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The New Smu: August 2021
The New Smu: The best new artists in my inbox this month Discovering great new artists is one of the most exciting things about music for me. If you don’t champion the stuff you love, you can’t complain when you only hear the shit you hate on the radio. There is an endless and thrilling […]
The post The New Smu: August 2021 appeared first on Louder Than War.
The New Smu: The best new artists in my inbox this month
The New Smu: The best new artists in my inbox this monthDiscovering great new artists is one of the most exciting things about music for me. If you don’t champion the stuff you love, you can’t complain when you only hear the shit you hate on the radio.
There is an endless and thrilling sea of music out there, but it can be bewilderingly vast and not without peril. You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you meet an artist formerly known as Prince. In this monthly review, I will be highlighting some of the most interesting releases I have heard by new and unsigned artists, wading through the audio slush pile so you don’t have to.
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Ghosts of Torrez – The Return
A gorgeous, genre bending, cinematic sounding instrumental that mixes celtic folk and Beatlesy psychedelia with dark, noirish drama and unexpectedly catchy, euphoric peaks.
Follow Ghosts of Torrez on Instagram
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Natalie Marie Claro – When Alcohol Tastes Like Juice
Hip-hop, pop and a fantastically huge, gothic, hair metal mid section give this is a song a Kanye-esque drama and eclecticism of style, scattered with many enjoyable twists and turns.
Follow Natalie Marie Claro on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
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Assemble – Blue Monday
I know you think you don’t need another cover of Blue Monday in your life, but you do. Proving that chart friendly acapella didn’t die with The Flying Pickets, Assemble give an old favourite a surprisingly fresh work over.
Follow Assemble on Facebook and Twitter
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Collars – Over You
Shouty choruses and melodic verses combine to create pop-punk with a lazy, retro, rock edge.
Follow Collars on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Spotify
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Emily Henry – I see The Light
Lush and melancholic with an 80s MOR sheen and a chorus that wraps you up like a warm blanket.
Follow Emily Henry on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
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Peter Wise – Neutral
Laid back hip-pop that will sweep you along happily in it’s funky beat and soulful, 70s gospel chorus.
Follow Peter Wise on Facebook and Instagram
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Paisley Parc – This Way
Gritty grunge delivered with a country drawl and an unashamedly earnest heart.
Follow Paisley Parc on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Spotify and YouTube
Sarko Montaug – Possessive
Throwback 80s electro that sounds like a glorious mind meld of the Pet Shop Boys and Kim Wilde.
Follow Sarko Montaug on Intsagram
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HALAN – Kittoon
An ultra-cute, electro-pop love letter to a kitty-cat with a ‘big booty, fluffy tummy and racoon tail’.
Follow HALAN on Instagram and Facebook
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Sam Pine – Why Can’t U
Hazy, funk-rock with bewitching guitars and a sexy, psychedelic, 3am feel.
Follow Sam Pine on Instagram
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Jimkata – Bonfires
Soulful country vocals and sweet backing harmonies wrapped around effervescent synth-pop with a fabulously Big Pop Chorus.
Follow Jimkata on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram
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Single of the Month
Heavy Broken Machines – Disruption
Clanky, industrial sounding noise-pop that bashes you over the head with a musical spanner whilst sneaking devilishly good pop hooks in through the back door.
Follow Heavy Broken Machines on Facebook , Instagram and YouTube
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Video of the Month
45ACIDBABIES – Don’t 4get To Smile
The effortlessly stylish, edgy chic of the visuals perfectly compliment this track giving it a big budget but artsy, fashion feel.
The track itself is fabulous and it would have been an easy contender for my single of the month if the video hadn’t also been so good. Driven by a big, stompy, glam beat in the vein of Marilyn Manson’s Beautiful People or Kanye’s Black Slave, Don’t 4get To Smile has a pounding core which contrasts perfectly with the sweet, intimate lead vocals, sharply ironic lyrics and archly kitsch backing harmonies to create a fun but feisty three minutes that deserves to be chart-massive. This is an irresistible powerball of witty, razor sharp pop.
Follow 45ACIDBABIE on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter
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If you would like to submit your music to be included in a future edition of The New Smu please email me at susan@thesmureviews.co.uk and include a link to your track. I don’t care if you have 25k followers or only your dog has heard it as long as it’s interesting, beautiful, weird or wonderful.
A playlist of songs featured here and in previous months can be found on Spotify and YouTube.
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All words by Susan Sloan. More of her work for Louder Than War is available on her archive. Find her on Instagram as @thesmureviews and view Susan’s website here.
Source: louderthanwar.com
