New music guide The Neu Bulletin (Dead Sea, Lød, Summer Salt & 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.
Dead Sea – Lotion
‘8.50’, the debut single from the Slowdive-endorsed Parisian shoegazers Dead Sea, was a promising, propulsive homage to the greats of the genre. Its follow-up, ‘Lotion’, does things a little differently, and comes with an extremely appropriate title. Taking things in the direction of dream-pop, the track is a cleansing listen, with no rough edges or sharp turns, just an idyllic trip through Beach House and Slowdive, inducing a dream-like state. (Will Richards)
Lød – Folder
Racking up nearly eight-and-a-half minutes on your debut single is a brave - and often stupid - move, but the confidence with which Danish quintet Lød lurch into life on ‘Folder’ makes it an entirely justified choice. There’s more than a few hints of the Kraut-tinged likes of Traams and Hookworms here, and the track folds out from creepy, foreboding stabs of synth into something altogether more danceable. As debut singles go, ‘Folder’ is pretty damn comprehensive. (Will Richards)
Summer Salt – Revvin’ My CJ7
Austin trio Summer Salt are revving their engines and are preparing to launch their new EP ‘So Polite’ on 28th June. Before that though, they’ve shared ‘Revvin’ My CJ17’, a summery, lilting jam that perfectly straddles the line between fuzzy, lo-fi guitar pop and nostalgic doo-wop with its “woah-oh” harmonies and refrains. Underneath the breeziness though there’s a distinct sense of melancholia. “If I can’t get into heaven, I’d best be revvin’ my CJ7”, softly meditating on embracing life while you still can. Through rose-tinted glasses, they take you for a spin with a track that wouldn’t sound out of place being played from the radio of a CJ7 Jeep during a long sunset drive. (Eugenie Johnson)
didi – Too
Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, didi - not to be confused with hit singer Dido - make crashing, raucous pop-punk. Having already shared a stage with Speedy Ortiz and queercore champs Aye Nako, didi’s self-titled debut is flooringly ace. Grabbing hold of life’s bottomless carrier bag, and shaking the contents - trash and all - out onto the floor ready for dissection, this four-piece leave no stone unkicked. (El Hunt)
Callum Pitt - Least He’s Happy
Hearing the folk-tinged, lo-fi melodies that Callum Pitt weaves on new single ‘Least He’s Happy’, you could be forgiven for thinking that he’s emerged from the American Midwest. Instead, he’s honed his craft a lot closer to home, in Newcastle, inspired by the sounds of Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver and The War On Drugs. Indeed, much like the bands he admires, he harnesses the lilting nature of Americana, producing some intricate guitar licks and roll-off-the-tongue lyrics that converge into a swelling chorus that sweeps you off your feet. Forget your troubles; least you’ll be happy hearing this. (Eugenie Johnson)
Featuring SOFT PLAY, Corinne Bailey Rae, 86TVs, English Teacher and more!