Round-up This Week In New Music (18th October 2014)

This week we debuted new tracks from a couple of curious names - Tula are a Swedish five-piece, based in Berlin, covering Chris Isaak and making it sound original (for crying out loud). Their murky new video for ‘Wicked Game’ couldn’t be any gloomier, but it added fuel to their curiosity blaze. Cash + David decided they were done with anonymity. The London duo aired out ‘Bones’, their most personal track to date, and with that they revealed a little bit about the people behind the music. Crushed Beaks have never messed around with the finer details, although after a few months out the spotlight the odds of them releasing a debut album looked fairly slim. From that release, ‘Rising Sign’ confirmed that the (now) trio remain one of the best new bands in the country, schooled in making relentless, often challenging music. Coasts steer their music into a completely different corner - these guys shun sweaty venues for stadiums, and going on the basis of ‘A Rush of Blood’, their ambitions aren’t too far-fetched. Already it’s a song that’s been embraced by thousands.

LUH is Ellery Roberts and Ebony Hoorn, the former being the often divisive brains behind one of the previous decade’s foremost, least forthcoming hype acts. It’s taken Ellery some time to depart that project with something fully formed to offer. ‘Kerou’s Lament’ confirmed that he had the songwriting talent to persist, but ‘UNITES’ feels more complete. There’s a build and a sense of momentum behind this “simple love song”, one that’s designed as Roberts’ most all-encompassing work to date. Even though WU LYF barked like a pack, they had a habit of alienating, be it through wary lack of press or a Tumblr-gone-loco visual identity. LUH is more thought-through, its message easy to understand, permeating from the off. It’s good to have this curious talent back in the picture.

At the very beginning of 2013, Neu did that thing it always does and hopped on board the hyperbole train. A song by a mysterious Aussie trio called Savoir, ‘Zinli Rhythm’, was hailed as one of the songs of the year. And this was January. The first Neu Bulletin of 2013, as it happens. And still, this song’s stuck in the conscience. It blends different worlds the same way M.I.A or TALA do. It mixes heady percussion with a sharp melodic twist. The same applies for ‘Malala’, their first “official” track on Sydney label Plastic World. Again, it’s a culture shock in audible form. Beats snap and crackle behind a groove-led direction, all subtle funk twists and the most danceable rejoice going. This is hyperactive pop born out of a border-hopping mindframe.

Tags: Crushed Beaks, Listen, Features, Neu