COMING SOON Little Simz Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
Released: 3rd September 2021
5 releases coming up you should start getting excited about.
Jungle
Bleachers
Released: 13th August 2021
Released: 30th July 2021
Loving In Stereo
Master Peace
Olivia O.
Master Peace is showing us yet again that he can’t decide which of his varied influences to lean into the most – and why should he? Merging the best elements of R&B, pop and rock, ‘Public Display Of Affection’ jumps between moods at will. The titular track ‘PDA’ is a prime example of the irresistible catchiness and conviction he indisputably builds. Starring no real down moments, although it does taper off into a more pensive spirit, this blaring and punchy EP abides by no tags, no labels, and no restraints. Master Peace continues to curate his own bright world, and ‘Public Display Of Affection’ is yet another refined notch on his distinguished belt.
Soaked in a raggedy charm, Olivia O’s solo EP, ‘Great Big Nothing’, is as calamitous as it is endearing. One half of hype-toting duo Lowertown, she’s opting for a rough ’n’ ready approach compared to the refined chaos of her home project. Cutting directly through the hazy cacophony created by the colliding of twanging guitar strings, and innocently hit drums, comes Olivia’s vocals. Delivering a sermon of dealing with growing up and getting older in a fractured world, Olivia can go from the sweetly sung high heavens to howling at the moon in an instance, begging those feelings to flutter into the world and to bug someone else. STEVEN
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LOFTIN
Rejjie Snow
PWNT
Built to feel like a short film, Dublin rapper Rejjie Snow’s second full-length transports you into an otherworldly dream, where there’s only room for good vibes. Taking in the cinematic sentiment, ‘Baw Baw Black Sheep’ slowly guides you through an intoxicating haze, felt ever more real through intricate production quirks from the sound of rush hour traffic to a door loudly creaking open. The album is dotted with curveballs: from ‘My Favourite Things’ sampled on ‘Relax’, to wondrous collabs with Tinashe and grouptherapy on the nudisco alt R&B ‘Disco Pantz’. Rejjie Snow is in a world full of joy, and you’d be foolish not to want to escape into it.
Play What’s Not There, or PWNT, has Kosta Galanopoulos taking on a dream-pop project from his home base in LA, transporting listeners onto an inflatable flamingo in a Californian pool, kicking back and drinking cocktails; debut LP ’Days in the Summer’ certainly delivers on its title. The album manages to effectively balance the glittering synths and smooth vocals of indie-pop with the natural energies created by ringing percussion and floating flutes found in 60s psychedelia, generating loose and light moods that are joyous to slip into. It’s a sublime introductory record.
JASLEEN DHINDSA
64. DORK
Oscar Lang
Billie Eilish
Released: 16th July 2021
Released: 30th July 2021
Chew The Scenery
Happier Than Ever
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FINLAY HOLDEN
Relax eeeef
Take The Sadness Out Of Saturday Night
Days in the Summer eeeef
FINLAY HOLDEN
Drug Store Romeos
The world within our bedrooms
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I
t only takes a few short seconds of the opening track to ascend to the particular world that London-via-Fleet trio Drug Store Romeos have created in their debut record, a warm hug
of an album in a time when we could all do with one. Like Alice popping through the looking glass, ‘The World Within Our Bedrooms’ seems to exist in a world that’s close to but parallel to this one - a realm of opposites where the organic meets the scientific, where light meets dark and becomes something entirely new. It manages the trick of sounding deceptively simple at times, but it is instead intricately pieced together. Each track builds on what has come before, additional layers slotting into place to create an entire mood that surrounds you. There are soft explosions of vivid colour like paint dropped into water, the oblique lyrics acting as guides to what’s going on rather than anything more prescriptive. Sarah Downie’s voice is almost treated as an instrument, so
delicate and precise is her vocal style - some tracks feel like she could float away at any given moment. The synths and basslines may swirl and caper like sprites in the wind, but equally there’s a surprisingly crisp edge to tracks like the Pixies-on-half-speed ‘Vibrate’. Meanwhile the woozy shoegaze of ‘Adult Glamour’ hints tantalisingly at where the band could head next. It’s sometimes code for ‘a bit difficult’ to say that a record rewards repeat listens, but ‘The World Within Our Bedrooms’ contains so much beauty and subtle colours that it demands a return trip to make sure every inch of it is explored thoroughly. You’ve got to hope they’re ready for the world to crash into their rooms, because that’s the only way this is all heading JAMIE MACMILLAN