Hello! Lisa here. Every month, I'll be digging through the best new submissions on Musosoup, picking out a handful of tracks that have pricked up my ears and piqued my interest. Hopefully you’ll like some of them too!
I read a stat recently that said there was more music released in a single day in 2024 than in the whole of 1989. I’ll let that sink in for a second. As a journalist - and also just as a music fan - it’s no wonder that trying to mine for the gold amongst it all can feel utterly overwhelming, and trying to get any kind of handle on who might be the next in line can seem increasingly tricky amongst a sea of (often meaningless) stats and streaming figures.
That said (!) I still think you can tell from a mile off when something has potential; when someone has a distinct artistic outlook or identity, and it makes you want to know more. And so with that in mind, let’s go!
Aside from the fact that ‘Transported’ comes with a notable cosign from Ratboys’ vocalist Julia Steiner, who lends her talents to a response verse on the track, this standout from Modern Cults’ EP of the same name already has a lot to love. Sweet and simple in a way that recalls the doe-eyed, direct sensibilities of early Best Coast, Chicago’s Ryan Orda does lo-fi garage pop with heart that fans of old school Mac DeMarco will likely lap up.
Earth to Cheska - Under The Weather
If you took the snotty, ‘fuck it’ attitude of FIDLAR and sent it to a pop punk show, you might end up somewhere near ‘Under The Weather’. Earth to Cheska - the project of Los Angeles-based Cheska Zaide - looks the part too: all pink hair, Cyberdog outfits and fish eye lens press shots. As a package, it works, while her latest has the sort of fists-aloft, earworm hook (“All my friends are getting high…”) that you can imagine ringing out in the victorious, sweaty encore moments of a festival set.
On the excellently named ‘Depression Nap’, Lancaster-based Grace Monako makes the sort of future nostalgic (to quote Dua Lipa) sounds that have one foot in the hyperpop world of Hannah Diamond and another in the ‘90s revivalism of PinkPantheress. There’s a strange quality to the vocals - sweet and naive but also a little scrappy, a little off - that intrigues. 6Music’s Emily Pilbeam is already a fan, which means Grace is doing something right.
Of everything I listened to on the site this month, this track by Austin-based brother duo Art Pop feels like the most exciting genuine discovery. They’ve got 70 followers on Spotify, they’re clearly very new to the game, but ‘teenage scum’ is brilliant: scrappy and weird and completely DIY in the best way. The vocals sound like they were recorded in a bin by someone doing a Fonz impression; the guitars are mainly just three chords round and round for nearly six minutes. It’s one of those songs that would be shit in the hands of 99/100 people but Art Pop have something about them.
Whilst a bad name isn’t insurmountable (see: Arctic Monkeys), a good name will do an awful lot of legwork in the beginning. Gin Wife, clearly, is a very good name. I also like that at no point in any of her materials does she say what her real name is. Who cares! She’s Gin Wife now! ‘Pro Golfers’ has a retro ‘40s swoon that reminds me a bit of the long-defunct Pipettes or one of my favourite new artists Ellie Bleach, all of whom’s tongues are clearly firmly in cheek.
___________________________________________________________
Listen to all the tracks on Lisa's Musosoup playlist:
Check out Lisa's other work here.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Stay updated with the latest Muso news, tips, and success stories. Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss an update!
