Liverpool outfit COMMUNIST SEX MAGIC arrive with a debut album that seems almost determined to reject the idea of easy listening. This Charming Life is loud, murky and deliberately uncomfortable in places, but beneath all that distortion sits a surprisingly thoughtful record about disillusionment, identity and the difficulty of staying human whenContinue Reading

Southampton-based Shadow Flowers offer an absorbing introduction to their debut album Blood Book with new single ‘Paraselene’, a layered piece of alternative rock that moves between shoegaze, grunge and more atmospheric territory. The project of songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Aaron Mills, working alongside Ash Babb and Patrick White, draws on the weight and texture associated with My BloodyContinue Reading

On the captivating Stuff, East Cleveland solo project Monophonic Underground takes a deliberately restrained approach to experimental electronica, favouring atmosphere, texture and unusual source material over obvious hooks. The result is an EP that feels considered rather than chaotic, with its stranger ideas given enough space to fully register. Created aloneContinue Reading

West Virginia songwriter Daniel Brown returns under his HAYBOY moniker with ‘Smartness & Dollars’, the first glimpse of a forthcoming album and a thoughtful exploration of the distance between achievement and fulfilment. Blending alternative rock with psychedelic and Americana influences, the single combines distorted guitars with drifting melodies and a subdued, immersive atmosphere.Continue Reading