New music guide The Neu Bulletin (Ne-Hi, Law Holt, Hussy & 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.
Photo: Ne-Hi, by Virinchi Kanneganti.
NE-HI - Buried on the Moon
Grand Jury-signed Chicago group Ne-Hi allow the message to cut through. It’s tempting to submerge raspy vocals and unhinged guitars in a thick fog of effects, but these four take a different route. ‘Buried on the Moon’, without brushing too close, brings to mind early The Shins material - simple, charming songs delivered in a hot fever.
PANGS - KILLING KIND
Nashville’s PANGS give a severe slant to pop. They sing about cutting noses off “to spite my face,” which sounds a bit much. But there’s a lot hinging on their razor-sharp routine, which comes off as a chasm between Sky Ferreira, Phantogram and Metric. Alt-pop paradise, basically.
Law Holt - Spit
Edinburgh’s Law Holt remains one of Scotland’s bright, unsung talents. A collaborator with Young Fathers - she was up on stage with the Scots when the won the Mercury Prize - her disjointed, spirit-first take on pop is deranged, always capable of collapse. ‘Spit’ sees her pushing this formula even further.
Hussy - Forever
This is just a live take, but it’s enough to put HUSSY’s doom-laden grunge in the spotlight. The South Londoners swerve a pendulum between nasty fuzz and sweet, open-ended restraint. Like Warpaint trading blows with early Parquet Courts, there’s a divine interplay between two distinct worlds.
Empara Mi - Wanderlust
With the right tools and enough time, it’s easy to layer a vocal multiple times, to the point where one person sounds like a harmony-hitting choir. Empara Mi knows a thing or two about this trick, but she uses the trade for a unique, dark purpose. ‘Wanderlust’ is a bleak introduction, talk of how “nothing really matters” swimming around in a vast, bleak space. There’s a vivid sense of purpose, here - the kind stars would trade their soul for.
LOUDS - Speak
‘Speak’ has an instant summertime charm, like sipping coke out a bottle for the first time, or dipping toes in the sand after a bleak half-year away from the coast. Philadelphia-based, six-piece LOUDS will either end up soundtracking grim car adverts or your next house party - one or other.
With Bob Vylan, St Vincent, girl in red, Lizzy McAlpine and more.