Over the years, Albert Hammond’s ‘The Air That I Breathe’ has been recorded by numerous artists. The Hollies’ recording from 1974 remains its most famous incarnation, but dig through the archives and you’ll discover other notable versions from Dana Gillespie, Judy Collins, AOR band Alien, Olivia Newton-John, Swedish pop band The Tuesday Girls (latterly The Tuesdays), and even Hank Williams, Jr. It seems to be one of those tracks that never really goes away, but few have breathed as much new life into this well worn number than pop-prog collective Chimpan A.
Listen: Tooth Gore reveals new single ‘Uncomfortable’
In June 2025, one man band Tooth Gore released their excellent ‘For Losers, By Losers’ album, an almost filler free collection that drew influence from melodic punk, surf rock, power pop and even post rock to create a riff driven collection that really captured the spirit of the DIY artist’s earlier singles.
CANDY RIOT – Mirrors (A Covers EP)
Candy Riot may well have formed in the 2020s and become a mainstay of the Texas club scene since 2022, but the band’s collective heart and head appears to be living somewhere in the wilds of 1984. Their ‘Nico Loretto’ album from 2024 is absolutely loaded with superb retro pop, and its best songs blend the new wave aesthetic of the skinny tie brigade from the early years of US MTV with synth sounds pulled straight off early Depeche Mode albums, Ultravox’s ‘Vienna’ and Soft Cell’s brilliant – and eternally grubby – ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’. A combination of really bright sounding arrangements and great, harmonious pop vocals result in the kind of listen that feels nostalgic, even when the material is unfamiliar.
Listen: teethin release new single ‘Throwin Shapes’
A pumping bass that has a post punk edge, a weird clicking sound and a mumbling vocal: three things you wouldn’t necessarily expect to hear together, and three things that pretty much give no clue as to where teethin’s current single ‘Throwin Shapes’ is headed. It could be a punky banger; it could be a slab of post rock fury; it could be an abrasive piece of alternative dance…
THE BLACK KEYS – No Rain, No Flowers
The Black Keys’ thirteenth studio album ‘No Rain, No Flowers’ finds Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney taking a massive musical detour. The bulk of the material finds the duo in a light mood, from a musical perspective. There are a few recognisable guitar lines along the way; a familiar sounding musical hook or two, but in the main, the album stands as their grand adult pop-rock opus. Part of this shift will be, no doubt, due to enlisting pop producer Rick Nowels for both musical and technical duties, along with other collaborators from outside of the garage rock and blues field. This isn’t a move that’s likely to please some of their hardcore fans, but it could win them new supporters on this leg of their already long journey since, although very little of ‘No Rain’ sounds like classic Black Keys – at least on the surface – its songs are brilliantly arranged, and some of the “poppier” elements show off a great finesse.