Hello world,
We have this week’s FP Picks update and it’s full of banging new music as always inc tracks from Jodie Langford, Father John Misty, Freak Slug & 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
She’s In Parties – The Times
Essex-based indie rock outfit She’s In Parties have shared new single The Times, taken from their forthcoming EP Puppet Show – a reflective track that explores lead vocalist Katie Dillon’s frustrations with the social media-driven music industry of today. “This song is about my internal battle with the social media era,” says Katie. “I had to rethink my expectations of being a musician and get with ‘the times’—if I don’t adapt, someone else will.” The upcoming EP is the band’s most politically driven body music yet. “It’s a timeless topic, people have always and will always sing about injustices, often though, people want an escape and sing about things like love because sometimes that’s easier than telling the truth.”
Freak Slug – Spells
Freak Slug has dropped powerful new single Spells from debut album I Blow Out Big Candles, a track which epitomises her fearless attitude. This strange prowl of a song pairs a slinking bass line with a deliciously twitchy electronic motif and was inspired by Gorillaz, written “for the lovers and the I don’t knowers”. Xenya Genovese states: “Spells is a track I made with Alex from Jadu Heart and it’s the first song we ever made together on the album. We worked fast together in a hyper environment where the sun was shining through the windows and I was stealing his cigarettes smoking in the garden in excitement from making the song.” Hugely influenced by ‘90s cult heroes including Ride, Mazzy Star and Stephen Malkmus, Freak Slug is all about hitting a mood. Everything that fuels her creative output is raw, authentic, sometimes weird, but always totally true self-expression.
Wax-Tree-Cast – Straitjacket
Halifax’s indie duo Wax-Tree-Cast recently shared infectious ’90s-tinged indie banger Straitjacket, taken from their recently released debut EP Entanglements To Affairs Part 1. Tackling themes of fascination and infatuation, Straightjacket is one of those tracks perfect for those who like their guitars front and centre with soaring vocals. The duo have been busy honing their craft and created a seductive alternative rock sound with stunning vocals and delicious guitar licks fuelling their ever infectious, rocking soundscapes. They’re the cool kids on the block, not just in sound but also in attitude and fashion. Wax-Tree-Cast have rightfully so supported some of the rock greats such as Johnny Marr and Kula Shaker, and shared a line-up with The Libertines.
Kim Deal – Crystal Breath
Indie goddess and Breeders/Pixies icon Kim Deal has shared quirky new single Crystal Breath, taken from the upcoming solo album Nobody Loves You More. In the accompanying Alex Da Corte-directed video, Kim appears before a fuzzy, white noise backdrop that mirrors the propulsive rhythms and the buzzy riffs of the new track. “Beat by beat I expel your point of view,” she sings. “The heels of my imagination digging into you I start a new life/ Beat’s gonna lead us/Live on/Beat’s gonna lead us Live on.” The album was written and produced by herself alongside the late and great Steve Albini who engineered the LP at Electrical Audio – his studio in Chicago.
Jodie Langford – I Don’t Know
Outspoken punk/spoken word artist Jodie Langford is back with another belter in new single I Don’t Know, featuring electronic beats by ‘king of electro’ producer Endoflevelbaddie – a track that encapsulates feelings of anxiety & uncertainty felt recently. Jodie states: “Written during a period when opportunities started flooding in, I was overwhelmed by the idea of being exposed to bigger audiences, as well as having to mix my passion with professionalism.” With a BBC 6Music Roundtable appearance, a performance at Reading & Leeds Festival on the BBC Introducing stage and an upcoming performance at The Remedy with Radio X‘s John Kennedy, you can understand! With Jodie’s unique voice comes an incredible talent to turn her personal experiences into relatable, dry & funny lyrical content – don’t miss out on this one!
Friedberg – Hardcore Workout Queen
Friedberg have dropped the title single from their forthcoming debut album Hardcore Workout Queen, alongside its brilliant music video, directed by the Nüesch Sisters. With soaring pop sensibilities and catchy melody shifts, the single serves as another exciting introduction to the LP. Written by Anna of Friedberg when she was in “a wake and bake mood”, she says: “It’s about being the Champion of the slobs, whilst cheering for the Hardcore Workout Queens, who run past your bedroom window early morning, when you’re just tucking into your second breakfast. It’s kind of you do you and I do me and maybe one day we’ll switch. It’s the perfect song to listen to whether you’ve got a protein shake or a beer in your hand, whether you’ve got a popcorn machine or a rowing machine in your home, whether you’re a wake and baker or a record breaker.” Love the sentiment and the witty lyrics on this infectious track!
Nilüfer Yanya – Method Actor
Nilüfer Yanya has shared new single Method Actor from recently released album My Method Actor. It’s a confident album that has the feel of everyday luxury, a collection of songs so assured that they feel like they always existed, and Yanya simply plucked them out of the air to give to you. Some of that newfound ease may be thanks to songwriter Wilma Archer, once an electronic music producer known as Slime who co-wrote My Method Actor. Yanya has the ability to fluidly navigate genres such as alternative rock, jazz, soul, and electronic, with Archer’s production enhancing Yanya’s intricate songwriting to create a soundscape that feels both expansive and intimate.
Father John Misty – Screamland
Singer-songwriter Father John Misty has dropped formidable new single Screamland, taken from the upcoming album Mahashmashana and it’s a sprawling, expansive track which clocks in at just shy of seven minutes. “Stabbing at the ashtray like it might give up the truth,” he sings in Screamland. “Like it might finally confess who else you’re nearly faithful to.” The artist (aka Joshua Tillman) then delivers a powerful refrain over a grand instrumental: “Stay young/ Get numb/ Keep dreaming/ Screamland.” The single is accompanied by a vertically-shot music video, directed and edited by Estefania Kröl. Great songwriting & vocals on this epic belter from Father John Misty as always – no problem with the length here!
Ciel Rouge – Take Me Home
This beautifully serene track from Ciel Rouge (translating as Red Sky) was a discovery on Dean Jackson’s BBC Introducing show & what a gem it is! With touches of Bon Iver in the arrangement, the mellifluous vocals are so dreamy it’s hard to not fall under its spell. Apparently a duo who met in Tel Aviv at music college (but I don’t know much beyond that), the track is a debut release that encapsulates the feeling of being far away from home while wanting to be back there. With its achingly simplistic melody, the blend of male & female voices further entices the listen in and reminds me of ViVii’s equally tranquil track Wider Sun from a few years back – more please…
Our Girl – What You Told Me
Our Girl have dropped emotive new single What You Told Me, taken from their upcoming album The Good Kind. Vocalist /guitarist Soph Nathan says: “This song is about seeing illness affect someone I love. It’s about the heartbreak in that, but also the comfort and joy in the moments of respite. It always makes life a bit better to share in it with someone else, even if it feels like the odds are against you sometimes.” Such private, often lonely struggles with chronic health issues are a theme of The Good Kind, as well as the moments of solace within them; What You Told Me evokes the relief of feeling that weight lift, however briefly. It’s an album that explores themes of sexuality, relationships, community, and illness and it’s their most confident, moving and fully realised work yet.
You can check out the whole playlist here. Please follow the socials below for our weekly updates and share about the place!
