The Big Indie Playlist: Curated by KiosK
Another week comes and goes, and by the end, tens of thousands of new tracks have landed on streaming services. It would be humanly impossible to keep up, but the Big Indie Playlist is here to make sure nothing great goes missing.
This week was a big one across the board with releases from big names and new offerings from new ones. From the superstars, the upcoming War Child compilation record keeps shaping up to be something truly special, as, over the past few days, Pulp and The Last Dinner Party both revealed special tracks for the record.
In the world of up-and-comers, local scenes offered up their best work, spanning from Brighton’s AtticOmatic to this week’s playlist curators, KiosK, coming from Leeds. There were also some new launches, as Cameron Picton, of Black Midi fame, announced his new band, aptly named My New Band Believe, launching with their debut single. Meanwhile, Deadletter keep on charging forward into their glossiest era yet.
From indie to alt-pop, folk to electro, there’s a bit of everything here. As we checked in with KiosK, that variety only grew as the band shared what’s currently on repeat in their playlists, too.
All in one handy place, all you have to do is hit play to catch up with the best new releases from this week.
Must-hear: Curated by KiosK
Mandy, Indiana – ‘Magazine’: “Unreal heavy, noisy, techno pounding. I saw them last year for the second time and love them more and more. I’m also amazed at how well it translates to a studio recording and keeps all the energy and impact”.
PVA – ‘Moon’: “Something a bit different and a bit trip-hoppy from synthpunk heroes PVA. Really fresh but still in keeping with the sound I love them for”.
Turnspit – ’Have A Heart’: “Gorgeous tune from one of our fave electronic bands – also insane live. They also made an incredible remix of our new song ‘Heaven Sent’.”
Altin Gün – ‘Zülüf Dökülmüs Yüze’: “New from the band who introduced me to Turkish music and Anatolian rock. Fantastic bass tone, incredible rhythm section and some shredding on the electric saz (look it up). I’m very excited for the album”.
The Femcels – ‘You’re Gay And You’re In Love With Me (Please Let Me Touch Your Boobs)’: “My friend Freyja put me on to this duo the other day – perfectly cheeky, fun and girly”.
Yossari Baby – ‘Young Carnivore’: “I’ve seen Yossari Baby live a few times now, and I’m always struck by how ridiculously cool they are!”
Stereolab – ‘Cloud Land’: “I’m usually sceptical of new songs by older bands that I’m a fan of, but this release has stayed true to the Stereolab I know and love”.
The best new music of the week:
Pulp – ‘Begging For Change’: Proven over and over again across their discography, Pulp sure do love to spell words out for us. They’re doing that here as they unleash a tense yet hooky tune for the War Child compilation record. [4/5]
Alfreda – ‘Stairway To Heaven’: London’s premiere camp star Alfreda gets more infectious with every new release as she crafts herself a perfected fun-pop persona. ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is the latest step on the ladder to the top. [3/5]
Lana Del Rey – ‘White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter’: It’s clear by now that Lana Del Rey has complete free rein to do whatever she wants, whenever she wants, and with that freedom, her artistry just keeps getting more interesting. On this latest delivery, she’s the most whimsical she’s ever been. [4/5]
Labi Siffre – ‘Far Away’: The beloved singer, songwriter and poet has made a return with his first live performances in a long time, and now this – the first single from Unfinished Business, his first album in 27 years. As expected, it’s beautiful. [3.5/5]
Pattie Gonia, Imogen Heap, Boreta – ‘Have You Considered?’: When you see Imogen Heap’s name attached to a song, you know that you can expect inventive, interesting and luscious soundscapes. She delivered on all three here. [3.5/5]
Lava La Rue – ‘Scratches’: If you’re not already paying attention to Lava La Rue, I don’t know what to tell you. For a long time now, the artist has been one of the most dynamic forces on the UK scene, from their tunes to their remixes. This new one is hyper-catchy and glossy yet still with a gripping edge. [3.5/5]
My New Band Believe – ‘Numerology’: Black Midi’s Cameron Picton has been working on My New Band Believe for a while now, but with the announcement of an album and this debut single, it’s finally all happening. If you like the Black Midi musical world, you’ll like this. If you don’t, you won’t. It’s as simple as that. [3/5]
DEADLETTER – ‘Songless Bird’: Before these latest singles, I wasn’t never into DEADLETTER. Now? I’m fully on board as the band have laser focus, polishing themselves up into something gleaming and neatened yet still as intriguing. [3/5]
AtticOmatic – ‘Lewin’: The water over in Brighton is surely laced with something, as the seaside town keeps delivering great bands after great bands at an alarming pace. We ought to send someone to investigate, and the latest AtticOmatic tunes can be their newest piece of evidence. [3/5]
KiosK – ‘Heavensent’: From our own playlist curators, KiosK delivered a perfect track for blowing away the cobwebs of the week and sparking up for the weekend as this tense, building electro tune demands to be played loud to get feet moving. [3.5/5]
The Last Dinner Party – ‘Let’s Do It Again!’: The quality of the tunes being shared for Warchild’s upcoming charity compilation is incredible, and the best yet undeniably comes from The Last Dinner Party as ‘Let’s Do It Again!’ is the band at their theatrical best, inspired by the sleaziest of Bowie songs. [4.5/5]
Off The Beaten Track: Left-field sounds, curated and written by Ben Forrest
M Ross Perkins – ‘I Turned on My Mirror’: Colemine’s Karma Chief imprint treats us all to some upbeat, old-school psychedelic pop in the form of this Marc Boland-tinged new single from Ohio’s M Ross Perkins, capturing the universal appeal of his universal lyricism and retro-styled sensibilities. [4.5/5]
BCUC – ‘Amakhamandela’: Soweto’s BCUC delve into the infectious rhythmic history of their township in this driving, soulful single, the second earworm to be taken from their upcoming record, The Road Is Never Easy, due out in April. [4/5]
Caj Rio – ‘Hot Mezcal’: Lush, laid-back Latin soul on glorious seven-inch vinyl, courtesy of San Diego-based instrumental master Alejandro Garcia, featuring some timeless brass tones and the kind of backbeat that makes it almost tailor-made to hip-hop sampling. [3/5]
Annamária d’Almeida – ‘History Repeating’: London’s Original Gravity Records collide with the unmistakable voice of Annamária d’Almeida to create this mid-tempo soul single, infused with all the style of 1960s mod dancefloors and with hints at the realm of northern soul. [3.5/5]
Pedestal – ‘Kitkit’: Outsider music fans rejoice, as this week brings a long-awaited reissue of Pedestal’s self-titled cassette release from back in 1984, which remains one of the best-kept secrets within the admittedly niche realm of no-wave-adjacent experimental punk-funk, existed somewhere between The Flying Lizards and Saâda Bonaire. [4/5]
