Echo Machine – I Was Never Here
Starting off this week’s edition is some massive sounding pop from Dundee’s Echo Machine. ‘I Was Never Here’ taken from their recently released debut LP, sounds like the perfect high-octane pop sound, as The 1975 meets Chvrches meets Editors in this boisterous display of pop music. A wall of noise takes over as Echo Machine blasts their way through three minutes of reverb-drenched riffs, ’00s indie rock/pop style and invigorating, dance-worthy beats.
ROSA – Phone
Amsterdam based, Surinamese-Native American newcomer ROSA, shared one of the most stylistic videos I’ve seen in a long time, utilising Instagram stories on their latest work ‘Phone’. Combining hip-hop with disco-infused pop, ROSA looks into relationships and intimacy through the lens of our phones, @-ing partners, parading an unrealistic facade of perfection across social media, obsessing over how romance looks on our personal screens. Its visual side fits perfectly with ‘Phone’s straight forward beat and will leave you tapping the side of your phone in frustration.
Secret Cameras – The Silence
London four-piece Secret Cameras return with the first take of their upcoming EP, sharing ‘The Silence’. It’s been a while since Secret Cameras were making noise, but it’s clear to see that their gothic-indie style has developed towards the levels we were hoping for back in 2017. ‘The Silence’ summons an array of synth hooks and jarring guitars, manipulated into sounding almost human, personifying screaming souls through the power of electronic manipulation.
Bizou – Crashing Sky
Featuring current and former members of Light FM, The Smashing Pumpkins, Wax Idols and Glaare, Bizou is the latest supergroup you need to add to your playlists. ‘Crashing Sky’ creeps in with an alt-rock start, before quickly erupting into flurries of shoegaze mixed with post-punk, as synths scatter across a multitude of genres, clashing together in an amazing display of genre unity. The influences of each member are boldly apparent as ‘Crashing Sky’ goes through the whole spectrum of genres without sounding anything less than exciting after each minor shift into a new style.
APRIL – New Conditions
Irish newcomer APRIL finishes this weeks selection with another slice of her stunning take on bedroom pop, with ‘New Conditions’. Depicting personal escapism through love, avoiding problems due to infatuation taking over, APRIL quickly descends into a bluer territory, all while cloaked in the warming embrace of her bedroom pop style. A guise of swirling riffs swamped in reverb turns APRIL’s words into white noise, sounding like sweet lullabies instead of pleas for emotional support, perfectly capturing the static that infatuation first produces.
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