DATE ARCHIVES : March 2020

Adwaith – ‘Lan y Môr’

With a string of brilliant singles and Welsh music prize winning debut album Melyn, in the past few years, Welsh outfit Adwaith – Hollie Singer, Gwenllian Anthony & Heledd Owen – never cease to amaze with their intense, compelling and unique experimental post punk sounds.

The Carmarthenshire trio are back with new single ‘Lan y Môr’, marking Welsh Music Day, and adding to their ever growing catalogue of brilliance. Bursting with potent energy ‘Lan y Môr’ is built around bright grooving melodies, buzzing bass, surfy guitar and interlocking riffs as it takes off, fizzing like a rocket underpinned by frenetic and transfixing motorik beats. As always, Adwaith are fearless in their creative endeavor as trio deliver yet another potent blast of post-punk – and it goes without saying, Adwaith are unique and one of the most exciting bands on the planet.

Listen to ‘Lan y Môr’ below and if you haven’t done so already, check out their Welsh music prize winning debut album Melyn here.

Many Voices Speak – ‘Want It Kept’

Sweden’s Many Voices Speak – aka Matilda Mård – has a real knack for beautiful slumbering whispers of lush dream pop; something offered in abundance on 2018 debut Tank Town.

The good news is that Mård is back in action with a new single called ‘Want It Kept’, and it is divine. The master of misty-eyed, melancholic and hazy indie, Mård opens with a slowly swirling, shapeless mist that seeps forward engulfing her sad but elegant and beautiful vocals as they hover above slowly waltzing groove and undulating melodic bubble. Delicate, dreamy and truly beautiful, ‘Want It Kept’ will have you transfixed with its beguiling beauty and smouldering emotive draw.

Listen to ‘Want It Kept’ below:


PRIG – ‘PLANTS’

Berlin-based duo PRIG released their debut EP toward the end of 2019; a vividly weird, ragged and off-kilter strain of post-punk.

A couple of months on from its release and PRIG have shared the video for title track and EP opener ‘PLANTS’. Opening with a playful twinkling synth / guitar, a mash of crunchy guitars, jerky angular riffs and  howling synths flash by like a tidal wave as low-toned vocals strain to be heard above the clamour. ‘PLANTS’ is quite bananas but done so with a enviable creative blend of post-punk, psych and art-rock as a mesmeric hypnotic pattern emerges. It thrives in a space where playfulness mingles with jarring guitars, rumbling rhythm it a powerhouse of energy.

Check out PLANTS (single & EP), the video is colourful and bizarre too –  watch / listen below.

Oddnesse – ‘All American Lie’

Oddnesse is the fruitful collaboration between musician Rebeca Arango and producer Grey Goon, two east-coast heads based in Los Angeles with a shared affinity for catchy hooks, heavy grooves and apocalyptic hypotheticals.

Together they have produced a steady stream of lush, dreamy and alluring indie-pop gems – ‘Are You Down’, ‘I Used To, ‘Donut Shop’ & ‘Lover’s Calling’ instantly spring to mind – and the pair have shared their first release of 2020, ‘All American Lie’; an elegant and intimate slice of lavish indie-pop. It oozes sophistication and melodic allure as we are treated to a dazzling blend of subtle guitar-lines, glistening chords, sleek synths and lush tones that shimmers and drip with a rich melody while the pristine honeyed vocals are a perfect pairing for this glittering pop. As has been the case so many times in the past, Oddnesse deliver a beautiful, melodic and lush pop treat – and one that will be bobbing around your head all week.

Listen to ‘All American Lie’ below now:

Simen Mitlid – ‘Weeks’

Simen Mitlid is a Norwegian singer-songwriter hailing from the woodlands of Os, who has a precocious talent for lush, dreamy indie-folk.

This statement is backed up by two sublime albums – 2017’s Everything is the Same & 2019’s Neutral – and mere months after releasing the latter, Mitlid is back with ‘Weeks’, a first offering from a new forthcoming album Birds. Featuring Norwegian contemporaries Tuvaband, ‘Weeks’ is a beautiful, dreamy and heart-melting beautiful slice of indie-folk. It is lush and dreamy, tender and intimate as woozy layers and textures abound as atmospheric tones swirl around a gentle, melodic strum. ‘Weeks’ is brimming with blossoming pop euphoria as Mitlid’s lilting vocals, imbued with warmth, add another level of  innate tenderness and compassion that is wholly irresistible. It is yet another charming, heartwarming and utterly bewitching slice of indie-folk – that new album can’t come quick enough.

Tune into ‘Weeks’ below:


Life Aquatic Band – ‘Underwater Highway’

Life Aquatic Band are a seven piece forged in the furnaces of Sheffield, crafting a charming and seductive blend of indie, psych, funk, disco and pop.

Life Aquatic Band are fresh from releasing their debut album LABPD or BAND ON THE HUNT;  a concept album built around the premise that Paul McCartney has been on the run since Wings album ‘Band on the Run’ in 1973, and the Life Aquatic Band Police Department are determined to catch their man. Accompanying the new album is new single ‘Underwater Highway’ and a marvellous entry point the playful and slightly oddball world of Life Aquatic Band. It is a woozy and melodic slice of sombre indie-pop propelled by meaty, funky bassline as hushed vocals float amid shimmering psych guitars and cosmic sparkle, provided by the spacey, Casio-esque synths. It is colourful, charming and playful brilliance, and it is but one of many to be found on the new album.

Listen to  ‘Underwater Highway’ below and you can give the new album a spin here too.

Kelly Lee Owens Announces New Album, Shares ‘Melt!’

Kelly Lee Owens released her superb self-titled debut back in 2017 – a bewitching creations oscillating somewhere between the avant-garde, pop, techno and almost everything in between.

Since then, the London-based Welsh producer has busied herself with remixes for St. Vincent and Björk, released two new tracks in the Adult Swim Singles series and joined forces with Jon Hopkins on ‘Luminous Spaces’ in late 2019.

Now though, she’s announced her second album Inner Song, due in May, and this is heralded by lead single ‘Melt!’. It is urgent and intense while simultaneously graceful and elegant. Samples of ice skating and melting ice are intricately weaved with glistening tones and ethereal vocals as we are propelled along winding grooves and thumping techno beat. ‘Melt!’ is mesmerising and Majestic, and a dancefloor ready banger.

Watch and listen below. Inner Song is out May 5th 2020 via Smalltown Supersound.

Talk Show – ‘Stress’

South London post punk foursome Talk Show are preparing to usher their latest creation and debut EP, These People into the world on March 27. 

Lifted from the aforementioned EP comes ‘Stress’; a riveting piece of post-punk. It is a song that thrives on juxtaposition as a terse, tense and somewhat caustic energy runs wild as tetchy vocals and muscular are pitched with glistening guitar lines and nuanced elegance and grandeur one would associate with Echo & The Bunnymen in their heyday. ‘Stress’ is a stunning track. It is compelling, defiant and emphatic while also melodic and delivered with finesse. Blossoming through repeated hooks, this bustling tune will get inside your head and never leave, take a bow.

Listen to ‘Stress’ below and keep those eyes peeled for the debut EP These People coming in March.


moneybacknextweek – ‘LONG BREAK’

moneybacknextweek is the moniker of 21 year old Afro Canadian artist with a preference for a DIY approach.

This attitude is set out by his latest release, please, believe me EP. Written after his first relationship came to a close, it was recorded in his bedroom over a two week period, and taking charge of the lot – drums, guitars and vocals. Leading the charge is ‘LONG BREAK’, which is bristling with a bustling energy as taught rhythms underpin the upbeat, bright and sunny flurry of guitars as the hazy nonchalant drawl delivers his melodic musings (with a certain King Krule quality). It is electrifying, fizzy and exciting as it bursts into our lives with an endearing exuberance, honesty and emotive weight – a marvellous intro. 

Check out ‘LONG BREAK’ below and the believe me EP is here too.


Nabi Francis ft. Jabariiznatturnup – ‘Avocado’

Themba Mkhatshwa aka Nabi Francis is a record producer, percussionist and songwriter born and raised in Baltimore.

Francis enjoys working with other artist and is a frequent collaborator Solight productions and APH (Always Proper Height) – and for new single ‘Avocado’he’s teamed up with  Jabariiznatturnup. ‘Avocado’ is woozy, warm and dreamy as hushed vocals and rich wordplay melodically tumbles over a lush, alluring groove of pillowy soft beats and seductive synths. A wonderfully entrancing backdrop for this captivating storytelling, sophisticated similes and metaphors, and complex rhymes. Not only a quality emcee, but a skilled vocalist as well, capable of crooning melodic verses as well as well as potent rhymes, all delivered with measured nonchalance that resonates and lets the lyrics seep in.

Check out ‘Avocado’ below – it is marvellous, trust me.