AS if an all too fleeting burst of sunshine wasn’t enough to make us pine for summer and the wonderfully hazy moments of the fast approaching festival season, the reinvigorating contingent of new music that has greeted our ears has made it all the more sought after. Comprised of everything from the finest new helpings of rock ‘n’ roll to emanate from nearby and strong showing from incendiary young upstarts to the glorious reemergence of one of modern music’s agents of change, here’s all of the new tracks that you need to let enrich your life this week.
Voodoos- Turn Me Into Juice
it comes to rambunctious indie rock that is tailor-made for long nights of chaotic revelry and the abject terror that often follows, those that frequent Glasgow’s intimate venues have never been so spoiled for choice as they are at this exact moment. Whether it’s bands that are just making their first tentative foray into the scene in the lower half of a bill or groups that are beginning to command legitimately organic and impassioned followings in their own right, it’s as creatively fertile as the genre has ever been within the confines of this city.
One band that certainly falls into the latter camp are Voodoos, the boisterous young four piece who displayed their potential on debut single ‘Natalie’ and have strived to enhance their standing ever since. Little more than eight months on from when they first graced our pages, the band have delivered their most robust work yet on ‘Turn Me Into Juice’ and it’s a track that we’ were delighted to premiere last Friday.
A notable subversion from the mundane and well-worn lyrical themes that solemnly dominate the guitar rock sphere, Voodoos have instead opted to delve into the tradition of lyrical surrealism that recalls The Cramps, John Cooper Clarke and Nick Cave to name a few. Brimming with charisma in its spiraling guitar lines and a brooding sense of volatility, there’s a sense of continuity in its planning and execution that is often lacking in a band’s formative years and it hopefully leaves the door open for further exploration of this direction in the very near future.
Janelle Monae- Screwed
A tome of rebellion and liberation in a world that seems to be closing its mind rather than seeking to broadening its horizons, Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer couldn’t have arrived at a more vital time in our cultural or musical history. Less musically subversive than some of her earlier work, she’s instead opted to ramp up the social commentary and manifesto of self-love in order to turn in an album that implores you to revisit its funk-laden world again and again. Among its many highlights, the Zoe Kravitz-assisted ‘Screwed’ is an all-encompassing middle finger to the prudes that proves that we can still have fun even as the planet gradually descends into chaos.
Tongues- Not Like The Real Thing
Steeped in a musical direction that is entirely of their own devising and deftly sets them aside from their contemporaries, TONGUES’ sound is one which is deeply cerebral at its core and yet results in output that is mesmeric and immersive in the same breath.
In the years that have followed since their formation in early 2015, the Glasgow-based four-piece have regularly flirted with the precipice of becoming an overground concern and there appears to be nothing impeding them from doing so as their compositions become increasingly innovative.
Taken from their upcoming debut EP, TTV are happy to bring you the first look at their new single ‘Not Like The Real Thing.’
An exorcising of personal demons and misgivings that is punctuated by imposing bursts of synth that casts aspersions towards the menacing world of industrial, the sheer songwriting acumen of TONGUES is on display as they take sounds and sentiments that could be considered unpalatable and contort them into a track that would nestle comfortably alongside Radio 1’s A-List. Subversive and unyielding pop that surpasses the scope of artists such as Alt-J and Dutch Uncles and takes listeners into previously uncharted waters, there’s every chance that their latest effort will transcend the success of their trademark single ‘Religion’ and bring them to much wider acclaim.
Snail Mail- Heatwave
Following on from the attention-grabbing ‘Pristine’, Snail Mail has created a fever pitch of excitement around her debut album with new single ‘Heat Wave.’ A masterclass in fuzzy alt-pop, the ubiquitous dreamy overtones that are born in Lindsey Jordan’s vocals only accentuate the subtle emotional pull of her songwriting. Frank, blistering and exhibiting all of the hallmarks of a cult artist in the making, the arrival of ‘Lush’ on the 8th June can’t come soon enough.
The Dunts- The Birds And The Beez
The very track that first brought the dizzying and hedonistic punk of The Dunts into our consciousness (resulting in an inclusion New Music Radar 023), those that were late to the party can now bask in a retooled version of the vengeful ‘Birds And The Beez.’ Although they may have upped the production values and smoothed out some of its more jagged edges, the four piece’s new take on the signature track loses none of the fiery vivacity that made it such a revelation in its original form. A tale of a relationship that was left in tatters by underhanded tactics and the age old problem of two opposing egos jostling for position, it’s another sterling addition to their catalogue and is predestined to be embraced with open arms by their ever growing legion of fans.
Boy Azooga- Jerry
In an interview with Edinburgh duo Man Of Moon at the start of the year, the band were eager to sing the praises of a young Welsh outfit known as Boy Azooga. After initially citing their love for debut single ‘Face Behind Her Cigarette’, we heeded their words and have since went on a wondrous musical journey that will culminate with the band’s debut album. A precocious step back into more wistful terrain after the auditory workout of ‘Loner Boogie’, new single ‘Jerry’ exposes not only a tenderness to the band that has previously went unnoticed but attests to the rampant eclecticism and creativity that has made every track to date absolutely vital. Set to embark on the journey up to Glasgow for The Oran Mor’s West End Festival All Dayer, they’re a band to say that you caught before they go stratospheric.
Parliamo- Lucy
TTV were very happy to bring you a new premiere from Perth five-piece Parliamo last week. The band have released a new single ‘Lucy’ and celebrated with a raucous sold out hometown show in Perth last week. The teenagers have been playing around Scotland recently building a sizable fan base which has grown with each show.
Frontman Jack Dailly described the tune as: “Representing that one boy/girl everybody has who they’re a wee bit mad for throughout their teenage years, and it never really goes away. It’s not as simple as a playground crush, it’s a bit rougher round the edges, and it’s definitely not always a laugh, but it’s that one person who lifted your life out of mediocrity and made you laugh. I don’t know if I’d call it a love song, maybe more like an ode to that person. Everyone has someone that comes to mind, everybody has a Lucy.”
Filled with youthful energy and punk spirit, check out the video premiere below:
