Lip Critic – Jackpot
If you mashed together the aggressive hip-hop of Death Grips, the dancey electro punk of MSPAINT or CLT DRP and the new wave eccentricity of The B-52s you’d get a homunculus resembling New York oddballs Lip Critic. Performing as a novel four-piece featuring a pair of drummers and an electronic noise setup backing frontman Bret Kaser, Lip Critic have risen from underground oddities to one of the experimental scene’s most watched acts, now on their latest single ‘Jackpot’, the quartet show an unprecedented amount of sonic range. In just over three minutes ‘Jackpot’ drags the listener through overstimulating sample-led electro punk via breakbeat inspired electronic beats and into an unexpectedly calm finale which draws more from Aphex Twin than Ho99o9. Showing plenty of growth from their 2024 debut Hex Dealer, Lip Critic are ready to take on the world with their scattershot mix of experimental genres. – Rowan Bruce
A.A. Williams – Hold It Together
The Queen of Goth has done it again as A.A. Williams creates a perfect slice of late winter gloom with the latest single ‘Hold It Together’, taken from her upcoming album Solstice. Opening with a gorgeous piano-led melody and Williams‘ inimitable vocal, ‘Hold It Together’ lulls and takes you into its chest before breaking your heart as it builds, layer by beautiful layer to its dramatic crescendo. The final act leaves you breathless as it slowly, softly, lays you down and pats you on the head in dark comfort. A.A. Williams has quietly been the best at this for years, and ‘Hold It Together’ just further adds credence to that claim. – Kevin Ashburn
Mutant-Thoughts – Syzygy
Only a group as eccentric and creative as Bristol based duo Mutant-Thoughts can teach a lesson in astronomy with a danceable space-rock anthem like their new single ‘Syzygy’. For those who slept through science classes, a syzygy is an alignment of three or more planets in a straight line, Mutant-Thoughts take this concept to heart, aligning catchy South American inspired beats by session drummer Paolo Adamo with driving distorted bass and swirling layers of vintage synths for one of their most dramatic yet accessible tracks yet. While fans of acts such as Spiritualized and 65daysofstatic are sure to appreciate all the intricately layered electronic textures, Mutant-Thoughts have carved out their niche as a uniquely memorable and catchy voice in an otherwise unapproachable scene. – Rowan Bruce
Sincere Engineer – Cooler
Sincere Engineer‘s frontwoman Deanna Belos is incapable of writing anything that isn’t irresistibly hooky and gloriously full-hearted. Off the back of smashing through a winter run that took in Common Thread as well as solo duty opening for Spanish Love Songs, Belos is not slowing down, and that’s exactly what she’s wrestling with on ‘Cooler’ There’s an early 2000s pop-punk purity at the heart of the signature Sincere Engineer sound that perfectly blends with a more raw and heartfelt upstart spirit, and the results here are as life-affirming as ever. The central hook nods to both the pedal-to-the-metal spirit of Judas Priest and the messiness of figuring things out while in constant motion. If this first single is anything to go by, the upcoming record will be an absolute blast. – Pete Wall
Sugar Horse – Ex-Human Shield
Fuelled by despair at the state of the world, ‘Ex-Human Shield’, the latest single from Bristolian misery-merchants Sugar Horse, is a direct shot, fired at those who destabilise our world for profit. As apocalyptic scenes adorn the news-feeds, fuelling divisive algorithms, they take aim at the mega-capitalists and warmongerers, evoking the daily dread of a world that punishes compassion. Vocalist Ash Tubb, delivers his scathing sermon, amidst a barrage of harrowing noise, hulking riffs and thundering, war-like drums. And there’s an urgency, undercutting the sluggish, swaggering groove that elicits an atmosphere of both weariness and panic. They blend world-ending riffs with moments of serenity, as Ash, sarcastically opines “You do the best you can, for those who’ll buy” against droning synths and soothing shoegaze guitars. Miserable, yes but never without a sense of humour. “You’d leave us with nothing” howls Tubbs, but Sugar Horse have left us thirsty for more. – Niall Creane
Sunny Side Down – Rotting Girl
The final single to be taken from Sunny Side Down’s upcoming debut record I Want To Love You – independently released on 20th March – ‘Rotting Girl’ is an honest and vulnerable reflection on gender identity that’s intimate to an almost haunting degree. Drawing comparisons to Happy Accidents and Toodles & The Hectic Pity at their most exposed, here, frontperson Maya Nutter unflinchingly mourns a perceived and false version of themselves whilst their bandmates present a distortion-wracked funeral dirge dedicated to a person that never truly experienced in the first place. It’s a delicate listen, one bound by tangible frustration and a search for catharsis, but one that marks the promise of this young band. – Dan Hillier
Drug Church – Pynch
No band does anthemic hardcore-orientated alt-rock quite like Drug Church. ‘Pynch’ makes such a sentiment inarguable and pretty much encapsulates this band as an entity. The band’s first release following their 2024 LP Prude and arguably the closest thing to a love song they’ve released, ‘Pynch’ is the sound of empathetic melody delivered with the kind of explosively dumb fun that’s synonymous with hardcore. Those well versed with this band’s unique brand of melodic hardcore will know what to expect here, but for those new to the fray, this is an embracing welcome to a kind of punk agitation that’s expressed with nothing but heart and warmth. – Dan Hillier
Big|Brave – The Ineptitude for Mutual Discernment
How can something so discordant be so melodic? Something so arrhythmic pulse and beat with such assurance? Those questions are answered with a simple statement; it’s what Big|Brave do best. ‘The Ineptitude for Mutual Discernment’ isn’t a traditional single by any metric, yet the way it sets the tone for the band’s 7th studio album, In Grief Or In Hope, with its abrasive, minimalist sonic palette more than whets the appetite for what is to come. That a band can be so prolific and keep producing to the highest quality is a testament to their creativity, and Big|Brave keep proving that their creative well is deep and bountiful time after time. – Kevin Ashburn
Chamber – Without A Trace
Chamber release their blisteringly chaotic second single ‘Without A Trace’ in anticipation of their upcoming new album this is goodbye…. 2023’s A Love To Kill For set the bar high with the band’s calculated approach to combining angular, dissonant mathcore frenzy with hardcore’s more straightforward punishing display of raw sonic power, but both singles thus far have shown a willingness to push the chaos levels one step beyond on the Nashville outfit’s newest work. A true melting pot of various extreme music influences with the energy and technical abilities to pull it off at dizzying speeds, leaving listeners bemused in a cloud of confusion albeit with a stank frown of approval. this is goodbye… releases 27th March via Pure Noise Records and promises to continue Chamber‘s flawless streak of vertiginous chaotic hardcore ragers. – Avrian O’Brien
Hell Hotel – am i nothing now?
Within seconds of hearing this anthemic track, you know it’s going to be an emo belter. Cathartic choruses, emotive lyrics and high energy guitars deliver drama and vulnerability that you just can’t help but dance along to. Brighton’s emo/alternative rock duo Hell Hotel have created both a balm for raw angsty feelings, and a track to blast with the windows down on the forthcoming summer evenings. Hell Hotel facilitate a welcomed nostalgic undertone of the 2000s emo/pop/alternative-rock era, which will go down a treat for attendees of upcoming shows who lived through it the first time around. Wishful thinking perhaps but ‘am i nothing now’ has strategic breaks in flow for rhythmic clapping. – Mignonette Ellis
Koyo – What I’m Worth
Like most genres of music, pop punk is one that gets better when hardcore kids are involved. After an incredibly well received debut in the form of Would You Miss It?, the Long Island crew have decided to strip things back and return to basics on the upcoming May release Barely Here. ‘What I’m Worth’ is all you need from a modern pop punk song, crunching guitars, hooks that dig deep and a sense of melancholia that only the best bands can evoke. It doesn’t outstay it’s welcome either, getting done in just over two minutes but never wasting a second. Get on the Koyo hype now, because they deserve to be your new favourite band for the summer months. – Chris Earl
Big Ass Truck – Pushed To the Brink
Everybody’s favourite band who sing about giant transportation vehicles, Big Ass Truck Iare back and they’re turning their attention to the infamous Killdozer incident. ‘Pushed To The Brink’ deals with the now almost-deified events that saw Marvin John Heemeyer terrorise his town with a custom built, heavily armoured vehicle. The track itself is an absolute stormer, stuffed with samples, dirty chugs and a barrelling groove that (almost surely intentionally) is as heavy as the aforementioned ‘dozer, with the ending in particular a highlight of the band’s catalogue so far, and shows a bit of growth that means the band may be growing out of meme band status and becoming a force to be reckoned with. – Chris Earl
Buy Jupiter – The Wake
French progressive metal/djent underground outfit Buy Jupiter have been quiet since their last release Eclipse in 2019 but new single ‘The Wake’ breathes new life into the project in hulking fashion. Somewhere between crushing post-metal and fluid prog that seamlessly expands into various compositional ideas throughout its seven minutes, ‘The Wake’ is a solid first impression of the band’s upcoming album Earth, to be released on 15th May. Fans of hard hitting riffs set to epic atmospheres in the vein of Cult Of Luna or Hypno5e with the shape-shifting and techy grooves of old-school Monuments or TesseracT should feel right at home. – Avrian O’Brien
Without A Face – Needful Things
One of the new obsessions in deathcore is how heavy and low you can tune your guitar before the strings are no longer able to omit a sound. Without A Face are firmly within this category, and that’s entirely complimentary. The brainchild of Kevin Rolly, the one-man deathcore unit provides you with a snare drum that punches you in your gut along with Rolly’s vocals which sound like they were recorded with genuine terror in his voice. Alongside a feature from Orphan vocalist Jacob Mathes, Without A Face are as close as you can get to the gurgling bowels of hell without venturing there yourself. – Liam True
Suffer – Pendulum Of Vengeance
Black Country death squad Suffer have been making waves in the UK underground deathcore scene for quite some time. And with a few line-up changes along the way, they’ve blessed us with a new song, ‘Pendulum Of Vengeance’. A vicious statement that shows that the band aren’t a flash in the pan and to be taken lightly. Vocalist Greg Hevican shifts his vocals from sickening highs, to lows that resemble two concrete blocks being rubbed together and backed by the gritty guitars, ‘Pendulum Of Vengeance’ pulls no punches in getting the band back to where they left off. – Liam True