This week’s Round-Up is brought to you by Red Bull, aka the only thing keeping me awake after 2:00 PM currently. Below, we present you with the perfect Friday soundtrack for the changing of the seasons. Grab your sweaters, folks. It’s time.
TRACK OF THE WEEK: NewDad – Angel
Irish Indie: the opposite of Marmite – you can only love it. Galway’s NewDad are back following EPs ‘Banshee’ and ‘Waves’ back in 2021, alongside a repertoire of singles to which new track “Angel” adds. Dawson’s sultry vocals layer perfectly on top of the band’s mesmerising, kaleidoscope-like sound. Perfect for fans of Irish counterparts Just Mustard and 80’s superstars The Cure, NewDad delicately depict neurotic and sensitive subjects through colourful, dream-like lenses, hinting that the grass is always greener on the other side. [ND]
Also new this week…
Lime Garden – Love Song
Who else thought that Lime Garden couldn’t get any better after the band’s recent single ‘Nepotism (Baby)’ – *raises hand. Brighton’s quartet are back with another earworm that will prove extremely difficult to keep off your September and On Repeat playlists. Mantra-like vocals repeated to perfection make the track, reiterating Chloe Howard’s statement that, despite feeling the emotion, this is not a Love Song. This song is an exploration, of wanting to go on “the inside” – of wanting something bigger. [ND]
Gretel Hänlyn – War With America
It takes undeniable skill to write guitar music this deft; Gretel Hanlyn has succeeded where many boys with bad haircuts and Fender Jags tried and failed because she kept it simple. The elegant guitar part is a showcase for its tone which like acacia honey, is syrupy golden while staying light – though this lightness is overshadowed by the vocal performance which is elongated and bassy. A good vocal style for Gretel’s previous work but not a perfect match for a tighter, poppier affair such as this. [SL]
Locations – Trickle
Through a sonic assault that lies somewhere between Jack White and Japandroids, Brooklyn duo Locations delivers a scatching takedown of the uber-rich/elite. It’s a track with a lot to say, and does so whilst making as much noise as possible – there’s even not one, but TWO guitar solos. That might sound excessive, but so does having more personal wealth than the entire US Treasury. See what they did there? [TJ]
Broadside – Lucid
Featuring Devin Papadol of Honey Revenge, the 4th single off Broadside’s recently announced 4th album Hotel Bleu is a vibey song about missing someone. Although it’s a big change in sound for this pop-punk group, ‘Lucid’ is a chill alt-rock song that makes us want to hear these new sounds from this band even more. [SD]
Dream Wife – Love You More
The queens of the bitches-to-the-front policy are back. New single ‘Love You More’ plays with dark and shadowed spaces within the mind, of overthinking, personal acceptance and hopeless devotion towards one’s physical presence and body. The track draws on the band’s plethora of influences, taking from punk and pop rock archives, whilst incorporating a clear 90’s, PIXIES-esque sound. [ND]
Logan Avidian – Hot and Bothered
You might not want to watch the music video at work – it’s not “NSFW” per se, but you still might get some funny looks. I mean, what else would you expect from a song called ‘Hot and Bothered’? It’s aptly named, and a lovely slice of pop for the TikTok generation. [TJ]
Getdown Services – I Wish It Didn’t Bother Me
Songs like this sate my hunger for pop music smarts twice over. About being shy at a unspecified meal/function, most of the instrumentation is audible from under a radio-like crackle. Sounding like it’s coming through the speaker of a car park ticket machine only further maifests the shyness of our narrator — elevating it from dry-wit earworm to total mood piece you should visit the next time you find yourself with a bad FOMO. [SL]
World’s First Cinema – Holy Water
If you don’t know LA’s World’s First Cinema, they are an exciting new indie-pop duo who clearly have a very big future ahead of them. This new single ‘Holy Water’ is full of flawless vocals accompanied by a beautiful soundscape of electronics and emotional melodies that will have you asking ‘how have I never heard this band before?’ [SD]
Mock Media – Modern Visions
Mock Media flex their instrumental chops righteously across ‘Modern Visions,’ both a shout of indignation at the state of the world and a plea for fairer treatment. On the one hand, I love tight, taut and terse music like this. However, the zest and ebullience of the musical performances counter the ire of the lyrics and vocals. Joyful anger can absolutely be done but it’s very tricky. [SL]
Blink 182 – One More Time / More Than You Know
I get it; we’re not exactly the publication you’d expect to see a blink-182 write up on. But, 13 year old me is too damn excited to have the gang back together. Not only are these songs laced with nostalgia, they feature more Mark/Tom interplay than ever before, something that should be appreciated by the diehards. [TJ]
Contributor Key:
[ND] Neve Dawson, [TJ] TJ Foster, [SL] Sam Lasley, [SD] Shawn-Ray Dalinsky
