The Howl & The Hum – Human Contact
A group I’ve never actually reviewed, yet they’ve made our end of year list for the past two years running, The Howl & The Hum are a group who never cease to stun with their gargantuan displays of indie. On ‘Human Contact’, deep waves of electro burst into even deeper depths of bass heavy indie-rock, erupting into razor sharp guitars and violent drums, all while frontman Sam Griffiths delivers his usual display of uber-level lyricism. Another trophy to place on their ever growing pile of triumphant indie anthems, ‘Human Contact’ is yet another A+ for the York group.
Zola Blood – Needle in the Hay
With that first wobble of a synth key, goosebumps were already growing, but once Matt West lets out that first murmer, it’s an instant rush of joy to hear ‘new’ Zola Blood. A cover of the Elliott Smith track, Zola Blood work their magic by transforming the chilled out acoustic track into a warped, synth heavy display of amalgamated indietronica, plentiful with moody-dance worthy beats that will have indie kids everywhere stoked that Zola Blood have released something new, even if it’s not original material.
Silver Pools – A Kiss for the Summer
Looking back on manipulative relationships, sending a kiss goodbye to past friends and lovers, Silver Pools utilise there past evils to create luscious and wavey DIY-electro-pop on ‘A Kiss for the Summer’. There’s a whole host of points to love about ‘A Kiss for the Summer’. It’s accompanying video looks gorgeous and is shown partially through the nostalgia of VHS; Silver Pools deliver a chilled out performance when reflecting upon past traumas in a truly stunning manner, and then to top it all off, it runs for over five minutes, so it feels like the joy of listening to this track will never end.
Talkboy – All Works Out
The Leeds outfit are back again, following their previous single ‘Wasting Time’, now focusing on the realisation of true friendships on ‘All Works Out’. Being as charming as ever, Talkboy roll out their signature clashing of cycling harmonies and luscious soundscapes, chopping away at their love of indie rock with gleeful abandon, knowing that you don’t have to wait for something bad to happen to receive love and affection, but those who care will be there when you need them most.
Chastity – The Girls I Know Don’t Think So
A slew of North American, bedroom DIY indie styles are swarming around Chastity’s Brandon Williams on ‘The Girls I Know Don’t Think So, much to our total joy. An opening reminiscent of The Fresh & Onlys on ‘Presence of Mind’, welcomes in a range of DIY styles, gregarious in nature as bedroom pop turns into pop-punk and then indie-garage. Collaboratively cohesive and bleeding into each respective genre with complete ease, Chastity is a total joy on his latest work.
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