Sorting through the week’s new singles and songs that have surfaced online over the last seven days, Jamie Skey (@jamie_skey) presents five songs you need to hear this week…
When he started out, London-based one-man-band Memory Maze (a.k.a. Gavin Ellis) promised to produce psychedelic guitar music that would “sound good on pills”, and he kept to his word with his debut single, Modern Spring. With his follow-up single, Like A Mirage, Ellis proves he can also make spangly guitar music that sounds suitable for tugging non-tripping heartstrings.
Texans seem to have a preponderance for partying, just ask ZZ Top or At The Drive-In (when they were still operating). Bubblegum punks Purple, who also hail from the Lone Star State, also know how to upgrade college students’ social lives with their keg-powered power pop, Wallflower being a case in point. This is a hair-of-the-dog cure for the late 90s pop-punk hangover triggered by the likes of Lit, Everclear and No Doubt.
Possessing Danish-Japanese heritage, DIA’s Icy Icy sees Scandinavian sangfroid and Japanese quirkiness meet head on via Little Dragon-esque take on electro pop.
Canadian heavy metal visionary Devin Townsend is best known for his ground-breaking work with Strapping Young Lad, not to mention his shred-heavy work with guitar demon Steve Vai. His latest project, the country-influenced Casualties Of Cool, may well have factions of his hardcore following scratching their head in puzzlement with its rootsy dimensions. Nevertheless, Mountaintop, despite its twang, also reverberates with Townsend’s trademark of cool electronics and meticulous production values.
The Godfather Of electro Gary Numan is set to rattle stages to their foundations this summer with slots at AltFest and Sonisphere, plus a host of more low-key appearances at more modest venues across the UK. In the run up to his summer tour, the Nume’s greasing up his gears with the release of the Newno2’s slow-mo remix of I Am Dust, the original of which was taken from his lauded 2013 comeback Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind).
