The release schedule is still a bit light–hey, it’s still early in 2023–but here are five tracks worth your time. I think so, anyway. Feel free to check my work.
Moontricks, Animal
Currents (Independent)
Recommended If You Like: Melancholy banjo songs
Coming out of the Kootenay Mountains of BC, Nathan Gurley and Sean Rodman have an interesting sound they call “electro-folk” (a bit of an oxymoron, perhaps?) Inspired by the “ongoing cycles of the natural world,” this single from their debut album sounds especially good on a snowy winter evening,
2. Billy Nomates – spite
Single (Invada Records)
RIYL: 90s alt-rock
Fuzzy pop from Bristol, England’s, Tor Maries (her real name) who often hangs out with the guys from Sleaford Mods and Geoff Barlow from Portishead. Her 2020 self-titled debut album received all kinds of accolades at home. There’s plenty of 90s alt-rock in this track, especially if you fondly remember when fierce females were everywhere.
3. Romy ft. Fred Again, Strong
Single (Boiler Room ID)
RIYL: Ethereal dance beats
Fans of UK indie music will remember Romy as the voice of The xx. This is just her second-eve solo release after a 2020 debut single entitled Lifetime. She also co-wrote Electricity for Dua Lipa, which won her a Grammy. Other songs have gone to Halsey and King Princess. I dare you not to get pumped up and start waving your hands in the air after about the 3:00 mark.
4. Special Interest, Cherry Blue Intention
Endure (Rough Trade)
RIYL: NYC dance-punk of the early 2000s
Born in New Orleans and following a dance-punk/no-wave path with some serious bass guitar grooves, you can tell that this four-piece likes groups like early Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem, and definitely some old-school Public Image Ltd. As a bonus, the singer’s name is Alli Logout.
5. GOAT, Do the Dance
Oh Death (Rocket Recordings)
RIYL: Something Malcolm McLaren might have done if he were still alive
When I first heard this single from this experiment fusion group GOAT, I thought I was hearing something from the era of Adam Ant and Bow Wow Wow with their Burundi-style drums. Nope. There are at least seven Swedes in the band who maintain that they’re into voodoo worship taught to them by a witch doctor. Infectious, this.
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