A look at essential new collections also featuring MLEKO, Brown Horse, Natalie Wildgoose, ashnymph, Lucy Leave and Visit Me.

My New Band Believe – ‘My New Band Believe’

On his first formal solo album (excepting, that is, his work as Camera Picture), former black midi bassist Cameron Picton makes an ambitious and impressive statement as leader of My New Band Believe. Featuring an entirely acoustic instrumentation, the album recalls the knotted density of black midi but with a more human warmth. On the latter black midi releases, there was a dwindling sense of focus as the three incredible musicians developed ever-more complicated interplay while seemingly losing sight of the basic expressive purpose of songwriting. In a similar manner to the solo debut of his former bandmate Geordie Greep, Picton’s record re-centres the songwriter, establishing a necessary focus which makes the payoff of complex musical arrangements all the more satisfying. Lyrics are cryptic but bear a clear sense of emotional pertinence which is undergirded by the instrumentals. ‘My New Band Believe’ condenses some of the best elements of black midi around a songwriting personality rightfully drawing a lot of excitement in his own right.

Truthpaste – ‘I Don’t Know Either’

The debut EP from vaunted Manchester five-piece Truthpaste shows off their talent for virtuosic pairings of electronic, folk and orchestral elements, though it runs a little light on substance. Platitudinous lyrics seem to be the sacrifice necessary to pull off the more complex melodic moments, a trade which runs the risk of sounding clever without feeling necessary. It speaks of the band’s command of structure and their five-piece dynamic that most of these songs reach their peak in their final quarter, as the core elements are wound together in a heady swirl. The best of these moments closes opener ‘Never Gonna Give’. But while there is a measure of shambling indie charm embodied by the band’s unconventional setup and idiosyncratic musical ideas, the EP lacks the breathing room that enlivens the work of comparable ensembles like Tapir! and casual smart.

big long sun – ‘love songs and spiritual recollections’

Brighton’s prolific bedroom freakout wizards big long sun are back with a fourth collection in three years. In its contrast to 2025’s ‘whatever (whatever)’, ‘love songs and spiritual recollections’ underlines the group’s versatility and curiosity across genres. DIY danceability is substituted for more writerly arrangements, which nonetheless bear the sense of spontaneity and immediacy which defines the project. This more jangly collection speaks of a psych songwriting lineage which runs from the Sixties to more contemporary acts like White Fence and Foxygen (see in particular ‘my stars aligning’). At the same time, the slacker tone gives these songs an authentic quality which makes such similarity feel natural rather than pastiche.

MLEKO – ‘The Feast of St. Perpetua’

MLEKO’s debut EP ‘The Feast of St. Perpetua’ shifts and snarls with relentless ambition. It’s a collection of songs that delight in largely disregarding genre and structure. This is the sound of a band refusing to be paralysed by overthinking what they want to be and letting the uneasiness of the middle ground become the whole point. Indeed, the self-imposed ‘Gub rock’ tag they have taken on frees them of any sonic lineage to honour. Throughout the record, MLEKO toy with tension-relief dichotomies without it ever becoming stale. Often enough, they’ll wrongfoot you by leaning further into the noise and discordance rather than reigning back. When it all comes together, like on the closest thing the band have to a chorus in ‘Lego Sex’ or the mission statement cry of “and then it hits ya’” amid a sea of abrasive brass noise in the song ‘Gub Rock’, it is something to behold. Yet it is the very disguising of such climactic moments of melodic coherence which makes them so impactful. The highlight of the EP is closer ‘Tom’s Tune’. The band have described this as the most accurate encapsulation of their sound, which is a very fair assessment. It shifts through its brass motifs from a delicate folk song that could be filed next to the softer My New Band Believe tracks or something by Dove Ellis into a desperate downpouring of noise; maniacal guitars, sax and trumpet used as weaponry. ‘The Feast of St. Perpetua’ firmly positions MLEKO as one of the most exciting new bands in the country. (Marty Hill)

Brown Horse – ‘Total Dive’

On ‘Total Dive’, Brown Horse show off an increasing confidence of their handling of their expansive country rock setup. Showing a startling prolificacy, aided in part by the four-way split in songwriting duties, this is their third album in as many years, written and recorded somewhere in between an intensive touring schedule. The constant time together begets a close instinctive interrelationship between the musicians, particularly impressive in their vocal parts seamlessly suiting singer Patrick Turner. With its swaying, propulsive chorus, ‘Wreck’ is an immediate standout from the album. Yet throughout this record, the band brilliantly balance the clean-cut serenity of country, transmitted by lap steel, vocal harmonies and plainspoken lyrical revelations, against the overspilling fuzz of heavy rock ‘n’ roll, choking distortion dazzlingly winding into accordion overtures. As the Norwich ensemble chart an impressive continuing rise, ‘Total Dive’ marks a high point of compositional confidence and aesthetic precision.

Natalie Wildgoose – ‘Rural Hours’

Natalie Wildgoose’s folk-inflected storytelling marries the bucolic and sublime in her new EP ‘Rural Hours’, released by state51. This collection of tracks captures glimpses of distant lands and bygone eras, conjuring a world unencumbered by the city’s chaos. Wildgoose’s angelic, lilting vocals, combined with her rich instrumentation, provide a comforting warmth, a remedy for our hurried lives. ‘Rural Hours’ is an ode to the pastoral, a guide for the wandering traveller, and a love letter to the North. While it speaks to its rural muse, a melancholy undercurrent runs through each track. The lead single, ‘Nobody on the Path’, captures the solitude of self-discovery amid these Arcadian surroundings, while a dichotomous relationship between instrumentation and lyricism is palpable on the pastoral hymnals, ‘Sibyl’ and ‘River Days’. Written and recorded across numerous isolated buildings and bothies across the Yorkshire Dales, ‘Rural Hours’ is as faithful to its subject as a Lewis Creighton landscape painting or a Wordsworth poem. (Grace Palmer) [Full review here]

ashnymph – ‘Childhood’

ashnymph, the new project of Will Wiffen, has just launched debut EP ‘Childhood’, setting out in recorded form the manifesto for an act that has been taking the live scene by storm this past year. Quoting rave and indie rock in equal measure, ‘Childhood’ shows off an innovative sound, each of its tracks packed with interlocking hooks. ‘Saltspreader’ undercuts an MGMT synth tone with a propulsive rhythm, while ‘47’ spirals around a series of hypnotic and implacable loops. Meanwhile, ‘After Glow’ provides a kind of respite in its sparklingly streamlined quality, evoking an electronic darkness that feels perfect for a night drive down the motorway. The new Blitzcat signee captures a unique intersection of influences on a truly exciting debut.

Lucy Leave – ‘Feelings Explorer I & II’

Cataloguing compositions from between 2020 and 2025, Oxford group Lucy Leave’s new triple album is an appropriately wide-ranging and ambitious collection. Indeed, ‘Making Art (Keeps Me Alive)’, the manifesto by way of litany of influences, speaks, in a slightly tongue-in-cheek manner, to the disparate range of styles channelled here in the band’s own determinedly DIY manner. As suggested here, the band relish meta commentaries which dissect their work as it happens, a theme heard again on the voice memo intro to ‘‘97’ which sets the song up in terms of its “short Minutemen-esque riff”. This duly and appealing comes in, only to be displaced by a series of unexpected stylistic jump-cuts. Across the disparity of styles on this album, the most constant traits are sharp guitars and vocals which perfectly weigh the import of each word, while the rhythm section manage to create coherent rises and falls out of winding arrangements. Other highlights include the intricately arranged ‘Spoke Song’, the anthem of late capitalist malaise ‘Luxury Trap’ and standouts ‘Diane’ and ‘Our Dad’. What seems to define this album above all else is a sense for the joy of recorded music and DIY spirit. Across 26 tracks, the band are constantly fixated on creating an interesting and engaging listening experience, either through unexpected compositional lurches, insightful lyrics, or knowing asides, often commenting on the very nature of the song we are hearing.

Visit Me – ‘Daystar’

Visit Me debut with beautiful debut ‘Daystar’. The record makes for a decidedly homemade take on dream pop, which trades the artificial transcendental qualities of effects pedals and synthesisers for the warmth of acoustic timbres, rattly drum machine and, most importantly, vocal harmonies. The band take something of early Lush and Stereolab in a more rawly textural direction, partly suggesting the formal experiments of peers like The Horse – with whom guitarist Ben Nicolson divides his time. This is a collection to keep you company in the haze of slow mornings and baking summer days and testament to the patient magic at the band’s fingertips .