Dream Wife – ‘Leech’
Power-grabbing gatekeepers and ‘It’s just a bit of banter’ apologists beware: Dream Wife have had just about enough of your shit, and they’ve got the guttural roar to prove it. Though ‘Leech’ – the first taster of the trio’s upcoming LP3 – might have hopped on the omnipresent talk-sing bandwagon, this is exactly the sort of pointed, visceral and deliciously dangerous track to give the genre a new lease of life. By the time Rakel Mjoll’s stream of pissed-off consciousness has reached a roaring climax with a scream most metal bands would be proud of, the result is perhaps Dream Wife’s best offering yet.
Black Honey – ‘Heavy’
With one foot in the darkness and the other kicking towards euphoria, the latest from Black Honey finds the Brighton quartet tackling grief and sorrow with a customary cinematic sweep. There’s a Killer-like sense of the anthemic to guitarist Chris Ostler’s soaring melodies, whilst a video directed by and starring current Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK star Dakota Schiffer feels like a match made in heaven for frontwoman Izzy Bee Phillips’ knack for dramatic retro glamour.
Grove – ‘Sound of the Underground’
Whilst we can all agree that Girls Aloud remain the best girl band of this century (sozza Little Mix), debut single ‘Sound of the Underground’ should more accurately have been titled ‘Sound of the Dollar Signs in Simon Cowell’s Eyes’. This ravey, drum’n’bass cover courtesy of Bristol’s Grove, however, feels deserving of the name: a bashment-tinged, party-starting take on the pop hit that harnesses the naughty spirit of the original and sends it off to Glastonbury’s South East Corner with a couple of pills in its back pocket.
spill tab – ‘CRÈME BRÛLÉE!’
Crack open the sugary top of a crème brûlée and you’ll find a centre oozing with unctuous delights. Same goes for the new namesake offering from French-Korean-American singer spill tab, however underneath this track’s moreish surface lies glorious chaos. Zinging along at a mile a minute, and flickering between Spanish guitars and psych riffs that Unknown Mortal Orchestra wouldn’t sniff at, it’s the musician’s attempt to make “the zazziest song we could”. We’re coming back for seconds.
Prima Queen – ‘Butter Knife’
A largely spoken word attempt to reconcile with losing a loved one to Alzheimer’s, ‘Butter Knife’ takes a backbone of performance poetry and embellishes it with slow, swelling strings and a heartbreaking, repeated motif (“‘She doesn’t remember,’ they said/ A head and a body, but she’s not there”). It’s a difficult listen, even with Prima Queen’s warm, humane vocals, but that’s sort of the point: though life moments like these will never be easy, maybe with a musical hand to hold, they can be a little easier.
Listen to these tracks and more new releases on our BRAND NEW playlist
