New music guide The Neu Bulletin (Nilüfer Yanya, Girl Ray, Laurel & more)
DIY’s essential, weekly guide to the best new music.
Neu Bulletins are DIY’s guide to the best new music. They contain every single thing that’s been played at full volume in the office, whether that’s a small handful or a gazillion acts. Just depends how good the week’s been.
Alongside our weekly round-up of discoveries, there are also Neu Picks. These are the very best songs / bands to have caught our attention, and there’s a new one every weekday. Catch up with the most recent picks here.
Nilüfer Yanya - Keep On Coming
The shifty guitar that provides the foundation for Nilüfer Yanya’s latest is juxtaposition at its finest. By black-and-white contrast, she sounds more confident than ever - “I’m getting tired of your games,” she states, “you just don’t stop speaking.” It’s a to-the-point delivery, one that’s buoyed by the warmth of that world-beating vocal.
Girl Ray - Trouble
Girl Ray might sing the line “so-oh-oh, I guess I’m in trouble again” with the apathy of someone getting caught skipping a queue, but there’s a special thread running through the North London trio’s new single. With a heart-skipping baseline leading the way, they hop scotch between dark confessions of a broken heart like they’re just passing the time. ‘Trouble’ is out 25th November via Moshi Moshi on 7”.
Girlhood - My Boy
Taking the super-happy side of Nao’s biggest dancefloor numbers and whacking another ten jagerbombs into the mix, Girlhood’s debut track is a disco ditty that feels staunchly of the present day. Lifted straight from a sun-kissed boat party, it’s a summer anthem to carry you through the snowier months.
Sacred Paws - Everyday
With a guitar line worthy of making Paul Simon jealous, Sacred Paws’ new track lifts off from ‘Graceland’ comparisons into a world of its own. It’s taken from a double-a single due 21st October via Rock Action.
Laurel - Hurricane
Where previous outing ‘San Fransisco’ pitched Laurel up alongside vocal goliaths like Florence, ‘Hurricane’ takes a different route. Skittering, fragile and nervous, that voice is every bit as huge as it always was, but it’s her a delicate edge that proves Laurel’s best asset.
Off Bloom - Thorns
Off Bloom are three Copenhagen-based producers making hyperactive pop with an eye for the extreme. Dissected, each tiny part making up their ‘Thorns’ track could set off fireworks. Crammed together into a crazed, shuffling chasm, they’ve ripped up the rulebook entirely.
HAARM - In the Wild
With their second track to date, Liverpool four-piece HAARM give pop a panoramic feel. Grand, wide-scoping instrumentation runs riot on the suitably-titled ‘In the Wild’. It’s a seriously impressive next step, following on from jolting introduction ‘Foxglove’.
Out To, Not To - Regretta II
Signed to Nicolas Jaar’s Other People label, Ian Mugerwa’s music sounds like D’Angelo recordings being drowned in a pool of glitter. Out To, Not To is the alias, and ‘Regretta II’ is a foot-shuffling, ultra minimal glimpse of debut album ‘Goshen’, out 18th November.
Alex Izenberg - To Move On
Smart and sassy, ‘To Move On’ is a dazzling first impression of Alex Izenberg. Combining falsetto, piano chimes and a 70s pop-nodding chorus to die for, Alex’s craft has a classic feel, but it also has a knack for dodging mere nostalgia. A debut album, ‘Harlequin’ is out 18th November on Weird World.
Read More
Mount Kimbie, Nilüfer Yanya, Sorry and more to play Rally 2024
The community-driven arts and music fest is back for its second year.
8th March 2024, 3:06pm
Girl Ray - Prestige
4 Stars
Not necessarily an album that contains multitudes, but therein lies its pure escapist charm.
4th August 2023, 7:50am
Girl Ray reveal new single ‘Love Is Enough’
It’s the latest release in the run up to the trio’s new album, ‘Prestige’, out on 4th August.
27th June 2023, 1:04pm
Girl Ray share new single ‘Up’
They have also shared new single ‘Hold Tight’.
16th May 2023, 12:00am
Popular right now
Featuring Green Day, English Teacher, Everything Everything, Caity Baser and more!