In October 2024, Gustaffson released ‘On Broadway’, a brilliantly theatrical single that fused muted guitar parts with a waltzing time signature and a crooned vocal to create something that brought a fantastic twist to the world of adult pop. More than style over substance, the single also ultilised a huge yet simple hook to make the track even more memorable.
Dotsun Moon’s ‘Tiger’ album is an unmissable treat for lovers of 90s influenced sounds. Released in June 2025 and coming a full nine years after the previous full length Dotsun release, you could never accuse multi-instrumentalist Richard Fliel of hurrying his work, but you can hear the love that went into this long overdue second album from the moment you hit the play button. Taking in influences as disparate as Harold Budd, mid 80s Wire, ‘Disintegration’ era Cure and applying a liberal amount of his own style, Richard created a work that often felt familiar, but deep enough to feel like something that would ultimately grow beyond its (admittedly great) musical touchstones.
Josaleigh Pollett’s ‘Radio Player’ is a rather special recording. Its opening sounds throw the listener into a world of dark synthwave, suggesting something rich in atmosphere. It then takes a somewhat dramatic twist when Josaleigh adds a vocal that, at first, suggests they have a love of classic dream pop, before an increase in volume allows their voice to reach for something much bigger. Hitting a couple of soaring, notes, this presents a talent with a huge, natural sound, drawing the listener further into a world where Pollett’s love of almost cinematic sounds comes into its own.
Taking elements from indie, shoegaze, pop and rock, Coming Up Roses have a rich sound that is often pleasingly varied. Although various musical influences can be heard within the UK band’s work, they use those in a way that is often interesting – and on their ‘I’m In Bed’ single (released in the early part of 2025), they sounded like no-one else. Further singles ‘Tired’ and ‘Over My Head’ cemented any feelings that Coming Up Roses were a band on the rise, and their full length album ‘How Did We Fall So Far?’ (released in June ’25) showed how the band weren’t just suited to soundbites; their best songs have a rich quality, playing brilliantly as part of a longer format.
In 2022, Myriad Things released two very strong but very different singles. ‘Let It Come Down’ set up an immediate groove, working a funk infused rhythm and bluesy guitar tone. With a heavier riff punctuating the verses, it was a track that was absolutely loaded with swagger. A couple of months later ‘10,000 Years Away’ presented their more melodic side, with a number that introduced a little prog/post rock guitar work which, combined with a wall of funky bass lines and soaring vocals suggested this was a band who could also feel very comfortable working with something a little more atmospheric. Having set themselves up a band to watch out for in the near future, they then didn’t actually release any more new material for three years.