This week’s visit to the Singles Bar brings a whole world of variety. Bookended by two genuine power pop bangers, this selection of tracks also takes in some really tight funk, a new track by a cult singer songwriter from Scotland, the long overdue return of a dreampop inspired indie band, a loving recreation of a cast iron classic…and more. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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On their current single ‘Ease Up’, The Astronauts deliver an unashamed love letter to the early 90s. From the moment the main melody hits, the layers of sound tap into a heavy indie/shoegaze sound that’s unmistakeably retro. The tune is also massively appealing, but it’s likely to require three or four listens before this becomes really obvious.
Welcome back to the Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the more interesting individual tracks that have landed in our inbox. This time out, we’ve got a familiar name taking a new musical twist, a couple of genuinely great pop tunes, a complex metal-centric banger from an up and coming act, and even a bit more jazz. Celebrating a variety of new sounds, we hope you find something to enjoy!
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Brooklyn’s Avery Friedman only began playing live shows in 2024, and didn’t spend years honing her sound before the recording and release of her 2025 debut ‘New Thing’, so the album’s songs still have an element of freshness and occasional naivete. You couldn’t call the material raw, though, or even suggest its potential has been sold short in any way. The best of the record’s eight songs represent brilliantly crafted indie pop, often sharing a sound that’s much older than Friedman’s years, but everything is presented in a hugely confident manner.
This visit to the Singles Bar is quite guitar driven in places, with a brilliant single from a Scottish pop-rock band, some heavy shoegaze, and a slab of enormous sounding stoner rock providing the backbone of the eight picks. That said, there’s still enough of a deviation from rock influences to make this as strong as previous Singles Bar selections, with a soulful number shared by one of George Ezra’s colleagues, a great synth based track, and a piece of soul driven pop ready to be discovered. As always, of course, we hope you find something new to enjoy.
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