One of our favs of 2020, South-African born songwriter-producer Julia Church, unveils her breezy new cut ‘Marionette’. A catchy track with clear intentions that showcase her stunning vocal range and innate ability to create a wonderful pop earworm.
Jimi Somewhere combines unique Christian rock and modern, sheeny emo. Inspired by Christian summer camps and his frustration & feeling of loss growing up as a Christian, the track features the angelic vocals of Kacy Hill.
Lucky Idiot is an exciting new project from Maxwell Byrne (Golden Vessel), Kalem Woo (Rei So La) and Rei Sakakibara (Sweater Curse). Expect an upcoming debut EP, ‘Low Ceiling’, to be released in October via sumoclic.
Liverpool’s Dr Orange – aka Chas Moody – draws on indie alt-rock. His new single, ‘Take’, is luscious, high-frequency rock n roll with authentic nuances of a leftfield nature.
Childe releases his new single ‘Just Me’, about loneliness in a modern world. It’s a groovy whirl of eclectic synths and darker kaleidoscopic sounds within the chill-pop genres.
Chinese/Australian multidisciplinary creative Dugong Jr shares the dreamy new single ‘Float’ featuring Rromarin. Inspired by the UK garage scene, the electronic producer creates a refreshing take on a classic sound.
Kid of the moment, Matt Maltese, is making waves with his soft take on 2020 indie. With a DIY aesthetic and scarily accurate prediction of current times, despite his continuous daydreaming, you can watch his cinematic video for ‘madhouse’ below.
Sounds like: Beach Boys, Oscar Lang, Glass Animals, Rex Orange County, The Last Shadow Puppets
Indie duo Hoofa considers the true cost of being a musician in 2020 in new single ‘How Do We Know’. A little more of a slow-burner than their usual ambi-pop take on indie, but this perfectly represents their abilities to consider aptly express real emotions.
Austin’s premiere psychedelic-rock connoisseurs The Bright Light Social Hour return with their cosmic, uniquely brilliant new single ‘Ouroboros’. It’s a transcendent journey through psychedelic, distorted guitar licks and spaced out vocal parts.
London-based leftfield alt-pop artist JYLDA shares new single ‘Impulse’. Written about a dark romance, the track rouses in JYLDA’s trademark future-electronica style.
Burgeoning Aussie newcomer Moxley Rey returns with his triumphant sophomore single, a sun-soaked collaboration with Nashville-based alt-pop savant Jeff Carl. A kaleidoscopic cohesion of soothing indietronica, left-of-centre pop and euphoric EDM, it perfectly encapsulates boundless energy perfectly befitting any summer mood.
Scottish band, Dancing on Tables, explores a more melancholic side in ‘Not To Need You’.
Written in Nashville alongside legendary songwriter Liz Rose (TaylorSwift, LittleBigTown, CarrieUnderwood), the hopeful song encapsulates the uphill battles everyone goes through in life but reminds us that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
Sounds like: Sea Girls, Biffy Clyro, Circa Waves, The 1975, Rat Boy, Circa Waves, The Amazons, Blossoms, Wild Nothing, Cassia, Catfish and the Bottlemen
Like an early Billie Eilish, Australian artist Stellie is transforming our take on pop.
Inspired by strong female voices, her tender and personal tales are indie-pop slow-burners that cut straight to the heart. Listen to her hazy new single, ‘How Do We Look So Good?’ below.
It’s great to see GusGus back with another stellar release.
The electronic innovators have released ‘Out Of Place’, highlighting the duo’s affinity for rolling synth-lines and sharp, pop-driven vocals. Listen below.
Sounds like: Simian Mobile Disco, Tears For Fears, Simple Minds, Röyksopp, Goldfrapp, Orbital, Roisin Murphy
Another Newcastle band for us this week – Llovers.
Releasing the infectious new cut, ‘Feeling Sound’, it’s clear that anyone listening to the track will be enamoured by their immense potential, thanks to their irresistible anthemic tendencies with sparkling riffs, sing-along choruses and playful songwriting.
London baroque pop band Weird Milk shares ‘Is That Love?’.
Having already supported indie risers Alfie Templeman and Pip Blom, and about to support APRE on their UK tour, their latest offering doesn’t disappoint.
Songwriter and drummer Charlie Glover-Wright explains, “The song itself is about a relationship turning sour as a lemon and the main character realising that they don’t need it anymore and they’ll be better off on their own.”
Sounds like: FEET, Sports Team, The Magic Gang, Genghar, The Last Shadow Puppets
You may recognise Kelli-Leigh’s vocals from such hits as ‘More Than Friends’ by Jame Hype, ‘I Got U’ by Duke Dumont and Second City‘s ‘I Wanna Feel’, but it’s time for the British singer/songwriter to step out into the light and reveal her first solo music of the decade.
The uptempo pop song, ‘Cotton Clouds’ describes a blissed out relationship. Lovely.
Dutch DIY duo The Day are Laura Loeters from from Antwerp/Belgium and Hamburg based Gregor Sonnenberg.
Sharing the fancy-free video for their cover of ‘Tenderfoot’ by The Lemonheads / Smudge, the latest release is inspired by their youth, as the dream-pop band continue their tasteful take on original classics.
Orlando-based 25 year old Talii has a wicked streak, as can be witnessed in her sultry and dark pop song, ‘Good To Be Bad’.
Born into a musically gifted and diversely talented family of musicians and performers, she began singing at age 3 and was playing the piano and writing songs by age 7. There is no denying her talent.
BBC 6 favourite, breezy indie band High Hazels share their new single ‘Days Of No One’.
Fighting an ever-losing battle of love and being lonely, lead singer James admits that despite the conflicting themes in their music, he is a fan of people; “Weirdly that’s why I think loneliness pops up in our music quite a lot, I suppose it’s more the fear of it.”
Sounds like: The Last Shadow Puppets, Miles Kane, Arctic Monkeys, Babyshambles, Richard Hawley, The Coral, Beach House, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine
Swedish alt-pop artist Bishat shares the intriguing ‘Unholy Romance’.
It has an intense and destructive undertone and was written in collaboration with producer Damian Ardestani (aka XOV) on a freezing day just outside of Stockholm.
Sounds like: The Weeknd, Robyn, LKA, Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, July Child, Nao, Lorde
Sheffield dream pop four-piece High Hazels recently released new track, ‘Joined At The Lip’.
While the swirling guitars and reverb-heavy vocals are sure to remind listeners of bands such as Beach House, Cocteau Twins, and My Bloody Valentine, High Hazels structure ‘Joined At The Lip’ in a way that should capture quite a great deal of attention.
As the song opens, frontman James Leesley croons, “In the backwaters of my bloodstreams nightmares play their violins every night for me.” It is an unsettling statement that is revealed in a chillingly relatable way, given how relaxed his vocal stylings are. According to Leesley, Scott Walker was a big influence on his vocals for the song. “I remember Scott Walker being played a lot around the time of writing ‘Joined At The Lip’ before practices, in the car and stuff – and the way he delivers his voice really got to us,” Leesley said. “That’s how the opening melody came about, really.”
The rest of the band isn’t slacking either. The bass of Paul Barlow is bouncy but has an air of tension to it as well. Drummer Anthony Barlow paces his percussion nicely, particularly with snare hits in the outro. Meanwhile, the guitar contributions of Leesley and Scott Howes are both melodic and intense all the same. This is the kind of song that once first glance seems ideal for drifting off to sleep. However, once it kicks into gear, it doesn’t let up.
High Hazels aren’t completely new to the music landscape, but they aren’t completely known yet. Their self-titled debut was released in 2014 and received very positive attention. The BBC was a fan of theirs early on, playing their music on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music when the only things they had recorded were demos and they hadn’t played a single show.
They also released the ‘Valencia’ EP last year to positive notices. A new EP will be following their single release of ‘Joined At The Lip’ early next year.
On December 17, they will be playing a hometown show at the Leadmill in Sheffield. Tickets available here.
Sounds like: The Last Shadow Puppets, Miles Kane, Arctic Monkeys, Babyshambles, Richard Hawley, The Coral, Beach House, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine
Working again with Tom Beard (who directed ‘Tinfoil Boy’), the video for his new single, ‘Power Over Men’, explores the day-to-day life of a middle-aged dominatrix.
It’s quintessentially a Jamie T song, with its sharp, witty lyrics, and subtle reggae rhythms.
‘Power Over Men’ is taken from Jamie T’s forthcoming fourth album, ‘Trick’, out on 2 September.
Tour Dates
27 Sept Olympia, Dublin
28 Sept Limelight 1, Belfast
01 Oct O2 Academy, Birmingham
02 Oct University Great Hall, Cardiff
03 Oct Guildhall, Portsmouth
05 Oct De Montfort Hall, Leicester
06 Oct Cliffs Pavilion, Southend
08 Oct Brixton Academy, London
09 Oct Brixton Academy, London
10 Oct Brixton Academy, London
12Oct 02 Academy, Bournemouth
13 Oct Olympia, Liverpool
15 Oct O2 Academy, Leeds
16 Oct O2 Academy, Newcastle
17 Oct O2 Academy, Glasgow
20 Oct O2 Apollo, Manchester
21 Oct O2 Academy, Sheffield
22 Oct Corn Exchange, Cambridge
Sounds like: The Last Shadow Puppets, Palma Violets, Peace, Jack Peñate
We’ve just been transported back to the early noughties with this new video for ‘Grab Life By’ by The Lapelles.
It’s very early years for the Glaswegians in respect of their music and their ages (they are only 19 years old), but the foursome are set to support The Last Shadow Puppets on tour, and we do know that they have something very special.
We can’t wait to hear some more.
Sounds like: The Strokes, The Libertines, The Last Shadow Puppets, The Kooks, The Vaccines, Palma Violets
