Dirty Nice (Photo Credit: Chris Brown)
This week’s round-up of the finest new sounds sees Getintothis’ Mike Stanton feature some pop influenced RnB, fuzzed-out garage-pop and delicately haunting neo-folk.
Dirty Nice have unveiled their latest genre-warping tune LUVIN U, featuring Desta French on vocals. Meshing pristine piano with bouncy synths, gliding strings and split lead vocals, LUVIN U is a masterclass in (a self-styled) flippant pop. Initially written in the group’s alternative capacity as song-writers for other artists, they liked it so much they decided to keep it for themselves.
Emerging a year ago with a couple of murky pop tunes Keeping It Together and Zero Summer and earning comparisons to Jai Paul and Jungle, Dirty Nice initially didn’t send out any press releases, bios or images. Instead they brought the focus to a series of graphic art pieces that tied in with their sounds via telegrams.
LUVIN U is a light and glossy slice of RnB inflected neo-soul combining elements of hip hop and vaporwave giving the song a neon sheen and hazy retro-vibe. It’s clear that Dirty Nice have a singular vision and sound and are happy not to play the usual publicity game, instead relying on their music to create the buzz.
LUVIN U is out now.
Raucous garage rockers Calva Louise share the visuals for deafening anthem Outrageous, further reiterating their potential ahead of a series of eagerly anticipated dates on the festival circuit throughout the summer.
“The video for Outrageous shows (sort of) what it’s like to be in a band for us”, the three-piece stated. “As a band with no money but with a lot of willpower, we’d go on adventures in our tiny old car, going from London to Berlin to Glasgow, facing, at first, a lot of struggles but always having the maddest adventures and all kind of challenges. In the end, nothing really gets easier, but it does get funnier to experience!”
Crammed full with skyscraping riffs, sumptuous harmonies and Jess Allanic’s biting vocals, Calva Louise have earned plaudits for their raw and energetic indie-pop. Outrageous is a pin-wheeling squawk of celebration, pumped full of storming guitars, whirligig drums and shattering shards of atonal pop that bulges at the seams.
Having emerged from the London punk scene, the trio have toured with the likes of Spring King and Anteros displaying their sharp-edged surf rock and quasi-new wave garage pop to great acclaim. Definitely ones to watch out for.
Outrageous is out now on Modern Sky UK.
Alex Bayly (photo credit: artist’s Facebook)
Alex Bayly has returned with a mellow and dreamy track of stripped-down acoustic neo-folk with Clear Air Turbulence. Following up Wade in the Water, Clear Air Turbulence is a shimmering haze of looping, delayed guitar over balladeering piano and textured strings which grow and build towards the soaring chorus. Drawing comparisons with S. Carey, Bayly‘s warm and rich vocals are the final ingredient, blending perfectly amidst the noise.
Clear Air Turbulence is inspired by Iain M. Banks‘ Culture novel Consider Phlebus, “Clear Air Turbulence’ describes the overblown melodrama of the song. Banks‘ often dark space operas and novels conjure up so much conscious and subconscious meanings. But his books often end without a clear resolution”, says Bayly.
The track’s improvised lyric approach draws similarities to contemporaries such a The War on Drugs, and allows the narrative to emerge organically, exposing dilemmas that we all keep in the back of our minds. Loosely it’s about someone trying to make a positive change, but failing:
“Dreaming of a place, baby where I ain’t blue. When you come to me, drip me off the edge.”
Clear Air Turbulence is out now on My Little Empire Records.
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