘Rats in the Kitchen’ below, and their Blur referencing EP Modern Strife is Snobbish is out on July 26.

Adam Melchor – ‘Joyride’

Adam Melchor is a Jersey-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter with a penchant for rich, melodic and heartfelt old-fashioned pop, as evidenced by Plan on You EP, released back in March.

Melchor is back with another alluring pop song with ‘Joyride’. Dripping with melody and a lesson in letting go, ‘Joyride’ is an intoxicating single, sweet, heart-strung affair and dusted with a pang of nostalgia. Drifting, delicately, this wistful indie-pop ballad purrs with a rich melody and gentle acoustic rumination, and illuminated by the swell of a trumpet as Melchor shares his ponderous reflections. It is a warm, hazy and heart-strung song; utterly beautiful and ever so moving.

Listen to ‘Joyride’ below:

Private Agenda – ‘Ultramarine’

Private Agenda is the eclectic, eccentric electronic-pop project of Sean Phillips and Martin Aggrowe. Based between London and Berlin, the pair have honed their alluring and elegant sound culminating in 9-track LP Île de Rêve.

The pair’s debut album is an exquisite, escapist excursion to a blissful world of stunning, downtempo ambiance, and most recent single, ‘Ultramarine’ is the perfect introduction to both Private Agenda, and their album. At almost eight minutes, ‘Ultramarine’ slowly unfurls, washing over you with an ease and breeze, with each passing moment revealing itself blissfully surreal, immersive and idyllic. Synths shimmer and squelch as bass lines bubble up to the surface while the shuffling, filtered percussion trickle beneath a cascading wave of warm electronics; it is a heady mix of ethereal, exquisite and heavenly electronica.

‘Ultramarine’ is taken from their debut LP Ile De Reve which was released through Lo Recordings in June – check it out here.

Tokyo Tea Room – ‘Always Tomorrow’

Tokyo Tea Room is a psych-pop outfit formed by Canterbury natives Daniel Elliott and Ben Marshall – on guitar and bass respectfully – who are joined by four of close pals; on vocals and keys, Beth Plumb, on drums, Sam Teather, on guitar, Ryan Debling and on synth, Graham Nunn.

This fellowship of friends opened their 2019 account with imaginative and colourful psychedelic pop song ‘Forever Out of Time’, and they are following that with lush slice of dreamy escapism ‘Always Tomorrow’. A beautiful and woozy cut of gently undulating psych-pop – ‘Always Tomorrow’ is utterly divine. Worming its way inside you head with a smooth and intoxicating groove and seductive bassline, drowned in reverb and flanger, Plumb‘s vocals are simultaneously soothing and melancholic amid the gently whirling haze. Tender and beautiful, it drifts elegantly by with a dreamlike atmosphere and melodic shimmering haze.

‘Always Tomorrow’ is utterly beautiful – tune in below: