The Underground Stage
One of the many victims of the pandemic was SoSo’s debut gig, which – for a live debut! – had already sold out before it was covid-cancelled. This still annoys me, and it annoys me even more every time I hear a new track from them, because this band have absolutely got their engines revved […]
If NOCON’s debut was a statement of intent, the anti-pop of ‘Hoax’ is a demonstration of their breadth. Here, the aggression is dialled down while leaving the avant-garde fully intact, leaving you with a hypnotic little charmer, its spiralling eyes drawing you into a world that is equally as soothing as it is carnival-clown strange.
EGOISM’s woozy dream-pop takes a wearier turn here, with a new track that’s as delightful as it is depressed. The guitars are still sparse and sparkle like lens flares, but the lyrics & vocals are considerably more weathered. Melodic refrains recur from previous single ‘You You’ (literally the same “you-oo-oo”), and the contrasting registers are […]
Proving that their first track was no fluke, this follow-up from OK Hotel is just more proof of this outfit’s ready-to-eat status. This is a more pensive, even plaintive, record than their debut but it’s still got a song at its heart the size of a damn jumbo jet, and is another precision strike that […]
I just can’t take my eyes of this project. If you’re new to this, Agnes Manners (again, HOW GOOD is that name!) is the new muscial scheme for the ex-Hellions Matt Gravolin. We’ve had a fistful of tracks so far – with an album imminent – and the whole thing has been nothing short of […]
This thoroughly distorted slab of a song may hint at being an exercise in lo-fi noise, but there is so much more going on here, as if Japanther wrote ‘New York City Cops’ – as roughly as it’s been cut, this is hyper-sharp songwriting, guaranteed to draw blood. The drawling vocal! The searing guitars! The […]
A disposable culture based on short-term sugar hits is always surprised by work that requires time and depth. Rolling in to shake the ground like a thundering bank of stormclouds, Taken from his ‘Low Key’ album, ‘3-6-27’ is the sort of track to jerk anyone out of their complacent modern stupor. Anyone who can take […]
Coming off like the lead song from the punk version of Grease, this celebration of youthful antics is a spring tonic for the soul whether you’re a giddy-eyed teenager or a jaded old cynic. “We’re having the time of our lives / But we won’t always be this young” is a killer line – and […]
The chorus on Wishful Thinking’s latest just EXPLODES out of the speakers like fireworks. Three minutes of absolutely note-perfect punky jumping that triggers uncontrollable grins just as it demands repeated listens.