Sean MacLeod has long understood that a memorable melody can carry difficult ideas further than a lecture ever could. And on ‘Inside Out’, the Irish singer-songwriter, composer and author brings that principle into sharp focus, pairing an accessible pop structure with a more searching examination of identity, isolation and the pressuresContinue Reading
There’s a particular kind of anger that comes from feeling visible to everyone except the people whose attention seems to matter most. And on their latest anthem ‘Killing It’, Kingston-based alt-rock band ferb take that frustration and drive it straight through a tightly wound, radio-ready burst of post-punk energy. Formed by four schoolContinue Reading
‘Important Questions’ begins with very little ceremony. A lean guitar figure, an understated vocal and the feeling of a thought being spoken before it has been fully organised are enough to set the track in motion. From there, Memphis artist Carl Krausnick gradually increases its scale, allowing a private reflectionContinue Reading
George Styles approaches music without much interest in explaining it. The Boston-based singer-songwriter writes, performs and produces alone, offers little detail about the story behind his latest single, and appears completely comfortable with the possibility that listeners may interpret it in ways he never intended. But that openness gives ‘Better Conversation’ anContinue Reading
Jetlag’s new single ‘Wicked Tongue’ examines the period after a relationship has ended, when memory, guilt and self-doubt begin to overlap. Written following the collapse of frontman Simon Glancy’s relationship, the track focuses on nights used as a form of escape and the uncertainty that followed when parts of thoseContinue Reading
There’s a difference between poor sound quality and deliberate ugliness, and on ‘Almost Nothing’, Olathe artist NO IDENTITY works carefully within that distinction by turning distortion, digital clutter and limited recording equipment into the foundations of a track that is abrasive without becoming shapeless. Written, performed, produced, mixed and masteredContinue Reading
Baldy Crawlers introduce their forthcoming EP Fais Toi Plaisir with ‘Hatred?’, a contemporary folk song concerned with the psychological demands of war. But instead of presenting just a broad political argument, the group focuses on a single question: what happens when one person is expected to deny the humanity of another? TheContinue Reading
GLEET’s new single ‘Strident’ begins with a familiar linguistic imbalance. The word is often applied to women who speak firmly or express strong opinions, while similarly forceful behaviour from men is more readily accepted as confidence, authority or even conviction. The group use that discrepancy as the basis for a comparatively pared-backContinue Reading
There’s something instantly compelling about a band whose chemistry predates the music itself. Before Go Like This became a modern alt-rock outfit, they were simply three siblings growing up in West Cork, learning to play together long before there was an audience waiting. And that shared history gives debut single ‘I Do’ anContinue Reading
Some songs hide emotional uncertainty beneath a cloud of melancholy, but Martin Kuiper does something far more interesting on ‘Still I Promise’. Here, he wraps doubt, vulnerability and the fear of commitment inside one of his brightest and most immediately appealing rock songs to date. The sixth single from forthcoming album PrisonContinue Reading