This Week In New Music (26th July 2014) • Neu • DIY Magazine

This week’s been the aftermath of one massive affirmation that some of the most exciting new bands are 100% going places. Latitude saw Spring King and Vaults make standout performances across the weekend, and almost immediately after that, Superfood played a free DIY Presents gig that almost stole Central London’s heatwave. Sometimes it takes just one gig to confirm a band’s ascent, and there onwards it’s all blue skies.

Beyond the stage, this week’s dug up serious gold from completely different corners. In pure-pop stakes, Years & Years’ surprise cover of Blu Cantrell & Sean Paul’s ‘Breathe’ took some serious topping. Shura - barely past her baby steps as a solo artist - took honesty and self-damning to a remarkable new level with ‘Get Lost’. Any other week and that would’ve been the standout track, but some Canadian chanced decided to upload a cursory new demo on Friday AM, and that was that. All this without considering the monstrous shock to the system that arrived from Girl Band. It’s been quite the week.

Below, we round up our favourite track, video and discovery of the past 7 days. Here’s the best of what happened this week in new music:

Track of the Week:
Tobias Jesso Jr. - True Love

It wouldn’t be a surprise to hear that Tobias Jesso Jr. - a reclusive figure in the present day - was actually a figure from the past, a songwriter that somehow fell under the radar in a previous decade, only to gain recognition today. Folklore might hand him a Rodriguez-style documentary, where an obsessed fan tracks him down and discovers the person behind songs that have shaped a select few people’s lives. ‘True Love’ sounds like it’s been filtered through generations. It’s a song that’s stamped with no particular timeframe. A simple tale of romance, it’s a Lennon-approved, pure as gold song steeped in tradition. If someone happened to dig this up from a discarded record collection, it’d be regarded as a triumph. Don’t bet against this getting its due reward in crazed, fucked-up 2014.

Video of the Week:
Banoffee - Got It

Australia’s not exactly basking in compliments being thrown its way. Down Under doesn’t do rests. Producers, solo artists and bands are being heaped in praise, and current excitement isn’t loaded with hyperbole - it’s the real deal. Banoffee - instead of standing still and getting by on a decent debut track - has stepped things up a notch. In the video for ‘Got It’ she comes off like the most zen individual around. Ultra-assured but not resting on her laurels, she’s the picture of confidence.

Discovery of the Week:
Honne

Earlier this week we gave premieres to superb efforts from Canadian alt rock band Family Video and the supremely assured R&B talent Oyinda. These came from completely different corners, but new duo Honne are from an entirely different planet altogether. Their music’s steeped in the West Coast funk strut that’s so resolutely in vogue, but that doesn’t make ‘Warm on a Cold Night’ any less timeless.

Tags: Tobias Jesso Jr, Listen, Features, Neu