Our weekly fix of the best new music as Julia Mason (aka The Decibel Decoder) brings us her new music review with singles from Courting After You, KEG Skybather and Annie-Dog Please Forgive, Me David Gray
Artist: Courting
Track: After You
Liverpool's Courting unveil their first new music of 2025 with the release of After You, the second single from their third album, Lust for Life, Or: ‘How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story’, set to arrive on 14 March via Lower Third.
Frontman Sean Murphy-O’Neill describes the album as "direct and succinct," with the goal to "hit everyone in the face and leave." Courting have evolved their sound, the rough and tumble of earlier music has given way to more intense soundscapes. Perhaps this is due in part to moving into adulthood, the increased anxiety and paranoia a reflection of increased responsibilities in a tumultuous world. After You follows the twitchy energy of previous single Pause At You. The production and guitars create an unease which lingers, heightened by the lyric "can we split off in groups of two?".
Speaking about the new single, Murphy-O’Neill says: "After You was the first song that we wrote for Lust for Life. It is an exercise in direct songwriting, an attempt to create something very straightforward. We wanted the wall of guitars and the drums to feel almost hypnotic. A lot of the album is about the idea of duality, and lyrically the song can be read in either a stalkerish voice or a romantic voice. It’s all up to you."
* * *
Artist: KEG
Track: Skybather
London-based collective KEG have released their new single Skybather via Alcopop! Records. A slow-tempo smoothie of a single that drips with laconic vocals and swagger before opening up into a euphoric crescendo. It's a less frenetic vibe than we are used to from KEG. More introspective and contemplative, the passion however is still there. The brain needs moments of calm to recharge and this is exactly what Skybather provides. This is still KEG, just listen to the brass section towards the end, but here they are taking a moment.
Commenting on the track, the band said: “One simply must bathe as much as possible. Cleanse the day’s woes in lavender and enter your mind palace. All of KEG are huge bathers, I think maybe we were all from Budapest in a past life. Those guys have it all sorted, sausages and baths. This is our tribute to the act, may all of your baths be blessed!”
The new single is taken from KEG's debut album Fun’s Over, set for release 14 March via Alcopop! Records, and follows on from lead single Sate The Worm and the wonky synth lurch of I’d Fly Tip For You.
Embarking on an Independent Venue Week tour in Jan/Feb 2025, with a run of March 2025 instore dates around the record, the band have also just announced further UK/EU live dates.
Recorded between the studio and home, KEG have refined their DIY approach this time around, producing the record themselves with engineering help from Pozi’s Toby Burroughs and mixed by Connor Simpkins. Offsetting the braggadocious shredding and bombastic instrumentation, the lyrics on the album take a much less cocksure approach - beckoning you into a yearning for suburban living; slightly embarrassing admissions of inadequacy; the feeling of creative failure freeing the imagination; taking pleasure in the mundanity of an unsure mind; bathing for freedom and just a couple simple love songs.
* * *
Artist: Annie-Dog
Track: Please Forgive Me, David Gray
Irish auteur Annie-Dog shares new single Please Forgive Me, David Gray via Dance To The Radio (Ellur, Far Caspian, Terra Twin). The track is from her forthcoming EP 15 set for release 27 February, and the indie songstress continues to ethereally blend genres. The electronic beats combined with guitar and drums create a mesmeric soundscape, completely captivating.
On the new single, Annie-Dog share: “Like every Irish person my age, I was brought up on David Gray’s White Ladder album. My parents rinsed it constantly, and Please Forgive Me was always a favourite.
I made Please Forgive Me, David Gray on GarageBand, and really, I just made it for me. I didn’t put too much thought into it. And I definitely didn’t think I’d ever share it. I suppose I wanted to insert myself into the song, because I love it. I wanted to be a part of the song’s world. I hadn’t ever properly covered a song before this and I haven’t since. It’s not usually my bag. I like writing my own songs. It’s what drives me creatively. But remaking somebody else’s tune turned out to be a lot of fun. I‘ve been playing Please Forgive Me, David Gray at my live shows as of late, and I’ve been asked so many times to put it online. So here it is. Annie-Dog meets David Gray.”
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and never miss out on gig info and our latest deals
تعليقات