New music guide The Neu Bulletin (Chrystal, Dose, Teen Creeps & more)

DIY’s essential, weekly guide to the best new music.

8th February 2018

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.

Chrystal - 2 Real

Debut tracks ‘Waves’ and ‘New Shoes’ marked the Bolton-born Chrystal out as a bright new hope. New cut ‘2 Real’, though, takes things to a whole new level. An effortlessly charismatic cut, the track bubbles with fearlessness and folds out into a chorus as irresistible as it is simple. Working with John Calvert (NAO, Bonzai) and Mandy Parnell (Aphex Twin, Bjork, Jamie xx) on the track, Chrystal is striding out as one of the country’s brightest new pop hopes, and making it all look like it’s nothing. (Will Richards)

Dose – Furniture

Newcastle five-piece Dose have only previously aired a demo of their track ‘Bloom’, but they’ve now taken a thrilling step forward on their debut single. Recorded at the Suburban Home Studios in Leeds alongside Hookworms’ MJ, ‘Furniture’ delivers an expansive soundscape built on a combination of scuzzy, noisy and reverb-soaked guitar riffs and more contemplative, melodic passages, often punctuated by meditative spoken word. It’s a dynamic mix, one that constantly feels like its shape-shifting and developing, forming a very impressive foundation for the band. (Eugenie Johnson)

Teen Creeps – Sidenote

Taking influence from Sonic Youth, Jawbreaker and contemporaries such as Cloud Nothings and Yuck, Ghent-based Teen Creeps fuse together the harder edges of 90s alt-rock and give it rougher, more jagged punk edges. The result of that combo can be heard on ‘Sidenote’, the first single from their upcoming debut LP ‘Birthmarks’. Scuzzy, raw and abrasive, it thunders along with rolling drum beats, explosive guitar riffs and intense yelps from singer and bass player Bert Vligen. It’ll help ensure they won’t just be a sidenote. (Eugenie Johnson)

Pale Kids - St Theresa

Durham’s Pale Kids are releasing a new 7” called ‘Hesitater’ on Father/Daughter Records next month, and its first cut ‘St Theresa’ is a gorgeously catchy beast. A track the band say is “about believing in god when you’re about to die”, ‘St Theresa’ is an invigorating, no-nonsense cut that concerns death, but sees Pale Kids as perfectly, brilliantly alive. (Will Richards)

Amethysts – Be There

East Anglians Simon and Clarice – known collectively as Amethysts – want to convey both musical and lyrical passion with their new track ‘Be There’. They do that with ease. Filled with some deep sub-bass and snapping rhythms that give the tune a cutting pop edge but built on a foundation of stuttering yet crystalline synths and the occasional guitar twang (not to mention Clarice’s airy yet commanding vocals), it glides along effortlessly but still delivers attention-grabbing details. It’s a sparkling ambient-pop gem worthy of their precious metal-based moniker. (Eugenie Johnson)

Tags: Teen Creeps, Listen, Features, Neu, Neu Bulletin