It’s the opening lines, and the way that they’re sung that really gets to you on ‘Conditions.’ Ella Williams (aka. Squirrel Flower) calmly delivers: “I’ll be gentle, and I’ll take it slowly, just as long as you say you don’t need me.” Words imbued with sadness, delivered with a quivering authority.
When a band is committed to a genre, and expressing their creativity through this specific gaze, it is important to set the tone from the off – something achieved to great success by South London dream-pop/shoegaze troupe RAZE on new single ‘Withers House.’
Whoa, isn’t this a lovely slice of Swedish cosmic-croon-pop? Elias Mahfoud, one quarter of Stockholm’s best named band Steve Buscemi’s Dreamy Eyes, tip-toes out on his own under the moniker Chez Ali, and ‘Blue Cheese‘ is as chilled and compelling an intro as you could ask for.
Modern life is almost routinely stressful – full of things to ‘do’ and responsibilities to uphold. The beauty of music in this context is its capacity to take on many different roles within this framing, and every now and again comes a tune that relaxes your bones, and brings a calming smile to your face. […]
If you like your guitars wobbly and your vocals delicate then ‘Get On’ is the tune for you. The stellar new single from enigmatic Londoner Forced Random (aka. Oliver Girdler) is caught somewhere in an emotional hinterland; either and neither a pleasant-sadness or a somber-happiness. This dichotomy at its heart makes sense when you consider […]
‘Hi Lewis, I really think this track will catch your vibe, along the lines of Happyness.’
In trendy Shoreditch, trendy brewery Goose Island threw a block party in the Red Market, just out the back of trendy venue Kamio.
Reliable south-coast hit factory Cannibal Hymns have pulled another one out of the bag with this one, the debut single from Underwater Boys, ‘Everyone You Know‘.
For me, a lot of folk tends to wash over me – too often technically competent vocals and guitar work are deemed enough to qualify a song as a ‘success’, when really it’s the ability to make one feel something. Luckily, Marvin Powell’s new single ‘Wind Before the Train’ does just that – not necessarily […]
We here at Bitter Sweet towers are big supporters of Indoor Pets, and new single ‘All My Friends’ does nothing to diminish this fanaticism. With all their grunge-pop trademarks intact, there’s a newfound element of subtlety in the bittersweet (ha) chord progression in the chorus. This is reflected well, equally, in the snatches of melancholic […]
Over the course of barely half-an-hour Bristolian four-piece Milo’s Planes are here to fuzz-out your headphones and shake yer bones; third album ‘Individual Development Plan’ is dropping tomorrow via Gravy Train Recordings and we’re delighted to offer the first stream of this depraved collection of tracks.
81 seconds of pure, adolescent, mind-addled, ferocious, distortion-on-everything, punk reborn, sound vomit is the short review of this delightfully mad and vital new track from Bristolians Milo’s Planes, ‘Fidget in Paralysis’.
Glasgow x London trio Dama Scout first caught my eye at one of the DIY Hello 2017 showcases at the Old Blue Last in January, and I was immediately taken by their eclectic take on post-punk, via those two well-trodden touchstones shoegaze and slacker-rock. One minute guitars are squalling, pained feedback induced yelps, the next […]
Combining the psych elements of Pond, alongside the grooves of midlife-crisis Beck (think ‘Dreams’), Brussels’ Wooly Mammoths unveil new single ‘Water Slide’ and it’s a great taste of their sound. Honing their chops in the Belgian countryside before emigrating to the big city, the five-piece initially caused a stir in their home country, playing shows […]
In a break from convention, I’m gonna give the artist the first word here: “It’s about crushing really hard on someone, and finding myself doing fucking ridiculous things to feel like we’ve got some kind of connection. Watching films that they mentioned fleetingly or ordering their favourite drink at a bar. Very stupid but happens […]
Inspired by the seemingly endless stories doing the rounds celebrating and pontificating on the ten year anniversary since the first airing of Skins, the ‘coming-of-age’ TV series for the MySpace Generation – I dipped back in to give it a re-watch. Yes, the acting is pretty naff, and the supposedly intimidatingly cool kids look hella outdated […]
‘Neoprene’, the debut single from PATHS is nothing if not incredibly intriguing – so intriguing in fact that it took a long while trying to decide in my mind whether or not I was actually into it. I ended up going back and forth constantly, before it was no longer my own decision – the […]
Oh yeah! ‘Skin’, the lead single from Gender Roles’ new EP ‘Planet X-Ray’ is the perfect fuzzed-out, bratty tonic to all the bullshit things that are inexplicably happening. Snarling vocals, brutal bass, and a heavy dose of cymbals congeal together with off-kilter guitar licks to create a feel-bad-feel-good winter hit.
In the deep dark depths of a dreary January, when it can’t even snow properly, here comes an indie-pop instant classic from Merseyside’s latest, greatest export Zuzu to lift your spirits.
Coming straight at you, and channelling 90s shoegaze and 60s revivalist psych-vocals are West Londoners Keroscene with their tune ‘I Can’t Do a Thing’, accompanied here by a suitably mind-melding video. Warm layers of fuzz give the track its backbone, on top of which glitchy lead guitars and wavy, hazy vocals deliver infectious melodies.