Neu Bulletin The Neu Bulletin (Pixey, Deadletter, Icehead and more!)

Newly signed to Chess Club Records, Liverpool-based Pixey is bringing the grooves with newest track ‘Just Move’. Written and recorded in her bedroom at the beginning of lockdown, the upbeat bop oozes fun with instantly danceable melodies and a backing beat creating the perfect set-up for your new bedroom dance party. A fresh take on a dance-pop banger, led by sleek indie-inspired guitar licks, what are you still sat down for, eh? (Elly Watson)

After the release of debut single ‘Good Old Days’ back in May, South London-via-Yorkshire post-punk outfit Deadletter are back with their latest biting number, sharing new song ‘Fit For Work’. A spiky social commentary, the track dissects bureaucracy and loss of personal identity, packaged in a call-and-response style that frontman Zac Woolley describes as “biblical”. A striking track from the rising quartet, it’s the latest proof of why Deadletter are one of the most exciting new acts out there. (Elly Watson)

Members of Icehead have been circling The Magic Gang for years now, and ‘Once A Friend’ is evidence indeed of the musician pals’ joint record collections: take the lackadaisical nature of the chart-bothering foursome’s early work, add ‘50s barbershop backing vocals and lead guitar lines straight from the Weezer playbook, and you’ll land somewhere around here. Just in time for the hot, hot sunshine to return. (Emma Swann)

The latest signing to Courtney Barnett’s Milk! Records, Melbourne-based Hachiku’s latest arrives as a one-woman Warpaint. Taking twilit atmospherics and mesmeric layers of guitar a la ‘Love Is To Die’ but loading it with the singer’s clipped, purposefully-naïve vocals, ‘I’ll Probably Be Asleep’ cradles you with a familiar nocturnal warmth but strips it back to more sparse, uncertain realms. It’s an intoxicating listen which shows that – hot take – our Court’s got a pretty decent ear. Who knew! (Lisa Wright)

Giving us a bit of early Beabadoobee vibes, fantastically named newcomers Rosehip Teahouse have shared their latest piece of twinkly bedroom-pop goodness with new track ‘I Meant What I Said’. A cute AF song from the Cardiff-based group, the dreamy track is the first glimpse into their second EP set to land later in the year, and if it’s anything like this lead single, it’s bound to be a good’un. (Elly Watson)

The phrases ‘South London quartet’ and ‘recorded during lockdown’ might summon to mind images of angry young men pacing their Brixton studio flats like caged tigers with a mic, but Multiples’ latest – laid to tape remotely by its members – veers in quite the opposite direction. Plinking, wide-eyed melodies and vocals that bring to mind the fey-er side of ‘80s pop (think Scritti Politti and the like) happily chirrup along like the soundtrack to a calm pier-side amble; a little peace and quiet suits them well. (Lisa Wright)

Unveiling emotive new single, ‘Your Ugly Heart’, London-based trio Jacquard Looms tug on the heartstrings in their R&B-leaning latest. Describing the song as “about close and lost friends, love that’s real and lust that’s not”, the track fuses hazy vocals and rap verses to form a poignantly beautiful sizzler. (Elly Watson)

You wouldn’t need to know that Pave The Jungle’s frontwoman Rachael Whittle once took part in a mentorship programme with Nadine Shah to connect the dots between the North East musicians; much like her neighbour, Rachael uses the full range of her vocal, her own deep boom echoing the darkness behind her band’s ‘90s-indebted rock. It’s not entirely bleak - ‘Fix’ has a pop sensibility under the layers of expansive guitar - think The Big Moon going through a Siouxsie phase - and best of all, it’s loud. (Emma Swann)

Tags: DEADLETTER, Hachiku, Icehead, Jacquard Looms, Multiples, Pave The Jungle, Pixey, Rosehip Teahouse, Listen, Features, Neu, Neu Bulletin