Single Reviews 17/04/22

Published on 17 April 2022 at 17:31

Words: Adam Wright

 

Welcome to this week’s singles roundup. Each week OSM picks a few of the best tunes to have dropped recently and collects them in a list for your listening pleasure. We will, as ever, start with this week’s Single Of The Week. This week we’ve gone for the new release from the New York-based trio, Sunflower Bean. The track, titled ‘I Don’t Have Control Sometimes’, features a title that suggests a sinister sound, but instead showcases a bright and jangly sonic makeup. The song’s lyrics are dark, however, and centre around concepts of recklessness and self destruction, creating a juxtaposition not unlike a track from The Cure. 

 

Onto more releases and this next one is more local (to us, at least) and comes from the Yorkshire-based indie band, The Hilder. Their new tune, ‘Call It What You Want’, is probably best described as indie-pop with a bite. The track’s northern vocal and crescendoed verses seem to evoke county compatriots, Reverend And The Makers and builds on the quartet’s previous singles…sticking with Yorkshire bands: this next one is from The Calls. The Leeds-based band recently dropped ‘Into The Day’, which is the third track from the group’s forthcoming EP - set for release this summer. The tune features a raw and fairly minimalistic sound which puts its soft vocal into focus, creating a feel-good and summery soundscape…next this week is more of a pop inspired tune and comes from Natalie Shay. The solo artist released ‘Two Sparks’ last week, which sees the artist navigating her own personal turbulence. Her subtle and fragile vocal sits atop mournful piano chords before the track develops into a fully-fledged pop ballad. Having already enjoyed significant acclaim, ‘Two Sparks’ will likely continue Shay’s success…The Native appear next and their track is called ‘Blindside’ and marks the group’s first release under their new label, This Feeling Records. The song has a distorted and sharp instrumental core that evokes Catfish And The Bottlemen, while its vocal bears the influence of acts like Sam Fender. The band have a big summer lined up and hope to take their sound even further…The Subways are up next with their new tune, ‘You Kill My Cool’. The track is the latest to be taken from the group’s forthcoming album and features a classic rock inspired sound. Rough guitar riffs dominate much of the song’s foreground and leave it not sounding unlike a Wolf Alice number. Quick lyricism adds excitement to a track that sees the band in their element... next this week is the latest tune from the Manchester-based trio, Partisan. The group have been making music for six years and their latest tune, ‘Animal’ is the first new material since 2020. The track delivers the kind of sound that fans of the band are familiar with. Versatile vocals weave through each verse before soaring into consuming and grand choruses. The single doesn’t only end a two year silence for the band, but also comes with the promise of more new material…lastly for this week is the new drop from Guise. The London-based quartet have been working on their debut album and ‘I Know When You Leave’ is sure to add to the excitement surrounding it. The tune features a guest appearance from singer-songwriter, Emily Barker; whose vocal adds a further layer to the tune’s angelic sound. The lack of instrumentation gives the tune a well-crafted fragility that highlights the beauty of simplicity.

All of the above releases can be listened to on our Spotify playlist here

Add comment

Comments

There are no comments yet.