TTV DSICOVER: New Music Radar 123

THIS week’s top tracks include Lucia & the Best Boys, Disclosure, Edwin Organ, Dream Wife and more. Check them out below.

Lucia & the Best Boys ‘Let Go’ 

Following the release of their ‘Eternity’ EP earlier this year, Lucia & the Best Boys have returned with a deeply moving track called ‘Let Go’. A far cry from the thunderous alt-rock tunes we’re used to hearing from the quartet, ‘Let Go’ presents the singer at her most raw and exposed, sharing her most intimate thoughts and feelings and trying to make sense of them the only way she knows how. Written during a time when by her own admission she felt “emotionally confused and sometimes lost”,  listening to ‘Let Go’ is like being invited to read a confidential diary entry and the results give you goosebumps each and every time. There’s hope and solace to be found in Lucia’s words as well though –  through her own emotional catharsis, she reminds us that there is comfort and strength to be found in communicating your feelings.

Delving in deep to the track she said: “I have always enjoyed writing songs that are clear and to the point but I think ‘Let Go’ is the most honest and true I have ever been in a song. Last year I had a tough time trying to put my thoughts into comprehensible words because I was emotionally confused and sometimes lost. This led me to try things out, like writing on a piano which I never really do as I’ve always started writing songs on a guitar. Somehow this allowed these words to spill out of me whilst sitting at a piano, after a very long and frustrating time of finding what I wanted to say.

“The following week I was in LA and I showed what I had written to my friend Alex Greenwald of Phantom Planet. He loved the song and so I finished it with him out there at his house. We had no proper studio set up and originally this was meant to just be a demo, but at the time the song felt so present to me that we decided there was no way doing a re recorded version would have the same emotion. It was almost overwhelming as once we had finished it and I listened back to it, it was such a weight off my shoulders, and a slight sense of relief as I felt like ‘ah, this is what I’ve been wanting to say the whole time’.”

Walt Disco ‘Cut Your Hair’ (Wuh Oh remix) 

Esteemed Glasgow producer Wuh Oh, known for tracks such as ‘Zita’ and ‘Pretty Boy’, has lent his masterful touch to the latest track from fellow Glasgow-based glam-punks Walt Disco ‘Cut Your Hair’. Having already received waves of acclaim since its release a couple of weeks ago, the irrepressibly vibrant and wonderfully chaotic dance bop has become the band’s anthem for androgyny, a rejection of toxic masculinity and a bold mandate to forge your own path and be 100% yourself.

Now fans can hear it like they’ve never heard it before. James Potter’s incredible vocals still sit front and centre of the track but Wuh Oh’s influence is immediately recognisable. Fusing styles like only he can, he imbues the track with a sense of foreboding, pairing Potter’s charismatic warble with feverish synths and pulsating rhythms before sending it to new euphoric heights with some seriously amped up disco. Built around one vibrant, devilishly infectious synth hook line, the shape-shifting remix is constantly on the move as Wuh Oh unleashes one unpredictable flash of brilliance after another.

Rachel Jack ‘Bring Me Down’ 

New to the pages of New Music Radar, Rachel Jack is a singer-songwriter from Aberdeen who is in the process of releasing a string of singles in the build up to her debut EP ‘The Calgary Tapes’. The latest track to emerge from this prolific period is a stunning piece of folk-pop called ‘Bring Me Down’ – a three-minute display of raw vocal talent and lyrical craft that sees her leave a toxic relationship behind in order to assert her own independence. “Help me find compassion in the eyes of those who try and bring me down” is the hook line as she emerges strong and defiant. While there’s something beautifully intimate and introspective about Jack’s songwriting, there’s a strong tension that bubbles away under the surface of ‘Bring Me Down’ – as if her acoustic strums and warm harmonies are sewn together by her burning desire to succeed. Refusing to let anyone get in her path, it’s a gorgeous addition to her repertoire and an inspiring, uplifting reminder to believe in yourself.

Edwin Organ ‘The River’ 

Edwin Organ explores “love and mistakes” on his brand new single ‘The River’. Following last year’s trilogy of ‘Men’ EPs, the electronic pop producer continues to challenge our expectations, beefing up his signature woozy, angular pop sound with throbbing synth lines, big beats and synth claps. Reminiscent of  LCD Soundystem’s ‘This Is Happening’ era, the reflective lyrical sentiment is juxtaposed by the vibrant, uplifting instrumental as Organ unleashes his exquisite production skills once again. It’s the kind of euphoric indie dance banger that Hot Chip would be proud of. Organ said: “The River is a song about love and mistakes. As humans we get caught up in a lot of things. Distractions can really get us in a pickle and it’s worse when hindsight presents us with all the signs we missed clear as day.”

Dancing On Tables ‘Losing You’ 

Scottish alt-rock five-piece Dancing On Tables are back with a massive new tune called ‘Losing You’. Known for their power-hungry anthems, massive hooks and unrelenting instrumentals, the band show off their stadium-sized ambitions yet again. Bursting with singalong choruses, soaring synths and driving guitars, it’s a track that will go down a storm with fans and is likely to feel all the more potent in the midst of lockdown. It has also been accompanied by a feel-good video shot from home, featuring the band performing the track alongside fan-submitted clips.

Mark Sharp & the Bicycle Thieves ‘Mad World’ 

Mark Sharp & the Bicycle Thieves have shared a cover of Tears For Fears’ iconic song ‘Mad World’ as a thank you to the NHS and care workers for all their hard work and dedication throughout the coronavirus pandemic. With all proceeds going directly to NHS Scotland, the track can be exclusively downloaded HERE on Bandcamp while the band have also shared an uplifting new video to go alongside it. Check it out below.

Khruangbin ‘So We Won’t Forget’

With intoxicating hazy instrumentals and sun-kissed melodies aplenty, Texan trio Khruangbin are a band made for your summer playlist. The band’s new album ‘Mordechai’ is out on 26th June and it finds them operating on a more accessible level, adding warm vocal harmonies to their enchanting, psychedelic blend. Continuing the theme of reflection after last month’s ‘Time (You and I), their latest track ‘So We Won’t Forget’ is a wonderfully smooth addition to their catalogue, with soft percussive rhythms and warm, dreamy guitar tones.

Dream Wife ‘So When You Gonna…’ 

After showing their softer side on last month’s ‘Hasta La Vista’, the band are back to give us another tantalising preview of the new record with an invigorating slice of punk-pop. Fuelled by their customary cutting riffs and riotous energy, Rakel Mjoll challenges a partner to grab the moment in a powerful display of self-empowerment and body autonomy.

She says of the track: “It’s a dare, an invitation, a challenge.  It’s about communicating your desires, wholehearted consent and the point where talking is no longer enough. It promotes body autonomy and self-empowerment through grabbing the moment. The breakdown details the rules of attraction in a play by play ‘commentator’ style, inspired by Meat Loaf’s ‘Paradise by the Dashboard Light’.

Full of infectious charisma, punk kicks and gang vocals, it’s everything you want from a Dream Wife song – even the fun inclusion of the stream-of consciousness commentary in the track’s breakdown. Meanwhile, as we’ve heard on the two previous singles, everything feels punchier and more pumped up than ever before – from Rakel’s sharp, direct lyrics to the jagged, adrenaline-inducing guitar lines. It’s another hugely exciting preview of what’s to come from the new record.

Haim ‘Don’t Wanna’ 

‘Don’t Wanna’ is the sixth single we’ve heard from Haim’s upcoming album ‘Women In Music Pt III” and it finds them trying to salvage a love on the ropes. Sonically it sits alongside the band’s classic pop-rock tracks, featuring soaring melodies and fun electric guitar licks over deep bass grooves and toe-tapping snare rhythms. Gradually building up with layers of vocals and horn-like fanfare, it’s a more upbeat and carefree affair compared to last month’s eerily pandemic-appropriate ‘I Know Alone’. With six bangers out of six, the band’s third album is shaping up to be another massive triumph.

Phoebe Bridgers ‘I See You’ 

With her second album ‘Punisher’ set to arrive on 19th June, Phoebe Bridgers has shared another new preview track called ‘I See You’.  Sitting somewhere between the two ‘Punisher’ tracks we’ve heard already, the restrained ‘The Garden’ and the more upbeat ‘Kyoto’, Bridgers’ soft vocals soar over a churning, fleshed-out arrangement of dreamy synths and gritty guitars. There’s a bittersweetness about the track as she retreads the breakup of a relationship, lyrically shifting from the poetic to the amusingly banal. She says: “It’s about my breakup with my drummer. We dated for a few years, made music every day, and were extremely codependent. “We became like family to each other, so our breakup was extremely tough. But if this tells you anything about our relationship, we wrote this song together, just like everything else.”

IDLES ‘Mr Motivator’ 

With the follow-up to 2018’s widely acclaimed ‘Joy As An Act of Resistance’ now officially on the way, IDLES have treated fans to an explosive preview of what’s to come from their third LP. ‘Mr Motivator’ is fuelled by the band’s now renowned apocalyptic energy and searing guitar lines as Joe Talbot spits off a series of unique lyrical images and even offers a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgment of the band’s tendency for sloganeering – “How do you like them cliches? he quips. Packed full of hopeful defiance, it all builds up to a boisterous, aptly-time chorus (“Let’s seize the day!”) that looks towards a brighter future.

Brijs ‘Glitra’ 

Having worked predominantly behind the scenes as a composer on a number of award-winning TV and film projects, Brijs is ready to claim a space of his own with the release of his debut album later this year. The singer-songwriter emerged a couple of weeks ago with ‘Glitra’ – a soaring. effervescent slice of indie-pop that will capture your heart as much as your ears. Bringing his pop influences to the forefront, it’s a glorious, euphoric piece of songwriting that suggests even bigger things to come.

Squid ‘Broadcaster’ 

A strange sense of unease permeates ‘Broadcaster’ from the very off. Opening in sparse, eerie fashion with an arpeggiated synth line and Ollie Judge’s increasingly intense vocals, the track sees them push the parameters of their art-rock sound once more, taking it into warped psychedelia. Elongated, looping passages gradually expand until the track starts to escalate quickly with layers upon layers of sound, Judge practically wailing into the darkness until the track dramatically cuts to silence and we’re left with more questions than when we started.

The Mysterines ‘I Win Every Time’ 

Just a couple of months after delivering one of our most iconic live sessions to date, The Mysterines are back with the incendiary ‘I Win Every Time’. The band leave absolutely nothing behind on this blistering track – amped-up guitars and relentless drums build to an almighty crescendo while Lia Metfcalfe’s growl unleashes pure chaos on the maniacal choruses. Racing in at just under three minutes, The Mysterines’ unstoppable ascent shows no sign of slowing down.

Inhaler ‘Falling In’ 

Tipped to become one of the breakthrough bands of 2020, Dublin quartet Inhaler have made an emphatic return with ‘Falling In’. Continuing their nostalgic reputation, the track is built on vibrant 80s grooves and soars with the spirit of Bryan Ferry and while comparisons between Elijah Hewson’s vocals and his father Bono’s are inevitable, the band continue to reveal new shades with each release. One thing is for sure though, they have their eyes set firmly on stadiums and arenas.

‘Falling In ‘documents how their lives have changed over the past year, a reflection on the pitfalls of success. “I think being a young band on tour,” says Hewson, “and seeing our music connect with audiences from different parts of the world has opened our eyes to the excitement and exhilaration of life and being up on stage and feeling wanted and loved can be a very powerful drug. We are just beginning to encounter our own egos and becoming aware that allowing it to be in charge of who you are can be your downfall.

Disclosure ‘ENERGY’ 

Disclosure have announced that the follow-up to 2015’s Caracal will arrive on 28th August and will feature guest spots from Mick Jenkins, Channel Tres, Aminé, Slowthai, and Common alongside Kelis, Fatoumata Diawara, Kehlani and Syd, and Cameroonian musician Blick Bassy. Along with the announcement of the album, Disclosure brothers Guy and Howard Larence have shared its lead single and title track ‘ENERGY’. Featuring Eric Thomas who also featured on ‘When A Fire Starts To Burn’, the hip-hop preacher bears an indomitable presence, channelling the raucous Brazilian-inspired tune into a motivational anthem.