Listen: Whatever by Anudo

Anudo are a synth pop duo hailing from Italy, and Whatever is their new single. Positioned as a taste of their new album, Whatever simmers with a dark sense of drama.

Using synths, overdubbed vocals and a combination of rock and electronic sensibilities, Whatever reminds me of the kind of aesthetic employed by Foals. The song’s chorus has an introspective sadness to it, synths and bass tones creating a sense of motion as it builds, displaying a sophistication approach to production. Anudo do a remarkable job here, layering electronic and analogue elements together. A truly rude, loose bass guitar carries the song through the bridge at the song’s halfway mark, for example, before it morphs into a more electronic sound, a seamless, distinctive blend.

Overall, the sound Anudo create here has a distinctive sense of emotion and drama. Check out Whatever below, and look for the album, Orange, out now on streaming platforms.

Listen: Ramblin’ by Late Guest At The Party

European-American outfit Late Guest At The Party position themselves as ‘sad boy dance music’, which, for the record, is 100% my jam. Here on Ramblin’ they have partnered with Joe Lambert (DFA Records, and Animal Collective) on mastering duties. And the resulting record is about the journey that ‘often happens in your head’ whilst making music… An exploratory journey of creation, destruction, and reconstruction.

With warm bass notes that have a slightly squelchy, acidic feel to them, Ramblin’ pulses with a nervous energy. Lyrics fly in a stream, a sense of determination creating a propulsive energy as the synths morph around the song’s vocals.

In the middle section, Ramblin’, throws out a cacophony of clattering beats and glitchy electronics, a bridge that gives birth to the song’s closing third. A vocal refrain repeats the line, ‘I’m gonna live in my head’, as the song moves through a slack bass phase, the percussion morphing as the song seemingly hits every single beat possible.

The nerdy beauty on display on Ramblin’ calls to mind the kind of thinking person’s dance music popularised by Hot Chip. I can’t wait to hear more from Late Guest At The Party, whose groove, smarts, and emotion feel equally abundant.

Listen: Coast To Coast by Wish Queen

Opening with the kind of vocal melodies and heart racing drums that would sit at home in the opening of Twin Peaks, Wish Queen’s Coast To Coast has the kind of otherworldly, dreamlike quality I can’t resist.

Wish Queen is the musical pseudonym of Cleveland-based musician Grace Sullivan, and Coast To Coast is taken from her recent debut album, Saturnalia. Sullivan takes inspiration from a range of creative, bold and artistic predecessors, including Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, Fiona Apple, and Lana Del Rey. I also hear some Bat For Lashes here too, even if it is just as a result of a shared set of forebears, and her sound has been compared to Stevie Nicks meets Beach House.

All of which is a recipe to make me swoon. Grace’s glass-like vocals shimmer, like weightless crystals refracting the light to create a glistening beauty. In the song’s middle, the vocal is left almost in isolation, a hushed guitar strummed as the sole accompaniment. It is a beautiful moment of internal reflection that only serves to underline the heartfelt drama as the instrumentation returns.

Coast To Coast is positioned as the narrative climax of Wish Queen’s debut album, an album about ‘breaking patterns and self actualization, through the lens of the astrological "Saturn Return”’. Self-released, Saturnalia is an impressive accomplishment, which points to an even more impressive potential.

Watch: Silent Night vs Santa Claus Is Coming To Town by Trickster

I’ve been sitting on this one for a little while, as anything Christmas related before December is literally too much Christmas. Yet still, Trickster has created something so vibe on this mash-up of Silent Night and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town that I was compelled to sneak it into my Christmas stocking for later.

Trickster is an Austrian-born, England-resident musician whose life story has taken in entanglement with the law, a prison sentence related to ‘financial missteps’, a period as a pilot and soldier, and charity work. Now he turns his focus to music and here, in particular, to the Christmas season.

This new video brings together a combination of tracks that were recorded in London at the legendary studios Angel and RAK, before being mixed at (even more legendary) Abbey Road. The joyous video that accompanies the song was recorded at Pinewood Studios, home of James Bond (you picking up the vibe here now?). It features a combination of musicians and dancers taking inspiration from the aesthetic of a New Orleans Christmas party.

What stood out for me on this track, aside from just the amount of fun everyone is having in the video, is how Trickster embodies these two holiday standards with a level of sheer class. There is enough that is different here to transcend the formula — Trickster is not simply channeling Bing Crosby, as has become common place. Instead, the Big Band foundations here are embellished with extra touches of swing, brass crescendos and a string section that introduces a melodic counterpoint to the principal instrumentation. At the same time, Trickster keeps things conventional enough to make this universally appealing, with a sound that could convincingly date back to the 50s, albeit with impeccable production.

Speaking of production, duties here were handled by Richard Flack, who has worked with both Joe Strummer and Florence and the Machine, and Trickster himself. Look out for a full-length debut album from Trickster in 2024.

Listen: Yeah by Alex Bloom

Alex Bloom’s Yeah shimmers with a timeless, hazy, dream-like feeling. It clearly echoes and evokes the easy-going rock of the 60s, including The Beatles and The Byrds, and more modern iterations of a similar style, including The Shins.

At the same time, Bloom’s music has more diverse influences beneath the surface. For example, on his 2021 single, Bleary, Bloom set out to create a J Dilla like beat, lending his music a lilting, off-tempo funkiness.

Back on Yeah, we have a warm, sun-kissed feel as Bloom deliberately looked to recreate a simpler sound, describing it as ‘music that just feels really great to play and sing’. Written and produced in the summer of 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic raging, Yeah comes from a period that saw Alex mostly confined to the studio in his Echo Park apartment, following a move back home to Los Angeles. Describing the song, Bloom notes the fact that the move hadn’t quite lived up to his expectations:

‘Yeah is about living in a pretty comfy malaise, until one day you wake up and realize how deeply unhappy you are and how many big life choices you've made have been mistakes. And at the same time, everything kinda seems to be fine, though you know deep down it's not at all how you hoped life would be by this point. The music mirrors this sentiment, steady, comfortable, aesthetically pleasing on the surface. Hints of deep yearning pop up until they really boil over in the choruses.’

The way Yeah gently bubbles away, creating an earnest moment of raw reflection in the chorus, shows a wonderful sense of authenticity. Check it out, below: