Home > Step On > Step On: the week’s best new music tracks [Apr 23rd]

Step On: the week’s best new music tracks [Apr 23rd]

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Naked Next Door

New Boots editor Phil Moore takes you through the best new tracks this week.

Working Men’s Club ‘X’
Scuttle back to February 2020 and when this Yorkshire quartet rolled into Northampton’s The Black Prince to wow everyone little did we know what would occur six weeks later. That people are still talking about this gig so fondly in 2021 isn’t just because we miss great visceral live music, but because WMC have been lapping at the Great Music elixir. ‘X’ has that sonic edge; post-punk meets electronica. One foot in the past with one arm flailing at some future sky. Turn it up and wig out.

Carly Wilford and Mai Mai ‘Together For The Love’
The second single from EDM player Wilford, her move from presenter/DJ to artist feels absolutely seamless. This is another strong production, in collaboration with San Diego’s Mai Mai, that captures that house/rare groove ’90s vibe so perfectly.

Vibe Chemistry ‘To You’
The Milton Keynes-based D&B newcomer manages to create a very chilled, harmonious mood in his tracks, even when the bass bins kick in, which they regularly do. His clever use of reverb helps that, as does his vocal samples, which are spot on. The adjoining track ‘Bleeding’ is pure 90s-style bliss. A summer residency in Ibiza surely beckons.

Naked Next Door ‘Reset’
“I need to rewire/Reset/I feel tired all the time”. A few pints in the sun will solve that. A lockdown feeling summed up right there, and another radio-anthem in waiting from the MK boys. How these boys aren’t huge when Blossoms and The 1975 are is a mystery only Sherlock Holmes could solve. Still, you love them and I love them, so we are trendsetters, or something…

Out Of Love ‘Dog Daze’
Speaking of Milton Keynes, here’s a new band that have come pogoing through an open window to brighten your mood. Pop-punk loveliness in day-glo outfits is what the Great British Isles could do with right now. Debut EP ‘Funny Feeling’ is faultless in a “remember 2001?” way. They haven’t started gigging yet they’re so new, but I expect their rise to be sharp once the horridness has passed.

S.P.Q.R. ‘Fault Lines’
Liverpool-based, they creep into our playlist because they came to Northampton for Independent Venue Week, and blew everyone in their presence away. Fiery, throbbing, emotionally-distressed art rock is perhaps a wanky way to describe it, but also accurate. It’s been almost a year since their last release, and it’s fantastic to hear them again.

Paradise Circus ‘What A Way [Cheetah]’
Energised rhythms here from this new Midlands quartet. The band have taken their live alchemy and transported into the studio environment with great success. It’s anthemic in a sort of Embrace/Jake Bugg way: tender enough to feel real, but with the determination to rise above your surroundings. When you’re an indie band it’s a bare minimum to write a memorable chorus, and these lot could do that all day long.

Tu-Kay & Ryan ‘Dating Game’
So regular to the New Boots playlist they may as well rent a room and buy their own supply of alternative milk, the Northants duo are drip feeding their album bit by bit, as their *checks* NINTH release in the past year sees them once again shift their sound a bit, this time embracing the funk. The trademark harmonies work excellent in this context, and if you fancy some air slap-bass guitar time this should definitely be your soundtrack.

Harry Mockett ‘Heaven’
Soul-searching moody electronica from your ShoeTown bedroom pop cosmonaut. Synth line sits upon synth line to create a kaleidoscopic sound, and it’s all washed down with his unique and – dare we say – captivating cool’n’dry voice. I’ve said it before but worth repeating – a big future is on the horizon.

Ell.MS ‘Older’
His bio says he’s from the “mediocre safe haven” of Northampton, so I should leave him out based on that heresy. Nothing mediocre about Northampton, if you know where to look… Anyroad this little number is about improving your life as you get older. His ‘About Time’ EP appeared in my ears late last year and it impressed, as does this UK-style grind.

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