Hello world,
It’s that time again & here’s our FP Picks update with a heap of banging new tunes fm Oliver Sim, Shelf Lives, Alice Costelloe & 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
EERA – Honey, do you see me?
Berlin-based Norwegian artist EERA has shared new single Honey, do you see me?, taken from the upcoming album I’ll stop when I’m done.The track describes the sinking feeling of unrequited love in a very cinematic way, aided by fluttering dreampop synths and a moody bassline and the lyrics are heavily inspired by the 1960 film The Apartment, directed by Billy Wilder. EERA states: “I loved the dialogue in the movie, which inspired me to write the lyrics. I was fascinated by the fact that the main character (an intelligent and beautiful woman) is madly in love with a man who has a wife and is the boss of a big company. It affected her self-confidence with this man playing with her feelings, promising her the ‘world’”.
Alice Costelloe – If I Could Reach You
London singer-songwriter Alice Costelloe has shared her new single If I Could Reach You. Produced by Mike Lindsay (Laura Marling, LUMP, Anna B Savage), the track expands on the rich, exploratory art-pop direction introduced on her previous EP. Alice states: “The song came from that feeling of trying to connect with someone who was always just out of reach. I wanted the production to carry that distance too. Mike and I even layered in the sound of a New Zealand busy tone as a kind of sonic metaphor. It’s funny and devastating at the same time, which is how that longing often felt.” Built on a framework of warped electronics and fuzzy guitars, the track drifts further from Alice’s indie-rock roots into more experimental textures.
Dream Nails – The Information
The video by Casey Kauffman for Dream Nails‘ new single The Information explores algorithmic overwhelm and ancient resilience themes. Guitarist Anya Pearson states: “In this song, we are imagining what it would be like to feel everything, all at once. We noticed how disassociated and numb we were feeling in reaction to the world being so overwhelming. But in the face of so much struggle, joy truly is an act of resistance. The track is a celebration of staying open to both ecstasy and pain. That’s what being alive truly means to us.” Their upcoming album You Wish features some of their most creative and vulnerable work to date, while still rooted in the shades of punk that define their distinctive sound.
Automatic – Black Box
Los Angeles trio Automatic have dropped their hypnotic new single Black Box, with a galactic trip-hop beat and tense atmospherics, taken from the upcoming album Is it Now? The band’s Izzy Glaudini states: “The title Black Box refers to the black box in a crashed plane. The repetitive synth is supposed to suggest a plane gliding as it crashes / an alarm distress call. I was listening to the Leonard Cohen album The Future a lot around the time the lyrics were written. It’s a pretty straightforward critique of people that have sold out on a large scale, specifically within creative industries. Thierry Mugler said “art used to tell money what to do, now money tells art what to do” and the world is a less interesting place because of it.”
Whitelands – Glance
London based Whitelands announce their new album Sunlight Echoes and share the upbeat new single Glance. “Shortly before it was written I wasn’t really catching my stride with songs and I called up Neil Halstead [of Slowdive, who toured with Whitelands in 2024] for advice,” singer-guitarist Etienne Quartey-Papafio explained. “When I next saw him he asked if I had solved it and I told him yes, as I’d had my heart broken. He laughed and was like, ‘Yeah, that’ll do it’.” “For me, Glance is about the ‘what ifs’,” bassist Vanessa Govinden added. “In that first glance between two random people in a real life physical space, it’s more than an attraction and lust, there’s instant familiarity and a glimpse of safety and home.”
better joy – steamroller
Manchester-born indie-pop artist better joy (aka Bria Keely) has shared the powerful new single steamroller, taken from forthcoming new EP at dusk. The track opens with a soaring vocal line, building momentum before erupting into a climactic finale – a cathartic release carried by charging guitars and driving percussion. Bria explains: “steamroller is an angry one. It’s about biting back after someone took a piece of you with them. They didn’t know you’re stronger than they thought you were – and actually, maybe neither did you. It’s a track from the EP that reflects a darker side – but it’s a big part of my story that I need to tell.” Strong lyrics & vocal on this absolute banger – crank it up!
Shelf Lives – like heR
London electro-punk duo Shelf Lives are back with their new single like heR, co-written with Pat Alvarez and featuring a guest spot from Lola Sam of HotWax on bass. The band state: “like heR is for everyone who’s struggled to feel enough. It’s for anyone who has had their joy stolen by the comparison gremlin. We spend so much time looking into an abyss of endless comparison that gives us infinite options for identity. It’s gotten to the point where a lot of us don’t know who we are. The monoculture is over, which means we are now being sold back to ourselves. We just wanted to let people know that they’re not alone.” The duo are set to join Lambrini girls on a UK tour, starting November 19th at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town.
Oliver Sim – Obsession
Oliver Sim recently shared the single Obsession, a bass-powered ’80s throwback that makes fantastic use of complementary vocals from Katie O’Neill, bringing Sim back into the boy-girl dynamic that works so well in his main band. Where his Hideous Bastard album took a deep dive into themes of shame, fear, and masculinity, the latest single takes an alternate approach; harnessing more chic, irreverent, and playful qualities. Taut electro-pop reminiscent of those old Depeche Mode 12 inches, the production comes from Bullion and Taylor Skye. Lyrically, Oliver aims to tackle the fizzling sense of urgency that comes with that first taste of attraction.
Honey Motel – T.N.A.K
Liverpool quartet Honey Motel have shared their loud, defiant and exhilarating anthem T.N.A.K, encapsulating the the weight of societal pressures with a dark yet tongue-in-cheek approach. Giving us a glimpse of upcoming EP Motel FM, the track brims with the signature live energy alongside a melodic, emotive sensibility and it shifts seamlessly between ferocity and delicacy before spiralling into a climactic flourish of frenzied closing notes. The band states: “The track leans into the idea of being a loser, flipping it into something more confrontational, a reflection of the frustration and risk that comes with trying to break out.” Honey Motel have carved out a solid space for themselves in Liverpool live circuit and beyond with their high-octane musicality.
THUMPER – Bad Mood
Dublin’s alt-rock outfit THUMPER discuss smartphone culture and mental health on new single Bad Mood, with fuzzy, driving guitars and dual drum assault leading into a chorus that’s equal parts cathartic and unexpectedly melodic. Frontman Oisin Furlong Leahy states: “I’ve got the moon on my mind, now I’m dreaming in slogans. I once worshiped the sun, now I take my cues from a screen. My phone alarm wakes me, and I’m being sold something within seconds. Am I a relic of the past or a victim of the present? Bad Mood weighs the human experience against the black mirror in my pocket. Boiling the mental health conversation down to a glib soundbite. ‘I’m so sorry but you’ve caught me in a bad mood.’”
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