The below (and others) all feature on my new February 2022 playlist
MEMES - Second Thought
A characteristically witty and engaging banger of a track from this band who I regard as new legends of the Scottish post-punk scene.
'Second Thought' (released on Thursday 10th) is a song that makes you want to bounce around, and at the same time hits you with some moments of absolutely relatable lyrical excellence. I think we can all agree that we'd be "in a lot trouble if our thoughts were in a thought bubble ..."
The band have certainly not had much trouble persuading people that their thoughts are worth listening to - they're at SXSW next month and The Great Escape in May (along with plenty of other live dates throughout the year).
Excitingly, this song is the forerunner to MEMES' first EP, due for release later in 2022. There's also a really cool, suitably clamorous video which you can watch now here. (Photo above: Kenny Inglis)
Crawlers - Come Over Again (Live Acoustic) The original (non-acoustic) version of this song was released in October last year and (as I said in my late 2021 Artists to watch feature) is a total banger of a tune, with a hugely satisfying build starting from a quiet acoustic guitar opening.
The band, rightly, are very proud of the track (which has had almost 20M Spotify streams to date), and over the past months have been treating their social media followers to some great content based on it. Now they've formally release this deliciously mellow version, which leaves room for Holly Minto's rich vocals to really shine through. And - there's a trumpet (also Holly's contribution I think)!! I really wasn't expecting that here. Also, in the best possible way, because it's purely acoustic, it leaves you wanting more - it's what doesn't happen and what isn't heard that provides the joy here.
Jen Dixon - Speed Of Light It's been a good several months since we last had a new song from Jen, and here she is with a bit of a surprise release - and boy, it's a good one. This song contains all the best elements of her work to date - that fresh, honest, pure feel, great harmonies, and the very well-judged balance of quiet/loud from verse to chorus - but she's pushed it up a level here.
The song starts off based around a simple piano theme, echoed in the vocal line, but as it develops, Jen introduces some haunting synths and later guitars, playing on the same melodic theme in various ways. This is a great way of knitting the tune together and makes it a really satisfying listen.
Sam Lambeth & The Four Chords - Nod My Head Sam Lambeth is a very talented West Midlands singer-songwriter, and incredibly self-effacing, generous and supportive of other independent musicians. I think this release is his best yet. It's ridiculously catchy and so well put together, filled with toe-tapping jauntiness supported by some great rhythmical guitar and mandolin lines, and a lovely harmonica break at one point.
Although this song has been in Sam's repertoire for quite a while, he has wisely bided his time, waiting for just the right point to release it. Doing that with the addition of The Four Chords was a good move, giving some added depth to the tune.
Grace Calver - Zombie Conversations I've already posted some longer thoughts on this one, but here I just want to say congratulations to Grace (an absolute hero of the indie music scene) on her first release.