Into Music Reviews: New Music September 2023

Fair to say Summer is behind us now but as we go into Autumn there is plenty of new music to tingle the earbuds and tickle the sonic senses. So, read on for the first batch of great tunes that Into Creative wholeheartedly recommend.

Artist: Melenas
Single: K2 
Label: Trouble in Mind records

Now, we do like a Spanish band over here at IC towers, we’ve highlighted the delights of Doctor Explosion, Hinds and The Gulps (40% Spanish) in the past and our latest discovery is Melenas, who hail from Pamplona.

The band have a couple of albums under their belt, the latest in 2020, and this year has seen a flurry of singles released including the recent K2. If you are a fan of motorik, dreamy pop with a splash of electronica and kraut rock, then this is for you. With dashes of Sparks and Stereolab, this single is sure to feature on my end of year “best of” for 2023, it’s an absolute earworm which has been on constant repeat for days, nay, weeks!!!

Melenas have a new album on the way in the shape of Ahora and I for one can’t wait for that. Let’s also hope for some U.K. tour dates too. For more on the band, head over to their Bandcamp page here.

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Artist: Soup Dragons
EP: Love Is Love 
Label: Raw TV Products/LNFG

It really was quite something when the news filtered through that Sean Dickson, Sushil Dade, Ross Sinclair and Jim McCulloch aka The Soup Dragons were getting the band back together and were planning a run of tour dates. If that wasn’t enough, the band reconvened in Glasgow’s La Chunky Studios to record their first new music in over three decades.

The result is 2 exquisite tracks that show this is much more than a nostalgia trip for the band. Love Is Love with its angular guitars, solid rhythm section and a vocal by Dickson that is so at home with itself is an absolute wonderous joy. It feels like the band have never been away, the track exemplifying evident confidence and a cooler than cool execution. Flip side No Music On A Dead Planet has a slightly rockier feel with some planetarian bops and beeps and an additional vocal from The B-52s Fred Schneider. The track also highlights the band’s work with Music Declares Emergency which is a climate pressure group.

Speaking of the latter track Sean Dickson said”We wrote a song together and used No Music On A Dead Planet as the title. It is the first song the band have written completely together which seemed fitting as it is clear the only way things are going to improve is by everybody working together, to try to improve things, bit by bit, decision by decision. As a band we feel that music can help bring everybody together to address this critical issue at this critical moment in time, right now, before it’s too late“.

To buy The Soup Dragons E.P. Love Is Love head over to the Last Night From Glasgow website here. For details of their upcoming U.K. tour including a date at Glasgow SWG3 alongside The Vaselines and The Pastels (DJ set), head to the website here.

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Artist: Helen Love
EP: Steve Lamacq session 16.09.98 
Label: Precious Recordings of London

I mentioned at the start that Summer is on its way out but fear not, this E.P. from Helen Love is an absolute ray of sunshine. This Steve Lamacq session perfectly captures the mood, it’s unashamedly indie pop with a smile on its face. A cover of Tommy Gun is introduced by no less than Joey Ramone and Love incorporates a bit of Capital Radio though, cheekily, changes it to XFM.

Elsewhere, Does Your Heart Go Boom? has an infectious, zingy keyboard hook, taking a pop at Man Utd (and why not) and has a great “baby I love you” refrain, speeding along at a rate of knots.

Shifty Disco Girl is a straight up punk rocker with a thudding bass line and Blondie-esque harmonies from the Welsh band while the closing MC5 kicks out the jams in a warped bullet of a song incorporating samples. Great stuff.

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Artist: Hazy Sundays
Single: Off The Cuff 

Despite only having a handful of single releases to date, Hazy Sundays are making quite the name for their selves on the Scottish music scene. New single Off The Cuff helps showcase the band’s talents and its a brash, confident don’t f#ck with me track that hits the mark and then some.

The opening guitar cuts in like a siren before crashing drums and a vocal that struts like a peacock, the song pulling and prodding the listener in equal measure. This is indie rock at its finest, the energy is electric, raw and passionate.

The Glasgow four piece certainly know how to make an impression and on this form, definitely a band to watch out for. The Hazy Sundays play King Tuts Wah Wah Hut along with Low Rise on 14 October. Head to the link here for tickets.

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Artist: Little Man Tate
Single: Undercover Lover 
Label: Best Of Three

Absolutely great to see Little Man Tate are back with their first new music in over ten years and, suffice to say, the Sheffield indie rockers are back with a belter.

Three minutes of piercing guitars, pulsing bass and crashing drums along with caustic lyrics show the band have lost none of their verve. The track rolls along at a pace that’ll no doubt go down a storm on their upcoming U.K. tour including a date at Glasgow Garage on 15 October. A show not to be missed. It will see the original line up of Ben Surtees, Jon Windle, Dan Fields and Edward “Maz” Marriott take to the stage to play through their excellent back catalogue and new material including Undercover Lover.

The single will precede the new album Welcome To The Rest Of Your Life which is out 17 November. For more, head to the Little Man Tate website here.