The IINAG team has done the heavy lifting and curated this week’s essential new tracks so you don’t have to. Check out our picks below, then head over to the playlist for the full deep dive.
Grian Chatten, Antony Genn, Martin Slattery – Puppet
Grian Chatten steps into the shadows with ‘Puppet’, a haunting contribution to the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man soundtrack. Moving away from the post-punk energy of Fontaines D.C., Chatten embraces a menacing, cinematic darkness that perfectly mirrors the Shelby family’s gritty legacy. Collaborating with Antony Genn and Martin Slattery, he delivers a track thick with atmosphere and brooding tension. It is a sonically rich piece of work that feels both intimate and expansive, setting a lethal tone for the franchise’s highly anticipated big-screen debut. – Katie Macbeth
The Last Dinner Party – Let’s Do It Again!
Written for War Child Records ‘Help (2)’, an album dedicated to raising awareness and money for children living in war worldwide, The Last Dinner Party released ‘Let’s Do It Again!’ on Monday. Described by the band as ‘the endless carousel’ of returning to a toxic relationship, the song provokes imagery of a fair ride with its echoing vocals, exuberant piano and an arena of bass that sounds like a marching band. It’s an adventure and a gripping one at that. Swinging drums take you into a chaotic ending, repeating the song title with the background of a full orchestra in harmonious disarray. – Sofia Lavender-Callow
Snail Mail – My Maker
Snail Mail’s “My Maker” is further proof that there’s growth in retrospect. With a catchy acoustic guitar carrying us adrift, Lindsey Jordan has embraced a new passage within her songwriting toolbox. The nod to alternative rock before the millennium is noted, but the uplifting, life-affirming quality to the track is what focuses the approach. Finding solace in this mortal coil is not always easy, but “My Maker” is a grounding force behind the search for what may lie above. Here’s to hoping for more unexpected journeys on the new album due out in March. – Evan Lurie
Real Farmer – Heart Out
Real Farmer have paved the way for what modern punk can be through the two years of releases we’ve seen from the Netherlands chaosmakers so far. This time around, “Heart Out” jolts the system and keeps the pulse pumping. It’s the kind of feeling that cannot be contained, the stimuli is direct and immediate like blood spilling over skin. This song will get you moving, out of your cheap office chair or out of your silly head, if only for a few minutes. The best part is when it finishes, and you start it back from the top. – Evan Lurie
Honey I’m Home – Pretty
Honey I’m Home return with “Pretty”, a tight burst of 90s alt rock nostalgia wrapped in lo-fi haze. The five-piece lean fully into a woozy shoegaze texture, with whirring guitars and thumping drums that perfectly contrast the delicate vocals. Beneath its dreamy exterior lies a sharp reflection on how quickly we judge by surface appearances, distilled into the cutting refrain: “At least I’m pretty.” Sweet on the surface, it’s raw at its core. – Henry Dunn
Yaya Bey – Blue
R&B singer Yaya Bey released her first single of the year, ‘Blue,’ on Wednesday as a prelude to her upcoming album ‘Fidelity’. It was the first track she wrote for the album, as a way out of the very dark place she found herself in after the release of ‘Do It Afraid’. ‘You look blue…the sky is too’ she sings, in her silky, soothing voice, over a soft guitar that could give the gloomiest day a glimmer of sunshine. She’s clearly refined her craft, evident in the slow and sweet ballad. – Sofia Lavender-Callow
Check out our Spotify playlist for more!
Grian Chatten, Honey I'm Home, The Last Dinner Party, Yaya Bey
