Neu The Neu Bulletin (Unflirt, twst, Ugly and more!)

Unflirt’s sophomore EP ‘April’s Nectar’ finally landed this week, following her ‘Bitter Sweet’ debut and featuring the new cut ‘White Noise’. The track is held aloft by Unflirt’s dainty, dreamy vocals that have come to characterise her music, the glossy production fit for a rose-tinted indie movie. Far from being white noise, this track is yet more evidence of Unflirt’s rising star. (Caitlin Chatterton)

'Was I Ever Alone?' closes 'TWST0002 (Off World)' - the latest offering from twst - in a sprawling, effervescent burst of ethereal dance-pop. Between the bell chimes, reverberating melodies, and hummingbird-quick beats, twst wraps things up gorgeously. Throughout the whole song, there’s a feeling of ascension; the layers build up, crescendo, and soar to the pulsing chorus - a release that drops off as soon as it’s started, just for twst to whip the frenzy up once again. It’s equally exciting and satisfying each time. (Ims Taylor)

London-via-Cambridge six-piece Ugly have unveiled the final single from ‘Twice Around The Sun’, their debut EP due early next year. As the video cycles through portraits of the group, the track builds from steady beginnings and a wandering riff to a full-bodied choral hymn to existentialism. The lyrics are made stark by their deadpan delivery, lamenting the shams and charades of life; “while the ‘why’s sit on your mind / And while the wine is killing time / It seemed like such a perfect way / To spend your past and passing life”. At least one of their wine-fuelled bouts of introspection inspired a good tune, eh? (Caitlin Chatterton)

Echoing shades of Vashti Bunyan and Beach House, Avice Caro’s latest offering is a psychedelic lullaby for the ages. Having recently signed to Nice Swan, this single is the latest in an offering of Caro’s dreamlike visions and narrative soundscapes. The simplistic arpeggiated guitars and gorgeous strings accentuate this helpless resignation to your fate that the lyrics offer (“when all’s said and done, all has been said and done”). It presents these feelings in interwoven narratives of possible pasts, and an unchangeable future; a mood that is universally relatable. It's a melancholic, bittersweet, gorgeous song that will stick with you long after the seconds run out. (Cameron Sinclair-Harris)

If there’s one thing you can count on Derry trio CHERYM for, it’s producing absolute earworm productions every time. ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’ does not disappoint, arriving with its own comic book lyric video and headbanging chorus that may as well have been pulled straight from the sticky floors of a 2010s emo gig. It’s the third track they’ve released from their debut full-length ‘Take It Or Leave It’, queued up for the middle of February next year, and continues the momentum that’s rapidly building behind them. (Caitlin Chatterton)

The crowning jewel of Nailah Hunter’s 'Strange Delights' is her alluring, crystal-clear and stunningly flexible vocal performance. But in order to make sure it shines as brightly as it does, she’s crafted a musical space that reflects every glimmer and nuance of her voice perfectly. The delicate, dreaming piano lines evolve into subtle, starry beats, effortlessly merging together with her vocals in the intoxicating landscape that’s materialising. The song began its life as an improvisation, and the intuitive ebb and flow of the melodies remains in the finished product. (Ims Taylor)

Eden Rain immerses us into her twinkling sonic world with ‘Ghost Girl’, the final offering from her sophomore EP ‘But I’m Alright Now’. Weaving around the experience of feeling unheard in a room full of people, it carefully intertwines an earworm hook with hypnotic floating beats. Anchored by faintly haunting vocals, eclectic production builds to create a slightly eerie, yet simultaneously mesmerising soundscape. A stunningly atmospheric cut finding inspiration in life’s smaller moments: Eden’s creative vision continues to prove her as one to watch. (Emily Savage)

Tags: Avice Caro, Cherym, Eden Rain, Nailah Hunter, twst, Unflirt, Listen, Neu, Neu Bulletin