Angine de Poitrine – Sarniezz

First up this week are a Canadian duo who are one of the buzz names in music right now, having become a viral sensation in 2026 leading to sell out shows and massive intrigue. They are an anonymous duo performing as Khn de Poitrine and Klek de Poitrine who claim to be 333 year old time travellers whose music is a melange of stiff‑limbed rhythms with a wink of absurdist performance art. But I am launching with them this week simply because, and unusually for something that has gone viral primarily on an eccentricity ticket, their music is really very good. They say that it is worked up over hours of improvised jamming before developing the ideas that work like microtonal rock missionairies, excavating for those underplayed and rarely heard notes between the notes. There is much here to hook the prog heads for sure, not simply that seventies throwback double necked guitar but the bold spirit of instrumental exploration that gives a nod to both the frenzied psych thrills of King Gizzard and the stricter genre lacerations of King Crimson. Not that they arrived here with anything like that level of pre-planning, even the outfits were an off-the-cuff idea after their main band were booked for a local gig too close in time to a recently played venue, so the hidden identity began as a necessity to bag another paid gig that ended up sticking. The main thing is the music is superb and, if you have suffered the misfortune of being exposed to any of the Eurovision Song Contest this weekend, now might be a good time to remember not all hype it tripe. Buy the album here: https://amzn.to/3Rv7qyB

Irma – Black Sun

Next we turn to another act whose popularity has been boosted by positive internet exposure, this time a singer who in the late 2000’s gained attention by uploading a series of cover version performances on YouTube. Nowadays, Cameroon‑born, Paris‑raised songwriter Irma Pany channels her guitar-driven, soul-pop style into her own compositions as heard here with ‘Black Sun,’ a track with intimacy and confident expression in equal measure. Her early candour is still there and the song’s stripped arrangement leaves her voice to do the heavy lifting, carrying a bright and engaging resilience that has become Irma’s signature. It is a reminder that sometimes just getting the basics right can deliver something that feels massive and widescreen. You can buy Irma’s ‘The Dawn’ album via this link: https://amzn.to/49W3Dke

Cole Berliner – The Black Door

A dose of acoustic springtime promise now with some delightfully shifting tones in this second instrumental piece of the week. This is the first single and title track of Cole Berliner’s album ‘The Black Door,’ out on Drag City on May 29th and if the lilting 1970 era McCartney-esque guitar weaving does not grab hold of you, then the dusty analogue textures surely will. Cole Berliner is a San Francisco born, Los Angeles based guitarist, composer and arranger, long recognised for his work in avant‑rock outfits Kamikaze Palm Tree and Sharpie Smile. Now stepping out under his own name, he brings that same fluid, acoustic‑electric sensibility to his solo work and if you like what you hear, you can get a copy of the album via this link: https://amzn.to/3PrbPCc

Ruti – I’ll Be Your Friend

The opening bars might fool you into believing we have some more acoustic introspection with this one but no, this zinger has an infectious build in momentum before erupting into the most glorious of pop-song chorus lines. Raised in Essex with Nigerian and English roots, Ruti has always had a gift for unforced melody, and here that instinct is paired with a production that plays right into that strength. The track moves with an easy, open‑hearted pulse, part folk glow, part modern pop shimmer, with Ruti’s vocal assured in a way only hinted at before with their more minimal piano-led work. It is the kind of song that suggests a writer growing and finding their voice, pointing to exciting potential going forward. ‘I’ll Be Your Friend’ is available as a download via this link: https://amzn.to/4dNKraO

Brother Wallace – Gone With The Wind

This finds Brother Wallace folding his gospel‑trained power into a smoother soul glide without losing any of the momentum that drives his debut. The Georgia‑born singer and pianist, a lifelong musician who was directing choirs by fourteen and later teaching music, brings the same rhythmic command to this track that animates the album’s harder‑hitting moments. What begins as a softer detour soon reveals its own pulse: a groovy piano break that nods to northern soul footwork and keeps the energy simmering beneath the surface. Wallace’s voice, rich with lived‑in grit and conviction, anchors the whole thing, reminding you that even at his most restrained he still pushes forward with purpose. It is a sleek, infectious highlight from an artist whose late‑blooming debut lands with the confidence of someone ready for this stage all along. Get yourself a copy of his ‘Electric Love’ album via this link: https://amzn.to/4eTdevI

Josienne Clarke – Banks Of The Sweet Primroses

Following up her potent re-working of ‘Katie Cruel’, Josienne Clarke is pushing onwards with her 21st century shakedown of traditional folk material. It is in the bloodline of folk song to be passed forward then re-interpreted with fresh resonance and in the hands of a switched on, emotionally connected artist like Josienne, this music is in safe hands. The video turns a simple stills session into a wry study of how performance erodes privacy, following a musician caught between sincerity and self‑presentation as she tries to decide what version of herself can withstand being framed. Its looping circular motif, part portrait, part trap, underlines the humour and the fatigue, leaving a small, stubborn triumph in the fact that something true survives the machinery of visibility. You can download the track via this link: https://amzn.to/4tGPPBk