Dry Cleaning – ‘Hit My Head All Day’
The first taste of Dry Cleaning’s third album offers a tantalising glimpse of what’s to come. Florence Shaw’s sardonic spoken word unfurls over Lewis Maynard’s grooving bassline, creates a psychedelic soup with the razor edge of ‘80s new wave. It’s surreal, hypnotic, and proof that the band are pushing their sound into stranger, sharper territory. The full album ‘Secret Love’ is due to land in January 2026. In the meantime, this banger will be on repeat.
System Olympia, REINEN – ‘Heat Of The Night’
Daft Punk meets Madonna in this racy collaboration that is over the top in all the right ways. ‘Heat Of The Night’ is supercharged with an ‘80s dancefloor beat and the vocoded vocals of REINEN. The track comes ahead of transcendent London-based DJ System Olympia’s compilation album ‘Love Language,’ which is set to feature a packed guestlist including Midnight Magic, Working Men’s Club, and Daniele Baldelli. Catch System Olympia live at her Night Tales’ Loft residency every Saturday in November.
Madeleine Rose Whitney – ‘Struttin’
Channelling the 1960s free-spirited Mod vibes of Dusty Springfield, Madeleine Rose Whitney captures the eccentricities of Soho through her smooth yet funky brand of blue-eyed soul. Her third single ‘Struttin’ is an unlikely ode to her idiosyncratic ex-flatmate — a 60-year-old, Jack Daniels-loving character known only as Strutter. Witney’s playful storytelling breathes fresh life into the fading eccentricities of modern London.
Girl Tones – ‘Burnout’
Sister duo Girl Tones, also known as Kenzie and Laila Crowe, are classically trained-musicians cum rockstars, inspired by fellow Kentuckians Cage The Elephant for whom they opened on tour last year. Their new track ‘Burnout’ is a scathing call-out that says what we’re all thinking when a man loves the sound of his own voice: “Pipe down little baby/Do you kiss your mother with a mouth like that?”
Mei Semones – ‘Itsumo’
Switching seamlessly between English and Japanese, Mei Semones fuses city pop, bossa nova and experimental jazz into something uniquely her own. Her new track ‘Itsumo’ (which can mean either ‘always’ or ‘never,’ depending on context) reflects on the dualities of cultural identity, expressed through lyrics that flow effortlessly across languages. Dreamy guitar tones, soft rhythms and Semones’ delicate vocals combine to create a sound that feels intimate yet expansive — a shimmering addition to the Japanese-American artist’s already captivating catalogue.
