Our weekly roundup of essential new music.

With festival season in full swing, we’ve swapped to fortnightly track reviews for the month, making for a bumper roundup of latest singles from Sorry, Just Mustard, Sarah Meth, Legss, Baggio, Trip Westerns, The Wytches, Anastasia Coope, Crazy Paving, Cherry i, Lemondaze and Matty Groves.

Sorry – ‘Echoes’

Sorry have released their new single ‘Echoes’, a bruising preview of their forthcoming album ‘Cosplay’ due November 7th via Domino. Anchored by a relentless rhythm and jagged, distinctive guitar lines, the track cuts sharp and deep. The vocals are raw, almost breathless, spilling intimate, urgent confessions: “I think we are losing now / I think we are fucking it up.” Paced instruments build a sonic intensity, amplified by the fervent vocal delivery, making ‘Echoes’ feel like an unfiltered outpouring of vulnerability. Inspired by a poem wherein a boy shouts “echo” into a tunnel and waits for its reply, the song is about losing yourself in love, and the “echo” becoming the third person in the middle. A gritty, dissonant guitar bridge slices through the track, adding harsh textures like an undeclared confession that scrapes under your skin. The refrain, “Echo, echo, echo, echo, I love you,” repeats with escalating urgency, leaving a lingering, visceral echo that reverberates long after the song ends. The London band push their sound deeper into a raw, jagged experimental indie rock sphere, delivering a sonic confession as intimate as it is intense, and as fractured as it is fiercely alive. (Isabel Kilevold)

Just Mustard – ‘We Were Just Here’

A shoegaze-inspired haze collides with distorted post-punk as Irish experimental rock band Just Mustard’s announces their third album ‘We Were Just Here’ alongside the launch of the title track. Rhythmic drumming, jagged guitars, and a driven bass-line interlock within an industrial-tinged electronic production, while Katie Ball’s airy voice floats above the dense soundscape of the track. The sonic atmosphere is so richly textured it feels almost tangible. A melodic dissonance grounds the ethereal vocals, as intense instrumentation contrasts hauntingly with Ball’s delicate delivery, and the hypnotic repetition of the title line “We were just here” lends the track an eerie, almost ghost-like presence. Like a dream that dissolves on waking, ‘We Were Just Here’ haunts the edges of consciousness in a collision of shadow and shimmer, at once dark, ethereal and deeply enticing. The album is set for release on October 24th via Partisan Records. (Isabel Kilevold)

Sarah Meth – ‘Bromance Is Dead’

Released via forward-thinking imprint Slow Dance Recordings, who have their ears firmly to the ground of emerging talent across the UK and beyond, ‘Bromance is Dead’ is the ethereal new single from London’s Sarah Meth. Laying down a stunningly celestial soundscape of singer-songwriter space-pop, here Meth’s sound is akin to Kevin Parker-era Melody’s Echo Chamber melted into the spectrality of Slowdive. It is a glorious cosmic ballad that’s also accompanied by a video directed by both Sarah Meth and Jack Shep. Speaking on the single, Meth details: “Bromance is dead is an ode to the end of a transatlantic situation – the moment where the (American) dream dies, and you wake up to the harsh reality that maybe a person cannot always be the friend you thought them to be”. (Brad Sked)

Legss – ‘See No Evil’

London art-rock outfit Legss return with ‘See No Evil’, the latest glimpse of their debut album ‘Unreal’ (due for release September 12^th via The state51 Conspiracy). Known for their jagged guitars, satirical monologues and unruly rhythms, here the band offer something strikingly different: vulnerability. While retaining their leftfield spirit, ‘See No Evil’ unveils a newfound pop sensibility. Low-slung chords and Ned Green’s hushed vocal delivery slowly unfurl into the closest thing to a Legss earworm yet; an impassioned refrain that feels both unguarded and quietly euphoric. It’s a leap into accessibility, a shedding of their former armour, and the results are unexpectedly luminous. With ‘Unreal’ arriving in September and a UK tour to follow in October, ‘See No Evil’ positions Legss at a fascinating crossroads – still cerebral and uncompromising, but finally letting the light in. (Gemma Cockrell)

Baggio – ‘Southern Comforts (Crazy Horse Version)’

‘Southern Comforts (Crazy Horse Version)’ launches South London group Baggio into their heaviest territory yet, showcasing the joy and adaptability of this expansive, six-to-nine-piece unit.  As the name suggests, it elevates the song – which first featured on 2024’s ‘The Dreadful Human Tangle’ – into the realms of dust-flecked ‘70s rock, a development that the band report to have ensued at gigs soon after the gentle, folksy original version was recorded. It speaks also of the band’s avowed (and requited) love for contemporaries Brown Horse, and one is tempted to speculate that it was the influence of Brown Horse’s live shows, which deal with this kind of weight so well, that incited the band to lean into this adaptation. The tenderness of Ben Wyborn’s songwriting and delivery is central to the original, but this version feels like it takes it somewhere different, trusting in the lyrics and melody to carry through in the softer moments that remain alongside climaxes where energy rachets up around what has become a heady, winding central riff. The result suggests a thrilling new direction for the band, maximising the potential of their sprawling six-to-nine-piece setup. (Lloyd Bolton)

Trip Westerns – ‘Alive’

Electrifyingly brilliant, ‘Alive’ is the latest cut from Brighton based quintet Trip Westerns. The track is a no-nonsense number, reaching just over four minutes in length and showcasing the outfit at their most lively. Drums and bass guitar shoot the breeze together with a healthy dose of swing as they transition between tempo changes, and the accompanying harmonica twists and turns, as if meandering through a dusty, dangerous trail. The guitars reinforce the bluesy attitude that pumps through the track like thick crimson blood. Lead vocalist/guitarist Harrison Baird-Whitman delivers a dazzling performance, singing about the mundane aspects of everyday life and the difficulties of remaining positive with a glass half-full. Produced together with Jake Smallwood (Sam Abbo) at Farm Road Studios and joined by Ellis Dickson (Fat Dog, Ellis-D) on drums, the single champions a return to 60’s psych-blues in its purest and finest form, all the while addressing the modern state of living. (Otis Hayes)

The Wytches – ‘Black Ice’

The Wytches are back, sharing ‘Black Ice’, alongside news of their latest LP, ‘Talking Machine’, set for release on October 10^th via Alcopop! Records – aptly arriving just in time for the peak of the spooky season. Circling back to their more surf-rock roots, ‘Black Ice’ sees The Wytches steer their sound towards a garage-y, punky rock ‘n’ roll that channels 13th Floor Elevators, along with the earlier work of Californian rippers Ty Segall and Mikal, resulting in a mega fuzzed-out frenzy.  Alongside news of their single and upcoming new album, The Wytches will also be playing several shows across the UK and Europe, finishing up their UK leg in London at The Garage 6th November. (Brad Sked)

Anastasia Coope – ‘Pink Lady Opera’

Making a welcome return following the release of her vastly underrated debut record ‘Darning Woman’, Anastasia Coope is back with enchanting new single ‘Pink Lady Opera’, arriving ahead of her forthcoming EP ‘DOT’, due in October. ‘Pink Lady Opera’ sees the New York based avant-folk artist traverse into a wholly enchanting and spellbinding realm, and this 3 and a half-minute delight wouldn’t be lost in one of Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpieces such as Spirited Away. A captivating offering from a supremely talented artist. Alongside the new single, Anastasia Coope has also shared a video to accompany it, directed by Coope herself. (Brad Sked)

Cherry i, The Arsonist

There’s a bodiless, haunted quality to the darkness that hangs over Cherry i’s new single, ‘The Arsonist’. Disjointed guitars clash and blur over slow, dragging percussion, creating a sound that’s both unsettling and hypnotic. Vocalist Nikol delivers each line with trembling honesty: “I hear submarines / I eat plasticine / Spit out figurines / Atavistic dreams”. Her voice wavers between whisper and howl, threading surreal imagery with raw emotion. It feels like pages torn from a dream journal – part fairy tale, part nightmare. Cherry i, a London-based band featuring Ukrainian refugees, wrote ‘The Arsonist’ as a means of processing their loss and displacement caused by war. The track tells the story of a divine arsonist trapped inside a dog, stalking the streets of Kyiv, a metaphor that feels both mythical and deeply personal. The song moves at a crawl, and its distorted textures and uneasy pacing reflect the emotional weight beneath it. With ‘The Arsonist’, Cherry i captures visceral pain with hypnotic catharsis in an art-rock track that drifts between beauty and unease. (Isabel Kilevold)

Crazy Paving – ‘Postcard’

Announcing their signing to the inimitable Sad Club Records, Crazy Paving – the solo project of Robbie Carmen (who also works with Nudista Baggio and lilo in varying capacities) – has relaunched with new single ‘Postcard’. Speaking of their affection for a laid back, countrified jangle perfected by Pavement and Silver Jews, the song is built around clever yet elemental lyrical hooks worthy of those luminaries of the form. The opening line, “No one ever sends you a postcard if they already live by the sea”, sets up an ambivalent reflection on the recognition of the wonder that always surrounds us. In the second verse, this is translated to romantic relationships and the appreciation of their simpler day-to-day joys. Carmen offsets this theme against the possibility of a relationship taken for granted, where stagnation ultimately leads to dissolution, making for an unsettled and nuanced portrayal. The whole makes for a perfect slice of pensive indie rock, complete with a brooding guitar solo to play the tune out. There’s been a smattering of Crazy Paving releases prior to this, some still accessible on Soundcloud, but this Sad Club debut feels like an exciting statement of intent for the future. (Lloyd Bolton)

Lemondaze – ‘o(type)’

Shoegaze is very much back on the menu, and with their new single ‘o(type)’, Cambridge’s Lemondaze are another outfit making a whirring racket. Released via Venn Records (Meryl Streek, CLT DRP), ‘o(type)’ sees the quartet lean heavily into the shoegaze realm, crafting a reverb-drenched wall of noise that draws stylistic parallels to My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. Atmospheric, haunting and pretty damn mighty, Lemondaze are another exciting new act to watch out for. Speaking on the lyrical themes of the single, the band share: “It’s an unconventional love song, the relationship is over, but the wanting and the hurt is still present. Loving someone even though you shouldn’t, that you should move on but you can’t.” (Brad Sked)

Matty Groves – ‘Valley of Tears’

Very short and very sweet, Matt Groves’ crooning lo-fi psychedelic-folk and acid-country hippy freakout ‘Valley of Tears’ is a bucolic fantasy. The single itself is Groves’ own take on the Fats Domino 1975 classic, reimagining it into a folly-filled, psychedelic cowboy odyssey for drifting across the prairie. Released via their own label Red Earth Records, the track is taken from their third album ‘The Magical Speckled Band’, due for releases on the 1st September (which is fittingly Springtime in Australia). After only emerging in 2024, the Melbourne/ Naarm cosmonaut is pound for pound as prolific as fellow Melbourne natives, King Gizzard and The Wizard Lizard.  There’s certainly something in the waters of Melbourne, and this never-ending stream of exciting new emerging artists makes you wonder if there’s some sort of secret psychedelic sauce that we aren’t yet privy to. (Brad Sked)