By Jason Barnard
June 2019 sees another varied and creative line-up of new releases.
The Martial Arts return with new single ‘New Performance’ & EP ‘I Used To Be The Martial Arts’. Picking up where XTC left off, Paul Kelly crams every hook into ‘New Performance’ with the other trio of songs showcasing the lineage of Davies, Partridge and Cocker. Available from Last Night From Glasgow.
Soft Streak‘s ‘Reasonable Lie’ irresistible nature is only augmented by its vintage style music video inspired by the 1975 cult film ‘Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles’. Marvelous: softstreak.bandcamp.com
Strangely enough, Luna Bec‘s debut single ‘Over’ is a song about endings. But endings can also be beginnings and this track marks her out as a great singer-songwriter to watch: available from all digital outlets.
Factory‘s latest single ‘Remote Controller’ is a vibrant piece of Mersey indie rock worthy of their esteemed forefathers. Hear more at Facebook.
Hailing from LA the sound of James Rose‘s new single ‘Simplicity’ embodies his Californian roots. Fitting in with the West Coast sound its lyrics light the way out of the political and social darkness: jamesrose.bandcamp.com
Also from the US are Chicago natives Faux Co. Their new long player ‘Radio Silence’ builds on the success of Flaming Lips enthused ‘Prozac Spaceman’ adding other shades to their palette with bluesy alternative ‘Gimme Sumthin’ to the anthemic ‘It’s Nothing, Really’ and ‘Maybe Is A Word’. Grab it on fauxco.bandcamp.com.
Greek 5-piece Dury Dava have released their selftitled LP through Inner Ear. Their ambitious lead single ‘Satana’ demonstrates their progressive take on psychedelia, enthused with Greco-Turkish influences: durydava-innerear.bandcamp.com
The Neighbourhood Strange tackle the infamous and tragic Novichok incident that brought world’s attention to their small hometown city of Salisbury. ‘Russian Spy’ leads their EP and brings indie psych to a John Barryesque sound: theneighbourhoodstrange.bandcamp.com
Chicago trio She Rides Tigers‘ debut LP SCARS takes us to the darkside of the 70s and 80s. Opener ‘Scars Of Allegory’ has a classic indie sound, whilst other tracks like ‘No Way Out’ weave in a Led Zep edge. Check them out on Facebook.
Magnetic Skies‘ second EP, ‘Hold On’ comes out next month with its lead track released in advance. A hooky synth laden song that recalls Tears For Fears, this is pop music at its best: magneticskies.bandcamp.com
Similarly hooky albeit in a grungey manner is ‘Tear It Down’ by Aussie group All The Colours. The third single from their forthcoming album ‘Vol. 3’, the lyrics reflect the state of the world in 2019. More info can be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Contemporary pianist/composer Rosey Chan and DJ/producer Mimi Xu aka Carnet De Voyage bring together classical and electronica on new single ‘Melo Disko’ ahead of their debut album. An extremely ambitious release on Gare Du Nord: carnetdevoyagemusic.com
