Following the success of their previous single “Stationary Life”, the rising stars of Alt-rock world, Palma Louca, are back with their newest work “Us and Them”. This Newcastle-based shoegaze quintet have been praised for their dreamy guitars and tight musicianship and they are not about to drop the ball any time soon. Recorded at home during lockdown, “Us and Them” is Palma Louca flexing their lyrical muscle, presenting a track that is complex and engrossing, like a good book. 

Forego your morning coffee in favour of “Rubberband”, the bouncing synth-rock bonanza from Big Fun. The band – made up of Nasty Kathy, Beef Angel and BigBong – is true to their name; with their outrageous aesthetic and love for “Big bOOTY ROCK and Roll”, the collective is hyperactive, fresh, infectiously exciting and dripping with irony. “Rubberband” is the first track off their upcoming album OOGLEY BOOGLEY, inviting us to partake of their madness.

Taking her pop roots and blending them with a darker concoction of electronic rock, this LA-based Kiwi singer awakens your senses with her rich caffeinated vocals. Formed through lyrics which grasp onto a feeling of togetherness with her long-distance boyfriend, this single builds to mimic a heady fever dream. Moving from its pillows of synths into a wash of ethereal textures that stop time in its tracks.

Abloom with synths, soft percussion and raw vocals, this song is not the self-deprecating anthem you would expect from such a title. Lyrically it pushes communal empathy: paying homage to the sad reality that many people don't get to hear their importance before they are gone. Written as part of Phillips' grieving process, this track lets her words take the lead as she skillfully guides you through a lush bed of soul-pop.

Bollo Bollo is certainly an unconventional band name, but often going against the grain showcases those that are the most creative. The group met through gigging in separate bands in their local area of Buckinghamshire, whilst the name is the result of the gorilla in the BBC’s The Mighty Boosh, which already tells you that Bollo Bollo know a lot about music. Not only do they know a lot about music, but they’re also pretty good at creating it.

You will be doing anything but wanting to hide away when you hear Aonian’s new track ‘Hideout’. In fact, you will want to be sharing this song everywhere, it is the perfect song for a walk, for a garden party, or even a secret rave. Aonian is the moniker of Alkis Livathinos, a Greek-born, London-based producer, who has been carefully curating his musical style, and through his previous releases is really starting to shine. Having already established a trusted reputation in composition across media and brands, Aonian has returned from years of instrumental experimentation with a perfectly refined sound.

Written, recorded and produced from the artist also known as Marnie Burt’s home studio, this track is coffee for the soul; soothing you through the tales of insecurity pacified through a partnership of soft guitar and rich vocals. With vibrant harmonic movements which trace your ear like a ghost, she gives herself over to the listener through a wordless surrender.

Gabriel is an alt singer-songwriter from Stoke-on-Trent, a city that regularly reminisces about the glory days during their industrial revolution and regeneration projects that never took off, but despite the failings of the industrial aspects, Gabriel is ensuring that he puts Stoke back on the map for all the right reasons with his exceptional new single.

This track sees the rising German artist channelling the energy from the summer in which it was written into a blaze of indie rock. Carrying larger than life sentiments, Ost challenges Ants’ lesser-known acronym, Automatic-Negative-Thoughts, by coming to a lyrical reckoning with the daily anxieties of life and love. Dwelling within a soundscape that leans into the waves of modern indie, the single grows into an explosive chorus which you can’t help but sing along to.

Meet Monk, the project of songwriter and vocalist Pichya Nimit and cellist Sean Peal. Their music strives to defy genre, taking elements from dreamy indie-pop as well as R&B and classical cello. As advocates and amplifiers for marginalised voices, Monk create music from the perspective of queer, POC experience. Following the 2020 release of their debut tracks, “Closer” and “Astronaut”, the duo is back with their latest endeavour, “Endoftheworld”, composed remotely over the course of lockdown.

A band who have grafted their way through the cities dense gig scene over the past five years, this follow up to their last EP, Swirling Out Wide is a riotous pit of energy. Stocked but guitar and driven by the will to become something better, this track is the inspiration you need to reform yourself into all you’ve ever wanted to be.

Imagine lying in a pool of sunlight that occasionally seeps through your bedroom window sometime in the late afternoon. There is lots to do and time is melting away, but you don’t care – you are too busy blissing out. That is the sound of ‘Blurry Days’, a collaborative track from the emerging Brighton based artist/producer Pastil and songwriter Renzo. A two part endeavour, ‘Blurry Days’ is our first taste of this highly successful collaboration, with a second single ‘Smoke Break’ to follow in its tracks. 

There’s a frustration behind ‘Never Destroyed’, the latest offering from Dublin artist Dizmation. Inspired by the internal processes of an artist and the compulsive addiction to create, it’s a sonic catharsis that straddles the external forces which guide us. Dizmation is considered in his use of layering, building the solitary notes of electric guitar with raspy vocals and ultimately finding euphoria through the echoing rejoice of gradually-intensifying synthesizers.

As the first single which feels like it could have been taken from a band's sophomore album, this Brisbane-based duo have thrived through the constraints of COVID. Using the pandemic as a sign to start a new music project. Dragging you down into alt-pop heaven of irresistible hooks and rich lyrics which search for a deeper understanding of the self, there is a glimmer of Holy Holy etched into the singles texture (a fact which is likely influenced by the track's producer Aidan Hogg). 

Nashville native Natalie Madigan doesn’t shy away from bold, idiosyncratic style or from introspective storytelling. Mixing the old with the new, she plots her own path, arriving at increasingly more exciting locations; her song “Anyone” has been featured on the Netflix drama “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and she is not planning on stopping there. 

‘Good Together’ is an ode to better times ahead. As the second single from upcoming mixtape ‘Headspace’, the track infuses the eternal optimism of a late sunset with the hope of an easing lockdown. Co-written with Sam Seccombe over FaceTime, the track has an understated confidence to it and finds a remarkably candid sound for a long-distance collaboration. Mosiah Levi’s characteristic bass vocals dance playfully over the mellifluous twangs of electric guitar, effortlessly teasing the unfiltered energy of human connection.