A smaller volume of tracks this week doesn't mean they should be played any quieter. Our writers recommend a diverse selection of artists that sound best with the volume on full!
The Day U Said U Wanna Die – hidingthehurt
Nottingham-based student Ollie Greenhalgh, who releases music under the moniker hidingthehurt, has released a new single titled The Day U Said U Wanna Die, following his previous single All We Are. Greenhalgh’s sound is an amalgamation of influences, driven by hyper pop sounds, but this track is completely unexpected from the artist. Beginning with an immediate explosion of guitar strums and drums, you may think of him as more of a rock or pop-punk-influenced artist if this is your first time listening to him, but this just demonstrates how diverse hidingthehurt is as an artist. There are no limits to what he can do, taking on a wide range of instrumental beats, and making each one suit his style just as well as the next. Despite having followed Ollie throughout his career, his experimentations continue to take me by surprise, proving that he is one of the most exciting emerging artists of today. His music never becomes stale thanks to his fearless attitude when trying new things, resulting in every one of his releases being equally inspired and interesting to his fanbase. Gemma Cockrell
Love & War – Joe Appleford
The debut album from Joe Appleford (“like the fruit and the car”) has finally dropped, filled with some brilliant post-metal/proggy goodness! After watching him and his band’s fourth ever show at 2000Trees Festival last month, I’ve been very excited to hear the LP, and it has more than lived up to expectations. Love & War is one of my favourite songs on the album, with a really catchy chorus and powerful lyrics about social issues, chiefly LGBTQ+ issues, touching upon a rather nervy subject in the media that is the idea of gender being a social construct. This idea could be developed further at some point, having only just touched on it, however, this explicit mention is far more than most mainstream artists will ever give, and when wrapped up in such an enjoyable package musically it’s hard to be in any way annoyed that it was further broken down. An excellent first release from a band well worth keeping your eyes and ears on. Jake Longhurst
Fruity – chloe moriondo
chloe moriondo is back with new track Fruity, her first release since the acoustic-leaning EP puppy love earlier this year. The new track sees them move forward from these songs crafted around their ukulele, but they don’t retract to the pop-punk that appeared on their sophomore album Blood Bunny in 2021 either. Fruity sees her leaving behind all previous influences and exploring pastures new, with much more of an upbeat and pop-driven sound, even with a tinge of hyperpop thrown in the mix. The result? The catchiest track chloe has ever released. In a recent Instagram post, they announced their third album Suckerpunch, which they promised would be full of pop music, but even so, I didn’t expect them to come out with something as bold, euphoric, or fun as Fruity is. With the new album set for release on October 7th, I for one cannot wait. Gemma Cockrell
Baby, Does Your Heart Sink? – Martha
County Durham punk rock group Martha have just announced their new LP, Please Don’t Take Me Back, and to tide fans over until the new release, coupled it with their new single, Baby Does Your Heart Sink?. Martha’s ear-catching, unabashedly accented singing (as always) steals the show here, generating a kind of irresistible sing-along quality that is genuinely arresting. The delivery is energetic and dripping with character, a strong tonal delivery that is able to bypass lyrics and gain direct access to the brain’s musical appreciation centres. Of course, this is helped by the band’s driving instrumentals and impressive command of groove, especially in the chorus, which enjoys a very catchy hook and some well-placed backing vocals to flesh it out. It’s not the strongest single on Please Don’t Take Me Back’s, but it’s a palatable and poppy track that smacks of the band’s debt to power-pop forebears. It joins the band’s other 2022 singles as a promising hint towards Martha’s new LP, who have by now established themselves as a staple of the northern UK DIY scene. Please Don’t Take Me Back is scheduled for release on 28/10/22 via Specialist Subject and Dirtnap records. Hal Hewlett
Thy Becoming Eternal – Behemoth
Even by Behemoth’s lofty standards, this is heavy. The Polish blackened death metal band have with this put out a single that really expands upon the extremely heavy sound they’ve been hinting at with the three previously released singles and given us a truly phenomenal song to boot. The lyrics are somewhat the standard fare we’ve come to expect from Behemoth, with a story about a cult cleansing the world in the name of Satan, but the choral vocals in Latin add a whole new layer that they’ve not explored enough before and is a direction I’d love to hear the band turn in more often. A little over halfway into the song, it pivots away from the crushing intensity that has been consistent so far and takes a turn for the slightly more atmospheric side of the band’s sound, exemplified by songs such as O Father O Satan O Sun!, so if you liked that song this is absolutely a must-listen. With four years between this album and their last, the metal world awaits with bated breath to see just how the rest of this album sounds, and if this is anything to go by we’ll be seeing the name Behemoth at the top of an awful lot of festival line-ups in the near future. Jake Longhurst
Edited by: Roxann Yus
Featured image courtesy of Joe Appleford via Facebook.
Commentaires