HOT PINK! This month, additions to our hot pink! playlist include a regressive hair transgression, a haunting folk tale, a shiny pop barnstormer and much more to delve into. We are constantly adding to our mix of the best new sounds on Merseyside and here is but a smattering of the bright new voices that are wailing from the very top of tier three. Lucy Gaffney Send Me Away Frictionless Music Ecstatic, electric and enchanting, Gaffney’s latest single is laced with a catchy hook and celestial sounding loops. Written to perfectly capture the beauty of a broken heart, this track is defiant in its sorrow. The track commands to be listened to with a crescendo echoing The Verve, ignited with a euphoria of drums, electric guitar and Gaffney’s haunting yet punchy soprano. (MO) SKIA Pocket Heist Or Hit A bright candy-pop banger where only good vibes are allowed in. If you’re missing having a boogie – let’s be honest, who isn’t by now – turn this up to full and dance around your bedroom. Built on SKIA’s catchy vocal and a funky guitar riff, this track echoes HAIM or Maggie Rogers, with an irresistible, happy-go-lucky spring to it. It’s sure to have you humming along by the time the three minutes are over. (MO) Motel Sundown Before Midnight This ode to Liverpool from three adopted Scousers is a hazy rock ’n’ roller with sliding, sleepy vocals and a vibrant groove. Layered in sweet and simple melodies, wistfully swaying through the dustbowl, the track brings to mind whiling away care-free evenings in lazy boozers. Remember those? Take me back, please! (MO) Eyesore & The Jinx Accidental Weller Eggy Records Bad hair day? Don’t sweat it, Eyesore & The Jinx are probably having a worse one – tragic enough to inspire their recent snarling soundbite about a peacock feather ‘do, in fact. Imagine the lovechild of King Nun and The Chats: inject a miniscule amount of sedative and force-feed it some unmistakably Northern effrontery until it near explodes, and you’ve got the band’s latest punk rock earworm. (AL) Aimeé Steven Today Jacaranda Records Atmospheric and otherworldly, Aimée Steven’s latest single is an indie pop daydream. Drenched in hazy guitar reverb and atmospheric string samples, Steven mixes 80s-inspired production with lyrics that capture the uncertainty of life in 2020 to create a track that feels timeless and fresh. Like the songwriter herself, it’s a classic in the making. (LBE) KingFast Under My Skin KingFast has always been able to capture an audience with his raw vocals, but it’s on his latest single that we see him at his most candid. Simplistic yet mesmerising muted piano chords accompany the artist as he opens up about his heartbreak, with lyrics that feel closer to a conversation between artist and listener than any typical songwriting. The result is a soulful, soul-searching diary entry that is unapologetic in its honesty. (LBE) Loris And The Lion Waxwing Loris And The Lion convey a haunting aura that’s right at home in the late weeks of Autumn. Their latest single proves no different. Inspired by both traditional folk and the deft storytelling of Kate Bush and Joni Mitchell, the track weaves a narrative as it develops, with complex melodies and enchanting vocals from lead singer Georgia Harris, immersing whoever listens in an enveloping, chilling sound. (LBE) iamkyami ft. Sonny Miles Slow Down Iamkyami’s easygoing groove makes mountains through its minimalism. The track’s stripped-back, lo-fi inspired instrumentals let the artist excel, with her smooth vocals and dynamic melodies taking centre stage. The Sonny Miles feature is equally compelling, as the two artists complement each other with ease, all making for a lilting track that is captivatingly chill. (LBE) Sub Blue ft. Khai 3AM Soft, intimate soundscapes with late-night reflections and the kind of tragic romance that’s just nuanced enough to still be cool; Sub Blue proves himself a neo-soul searcher offering confident vulnerability, expert production and bags of talent. The addition of Khai’s stunning vocal feature on this track takes Sub Blue’s work to a different level. It’s what we can only dream Frank Ocean and SZA’s lovechild would sound like. (AN) Sunstack Jones Golden Repair Mai 68 Records Lovers of Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and all 1970s American psych/dream/whateverprefix-your-heart-desires rock need to listen to this. Herein you’ll find the honeyed harmonies of Fleet Foxes poured over long, rolling guitar tracks reminiscent of Zeppelin. Opening track Where You Gonna Go comes in at seven minutes, which is perfect considering how much free time we all have now. (EV) Words: Mary Olive, Alice Langan, Lily Blakeney-Edwards, Adam Noor and Emma Varley Follow hot pink! on Spotify: bit.ly/bidohotpink Photography from left to right: Loris And The Lion, Lucy Gaffney (Thom Southern), iamkyami, KingFast (Polyphonica). 10
A LAUGH WITH SOME CONCERN Not caring is caring. Courting are here to help you make sense of the madness. FEATURE 11
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