Our key releases from July, also featuring Swapmeet, Ebbb, The Glowworms, The Healing Power of Horses, Henry Webb-Jenkins and Frank Lloyd Wleft.

mary in the junkyard – ‘role model hermit’

Since their earliest beginnings, mary in the junkyard have been built around inventive, resourceful interplay and an ability to transcend any self-imposed stylistic and conceptual confines. Their full-length debut, ‘role model hermit’, remains true to that formula, the three-piece maximising their every ability to craft an ambitious yet decidedly intimate collection which sprawls in style but consistently expresses their unique identity as a group. Pummelling rhythm from David Addison and Saya Barbaglia lends a propulsion to the biggest moments, but Clari Freeman-Taylor’s beguiling and instantly recognisable whisper-sing style anchors even these in a close and uncanny space. Her lyrics possess a diary-like sense of offhand intimacy, rich in candour and surprising associations. In all, ‘role model hermit’ exemplifies everything that has made mary in the junkyard so entrancing up until now, from the discipline and inventiveness of their three-piece interplay to the strange uplift of their idiosyncratic anthems.

Opus Kink – ‘The Sweet Goodbye’

Opus Kink’s long anticipated debut album completes the world of theatrical pandemonium they have developed over many years of constant work honing their sound and building their live reputation. Impossible to pin down, ‘The Sweet Goodbye’ pulls from the range of Opus Kink’s reference points, combining jazz, folk, country and a hint of electronic influences. Ultimately, the maximalism of their punk cabaret aesthetic remains the compelling core which ties these strands together.  From horn-driven floor-fillers to shanty-esque nautical ballads, every musical choice on the record feels deliberate. Nothing is included simply for the sake of experimentation; instead, Opus Kink have learnt how to gather their influences and past legacy together with confidence.  Rather than feeling like a conclusion, ‘The Sweet Goodbye’ feels like a glimpse into an exciting future for Opus Kink. It has been well worth the wait. [Adapted from full review] (Eloise Applebaum)

Swapmeet – ‘Mount Zero’

The highs and lows of young adulthood are confronted with bold candour on Swapmeet’s debut album ‘Mount Zero’. This is a lyrically exploratory record which captures the essence of early love and heartbreak and the attendant youthful uncertainty so inevitable it can scarcely be deemed chaos. The sound brings slowcore into the twenty-first century, skipping from jangling ease into the emotional shelf break with little warning. In its dedication to untampered feeling, ‘Mount Zero’ is triumphant. The album makes a memory of the present moment, promising you’ll be ok after seemingly coming of age a decade late. It is an outpouring of affection and poignancy, pointing towards Swapmeet’s high potential, which seems firmly within reach. [Adapted from full review] (Eve Morgan)

The Healing Power of Horses – ‘Summer Indoors (or outside wearing black)

The debut EP from The Healing Power of Horses is a triumph of invention and play, set against tight, absorbing lyrics. Clanging factory floor rhythms and addictive, contorted loops form the base, over which streams of inventive melodic ideas and memorable lyrical hooks overlap. At times, the deadpan lyrics belie the complexity of these interweaving details, only right for a collection set up by the detached cool of its title. Full of memorable flashes of inspiration, particularly on ‘i wait, i sink’ and ‘TOURNIQUET’, this is a brilliant debut collection that gets deeper under your skin with every listen.

wing! – ‘(WORTH SCANNING FOR)’

wing! return with their second EP, mere months after last year’s debut. ‘(WORTH SCANNING FOR)’ is somewhat more understated in sound than the tropical haze of the debut, but its timbre creates a sense of deceptive simplicity. The signature boxy drums remain, but here they are inundated by crystalline synth lines, which ooze through them. Even as a rapid beat kicks in through ‘HOLD THEM TO IT’, there is a slow majesty to its mood shifts dictated by droning keys and echoing vocal samples. Showing off the range of the project at this early stage with a confidence that this subtle style can nevertheless immerse a listener, this EP shows a different side to wing! and asserts the project’s impressive early breadth.

Ebbb – ‘Shallow Hits’

Ebbb’s debut album establishes the pristine, immersive quality of the acclaimed London three-piece. A pop boldness undercut by accomplished electronic elements builds a cohesive and decidedly melodic whole reminiscent of the likes of James Blake, Roosevelt and similar pop-driven alternative music of recent years. The rough edges of the band’s earliest years have mostly been smoothed over, this debut feeling like the band’s most polished work yet, completed by big choruses on singles like ‘Now You Know’, ‘Side On’ and title track ‘Shallow Hits’.

The Glowworms – ‘Baleen’

Drawing from indie folk and Midwest emo, London-based group The Glowworms nevertheless resist easy categorisation. With their new EP ‘Baleen’, the band cast their line into deeper waters, drawing from musicians across different genres and generations. ​​An immediate highlight is ‘Those Things’. Its shared vocals and tropical riffs evoke traces of Paul Simon and the warmth of a beach campfire at midnight, roasting plantains with your closest friends while palm trees sway overhead. The single serves as a heartening ode to surrender, comforting listeners and encouraging them to let go of what cannot be changed as they float on downstream. ‘Baleen’ goes on to unfold like a hymn, each track feeling deeply personal while remaining strikingly relatable. Across the EP, The Glowworms investigate themes of longing, hopes of reconciliation, and distance. These flash up in evocations of the temptation to call an old lover and the kind of yearning that makes you absent-mindedly miss your tube stop on the journey home. Woven together by intricate guitar riffs and rich string arrangements, ‘Baleen’ traces the arc of a relationship from the hope of reunion to the more difficult prospect of building a future alone. ​This is an EP for those who wear their heart on their sleeve. Best listened to in an intimate setting, ‘Baleen’ resonates well beyond its final note, inviting listeners to confront their innermost ruminations. [Adapted from full review] (Eloise Applebaum)

Henry Webb-Jenkins – ‘Hank’

The debut EP from London’s Henry Webb-Jenkins establishes Americana credentials well worthy of his counterparts across the Atlantic. With a refreshing vitality, he draws on classic country strains of the latter decades of the twentieth century, from the yearning swells of ‘Lose You’ and ‘Hope You’re The One’ to the outlaw skip of earworm opener ‘Fun Around Here’. Across the collection, Webb-Jenkins’ voice cuts through with distinctive poignance while rollicking guitar licks and pedal steel flourishes complete the scene.

Frank Lloyd Wleft – ‘The Actual Kids in Actual America’

Finally putting pen to paper on his own declaration of independence, Frank Lloyd Wleft (and his Orchestra) has been a singularly leftfield and beautifully bizarre fixture of the London grassroots scene for some years now. The long-time-coming full-length ‘The Actual Kids in Actual America’ offers a delightful treatise for this a glorious vision. Irreversibly transformed by a solo coast to coast trip across America – an interest that has led Wleft to even pursue further education in American history – ‘The Actual Kids….’ offers a musical travelogue across 3000 miles and 200 years of a notorious nation. Brimming with the sights of New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, as seen most definitely through the eyes and ears of a London punk, Frank guides us through a cultural smorgasbord of Guthrie-esque Folk (‘Angels Camp’), ramshackle punkabilly (‘I Have Been In The Desert So Long’), and homages to Country & Western so faithful that’s it’s remarkable they weren’t first sung the Wild West (‘How Can I Fall So In Love With You’, which features Nina Winder-Lind).  And after all of that, it’s on the ballads and beat poetics of the epic two final tracks where Frank shines brightest. ‘Postcards of L.A’ in particular is a stunningly romantic portrait that reminds us of those American mythologies that have spread its wings everywhere, for better and for worse. (Elvis Thirlwell)