POSTS TAGGED : Guitar-Pop

The Bug Club – ‘Intelectuals’

Welsh outfit The Bug Club were my favourite new find of last year, their mini-album Pure Particles and EP, Launching Moondream One were, and still are, outstanding.

From the little-known rock n’ roll hotbed of Caldicot, Monmouthshire, the creative trio of Sam Willmett (guitar/vocals), Tilly Harris (bass/vocals) and Dan Matthew (drums) craft tight-knit, catchy and memorable tunes; sometimes blistering, fiery and fierce and other times, melodic and playfully addictive, and always fizzing with humour and riffs-a-plenty. And the good news is; The Bug Club are back with new single ‘Intelectuals’. But it is a single with a difference. ‘Intelectuals’ is actually five new tracks, recorded in one take.

During the Intelectuals sessions the band wrote five tracks. They recorded the whole lot back-to-back in one take and whacked that entire session out as the a-side with the ‘Money Version’ – a single of sorts – sitting on the proverbial reverse.

Over the 10 minutes we are treated to the gamut of The Bug Club’s endearing brilliance. Opening with a gentle melodic, meandering and tender pop air allowing Willmet & Harris brilliant dual vocals to thrive before fizzing into a blistering, fiery and excitable garage-rock foray, leading to crunching anthemic territory and concluding with hyperactive guitar driven brilliance. Phew! It is a whirlwind of electrifying energy.

Tune into both full and ‘money version’ below:

Bobsled Team – ‘Hey Kid’

Bobsled Team are a Belfast pairing – Oliver and Kimberley – with a preference for dreamy, lo-fi guitar-pop – and proudly DIY.

The emerged last year with jaunty debut single ‘This Pink Moon’ and put last year’s rolling Covid-19 lockdowns to productive use, having brought their debut album The Colours Blur into the world this summer. The latest single lifted from the record is ‘Hey Kid’ – a slightly rough around the edges, lo-fi ditty with a charming heart of gold – it perfectly captures the aesthetic of both band and album. ‘Hey Kid’ takes us on a melodic meander as a soft snare patters beneath layers of woozy tones, swirling fuzz and atmospherics as guitars jangle and scratchy riffs waltz with heart melting melodies all while hazy lilting vocals cruise calmly above. 

A warm, charming and heartwarming slice of indie-pop brilliance – give it a spin below – the album (which is definitely worth a moment of your time) is here.

Wolf Section – ‘Your Face Will Be My Downfall’

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Wolf Section is an indie-pop outfit from Hastings, UK – the project of one man, Andy Murrell.

From the confines of his bedroom, Murrell has taken to whipping up some fabulously endearingly rough and ramshackle guitar-pop sounds; something Wolf Section’s aptly titled EP The Bedroom Demos is testament to.

Lead track ‘Your Face Will Be My Downfall’ offers us a lovable three-minute insight to his, and the EP’s charms. A beautiful song – musically and lyrically – it whizzes and fizzes along. Chiming and smile inducing mix of guitar and keyboard noise, a mild dose of delightful fuzz and catchy melodies coalesce while Murrell’s slightly mournful accented brogue endeavours to raise his lyrics to pride of place – emblematic of the song’s stirring and rousing nature. An ever so charming, endearingly rough-and-ready and ramshackle three-minute slice of guitar-pop; like a bedroom-pop version of Billy Bragg playing with The Strokes.

Listen to ‘Your Face Will Be My Downfall’ below and the entire EP can be found here.

The Gooch Palms – ‘Marfa Lights’

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Australian Los Angeles-based garage-pop duo The Gooch Palms – aka Kat Friend and Leroy Macqueen – do a wonderful line in ebullient, fuzzed-up and irresistibly catchy cuts of guitar-pop.

All these attributes are displayed in their finest form on their latest single ‘Marfa Lights’. Inspired by the pairs’ time spent driving through the Texan town of Marfa – a hotspot for UFO enthusiasts and renowned for its mysterious ‘Marfa Lights’ – it is a catchy, radiant and fuzz-filled delight. Ably assisted by a trusty drum machine beat, a fuzz-heavy riff rips through the track making space for a beautiful swooning melody, ear-pleasing vocals and irresistible chorus to melt your heart. An absolutely astonishing three minutes of fuzzed-up-feel-good pop goodness.

Listen to the incredibly catchy ‘Marfa Lights’ below:

Cherry Slide – ‘Eyes Like a Blur’

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Cherry Slide is the musical project of Dale Humphries, originally from the UK and now residing in NYC.

On August 10, Cherry Slide released his self-titled debut album out into the world with the aid of Being Records. Building on that, Humphries has shared ‘Eyes Like a Blur’, the second single lifted from his debut record. ‘Eyes Like a Blur’ is pure indie-pop perfection; hook-ridden, reverb-laden and driven indie guitar heroics, imbued with a laid-back, lackadaisical vibe and sunburnt lo-fi aesthetic. Amid the general guitar-pop bop, there are astonishingly lush layers of harmonies, guitars growl and riffs soar and the carefree drumming keep things casual, amid bursts of fuzz.

Cherry Slide seem to have quite the knack for whipping up their own brand of ’90s inspired lo-fi fuzz and the latest single, should go a long way to increasing this reputation.

Listen to ‘Eyes Like a Blur’ below and the debut album is out now via Brooklyn-based label Being Records – tune in here.

Elsa Lester – ‘Pretty Bad, Man’

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Elsa Lester, aka Lisa van Kampen, is a Dutch singer/songwriter with a penchant for no-frills guitar-pop.

Working under a previous guise of Great Profile, she released debut album Stress Relief in 2017. Written, recorded and produced in her bedroom at her parent’s house, the record is 30 minutes of catchy-as-can-be fuzzed-up guitar-pop imbued with heart, soul and bouts of vulnerability.

Introducing to her new moniker, Elsa Lester has stepped out with a super new single ‘Pretty Bad, Man’ and news of a forthcoming EP, Dinner Party penned for release on July 6th through Z Tapes. ‘Pretty Bad, Man’ is three-minutes of guitar-pop perfection. It is endearingly ramshackle lo-fi, garage-indebted guitar-pop with an upbeat fizzy energy and coated in a warm layer of fuzz, and those riffs, man, they are sensational. Just sensational! An irresistibly infectious little earmworm, it will be fizzing around your head for days and days.

You can sample the delights of ‘Pretty Bad, Man’ below & remember, the EP will be out on July 6. And if the new single is to your liking, Elsa Lester’s debut album Stress Relief comes highly recommended – listen to it here.