Further Listening:

5. New Starts Require A New Roof

Appearing on this site last month around the release of their debut single Under The Striplights, New Starts are a London-based band, fronted by Darren Hayman alongside members of adults and Tigercats. Formed out of Darren’s desire to reconnect with his days as a teenage band member, New Starts is his most collaborative project in years, as he embraced, “variance and was led by people’s personality“. With the band’s debut album, More Breakup Songs, due out via Fika in August, this week they shared the second single from it, Asbestos Roof.

Asbestos Roof finds New Starts looking at a subject Darren has written about before, but with new eyes, as he explains, “I have written a few songs about getting older but they are often an internal solution to the situation. In this song anything is possible if eyes are closed and the imagination is used“. The song revels in escapism, embracing the idea that in our minds we can be anyone and anywhere, as atop a deliciously energetic blast of New Wave guitar bombast, Darren seems to howl at the passing of time, “it’s not fair that we’re not young, but it’s alright that we’re undone, we will stop time and dream hard with you again”. Like all of us, as old as he’s ever been and as young as he’ll ever be, yet with the fresh energy of his compatriots in New Starts, this might just be the most exciting, and excited, Darren Hayman has ever sounded.

More Breakup Songs is out August 16th via Fika Recordings. For more information on New Starts visit https://fikarecordings.com/artists/new-starts.

4. Hannah Mohan Is That Fine Musician That Soaks You Through

Previously best known for a decade spent fronting acclaimed indie-pop band And The Kids, Hannah Mohan came screeching to my attention last month with the release of the brilliant single, Hell, a duet with Aly Spaltro, aka Lady Lamb. With Hannah’s debut album, the excellently titled Time Is A Walnut, now just a month away from being released via Egghunt Records, this week she shared the latest single from it, Soaked.

Record with the assistance of producer Alex Toth, one-half of Egghunt Records labelmates Rubblebucket, Soaked is an unsurprisingly luxurious listen, entering on a processed rhythm track, before the whole thing is lifted by bright driving guitar chords and Hannah’s layered, reverberating vocals. Described by Hannah as an “anti-folk cafe song”, Soaked is something of a lyrical mystery, as we find Hannah, “soaked straight through my underwear“, and seemingly not entirely sure how she got there, leaving it up to the listener’s imagination like detectives working to reach a conclusion without all the pieces of the puzzle. Particularly wonderful here is the subtly shifting instrumentation, whether it’s the gorgeous call and response of the brass and woodwind break-down or the Lael Neale-like crescendo, where Hannah’s vocal seems to slide into static as she’s joined by contrasting clarity of Alex’s backing vocals, as they anarchically sing in a round, “I don’t even care to know why, she don’t even care to know why”. An intriguing track, it seems to find Hannah looking to a cloudy future and deciding the only thing left to do is embrace the chaos, you’re soaked to the bone, time is a walnut and tomorrow, whatever that looks like, is coming your way whether you worry about it or not.

Time Is A Walnut is out July 12th via Egghunt Records. For more information on Hannah Mohan visit https://www.instagram.com/hannahmohanmusic.

3. Gracie Gray Is The Envy Of All Songwriters

It was back at the end of 2021 that I was raving to anyone who would listen to me about the music of Gracie Gray, that was shortly before the release of her acclaimed second album, anna, which drew plaudits from all the best places online and looked like the start of something special. Two years on, and the LA-based songwriter is building towards the release of her third long-player, with Magnet set to emerge next month via the reliably excellent ears of the Hand In Hive label. This week Gracie shared the record’s latest statement of intent, in the shape of her new track, Envy.

Although freshly shared with the world, Envy is actually an older track, originally written at the same time as her first album, Oregon In A Day, and then reworked for Anna before Gracie decided it didn’t fit with the rest of the record. It was only when recording the other tracks on Magnet that the song started to make sense, as she explains, “after many years, the message and overall feeling that this song is soaked in is completely present in my third album, Magnet…finally graduating from being the song I couldn’t figure out”. Musically, Envy is a slice of swirling indulgence, Gracie’s voice like the richest dark chocolate imaginable as it’s cocooned in swirling, looping guitars and the gentle pattering drum rhythms, the whole thing reminiscent of the likes of Strawberry Runners or early Squirrel Flower. The musical churn is matched in Gracie’s words, at times they’re almost difficult to make out, deliberately mixed in with the music as she lays bare her jealous side, “rain falls down on my window, I’m green green enviously”. Gracie has spoken of the challenge and reward of making Magnet, a record made entirely on her own terms, “giving myself room to grow and do whatever I want“, on this evidence going her own way might just be her best move yet.

Magnet is out July 26th via Hand In Hive. For more information on Gracie Gray visit https://www.graciegray.com/.

2. It Would Be A Real Mistake To Not Listen To Maripool

It was way back in 2019 that I first came across the music of Lisbon-born, and now London-based songwriter Natacha Simões, the brains behind the self-styled, “one girl band”, Maripool. Since then Natacha has been on a gentle rise, releasing the 2022 EP, It All Comes at Once, gracing festival stages at Wideawake Festival and Left Of The Dial, and supporting the likes of Porridge Radio, Langkamer and Bleach Lab. With dates supporting blog-favourites Squirrel Flower next month, this week saw Maripool release her new EP, a day that feels like nothing at all, as well as sharing the final single from it, Mistakes I Make.

For this EP, Natacha brought in the outside help of a producer, in the shape of Euan Hinshelwood, the former frontman of Younghusband, now probably better known for his work with Cate Le Bon. The resultant EP is Maripool’s most adventurous yet, taking her lo-fi roots and incorporating string and woodwind arrangements, adding a certain sashaying sway to proceedings. Mistake I Make it an obvious stand-out on the record, all gentle guitar twang and saxophone flourishes, it recalls the likes of Andy Shauff or Lomelda in its fusion of bedroom-pop heart and studio sheen, a gorgeous backing to Natacha’s tale of hiding her mistakes from the world, as shown in the repeated refrain, “all the mistakes I make, put it in the box, put it in the box”. Across this EP Maripool’s self-styled, “nighttime music”, seems to dig deeper than ever before, a record that feels like a snapshot of its creator’s whirring mind, and one that could just be the start of something very special for this hugely talented songwriter.

a day that feels like nothing at all is out now via Smoking Room. For more information on Maripool visit https://linktr.ee/maripool.

1. Cola Write Their Own Quotes

Hailing from Montreal, Cola are a trio made up of former Ought members Tim Darcy and Ben Stidworthy, and Weather Station/US Girls drummer Evan Cartwright. The band caught the ear with the metronomic energy of their debut album, Deep In View. The band recently completed a European tour, a jaunt that saw them road-test tracks from their upcoming second record, The Gloss, out now via Fire Talk. Ahead of the release this week saw the band share their new single, Pulling Quotes.

Explaining the inspiration behind the track, Tim suggests it is about, “a relationship where two people are approaching each other like journalists“, looking for the best headline and snippets rather than the depth of a real connection, “the music is so bright and open I felt the lyrics needed to be a bit cheeky to match the tone“. Musically, the track has a somewhat unusual origin, Ben forming a demo from, “the melodic limitations of the Uilleann pipes“, although all that remains now is the bass that mimics the pipe’s drone. The finished product is actually an altogether more accessible sounding beast, as a shuffling rhythm Ultimate Painting would be proud of is adorned with slashes of Television-like guitar and Tim’s subtle dissection of two people speaking, but not really listening, “our outlook is restrained, your tongue might weaken to befit your smilе, ’till nothing ill remains”. This is the sound of a band maturing into themselves, and like the soft drink they’re named after, they’re ready to make a real splash.

The Gloss is out now via Fire Talk. For more information on Cola visit https://cola.band/.

Header photo is Cola by Amy Fort.