Neu The Neu Bulletin (Chloe Slater, She’s In Parties, Radio Free Alice and more!)

Amidst rousing festival sets and the announcement of her biggest headline tour to date, Manchester’s latest breakthrough star Chloe Slater has presented her new single ​‘Harriet’, a delightful plethora of sunny guitars and shimmering synths with a real coming-of-age edge. Produced by longtime collaborator Jack Shuter, it’s actually one of Slater’s earliest tracks, an exploration of romantic jealousy written back when she was 18. For any fans of cult TV series Normal People, ​‘Harriet”s accompanying video is well worth a watch, too, as Slater acknowledges her uncanny resemblance to actor Daisy Edgar-Jones by recreating some choice scenes that seamlessly portray her songwriting. (Kyle Roczniak)

Back with their first new music since the arrival of their sophomore EP ​‘Puppet Show’ last year, Dublin/​Colchester quartet She’s In Parties have offered up another slice of ethereal shoegaze with latest single ​‘Same Old Story’. Frontwoman Katie Dillon evocatively paints a picture of regret and emotional turmoil, her vocals weaving throughout the band’s shimmering wall of sound to make for a spellbinding return. (Chris Connor) 

Marking the start of their UK tour in style, Melbourne indie rockers Radio Free Alice have dropped new single ​‘Toyota Camry’ — another strong entry into their growing catalogue of melodic, guitar-driven gems. A nod to British post-punk and the turn-of-the-millennium New York rock resurgence, this tune’s got everything that makes the Aussie band so easy on the ear: a tight rhythm section, a catchy chorus, and haunting harmonies. The yearning in singer Noah Learmonth’s voice harks back to Morrissey’s Smiths heyday, and ​‘Toyota Camry’ has the lyrics to match. What’s not to like? (Attila Peter)

If alt-pop had a dream state, Aries and brakence would be its lucid architects. On ​‘SLEEPWALKER’ — a long-rumoured collaboration between the two genre-shredding auteurs — everything feels weightless and wired, like floating through a glitching server or a memory you’re not sure is yours. Fresh off the eerie, cinematic return of ​‘IN THE FLESH’, Aries continues to unravel the lore of his latest universe. Where that track hit like a crash of shattered glass and digital fire, ​‘SLEEPWALKER’ leans into emotional disorientation — all syrupy falsettos, cracked beats and nocturnal angst. brakence’s signature warbled auto-tune spirals alongside Aries’ crisp melodics, their voices dancing around each other like ghosts in a machine. Lyrically, the song doesn’t offer any clear answers — but maybe that’s exactly the point. (Gemma Cockrell) 

An effervescent first glimpse at Nightbus’ debut album, ​‘Passenger’, ​‘Ascension’ sees the Manchester pair pay homage to the established sonics of their city. Equally reminiscent of New Order, Romy, or Insides, the track offers a fresh take on a post-punky brand of dream-pop, reminding us that guitars and acid basslines were never mutually exclusive. The arrangement traverses sliding doors of saudade emotion, with beautiful, sparse vocals that teeter between peace and panic. Its accompanying music video — set in an anaemic seaside town — also complements the track’s dizzying ambiguity, all saturated shots of penny arcades and pensive pacing that reflect a lost past and an uncertain future. With ​‘Ascension”s safe appeal as a start, Nightbus are set up to (hopefully) push their sound into a space that is distinctly their own. (Ross Williams)

Serving up a first taste of her upcoming second EP ​‘Bait’, ​‘over + out’ finds South Coast artist Trout sharpening the edges of her already emotionally-rich sound. What begins as a gentle murmur of fuzz and fragility quickly blooms into something both vulnerable and unrelenting, a sonic reckoning with the pain of watching someone drift too far to save. Where her ​‘Colourpicker’ debut introduced us to grunge-pop filtered through bedroom introspection, ​‘over + out’, on this evidence, is set to widen the frame. There’s a creeping maturity to Trout’s songwriting now; the guitars are grimier, the production slicker, and yet nothing feels overworked. She isn’t shouting to be heard — but she doesn’t need to. (Gemma Cockrell) 

Tags: Neu, Neu Bulletin, Aries, Chloe Slater, Listen, Nightbus, Radio Free Alice, She’s In Parties, Trout, Watch