The 20 best songs of the last month
Listen to the continuous playlists on Spotify & Apple Music
The first song from the synth-bangers’ third album to be released later this year. Featuring May Kay (Fight Like Apes) on vocals alongside Mick Pope.
New Yorkers Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell have been developing their harmonic folk pop since before they spent a summer in Ireland two years ago. Their debut album arrives on respected Canadian label Arts & Crafts and the pair have built on the momentum of touring with Maggie Rogers and others with a strong debut. They play Dublin on May 16th.
From Valerie Teicher’s recent album Crawl Space, ‘Justify’ is a minimally-lit bass and vocal track that swings with R&B and electronic verve AND sounds like Prince.
Mike will Made it production gives us Eminem-style piano stabs except with a world’s best MC showing everyone who’s boss.
15.
A highlight from the Corkman’s Wild Alee album. As he told me in the track-by-track:
Funnily enough, this is the darkest song on the record, but came out as a poppy, hooky, surging piece of music! It revolves around death and fear and all that lovely stuff… but it came out as this hopeful ‘pop song which I’m really happy about in the end.It’s funny that sometimes when something very heavy is framed against lightness or optimism, it can carry more weight, in a way..
16.
Jordan McCuaig is a Belfast producer and DJ who co-runs The Night Institute club and releases music on his Nocturne label. For his second release Nocturne 002 on May 5th, he has three original tracks of his own and two edits of of ‘No Love Lust’ from Tuff City Kids (Gerd Janson and Lauer) . ‘La Vie’ is a Fort Romeau-esque tough synth cut that leaves a sustained impression.
Featuring Paddy Hanna on vocals, Mark Chester on guitar (Ginnels), Padraig Cooney on bass (Skelocrats, Tieranniesaur) and Eoghan O’Brien on drums (No Monster Club), their new band is inspired by “an early Brian Eno, John Cale plus post-punk kind of seam,” with references to ESG, Television, Suicide, The Slits and Pere Ubu.
Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West, aka Oh Wonder’s ‘Ultralife’ is superior pop, a layered take on the band’s super melodic sound and it moves away from the minimalism that defined their early work.
A nocturnal house track with a gentle force from Kittser’s upcoming From Night To Night album.
The Kilkenny drummer and multi-instrumentalist’s new song continues his run of one-off singles that have featured his music growing in scope and direction, most obviously in texture and tone here, with strings, a more commanding vocal and a relentless hurtle rhythm.
