French duo Riatto & The Dog captivate in seconds, with the breathy harmonies and lyrical poetry of this heartfelt and melancholic but hopeful indie folk stomp.
Folk Rock
Lush riffs and dreamy good vibes meet with a kind of energising folk-rock energy and brightness that’s instantly infectious. Belgian creative Hidden Shores blends indie pop, shoegaze and anthemic passion, with the limitless creative tools of AI, for the intoxicating album Mighty Oak.
Parallel Acceptance is a tearjerker of a listen, the perfect soundtrack to lose yourself within, to shake out those aches of uncertainty, lostness, regret, and to feel understood and strangely comforted, by the universal weight of disconnection.
An exciting indie duo, Summerhouse write with a sincere and rather poetic sense of realism and reflection. Excuse My Issues is everything its title implies, but so too is the band name, and the resulting sound is a strangely enchanting fusion of summertime lightness and conceptual, emotional weight.
Folk-punk, blues-rock and Gypsy-jazz brings stories of traditional and modern poetry, as Until They Burn Me launch their sensational, impressively organic, melodic, gritty and infectious new album, A Carnival of Reveries.
An interesting edge of character draws you into the colourful grooves and hooks of this project. Washington DC band Stephen Sol & The & 7 blend the excitable musicianship of folk-rock, with the softer conceptual and melodic stylings of pop, for their five-track EP Sunshine Wine.
It’s a song about hidden wisdom, loyalty, honesty, but it’s complex – not linear but meandering between various thoughts and feelings. The music and lyrics alike walk you through this hallway of introspection, and it’s catchy, uplifting, and confronting.
Cardiff-based creative Daddy Drwg (Richard Proctor) gets the chemistry just right with this one. Following a dreamy acoustic riff through a softly pulsating ambiance, with short, harmonised vocals rising and falling like waves, Wise Guys is simple but distinct; unforgettable but in a calming fashion.
Soft-rock Americana and folk anthems with a fine blend of heartfelt images, catchy hooks, and acoustic to rock and roll arrangements – Brendan McMahon highlights the very best of his dynamic songwriting abilities, with the addictive and aptly-titled new album Turn Up The Radio.
Standing tall on a great sense of groove, carefully blending a strong acoustic riff, organic musicianship and funky rhythms – a spacious and soulful, catchy mix, with a clear sense of evocative depth at its core. Exit12 highlight the wonder and beauty of their uniquely genre-fusing and immensely impressive album Condition: Human, with the perfectly distinct, engaging and frankly euphoric Known.
Award-winning songwriter and musician Sean Martin fronts the brilliantly unique genre-fusing indie rock act The Quarantined, delivering this summer an incredibly original story and set-up, for the passionate and powerful Skeleton Chair.
McKay are an act upholding the realness and talent of organic, man-made bands and songwriting, at a time when we need that more than ever. They write youthfully fearless, thoughtful and intelligent lyrics, with fresh melodies and blissfully harmonised performances, and for all of these reasons, they’re a personal favourite act from the past couple of years, and Casino is incredibly special as an original project.