Neu The Neu Bulletin (Esme Emerson, YAANG, Rosie Alena and more!)

Cult duo Esme Emerson have returned with a new cut brimming with nostalgia, communicated via echoey synths, a cheerful harmony, and all the ingredients of a great indie-pop song. As we’ve come to expect from the pair, the lyrics that sit atop this instrumental burrow through the end stages of a relationship; a heart-wrenching topic at face value, but Esme Emerson work to find joy in it, leaving us with a track that’s perfect to be belted loud in your car on a Summer’s day. There’s a true sense of preciousness with this band, born of their ability to marry sweet harmony work with these euphoric instrumentals. Don’t just ​‘keep an eye out’ for Esme Emerson, keep them at the forefront of your vision. (Peter Martin)

Blurring the lines between the seductive thump of the dancefloor and the sweat-soaked mayhem of the mosh pit, YAANG​’s ​‘Til Morning Light’ growls with an addictively hard-line, after-hours abandon. On the latest offering from the rising Manchester group — which serves as the first single from their anticipated debut EP ​‘No’ — the trio migrate their propulsive dance punk sound across the Channel and under the pulsating strobes of noughties French disco, inspired by the likes of Justice and Ed Banger. Taking the unlikely perspective of ​“a robot learning to let go”, ​‘Til Morning Light’ taps into an appetite for uninhibited freedom that lies somewhere within all of us. (Hazel Blacher)

The title track from her forthcoming new EP, Rosie’s Alena​’s ​‘Everyman’ offers yet another gem from the South London auteur. Despite exploring the agonised and surrealist experience of grief in its lyrics — seeing, in Rosie’s words, ​“lost or distant loved ones in the morphing faces of strangers” — it’s a music that yet stands strong, burnished and optimistic in the face of life’s blustering whirlwinds of change. Add smart, free-flowing songwriting, a blissfully captivating lead vocal, and immaculate acoustic-pop stylings in the manner of Katy J Pearson or CMAT, and you have a recipe for repeated listens emerging before your very ears. (Elvis Thirlwell) 

‘Guts’ is the latest extravaganza of sound from self-professed art-punks Jools, a band from Leicester who have morphed beautifully into something very special over the past few years. At its core, it’s a rapid-fire, glam-soaked slice of rock goodness, with a chorus that soars wonderfully close to nu-metal (there’s a sense that Jools couldn’t care less about genre definitions, and rightly so) before dropping back into another galloping verse. With contributions from multiple vocalists, and each member helping to morph the dense, dramatic shape of the song, Jools are out to be noticed here. (Phil Taylor)

Irish indie-pop sensation Annie-Dog has unveiled her shimmering new single, ​‘Please Forgive Me, David Gray’, and it is — as you might have guessed — a glittering reinterpretation of David Gray’s iconic track, blending nostalgia with her own genre-blurring, Grimes-adjacent style. The song is the third to be lifted from her forthcoming EP ​‘15’, and affirms Annie-Dog’s place at the forefront of indie’s vibrant new wave. (Gemma Cockrell)

The first single from their debut EP ​‘This Big House’, ​‘Come To Me’ sees Brighton art-rockers Ideal Living truly announce themselves. It’s a track that seeps with grandness, played out as it is over two sections, the band accenting their struggles with modern life through thick brass duets. This is only the introduction to a much wider narrative, and we for one are firmly tuned in. (Peter Martin)

‘The Garden’ — the latest cut to come from South London outfit Siblings — has an inherent reassuring calm to it, its restrained melody and soothing vocals building into gorgeous guitar work that never outstays its welcome. There’s a maturity to their sound that feels as if it befits a far more established act, sweeping as it does between atmospheric shades of jazz, folk, indie, and more. (Chris Connor)

Tags: Neu, Neu Bulletin, Annie-Dog, Esme Emerson, Ideal Living, Jools, Listen, Rosie Alena, Siblings, Watch, YAANG