Hello world,
We’re off to Brighton for The Great Escape Festival but we’ve still managed to sort this week’s Futureproof Picks – banging new music as always inc tracks from CMAT, Hamish Hawk, Fast Money Music & 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
Anderson Nightmare – I Don’t Know Anything
Richly layered guitars catch your attention first on this indie-pop banger before a soulful melodic vocal takes centre stage. With a chorus lyric that seems to be about insecurities encountered in close relationships, the resulting production is a very full sound that screams ‘radio’ (we first heard it on Huw Stephens’ BBC 6Music show). As for Anderson Nightmare, there’s little info on them apart from an image on the artwork that gives off a vibe of ‘indie-lounge’. A bit of a ‘Nightmare’ (sorry for the pun ed!) but the record’s out on Belfast based independent label No Dancing, so take from that what you will. Overall a great record that builds to a crescendo that sparkles brightly – what’s not to love!
Fast Money Music – Hot Melt Glue
Fast Money Music have dropped energetic new single Hot Melt Glue from their upcoming EP Rouge and it explores temptation, self-control and the search for spiritual adhesive. With an arpeggiated synth bass line and pounding rhythm that serves as its driving heartbeat and only anchor, the song quickly devolves into a chaotic mess of jagged guitars, bright synths and erratic saxophone (played by John Waugh of The 1975), grasping at straws in a last ditch attempt to regain control of itself. “This thing has been a really exciting discovery for me… it’s certainly post-punk, hints at new wave, and is really good at painting a picture, but causing the chaos in equal measures.” – Jack Saunders, Future Artists on BBC Radio 1. We agree with Jack – what a banger!
Dehd – Dog Days
Chicago trio Dehd have shared dynamic new single Dog Days from their recently released album Poetry. The band’s Jason Balla stated: “This song is a celebration for the messiness of life and the search for companionship. It’s about opening your heart and letting it be pummeled. It’s taking risks, receiving rejection, dealing out disappointment. It’s about being brave and sometimes making bad decisions. It seems like everyone I know is out here grasping at love and often, fucking it up, breaking hearts and having ours broken along the way. It’s just the rules of the game and I wanted to make an anthem for people on the same rollercoaster, just trying their best, losing fast and loving hard.” A punchy, infectious anthem – lovin’ this one!
Cooper T – Why You Running?
Manchester’s finest follow up last year’s breakthrough track Original with another fresh cut on Ross Allen’s Foundation Music Imprint. The more uptempo Why You Running? is about dealers, their greed and the resulting societal breakdown that comes with such a toxic mix. Managing to step beyond the Sleaford Mods vibe with a much more fluid delivery, these balaclava cloaked misfits have hit the ground running yet again. Having experienced their live show at Brixton’s Hootenanny, I can tell you their live set’s packed with energy and holds your attention throughout – album on the way guys? Gowwaaannnn we can take it👍😎
Baba Ali – Heart Racer
London-based dance punk/post disco duo Baba Ali return with pumping new single Heart Racer. “In the early demo, we actually used the road sounds from outside as samples and eventually these sounds transformed into guitar and synth riffs,” Baba Doherty stated. “Heart Racer then emerged as this demented speed demon character at the driving wheel, flying forward at breakneck pace and indulging in a seductive mix of raw freedom and danger.” Like a hit of adrenaline, Heart Racer slams on the accelerator and takes you on a wild thrill ride full of seduction and danger. The track’s propulsive electro drumbeat and throbbing bass combine with Nik Balchin’s gnarly guitars and set the scene for frontman Baba Doherty’s vocals, delivered in a rockabilly twang that’s been dragged through gravel. Hold on – it’s a thrilling ride!!
CMAT – Aw, Shoot!
A firm Futureproof fave, CMAT has dropped the highly infectious country-inspired single Aw, Shoot! CMAT stated: “So there I was, in Paris, France, in a rented flat. I was trying to write songs but it wasn’t going very well at all. I was drinking three bottles of wine a day (Cote du Provence) and I didn’t have any human contact for maybe two weeks, and I was going a little bit crazy, voices in my head etc etc. One evening there was a knock at the door. Who could it be?! I opened the door to find an American girl, who said the following: “Oh! You’re not my friend!” and then turned and walked away. Turns out she got the floors mixed-up … This was actually a seminal plot point in my favourite tv show Emily in Paris. And then? Well, I properly lost my mind. But on the bright side, I got a banger out of it!” She sure did! Check out tour dates cos CMAT puts on an amazing live performance!
Hamish Hawk – Big Cat Tattoos
Another Futureproof fave is the distinctive Hamish Hawk and he’s back with more engaging, witty lyrics on new single Big Cat Tattoos, taken from upcoming album A Firmer Hand. He states: “I tried to avoid cleaning things up at the time of writing, I cornered myself into a warts-and-all approach. But don’t be fooled, Big Cat Tattoos is all talk. Our hero gets a few barbs in nice and early, and lands a couple of clumsy jabs, but in the end we’re witness to nothing more than a petty diatribe. It’s embittered, unbecoming, and wholly embarrassing. It does have a certain get-up-and-go, though.” The track is playful, propulsive and searingly honest and if you haven’t experienced Hamish Hawk live then we suggest you check out dates!
Nadine Shah – Even Light
Nadine Shah has dropped new single Even Light, in which she sounds like someone squinting before a slide show of images from her own fever dreams, unable to slow down the velocity of what confronts her. She explains, “Even Light is talking to your inner child. I’ve had to do a lot of that.” The album Filthy Underneath chronicles a period of unprecedented turbulence in Nadine Shah’s life, and yet, the experience of listening to it is oddly life-affirming – a parade of ghosts spanning the entirety of Nadine’s thirty-seven years, moving with balletic beauty to the music that Nadine and long-time co-writer and producer Ben Hillier have created around them, with renewed emphasis on placing melody and movement front and center. Extraordinary vocals & another amazing offering from this distinctive indie artist.
Thom Yorke – Knife Edge
Thom Yorke has shared sensitive new single Knife Edge, taken from his soundtrack for the film Confidenza. It’s an eerie but warm piano ballad featuring Yorke’s inimitable voice and the music video for the single takes a sequence from the film starring Elio Germano and Federica Rosellini re-adapted by editor Ael Dallier Vega. The soundtrack’s introductory track, The Big City, was previewed by Yorke in February as part of his playlist for The Smile for BBC 6 Music Artist in Residence series. Knife Edge is an utterly beautiful, pensive track – I dare you to not be moved by it!
Adrianne Lenker – Free Treasure
The Big Thief singer-songwriter Adrianne Lenker sings to an understanding, patient love on recently shared single Free Treasure from her album Bright Future and she said “I hope we all can know love like this one.” Delicate and intimate, the stunning new song is made sturdy by dual vocals and guitars paired shoulder-to-shoulder. With Mat Davidson on vocal and guitar harmonies, Free Treasure takes us home, where we find the best cooking, a warm fire, understanding, and “love without measure.” It is a road-worn traveller’s paradise, full of adventure and whimsy, free to whomever lays it all down. “Just when I thought I couldn’t feel more, I feel a little more.” A stunning, heartfelt track – we love it!
You can check out the whole playlist here. Please follow the socials below for our weekly updates and share about the place!
