February 2024 - best new alternative, punk and indie tracks

Sleeping With Ghosts

Nerves are an experimental punk band from the West of Ireland. Having spent 2 years refining their sound since their last release, the band are now ready to present their debut EP Glórach.

Blending punk, hardcore, industrial and samples, the band have pulled off a thrilling mix of melody and noise. It is underpinned by lyrics dealing with loss and mental health in the rural west and a visual aesthetic seeped in its inherent Irish sensibilities. Death, degradation and emigration in Ireland are themes that are bound to the DNA of Glórach.

Recorded and co-produced by Daniel Fox of Gilla Band, this body of work captures much of the sonic devastation that the band are capable of dishing out live.

04 Thirteen

The Real Thing

This song is the debut single from 4amclub, it is about the hated and unwanted attention that a girl gets because of how she looks.

Always on her mind

Anodyne

Anodyne (Radio Edit)

Bristol-based post-garage/punk trio HOLY POPES are pleased to return with their new single ‘Apples’ which is set for release on 8th February 2024.

The single is the first new material from the band since the release of their debut self-titled album HOLY POPES in 2023, via Hull-based independent label Man Demolish Records (NEWMEDS).

One of those serendipitous songs that just came naturally to guitarist Poppi (ex-The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster), ‘Apples’ was finished in a few hours with the lyrics coming together all in one go, spewing forth with an anger that can be felt in both the delivery of the song, and the caustic, lurching barrage of storm-tossed riffs that swell and crash throughout the tense new offering.

Commenting on the track, which addresses systemic corruption within the police force, Poppi says: “The arrest, and later conviction, of a serving police officer within the MET for two decades of horrific crimes against women summarised a rage that had been building for years. Combined with the murder of Sarah Everard—again, by a serving police officer—as well as the Casey review documenting institutional racism and misogyny within the MET police, there was no way this song could not spill out of us.”

“Be it the travellers at the Battle of the Beanfield, the pickets of the miners’ strikes, or the horrific brutality at the Kill the Bill protests in Bristol and around the country—not to mention the continued use of stop and search practices in poor communities, mostly affecting young black men—there’s a history in the United Kingdom of police violence against those of a less privileged class that has gone on for too long. These aggressive practices, and specific officers, who are guilty of the murders of Blair Peach, Ian Tomlinson, Chris Kaba, and Sarah Everard to name just a few, are not found solely on the violent streets of America, but here in the UK.”

“Too often we refer to these incidents as ‘rotten apples’...but with the evidence of corruption, silencing and solidarity within the ranks of the police, it’s not one rotten apple; the whole barrel is rotten. We do not consent to violence, racism or misogyny. If this is policing by consent, what is the option other than to oppose it?”

HOLY POPES’ self-titled debut album was released in January 2023, preceded by visceral singles ‘DBT, ‘Pencils’ and ‘Jerry’ which showcased the band’s twitching, erratic take on post-garage punk for the first time, and picked up a swathe of support from underground alternative tastemakers at Distorted Sound, Noizze, God Is In The TV Zine, The Soundboard, The Punk Site, Punktuation Mag, At The Barrier, Joyzine and more.
 
Outside of his duties with the band, Poppi also works with men to provide a space to discuss their place within a patriarchal system that inhibits their own emotional growth, whilst contributing to the mass violence we see against women on an hourly basis. As such, thematically, HOLY POPES’ music serves as a reflection of where we are in the world, both emotionally and systemically. 

“Music is a tool to express much more than a series of sounds and rhythms,” says Poppi of the band’s ongoing commitment to political activism through music. “It’s there to capture a moment in people’s lives, to shine a light on the horrors and realities of the world, and expose counter culture ideas to the people around us. Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Crosby Stills and Nash, Crass, Ian Dury, Rage Against the Machine and many, many more...politics and music is not solely for one genre or one era, it is one of the crucial essences of music itself.”

‘Apples’ is out now via Man Demolish Records

HOLY POPES - APPLES

A remix of SEEP AWAY's debut single, 'Trudge' developed by Sean Payne of Cyanotic. 

https://www.facebook.com/Cyanotic
https://www.facebook.com/twitchyanxiousband

Trudge (Glitch Mode Remix by Cyanotic)

A remix completed for Anonymous Records by Eddy Temple-Morris and Rednek for the band Sulpher (featuring Rob Holliday - The Prodigy, Marilyn Manson) and Steve Monti (The Jesus And Mary Chain). 

https://www.facebook.com/SULPHERMUSIC
https://www.facebook.com/AnonymousRecordsUK

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To celebrate the release of Sulpher's 'No One Will Ever Know' out now on Oblivion/SPV, we are pleased to offer this fantastic remix (developed by acclaimed producer, Rednek and internationally championed radio DJ, Eddy Temple-Morris) of that album's title track. In addition, there is also a bonus instrumental mix by Psyclon Nine's Nero Bellum! 

Both track's were originally commissioned by Dom Smith of Soundsphere magazine, for his York, UK-based Anonymous Records label.

Sulpher - No One Will Ever Know (Eddy™ Vs Rednek Remix)

A raw industrial soundtrack re-imagining of Sulpher's debut single, No One Will Ever Know, by Nero Bellum of Psyclon Nine. 

https://www.facebook.com/SULPHERMUSIC
https://www.facebook.com/AnonymousRecordsUK

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To celebrate the release of Sulpher's 'No One Will Ever Know' out now on Oblivion/SPV, we are pleased to offer this fantastic remix (developed by acclaimed producer, Rednek and internationally championed radio DJ, Eddy Temple-Morris) of that album's title track. In addition, there is also a bonus instrumental mix by Psyclon Nine's Nero Bellum! 

Both track's were originally commissioned by Dom Smith of Soundsphere magazine, for his York, UK-based Anonymous Records label.

Sulpher - No One Will Ever Know (Nowhere Instrumental Mix By Psyclon Nine)

The Ladder's new single, out via Anonymous Records on May 30, 2016.

https://www.facebook.com/theladderuk
https://www.facebook.com/AnonymousRecordsUK

The Ladder - Down

From Chester-based instrumental-electronic artist, Dom Sith comes this dark goth-inspired tune to soundtrack people’s struggles with themselves.

Of the inspiration for ‘Howl’ which take sonic leads from the likes of NIN, The Haxan Cloak and Burial, Dom comments: “I wanted to create something haunting, something that’d soundtrack those long nights alone, but not in a reassuring way, like how loneliness might sound, and how depression might sound, if it was heard…in the dark.”

For more information visit Dom Sith on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/domsith/howl

Howl

Statement

'7 INC (Creeping Death Version)' is the latest offering from Hull, UK-based minimal electronic music producer, Dom Sith, under the new guise of God Is 7, Sith returns with a much darker, heavier sound.

"I want GI7 to be a brand, man. It's a representation of everything I wanted my early work to be, but with a stronger, darker sound and vision, I'm really pleased with it, and I hope it resonates with some."

Alongside imagery developed by Andrew Jones (who has also worked extensively for artists including Taproot), GI7 presents a sonic shift away from Sith's more ambient work. "This is going to be more powerful - the beats on this are more influenced by hip-hop, UK grime and industrial, it's still a soundtrack, but it's meant to put to a listener on edge, and to make you a little bit uncomfortable."

Inspired by everything from The Haxan Cloak to Burial via Nine Inch Nails and Tricky, '7 INC' is a foreboding introduction to a new chapter for GI7.

Tweet: https://twitter.com/d0mS1th

Bandcamp: https://godis7.bandcamp.com/releases

Buy: https://www.redbubble.com/people/godis7music/works/35767124-god-is-7?p=t-shirt

7 INC (Creeping Death)

Yorkshire post-punk duo, Mary and the Ram have today released a remix of their debut single, 'The Cross' by London alternative rock band, Birthmarks. The track moves the original away from its gothic Sisters of Mercy-esque roots and takes it in a more ambient Massive Attack-inspired trip-hoppy direction. 

MATR are currently working on new material at home in York following the success of their debut material (produced by John Fryer [Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails]). Birthmarks will release their debut album, 'And Then The Rain Stopped' later this year.

https://www.facebook.com/MaryAndTheRam
https://www.facebook.com/MaryAndTheRam/

The Cross (Birthmarks Remix)

NEWMEDS - The High Life

SUPPORTING HEAVY ALTERNATIVE MUSIC.

ROSTER:  HOLY POPES | DEADSET

ALUMNI: NEWMEDS | THE PARASITIC TWINS | RIVERS JOHANSSON

Sharing unsigned & small label indie gems, mostly - especially post-punk and new wave.

Musically speaking, it feels as if me and Steve Lamacq were separated at birth. To me anyway, not sure if he feels the same. What we do share is a passion for discovering new music - though since his semi-retirement Emily Pilbeam has taken that mantle I think.

Punk, post-punk, new wave, garage, alternative rock, dream pop, electronica, reggae, psychedilia, folk, surf, blues and classic soul: if it has an indie vibe or beautiful vocals I'm there for it.

Reached limit for following, can't follow back but message me with new indie tracks you think I should listen to.

HOLY POPES - APPLES

Man Demolish Records

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