SO.CO Team
New Music Monday - 11th September 2023
It's another mixed-bag o'bangers this week! We've got an indie-belter, folk-punk, steel drums, and a bigger-than-we-would-like dose of alt-country. It's all good though, we'll pop some metal in next week to make up for it. Grab your headphones and enjoy!
Second Guessing - Black Water County ft Hannah Greenwood
When you manage to convince Creeper's Hannah Greenwood to join you on your new single, you know you've got something of a winner on your hands. Second Guessing is a country-tinged rock-ballad that in part bears more than a passing resemblance to Johnny Cash's Hurt, which is never a bad thing. The interplay between Greenwood and BWC's Shan Byrom is intoxicating, and makes for one of the most interesting records of the year.
Sweet & Sour America - Demob Happy
Demob Happy aren't messing around. Three minutes and eleven seconds of indie-rock banger that's heavy on the riffs, the snarl and the sass. We've had our eye on this band since we caught them at SXSW back in March, and they're just getting better and better. This is an indie-disco floorfiller in-waiting.
Tip Toes - Clavish & Aitch
Right now, it's hard to avoid Clavish. His name seems to be everywhere, and Reading and Leeds were confident enough in his ability to draw a crowd that they put him up against The Killers. Here he pulls in a favour from Aitch, and it's a late summer smooth r&b jam that might have been made for the current heatwave in the UK. Hot.
Quarter Life Crisis - Baby Queen
Ever since I was fortunate enough to shoot a (COVID-necessitated) behind closed doors Baby Queen show in London in 2021, I've been convinced that Bella Latham is going to go places. The release of her debut album (of the same name as this single) might just propel her into the stratosphere. Latham is up there with Girli as the best of the current crop of young female songwriters with something to say, and the talent to say it well.
Angry - The Rolling Stones
We couldn't really ignore this one this week. Angry has been everywhere! The return of The Rolling Stones is the very definition of music news, and Angry is an absolute stormer. Proper blues-rock, proper riffs, and a Mick Jagger's most assured vocal performance in years.
Stay For Something - CMAT
CMAT's council-estate-country will never strike me as anything but brilliant. It would be easy for it to come across as a bad in-joke, but she has the talent and the charm to pull it off, and consistently. Stay For Something is exactly what CMAT's fans have come to know and love. It doesn't break new ground, but it doesn't need to. It's superb.
Words: Thomas Jackson
Header Image: Baby Queen by Thomas Jackson