New music guide The Neu Bulletin (Our Mother, Elkka, Tayla & more)

London pop weirdos Our Mother impressed back in April with their dazzling ‘A.O.B.’ EP, and new single ‘Just Don’t’ lives up to lofty expectations. A skronky, otherworldly take on heartbroken pop, they flex and bend every element of its meticulous construction into warped new shapes.

Back before Deerhunter underwent an identity change for every record, they settled nicely in a zone of open-ended guitar notes and giant, bellowing atmospherics. Manchester band Kyotoya recall their ‘Microcastle’ era with aplomb, building noise from a neat, rhythmic base. They sound like nothing else coming out of their city, or indeed the UK.

Imagine Sweet Female Attitude’s ‘Flowers’ dosed under an ether, and you’ll be halfway there to understanding Elkka’s debut track. ‘Try’ filters R&B through a futuristic prism, medieval pads sharing the spotlight with glazed drum parts. It’s a seriously daring introduction, taken from the first of a series of EPs out via her own label Femme Culture.

As far as debut singles go, few come more assured, politically woke and forward-thinking than Noga Erez’s first step. ‘Dance While You Shoot’ finds the Tel Aviv artist lamenting on a love/hate relationship with the state, under the filter of pitch-wobbling vocals and dagger-like concrete jabs. Next month, she supports Crystal Castles in Paris, before playing two dates in New York.

The first few seconds of ‘Call Me Danger’, a debut single from Birmingham newcomer Tayla, suggests a neon-lit club spirit. But then out steps the teen’s flooring voice, completely switching the agenda. Both an ode to free-spirited youth and boldness, it’s the first step of a star in waiting.

Tags: Our Mother, Listen, Features, Neu, Neu Bulletin