Posted on Tuesday 26th March 2024 at 16:00
As another month draws to a close, Gigantic Tickets can't wait to show off what we’ve been listening to! Check out our playlist and enjoy a wonderfully eclectic collection of tunes compiled by our wonderful team of music lovers. Press play and listen to everything from country & Americana to metal & hard rock, plus pop, indie and hip-hop too!
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Nashville country singer Dasha burst onto the scene last year with the release of her debut album Dirty Blonde, and she ended 2023 with the release of her huge anthem which is a catchy track about an elusive lover. "Austin" appears on the What Happens Now? EP and has become a massive viral success via TikTok and broke into the Top 10 of the UK Indie chart.
“Drop” by Turnstile is exactly what you need when you’re in the mood to rock. This 97-second punchy number is found on the Nonstop Feeling album and takes no prisoners with its granite hard riffs, high-impact drums and slamming bass.
Jalen Ngonda’s “Come Around And Love Me” is silky-smooth and a real treat for all soul lovers. This modern-day classic has a timeless quality, with his raw yet powerful vocals and gorgeous string accompaniment drawing on 70s vibes.
“Kiss Me” is a dreamy collab from hip LA synthpop sensation Lorely Rodriguez AKA Empress Of and electropop star Rina Sawayama. India Harris directs the stunning accompanying video which sees the pair appear in the English countryside dressed as angels, and the single appears on the new album For Your Consideration.
Irish garage-punks SPRINTS have been proving to be one of the year’s big breakthrough bands thanks to their killer debut album Letter To Self. It includes their clawing and claustrophobic single “Heavy” which explores feelings of being trapped and anxiety. Catch them at Bearded Theory and Live At Leeds later this year.
Caroline Polachek’s cover of Roger Doyle's “Spring Is Coming With A Strawberry In The Mouth'' was a bonus track on the special edition of her latest LP Desire, I Want to Turn Into You and has quickly turned into a fan favourite. If you like this, be sure to check out more of Polachek’s art-pop bangers, including “Sunset”, “Bunny Is A Rider” and “Welcome To My Island”.
“Rescue” was the second single to be released by premiere post-punks Echo & The Bunnymen and later included on their first album Crocodiles. A little rough around the edges, “Rescue” hints at the greatness to come with Will Sargent’s frenetic approach to the guitar and Ian McCulloch’s doom-laden vocals.
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“October Sun” is the first offering from Oisin Leech as a solo artist. One-half of the acclaimed folk duo The Lost Brothers, the Irish singer-songwriter’s stripped-down tender track is slow-paced and packed full of emotion.
“Love in a Car” is an ethereal song from psychedelic alt-rockers The House of Love. It details the spent passion of an imploding love affair, as all the desire and excitement begins to fade away like the passing landscape on a journey.
BE is the experimental project of Wolfgang Buttress which saw the sonic artist explore the relationship between humans and bees. Vibration signals from a European honey beehive were captured and implemented in this ambient folk-rock masterpiece.
Prog-rock genius Peter Gabriel strips down David Bowie’s passionate single about love across the Berlin Wall to find an even greater emotional intensity. It may be a sombre re-interpretation, but it finds a new strength and humanity through its fragility.
Newcomers pencil have been quick to impress. The London-based art-rock quintet have signed to Moshi Moshi, a label renowned for recruiting the most innovative and evocative of artists, to release their debut single “The Giant” and new offering “The Window”.
“the mould” is an off-kilter bedroom pop track from mui zyu. The lo-fi beats are joined by her angelic voice, as she explores her relationship with others and hidden meanings in interactions. “the mould” will appear on her next record nothing or something to die for which is scheduled for release on Friday 24th May 2024.
Nottingham-based alt-country gang Divorce are going from strength to strength. Signing to major label EMI, they follow up their Heady Metal EP with the new single “Gears”. Produced by Catherine Marks (boygenius, Foals, Wolf Alice), “Gears” is singer and guitarist Felix Mackenzie-Barrow’s account of being stuck between working long hours whilst trying to get the band off the ground.
“Goddess” is Grammy Award-winning composer and musician Laufey’s declaration of humanity. The soft, piano-led song asks listeners to see the real person and not to be fooled by the persona that has grown around her.
Spanish indie-rockers Hinds are back, with a bouncy new number listing all the little loves in their lives. It’s their first release in four years, and a welcome return for Carlotta Cosials and Ana Perrote who hit the UK in May.
“Selkie” is a dramatic instrumental track from contemporary classical composer and musician Anna Phoebe. It is inspired by mythical sea-based creatures that can transform between seal and human forms as found in Scottish and Irish folklore.
“Rooftop Dancing” is a playful single from electro-folk Sylvan Esso about the joy of movement. The video is directed by photographer and filmmaker Cheryl Dunn and sees people dancing throughout New York during the golden hour.
Lime Garden’s “Love Song” draws heavily on influences of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and LCD Soundsystem, marrying indie-rock with electronica. It’s also the first track on their debut album One More Thing which dropped in February on So Young Records and is essential listening.
Check out our interview with Lime Garden drummer Annabel Whittle about her favourite album White Men Are Black Men Too by Young Fathers. CLICK HERE to read.
Philadelphian indie rockers Mannequin Pussy have just unveiled their fifth LP I Got Heaven which contains the epic single “I Don’t Know You”. Drawing on elements of shoegaze, “I Don’t Know You” is all about the excitement of unexpectedly seeing someone and all the many possibilities and opportunities the chance meeting could lead to.
Acclaimed rapper and pop culture polymath Childish Gambino (AKA Donald Glover) teamed up with Brittany Howard in 2021 to rework her mind-blowing track “Stay High” for her Jaime Reimagined record. Glover was just one of many stars recruited by the multi–Grammy Award winning experimental-rock musician for their remix albums, with further famous names including Michael Kiwanuka, Bon Iver and Laura Mvula.
“Spoons for the World” is a delightful little ditty by Patrick Lefler, the psychedelic songwriter simply known as ROY. The contemplative track is set to feature on an album of the same name, set for release on Friday 19th April 2024 with Idée Fixe.
“The Captain & Me” is the title track taken from The Doobie Brothers third album and found right at the end of the record. It’s certainly worth waiting for, as the (nearly) five-minute-long funky song celebrates a voyage of spiritual discovery as we move towards a world of equality and freedom.
Brooklyn blues-rockers Favourite People show off their deft fingerplay and dexterous approach to the six string on the resplendent “Mass & Mustiness”. The playful tune appears on the bands only album, a self-titled psyche-rock instrumental record released on Will Holland AKA Quantic's Selva imprint.
John Grant can’t find anything that compares with the object of his affection on house-disco banger “Disappointing”. Together with Everything But The Girl’s Tracey Thorn, the pair recount great writers, drastic landscapes and magnificent sights which all pale in comparison to their lover’s smile.
Irish alt-folk and pop-country songwriter CMAT (AKA Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson) reflects on the demise of a relationship, and surveys all the damage now it is finally all over. Realising that perhaps she’s just as much as fault, CMAT counters the bitter lyrics with a bright sound to create an earworm that will stay with you for a long time to come.
Eurovision Song Contest winner Sandie Shaw radically reworks “Reviewing the Situation” taken from the musical Oliver! Her 60s pop take of Lionel Bart’s Tony Award-winning show tune previously sung by Fagan still sounds fresh and zingy.
Featuring the late great poet Benjamin Zephaniah, “May Sound Crazy” is rapper Kofi Stone’s account of growing up black and British. Stone tells the unfiltered truths of his past on the emotive soul-driven track whilst Zephaniah offers a wider view of how racial inequality has continued to cause strife throughout the ages.
Last year saw the release of “ina crueler” by Dublin newcomers Bricknasty, which later featured on their debut EP with the same name. Their melancholic take on funk fused with alt-rap marks them as an exciting new prospect, occupying a unique jazzy hip-hop space of their very own.
Folk-pop singer Kate Bollinger of Ghostly International takes the reins on Drugdealer’s single “Pictures Of You”. Her sweet voice provides the lead vocals over the mellow, sun drenched anthem of summer love from a distance.
Archy Marshall is better known as the jazz inspired post-punk songwriter King Krule. Last year saw the release of his “Seaforth” single which is a surrealist ballad of finding peace as the world comes to an end.
“Getting Kinda Boring” is a bonus track found on Lack of Afro’s (AKA Adam Gibbons) second album My Groove Your Move. It’s a groovy little shaker which pinches the infamous bassline from The White Stripe’s “Seven Nation Army”. Perfect for cocktail parties and any occasion when you want to turn up the good vibes.
Minneapolis alt-rockers The Replacements try their hand at a bit of country on “Swinging Party”. It exposes songwriter Paul Westerberg’s vulnerable side, anxious about being in public but also afraid to be alone.
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