With social media becoming more and more important for bands trying to break out, it comes with it an impossible task. How does a band or artist break out when almost every other band is trying to do the same?
Truth be told it can’t be an easy task, and with that many artists fall under the radar. With that in mind, here are 8 artists with under 8k Instagram followers that you should check out:
The Rhythm Method
London based duo The Rhythm Method have achieved many things in their tenure as a band so far. Their debut album ranked in Dazed’s best of 2019, Elton John has played their tracks and Mike Skinner produced an early single, yet they deserve far more.
Spoken word and satirical, yet immensely dancy, the duo have produced music that’s tough to pigeonhole into a specific genre. The lyrics are sometimes sad, the beats are always bouncy and the whole feeling is that this is something special. Squeeze, The Twang, Aztec Camera, there’s plenty of easy comparisons to make, but none really describe just how uniquely good this duo are. The Rhythm Method’s aforementioned debut album 2019’s ‘How Would You Know I Was Lonely?’, showed their willingness to observe themselves openly. Cracking jokes in everyday life, it’s thirty-four minutes of two ‘Clapham kind of common’ lads just telling some kind of story.
Since that release the duo have released and then edited and re-leased their very own World Cup anthem with 2018’s ‘Chin Up’ and 2021’s Chin Up 2021.’’ With album #2 firmly in the pipeline, it hopefully won’t be long till we see what’s next from these
Chilli Jesson
Effortlessly cool, purposefully brilliant. The definition of an artist who just has it. That may seem a cop out, a simple way to avoid going into detail about what makes Chilli a step above the rest, but it’s also undeniably accurate. There’s a swagger to Chilli’s stage presence, a sharpness to his lyrics, and a production quality to each track that allows him to consistently put out some of the best indie music released in a very long time.
Aided by his brilliant new backing band and the aforementioned high-quality production, this may be Chilli’s name in bold but he’s not doing it alone. Each song is punchy and purposeful, equally as important as anything he may have released before. I could tell you to read my review of his debut EP, the exceptional ‘St. Vitamin’, but truth be told you’d be better off listening to it yourself. Upcoming UK Shows This Summer - Latitude Festival, All Points East.
Coach Party
Headline tour with multiple sold out dates? Check. A single release with almost one-million Spotify streams? Yeah check on that one as well. An all round bloody good band? You’re three for three with Coach Party.
The four-piece have already played across the globe from Berlin to Bournemouth. Recently supporting French pop band Indochine at the Stade de France in front of over ninety-seven-thousand spectators, the group confidently played their way through a thirteen song setlist. Not bad for a band from the Isle of Wight. Signed to the same label that released records for Wolf Alice, Jungle, Swim Deep just to name a few, Coach Party are definitely worth your time. Upcoming UK Shows This Summer - Tramlines Festival, Truck Festival, Y-Not Festival, Victorious Festival, TNL Revive Live Tour (various dates and locations).
Halloweens
It’d be unfair to call Halloweens a side project for Timothy Lanham (T Truman) and Justin Young of The Vaccines fame, because that would be watering down the act a little too much.
Closer to an alter-ego for the pair, Halloweens’ debut album ‘Morning Kiss at the Acropolis’ released in March of 2020. Artistically and creatively filling, some songs would make you dance, others might even make you cry, either way it’s indie-pop that makes you feel. 2022’s four-song EP ‘Halloweens 4 Life’ may offer a more consistent tone and pace, but it never lets up on quality. Cruelly releasing their debut songs just one month before COVID-19 began to break, the band have been forced to hold back on any live shows as of right now. With that in mind their debut live performance is scheduled for next week’s Glastonbury Festival, a show they have teased could well be a one-and-done for the duo. Fingers crossed that won’t be the case. Upcoming UK Shows This Summer - Glastonbury Festival.
Bandit
Having recently caught Bandit playing live, I can assure you this Liverpudlian four-piece are the real deal. Their recent ‘Here’s to Being Alive’ EP really shows how the band have gone from strength-to-strength since their debut release back in 2019.
On that recent release, the indie rockers cooly intertwine guitar heavy tunes with lyrical confidence, and clear pride of their hometown. This pride for their own heritage is best shown by how frontman Nat Waters never shies away from singing in his accent. That willingness to not change who they are brings a feeling of purity to both their EP’s and their live performances. That attitude to your own accent is what helped The View breakout, and The Courteeners become the indie powerhouses they now are. Who knows, Bandit might be next. Upcoming UK Shows This Summer - FESTEVOL, Twisterella.
SOFY
From the first time I heard SOFY’s debut release ‘Strawberry Milkshake’, I was hooked. So much so that when her EP ‘Bored in Colour (Pt.1) released, I felt compelled to write an in-depth review. Well, that was back in February, so since then what has changed? In many ways nothing really. The EP has remained a regular listen, with songs such as the ridiculously repeatable ‘Lads, Lads, Lads’, remaining firmly at the top of my ‘On-Repeat’ playlist. But in other ways some things have changed and firmly for the better. Since her excellent EP debuted four months ago, SOFY and co have smashed their first headline show. Confidently played their way through a performance at the Great Escape Festival, and now find themselves booked for Latitude, Truck Festival, :Leeds and Glastonbury. All of that from a Leicester singer-songwriter who only released her debut single ten months ago.
Upcoming UK Shows This Summer - Glastonbury Festival, Truck Festival, Latitude Festival
SuperGlu
Truth be told this may be an entry largely influenced by nothing but pure nostalgia, but it’s my list and they’re an ace band so that’s that. First hearing SuperGlu in my local music venue at the age of fourteen, music has changed, the world’s moved on a bit, but one thing's for certain SuperGlu remains a worthy part of any playlist.
Having far more fun than any band from Suffolk has any right too, the band combines indie music with strong guitars producing exceptional results. With a little over a handful of songs on their Spotify account, there’s not really a dud in the collection. Each song is worth your time, as are the band.
Ray Laurél
Writing on their Instagram page about their most recent release ‘Manic Pixie Dream Boy’, Ray Laurél said they channeled Fifa ‘04, and that couldn’t be closer to the truth. It’s a single that belongs on a Fifa soundtrack, better yet it’s one of the songs I wouldn’t mute a week into owning the game. Upbeat and catchy, it’s a song for the shower, for the walk to the shops or for sitting in your room. Basically, it’s a tune for just about any time of the day. The rest of Laurél’s Spotify is equally impressive, from features to standalone singles of his own. There’s variety, and there’s consistent quality.
With less than a handful of songs on his Spotify as of the time of writing, the fans have been waiting (some for years) for releases from Ray Laurél. Three songs down, all in 2022, it looks like when it rains it pours.
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