Bnny – Crazy, Baby
Why we love it: Bnny — the Chicago band fronted by Jessica Viscius, Crazy, Baby’ is the new single from their forthcoming album, One Million Love Songs, out April 5th via Fire Talk Records alongside announcing a run of UK/EU tour dates for May including a stop off at The Great Escape and a London headline show at Paper Dress Vintage on May 14th.
‘Crazy, Baby‘ is an ode to fated relations that you know won’t last but can’t help pursuing anyway. Gliding through fuzzy guitar and a pleasingly laid back percussive section it swells into a evocative gem, it’s both heart-breaking and yet bloody catchy. “I’m crazy, baby,” Viscius admits, “I thought you knew […] I’m just born blue.” sings Viscius with a tone of knowing and doleful regret. of a love built on sand, It effortlessly resides somewhere between early Big Thief and Phoebe Bridgers.
Many of the tracks across One Million Love Songs take it as a given that love will end. In ‘Crazy, Baby’, Viscius lays out her approach to love songs: “write one quick ’cause nothing lasts,” she sings, suggesting that any attempt to capture the green shoots of love’s first moments also carries within it the dying and decaying of the tree. (Bill Cummings)
Chalk (featuring Fears) – Bliss
Why we love it: Chalk have released their new single ‘Bliss’ featuring Fears. It’s the final track to be taken from their upcoming Conditions II EP which is set for release on 1st March via Nice Swan Records. ‘Bliss’ sees Chalk lean more into the hardcore dance landscape of their Belfast home. Previous singles from the post-punk/electronic trio have combined this with Dublin’s guitar vibe but ‘Bliss’ is all about the beats and the rhythm. It soars as it progresses, and the drop takes a second or two longer than the listener expects, but therein lives the beauty. When it arrives you cannot help but be entranced with the instrumentation. Sharing more on the single, vocalist Ross Cullen stated:
“The theme of ‘Bliss’ was originally from a short film I wrote whilst we were at university. It’s about two people who once shared a love in the past seeing each other again. No words shared between them, just thoughts and an acknowledgement of what could have been.” (Julia Mason)
Escape Goats – Muhammed Ali
Why we love it: John McLinden (Vocals/Guitar), Andrew Shepherd (Bass), Adam Parker (Vocals/Drums) formed Escape Goats at the beginning of 2024 in Glasgow, just north of London. The trio named themselves Escape Goats because:
“2024 is the Chinese year of…The Dragon. But, The Dragon and the Goat make up one of the most compatible love matches in the Chinese zodiac. We really like all the other bands but we wanted to start our own as goats have very sensitive lips and will often refuse to eat hay that has been walked on or lying around loose for a day.” So now you know!
‘Muhammad Ali’ is the band’s debut single. Tight guitars and drums give way to a crisp clear vocal. This has such a freshness about it, and with its upbeat vibe ’Muhammad Ali’ is immediately.
“I used to dream bigger than the ocean
And I used to laugh and enjoy the commotion
And I used to fight like Muhammad Ali
And I used to speak with my heart on my sleeve
And then I just stopped.”
The lyrics are so intriguing; I mean of course you want to know why? However be reassured. Escape Goats do actually care about a lot of things and admit that none of them can really fight like Muhammad Ali! Hopefully they care enough for a second single. (Julia Mason)
Pleasureinc – Plastic People
Why we love it: Norwich indie pop duo PleasureInc. was founded by brothers Jonny Silver and Kenny Pleasures in 2021. They wanted to pack as many different musical styles as they can into one cohesive whole, but with a splash of sunshine thrown in for good measure. Pleasureinc. have now announced their debut EP Plastic People which is set for release on 17 April. The title track is their new single, and what a disco-pop slice of sunshine it is. Recorded at East London’s Strongroom Studios with producer Iggy B (Spiritualized, Gary Numan, Lost Horizons, Ciel), Jonny Silver shares the following on ‘Plastic People’: “Back in Spring 2021 I was sitting in Kenny Pleasures’ car noting down some stream of consciousness words with very little intention. All these phrases about sparking fires transitioned into imagery about businessmen and then into stuff about Chris Jericho… and before I knew it I had a whole set of lyrics ready to go. At the time I had just moved to Norwich out of the family home, and recently came out of a long term relationship. I feel like these lyrics are me questioning how to move forward in my life. The idea of PleasureInc. had just emerged so there was a lot of excitement revolving around this new chapter”.
The duo have produced a track perfect for the lengthening days and signs of spring which we are currently seeing. ‘Plastic People’ is a song full of euphoria, succeeding in its aim to lift the spirits. Accompanying the release of the single and announcement of the EP, a string of headline UK tour dates this April have been confirmed. (Julia Mason)
Kai Bosch – Funny
Why we love it: because Kai Bosch most certainly does not put the kibosh on his chances of commercial success with‘Funny.’ The new single from the young British singer-songwriter is, in fact, a highly contagious affair. Get too close to it and you will be bound to get caught in its infectious trap.
Destined for an as yet unannounced new EP Love, Throw Me A Bone – described as “a devastatingly beautiful collection of songs about heartbreak following the end of a tumultuous relationship with his ex-boyfriend” – the subject matter of ‘Funny’ may be no laughing matter, but in terms of being a brilliant kiss-off with an addictive groove it is most certainly a sure fire winner. (Simon Godley)
Amanda Bergman – Wild Geese, Wild Love
Why we love it: because listening to ‘Wild Geese, Wild Love’ you can understand exactly why Amanda Bergman has previously toured with the likes of Bon Iver, First Aid Kit and a whole lot more similarly great artists who still remain regularly in touch with the Swedish singer-songwriter.
The song is destined for Amanda Bergman’s new album Your Hand Forever Checking On My Fever which is coming out on June 7th via CowCow / RedEye and is one of two lead singles that have been jointly shared from the forthcoming record. The other is ‘Day 2000 Awake’ which is equally as exquisite and both of which promise great things for the new album, the long awaited follow-up to her 2016 debut long player, Docks. The delay was due, in part, to Bergman having chosen to live the quiet life on her working farm in the Swedish countryside during the interim period.
Speaking about ‘Wild Geese, Wild Love’, Amanda Bergman says: “Written during spring 2022. In the midst of my dad’s last months this song took form as a bittersweet thank you and some kind of celebration of the wildness of unconditional love between a father and a daughter. That I felt he’d given me. Like something very ethereal and universal, like birds in the air.”
There is a stoic quality to Amanda Bergman’s voice on ‘Wild Geese, Wild Love’ that elevates both her feelings and the song itself above and beyond wounded heartbreak and onto something that is altogether more transcendental. (Simon Godley)
Sinkane – How Sweet Is Your Love
Why we love it: Sinkane (aka Sudanese-American musician Ahmed Gallab) announces forthcoming album ‘We Belong’, is out on April 5th via City Slang. Alongside the album announcement, he has shared the single ‘How Sweet Is Your Love‘ a delightful floor filler daubed in a celebration of love and joyousness. It ripples with elements of gospel harmonies that have distant echoes of Stevie Wonder, Afrobeat textures, wobbly 70s funk inspired basslines, and a electrifying disco beat garnished with elegant strings. It’s a uplifting and vibrant cut a “love letter to Black music.” according to Sinkane. ‘We Belong’ tells a story about Black music and Black people.
Sinkane encourages listeners to cast away their worries and embrace the current moment. “How Sweet Is Your Love is about remaining in the present and feeling all of your feelings as fully as possible” Gallab comments. “It dares you to prove the sweetness of your love, to your loves! ” Meanwhile, on the vibrant music video, shot by Bảo Ngô, dancers from the Haus of Tisci ballroom collective put their moves on display at New York’s Sultan Room and its neighbouring streets. (Bill Cummings)
Minas – Cutting Off
Why we love it: Greek/Welsh artist Minas returns with the follow up to his debut album ” All My Love Has Failed Me‘ (which should have won the Welsh music prize) with Grazes an EP of brutal, abrasive cuts that turn everything up a notch. From the brutal ‘Stress’ that features Razkid, wrestles with financial insecurity and well being skint. To the bracing and fantastic ‘Cutting Off‘ which finds him burrowing further into his own psyche and breaks apart his sonic assaults, and amongst the rubble of churning industrial percussion and buzz saw guitars, he chews apart anxiety,, disassociation, nightmarish images of his demise, in the intense, vital and righteous form that only Minas can! (Bill Cummings)
