New Indie Bands
New Wolves – Draw another circle
Draw another circle describes is the second single by Welsh band New Wolves. Draw another circle describes a melodic and melancholy walk around familiar roads and paths that lead into one another. A circuitous route through small town love. The band comment on the track:
Written in the Autumn of 2020 when the world had shrunk down to a few alleyways and empty streets around my part of the city, I felt both comforted and lost. Draw another circle came out of this time and place.
girlhouse – pretty girl in la
Following on from the enormous success behind her previous single loaded gun, fast-rising bedroom pop artist girlhouse (aka Lauren Luiz) has now released captivating debut collection the girlhouse ep, alongside the vibrant new cut pretty girl in la. The new single opens up the new release, setting the tone for what we can expect on the EP. Speaking of the track, girlhouse commented:
pretty girl in la is more direct than the others on the ep. This one is very nostalgic of my West Hollywood days, wanting to be an actress and letting people destroy my confidence daily for the sake of the ‘craft’. I have so many memories of being out at bars/clubs in la having a lovely time, when out of the blue some stranger would come up to me and tell me that I’m “kind of pretty, but not la pretty.” Drilling deeper saying that “in my hometown I might be a 7 or 8 but in la I’m merely a 4.” This happened so many times that I really started to take it to heart, I was 23 and it kind of destroyed me! I would hold my breath going through tunnels just wishing that I could be an la 8, thinking that would fix all my problems.
Retro Video Club – Cloud Nine
Edinburgh 4-piece Retro Video Club are set to follow up their explosive return with the release of Cloud Nine. An admission of “everything you want to say to somebody you don’t speak to anymore”, ‘Cloud Nine’ ramps up Retro Video Club’s anthemic sensibilities to the max. With it’s euphoric synth hook supporting frontman Liam’s soaring vocal performance, held together by some towering guitars and propulsive drums, it’s a song destined to be performed at stadiums across the country. Coupled with the band’s relentless drive to reach for the next big milestone, it’s a prophecy the band are well on their way to affirm.
World’s First Cinema – Make Me A Monster
Following on from the huge success of their recently released debut EP Rituals, fast-rising duo World’s First Cinema now return to deliver their latest euphoric offering Make Me A Monster. Make Me A Monster sets the tone for a far darker chapter in their legacy. Accompanied by a dramatic and cinematic new video, their latest single is a bold and anthemic return that sees them dabble in the more haunted and atmospheric realms of the alt-pop world. Speaking about the new single, they said:
Make Me A Monster is the beginning of a dark new chapter of World’s First Cinema. It’s the first intimate look into this epic fantasy world that we’re building, brick by brick. The video especially highlights this – witches, druids and monsters coming to life amidst the explosion of strings and cinematic rock is exactly the sort of ritual we pictured our minds.
Jaws the Shark – Loose Change
In February, Jaws The Shark burst on to the scene with his single, Demon Dream a molten-hot slice of lo-fi grunge that was released as part of the Nice Swan Records Introduces Series. The track, which immediately made waves across press & radio was BBC R1 Next Wave via Jack Saunders and stayed on the BBC 6Music Playlist for 6 weeks. Since then, Head Shark Olly Bailey has gone on to sign further releases with Nice Swan, brought in a live agent and signed to renowned UK promoter Steve Tilley’s publishing setup.
Returning with new cut, Loose Change, written and recorded by Bailey, and featuring Elliot Rawson from Yak on drums, Jaws The Shark cement themselves as one of the UK’s most exciting new alternative acts.
Wy- Shiba Inu
Longtime lovers Ebba and Michel formed Wy in 2015 after several years of playing in bands together. Their guitar-driven pop is dreamy and melancholic and with Ebba’s distinctive voice they manage to cut through the noise and latch on to your soul.
Their debut EP Never Was have recieved international praise and the follow up singles have been picked up by both national and international radio. New single Shiba Inu is the latest to be lifted from their new album Marriage which is out now.
Couteau Papillon – After Dark
Couteau Papillon is a Montreal-based band and DIY recording project, helmed by songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Philippe Lachance. Their music weaves a strange but familiar fabric of 90’s indie rock elements, psychedelia, synth-pop, folk, all with a dash of jazz. A kaleidoscopic brew, which equally invites introspection and fills the dance floor. They have just released a new six track record called Doubts featuring new single After Dark.
Split The Dealer – Dreamstate
Over the past year, Split The Dealer has received a lot of support and endorsement. After performing a digital concert for Sennheiser, he became an official Sennheiser artist, earning him a spot on their roster and a coveted endorsement. Walking the wire between 90s influence and modern pop, Split The Dealer’s sound is fundamentally honest. On his new single Dreamstate, he comments:
I think over the years of social media growing, it’s sucked most of us in at one point or another where we’ve compared ourselves to how someone else looks, or how they are living. It’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind in life, when you compare your day to day life to somebody’s highlight reel, and it can plunge you into a rabbit hole of scrolling through other peoples best bits.
Medium Build – Rabbit
Alaska based Medium Build is the project of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Nick Carpenter. He creates richly layered, pop-rock tracks that are more than meet the ear. Weaving raw, emotionally honest lyrics with driving instrumentation, Carpenter effortlessly blends the electronic with the analog and draws the audience into sad songs you can dance to. On new single Rabbit he comments:
Have you ever had a person you can’t seem to forget about? Someone you feel entirely crushed by? “Rabbit” started about someone who made me feel like that but as I wrote about the feeling of being crushed, I found a string running between romantic crushes and the crushing weight of family. This song is for anyone who has ever felt heavy in their own skin
Love Ghost – Bloody Mary (feat. PRINCESSBRI)
Love Ghost is an indie/alternative/hard rock band consisting of Finnegan Bell (guitar and vocals), Daniel Alcala (Guitar), Ryan Stevens (Bass and background vocals) Samson Young (drums and background vocals) and Cory Batchler (keyboards). Their new single Bloody Mary is about wanting to help someone , but knowing that you’ll just get dragged down with them. It’s about how complicated relationships are and how your own empathy can be the death of you. The track is a collaboration between Love Ghost and Ottawa based PRINCESSBRI.
Natalie McCool – Heaven
After delivering her incredibly well-received single ‘A Sun Going Down’ in February, which was named Track Of The Week on BBC Introducing Merseyside, as well as receiving plays from Amazing Radio, and tastemaker support from the likes of Wonderland, Record of the Day, The Most Radicalist, When The Horn Blows and much more, emerging alt-pop artist Natalie McCool has now announced the details behind her eagerly-awaited new album ‘Memory Girl’ – set for release on July 30th – alongside the newly unveiled lead track ‘Heaven’.
Her newest single ‘Heaven’ looks to showcase exactly what we can expect from this upcoming collection. Much like what we have heard so far, the track adopts a myriad of diverse and exciting pop-rock textures to deliver a blissfully warm and spellbinding sound that perfectly cements her intentions for the new full-length.
Pain in the Yeahs – Death of a Rock and Roller
Pain in the Yeahs is the primary artistic vehicle for Virginia native James K Ultra. Starting in 2008 and incorporating numerous genres under the rock and pop umbrellas, PITY embraces elements of DIY, lo fi, existentialism, dandyism, satire and camp. The music was originally inspired by the primal drum sounds of Krautrock, early The Cure, and Jesus and Mary Chain – their choice to layer and build fantastical soundscapes in lieu of rhythmic complexity. Lyrically and vocally, the music draws from such unconventional crooners as Bryan Ferry, David Byrne, Brian Eno, and Roy Orbison – often playfully walking just passed the edge of actual vocal ability. In the words of Brian Eno: “Stop thinking about art works as objects, and start thinking about them as triggers for experiences.”