Hello world,
Here’s your latest FP Picks update – we’ve got killer cuts from Bob Vylan, Nell Mescal, Flat Party & lots more. If you like what you hear please follow and share this playlist, it helps us keep doing our thing by getting the algorithms on our side. Also please support the artists featured in any way you can!
Until next week
Helen (Futureproof) x
Elbow – Lovers’ Leap
We saw Manchester band Elbow perform their new single Lovers’ Leap (from upcoming album AUDIO VERTIGO) live on The Graham Norton Show last week and wow – they were great! Vocalist Guy Garvey said of the single: “Lovers’ Leap began with a leap of faith from Pete Turner and Alex Reeves, Elbow’s rhythm section. And then I came up with that sort of spitty distorted horn line for a change – ended up me and Craig playing the melodica. Two big men playing a small instrument made the other guys laugh! … And then out came this tale of star-crossed lovers and spontaneous graffiti and gift-shop retail.” Can’t wait for their “groove based album which tackles some pretty full-on subjects.”
Gruff Rhys – Bad Friend
Gruff Rhys has shared his beautiful, catchy new single Bad Friend with its heart-warming lyrics, from recently released solo album Sadness Sets Me Free. He states: “People always refer to ‘good friends’. This song is toying with the idea of the ‘bad friend’. Maybe a bad friend is still better than not being a friend at all. Some friends function better than others, but they’re not enemies. Within the structures of 21st-century life, the pressure on people’s time—and what we are expected to be able to perform in daily life—is so kaleidoscopic. If I could shorten the sentiments to one line, it would be ‘all in good time.’ It’s me reaching out to friends through song because maybe I haven’t had the chance to go to their house or talk to them on the phone.” We can all relate to this! Absolutely love it!
Nell Mescal – Killing Time
Irish singer-songwriter Nell Mescal has dropped banging new single Killing Time from her upcoming debut EP Can I Miss It For A Minute? She states: “It’s a song written about looking back on a relationship and wondering if the other person was just as invested or just killing time … Can I Miss it for a Minute? is a concept EP written about growing up, moving away, friendship breakups and trying to navigate between current emotions and negative memories”. What an infectious, energetic belter – loving this one!
Terra Twin – Head Leaking
Alt-rock band Terra Twin have just dropped their EP Head Leaking and here’s the title track from last year. Head honcho Maxim Baldry says of it: “As I’m writing this, it’s full of angst and rage, but the other day, it was enticing and cathartic. It’s about your mind getting to a point of overflow and needing a release. I always think of a time when you couldn’t quite express yourself as a kid, and you bottled it up, and one day, it all came crashing out. This song reflects the melting pot of feelings you go through in a day.” Of the album, he says “Head Leaking is a collection of songs about getting lost. The songs are an attempt to form a genuine connection with overstimulation. How our minds can begin to race outside of our control and how sometimes we need to let it all just play out. Usually there’s peace on the other side of it.”
The Snuts – Millionaires
Here’s the infectious new single Millionaires from The Snuts‘ upcoming album Millennials which takes aim at society’s obsession with building a false sense of happiness. “It feels like society has become obsessed with focussing on the path towards monetary and materialistic gain and success instead of focussing on the here and the now and the value of true love and friendship – it’s a cliche, but those are the things in life that are priceless,” lead singer Jack Cochrane said. With a full UK and worldwide headline tour to be announced soon, the band will take to the States for a full US tour in March, before topping the bill at Liverpool’s Sound City Festival in May. There will also be two very special album launch shows at the Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom on February 27th and 28th.
The Reytons – Adrenaline
Opening track off their intriguingly named album Ballad of a Bystander – Adrenaline does exactly what it says on the tin! Tension filled atmospherics explode into heavy riffing that literally takes your head off, before dipping back down into an intimate arrangement that makes you listen with much intent. The meteoric rise of these fiercely independent Rotherham boys to the number one album slot in recent years is all that’s needed to show music’s in a healthy place in 2024 if you look in the right places. Packed with energy yet intricate in its production, this is an excellent first step into The Reytons’ world for those of us who like an intense listening experience with no let-up.
CHROMA – Girls Talk
CHROMA’s album Ask For Angela is named after the campaign which is a “not for profit scheme that aims to ensure that anyone who is feeling vulnerable or unsafe is able to get the support they need.” We bring you belter of a track Girls Talk, with its heavy-rock-with-a-disco-beat. This trio know how to utilise their instruments to build colossal music. They also wanted this album to be a safe space and reflect the power of inclusion not division. Ask For Angela covers everything from sexual harassment, mental health, ‘TERF wars’, social anxiety, and how proud they are to have grown up in the Welsh valleys despite the current poverty that’s challenging its communities. Wow – turn the volume up for this banging anthem.
Flat Party – Aching For Living
London’s indie newcomers Flat Party have burst onto the scene with their self-titled debut EP, a masterful mix of jagged art-rock with melodic sixties pop. It’s a testament to their many influences, ranging from The Beatles to MGMT. Vocalist Jack says of Aching For Living: “The inspiration for the title came after I had spoken to my Dad about feeling very stagnant and he said it was because I was “existing, not living” … I was trying to read James Joyce at the time (hence the reference) and was really just quite depressed which must have informed the bleak humour of the lyrics. Musically, I was listening to a lot of Pavement at the time, so I was trying to replicate that style of guitar music. The original demo was pretty rudimentary, it didn’t really become anything of worth until we worked on it in the studio.” Great songwriting on this highly infectious belter – wish it was longer!
Pj Panda – Excellence
Accessible hip-hop is the name of the game on this release. Stumbled upon when listening to Steve Lamacq’s return to 6Music, didn’t at first realise this was a family friendly record in a genre known for it’s controversy but I have no problem with that & in fact welcome the inclusive nature of its message. Positivity in the user-friendly lyrics are refreshing and help it reach a different audience than most hip-hop these days but then all the kids wanna be cool when it comes down to it and the beat on this one, with it’s charmingly simple piano strike, definitely hits the spot for me… enjoy!
Bob Vylan – Hunger Games
Punk duo Bob Vylan have dropped raging new single Hunger Games taken from the upcoming album Humble As The Sun, and it’s described by vocalist Bobby as a “rallying cry for everybody that’s sick of suffering due this economic crisis that we’re living with”. The frontman continues: “‘Cost of living crisis’ makes it sound neat and tidy but it’s a direct result of years of austerity, politicians that prioritise their selfish desires before the good of the country and a capitalist system that is allowing landlords, and big companies to operate unchecked.” The band assured fans that the upcoming release will continue with much of the rage and urgency that they have come to be known and loved for, yet see them evolve as songwriters and become “stronger and wiser” with their experience.
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