And now, the end is near, and so I face the final curtain. My friends, I’ll say it clear, I’ll state my case of which I’m certain. I’ve lived a life that’s full, I travelled each and every highway. But more, much more than this, I did whynow New Music Friday my way.
Don’t worry, everything’s okay. I’m being a melodramatic. It’s just… you see… today represents my last New Music Friday. They’ve found somebody better for the job. Someone who won’t make you wade through weekly introductions of self-important tripe. His name? Teddy Coward.
Anyway, that’s next week. One final week of selecting ten great tracks. I’m getting emotional so I’ll keep this brief.
Tourist is back with a great new album. Inside Out is really impressive and an exciting offering on the eve of summer. ‘We Thought You Were Sleeping’ is an immediate stand out. In case you hadn’t heard, Harry Styles has got a new record. And people love it. Of course, people always love the former 1D man’s music, but this time the critics really seem to quite like it as well. Our review wasn’t quite as enthusiastic, but it’s still got some shining lights, ‘Daylight’ being one of them. Is that a pun? I’m not sure.
Aitch’s ‘1989’ is another encouraging single, arriving a day after he announced his debut album, Close To Home, which is set to release on August 19th. Ruby Gill is a great young artist, and ‘Public Panic Attacks’ is an arresting new track. It’ll catch your attention right from the outset and is surprisingly catchy for how forthright the songwriting is. Well worth a listen.
As is Alex Izenberg’s Breathless Darkness. It’s my personal favourite from a really enjoyable new album, I’m Not Here, which I wrote more about, here. We’ve got another review for the following latest release: Everything Everything’s Raw Data Feel. Their quality is, of course, already well-known, but this is a great new project from the band, on which ‘Metroland is Burning’s post-punk sound particularly impresses. What’s more, they produced the album with the use of an AI machine called Kevin – I kid you not. Read that review to find out more.
Victoria Canal and Upsahl each have new songs out. Contrasting sounds, but both enjoyable and I won’t be guilty of being pigeonholed by genre in this, my last NMF. ‘BOP’ is, well, a bop. Catchy and fun, it just leaves room for Jemima Coulter’s ‘Dancing With Lara’ – a really promising track from the young artist, considering it’s only her second ever.