Essential new singles, also including cruush, Sam Grassie and Alba Akvama.

Evelyn Gray – ‘Clotheslines’

Tasked with documenting the rooms of an abandoned apartment building, Evelyn Gray’s ongoing project ‘I Am Building A House’ ventures into the unknown, uncanny and unexplainable aspects of humanity. The project’s first single, ‘Clotheslines’, profiles the Inventor’s quarters – a room brimming with unrealised designs, left suspended in this forgotten space. Gray’s folkloric vocals ripple through the track’s introduction, before giving way to the choral voices and instrumentation of band members Suzie Nicholls and Sophia Bartlett. Wry lyrics – “a tin of mackerel filled with crap” – paired with tinkering, staccato melodies, endow the song with a child-like innocence evocative of the ‘Box Trolls’ and ‘The Borrowers’. As if knocking on the door to the next room, the track’s final beats induce anticipation for the many creatures concealed within ‘I Am Building A House’. Evelyn Gray brings this charming storytelling to London on 12th February, headlining at The George Tavern. (Grace Palmer)

DEADLETTER – ‘Among Us’

Saxophone notes are delivered with unhinged force on ‘Among Us’, favouring groove over melody as punk’s raw edge bleeds into jazz’s defiant intricacy. Post-punk remains the framework, but DEADLETTER contort it into something more unstable, where grit, groove, and screeching guitars operate at the edge of collapse. Gritty riffs tangle with warped woodwind textures in a frenetic rapture, while drums and bass throb like a restless heartbeat, driving the track forward with controlled musicality. Zac Lawrence’s vocals deliver the eerie lyrics with restrained intensity, teetering between sinister observation and cutting wit. In the bridge, “I’m caged up by the thing that I command” repeats with creeping existential unease, looping like a curse embedded in the track. Following their last single, ‘It Comes Creeping’, the south London–via–Yorkshire six-piece confirm that it is now among us. The surprise release marks the third single from their upcoming album ‘Existence is Bliss’, out February 27th via So Recordings. With ‘Among Us’, DEADLETTER continues to sharpen their post-punk sound into visceral vigour, where groove curdles into dread and unhinged precision keeps the tension coiled until the final note. (Isabel Kilevold)

Sorry – ‘Billy Elliot / Alone in Cologne’

Energy coils and shifts between tender and restless as Sorry release dual singles ‘Billy Elliot/Alone in Cologne,’ where sleazy riffs and shifting rhythms collide with longing and detachment. ‘Billy Elliot’ is playful and coy, wrapped in surreal, intimate lyrics. A soft drum rhythm and thick bass groove anchor the melody as Asha Lorenz opens with childlike yearning: “The saddest thing I ever did hear / Lives in the heart of a dead man’s ears / He was my bestest friend.” The melody unfurls, shivering into a vibrant electronic interplay, while the raw vocals land with equal measures of abstraction and ache: “I used to be close to you / Or somebody that I once knew.” By contrast, ‘Alone in Cologne’ glides on a slightly awkward funk rhythm. The repeated line, “I’m alone, still alone,” lands as a measured, detached observation rather than a plea. A tight, pulsing beat drives distorted, shimmering textures that ripple and slide through the track. Where ‘Billy Elliot’ drifts in bittersweet nostalgia, ‘Alone in Cologne’ is restless, physical, and apathetic — pushing forward without looking back. The London five-piece refuse categorisation, twisting their sound into an experimental realm where post-punk, indie rock, funk, electronic, trip-hop, grunge, jazz, and warped pop breathe as one. ‘Billy Elliot/Alone in Cologne’ is a sonic confession: vulnerable and fierce, where melodies hum with memory and fracture into static. (Isabel Kilevold)

cruush – ‘Great Dane’

Manchester four piece cruush have been on something of a sonic soul search of late. Having spent years building their songs around thick walls of fuzz and dissonance, they’ve evolved to harness a sound that is informed by their nosier beginnings but is more curious about loud-quiet dynamics and pop sensibilities. ‘Great Dane’ is the second of two singles that the band recorded with producer Owen Turner, whose work with Brown Horse was a key catalyst for their musical gear shift. It’s the sound of a band reimagining themselves in real time and being energised by the process. The band are still getting their money’s worth out of their hefty collection of pedals, but here distorted motifs punctuate a slacker-tinged alt-rock song that perhaps has more in common with bands like Lime Garden or Wednesday than My Bloody Valentine. (Marty Hill)

Sam Grassie – ‘Where Two Hawks Fly’

Beyond you lies a desolate countryside, where decaying buildings and forgotten stories flicker in your memory. This ancient fable is woven in Sam Grassie’s latest track, ‘Where Two Hawks Fly’ – a spellbinding tale from the preeminent folk artist. Inspired by traditional Scottish music, Grassie transforms the Ronnie Browne melody with his quintessential gentle-handedness. Mournful strumming patterns, reminiscent of Nick Drake’s ‘Three Hours’ or Bert Jansch’s ‘Needle of Death’, lilt and twang beneath Grassie’s deep vocals. Echoing flute crescendos along with lyrics like “What castle then? What castle now?’ lend the track a mythology of those distant lands flying past your train window. Filled with reflection and sorrow, ‘Where Two Hawks Fly’ exemplifies Grassie’s belief that “if you stop to listen, then maybe you’ll hear the voice of the place.” Ahead of his upcoming debut ‘When Two Hawks Fly’, due 10th April via Broadside Hacks Recordings, this title track unveils the devastating comfort entwined in Grassie’s new work. (Grace Palmer)

Alba Akvama – ‘Blue Body’

Alba Akvama is the latest ripe fruit to fall from Copenhagen’s proliferating sonic offshoots, a city whose artistic exports have been quietly reshaping the modern sonic landscape with their distinct, progressive musical excursions. The Danish singer-songwriter’s sophomore single ‘Blue Body’ offers a brooding, sophisticated meditation on crimes of passion, thematically exploring “the idea of killing someone you love to prevent the love from ever changing, hurting or leaving”. Jangling, metallic acoustic guitar lilts beneath the drowsy rhythm of Akvama’s commanding voice, grounded in a coarse, earthy imperfection, where nature’s most delicate contours intertwine with their brutalist counterparts: towering, geometric stone softened by verdant, willowy brushstrokes; chalky shoreline cliffs smoothed by a million nuzzling grains of sand. ‘Blue Body’ teases Akvama’s debut EP ‘Minute Nothing’, due for release on the 20th March. (Hazel Blacher)