ALTHOUGH you’d never know it by the dreary weather, summer is now in full swing and more incredible new music is continuing to burst forth from the world’s studios and directly into our brains.
Whether it’s a burgeoning talent from across the Atlantic or a homegrown group that’s paving their own way through this tumultuous industry, our new music radar is here to steer you towards the tracks that may grow in stature in your mind from a catchy refrain to a cornerstone of your life from here on out. Spanning hip-hop to alt-rock stalwarts and new Scottish prospects, here’s the best new tracks that we’ve been greeted by this week.
Foreignfox- I Used To Be A Bellydancer
Firm favourites of New Music Radar, Foreignfoxx continue to impress at every turn with their momentous and captivating sound. Mixing ambience with emotive lyrics about what it is to subsist as a human being in an increasingly torrid world, ‘I Used To Be A Bellydancer’ is the title track from their new EP and one that conjures up strong feelings that only grow in stature with repeated listens. Detailing the plight of a once ambitious young person that had been beseiged by misfortune, its stripped back intro soon gives way to a torrent of ferocious alt-rock and it is evident that the band’s central ethos and direction is paying off in spades. An eight minute opus that encapsulates what it’s like to be bereft and disillusioned, it’s both bitterly sad and yet uplifting at its core.
Harry And The Hendersons- Matchstick Men
Bonafide staples of Glasgow’s music scene, seven piece outfit Harry And The Hendersons are on the brink of releasing their debut album and the excitement is palpable. A band that culls the best elements from 60’s folk artists such as Crosby Stills And Nash, Donovan and Nick Drake, their way with harmony and melody is unparalleled and completely bewitching. The first track from their new album, ‘Matchstick Men’ begins serenely but hastily evolves into a bombastic fusion of funk and classic rock that Steely Dan would be proud of.
ONR- Jericho
Having recently signed with Capitol Records, ONR are a Scottish outfit that are absolutely brimming with potential. Possessors of a poignant rock sound that bears the hallmarks of 80’s synth pop pioneers such as Depeche Mode in its austere vocals, their new track ‘Jericho’ is a riveting affair that small venues won’t be able to contain for long. Lyrically intriguing and emboldened by supreme confidence in their material that is wholly justified, it’s time to get this band into your life with haste.
The National- Guilty Party
Expectations are always exceedingly high when the words ‘The National’ and ‘new album’ appear in the same sentence but it seems that we’re on course for something special on their upcoming album. Following on from the menacing sound of ‘The System Only Moves In Total Darkness’, the band have expanded on this sound with the impenetrable beauty of ‘Guilty Party.’ As affecting as anything they’ve ever written, Matt Berninger’s vocals on this new offering are truly intangible in their reserved yet equally heartfelt brilliance.
Vince Staples- Yeah Right
Although he’s always been on the cusp of greatness, there’s always been one element missing from Vince Staples’ material that has lacked the spark needed to propel from out of the crowd. After years as a ‘one to watch’, the Long Beach MC has finally produced an out and out triumph in the shape of his new album Big Fish Theory. Different in every way from previous projects and sonically revolutionary in hip-hop, among its several crowning glories is the rugged, Kendrick Lamar and SOPHIE assisted ‘Yeah Right.’
