File this one under psychedelic but it’s not of the manic garage rock or pop variety. ‘Fingers Radio‘ by the Gold Coast’s Black Rabbit George locks into a liquid bass and metronomic drum pattern right from the start and averts its gaze. That synchronicity and anchor allows Paul George (Tijuana Cartel) to wander vocally, like he’s negotiating a trip or a dream, drifting in blissed-out … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Black Rabbit George – Fingers Radio
Brighton UK duo Chappaqua Wrestling make a bold dash for indie guitar heaven on their new single ‘Football‘. Chiming guitar chords ring out, stepping through a melody that conjures up the sound of New Zealand indie rock of yesteryear, the skewed pop-nugget quality of Sonic Youth’s most accessible moments and the melodic brilliance of Australia’s Underground Lovers. The jangle is balanced by a warm guitar … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Chappaqua Wrestling – Football
Straight outta the gates come The Earnest Spears with four-to-the-floor drums, wired, frantic, distorted and heavily reverbed guitar that flails and hammers in equal amounts. The vocals are pretty much indeciperable but hey, it’s all about the energy and the post-hardcore, psych-punk riff and pummel on ‘Liar‘, the first of a run of singles the Worcester, UK group have got coming in 2020. Last year … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: The Earnest Spears – Liar
Over the last few months, one of the things many people have been turning to during periods of isolation during the pandemic is music. Music for distraction, companionship, solace and joy. Whatever the reason, putting on a favourite album or discovering something new that pulls you in and hits the spot, intellectually or emotionally, can be a great and wonderful experience. In this series we … Continue reading SPECIAL SOUNDS FOR STRANGE TIMES: Suzie Stapleton
Today we’ve got a new track from the Sahara and El Djerid region in the south of Tunisia. Azu Tiwaline is a producer who blends dub-influenced and psychedelic desert electronica that moves and flows with a real fluidity and sense of spirit. ‘Izen Zaren‘ is a track that comes from the second part of her 2020 album Draw Me A Silence Part II (check out … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Azu Tiwaline – Izen Zaren
Ambient and (neo)classical compositions can often tread a fine line, evaporating into the ethereal realm or overstating their grandeur. Both extremes lack the required balance of satiating the heart and the mind. In the hands of auteurs such as Nils Frahm, Brian Eno and Harold Budd, music of this ilk can blossom and sway with the most subtle of transitions and adjustments – and it’s those … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Tom Ashbrook – Oaktrees
There’s a wonderfully deadpan, stylised quality to this new single from Oakland CA duo Abracadabra (duo Hannah Skelton and Chris Niles). It’s pure 80s synth pop – the good kind where robots and fashion were the future, Kraftwerk were kings and neon was a colour. There’s also a playfulness to the music of ‘Dirty Pan’, a day-glo utopian sound built on lush washes of keyboards such … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Abracadabra – Dirty Pan
The jangly art-pop factor is high on this new track from the new project based around James Madden and Ryan Murphy of Liverpool indie pop quartet, Hooton Tennis Club. The horns are the clincher, giving it a soft soul sound before a fuzzed out guitar solo brings the song to an abrupt halt. Infectious as hell too. Reminds us a bit of a cross between … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Seatbelts – Sinful City
New York metal trio Mockcharge deliver in spades on their recent single ‘Marauder’, with its breakneck speed riffs, deadly screams and at its mid-point it drops gears and gets low-slung and sleazy before a hi-hat count-off sends the song to its crashing conclusion. To our ears it sounds like a beautiful collision between Motörhead and White Zombie. Of the track the band say: “This song … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Mockcharge – Marauder
Midnight Garden is Nick Donlin and Zach Vouga, an electronic duo based in San Diego, CA. who have an album called Blue Tomorrows due out on August 12th, 2020. Sad synth music is the perfect combination to our ears – that mix of synthetic, digital sounds and melancholic human emotion. Midnight Garden mix those ingredients nicely on their single ‘For The Last Time’. It’s a song … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Midnight Garden
IDLES have released ‘A Hymn’, a new single and accompanying video clip from their forthcoming new album Ultra Mono, set for release on 25 September 2020 on Partisan Records. The music video features the band driving with their parents through their hometown streets to the shops, providing a grey window into suburban English life that matches the song’s heavyhearted churn. Frontman Joe Talbot says of … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: IDLES – A Hymn
Sydney songwriter Buddy Glass (Bruno from Peabody) is back with a brand new single and video, his first since he released his self-titled solo album in 2014. ‘Wasted Habit’ comes from his forthcoming new album Wow & Flutter, due out September 4th on Glass Half Empty Records. ‘Wasted Habit’ is a hard-strummed acoustic and densely fuzzed out electric shakedown. There’s desperation and anxiety in the … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Buddy Glass – Wasted Habit
Doubtful Sounds 