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Pop almost goes nu-country as Neckbreakers showcase something that also has echoes of Fleetwood Mac… and those echoes are really quite strong. Things feel fun when the beat picks up and its lazy in the breaks. A real roller-coaster of lightweight indie rock that punches above its grade. PHOTOS : SARA-LOUISE BOWREY

‘On a mission to make strangers misty in the disco‘ is the proclamation in System Exclusive’s press pack. They have squeezed their minimalistic music into a simple van-life-style and having set out from their native California are now looking to find new friends and fans who are open to old-school, synth-ridden harmonics laced with up-tempo,…
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‘Music for the clinically spooky and horny‘ reads Tom Saint’s super-brief Spotify bio. His songs definitely do have a scary-movie vibe to them…you can sense them prowling down dark corridors and around the bins in back-alleys as the lights flicker and splutter and the air vibrates with sinister, ghostly echoes of atrocities past or yet…
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With a busy festival season ahead of them, Londoners Unpeople will be rocking and rolling their way to a field near you very soon. Solid anthemic riffs with soaring vocals and the sort of full-metal-jacket basslines that fill stadiums with throbbing waves of sonic loveliness. PHOTOS : SARA-LOUISE BOWREY

Wild Mother play the Alternative Escape 2024 PHOTOS : SARA-LOUISE BOWREY

All the way from Brixton, Alien Chicks haven’t traveled as far as many of the globe-trotting acts at The Great Escape, but they have already sold out gigs at The 100 Club and The Lexington and have garnered radio play on BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music, as well as scoring some great reviews along…
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‘Australian frog enthusiast’ aren’t three words often found in the opening sentence of an artist’s official Spotify biography. But Asha Jefferies is one where they do. Whether frogs feature in any of the musical tales on her forthcoming debut 10-track album, ‘EGO RIDE’ you will have to listen out for yourself. But listen you will,…
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Two UK-based Italian/Punjabi teenage sisters have taken their name (Baby Said) from one of the songs of their favourite artists (Måneskin Now), and having brought in help on rythmn guitar and drums have created an indie-rock band with a fast and furious trajectory. A heavy gig-schedule under another name in advance of unleashing their punk-pop…
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BEX is a proper punk frontwoman. Confident and BS-free lyrics challenge stereotypes and leave no prisoners. And with a real focus on words her messages come across clear and loud in the mix. Add to this her powerful stage presence and a solid work-ethic and there’s no reason to believe BEX won’t be hitting some…
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These two Australian pop-princesses have all the Gen Z bases covered. As well as a powerfully-produced alternative take on strong, modern chart anthems they have made headway in all the various strands of the multiverse, be that as tastemakers or with collaborations across magazines and TV. Importantly though, their music is reaching the masses and…
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When you see a band who mentions Slowdive and St Etienne under supports and collaborations you know the direction of travel. The introspective gaze of this two-piece act is firmly on their shoes. Deary hit number 1 in the UK vinyl singles chart back in May 2023 with ‘Fairground’…ones to watch. PHOTOS : SARA-LOUISE BOWREY

Aussie pop-punk with a really dance-able fizz about their music (there’s some DEVO echoes lurking in the mix we think), Gut Health seem to have ‘fun’ written through them like bitter-sweet sticks of Brighton rock. PHOTOS : SARA-LOUISE BOWREY

Lemondaze to rhyme with Shoegaze – and five ears since their initial musical releases this erstwhile Cambridge crew have garnered admiration from members of bands such as Lush and Ride, clearly cementing them into the fraternity of bands who sway to the beat of a slow drum. PHOTOS : SARA-LOUISE BOWREY

If two and a half million streams counts as a hit then Malice K has at least one with his wistful song, ‘Beautiful People’… with its circular refrain that drifts lazily around your head and epitomises his ability to thread the warp and weft of song structure into delightful tapestries of happy/sad vignettes on relationships…
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Dreamily moody and stripped down rock of the kind much loved by festivals such as End of the Road who specialise in the more cerebral end of the indie spectrum, Mary and The Junkyard could be the soundtrack to the thoughtful moments of your life. PHOTOS: SARA-LOUISE BOWREY [flick_set id = ‘72177720317245619’]

Here’s another Irish band who have caught our ear recently. They are only a few years past their first sweaty gig, but have developed a real momentum and deserve to be on watch lists… PHOTOS: Sara-Louise Bowrey

YARD: More evidence if an were needed that Ireland is churning out some great electro-rock crossover acts right now…

You know why we love SNAYZ so much… they are simply one of the best things on the live circuit these days. Not to be missed.

TASH isn’t afraid of putting twenty-seven tempo changes into her songs… meaning the pace of the pit shifts and darts about to her own internal metronome.

Australian garage-poppers who have been bobbing around since 2016 and deliver a cheerfully layered style of chart-rock.