New music guide The Neu Bulletin (Brazen Head, Diamond Thug, Chest Pains & more)

Londoners Brazen Head have but one tune online, but oh my what a tune. Built around an unusually offbeat bass line, ‘Looks” component melodies (of which there are, literally, about nine) twist and weave into a whole that’s both melancholy yet tense and wired. Borne from the Radiohead school of intelligent menace, its an impressively complex beast for an opening statement, and one that proves Brazen Head are already thinking in widescreen. (Lisa Wright)

The Leeds DIY scene is becoming notorious for providing vicious, kraut-inspired punk bands, and Chest Pains thrust themselves into the mix with debut single ‘Petrified’. Squiggles of heavily distorted guitars fly around the track’s verse like flies, atop a bed of howled vocals and a post-punk bassline, before an ear-splitting chorus makes its entrance. Music from Leeds is loud right now, and Chest Pains more than earn their spot in amongst the madness. (Will Richards)

South Africans Diamond Thug are on a constantly evolving journey to find an authentic, honest sound. While maintaining an off-kilter electro-pop core, they deftly shift tones and touch on a smorgasbord of genres from dream-pop to psych-rock and pretty much everything in-between, all with a glistening sheen over the top. Latest single ‘Eclipsed’ just continues that pattern of experimentation, as they mix danceable electronic melodies with swooning guitar melodies that sometimes morph into scuzzy riffs into a delicious melting pot. This isn’t a diamond in the rough; it’s a proper gem. (Eugenie Johnson)

TOUTS are making quite a ridiculous impact in their native Northern Ireland already, with only two singles to their name. Selling out shows massively in advance, their reach is only set to grow with new single ‘Political People’ and debut EP. A two-minute shot to the arm, comparisons to The Clash will only continue courtesy of the new single, which hits in all the right spots, if not deviating massively from the script. When a track wants you to throw yourself across a sweaty basement venue as much as this, though, who really cares? (Will Richards)

If you’re going to call your band Famous, then you’d better have the sass to back it up. The merest hint of acoustic guitar and we’re calling the Trade’s Description Act on you. Luckily, this particular London sextet clearly have chutzpah for days and on debut single ‘I Want To Crawl Inside Of you’ (again, not a name for the meek) the band stake a good claim as a next generation Late of the Pier. All squelching synths, manic vocals and the requisite dash of cowbell, it’s a frankly bonkers introduction. Which is, of course, the best kind of introduction. (Lisa Wright)

(Skip to 36:17 here to listen - old school, we know.)

Singer-songwriter Siobhan Wilson was born in Elgin, Morayshire, but she’s had a lifelong fascination with French culture, eventually moving to Paris to develop her craft. Now back in her native Scotland, she’s gearing up to release a new album, ‘There Are No Saints’, which contains two tracks sung in French, a tribute to Gallic culture. The first of these, ‘Paris Est Blance’, is a lilting, piano-led number that was actually written by Siobhan’s ex-boyfriend Simon Campocasso. Recording the track as a way of evoking a beautiful memory, its understated nature simply makes ‘Paris Est Blanche’ even more compelling, the lyrics rolling off her tongue with ease. Ici, Siobhan est incroyable. (Eugenie Johnson)

Tags: Brazen Head, Listen, Features, Neu, Neu Bulletin