Hello world,
Here’s your latest FP Picks update and we’ve got banging tunes from The Sophs, Strange Pink, The Cords and many 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 – DEATH IN THE FAMILY
Los Angeles six-piece The Sophs are back with their emotional new single DEATH IN THE FAMILY. Frontman Ethan Ramon says the track is “one of the most personal songs I’ve ever written. It confronts my complicated relationship with shame, and how, at a certain point, I had convinced myself I’d rather grieve a loved one than take any kind of accountability. Releasing it almost feels like purging those thoughts. Maybe it’s because I finally feel like I’m explaining myself clearly. Maybe I feel protected by my vulnerability. All I know is it means something to me.” Fantastic songwriting on this infectious banger.
Strange Pink – Boys Club
East Yorkshire’s brand-new indie rock band Strange Pink now come with their second offering Boys Club – an altogether darker feel to their debut, that channels the band’s thoughts and feelings about entitlement and self-serving power. Musically inspired by 90s Californian punk-rockers L7 and their Butch Vig productions, Boys Club merges US grunge guitars with UK lyrical empathy to great effect, resulting in a hybrid that reflects the mood of dissatisfaction out there at the moment. Sam Forrest from the band states: “I was listening to various SubPop type bands at the time & getting into Butch Vig’s production sound. That led to me coming up with the guitar part which the band picked up on & then our bass player Eddie came up with the outro idea. Lyrically, it was around the time Boris Johnson was PM in the UK, so it’s largely about entitlement and self-serving power”.
Ash – Give Me Back My World
Ash have announced their ninth studio album Ad Astra, alongside the release of its lead single Give Me Back My World. Frontman Tim Wheeler said: “If I told you this song dates back to 2020 you’d hardly need a degree from the school of Marple, Holmes and Poirot to figure out what it’s getting at. And although those sentiments may be just a memory from the stand point of 2025, the song’s heart still feels relevant. In a time of chaos, disruption and angst there’s still a beautiful world out there and it’s worth fighting for.” The album sees Blur‘s Graham Coxon appear on two particularly sassy songs and catches the perennial power pop kings in especially rocket-fueled form.
She’s In Parties – Same Old Story
She’s In Parties announce their new EP Are You Dreaming? and release the 90’s tinged pop belter Same Old Story, blending ’90s grunge with melodic indie-pop. Lead vocalist and songwriter Katie Dillon explains: “This song is just a back and forth moment between making the decision to move away and having feelings of regret. There are a few voices within the song all saying different things, a bit like the devil and angel on your shoulder. That moment when you’re trying to make a decision about something and all of your thoughts come flooding in, negative and positive, all trying to persuade you. Your fight or flight trying to save you from making the wrong decision.”
Ellur – Missing Kid
Halifax artist Ellur has shared the brand new single Missing Kid, following the release of the EP God Help Me Now. Marking her first new single release of 2025 and the product of sessions with producer Joel Johnston, Missing Kid showcases Ellur taking her first steps into adult life; instead of feeling prepared, she discusses the overwhelming nature of it all and her worries about the future: “Missing Kid is about how I observe the people in my life”, she explains. “I sometimes feel like I’m just copying what everyone else is doing, simply because I don’t know what I’m ‘supposed to’ do”. Fantastic songwriting on this infectious track with its soaring vocal delivery.
Master Peace – Harley
South London’s Master Peace has returned with the new indie-punk single Harley, based around a dirty indie rock guitar riff, with Master Peace bragging about the intimate details of his relationship: “We love to love, we love to fuck, we get it done / One rule for us, one rule for them, it’s that or none”. The release follows Master Peace’s recent collaborations, including a feature on AJ Tracey’s album Don’t Die Before You’re Dead with the track Red Wine, and work with Franz Ferdinand on Hooked (Live at Glasgow Barrowlands), which featured Johnny Marr on the B-side. Master Peace has also performed these tracks live at Glastonbury with both AJ Tracey and Franz Ferdinand, as well as appearing at YUNGBLUD’s BludFest.
Nectar Woode – When The Rain Stops
Nectar Woode‘s new single When The Rain Stops is part of new EP It’s Like I Never Left and is described by Juno Records as “a track with a late-night clarity, tapping into a kind of understated yet potent delivery of emotion.” The song is noted for its smoky and restrained atmosphere, pairing Woode’s hushed vocals with brushed drums and woozy keys. It’s a slow-burning meditation on self-worth and constraint. Nectar Woode‘s blend of soulful jazz, R&B and warm-hearted boom bap, laced with personal storytelling, has drawn comparisons to greats like Lauryn Hill, Lianne La Havas and even earned her praise from Elton John – who recently called her a reminder of Nina Simone on his Rocket Hour show.
The Cords – Fabulist
Scottish duo The Cords have shared their highly infectious new single Fabulist. Jangling indie at its finest, it’s a catchy pop song, which races along so headlong, that you could miss the fact that it’s a wholehearted take-down of people who lie for a living. Whilst older fans may hear echoes of The Shop Assistants, The Primitives, Tiger Trap and Talulah Gosh, the duo have created something utterly fresh and exciting. Described as the brightest new indiepop band The Cords comprise of sisters Eva and Grace Tedeschi. They started playing drums when they were little kids and found that they liked 80s and 90s indie music more than their peers did, and so formed a band, just the two of them, with Grace on drums and Eva on guitar – and the songs started to flow.
TTSSFU – Call U Back
Alongside the news of her new seven-track release Blown, TTSSFU (aka Tasmin Stephens) has shared the EP’s catchy lead single: “Call U Back is a song about when you really like someone and you chase them around to try and make it work, but end up just making a fool of yourself by holding onto the slightest chance of it working,” TTSSFU has said of the track. “When you listen to it, imagine you’re drunk on a night out at the point that things slowly start to just feel awful.” With scampering and nimble bass lines, quick stepping drums, shivering with twitching licks, it chases after you down shadowy back alleyways. While Stephens’ vocal scythes through the atmosphere carrying an anxious whisper that swells into an earworm mantra as she tries to hang onto a semblance of unrequited feelings, that are left unreturned.
Nieve Ella – Good Grace
West Midlands rising talent Nieve Ella has returned with banging new single Good Grace, a boisterous slice of empowered rock. Her first track to be shared since the release of her Watch It Ache and Bleed EP late last year, the track marks a turning of the ride for the singer, as she explains: “Good Grace is a release of all the anger I’ve felt from being mistreated and patronised. It speaks to a person made up of all the toxic, arrogant people I have encountered; unapologetically telling them enough is enough. I’ve got my own voice and I’m not afraid to use it.” Co-produced by Jamie Rendle and Hugo M. Hardy, Good Grace is an explosive return, unleashing all her frustrations at once.
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