Round-up This Week In New Music (17th January 2015)

DIY looks back on the best new music from the past seven days, featuring Petite Noir and BEA.

Words: Jamie Milton
17th January 2015

The first month of 2015 is getting into serious rhythm. We’re two shows into ‘Hello 2015’ - DIY’s new music gigs that open the year - and we’ve already had more stage invasions than anything 2014 happened to witness. It won’t stop there. This week we confirmed an all ages gig with The Magic Gang and Girl Band, falling as part of this year’s Roundhouse Rising events. The excitement dial just went up several notches.

Next week’s headliner, Oscar, managed to set the agenda with his divine ‘Daffodil Days’ single. Signed to Wichita, 2015 is Oscar Scheller’s for the taking. Elsewhere, we had exciting new tracks from Amsterdam’s BEA - champion of mystery and perfectly-executed videos - and Youth Lagoon guitarist Logan Hyde.

All that, plus Ryn Weaver started 2015 with an almighty bang via her Lettermam debut, and Saint Pepsi took inevitable law issues into his own hands by changing his name to the fantastic Skylar Spence. Let’s not forget Yak either - a London group hyped to the heavens, they finally put out their debut track this week, proving there’s substance to the buzz.

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

THIS WEEK IN DIY PREMIERES

The UK DIY scene remains more important than ever, with familiar faces in the underground being picked up by bigger guns. Best Friends - staples of a UK movement for the past couple of years - just inked a deal with FatCat, new song ‘Shred Til You’re Dead’ boldly declaring that they’re ready for a step up. GANG are a different prospect, barely into their stride. Theo Verney produced debut single ‘Silverback’, their sludgy romance providing a new slant on a thriving scene. Outside of those concerns, we debuted new tracks from total slacker Day Wave and the increasingly exciting Milk Teeth. There was also Bunki, a South London producer operating in his own zone, chilling electronica the name of the game.

TRACK OF THE WEEK:
Petite Noir - Shadows

Petite Noir claims to be the ‘King of Anxiety’ on his new EP, and he’s never sounded as tense or capable of faltering than on ‘Shadows’. An EP highlight, it sees the South African hitting his stride like never before, channeling his tense guitar lines and ever-shifting synth pop into something tight-knit and consistent. It’s also the first time Yannick Ilunga’s truly taken on that falsetto of his, an ace card in a stack that he’s clearly been hiding up to now. In one swift move, he’s gone from being a promising newcomer to a genuine reckoner.

DISCOVERY OF THE WEEK:
The Moon

Featuring Soph Nathan from Our Girl (the band stormed an opening set at Hello 2015 this week), The Moon are a (very) exciting new four-piece putting their first foot forward with intelligent, deceiving debut ‘Eureka Moment’. Changing pace with the flick of a switch, this is a song devoted to the greatest of revelations, the discovery of The Moon being right up there with penicillin and air travel.

Tags: Petite Noir, Listen, Features, Neu