Hello world,
We’ve got your latest FP Picks update full of banging new tunes as always inc trx fm Royel Otis, bb sway, Just Mustard & lots more. If you like what you hear please follow and share this playlist, it helps us keep doing our thing by getting the algorithms on our side. Also please support the artists featured in any way you can!
Until next week
Helen (Futureproof) x
Daffo – Dagger Song
LA based singer-songwriter Daffo (aka Gabi Gamberg) has shared new single Dagger Song, taken from the forthcoming debut album Where the Earth Bends. Driven by grungy guitars and raw, unpolished vocals, the track bursts out as a powerful statement of what’s to come from the rising artist. Daffo states: “Someone I was very close with for a long time decided to stop speaking to me, and I wrote this song about our matching dagger tattoos and about mourning our relationship overall. Dagger Song was written in one go, but it’s a nice example of letting myself sit in my feelings rather than intellectualising or analysing them from a distance”.
bb sway – Road
Melbourne-based artist bb sway rounds off their three-track project Becoming You with the captivating track Road – a straightforward mid-tempo ballad with a timeless feel. Complete with harpsichord and strings, the song could have made the cut on any ‘70s soft rock album (if Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker had been around to take on production duties, that is). “Your eyes are set on the road in front of you”, bb sway sings in a whispery voice, wrapped in hazy pop bliss. bb sway states: “I wrote road when I was living in london, feeling very ready for a big change after having been in the UK for 12 years .. when I got to melbourne, i found a place, bought a car, and brought the demo of road to my friend @lewiscolemanmusic who helped me bring the song to life. it felt really serendipitous that i’d written the song in london and finished it in melbourne.”
Low Girl – No Reasons
Indie-rock outfit Low Girl recently dropped their fuzzy, infectious new single No Reasons, from upcoming debut album Is It Too Late To Freak Out? Frontwoman Sarah Cosgrove explains: “This was about an exceptionally messy, yet also weirdly empowering breakup … Whilst this is an angry song, it has to be said that I really struggle with anger and usually avoid it at all costs. I’ve learnt that some anger is healthy, and it’s important for your self esteem to stand up for yourself. I’m still finding a balance — some days it’s too much and some days too little. I guess this song is a little step towards an equilibrium!” It is in the song’s closing minute that things really come alive, with synths, overdubbed vocals and clattering drums fully embracing the song’s darkness, before the whole thing comes to an abrupt stop.
Death of The High Street – Communication’s Failed
Death of The High Street have shared their latest single Communication’s Failed, taken from their upcoming album Bragging About Breaking — a socially charged rock record that isn’t afraid to speak its mind. It opens with a deceptively gentle finger-picked guitar, the track soon swells into a storm of distorted riffs, thunderous drums, moody cello, and haunting vocals. It’s a dynamic build that showcases the band’s knack for marrying beauty with brute force. Lyrically, the track channels the frustrations of modern life in the digital age, where we’re more connected than ever, yet genuine human communication feels fractured. It’s an anthem for a screen-obsessed society, one where empathy is fading and the noise drowns out the meaning. What a poignant banger!
Will Paquin – We Really Done It This Time
Nashville-based singer and guitarist Will Paquin unveils heady, guitar-forward, western-inspired new song We Really Done It This Time, from his upcoming record Hahaha. Paquin created a straight-ahead rocker that sounds like the beginning of a panic attack, which helps kick off his debut album with a statement — he’s here to stay and here to play (and play loud). Paquin said: “We Really Done It This Time was an attempt to score my life as a cowboy western, thinking of California and the rocky relationship I had waiting for me there. I was in Vermont at the time, and worried about what I would find out west. The dark, upbeat tone of the song chronicles my preconceived worries about a romance bound to crash before takeoff.”
Royel Otis – say something
Australian duo Royel Otis recently shared the single say something, taken from their upcoming album hickey. The track, co-written with Billy Walsh and producer Omer Fedi, features jangle-pop melodies and prominent drums. The duo, comprising Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic, describe the song as being “about unspoken words.” It’s a simple, upbeat, shimmery track about yearning and miscommunication.The accompanying music video shows the duo traversing through a cloudy, melancholic day, riding on the top of different modes of transportation and catching the winds. It’s understated yet cool—much like the single it features.
Westside Cowboy – Drunk Surfer
Manchester quartet Westside Cowboy have shared their infectious new single Drunk Surfer, taken from the upcoming debut EP This Better Be Something Great and it’s a heart-wrenching flurry of guitar riffs and haunting vocals. It’s got all of the components of a great Westside Cowboy track – a solid drum intro with the gentle pluck of the bass before it kickstarts into a thriller of guitars, followed by Reuben Haycock’s smoky vocals joining the mix. Of the track, Haycock says: “Drunk Surfer, in all honesty, was about a time that I have since forgotten. This is not something that I regret however, as the song is now free to take on new meanings depending on the context of my life. I hope it can work like this for others also.”
Just Mustard – WE WERE JUST HERE
Dundalk shoegazers Just Mustard have shared the title track WE WERE JUST HERE from their upcoming album. A fusion of eerie, haunting vocals, warped guitars and distorted noise forms Just Mustard’s unique sound – a sound that the band have continued to hone and push through creative boundaries across their previous work. There is a delicacy to this track which is buried within the wailing guitars, pulsating synths and industrial noise. It has a dreamier, more pop-esque sound compared to Just Mustard’s earlier works, and it is very much a track that cements itself within one’s brain, under one’s skin. It’s somewhat hypnotic; the jagged sound of the guitars will have you in a trance, while Ball’s vocals continue to haunt you long after the song has come to an end.
Lava La Rue – easy come, easy go
Lava La Rue has shared summer anthem easy come, easy go. Produced by Fraser T Smith (Dave & Kae Tempest), the song nods to early‑2000s alt outfits including MGMT and Bloc Party, pairing bright guitar lines with clipped, hook‑led melodies. Described by Lava La Rue as “the soundtrack of my summer holidays,” it addresses AI anxiety, manosphere rhetoric, and the disconnect between online and offline intimacy. “Even simple milestones like heartbreak or a gap year feel warped,” Lava La Rue explains, “like not being able to tell if your crush sent you a text ghostwritten by ChatGPT …. Even if you feel hopeless about the state of the world, use that energy to genuinely double down on radically exuding compassion and community action.”
David Byrne, Ghost Train Orchestra – The Avant Garde
David Byrne has shared new single The Avant Garde, addressing the idea of art for art’s sake and taken from the upcoming album Who Is The Sky. He states: “Some people will hear this and say, ‘David is calling bullshit on his friends’ but it’s more nuanced than that. Anyone who knows me knows that I go to plenty of shows that might be classified as avant-garde or experimental. Edgy and untraditional work is hugely inspiring to me, as it often changes the way I think and influences what I do (without me simply appropriating the ideas, I hope). That said, trying something unproven and radically new is risky … I love that the Ghost Train folks and Kid Harpoon took what could have been a fairly conventional song I’d written (musically at least), and steered it into something that to me sounds like Led Zeppelin meets Dirty Projectors.”
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