Category Archives: New Release Reviews

New Release Reviews

The Cats Miaow – When You Smiled And Turned Away

The art of less is more, of deliberately working from a minimal palate and resisting the temptation to over embellish, is something that can be surprisingly powerful when executed with panache. The music of The Cats Miaow plays like a study in this exact style; they are on the face of it committed to a four prong attack, the trebly, resonant guitar sound of Bart Cummings, deliciously spidery bass patterns played by Andrew Withycombe, the insistent yet radically underplayed primitive drum flexing of Cam Smith then all three combining to supply a spacious bedrock for the sweet and sour vocal brush strokes of soprano Kerrie Bolton, and yet the merging of these elements leads to something rather epic. Maybe this is down to the luxury of sonic space each player has to fill; the guitar finds airspace to elongate those warm chords and literally exhale the melancholy, the bass guitar absolutely asserts to justify its place with low end stability supplying a platform for melodically explorative runs and reels, the drums are free to express with their sweeping gestures and shuffling sidetracks whilst the vocal is empowered to emote and wrap itself around the tiny moments in song that are projected through a uninhibitedly melodic font. And it is those small moments these songs tend to focus in on, even that brief flash of a loving glance referred to in the title track, it speaks to a moment that is gone in a flash, that could be so easily missed. And yet when we dig deeper into those speed frame memories, it is always apparent that in those seconds, within the indelible feelings that are triggered and then remembered and felt forever, lie the times that feel the most like living.

The Cats Miaow are a band that epitomise the true meaning of indie. They manage this in many ways, not least their signature sound. It is a retro echo at its core, a beautiful Velvets shimmer that puts equal weight in the thrum of sustained resonance and bittersweet sighs of melody. It sounds classic but restrained too, there is no place for self-aggrandising here, a trope of the original eighties indie scene in the UK that resulted in words like twee and flowery flying around sometimes justly, other times not so. But the connection does not end there, for The Cats Miaow were originally known as a dedicatedly DIY outfit from Australia who were only to be found on seven-inch single, private pressing cassette and compilation releases. They recorded to four track tape and played so few shows that it was claimed their entire gig history could be counted on the fingers of one hand. In terms of making the music the only thing that mattered, you could not wish to encounter a more principled band than this. And so, it transpires that, a good three decades after they originally began sewing audio seeds, the band are finally issuing what is actually their debut album. In recent years there have been a couple of compilation records compiling their many single and variously sprinkled releases, as well as an EP of works in progress called ‘Let’s Pretend That We Are Someone Else’ which gave a heads up to the now finally realised ‘When You Smiled And Turned Away.’

And the great news is that it has really been worth the wait. In fact, if the ultimate goal of a debut album is to shine a light on all the individual brilliance and mouth-watering potential a band has to offer then this fulfils the criteria very impressively indeed. It is the minutiae that is studied so effectively throughout that injects an emotional core to the entire song-based journey, that and the clearly evident decades of experience in clever, detailed writing they can now put on full show. None of these fourteen songs outstay their welcome either, all bar one clock in at under three minutes and this does not reflect on content, more the fact that they efficiently get in and do their job of pushing our buttons until the targets could not be hit any closer, a case of indie pop perfection par excellence. The deadly duo that is Cummings and Withycombe are the songwriting heart of the operation, and they could teach even the master’s a thing or two about finding abundance in restraint. ‘If You’re Lost You Can Follow Me Home’ works as both a friendly offering to a lost cat, but with the lift of the chorus and the pulse of human kindness, it is a warm purr suggesting so much more. ‘Journey’s End’ ponders time and passage with effectively hazy focus, closing the circle with a prescient suggestion that endings are really beginnings and vice versa. And despite the satisfying connectedness in tone that plays across these sometimes mournful, always thoughtful, and frequently uplifting songs, there are suggestions of other gears this band can move to when the feeling takes them. ‘Going To A Show’ is a great example, a swirling organ sound ushering a tipsy, juddering motion into a song that tilts us into the realms of the psychedelic, where sunny open spaces are briefly replaced by the damp, giddy motion of a neon lit city space. It leaves me with the very real hope that, in terms of The Cats Miaow’s albums career, this really is only the beginning; the band undoubtedly have many more sonic adventures to undertake should they, finally, decide to make their presence felt.

Danny Neill

You can get yourself a copy of the album via this link: https://thecatsmiaow.bandcamp.com/

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New Release Reviews

Hannah Gill – I Like The Sunrise

It begins with a gentle rustle, speedily developing into an erupting rumble before instantly exploding to life, the first rays of light breaking through with warmth, brightness and fresh spirit. I am speaking of the centrepiece to this album and also the title track, ‘I Like The Sunrise.’ The song encapsulates everything this new jazz release should come to represent, the hope of the new, the joy of a beginning, the dawn of a fresh endeavour and all the anticipation, apprehension and boundless possibilities that comes to represent. And it tells us exactly what kind of artist we are listening to in Hannah Gill. A classicist in style and a forward-looking conventionalist of application, she puts faith in the tried and tested pillars of talent, emotive expression and a classy musical ear. But neither is she a throwback, something about the playing and the intent of her delivery makes this as contemporary an album as you could wish to hear. You can believe in any music type, regardless of an older era it may recall, if it is played with the right attitude; Hannah with her band sound like they were only after one thing, to play these songs the way they felt them. It is why they saw, to give just one example, no need to add to the simplicity of a track like ‘Azure,’ why over embellish when a simple wistful whistle can say so much? Even when tackling a tune that flies like a standard, such as ‘So Far So Good,’ they swing so hard they could blow fallen leaves off the pavement. A prime factor in these positive reactions is the song selections, this record is built around the kind of tracks that thrive on being played, little wonder some of the guitar and sax solos are tackled with such relish. Also, this is a selection of hot cuts that bring one specific legendary name to the table, that of Duke Ellington.

However, this is no mere tribute album, more like the work of a performer who has connected with another artists material in a way that speaks to her soul. It is the creation of someone whose connection with the compositions is so deep she is making them her own. This is after all, the way that all interpretive work should operate, if it is not moving on and evolving, injecting something of the personal into the performance, if it is merely looking to present a photocopy of something that went before, then it is highly unlikely to have much merit. But here the twenty-nine-year-old US singer Hannah Gill has dug deep into the music of the jazz great Duke Ellington, both with songs that he composed and also material he left an indelible impression on, in a way that instantly marks out her own territory with conviction and passion. And best of all, she is doing something different with it. Yes, the overall tone and style of this album is that of a smoky late-night jazz and blues club, there is a laid back, louche swing to the atmosphere, a re-appearing saxophone that blows pencil sharp shapes in the air and drums that cannot help but brush those symbols with a birth of cool nonchalance. But then you remember, the Duke was a pianist, the instrument was central to much of his recorded output. But here there is not a piano, let alone an orchestra, anywhere to be seen (or heard). The lead instrument is actually a sexy electric guitar, caressing its way around, behind, under and over the seductive and commanding vocal licks delivered by Hannah.

Ever since the earliest days of her musical education, Hannah was drawn to the New York live scene. At the age of eighteen she found that this was the place to feed into her love of jazz, soul and blues, she could dance and swing with abandon all the while beginning to connect with performing musicians who could help open doors to becoming a singer and artist herself. You can hear those foundations bursting through on this album, it is all too obvious that Hannah is confident in her role as interpreter and all those years bathing in the sounds of roots forms has nurtured a keen ear for the finest sounding audio. And on that, you can detect the craft and vitality of an analogue recording loud and clear, an element touted brashly so often by others rarely making the kind of impact its champions try to imply, potently coming into its own. The decisions made in the recording studio emphasise an end desire that has been spectacularly realised; there was no heavy reliance on written charts or overdubs, instead the band laid down these tracks in real time and sought to capture the magic that occurs when great musicians feed off each other and get into the zone. So, what we have is an album that honours some old-fashioned values all the while digging into material that is somewhere between seventy to eighty years old. And yet, such is the honesty of intent, the tangible human investment in these songs, that I can credibly state ‘I Like The Sunrise’ belongs firmly in the modern-day pantheon of album releases. On top of that, it might just be one of the finest jazz albums you will come across in 2026.

Danny Neill

Find a just released physical copy of the album via this link: https://hannahgillmusic.bandcamp.com/

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New Release Reviews

Death Valley Girls – Welcome To Earth

Opening with the explosive title track, this latest from the Death Valley Girls parachutes the listener straight into a world of chaos and confusion. The song is a spinning maelstrom of sound, a hurricane of noise breaking through with a fanfare of brass atop twisted guitar slices, spitting out kneading saxophone phrases, echoing rhythmic pulses, cascading washes of female voices chanting descending pop hooks and a rock and roll band at the centre of the storm desperately holding on to its core. As overtures for the album that follows go, this is a pretty damn evocative statement; the sound is that of a world becoming overwhelmed by the challenges it faces, battered from within and attacked from the outside too, all the while that human spirit is clinging on for dear life. And this may be exactly where the band were intending to come from too, for the circumstances surrounding this records creation were indelibly tainted by tragedies both personal and of a kind being felt today the world over. Firstly, this album features the last recorded contributions on keyboard by Gregg Foreman, who devastatingly passed away not long after completion. On top of that, the lead up to the work saw singer Bonnie Bloomgarden lose her home to a Los Angeles wildfire followed shortly by the death of her dog. Understandably, this prompted a period of feeling lost and cut adrift as she tried to come to terms with a new situation, one where everything thought to be permanent previously was just gone in a flash.

It might be over simplistic to say that great art comes from the hardest of times but listening to the music, it is hard not to believe that creating this album was not at least partially part of the healing process. Finding transcendence amid the chaos could have understandably felt like too much of an ambition at the outset, but they might just have arrived there through the power and conviction in their musical endeavour. Just listen to the lollipop shoppe garage pop hooks of ‘Basic Witch’ and delight in the sound of a band tasting joy in exuberance. ‘Plant Magic’ taps into the life force of another stripe, namely the communal energy that naturally rises out of a children’s chorus but wow, it is oh so effective. Maybe that is why the same tool is re-deployed in other songs such as the overpoweringly defiant ‘Sing For Yourself.’ All these buttons that are pushed speak to an emotional thread right across these nine songs, one that finds comfort and delight in the simple act of human connection and sharing. Understandably, Bloomgarden was initially struggling to write following the traumas she had experienced, which might explain the presence of a cover. Not that their version of Link Wray’s underappreciated ‘Fire And Brimstone’ needs any further justification beyond the definitive funking up they apply to it; I dare you not to shake it on down when you hear this one.

Above all though, it remains the pure thrills of garage band pop perfection that ring the loudest. In that corner, ‘I Love You’ is one of many that flattens all before it on first exposure. Everything is tied together with the final track, in which ‘How Losing Everything In The Fire Taught Me To Love Myself’ addresses that exact moment of acceptance. Bonnie remembers that “I spent my whole life trying to change myself, trying so hard to be ‘normal’ and imagining that everyone else was entitled to a level of worthiness I hadn’t yet earned. The fire forced me to stop focusing on who I needed to become and start learning how to feel safe with who I already was. After a lot of therapy, which I was very, very lucky to have access to, I realized I wasn’t just recovering from trauma—I was becoming comfortable with myself. This song is about losing everything, being terrified, and finally discovering that even when I have nothing, I have all I need.” As the track builds to a climax around the almost relieved vocal chant of “I’m free,” with the music tumbling back in on itself effectively returning us full circle back to our starting point, it truly feels like a fitting end to the inner journey ‘Welcome To Earth’ has guided us on. The world really is raining down anxieties and traumas on everyone but, we are still here, some of us are still alive, we still have each other so why not make our presence felt with the glorious, life affirming sound of our souls. The Death Valley Girls are pointing the way.

Danny Neill

Get yourself a copy of ‘Welcome To Earth’ via this link: https://deathvalleygirls.bandcamp.com/album/welcome-to-earth

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New Release Reviews

The Junipers – The Solid And The Hollow

Finding a psychedelic band previously unknown to me is nothing new today, the scene seems to throw up a plentiful supply in 2026. But occasionally, as has occurred with my coming across Leicester’s The Junipers, you check them out then about three songs in the light goes on and you find yourself shouting out “this lot are the real deal!” So, for those who do not feel like reading on, the headline is that this is a great 2026 psych pop album; for everyone else here are some reasons why. ‘Oneless’ is a breezy beginning, you can feel yourself taking off and blowing through the clouds looking at the people down below, “doing what they do.” As lift offs go, it certainly encourages the listener to get on board, the floating nature of the jangly textures is far from lightweight, the voices build on top of each other with a celestial comeliness and there is just about enough of a sigh in the air to ensure avoidance of anything too flowery or whimsical. What happens next firmly locks us in; the thwack of a single drum followed by the steam engine propulsion of a pacy fuzzy guitar hook ushers ‘When She Turns’ to the front. This is psych pop with energy and bite, a little echo of the early nineties’ bagginess but essentially a groovy little nugget for this new 21st century age of psych. ‘She Makes The Sun Shine’ says it all in the title, although once again this bright burst of glorious sunshine pop is rammed in authentic detail. There is a breakdown with cascading vocals that halts you in your tracks like a stun gun and if you care to listen deeper into the mix, those electric stringed arpeggios are merely the front of house for an audio menu that features backward guitar effects, ‘Revolver’ era McCartney bass lines and the most colourful Byrdsian major-minor harmonies you could wish to hear.

I try to make a point in reviews of not flagging up obvious influences if the artist does not do them justice or simply fails to be as good as the music they are trying to emulate. However, I mentioned two mid-sixties giants just now not because The Junipers are photocopying the past, more due to their impressive re-purposing and preserving of classic sounds and to applaud them for justifiably wearing those connections on their sleeves like badges of honour. This band are potent because they are getting the basics right so above all period reference points; my enjoyment of this album boils down to the simple fact that these are incredibly good songs. Not that the studio work is failing to sprinkle some magic on the produce as well, quite the opposite. The way those keyboard chords ripple out as if we have divebombed the deepest lake on ‘Fishes’ is incredible, not to mention how a rising slide guitar sound evokes the sense of emerging once more to the surface. ‘Meadow Song’ similarly paints a picture of the tune’s situation, those chiming acoustic notes tangibly sounding like they were plucked whilst taking a walk through the long grass as the sun begins to set.

‘Swan’ keeps the action outside, each element of the tune appearing to act in response to its surroundings. The semi-discordant haziness that briefly appears is a powerful brush stroke, to these ears early seventies children’s TV performed by hand puppets appear in the mind out of nowhere, a little bit dreamy with a tiny touch of eery but that could just me my memories, still that is how music works after all. ‘Where I’m Landing’ pushes feelings of uncertainty to the fore, the lyric speaks to loneliness coupled with an easy going, fatalistic attitude to whatever fate might deliver. Here again, despite any bumpiness at the heart of the song, the soft malleable nature of the sound acts as a cushion. ‘Who Can Say?’ retains the head vibes at the table, there has been a definite shift towards the matters of the mind as we approach the close. I am thinking of bands like Beachwood Sparks here too, which again is no bad thing. Still, change does jump back one last time, as ‘In A Maze’ picks up the tempo and reminds the listener that, in some parallel universe, The Junipers are one of the top pop bands around. Then finally, this sumptuous song suite closes with the piano led melancholy of ‘Moments Of Truth.’ Plastered in mellotron sounds, it underlines what a sonic delight this little excursion has been. What can I say, I love psych pop, I love psych rock and I love great songwriting; The Junipers have delivered all of that in one kaleidoscopic treasure of an album, go out and find it today.

Danny Neill

You can get a copy of the album via this link: https://thejunipers.bandcamp.com/album/the-solid-and-the-hollow-album-2026

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New Release Reviews

The Delines – The Set Up

Considering how grand and satisfying a listening experience this whole record is, it may be surprising to learn that The Delines built it almost as an afterthought following 2025’s ‘Mr. Luck And Ms. Doom.’ These were tracks that had been leftover following those sessions, which makes it quite remarkable how cohesively stitched together this all is as a thematic song sequence. Call it a concept album or a piece of audio cinema, however you view it, ‘The Set Up’ is a deep and fantastic work. The album begins with ‘The Set Up Pt 1’ which with its mournful, late night street corner ambience and forlorn trumpet figure occupies a similar space to Springsteen’s ‘Meeting Across The River.’ Placed here however, as a scene setting curtain raiser it plays more like an overture while our narrator tells the story of an arsonist burglary that went rather well for the perpetrators. A trace of envy is easily detectable in the voice, imagining them today with their feet in the Spanish sand. That desire for escape, to be free from living a life on the poverty line is keenly felt throughout the album and explicitly stated in the title of ‘Can You Get Me Out Of Phoenix.’ This is a stunning piece of music, warm as southern soul but contemplative and yearning too, it resists the temptation to dream of a better life by remembering all the things that can go wrong. This actually serves as a set up lyric for the gut punch of death that arrives halfway through the song and yet, somehow, we are still lifted by the slow pulse of the music even while our feet remain grounded in reality.

‘Jumping Off In Madras’ reprises that aching, streetlight trumpet, its role on the album becoming something akin to a wordless secondary voice. This is actually a clever detail by The Delines because some of these audio tracks are plainly beautiful, even as they feel covered in sorrow, and warrant some appreciation simply as images in sound. That said, ‘Dilaudid Diane’ is built on a simple church-like piano with organ figure and punches through thanks to a vocal that is positively bleeding with empathy as it recalls the sad tale of the Diane in the title. ‘Keep The Shades Down’ is a let’s get it on soul gem with a difference, as the cajoling for human connection is played out despite a background of enforced austerity and an unforgiving outside world. Maybe there are other songs that have essentially said “let’s make out because it’s all we’ve got to enjoy” but, at the moment, I cannot think of another that paints this scenario with such depth whilst avoiding any tired cliches. ‘Getting Out Of The Ward’ is another vivid instrumental, this time led by a piano movement that slides into waltz time and yet, as the music instils a sense of stepping out into the open, that trumpet again weighs heavy, as if the open air is fraught with tension and danger rather than a space to breathe easy.

‘The Set Up Pt. 2’ introduces a seventies crime movie texture, with the story of an embezzling Brenda again causing some approving thoughts for someone brave enough to do the necessary and get out. Another layer is subtly peeled away though, and these private revelations are revealed to be part of a bigger ruse later when we reach ‘Pt. 3,’ but I will not go all in with the spoilers and leave it there. For now, the next phase of this audio adventure is ushered in with another album highlight, ‘The Reckless Life.’ You can picture the scene, being regaled with these stories propping up a late-night bar, several drinks in as a vintage soul band fills the room with retro flavours, the moral of these stories being realised with the thought “a reckless life ain’t reckless until that one day when you finally get caught.” It begins to feel like the seeds of trouble are going to catch up with a few of the characters introduced on this journey. ‘Walking With His Sleeves Down,’ a distant cousin to ‘Mr Bojangles’ perhaps, tells the tale, over gentle sympathetic piano, of another good man beaten into submission by the struggle. ‘The Meter Keeps Ticking’ marches along musically even though the hospital bound figure at the centre of the song feels like he might make hell freeze over. When our movie concludes on the instrumental ‘The Last Time I Saw Her,’ the imagination brilliantly runs wild with what may have become of these souls, its pitter-pattering falls like a heavenly requiem. Wow, with records as well constructed and crafted as this coming out in 2026, I feel sure the album as an art form remains in extremely healthy shape, I give ‘The Set Up’ the biggest possible recommendation.

Danny Neill

You can get a physical copy of the album via this link: https://www.thedelines.com/

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New Release Reviews

Nicole Atkins – Drama

There is a moment during the Memphis soul style strut of ‘For No One’ from this latest Nicole Atkins album, her first of all new material in six years, where she sings “don’t let a good wine go to waste.” As a metaphor for the sumptuous melange of ages and sounds heard throughout this record, I cannot help but think it is on the money. Everything you hear on ‘Drama’ in terms of sound aesthetic contains echoes of golden eras of recorded music. Be it film noir, the panoramic orchestrations heard on classic Roy Orbison tracks, the lush heart string plucking arrangements perfected for the Nashville sound, the trip-hop moodiness patented by Portishead and even the scene stealing dramatizations washing over a Bond theme tune, this is a soundtrack performed with so much class you could probably get away with mislabelling it as the work of the Wrecking Crew. However, as much as these mostly live cut audio expressions make the record sound incredible, they are nothing more than the decorative choices of an artist with a great ear; the element really standing out is the quality of the songs. Nicole Atkins has stepped back into the ring armed with a collection of numbers that are demanding their place in the cannon of classic American compositions. Nicole has explained her modus operandi as “not trying to rehash or celebrate some bygone era. I’m just taking what I like melodically from the past and channelling it into my songs. I like to make them deeply personal. The question I come back to is – how do I make this sound exactly like me?”

None of this is fresh news of course, ever since she released her 2007 debut album ‘Neptune City,’ Nicole Atkins has stood tall as part of a rich new breed keeping the spirit of classic popular song craft not only alive, but an essential part of the modern music listening menu. She has always sung with clarity and force, untroubled by the kind of vocal crutches that seem to hold back too many mainstream vocalists. Nicole puts a song over the old-fashioned way, although such is the effectiveness of her method that there is really nothing vintage about it, it simply remains the best style available today delivering the treatment these tracks demand. By getting inside the heart of the lyric, feeling it, and stepping up with such commitment it ensures no nuance of the song is going to be missed, the Atkins identity is indelibly stamped in these grooves. It all makes me ponder how, sometimes the best artists have nothing more of a USP than just doing the basics really, really well, to a standard that pretenders cannot hope to get close to. Perhaps the problem with this kind of performer is that there is nothing particularly headline grabbing about simply being very talented and incredibly good at your craft, too many people need more sensationalism or a troubled back story to offer their attention but I am here to tell you, putting a brick wall up against the hype machines and trusting your ears around a talent like Nicole will only lead to good things and a life enriched by brilliant music.

By her own admission Nicole approached this record from a place of power, recalling where she was two decades ago releasing a debut and the relationship troubles fuelling inspiration at the time. She admits to being bewitched by the sound of heartache and so deliberately re-connected with the circumstances and troubles faced back then, re-purposing and aligning them with today’s extra life experience and self-growth, so as to produce a new perspective on age old themes of love and life. The signposts are all over the album cover, a bold comic strip style depiction of Nicole looking fearfully up at an oncoming avalanche perhaps? And yes, that really is the famous Sun Records logo you see at the top right corner, her friend and touring partner Chris Isaak (who has a cameo appearance on ‘Cue The Symphony’) having signed her to the label as part of a current drive to honour its legacy by releasing vital new titles such as this. To these ears ‘Drama’ has the potential to become one of the signature albums in the labels catalogue. Nicole has produced a collection where every track could be a single, she nods to girl-group pop with ‘Trippin On Teardrops,’ an electro pulse on ‘Singing In The Mirror,’ Jimmy Webb worthy classicism on ‘When The Night Falls,’ all this and so much more before finally closing with some jazz leaning balladry on ‘Softly As You Were.’ As a whole, this album is a masterclass in dramatic, lovelorn song writing, executed with pazazz and sensitivity, showing a clear understanding of the musical fundamentals that can make a record worth revisiting again and again. If it sounds like a classic that may well be because, soon enough, it will surely become one.

Danny Neill

For more on Nicole Atkins and ways to purchase the album please follow the link: https://nicoleatkins.bandcamp.com/music

Nicole Atkins by Barbara F G

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New Release Reviews

The Creepy Jingles – Against All Opps

Here is a band totally uninhibited about their love of a zinging pop hook, in fact they positively let that urge run wild on this new – all too short but undoubtedly leaving me wanting more – six track mini-album released on the wonderful Enigmatic Brunch label. The thing about pop, especially the kind of guitar pop we have here, one that references new wave and skater punk but then goes deeper into the realms of giddy psychedelia and multi coloured freakbeat, is that it has to be immediate. Well, you can tick that box off right away, I took one listen to ‘Against All Opps’ (got to love a Phil Collins referencing album title pun, haven’t you?) and right off the bat was convinced I had stumbled upon one of America’s best kept secrets. All these songs get in and get the job done on first exposure, they are short sharp punches to the earlobe and the brain because, and here is the best bit, they all still stand up to closer immersion and, more than that, enhance with a more deliberate listen. The opener ‘You Don’t Trend’ is a textbook example of what I am describing. The briefest of intros and away we go, divebombing into a punk pop nugget built on the classic verses to ear candy chorus mould and that vocal, with all its 21st century buzz words delivered like a hot slice of prime bitchiness. But let those words sink in a little, bask in the skinny-jean guitar solo before staring deeper into those sneering vocals, and it is hard not to conclude that ‘You Don’t Trend’ is actually a precise take-down of modern social tropes and shallow values, with all the vacuousness that entails taking a tumble with it.

It turns out The Creepy Jingles are not so new to others as they are to me, they have previously been a Kansas based four-piece built around the acid witted, lyrical songwriting of Jocelyn Olivia Nixon. They had previously announced themselves with the album ‘Take Me At My Wordplay’ but this new release, arriving hot on the heels of previous album ‘Washed Up,’ finds Nixon with a lightly refreshed and re-shuffled pack of musicians alongside. Maybe that explains the need for a speedy new release from this latest configuration, and if that is the motivation then playing this record more than justifies the exercise. Much is made of the humour, bite and imaginative wordplay Jocelyn deploys but with a band tearing into tune packed, riff heavy and ear worm worthy song constructs, you are being dealt a double whammy of mind and muscle in every song. ‘Stay High’ is a song that gallops into view atop the most irresistible of descending riffs and as the repeated chorus line song title circles us, staying high on this delight is pretty much the only option available. The self-assuredness in the lyric is a declaration that suggests, between the lines, this band know how great they can be. “You can’t hold me down or cop my sound, break my brain, derail my train. Stay high.”

That same confidence is explicitly stated in ‘I Don’t Need A Thing From You,’ a song with the energy and mocking aggression that used to be food and drink to Elvis Colstello and The Attractions, which might just be a reference point in my head thanks to the tracks fruity Farfisa echoing keyboard sound played by Gailen Gillespie. ‘Throw Me In Some Rice’ is where things really fly out of their lane. There is so much going on here that I should merely say go and listen to it; there are mellotron sounds, flute-like spinning textures, dramatic bass breakdowns and a moment where the drum kicks a fill, as the band fall away, that conjures thoughts of the timeless wall-of-sound production. The key to it all though is a brilliant song, a bittersweet lament fired from aching verses and a heavy-duty resolution accompanying a lyric which might be about letting your guard down but then again, the way Jocelyn paints lyrical pictures in all these songs, leaving them open to multiple interpretations, is the sign of a serious talent. As we enter the closing brace of tracks there is no slowing the eclectic range on display, ‘Funhouse Mirror’ is an Americana leaning scuzz bath (superb) leading to ‘Nu Fables’ which, with the “you don’t rock with my friends” repeat, resolutely delivers a genuine sing-along worthy moment for the Creepy Jingles audience to sink their teeth into. Jocelyn may expect all the cool kids to be rolling their eyelids now, but I don’t find it too hard to imagine an ever-expanding audience embracing this band and throwing masses of love and respect their way. On this evidence, The Creepy Jingles not only feel ready to make the leap, but they also sound thoroughly deserving.

Danny Neill

You can get a copy of the new Creepy Jingles mini-LP via this link: https://enigmaticbrunchrecords.bandcamp.com/

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New Release Reviews

Son Lux – Out Into

Often when a musician or band go deep into film soundtrack work, they can lose a bit of momentum and impetus in their more regular recorded work. Alternatively, on other occasions such as this, the commitment to atmospheric textures, scene enhancing instrumental pieces and the spring of ideas that entails, can result in creative ideas piling up so high, the urge to offload the amassed work into a songs-based album becomes overwhelming. The surfeit of inspiration manifests itself in an LP collection jam packed with inventiveness and sonic layers that are a feast for the ears, which is exactly what I have found on ‘Out Into.’ This is the bands ninth album with their core members consisting of Ryan Lott, Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang. All the film soundtracks they have been involved with in recent years have certainly earned Son Lux kudos amongst peers and listeners alike and when you check out some of these credits, including ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once,’ Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolts’ and currently ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,’ it is clear they have paved their way into the upper echelons of the film and music world. Which is, for me, wonderful to witness because there are so many chancers and mediocre talents with nothing to show but a good networking team occupying so many of these positions, that it is refreshing to know artists breaking through on the strength of their ideas and productions have a chance too.

And those inspired ideas do flow with an abundance. These are songs first and foremost, but they are spacious enough to accommodate eruptions of tones and patterns with frequent changes seemingly thrown in just for the daredevil thrill of it all. Where their love of hip-hop can be detected in some breaks, Son Lux are also honouring almost old-fashioned composition processes mixed with an improvisational aesthetic, but their smartest trick is that despite these classicist instincts, they could not sound more 2026 if they tried. The vocals are all airtight and up close in the mix, this does not sound like it was recorded in an aged environment, modern vocal effect tropes are played with uninhibitedly and the present-day electronics that form the backbone of the sound manage to unlock the kind of limitless potential this approach really should inspire more often. The soundtrack commitments worked in their favour as well for, in the gaps between the cinematography focused sessions, they piled enthusiastically into the songs on ‘Out Into.’ On top of that, this was played out over a two-year period, a freedom from deadlines that has leant this album such a fully loaded potency. Lyrically too, Ryan Lott has been able to carve out a thematic curve, explaining that the songs “are about losing and finding ourselves. How we lose ourselves in relationships, in work, in our children, in our pursuits and desires.”

‘Want You To Love’ launches the album into a space that is instantly unsettling and strangely inviting, a warm lurching sound but one that is as disturbed and anxious as a scuttling hamster; something like the bastard love child of FKA Twigs and Alabama Shakes. ‘Endlessly’ intros with multiple voices demanding, and receiving, engagement before building into one of the albums most rousing, self-asserting moments with the lines “love what you love and feel what you feel,” a straight-shooting plea to find oneself and be at peace with that. ‘Even If It Hurts’ presents as ghostly and haunted, echoing synth lines and a spiralling breeze all speak to a sense of revelation and release. ‘You Could Be The One’ is also an atmosphere laden later highlight; a little mournful and pensive sounding to the extreme, motioned by a tremendously dolent guitar line, the tune hits a dramatic breakdown near its conclusion alongside the lines “I’m not letting go of you, despite everything you do.” In yet another contrast, ‘Summer’s Gone’ has an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink busyness, a stuttering jerkiness to the rhythm and a machine drill of notes laying a foundation for a track that is frantically agitated. Arguably the finest example of the album’s expansiveness is on nearly title track ‘Out Into Us.’ An almost spiritual mediation on the overall thematic connections of transformation and change, the progressions sound like they could continue to evolve indefinitely. In fact, there is an extended 17-minute version of the tracks video on view at MASS MoCa in Massachusetts, an installation that defiantly stands in contrast to the short attention span disease that infects so much modern music consumption. Son Lux could not make their point any better than with the wholly immersive ‘Out Into,’ an album that proves the deeper the creative journey embarked upon, the greater the rewards.

Danny Neill

You can get a copy of the new Son Lux album via this link: https://sonlux.bandcamp.com/

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New Release Reviews

Hollow Hand – Wish Road South

There is an instantly familiar feel to this album but in the best conceivable way, so much so that the entire content of this review could just me sitting back and referencing the top-tier sonic nods and clear as day influences that are flying past. I will refrain from doing that, but I will shout out a few of the obvious ones, not because there should be any implication of copying, but actually because the signposts of inspiration are carried out with such class that I want folks to understand what a great album this is. So, we have a very clear Velvet Underground three chord trick swagger, a hint of early seventies Bowie glam and the kind of melody driven pop nous that bands like ELO built careers around and a singer songwriter like Elliott Smith carved out new standards in acoustic pop balladry. The song ‘Black Metal Corpse Paint’ even throws in an old Captain Beefheart album title (‘Safe As Milk’) into the lyric which I doubt very much was anything but deliberate. That said, all the tasteful hero worshipping in the world will only carry you so far if the new songs you wrap it around are not up to much. The song writing of Hollow Hand though is so strong here, everything sounds like it has been crying out for this kind of energy all along. The story of its creation features more than a few top names as well on the journey to an album named after the early‑morning bus route that ferried Hollow Hand main man Max Kinghorn-Mills to the studio. It may be a metaphor for the where he finds himself at with this fourth LP release, for ‘Wish Road South’ captures Kinghorn‑Mills stepping out of his old habits and into a looser, bolder, band‑driven future.

And so, it transpires that Hollow Hand’s new release has emerged from an encounter with reckoning for Max Kinghorn‑Mills, the man whose performing name has always been essentially a solo venture but finds itself very much in a branching out phase today. He hit a point where the songs that were sketched out for the record no longer matched the fire he felt after months on the road. Touring behind previous album ‘Your Own Adventure’ had thrown him into the orbit of other musicians; Irish bands with wild, instinctive energy, Caitlin Rose’s touring ensemble, Aoife Nessa Frances’ world, and a run of European dates with MJ Lenderman that refined his sense of what his own project could be. “The way I’ve made albums previously has usually been huddled away in the tradition of a bedroom producer,” says Kinghorn-Mills. “But with this one I expanded my horizons and it made me realise there’s so much more to playing, and being in a band, than just recording the songs.” Returning home, he realised the solitary, bedroom‑bound approach that had defined his earlier records could no longer carry him forward. So, he scrapped the half‑finished version of the album and rebuilt from the ground up, forming a tighter unit with Oliver Newton and Leo Clarke in a new Brighton studio where the songs were played into being rather than assembled in isolation. With the shift towards live tracking, shared investment, and a richer sonic palette the door flung open to a warmer, more confident record, later pushed further out by Clarence Clarity’s left‑field mixing instincts.

The record kicks off with a sound that should instantly point to the newfound audio avenues enthusiastically being explored throughout. ‘Flowers In The Garden’ is a sweet melange of hurdy gurdy bagpipe noises and drone with an anthemic, sing it from the terraces, melody resolution that truly satisfies. ‘Here Are The Tulips’ possesses some classic tension and release playing, it feeds into the major/minor electric jangle that the folk-rock genre wears in its purest form, but it is executed with such panache, the sound feels like a long-lost friend returning home. It is a gleaming little piece of pop perfection, happy sad in its progressions and simultaneously echoing so many eras and times without sounding retro for a second, I guess this means it might be operating in the realm of the timeless. The joy of plugging in and riffing on an irresistible three chord pattern is indulged in repeatedly. Even on the softer tunes like ‘Love Again,’ which offers tenderness and understanding in the lyric, is pushed on by solid, meaty strumming whilst ‘Kiss The Boot’ finds a chunky bit of abandoned Velvets gold dust to re-use with interest. There is so much more though, at times this could pass for a psych record with its distorted spoken word interludes, found sound, multi-layered string sections and general sense of mayhem prevailing, punctuated by the arrival of another shiny nugget of a song. ‘Heavy Metal T-Shirt’ is actually one of the poppiest selections here and another curve ball is thrown when ‘Drinking With Judy’ ups the energy stakes with some new wave urgency. By the time we close of ‘Green Meadows Of England,’ played out under tangibly grey skies and ‘A Gentle Place,’ a lovely baroque closer, it is blatantly obvious that the one other throwback ‘Wish Road South’ offers is its appreciably satisfying arc as an album. Add to that the absence of any weak tracks or filler and it all adds up to a mighty fine piece of work. It stands as a reminder that even in a post‑Bowie, post‑Reed, post‑Petty world, there are still artists willing to capture the spark and, on this evidence, Hollow Hand is running with the flame and holding it firmly in safe hands.

Danny Neill

Find the new Hollow Hand album via this link: https://www.hollowhand.com/

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New Release Reviews

ANYX – Starlink

The music of ANYX feels like it comes from a forbidden, derelict terrain. The sonic landscape overwhelms the listener from the outset as a feverish electric guitar note repeats and circles us until the icy exterior cracks and a full blown ethereal gothic wonderment bursts forth over funereal pounding drums, mournful keys and a voice that sounds nothing short of Nico returning from the other side. And this is just the ‘Ladybirds Spine’ opener, the preview track revealed a couple of months ago that served this album release up as one to look out for. This is the sound of an industrial landscape painted autumn grey, showered with freezing rain and yet humming with a self-fuelling energy and vibrancy that we simply cannot turn away from. It is like the Velvet Underground harvested from a war torn eastern European regime, albeit one where the sixties art school nonchalance is replaced by a biting modern-day realism, ANYX is an entity rising from the rubble with a momentum that can wipe the desolate surrounds clean and in so doing, breathing fresh life and shining new light on the dirt and dust. This is an album with grime all over its tough exterior but possessing a whole solar system of beauty and wonder lurking within the grooves, you just have to get on board and the forthcoming audio rewards are plentiful.

ANYX is the solo project of Berlin‑based artist, musician and vocalist Anna Lucia Nissen, emerging after her period fronting the trio Anchoress. ‘Starlink’ marks her first release under this name, developed in close collaboration with former bandmates Alexander Rathbone and Tobias Textor. The album reflects a shift toward a more personal, self‑directed practice that reconnects with Nissen’s background in visual art: she builds songs from her voice and lyrics outward, adding sparse instrumentation only once the core structure is set. This method gives her work a sculptural, deliberately constructed quality, grown with minimal elements such as harp, keys, guitar and double bass. Alongside this formal approach, Nissen’s writing often engages with broader questions about how people move through contemporary life, including the tension between human‑made systems and the natural world. Her interest in adopting different perspectives (sometimes human, sometimes animal) also informs the thematic reach of the project.

All told though, it is undoubtedly Anna’s resonate tenor voice that gives this art rock project its bones, not only that but it also reveals a sensitive beating heart at the core of the work. You can hear this especially well on centrepiece song ‘Strange Times.’ The bells that toll at the songs opening, a backdrop to radiant guitar lines that possess the pull of a coiled spring, all provide a progressive palate for the vocal that ponders the uneasy relationship between humanity, mythology, technology and the natural world. Then slowly something changes, as the arrangement leaves space for air some light gets in and it suddenly feels like we are elevating, drifting away as the moment fades atop the warmest organ chord imaginable. Earlier the mesmerising ‘Window In Your Eyes’ also shows the organic syncopation that exists between Anna and the musical tools she works around, this time debuting a harp into her sound that, by her own admission, grows into a conversation between voice and instrument. Once again, the closing passage is pushing us into the realms of the glorious. This line between light and shade, tension and release is walked across all nine tracks. It is there in the whispered voice of ‘Spring Birds’ watching from the margins or the way church doors seem to fling open in ‘Marian’ to reveal the most dazzling and divine hymn. It all serves to make ‘Starlink’ the kind of stand up and get noticed debut that should break through with force, there is very little else remotely like this music around right now.

Danny Neill

Follow the link for more on ANYX and how to get yourself a copy of the album: https://anyx.bandcamp.com/

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