Hello world,
It’s that time of the week again and here’s your FP Picks update .. loads of great new music as always inc trx fm The Sophs, Simon Bromide, Anna Calvi & 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
The Sophs – SWEETIEPIE
The Sophs recently shared their upbeat new single SWEETIEPIE, taken from the debut album GOLDSTAR. Frontman Ethan Ramon explains: “SWEETIEPIE is someone standing outside their ex’s window at 3 a.m., waving their arms over their head and screaming for some sort of second chance. In our narrator’s head, they’re John Cusack in Say Anything, but in reality, they’re just another creep who had too much to drink … Sometimes it’s important to write from the perspective of the worst part of yourself so that version of yourself can live through the music rather than exist in your day-to-day life.” The band will embark on a European tour starting in April.
Simon Bromide – Forest Mountain Forest
South London’s alternative singer-songwriter Simon Bromide has shared Forest Mountain Forest, the first single and title track from his forthcoming album. Simon states: “This one popped out when I was jamming another song with a friend. The riff immediately reminded me of a Replacements track Can’t Hardly Wait but it was different enough to claim it as my own. The lyrics are pretty self-explanatory if you substitute the title with the words ‘Birth Life Death’.” We’re looking forward to hearing the album which Louder Than War‘s Ged Babey is enjoying: “It’s just a great, upbeat but laidback, tuneful but rockin’, old-school but Now! album which you won’t be able to resist. It sounds like pre-punk West Coast pop/rock yet has Happy Monday and Charlatans steals and vibes….. sounds like Coney Island Baby meets Tom Petty…. so it’s a mix of old-school uncool and post-irony meta-cool. Or just plain groovy if you prefer.”
Martin Luke Brown – back of my mind
Martin Luke Brown has shared a reflective new single and states: “back of my mind is about how love can linger after a relationship has ended. It’s about the emotional clutter we carry with us as we age – the first date cinema tickets in the back of the drawer or old scribbled confessions in journals. It’s about all the people that were once important and therefore always will be.” Written about the memories we carry with us, the track’s twanging guitars and soft, lo-fi vocals gently lean into its nostalgic pull. The track, co-written and produced with long-time collaborator and Grammy-winner Matt Zara, features a visualiser directed by Dana Trippe.
Huarinami – Carried Away
Huarinami is a French, London-based four-piece that seamlessly blends punk energy with the grooves of psychedelic indie rock and they’ve just shared their banging new single Carried Away, taken from the forthcoming sophomore EP nothing happens. It’s an explosive punk outburst fuelled by the frustration of big-city life, “Talk, talk, talk, but nothing happens.” Sassy, hook laden and addictive, a heavy groove drags staggered guitar notes and a restless bass forward, setting the stage for raw, grit-soaked vocals that erupt into an irresistible, head-nodding chorus. What an earworm!
Wynona Bleach – Religion
Belfast quartet Wynona Bleach have released their new single Religion, taken from their highly anticipated second album Animal Style. The track provides a conceptual framework through which the band’s lead singer, Melyssa, uses her distinctive voice to explore what happens when you turn another person into your god, transforming love into worship and intimacy into surrender. The band state: “It’s less a love song, and more a ‘lust’ song. It’s about when you meet someone that makes you feel like you’d do anything, even if it was to lie to your true self. It also calls out fake people, fake society, organised religion and how everything made out to be ‘cool’ is usually just a con.”
The Sovereigns – Her
Hull-based indie outfit The Sovereigns are back with their upbeat new single Her – an infectious feel-good tune that lyrically explores themes of unrequited love, relationships & acceptance. The track’s bright & breezy feel underpins an impressive melody drenched guitar arrangement that doesn’t crowd & allows the vocals to shine through in the mix. The band state: “Building on relatability within the realm of love, lust & an ever-looming desire for companionship; whether achievable or not, we believe everyone goes on different journeys to find love, learning lessons along the way that open them up to their true feelings. Music brings people together… so why not have a tune that brings love to one another.”
Violet Grohl – 595
Violet Grohl has shared the new single 595, taken from the upcoming debut album Be Sweet To Me and she states: “595 was inspired by a t-shirt that I have. It’s an old sex phoneline ad, and I got it on Etsy a while ago. And my dad (Foo Fighters Dave Grohl) actually opened up my package and saw the shirt, and then hid it in his studio for a couple months.” Her record company describes the song as “a sly and sexy slasher filled with jolts of noise and a killer chorus”. The album is apparently influenced by Grohl’s love of 80s and 90s alternative rock and she states: “There’s something so powerful about that period of music, from the messaging to the visuals, it’s authentic and raw. I’ve listened to that stuff since I was a kid.”
Rostam – Like a Spark
Rostam Batmanglij has announced details of his third studio album, American Stories and shares new single Like a Spark – a scintillating melodic driven jam packed with character. The album explores his Persian heritage through an Americana lens. It’s the first time on a record, Batmanglij has looked to fully explore his Iranian roots, incorporating microtonal melodies and instrumentation from the region into a framework of Western guitar chords and song structures. “Pushing the most Iranian elements right up against the most American ones brought me a certain kind of joy,” Batmanglij says. “The first time I put microtonal saz melodies over Western guitar chords, I was thrown off by the way the two rubbed together. But the more I listened the more I became drawn to that rub. I became addicted to it.”
Anna Calvi – Is This All There Is? (ft. Matt Berninger)
On Friday, Anna Calvi releases her EP Is This All There Is? featuring collaborations with Laurie Anderson, Iggy Pop, Perfume Genius and The National’s Matt Berninger. But first, Calvi shares the EP’s title track, which features Berninger. “This song is about the bravery it takes to hope,” Calvi says in a press release. “It’s the willingness to ask questions, even when knowing you’ll never get a definitive answer.” Of working with Berninger, Calvi adds: “The tone of Matt’s voice has such an epic, almost ancient quality to it, which felt perfect for a song asking such a big existential question. We’re both searching for answers- together and yet somehow always apart, which I find beautiful. He brings an intimacy to the song that I couldn’t have imagined.”
Fcukers – if you wanna party, come over to my house
New York party duo Fcukers recently shared new single if you wanna party, come over to my house, taken from their upcoming debut album Ö. It’s a fun, self-effacing moment of dancefloor energy and the ruthless production style has a punk-adjacent raw, DIY quality to it. Hand-picked to support a certain Harry Styles at select dates on his mammoth international tour, the band will play a number of intimate UK in-stores to support their debut album. A full UK tour is upcoming, including a night at London’s O2 Kentish Town Forum on May 15th.
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