Another week, another Friday, another dose of new music. We might be heading toward certain peril, but let’s at least enjoy the music while we can.
WILLOW – <Coping Mechanism>
Just weeks ago, at Reading Festival,
WILLOW revealed her ambitions to one day make a “rock opera”. That may come down the line, but the guitar-heavy crescendo on the titular track for her latest album,
<COPINGMECHANISM>, offers a slight hint at what that might entail. The track, and indeed the album, also typifies the seeming ease with which the youngster (she’s only 21, despite her decade-long musical output) has turned her hands to pop-punk.
Dayglow – Like She Does
Texan alt-pop artist is on his third full-length album already. The 23-year-old, who grew a strong following online, notably after his sunny, synth-led ‘Can I Call You Tonight?’, is now looking to establish his artistic presence for the long-haul.
People In Motion, represented here by ‘Like She Does’, will certainly help further this cause.
Read our full interview with Dayglow here.
Sorry – Screaming In The Rain
Two years from their previous record, London’s grunge-loving post-punk indie-rockers (who cares what genre they are anyway) return with new album,
Anywhere But Here. It’s an intriguing tightrope they’ve walked, managing to produce a more accessible guitar record than 2020’s
925, whilst also preserving some of the discordant elements their cult following are so fond of. ‘Screaming In The Rain’, the album’s penultimate track, sees frontwoman Asha Lorenz and guitarist-come-vocalist Louis O’Bryen at their soft, sombre best.
mustbejohn – High Risk
Who said romance was dead? Not Hertfordshire lad mustbejohn, that’s for sure. It might not be as chivalrous as it once was, but still there’s love to be found and had. His new EP,
Romance In Great Britain, out today, captures that spirit and blends his Britpop influences over melodic garage, house, and drum n’ bass beats, whilst being vocally reminiscent in style and subject matter as
West Londoner Finn Foxell.
Cat Burns – Sleep At Night
Having seen Cat Burns perform earlier this week, at her headline show at Koko, I can honestly say the Streatham-born singer is in a good place; not only within herself, having come out as queer during lockdown, but also following a three-month tour supporting Ed Sheeran. Whilst it would be easy to say Mr. Sheeran’s song-writing credentials have clearly rubbed off on Cat, that would be doing her a disservice. ‘Sleep At Night’ simply builds on her impressive catalogue to date, which includes her platinum-selling hit ‘go’.
LF System – Hungry
West Lothian production duo LF System have no doubt had one of the biggest tracks of the year, ‘Afraid To Feel’, which spent an impressive eight weeks at the top of the singles charts, since it reached the summit in July. And now, it seems, they’re hungry for more and hoping for more of the same, this time with ‘Hungry (For Love)’. It’s another proper Friday feels-inducing tune.
Terra Kin – Flames
21-year-old Glaswegian Hannah Findlay, aka Terra Kin, gives us a sparse, delicate offering for her debut single; and, as such, it’s one that places her vocals front-and-centre. You feel as though there’s something more to give, lurking beneath the surface, and that’s what makes it so intriguing. With a number of releases also set for the remainder of the year, we’re certainly likely to hear just what more that will entail.
VGO – The Way She Moves
VGO serves up a subtle, atmospheric Afroswing track today, ‘The Way She Moves’. It’s a track that celebrates a newfound love, offering a luscious ambience to an often-hardened UK rap scene – and shows that VGO is an artist to keep tabs on.
Easy Life – Growing Pains
‘Growing Pains’ is something of an honest analogy for the experience of rising Leicester outfit Easy Life. It’s not easy to open up about the challenges posed by a heady rise, but on their second album,
MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE… the five-piece have certainly stepped up to the occasion, with frontman Murray Matravers’ soft, sometimes speak-talking vocals delivered over a steady, subtly funky beat.
HANAH – Solo
Taken from her forthcoming EP,
Colours of Now & Then, which is set for release at the end of this month (26 October), ‘Solo’ demonstrates Bristol-based HANAH’s enchanting ability to instrumentalise her vocals. Soothing and melodic, over an electro-acoustic backdrop, it embodies the same dreamy essence she captured on her well-received debut EP,
Watch the World in Detail, released last year.
