Further Listening:

5. Suzie True Are Getting The Baileys In

It’s been an odd few months for LA’s finest, “cry baby pop punk band”, Suzie True. When we last featured them back in July, they were all set for the August release of their debut album, Saddest Girl At The Party. Since then, after accusations of abuse against their former label, the band have put the whole thing on hold. That was until this week, when they shared a brand new single, Bailey, and confirmed their album, having found a new home in queer-owned label Get Better Records, will see the light of day in November.

As the band’s songwriter, Lexi McCoy recently explained, “the song was inspired by my friend Bailey…they were my first friend who was openly out, and they inspired me to come out as bi to my friends and family. They still actively inspire me to be creative, kind and the best version of myself I can be”. This tale of a powerfully loving friendship, manifests as a bristling, lo-fi punk banger, with a driving drum beat, wonderfully infectious bass-line and Lexi’s half-coo-half-snarl of a vocal that chimes out, “I swear you’re the only one who gets me, everyone else makes me think I’m crazy”. A suitably heart-warming tale to accompany the fabulous news that despite its tribulations, Suzie True’s album will arrive into the world after all. This is only the start of their story, their first musical chapter, yet from what we’ve heard so far, Saddest Girl At The Party is already making us very happy.

Saddest Girl At The Party is out November 27th via Get Better Records. Click HERE for more information on Suzie True.

4. Cut Worms Takes A Walk With The Veterans

Brooklyn-based songwriter, Max Clarke, the man behind Cut Worms, is set to unleash his latest set of tracks into the world with next week’s release of new album, Nobody Lives Here. The follow-up to 2018’s acclaimed second album, Hollow Ground, Nobody Lives Here was recorded at Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee with producer Matt Ross-Spang. Ahead of that release, this week Max has shared two new tracks from the record, Veteran’s Day and Walk With Me.

As with the previous offerings from the record, both Veteran’s Day and Walk With Me showcase the more immediate approach to recording adopted for this record. Both tracks channel Max’s penchant for nostalgic-Americana; Walk With Me in particular wouldn’t sound out of place alongside Frankie Vallie on a 1960’s diner jukebox. Veteran’s Day is perhaps the more intriguing of the two; a delicious piece of unhurried folk-pop, all languid echoing piano and easy sun-dappled guitar lines, as Max sings a tale of love and disillusionment. You can almost feel him growing older as he sings, “caught up in my dream, you won’t get free, you start to get the feeling you’re lost out at sea. Tell all the old men stop telling tales, nobody really believes in chasing white whales”. Cut Worms have always sounded like they’re from another era, here more than ever they seem to offer a perfect snapshot of the past heyday of the American dream, even if he’s far too young to remember that – right now we might all need that moment of rose-tinted escapism.

Nobody Lives Here is out November 9th via Jagjaguwar. Click HERE for more information on Cut Worms.

3. You Can’t Fool Attic Salt

Hailing from what we’re reliably informed is a, “vibrant punk scene”, in Springfield, Illinois, Attic Salt first emerged back in 2017 with their self-titled debut album. The band have since toured relentlessly, both across the US and internationally, all the while working on the songs that would go on to form their second album, Get Wise. The album was released last week on Jump Start Records, and was recently previewed through stand-out track, Fool 4 U.

A song about, “having a crush on someone that you wish you didn’t and hoping you could just get over it”, Fool 4 U is a fabulous introduction to Attic Salt’s takes on bedroom pop-punk. The track buzzes by on a clatter of drums, chiming guitars and Alyssa Currie’s languid vocal tones, the whole thing comes across like the missing middle ground of Martha and Waxahatchee. While there’s nothing overly complex about the music Attic Salt make, there’s something wonderfully refreshing about this reminder of what can be done with a handful of chords, a catchy melody and a story to tell.

Get Wise is out now via Jump Start Records. Click HERE for more information on Attic Salt.

2. There’s A Spark About Gianna Lauren

Based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Gianna Lauren has been sharing her music with the world for over a decade now, slowly growing her audience along the way. Her latest offering arrived off the back of a series of tour dates; Gianna decamping to the studio with her band of Ontarian musicians to lay down the tracks that became her new EP, Vanity Metrics. Due out in November via Forward Music Group, this week Gianna has shared the first track from the record, Spark.

The opening track on Vanity Metrics, Spark is a song that touches on ideas of social injustice and Gianna’s worries for the future, as she sings, “no one knows what the future holds, no one is free ’til we’re all free”. The message is accompanied by a beautiful backing, as prominent multi-tracked guitars and steady, woozy drum rhythms, form a scorching base for the airy vocal melody to dance upon. In her own words, “my angstiest song ever”, it’s a mood that seems to suit Gianna Lauren, and one that bodes very well for Vanity Metrics being her most compelling release to date.

Vanity Metrics is out November 13th via Forward Music Group. Click HERE for more information on Gianna Lauren.

1. Don’t Panic You Might Not Like It Anyway

Cardiff-based post-punk quartet Panic Shack first burst onto the scene back in February with the snarling statement of intent, Who’s Got My Lighter? That was quickly followed by Jiu Jits-You, a song every bit as good as its title would suggest. Like both those tracks, their latest offering, I Don’t Really Like It, was produced by Tom Rees of Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard and released through local label, Clwb Creative Records.

Despite being short on words, “It’s literally 4 lines”, I Don’t Really Like It is not a song short on lyrical intent, as the band explain the track, “is for anyone who has felt spoken down to, patronised or ‘mansplained’ to“. Musically, it seems to channel the vibrant feminist-punk of Dream Nails, with a more angular, brooding quality reminiscent of fellow Welsh-wonders, Adwaith. The track starts off sedate, and then suddenly explodes into life as racing guitars compete with rapid drums to see who can propel the song forward with greater intensity. Panic Shack formed with the simple aim of doing it for themselves, “we just wanted to give it a go and have a bit of a laugh“, in making that sound so good they might just inspire others to do the same, they make you feel like a musical revolution isn’t just possible, it’s almost inevitable.

I Don’t Really Like It is out now via Clwb Creative Records. Click HERE for more information on Panic Shack.

Header photo is Panic Shack by Sian Adler/Trigger Happy Creative