It’s been a big week for music hasn’t it? From massive new records from the likes of Noctule, Our Hollow Our Home, Drown This City, FORT, Lovebites all the way to a certain festival called Download making a surprise resurrection, it feels like the past seven days have been non stop. Still, here’s a chance you may have missed out on some the incredible singles that have been released over the past few days. Here’s the 10 that you need to check out immediately. Dude Trips – ‘Evergreen’ The Aberdeenshire alt-emo collective Dude Trips have always hosted a remarkable penchant for earnest storytelling within their craft, but their latest offering is truly a piece of emotionally wrangled art. Their first single since signing to Venn Records and the first tantalising hint of their forthcoming new EP You Are The Reason I Hate Leaving, ‘Evergreen’ – whilst triumphant in tone – poetically tells the tale of an end of the relationship brought upon by untamed mental health troubles. Touching upon themes of deep depression and the effects of suicide, this a striking decantation of authentic emotion that thematically hints at what is set to be Dude Trip’s most esteemed and moving body of work to date. Scalping – ‘Empty Cascade’ Even without a full body of work to their namesake, Bristol’s Scalping have already earned themselves an illusive reputation in thanks to their genre-blurring approach to post-rock and hardcore marred electronica. The group’s latest single ‘Empty Cascade’ is a bombastic, boundary breaking shot of innovation that dramatically showcases that this band is more than just a vessel of unbridled hype. The second single taken from their forthcoming debut EP FLOOD, the single see’s the band adopting a wild range of sounds from a diverse palette prior to alchemising them together in a fusion of neon vibrancy and tightly controlled experimentalism. Harkening thoughts of AK/DK, Poisonous Birds and nights of Bristolian chemical indulgence, is this another offering that showcases that Scalping are due to take their rightful place amongst the rulers of atmospheric progression that influence and drive countless artists in the field of all things darkly innovative. Spiritbox – ‘Secret Garden’ They’re arguably the hottest band in metal right now and their star keeps rising. Canadian trio Spiritbox were formed when vocalist Courtney LaPlante and guitarist Mike Stringer needed to branch out on their own and write music for themselves. That was in 2016, and one EP and a clutch of singles later, they’re more than ready to take on the world. Latest single ‘Secret Garden’ is taken from their upcoming debut album Eternal Blue and opens with swirling guitars and Courtney’s unmistakeable soft, airy croon. Verses carry an almost Animals As Leaders guitar lick and the chorus melody soars atop crunching guitars. It’s the perfect blend of blissful ethereality and crushing heaviness, and showcases just how varied the Spiritbox sound is. Zeal & Ardor – ‘Run’ An intriguing blend of gospel, spirituals and black metal, Zeal & Ardor have constantly pushed the envelope of black metal since their debut Devil Is Fine burst onto the scene. ‘Run’ is taken from their upcoming self-titled third album and it’s their most aggressive song to date. Tribal drum patterns open it with frontman Manuel Gagneux’s ominous chanting over top. The song centres around iterations on the line “Where’s your fucking God?” and screams of the song title. It’s a vicious, pummeling assault of the kind only they can produce and is a bold, outspoken portent of things to come. JOHN – ‘A Song For Those Who Speed In Built-Up Areas’ The first release from the Johnathans in JOHN since their brilliant 2019 LP Out Here On The Fringes, ‘A Song For Those Who Speed In Built-Up Areas’ continues the noise tinged post-punk duo’s take on sardonic social commentary in true poetic fashion. Constructed around a granulating, almost motorik tempo and carbonated layers of dissonance that has characterised the group’s work for years, the track is set to get a physical release on 7” vinyl on July 2nd via Pets Care and Brace Yourself Records. Watch the video for the single below. Salt The Snail – ‘Raisin Boy’ For those still unacquainted with the Leeds based snap-punk act Salt The Snail, ‘Raisin Boy’ is basically the full encapsulation of what this band is about. A snack sized garage rock rager documenting the absurdity of the conspiracy theory hivemind in the age of Covid, this track effortlessly summarizes the ethos of Salt The Snail, one that’s devoted to whipping up blink-and-you-miss-it barges of noise punk engineered for those who have had their attention spans withered by modern living. A literal 39 second blast of tongue in cheek madness, this a whiplash inducing blast of lunacy that’s a manic as most flat Earth theories. Wilted Flower – ‘Bipolar Lullaby’ The new single from the Nottingham based ambient punk duo is poignant, heart-rending and emotive. This isn’t a huge reach from their typical sound with the duo’s lyrical style usually focussing on themes such as mental health and personal struggles. ‘Bipolar Lullaby’ is no different, an acoustic ballad delivering a message of hope through the reticent sadness that has seeped out in reflection of one’s own life. It was written about singer Micki Wood’s struggles with Bipolar by extension of the difficulty of watching her own Dad struggle. It addresses the worries held given the fact she is now pregnant with the duo’s daughter. With introducing new life into this world she talks of the fear that the illness will be passed to their daughter but that, if she does have it, she’ll be okay. Dark and reflective but also bravely honest ‘Bipolar Lullaby’ is beautifully poignant, painfully open and surprisingly uplifting Dooms Children – ‘Flower Moon’ The debut single from the new project manned by Wade MacNeil of Alexisonfire, Gallows and Black Lungs fame, ‘Flower Moon’ is a dusk-lit lamination of lost days and chemical escapism. Delivered with smoke stained crooning, saturated reverb and an organic production that sounds like it was peeled directly off the floor, the first taste of Dooms Children is a mournful yet borderline optimistic tale of putting ones life together it has been shattered. There’s been a lot of hype and anticipation for this project and this debut perfectly deliveries lives up to it’s expectations. Bossk – ‘HTV-3’ The latest single to be taken from their forthcoming album Migration, HTV-3 sees post-metal troupe Bossk welcome Josh Mckeown of Palm Reader. Opening with subdued, swirling guitars and soft vocals, there’s soon an eruption of volcanic proportions into driving, crunching riffs and harsh roars. It’s a slow-burner that gathers momentum as it goes, gradually building in intensity throughout. Soaring, post-metal abounds with reverb-drenched soundscapes. Bearing the same hallmarks of its predecessor ‘Menhir’, it encapsulates everything great about the genre and Bossk themselves. It’s the kind of post-metal bliss many bands can only dream of, with stirring emotion and crushing heaviness. Black Coast – ‘Ache’ What do you get when you cross the off-kilter riffs of Korn with grunge-y, Linkin Park choruses, all with a modern twist? You get Stoke-on-Trent outfit Black Coast, a nu-metalcore outfit that want to take the world and stamp their mark on it. Discordant riffing opens the track with driving drums beneath. Borne out of all the problems they’ve faced as a band and individuals that they’ve hidden from each other, pretending it’s fine when really they’re just “embracing the chaos surrounding themselves”. It’s a song to bring people together and give a middle finger to those problems, with its turntable scratching, wallet chain swinging attitude and a freight train of a chorus. All tracks can be found in our essential playlist. Check out and follow the playlist here.