OVER the past few days, the world as we know it has been thrown into abject turmoil. Due to ingrained and inconceivable levels of hatred, we’ve seen young music lovers venture out for what should’ve been a pivotal night in their young lives and yet they sadly never got the chance to go home and regale their friends with how great the show had been.
Just as it did when Eagles Of Death Metal’s show at the Bataclan was the subject of a heinous attack, music and those that keep this industry going will refuse to lie down to the threat of violent reprisal and cities all over the world will play host to new, exciting artists on a daily basis. Almost an act of defiance in itself, this week has seen a plethora of artists release fantastic new music and continue on their paths towards wider acclaim. Hailing from right here in our homeland to further flung locales, here’s the best new tracks that can hopefully lift your spirits during what has been an abominable week for all of us.
Bluebirds- Dog
A Scottish outfit that is capable of producing some of the most invigorating and shiver-inducing music we’ve heard all year, Bluebirds have well and truly delivered on all of their early promise with the stark ‘There Is No God EP.’ Loaded with nihilism and jagged dissonance, it is a project that will lure you down a depraved path and will leave you feeling purged of all of your demons when you reach the other side. Among the highlights of their latest work is the sinister ‘Dog’ and it is one that thrills from bell to bell. Loaded with menacing deluges of guitar and paired with unflinching vocal delivery and poetic lyricism that challenges the listener at every juncture, it may not be for the faint-hearted but it is a truly entrancing affair.
Mellah- Old Friend
Taken from his recently released EP Liminality, Peckham-based singer/songwriter has carved out his own niche with the adoption of a vibrant sound which bears hallmarks of both indie and shimmering electro-pop. Seemingly destined to be a stalwart on lists of ones to watch, the serene sounds of ‘Old Friend’ epitomises everything that is so alluring about his material and is the perfect starting point for the as yet uninitiated.
Pinact- Seams
After well and truly impressing on their debut record Stand Still And Rot, the news of Pinact’s upcoming sophomore effort The Part That No One Knows has been met with adulation and eagerness. Set to emerge via New York’s Kanine Records, the first taste of what’s to come from the record has arrived in the form of ‘Seams’ and it demonstrates a considerable development in the band’s musical manifesto. Ramping up the poppy sensibilities that had always lingered in the background of their material, their newest offering is fraught with stirring instrumentation and emotive declarations that register as a band with seemingly endless upside potential hitting their stride with a renewed level of self-confidence.
The Magic Gang- Your Love
A band that has became prolific over the past couple of years and have treated fans to a seemingly endless stream of brilliant material, The Magic Gang are once again firing on all cylinders with the serene indie-pop of ‘Your Love.’ Sentimental and cutesy but in a manner that brims with overwhelming sincerity, a full length debut album from this outfit can’t come soon enough.
Bad Mannequins- I Hate You
An ambitious and self-assured outlook is something that can often radiate from a band’s material and that is most certainly the case with Glasgow outfit Bad Mannequins. Crafting a hulking and muscular sound that belies their status as a two-piece, the band have followed up the thrilling ‘Buzz Killer Skinny Gene’ with the equally enrapturing ‘I Hate You.’ Brimming with irrepressible exuberance and a playfully sardonic outlook that serves to increase the hype that is gathering around them, this latest offering is the sound of captivating and angular punk rock condensed into two fun-filled minutes.
ST.Martiins- OTHR GRLS
Emerging from seemingly nowhere at the tail end of last year, Dundee-based duo St.Martiins have wasted little time in asserting themselves within Scotland’s diverse scene.
Set to support Pronto Mama at their album launch/ triumphant victory lap at The Art School on Friday, the pair have definitely ensured that there’ll be a captive audience awaiting their arrival with the wondrous ‘Othr Grls.’
Their strongest work to date in many respects, their latest offering builds on the foundations of shimmering indie and sleek pop that shined through on tracks such as ‘About U’ and expanded on them with aplomb. Accessible and yet in no way saccharine or overwrought, the emphatic vocal performance proves to be the perfect sparring partner for the track’s vibrant guitar lines which fuse the more experimental garage rock dalliances of The Strokes’ Nick Valensi with the demure slickness of the 1975.
