Neu The Neu Bulletin (Divorce, Home Counties, MRCY and more!)

Following the success of 2023’s ​‘Heady Metal’ EP, Divorce are back with new single ​‘Gears’, alongside news of a UK tour — including their biggest headline show to date. Tackling themes of juggling identities and responsibilities, the track has a restless feel to it, as the vocals of Felix Mackenzie-Barrow and Tiger Cohen-Towell unite when its chorus surges. On ​‘Gears’, Divorce sound assured and in control, taking all the strengths of their recent project and continuing to accentuate them. (Gemma Cockrell)

Ahead of their highly-anticipated debut album ​‘Exactly As it Seems’, London-based post-punk masters Home Counties have now shared their latest, ​‘You Break It, You Bought It’. A previously live-exclusive fan favourite, the track explores the mundanity and rage of dealing with unscrupulous landlords and poor living conditions through a punchy, half-spoken vocal line traded around the band. It’s a contrast from the rest of the album, and its politically-charged nature instead reflects on current social issues using everyday experiences. While powerful, the vocals appear effortlessly delivered, and are layered over playful, angular guitar lines, heavy drums, and retro synth stabs, creating an energetic final product. (Kyle Roczniak)

A homage to MRCY​’s various sonic and cultural backgrounds, ​‘Flowers In Mourning’ pairs invigorating Afrobeats rhythms with nods to Northern Soul and dub, as Kojo Degraft-Johnson’s crystalline vocals cut through the layers with a tender precision. Simultaneously expansive yet personal, it’s a track which heaves with potential, nodding towards a near-future in which the duo join the likes of Khruangbin and soon to be tour mates Black Pumas as baton-carriers of genre-bending contemporary soul. (Daisy Carter)

For the first ten seconds of ​‘It’s Not Fair’, Kenya Grace lulls the listener into something of a false sense of security — her polished vocals are sugar-sweet, lamenting the pain of a breakup that, try as you might, you just can’t close the book on. Soon though, these angelic tones are undercut by something altogether punchier, as synthy loops and a skittering beat rise to meet her yearning vocal line. The end result is what, we imagine, Ariana Grande might sound like if she turned her hand to drum n bass, situating Kenya Grace firmly alongside piri, Biig Piig and the like at 2024’s thriving dance-pop intersection. (Daisy Carter)

English Garden​’s latest offering, the swooning art-rock ballad ​‘Lo and Behold’, sees the London band indulging in the dramatic tendencies of the genre, leaning into its theatrical nature without restraint. The vocals — which have a raw, almost scratchy tone to them — soar over the instrumental, sounding like a larger-than-life, unstoppable force that drives the track forward before things come to a sudden halt. A sophisticated and inspired release, those who manage to catch English Garden live are in for a treat. (Gemma Cockrell)

Spielmann — the moniker of Leeds multi-hyphenate Ben Lewis — blends pop know-how with alternative-leaning textures on this latest cut, ​’10,000 Hours’. Entirely self-produced, it sees cascading synths, jangly guitar lines, and insistent drums neatly intertwine to create an enticing sonic package, evoking the likes of Bombay Bicycle Club and Yard Act (the latter of whom the Yorkshire-born songwriter has already opened for). Arriving alongside the announcement of his debut EP ​‘Fifteen Minutes With Spielmann’ – due 31st May via EMI North – the track is an exciting prelude to what’s next on the cards. (Emily Savage)

Tags: Neu, Neu Bulletin, Divorce, English Garden, Home Counties, Kenya Grace, Listen, MRCY, Spielmann, Watch