Round-up This Week In New Music (14th February 2015)

DIY rounds up the week’s best new music discoveries, from 16-year-old prodigy Declan Mckenna to Demob Happy’s new single.

Words: Jamie Milton
14th February 2015

DIY and Neu’s new music round-ups arrive in two forms - first there’s all our Have You Heard’s from the past week, where the biggest tracks get another seal of approval. Then there’s This Week in New Music, where Neu takes a look at the early days excitement; debut tracks that turned heads; brand new discoveries; premieres that landed first on DIY.

Below, we bring together the most exciting new music action from the past seven days. That’s not forgetting Tei Shi’s superb, power-hungry ‘Bassically’ video, Nai Harvest’s masterful display of fuzz with ‘Sick on My Heart’ (lovely title, that) and Kid Wave’s shoegaze success with ‘Wanderlust’.

Elsewhere, Oceaán make his live debut on the minuscule platform of Radio 1 - Lapsley joined him too, in case people weren’t already interested. And in even more surreal circumstances, Spector (penners of loud, proud pop choruses) picked up an Ibiza-ready remix from PC Music’ Danny L Harle. Try taking stock of all that, and then check out our round-up below.

Here’s the best of what happened this week in new music:

THIS WEEK IN DIY PREMIERES:

Get Inuit, Oisima, Hindsights, Sacred Paws

This week we debuted ‘001’, a barrelling, full steam ahead kick in the teeth from Get Inuit. At some points, these guys sound like a Vampire Weekend / Paul Simon hybrid, sporting pop punk hits in the making. The other half of this band appear deadset on storming arenas the world over. With ‘001’, they balance the two sides brilliantly.

DIY also gave a first play to Sacred Paws’ new track. Signed to Mogwai’s Rock Action, the playful pop duo struck fast with ‘Vince’, which stole attention midway through the week and hasn’t lost its grip since. Hindsights are another band intent on making an instant impact - their ‘Cloudy Eyes’ track shook out cobwebs and introduced a band ready to define the summer. Same goes for Oisima, an Aussie group recruiting Mei Swan on vocals for ‘Sun of Truth - anything she sings on gets the instant seal of approval.

TRACK OF THE WEEK:

Demob Happy - Young & Numb

Half the time it’s impossible to tell what Matt Marcantonio is saying - it’s usually delivered in sarcastic drawl, or buried underneath a piercing scream and guitar melee. Within ‘Young & Numb’, he sings about “all the pretty things I’ve seen, through pixels on a screen”, and it doesn’t take a wise guy to figure out the subject. Demob Happy are embroiled in an update-centric online world just like the rest of us, where two minutes away from a screen just won’t do. It’s not a unique topic to tackle by any stretch, but the sheer frustration and fear pouring out of the Brighton band’s latest suggests they’re genuinely terrified of what’s next.

DISCOVERY OF THE WEEK

Declan Mckenna

Brazil’s paradise to Declan Mckenna, a 16 year old Londoner who no doubt spent weeks glued to the screen last summer, watching the Maracana explode with every spiralling turn and two-footed straight red. There’s something about this guy - his observational skills and straight-up earnestness is up there with Courtney Barnett, even if he verges on Luke Kook / Jake Bugg territory ever so slightly. He’ll go one of two ways; an astute songwriter with wit to boost or a box-ticking chart-botherer that thousands fawn over. Either way, there’s a very bright career in waiting.

Tags: Demob Happy, Listen, Features, Neu

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<strong>Demob Happy - Divine Machines</strong> (Vinyl LP - blue)

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