FUTUREPROOF PICKS 10-04-25

Hello world,

Here’s your latest FP Picks update .. loads of great new music as always inc trx from Blossoms, Peter Doherty, Shale & 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

Peter Doherty – The Day The Baron Died

The Libertines’ Peter Doherty has shared his highly infectious new single The Day The Baron Died, taken from upcoming album Felt Better Alive. Doherty states: “I always thought it was a weird jazz number, with a silly, catchy little melody. It’s a kind of homage to [John Lennon’s] Instant Karma, not the lyrics but the weird off time drum fill in the chorus. And I’m not gonna explain what the song’s about because I’m working on a follow up!” A gothic video is now online, filmed at Peter’s home and on a cliffside in Etretat (Normandy). Directed by Thad & Numa, it features Peter Doherty (The Baron) and Katia deVidas Doherty (The Lady). Not only that but The Smiths‘ Mike Joyce will be joining his solo band for select dates on his 2025 UK and European tour! Fantastic storytelling on this banger!

Lucy Dacus – Best Guess

Lucy Dacus has shared the captivating new single Best Guess, taken from her upcoming album Forever is a Feeling, alongside a self-directed music video. The video features a cast including Cara Delevingne, Towa Bird, Naomi Mcpherson, and ER Fightmaster, reimagining a 90s CK advertisement. The cast was assembled following an open social media casting call for “hot mascs” conducted by Dacus last month. Lyrically, the track seems to tell the story of two lovers who are enthusiastic yet terrified to take a chance on each other in a new relationship, which as a testament to Dacus’ writing rings truthful and realistic. It’s raw, passionate and beautifully poetic – with melancholy lyrics and heartfelt harmonies.

Night Swimming – In The Real World

Night Swimming have shared their ethereal new single In The Real World, capturing the ache of youthful detachment and longing. Vocalist Meg Jones comments on the song’s inspiration: “In The Real World is written from the perspective of a young person who feels physically and emotionally isolated. It expresses a longing to be part of something bigger, but not feeling sure what that might look like.” With shimmering layers and echoes of Melody’s Echo Chamber and Cocteau Twins, it’s a beautifully produced track and we’re loving this sensual slice of dream-pop.

The K’s – Gravestone

Merseyside’s alt-rock outfit The K’s have dropped new single Gravestone, taken from the upcoming album Pretty On The Internet with thought-provoking lyrics and head banging drums that make it an instant anthem. Frontman Jamie Boyle has impressively introduced new songwriting techniques and has delved into telling stories from his own struggles, similar to the first album single Breakdown In My Bedroom: “The song is an honest reflection of a mental battle to try and believe that I have earned the right to exist, a privilege that gets taken away from many more deserving people than me, and that my life will leave a mark that lasts beyond me. It’s an exploration of everything that whizzes around my head from ambition to self-worth and the search for validation.”

Girl Group – Yay! Saturday

Girl Group have shared new single Yay! Saturday and they’re dragging the audience along for a messy, joyful girls’ night out! The group dynamic is a unique one: all the girls are singers, harmonising for the most part but also taking turns to sing lead. They all write, too, Lil tells The Line Of Best Fit. “Sometimes the writing process will start off with a reference to a song someone loves, or it’ll start with a topic to write about.” Maria then acts as the band’s in-house producer. “We tend to dictate what kind of sounds we would like to Maria, who then taps away at the laptop and somehow gets it spot on. If we’re in a proper studio and not at home, we’ll all be up and messing about with synths and percussion and guitars, then record bits when we think we’ve found something good amongst the cacophony.” An upbeat banger about that exciting time in life where you enjoy carefree, indulgent nights out – great stuff!

Stereolab – Aerial Troubles

Stereolab have shared euphoric new single Aerial Troubles and announced an accompanying album Instant Holograms on Metal Film, marking their first new music in 15 years. A bit of space-age yacht rock here, a bit of piqued choral harmonies there, the new single doesn’t waste any time settling into the Stereolab-shaped groove in your brain. The art-rock group’s founding members Laetitia Sadier and Tim Gane reunited in 2019 alongside former bandmates Andy Ramsay and Joseph Watson after an initial run from 1990 to 2009. Since then, the five-piece have toured the world and reissued their albums on vinyl as expanded editions that have included rare demos and extensive liner notes.

Midnight Rodeo – Dixon

Nottingham psych-pop outfit Midnight Rodeo have dropped new single Dixon, taken from their debut album Chaos Era. The band state: “Dixon is something of a character study, in the vein of something like Arnold Layne or a track off Murder Ballads. Unlike either example we don’t get into a lot of specifics with Dixon, he’s just this kind of archetypal has-been who’s always trying to outrun commitment and ultimately finds late in life that all his freedom has left him lonely and full of regret. He used to be a bit of a face but the world has turned and left him behind – close your eyes and sprint into a bar, you’ll run through half a dozen of them before you hit the back wall.” The group’s unique sound combines a powerful groove laden rhythm section, alongside jangly guitars, theremin-esque synths and booming organs, all held together with the ethereal, honeyed vocals of enigmatic frontwoman Maddy Chamberlain.

hard life – othello

Othello, BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record on April 8th, was written and recorded by frontman Murray Matravers in Japan after a period of change for the band formerly known as Easy Life. Matravers booked a spontaneous trip to the East Asian country last year after feeling dissatisfied with the music he was making and spent time producing new material there before returning to Leicester to reconnect with his bandmates in December. The resulting track is a part-cinematic, part-mellow hip-hop-infused track produced and co-composed by producer and songwriter Taka Perry, who Matravers met while travelling. Matravers described it as “a pun on the board game,” and said that it “also draws from the play’s themes of trust, identity, and the destructive forces of unchecked emotions like jealousy.”

Shale – Work Dog

The final, and highly infectious, single from their self-titled debut EP, Work Dog is Shale‘s anthem for the overworked. Here, Samuel Hale’s lyrics seep with wittiness, but are anchored by a frustration that’s only born of complete burnout and exhaustion. All that being said, the track is the opposite of tiring, as Austin Critcher’s sprightly lead guitar marries perfectly with Elliot Gray’s cowbell solo, making the instrumental effortlessly enjoyable. It’s the chorus that shines the brightest though, performed with an aggressive punch that will knock the melody around your head for weeks to come. We’re loving the sharp-witted lyrics on this upbeat earworm.