New music guide The Neu Bulletin (King Princess, Bodega, Jo Passed & more)

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

1st March 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.

King Princess - 1950

The first ever signing to Mark Ronson’s Zelig label, the dots are already beginning to join up for Brooklyn newcomer King Princess (great moniker, by the way!). Her debut single ‘1950’ takes on that worn old chestnut of unrequited love with refreshing new invention, scrawling on a fetching drag king moustache, and celebrating queerness and desire in warmly-lit, summery hues. “I hate it when dudes try to chase me, but I love it when you try to save me,” King Princess starts out, flipping the age-old damsel in distress tale on its head in one deft turn, nodding back to history in bold, bright fashion. Keep an eye on this one. (El Hunt)

Bodega – How Did This Happen?!

“It’s the world now, don’t discriminate/ Everyone is equally a master and a slave/ How did this happen?!” intone Brooklyners Bodega with the kind of speak-sing monotone that could appear disenfranchised if a rich history of similarly no-bullshit art rock outfits before them hadn’t taught us otherwise. Produced by Parquet Courts man Austin Brown, the influence of that band is all over ‘How Did This Happen?!”s repeated motifs and barked bewilderment, but there’s also something of the LCD Soundsystems to Bodega too. If James Murphy put down the synths and decided to pen a concise, updated ‘Losing My Edge’ with a few pals and some six-strings, then you wouldn’t land too far off. So basically, to summarise: very good indeed. (Lisa Wright)

Jo Passed – MDM

Vancouver-based Jo Passed have just signed to Sub Pop for their upcoming debut album ‘Their Prime’. They’re previewing the twelve-song collection with ‘MDM’, a ripper of a track that features more than a few scuzzed-up, squalling guitar riffs, heavy drum clashes and moody bass pulses. Combined with some slightly more lo-fi vocals, they hit a sweet spot between grunge and jagged garage-punk. It’s a track that signals they’re a band who are indeed in their prime. (Eugenie Johnson)

The Snivellers - The Servile Worm Demo

The Snivellers are a new Brighton-based quintet formed of members of Joanna Gruesome, Garden Centre and beyond. Debut release ‘The Servile Worm Demo’ follows a 2017 tour with Priests, and is an unrelenting thrash of punk that’s catchy and intense in equal measure. Helmed by the spiky, yelpy vocals of Max Levy, these three tracks are a lightning-fast introduction to yet another promising offshoot of JoGru. (Will Richards)

BOYS – Hollywood

Last year, four-piece BOYS took us to ‘Dreamland’ and now they’re back, this time they’re swapping locales, heading to America’s West Coast. ‘Hollywood’ is another delicate yet sumptuous slice from the band, offering up hazy guitar riffs and fuzzed-out vocals. They say that they started talking about leaving their lives in London behind and starting a new one in California, “even if it wasn’t a realistic idea”. Even if the move doesn’t seem feasible, here they deliver an escapist slice of jangle-pop that instantly transports you to sunnier climes. (Eugenie Johnson)

GURU - Medicine Man

Brighton band GURU are currently out on a UK tour with Brighton psych-rockers HAKE, and have shared their grubby, intense new single ‘Medicine Man’. Starting with swells, of reverb-drenched guitars, it folds out into a dark, brilliant punk song. The tour continues this week in London, Guildford and Brighton, and it feels like this is one that’ll make even more sense live. (Will Richards)

So Below – Close

New Zealander Madeline North – better known under the moniker So Below – is set to release an EP next week and on latest single ‘Close’ she crafts shimmering glacial pop. Filled with snapping beats, rolling melodies and Madeline’s own airy vocals that soar in the sparser moments. But while the melodies are upbeat, her words tell a different story. “You’re close to the bone”, she sings on the hook, concluding that “it’s time to let me go”. While Madeline pushes back against intimacy though, be difficult to let go of this pop gem. (Eugenie Johnson)