Fresh from the fantastic news of music venues being able to reopen again within London’s Tier 2 measures – swapping the scotch egg (aka a substantial meal) for a gig ticket purchase will count as a ‘cultural purchase’ and therefore allow alcohol sales – we’re now looking forward to December and January.
A shout-out must be given to the fantastic Music Venues Trust for all of their hard work, without their guidance we’d be in bad shape as a community. It’s crazy to think that MVT as a charity was founded only in 2014, the result of constant venue closes due to factors such as property development and lack of government support.
On a brighter note, we’ve selected a bunch of stunning new releases via our weekly deep search know as Firsts. These tracks find their way onto our ‘Top Tips’ Spotify playlist which you can follow here.
NewDad
I Don’t Recognise You
There’s an instant love involved with NewDad’s sound. Recent single I Don’t Recognise You holds lyrical intimacy, a questioning of one’s circumstances and a fondness for guitar music close to it’s heart. Hailing from Galway in the West Coast of Ireland, the quartet’s eery and spacious instrumental approach and a love affair with the subtle powers of alternative rock, provides the honesty and fragility needed in music in 2020. Find the band on Spotify here.
Venice Drone
Pizza Boxes
New London outfit Venice Drone appeared from seemingly nowhere this month with a five track EP entitled Nice One. The band’s exciting brand of angular and detailed indie music is represented perfectly in new single Pizza Boxes, the track’s environmentally conscious and anti-consumerist message is exactly what pop music needs; a dose of honestly and high-end hooks. The EP itself pushes Venice Drone’s sound into truly different realms with post-rock soundscapes, samples and warped electronic textures driving the band’s vision left-field. Find Venice Drone on Spotify here.
Swine Tax
Johnny
Newcastle outfit Swine Tax are a band that just keep on giving, Johnny is another superb addition to the band’s back catalogue of hard-hitting, politically conscious and truly exciting singles. Relax is also part of the two-sided release, and kicks with all of the ferocity of a pre-debut album early Arctic Monkeys number. The proof is in the pudding, guitar music is alive and well, and Swine Tax are flying the flag. Find the band on Spotify here.
PLAY DEAD
Six Hours Later
You may have caught Whitstable or Shaun, two early singles on the already raucous and damn right vicious back catalogue of London punk band PLAYDEAD. Documenting the everyday chaos of life as a teenager in South London, Six Hours Later is the trio’s new release on Blitzcat Records. Playing with the expected aggression and savagery of a punk band growing up at a time of unique political turmoil and integral social change, PLAYDEAD’s output an honest insight into being young and fearless in the capital. Find the band on Spotify here.
Salt
Elephant and Castle
London newcomers Salt have opened their account with a lyrically intricate debut single in Elephant and Castle. The track’s growing anxiety and building instrumental textures capture a vision of major city fragility comparable to that of a game of Jenga. The facade of prosperousness and opportunity cloaks the reality of social injustice and gentrification, the subtle building blocks of which are witnessed everyday by the passerby. Balancing thoughtful art rock soundscapes with swirling, jagged impulses Elephant and Castle harnesses the darkened spirit of post-punk. Find the band on Spotify here.
hardofhearingmagazine.com 