Hello world,

Here’s your latest FP Picks update .. loads of great new music as always inc captivating trx from Essential Logic, Squid, HotWax & 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

Esme Emerson - Together

Esme Emerson – Together

British-Chinese sibling duo Esme Emerson recently shared the mesmerizing new single Together, taken from their upcoming EP Applesauce which continues Esme and Emerson’s lyrical themes of kindness and the struggles that come with growth; wanting to be better for the people they love but easily succumbing to the comforting arms of melancholy. They state: “It’s about inviting someone to know you, to be in your space, to understand your sadness and share the weight with you. It’s about how the years pass and nothing changes, these habits and follies still remain, and so why not just be ‘down together’? It feels like the perfect solution. It’s cathartic to accept that maybe this is just how it is, and that’s okay. We’re all just human.” Beautiful vocals and great lyrics on this infectious track.

mary in the junkyard - this is my california

mary in the junkyard – this is my california

mary in the junkyard have dropped their captivating new single this is my california. Produced by Craig Silvey (Sam Fender, Wunderhorse), the song sees the band paint a soothing picture of their own paradise with soft vocals and deep bass lines. They state: “This Is My California is a nostalgic song about finding my own dreams. Seeing ‘California’ through films and tv always felt like a paradise or idea of success that didn’t really resonate with me. Also in the song there’s a lot of lyrics about “Something lifting you out” – growing up me and my friends would climb everything, roofs and trees, maybe to feel like we were escaping the place we were in or feel a kind of wonder of how small it was from high up.” Melodic, warm and emotive – what a beautiful tune.

Fiona-Lee - When I Wake Up I'm Sad

Fiona-Lee – When I Wake Up I’m Sad

Indie newcomer Fiona-Lee has shared a poignant new single and states: “When I Wake Up I’m Sad was written through a stream of consciousness when I was processing loads of stuff. Generally the song is about feeling sad and lonely, and I think it’s quite common to try to avoid that sadness by being with someone. I like to think of myself as very independent, but when I wrote this I was toying with the idea of how different my life would be if I was in a relationship. Would I be happier? Would I like my body more? Would I be less anxious? Probably not. I think it’s pretty normal to question these things, especially as a woman, because society teaches us from a young age that it’s important to find a partner.” Great songwriting, beautiful vocals and love how the track builds to a rousing crescendo.

She Drew The Gun - Washed In Blue

She Drew The Gun – Washed In Blue

She Drew The Gun recently shared the intimate and infectious single Washed In Blue, taken from the new album Howl and she states: “It’s about the time I left an Everton sock in my white wash haha. Straight from the 80’s. It’s about romance, the magic of the moon, falling in love under it, the idea there’s a set of cards with a pair of lovers’ names on, and asking was that really every card we played? So it’s also about heartbreak and coming home to yourself.” Coming from deep introspection and heartbreak, the album is She Drew the Gun’s most personal whilst still addressing the social and political injustices she sees out in the world. The songwriting is more defined as her love of poetry brings another dimension to her lyrics.

The Murder Capital - Can't Pretend To Know

The Murder Capital – Can’t Pretend To Know

Since the debut When I Have Fears, The Murder Capital established themselves as a staple of guitar music, never afraid to think outside the box or to go beyond the imaginary limits that the industry sometimes imposes. The band’s music has always been characterised by pounding drums, protesting vocals and relentless guitar riffs, and the energetic single Can’t Pretend to Know is no different. Even though, on one side, it follows the softer path of songs like Crying, it also encapsulates some traits of older, stronger tunes like Green & Blue. Vocalist James McGovern describes the track as “a stained glass hurricane inside your mind.” Crank it up loud for this banging anthem which explodes into a magnificent crescendo.

Warmduscher - Top Shelf

Warmduscher – Top Shelf

Post-punk outfit Warmduscher have dropped their new single Top Shelf, taken from the album Too Cold To Hold, and it narrates a young woman’s journey through the urban landscape. Vocalist Clams Jr. states: “Like a rare wildebeest in the throes of seasonal heat, she has just split from her partner and seeks solace in the embrace of a new mate. Yet, the primal pull of her former lover proves too potent to resist. Drawn back into his familiar grasp, they engage in a charged and illicit encounter, their movements intense, magnetic—every look and touch part of an age-old courtship ritual, teetering on the edge of instinct and temptation. The beat of the track underscores this delicate, wild dance, a soundtrack to the raw pull of desire at its most unbridled”. Absorbing songwriting and intriguing guitar and synth riffs from the distinctive Warmduscher.

Clever Bunny - Rolling In The Hay

Clever Bunny – Rolling In The Hay

Transfixed by its hypnotic bass-line, Clever Bunny’s Rolling In The Hay from their Each Time EP is an interesting jamboree of vocalised personas that weave themselves in and out as the track progresses. “Time will always catch us in the end” is the lyric that leads the way & gives the track some sort of gravitas but there are many parts to this whole. The over simplistic drum programming works a treat (thanks to the brilliance of the bass playing imo) and is a perfect backdrop for the intriguing vocals. With tinges of the Normal’s Warm Leatherette in its DNA I can imagine this track cropping up a David Cronenberg film for instance but for now I’ll just say it’s overall a very atmospheric & dystopian cut that wins me over big time. Wow… that bunny’s clever!

Squid - Crispy Skin

Squid – Crispy Skin

Squid have shared the terrifying, eerie new single Crispy Skin, taken from their upcoming album Cowards which is set to see the band explore folk, psychedelia, jazz and electronica. Frontman Ollie Judge explains: “Crispy Skin was lyrically inspired by a dystopian novel I read where cannibalism becomes the societal norm and humans are manufactured and sold in supermarkets. I think when most people read books like these they picture themselves as the sort of person that would take the moral high ground within these narratives. The track was written about how the reality of having a moral-compass in these stories of desperation and horror would be extremely difficult.” The album explores nine stories where protagonists reckon with cults, charisma and apathy – with the band exploring the divide between right and wrong. Wow – gripping stuff and can’t wait to hear the whole album!

Sharon Van Etten - Southern Life (What It Must Be Like)

Sharon Van Etten – Southern Life (What It Must Be Like)

Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory have shared new single Southern Life (What It Must Be Like) from the upcoming self-titled album, and say the song is about: “trying to understand people with very different perspectives and backgrounds, while also trying to be compassionate towards our past, present, and future selves.” It’s a heavy, churning synth-rock jam, and it came together during tour rehearsal, giving Van Etten a chance to really throw some heavy echo on her voice. What a mesmerizing rhythmically charged vocal performance on this absolute belter. Crank it up loud!

Essential Logic - Mother Earth (Youth Remix)

Essential Logic – Mother Earth (Youth Remix)

Punk’s archetypal saxophonist Lora Logic has been busy of late reimagining her band from back in the day Essential Logic to great effect. Alongside a deluxe reissue of the band’s debut LP comes a colourful & varied remix album of Lora’s recent long player Land of Kali. From it, this gem of a version by Killing Joke main man Youth is certainly stealing the show on the FP Towers office sound system. A decidedly retro dub feel à la Lee Scratch Perry stylee is cloaked in a densely layered & dreamy saxophone arrangement, over which sparse vocals are lightly sprinkled. The album itself features remixes from Adamski, David Aude & others covering various club genres but this assuredly tropical vibe is the one that caught the attention of indie guru John Kennedy who recently featured it on his X-Posure Daily podcast.

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