Discoveries of the Week The Neu Bulletin (Fews, WALL, Nico Yaryan & more)

Anything given the Dan Carey stamp of approval is usually a good sign. The South London producer’s built up a big working relationship with Kate Tempest, and he recently contributed to Natasha Khan’s SEXWITCH LP. The latest band to be invited into his studio is FEWS, a Swedish/U.S. group specialising in bold and contorting guitar lines, filling a void left after DIIV’s relative silence. Debut single ‘The Zoo’ comes out next month on Play It Again Sam, and it’s a fizzing, fevered introduction.

So Pitted’s video for ‘Rot In Hell’ is oddly disturbing. Not in how the Seattle, Sub Pop-signed trio eyeball the camera in a grimy grafitti-filled dungeon. More in the way they look nonchalant, somehow, in the middle of their self-made despair. There’s chaos and there’s noise bouncing off every wall, but instead So Pitted look like serial killers who could eat you alive, all with little effort.

The time of the foppish acoustic troubadour is up; there’s a traceable thirst for a return to timeless singer-songwriting. Tobias Jesso Jr. might have paved the way and shot straight to the big leagues, but it surely won’t be long ’til Nico Yaryan is up there with him. ‘Old Gloria’’s taken from his debut album ‘What A Tease’, and it’s a fittingly tantalising slice of lush soul-pop. Ode to “a dreamer who lost her way”, it’s one for woozy hours and snatched glances.

Montreal’s She-Devils make a persuasive argument. “Don’t try to resist me,” they declare before a repeated refrain of “COME”, and there’s a mesmerising pull to the duo’s debut track. It’s based around a curious guitar loop, the kind you’d find if a radio station called it quits and left the same broken record playing. What follows is an eerie round of atmospherics, twisting an already deranged form of pop into new places.

If the sound of constant, ground-shaking stomping could be distilled into one band, WALL are in with a good shout. The New York post-punks’ first steps have a militaristic stride, a harshly formed structure giving a platform to their paranoid chants. “I’ve gotta fit the part to get the part!” they bark, and WALL are all about forming their own shape and stubbornly staying put.

Pairing sparkling shoegaze-pop with a hop and a skip, Wyldest’s return is a game of two halves. Whispered sentiments over the top lift things in the most delicate of manners, before a haunting outdo closes proceedings in unhinged style, hinting at that eponymous ‘Dark Matter’ beneath.

There’s more to Mabel than her heritage, but on the basis of her smart and subdued early work, comparisons to her mum, Neneh Cherry, won’t go away anytime soon. ‘My Boy My Town’ has all the makings of a classic emotional ballad, but it’s delivered with hard-hitting production and tough-thinking lines about denial and independence. Mabel looks like she’s been taking her own path for some time.

Bat Or are a London via France outfit specialising in intricate, brittle-as-it-gets pop. Sunbathing debut single ‘Soleil’ is a smart twist of twinkly synths and tightly-wound guitar lines, like if Wild Beasts climbed out of their studio cave and took a trip to the beach.

Bad Sounds’ kaleidoscopic pop takes a snarling turn on ‘Avalanche’, high-pitched harmonies and harmonics pairing up to thrilling effect. Hot on the heels of debut single ’I Feel’ (premiered last month on DIY), it’s marking this lot out as future-forward purveyors of pop perfection to keep an eye on.

Announcing her debut album with a swirling, dreamy slice of baroque indie-pop, Taryn Miller’s one for the long-haul. There’s little more fitting an alias than Your Friend - the soft squeeze of a warm embrace that threads throughout debut album ‘Gumption’’s lead track ‘Heathering’ is instantly familiar and effortlessly timeless.

Tags: Fews, WALL, Listen, Features, Neu, Neu Bulletin