As the world finds itself distracted by yet another social media app that will undoubtedly rack up our daily phone usage and hours spent doom-scrolling to even loftier heights, we thought we'd remind you all that there's far better ways to spend your time, and that's by checking out our weekly, ahem, thread, of new music.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves though, we thought we'd take a few moments to congratulate last week's winners of Louder's best song of the week feature, which was Blur's St. Charles Square, their new single from upcoming album The Ballad Of Darren. The returning Britpop kings took home the gold with a sizable 32% of the overall vote. Nice one.
In second place with 24% was Fall Out Boy's weird and wonderful cover of Billy Joel's We Didn’t Start The Fire, revamped for today's modern era.
And last but not least, was Olivia Rodrigo's darkly enchanting piano ballad Vampire, grabbing 18% of the votes. Congrats everyone!
So with all that said and done, and with our hands still stinging from wildly over-enthusiastic applause, let's take a look at this week's entries below. Just be sure to cast your vote for your favourite at the bottom of the page.
The Armed - Sport Of Form
Not every band can sweet-talk Iggy Pop into playing the role of God in a video, but then The Armed haver never been just another band. Once a shadowy collective who refused to list band member’s names on albums, and drew from a pool of dozens of musicians for live shows, The Armed have now (metaphorically) unmasked, and declared their intention to deliver “the biggest, greatest rock album of the 21st century” with next month’s Perfect Saviours collection.
Featuring guest vocals from Julian Baker, Sport Of Form is a typically disorientating, unsettling and intense burst of noise-rock. “Lyrically, this song is about the human need to win a game that we’re not even actually playing,” says frontman Tony Wolski. “Sonically, it is a reflection of that cognitive dissonance through a constant whiplash between beauty and ugliness, severity and tenderness, obscenity and grace.” The Armed are back, and this time they’re not fucking around.
Annie Taylor - Schoolgirl
Pitched somewhere between the sonic stylings of Wolf Alice and Veruca Salt, the effervescent ‘90s-flavoured alt. rock of Schoolgirl is the latest single teasing Annie Taylor’s new album Inner Smile, which drops today (July 7).
The Swiss quartet’s vocalist Gini Jungi says “Falling in love can be thrilling and confusing at the same time. Especially when you’re not sure what you’re about to get yourself into. It can make you feel bold and shy, excited and nervous but still, it’s a feeling that fills you up with energy and hedonism.” “Schoolgirl is a reflection on the early stages of a relationship where everything is new and exciting, but it can also make one feel extremely confused and nervous. The lyrics capture the feeling of being young and in love, not knowing where it will all lead, but being excited to find out.”
KennyHoopla - MARRY KILL F*CK//
Coming straight from the productional duties of Travis Barker, KennyHoopla's MARRY KILL F*CK// from new EP BLINK AND YOU’LL MISS IT// carries the same snotty, rough-edged scrappiness as early Blink-182.
Bringing back the much-loved youthful yet melancholic sound of noughties pop-punk, KennyHoopla bellows out earnestly plucky lines such as 'I am young and dumb against the world' to a fist-pumping, bouncing rhythm that will sound right at home when performed in support of the aforementioned trio later this week on their US tour, which kicks off tomorrow on July 8 In Houston.
Mannequin Death Squad - Monsters
Fierce chugging punk riffs tousle their way under ear-worming alt-rock hooks on this wonderfully scruffy outing from Aussie duo Mannequin Death Squad, as they cook up a distortion-laden reminder to those who find themselves having to deal with energy-sucking emotional tyrants that a leopard never changes its spots, and 'monster's don't change, they only eat you'. It's punk Tim Burton vibes, and we're all for it.
"Monsters is about taking back control from all the blood-sucking characters of the world who take advantage of you" the band declare, and if you like what you hear, the twosome will be hitting the road later this month for a UK tour, starting from July 20 in Leeds.
Beach Riot - Tell Me I’m Wrong
Jumping straight into a riff that promises all sorts of mischief, Tell Me I'm Wrong soon switches from a darkly sassy slab of fuzz-heavy alt rock with clip-clopping percussion into a technicolour pop dazzler with a psychedelic undercurrent, crowned by shimmering vocals wafting between strokes of curious guitar licks in the chorus. Speaking of the track, the Brighton-based band say: “All we wanna do is take this song onto the stage and be the soundtrack to people’s summer. It’s such a fun singalong song to play".
GOAT - Jazzman
The rather lovely, gently unfurling, pastoral folk instrumental Jazzman is taken from the soundtrack to The Gallows Pole, the recently televised BBC series, directed by Shane Meadows (This Is England/Dead Man’s Shoes) and based on the novel of the same name by former Louder contributor Ben Myers, which tells a fictionalised tale based on the true story of David Hartley and the Cragg Vale Coiners, which became the biggest fraud in British history. More subdued and soothing than GOAT’s traditional cosmic psych-funk, it’s a perfect summer evening soundtrack.
CARR - Spiral City
Embracing the same clipped vocal tone as Wet Leg that verges often on spoken word, Spiral City is alt.rock in the nude, stripped-back entirely to its parts, displayed for all to see. As a playful riff wags through most of the track, CARR utters a continuous warbling of tongue-in-cheek and blazingly honest lines, speaking as if reading from a personal diary, declaring: 'I just want to sit on the couch with you and eat skittles, and you're too busy fucking other bitches but its fine / I wish you liked me back even just a little, 'cos then I wouldn't have to lay down on the floor and die'. After promising a mental breakdown if she's not told she's pretty by the cheating lover, the chorus very then spirals off into a wacky riff that sounds very much like a bumblebee falling down a drain pipe, and it's all brilliantly chaotic.
CHERYM - Taking Up Sports
The latest fizzing, fuzzed-up and fabulous single from Derry pop-punk trio Cherym is described as ‘a love song about the stupid things we do to impress the ones we love’, and arrives with a football-themed video, dovetailing neatly with the imminent launch of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup which begins on July 20. Vocalist/guitarist Hannah Richardson says: “Taking Up Sports is a love song about a time when I had a huge crush on the sporty girl who played football—even though I myself am not sporty or athletic in any way, shape, or form—and about hilariously attempting to join the football team just to get close to this person. It’s an ode to the self-proclaimed stragglers who used to get their friends to forge notes for them so they could get out of double P.E, but it’s also a little nod to the WLW community and a reminder of the ridiculous lengths we’ll go to sometimes for the person we think is worth it.” Ahead of their headlining UK tour in October you can catch Cherym this month at TRUCK festival (July 21) and High Tide Festival (July 30).
