10. Alien Chicks - Indulging the Mobs
I hadn't heard of Alien Chicks until I saw them support English Teacher at The Cluny in Newcastle in October of 2023. Indulging the Mobs wasn't released at the time, of course; nine months later in July of 2024 and the EP would find it's way into the public space - I recognised a lot of the tracks from that support slot gig. The quirky London three-piece captured the craze they they put on show that night in Newcastle and translated it ever so well to tape/record/digital/you-get-the-drill. Awesome stuff from Alien Chicks.
9. Fatboi Sharif - Something About Shirley
A lil' something to upset the psyche, Something About Shirley serves up that unequivocally Fatboi Sharif skew. At just 10 minutes in running time, Sharif does more than most with a full-length. A sample heavy soundscape, produced by Roper Williams, is built and maniacally traversed. Something About Shirley, something about Sharif. Damn.
8. Milkweed - Folklore 1979
Folklore 1979 is like a time gone-by captured in sonic form - eerie. Of the Lo-Fi Folk variety, it's as if Lankum stepped into a Hip-Hop-infused, Lo-Fi-infested alternate universe and strolled around for 11 minutes. Milkweed, a band/group/outfit/artist, are brand-spanking new to my ears. I'm all for it.
7. King Krule - SHHHHHHH!
As the seedy sounds of King Krule come up for air through the SHHHH! EP, down into the murky waters we go. The damp and seedy worlds of the underground do indeed need their soundtrack - jazzy-punk, mood-infused manifestations of urban slant. All four tracks that make up the EP originally appeared as flexi-disc collectors items on sale during King Krule's 'SHHHH' tour in 2023.
6. Nourished by Time - Counting Chickens
The debut EP on XL Recordings from Baltimore born artist Nourished By Time comes in the form of Catching Chickens. Radio ready, to my ears at least, Nourished by Time produces tracks that are certified hits - in the best way possible. When the time aligns, we have a tasteful star in the making.
Children stuck in the matrixxxxx
5. BADBADNOTGOOD - Mid-Spiral: Chaos
A part of a bigger picture in the "Mid-Spiral" set which also features Order and Growth, Chaos starts the three-part sonic story. Chaos begins the collection as chaos usually does - uncertainty guides the way; you find your feet to instil a sense of order and push things forwards in order to grow - the cycle of life. One without the other leaves the cycle incomplete.
4. Sweet Pill - Starchild
Philly natives Sweet Pill entangle clever riffs and guitar tricks into a solid, free-flowing form on Starchild. Having seen Sweet Pill perform live at The Cluny2 in Newcastle, Sweet Pill, as well as the Starchild project, became a bona fide stronghold of 2024 for me personally. It was nothing short of a pleasure to see how they work through these twinkly, intricate, intertwining tracks. Guitar based music has never been in safer hands
3. Pop Vulture - Another Success
Another Success - as the name would not suggest - is Pop Vulture's debut project. However, it may well be another success for the Pop Vulture camp. The Leeds based four-piece signed to Come Play With Me Records back in February and followed-up in July with one of the best projects that 2024 has to offer. Quirky and full of an initiative to translate the mundane into a painfully relatable and ever-listenable, witty sonic space, Pop Vulture capture the pale aspects of life and inject well-needed colour.
Twenty-five, on a Wednesday in July.
2. Maruja - Connla’s Well
Maruja's second EP Connla's Well bolsters Maruja's claim as a stronghold of the contemporary scene. Their mix of spiritual and physical feats is something to behold. The good, the bad. The masculine, the feminine. The real deal. I gladly saw Maruja perform the tracks live in Newcastle. For me, it crystallised their abilities to convey anguish like no other. The power of the material on show here, and there, is/was astonishing. We're on the receiving end of an all-time great here - mark my words. Having signed to Music For Nations in late 2024, 2025 is Maruja's year.
1. Ugly - Twice Around the Sun
Twice Around the Sun - because once isn't enough - is loaded with well built, worked and executed pieces. Full of fligree'd-up songs, Twice Around the Sun imbues an ornamental folk feel. The first four tracks are rather theatric; the final two are more of a sombre, introspective and even existential nature - the fabric of reality is put to the test. The balance is there. The flow is there. The maturity to make something special is there.
Ugly, I'm happy you're here.