Further Listening:

5. Patience’s New Single Gives Us Something To Chew On

It’s been almost two years since we last heard new music from Patience, the electro moniker of former Veronica Falls member, Roxanne Clifford. That all changed this week with the release of not just a new single, The Girls Are Chewing Gum, but the announcement of Roxanne’s debut album, Dizzy Spells, due out in May.

The opening track as well as the first single, The Girls Are Chewing Gum is a powerful call to dance; all pulsating synth-bass and edgy 80’s vocals, it’s the sort of music you imagine they play at all the cool parties you’re probably not invited to. The track is accompanied by a self-directed video,  Roxanne transforming her Los Angeles bedroom into a, “makeshift disco”, as female friends are invited to chew gum, “as confidently as possible”.  A celebration of feminine self expression, it’s the perfect backing to a track that feels like a songwriter finding her own musical narrative and emerging as someone ready to make the most of every opportunity that will inevitably come her way.

Dizzy Spells is out May 5th via Night School Records / Winona Records (US). Click HERE for more information on Patience.

4. These Fish Have Hands

Flying Fish Cove are a Seattle based quartet, with a sound more indebted to the jangling indie-pop of England in the 1980’s than anything from the cities musical lineage. The band are set to release their debut album next month, and have this week shared the latest taster from it, Sleight Of Hand.

At the centre of Flying Fish Cove’s sound is singer and chief songwriter, Dean Zilber; the clipped, perfectly enunciated vocals command so much attention you could be forgiven for not even noticing the sublime guest vocal from Frankie Cosmos’ Greta Kline. Sleight Of Hand is a track that shows Flying Fish Cove as the latest step in a lineage from The Pastels through Talulah Gosh and Allo Darlin’; the drums bounce frenetically, the guitars jangle and shimmy, the vocals transmit all the heartache, exhaustion and anxiety that come with simply living your best life. As the famous book says, our band could be your life, and Flying Fish Cove already feel like the sort of band that could be well worth dedicating your life to.

At Moonset is out April 5th via Help Yourself Records. Click HERE for more information on Flying Fish Cove.

3. Everyone’s Going To Want To Join The All Girls Arson Club

Early contenders for the best band name of the year prize, that we don’t actually give out but possibly should, are Sheffield newcomers, All Girls Arson Club. The band formed after, “a Lambrini-fuelled screening of Kathleen Hanna’s The Punk Singer” and are determined to offer something different to, “the (over)abundance of boys in bands”. The first taste of their fun-punk sound will be shared with the world next month as they release their debut 7″ Dark Fruits.

This week the band have shared the first taste of Dark Fruits, in the shape of the least snappily named debut single imaginable, Untitled. The track is everything you want from a debut single, all delightfully lo-fi production, chant along vocals and unadulterated energy. Discussing the track the band have suggested it’s about, “the inane day to day arguments that plague many a relationship”, and how many people will happily put up with them in the pursuit of love: “I don’t want to drag you down, oh I will”. Fresh, raw and really rather exciting, All Girls Arson Club are more than just a brilliant name.

Dark Fruits out April 5th via Delicious Clam Records. Click HERE for more information on All Girls Arson Club.

2. The Harmaleighs Are Busy, Please Try Again Later

Hailing from Music City USA, although not obviously country influenced, Nashville’s The Harmaleighs are the duo of Haley Grant and Kaylee Jasperson. You’ll have to wait until August to hear their new album, however they’ve started sharing music from it this week, in the shape of new single, Sorry, I’m Busy.

An exploration of, “paralyzing social anxiety”, Sorry I’m Busy represents something of a departure from their previous acoustic material, there’s a rockier sound here nodding to the likes of Rilo Kiley or Tacocat. Underneath the production though, is a perfect pop song; the frenetic, passionate vocal delivery, the unforgettable chorus, the propulsive bass-line, it feels like a giant leap forward for the band.

She Won’t Make Sense is out August 2nd. Click HERE for more information on The Harmaleighs.

1. Drahla Provide A Reason To Live

There’s possibly no band currently operating who are doing a better job of keeping the ethos of post-punk alive than Leeds’ Drahla. Their skeletal song structures, anxious lyrical content and stark industrial imagery mark them out as the sort of band you expect George Orwell imagined when he envisioned the sound of 1984. Having already made an impact with their excellent Third Article EP back in 2017, the band are set to progress onto the longer format with their debut album, Useless Coordinates due out in May.

This week they’ve shared their latest single, Stimulus For Living, and its chilling and challenging video. Drahla are a band who always seem to be questioning the point of it all; songs structures are ripped up, the minute you think you know where the track is going, it slams on the breaks and shoots off somewhere else. Dense and angular, guitars sear into your ears, drums clatter and drive then suddenly disappear, vocals are clipped and rhythmic, there’s even a blast of saxophone: part smoky jazz, part pure noise. Like Mothers or Drinks, this isn’t always a comfortable listen, however it’s always an intriguing one, Drahla feel unpredictable, uncompromising and very, very exciting.

Useless Coordinates is out May 3rd via Captured Tracks. Click HERE for more information on Drahla.

Header photo is Drahla by Sam Joyce