Charlie Ashcroft’s Musosoup Round-Up November 2024
Charlie Ashcroft: Presenter @amazingradio, DJ @SomebodyTM_Club. Also a @QPR fan, a @RecCollMag columnist + #Spotify Playlist curator with @music_gateway
Allow me to interrupt your Christmas wrapping for a moment, with a feast of new tracks which landed in the last few weeks. Some absolute gems here!
Let’s begin with the inimitable Dude Safari. ‘Love Me Like You Want Me’ is an undeniably catchy, consistently pulsating slice of grunge-fuelled power pop! An essential winter pick-me-up.
I recently came across Manchester band Dreaming of Citra for the first time. ‘Bitter’ is a bona fide indie anthem from an outfit who you should definitely be keeping an ear out for in 2025!
Peri Rae is another impressive standout for her range of recent work. With regular endorsements from BBC Introducing and a live support slot for Alfie Templeman under her belt, the Cornwall-based artist is a brilliant storyteller. ‘You Drove An Hour Trip’ is her stunning November release.
Joshua Idehen unleashed a new EP called ‘Mum Does The Washing’ to hugely deserved acclaim towards the start of the month. His re-working of Talking Heads’ classic ‘Once in a Lifetime’, in collaboration with The Social Singing Choir, is a joy to behold. Play it loud!
Fresh from putting out their ‘Old Haunts’ LP in October, Canadian outfit Neon Ghouls quickly followed it up with a stirring new single just a few weeks later. ‘Grim’ is an absolute belter - a synth-packed, dancefloor-ready colossus.
Silver Lake are a Dutch duo, making beautiful folk pop, who released an excellent self-titled debut album last year. ‘Flowers Grow in the Saddest Parts’ is their first new material since then and consolidates their emerging reputation beautifully.
Taking things in a soul-leaning direction, Liverpool-based Northern Irish artist Naomi Campbell made a fantastic statement of intent with ‘Don’t You Mind’, channelling saloon-bar country music and cinematic Americana to jaw-dropping effect. What a voice!
Over in the States, we find Italian-born, Brooklyn-based composer Andrea Longato on compelling form with his latest release, ‘Wishlist’. The guitar-led instrumental draws on ambient and jazz influences and will transport you to a gentler realm!
Staying in the New York area, but this time around Queens, songwriter Andrew Alarcon has made a great impression with his new track ‘Otherwise’, whose emotionally-charged dreampop textures call to mind the work of artists like Elliott Smith, The Veils and DIIV.
Moving west to Los Angeles, Phil Galloni, under the alter ego Waverly Drive, is another name to look out for. ‘Ordinary Lover (lost demo)’ is a glacial, captivating record, simultaneously sounding like a newly-unearthed 80s diamond and a limited edition 7-inch single which could’ve been released on the Cascine label in the 2010s.