The New Smu: November 2022

The very best new artists in my inbox this month

Discovering nice new artists is likely one of the most enjoyable issues about music for me. In the event you don’t champion the stuff you’re keen on, you may’t complain once you solely hear the shit you hate on the radio.

There may be an countless and thrilling sea of music on the market, however it may be bewilderingly huge and never with out peril. It’s a must to kiss quite a lot of frogs earlier than you meet an artist previously referred to as Prince. I shall be highlighting a number of the most fascinating current releases I’ve heard by new and unsigned artists, wading by the audio slush pile so that you don’t need to.

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Fe Salamon – Interstate 10

A sweeping, cinematic tribute to Americanna. Salomon’s vocals give the melody a craving, fragile high quality that blossoms into one thing extra highly effective and joyful within the second half. Interstate 10, because the title may recommend, has an air of highway music about it however would maybe be extra suited to sitting by the highway and watching the automobiles go previous.

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The Blue Highways – Tonight

A heat and romantic, stripped again nation/roots impressed observe with lush vocal harmonies that recall to mind rock-ballad classics akin to Excessive’s Extra Than Phrases.

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Somebody – May You Go For Me

Ethereal, shoegazey electronica that may wrap you up in its galactic embrace. Described as evoking ‘reduction, longing and trepidation for the way the fantasy will really feel when it turns into actual’ May You Go For Me actually has a fantastical and magical sound.

 

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Jango Flash – Killing Time

An earworm refrain nailed to a driving, alt-rock sound. Coupled with some nice snarling vocal supply, that is the form of observe that deserves to be large. Offended however upbeat in precisely the suitable approach for sing-shouting alongside to.

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The Well-known Daxx – Treetops

I featured Weatherman, the debut single by The Well-known Daxx, final 12 months and whereas Treetops is a smaller, much less intense affair than its predecessor it has a delicate and complicated magnificence that shouldn’t be ignored. Fairly backing vocals and slide guitars are peppered all through what’s on the face of it a reasonably conventional nation ballad, however with a an edge to the vocal supply that nudges it right into a extra alt/indie sound too.

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Abbie Ozard – Ford (drive)

One other previous alumni of this column, Abbie Ozard returns with a retro sounding electro-ballad that evokes late evening driving on expansive, empty roads. Extra precisely, in keeping with Ozard, it’s in regards to the pleasure and escapism that comes from being pushed. “I wrote this tune earlier than I handed my driving take a look at this 12 months, and I thrived off being a passenger within the entrance seat of the automobile.”

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Single of the Month

George Barnett – Black Tank High

Destined to get lodged in your mind and by no means go away, this can be a catchy as hell, deceptively euphoric anthem that oscillates from laid again electro-rap to offended rock vocals and spacey synths. Lyrically opaque however unmistakably darkish, the subject material contrasts successfully with the air-punch temper of the music.

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Video of the Month

Le Junk – Some Monkeys

Sleazy sounding euro-rock with an digital disco edge, described by the band as sounding just like the ‘shard of a cracked glitterball left deserted underneath hazy lights’, Some Monkeys comes backed by a video that matches that description simply in addition to the music itself. An irresistibly tongue in cheek affair that comes throughout like a low-fi mash up of Saturday Evening Fever and Planet of the Apes. What might you probably not like about that?

 

If you want to submit your music to be included in a future version of The New Smu please e mail me at susan@thesmureviews.co.uk and embrace a hyperlink to your observe. I don’t care you probably have 25k followers or solely your canine has heard it, so long as it’s fascinating, stunning, bizarre or fantastic.

A playlist of songs featured right here, and in earlier months, may be discovered on Spotify and YouTube.

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All phrases by Susan Sloan. Extra of her work for Louder Than Conflict is accessible on her archive. Discover her on Instagram as @thesmureviews and look at Susan’s web site right here.