FUTUREPROOF PICKS 13-08-26

Hello world,

Here’s your latest FP Picks update .. loads of great new music as always inc trx from Nrvs, James Bruner, Westside Cowboy & 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

The Cindys – Glass Shattered

Bristol-based outfit The Cindys have shared their new single Glass Shattered, a retro-tinged slice of power pop, delivering melodic, upbeat verses that also reveal the shadow of a familiar nostalgia. The band say they wanted to ​“return to something simpler and more immediate” with this track, which speaks to their desire to make a great pop song — nothing more. They state: “As a group we experience intense joy from performing music together, we aim to write and shape our songs with the primary purpose of them being a template to facilitate that joy and excitement. Glass Shattered is a prime example of that. There’s nothing challenging about the song, it just wants to hit.”

Westside Cowboy – Dobro

Manchester’s indie outfit Westside Cowboy have shared the single Dobro, another cut from the upcoming debut album It Goes On. This slacker-rock-inspired tune is indicative of what the band prove themselves to be capable of time and time again. Bold, solid songwriting with a distinct emphasis on melody, moulding musical simplicity mixed with the indescribable magic of a well-oiled band that cannot be replicated. The chorus crescendo peaks in a flurry of madness at the end of the track, supplemented throughout by their signature country-twang and harmonising voices that make the song feel full and realised. They state: “this is our strut song, over 2 minutes in length but just under 3. A song for perhaps a younger self? For that moment of waiting and isolation in the hopes of a return. Or it could just be a song about a weird guitar. Who knows!”

Sesame Girl – Prettiest Girl in the World

Australian indie outfit Sesame Girl unveil new EP Butterfly Wing In A Silver Locket and share the single Prettiest Girl In The World, a heartfelt track that captures the band’s gift for pairing vulnerable storytelling with infectious indie melodies. The accompanying video complements the song’s bittersweet tone, highlighting the emotional sincerity that has become central to Sesame Girl’s songwriting. Frontwoman Heather Duncan says: “I’ve always been really obsessed with butterflies ever since I was a little kid, and so the title Butterfly Wing In A Silver Locket feels very sentimental. A locket to me is also the ultimate accessory of sentimentality, like wearing a photo of someone you love in a necklace. That’s so special.”

Matilda Finn Frances – This Could Be Anywhere

Cornwall-born singer-songwriter Matilda Finn Frances makes a stunning first impression with her mesmerizing debut single This Could Be Anywhere. Inspired by the rugged beauty of her Cornish upbringing, the song explores self-belief, identity and the courage to find your own voice. Shaped around delicate acoustic guitar and Matilda’s soft, haunting vocals, it unfolds with sweeping strings, subtle electric guitar and minimal percussion into a warm, evocative and atmospheric gem with a timeless air. Early support from Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley, plus a sync on Love Island, has already put her on tastemakers’ radars, plus recent support slots with The Maccabees at the Eden Sessions and forthcoming dates with Rhys Lewis and Rae Morris. A folk artist that is definitely one to watch.

My Life As A Moth – Closer To Earth

East London-based, Swedish-born artist My Life As A Moth has shared atmospheric new single Closer To Earth, taken from the album The Parade of the Starlet & the Broken Hearted. Processed vocals and spacious electronic textures gradually give way to syncopated drums and sharp guitar lines. The arrangement remains unsettled throughout, moving between intimacy and tension without settling into one fixed shape. The artist Sofia states: “Closer To Earth is a song inspired by the soul’s journey into the material plane and the experience of having one foot in each world. The music video was an effort to reflect on what is real, perceived or an illusion, as we are tethered to different realities. It drew influence from the philosophy of Plato’s cave.”

Nrvs – The Tanks Are Coming Out

It’s great to have post-punk protest band Nrvs back with their powerful new single The Tanks Are Coming Out – a rallying cry to disrupt the status quo & shift power back to the people. While we’re all busy putting out fires in our everyday lives, governments & leaders around the world are accumulating tanks, bombs & so on. Do you think they’re just going to sit there forever? – sooner or later those tanks are gonna come out! The track is sonically inspired by the music of John Cale & in particular Faust’s ‘Rainy Day Sunshine Girl. Shot in the bleeding ‘heart of suburbia’, the video perfectly captures the concept of the ‘everyday horror of the end ’. Nrvs are shaping “a nightmare-normal vision of the near future, that you can dance to”. Ideologically they are confrontational, unapologetic, existentially on the edge & uncompromising in their beliefs.

Jodie Langford – Dog Vs Bear

Hull’s much-loved spoken word / electro party punk Jodie Langford is back with the powerful new single Dog Vs Bear – a track inspired by an online video Jodie saw of a small dog chasing a black bear out of someone’s house. With production duties supplied by Jodie’s musical sidekick Endoflevelbaddie who layers in breakneck drums, throbbing bass & infectious guitar riffs, Dog Vs Bear is a comment on the infuriating behaviour of government officials & their wealthy ‘friends’. For Jodie, it’s a way of coping in this ridiculous world we’re currently living in, by poking fun at people in authority & exposing their flaws. The track’s aimed at those who continue to exploit, harm & kill others as well as those who turn a blind eye to the atrocities unfolding around the globe as they line their pockets with riches.

Sailor Honeymoon – Click Click

Seoul-based punk trio Sailor Honeymoon​’s latest single ​Click Click is a no-frills-attached piece of distinctly modern ​‘90s worship. Spacey guitars underpinned by a beefy bass tone and staccato drumming keep the pedal stuck firmly to the metal, whilst the ever-so-slightly distant vocals stop the song from falling into disarray. Best of all, no welcomes are overstayed here — it’s barely arrived before it’s gone again, keeping everything short, sweet, and oh-so-very replayable. The album The Worst Of Sailor Honeymoon is a document of the trio’s growth and a cathartic celebration of not always being at your absolute best. Sailor Honeymoon manoeuvre through grievances and mundanities, from shitty partners (‘I Wanna Leave You’) to fleeting finances (‘Money’) and mind-numbing day jobs (‘Paperwork’), but don’t let anything bring them down.

James Bruner – Hypnotized

With the imminent release of his album Can’t Keep Wanting You in September & tour dates being finalised for a UK visit this autumn, Illinois born, Nashville based alt rocker James Bruner shares the track Hypnotized – alt rock in sound, punk attitude & lyrically a defiant ‘NO’ to letting self-doubt overcome us. Produced by Nashville’s Shane Weisman & cowritten by both James & Shane, Hypnotized is a shot of guitar-fuelled adrenalin with a highly personal message. James states: “As an artist, it’s always been so important for me to let out any aggression in my music, so I went ahead & did just that. I wanted to lean on that firm aggression of screaming vocals & the raw energy that the band Jet had on their song ‘Last Chance’. For me Hypnotized is a classic slam over the head & I am very pleased it’s turned into a fight song… for myself ironically!”