OUR top tracks of the week feature CHVRCHES, Cheap Teeth, Cara Rose, Sigrid, Joy Crookes and more.
CHVRCHES ‘California’
CHVRCHES have returned refocused and reinvigorated on fourth album ‘Screen Violence’ – out today. Inspired by the dark side of technology and how we spend our days consuming a steady diet of horrific news and toxic discourse through our devices, it’s an album packed with rich storytelling and social commentary with Lauren Mayberry’s incisive lyrics set against some of their most diverse instrumentals to date – weaving in darker, more aggressive elements of goth, post-punk, industrial, and even hip-hop to their monolithic bangers. ‘California’ is one of its many highlights – built around a rumbling bassline, it builds to a climactic epiphany.
Sigrid ‘Burning Bridges’
Pop phenomenon Sigrid has returned with her second song of the year ‘Burning Bridges’. It’s a club-ready banger that packs an almighty punch, building up to an almighty pop chorus. She says “It’s inspired by one of the toughest things I’ve been through. It’s a song that’s about the point where you just have to say in a relationship, ‘you know what, let’s just finish this’.
Joy Crookes ‘When You Were Mine’
Joy Crookes continues the roll-out of her debut album ‘Skin’ with this romantic new track ‘When You Were Mine’. A track that feels like an instant classic, it finds Joy reflecting on a past relationship – her distinctively soulful vocals complementing the euphoric, brass-heavy instrumental.
Geese ‘Low Era’
After emerging a couple of months ago with buzzy debut single ‘Disco’, Brooklyn outfit Geese have announced details of their first album ‘Projector’ alongside new track ‘Low Era’. The song came about when the five-piece had been exploring ‘super heavy, creepy crawly, complicated’ sounds but found freedom in ‘something more danceable’. With tempo changes, textured riffs and psychedelic flourishes all thrown into the effortlessly cool mix, it’s an upbeat banger that has us yearning for more.
Self Esteem ‘How Can I Help You’
Self Esteem’s new album ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ is out in October and she’s shared a new single from it called ‘How Can I Help You’. The singer takes aim at the objectification of women on the blistering track, delivering her cathartic lyrics against pummelling drums and jarring synth sounds.
Admiral Fallow ‘Dragonfly’
‘It’s a small victory’ Louis Abbott sings in the opening lines of ‘Dragonfly’ – the new single from Admiral Fallow. The optimistic track is a lovely return from the Scottish folk outfit, its warm, delicate verses building up to euphoric choruses that take the track to new wondrous heights.
Cheap Teeth ‘I Am The Mud’
Cheap Teeth are back with another tenacious and twisted post-punk ballad, “I Am The Mud”, produced by Chris McCrory and released through Permanent Creeps records. Their second release since their stand-out 2020 EP “Give Me More, Show Me Less”, “I Am The Mud” bears the markings of a Cheap Teeth classic, with an almost cabaret swing underpinning a no-holds-barred punk aggression. The English quartet return to Glasgow’s King Tut’s in October in support of WJ Healey where fans will be able to reacquaint themselves with Cheap Teeth when they’re at their best – live.
Cara Rose ‘Let Go’
Scottish singer/songwriter Cara Rose has dropped the breathtaking single “Let Go” ahead of the release of her upcoming second EP. Rose’s trademark soulful voice is accompanied by piano in one of her most tender and poignant lyrics to date as she leans on the jazz influences she was brought up on as a child. It’s been a busy year for Cara Rose, and she shows no signs of letting up with a performance live on BBC Radio Scotland today in The Afternoon Show, followed by a headline performance at King Tut’s on the 31st of August as she brings this year’s Summer Nights Festival to a close.
Wrest ‘Medicine’
East coast indie balladeers Wrest have released “Medicine” today, the follow up to their 2020 EP “A World That Has Left You Unspoken”. The song’s melancholic undertones bring to mind Scottish indie powerhouses Frightened Rabbit as anthemic indie instrumentation give the track its true potency. Wrest are set to hit the road soon with shows lined up in Leeds, Brighton, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow on the UK tour, and sold out shows in Germany to come later in the year.
Listen to our playlist below.
