sound check: Sep 16-22

Sound Check is an internet radio show I created to shine a little more light on just released bangers from unsigned, indie, and indie-adjacent bands and artists. It airs Tuesdays at both 4 am and 4 pm British time on Daz in the Hat radio. Since recordings aren’t available after the fact, I follow episodes up with these recap posts.

All songs featured here were released between September 16 and 22, 2023.

You can hear all of them – and many others that didn’t make it into the episode in the Sound Check: Sep 16-22 playlist.

Fear – Electric Enemy

What a lyric: My own mind is a nightmare. It’s the London-based group’s first single since their debut album dropped back in April and what a ripper of a tune it is!

Wash Away – Arkells

Long time fixtures of the Canadian indie scene, The Arkells have just released their ninth album, Laundry Pile. It’s their fourth in as many years. It’s a different take on the group’s signature pop rock sound than fans have grown used to. Stripped down, intimate, deeply personal, this album is packed with pure ballads exploring heartache and the grief of lost love, and this tune is one of my favourites. The guys have a string of US tour dates coming up in October before returning to their home province of Ontario for a few shows in November.

Everything At Once – Bleach Lab

This may be the most ethereal sounding song about basically being at war with your own choices. It’s definitely one of my favourites from the London-based quartet’s brand new debut album, Lost in a Rush of Emptiness. Singer Jenna Kyle has admitted that the chorus of this one is quite vocally challenging to perform but I certainly think she does the instrospective narrative of this track justice. Bleach Lab are heading off on tour soon, with a number of dates throughout the Uk in November.

I Don’t – The Mucks

The Coventry band is bringing catchy melodies and energetic instrumental sections in their debut single. They’ve got passionate guitar lines that really echo the raw emotion in the fabulous vocal mix. If this is what we’re getting right out of the gates, I’m looking forward to what else these young guys have up their sleeves. The guys play in Leicester on October 28.

Phone Machine – Hot Wax

This is the second single from the group’s upcoming EP, Invite Me, Kindly, which is due out on October 18. This teenage trio from Hastings is being touted as Britain’s next great guitar band. You can hear how they lean into that 90’s grunge and distortion. The band has said this song is about a friend who has followed in the footsteps of poor role models and have fallen into a strange place. The band has intentionally played with sound, including the repeating guitar hook in the third verse to make it sound almost robotic, like an answering machine. The group will be performing at Live at Leeds in the City on October 14 before hitting the road with Royal Blood for the entire western portion of their North American tour.

Feeling Alright – Park Safely

Staying in the grunge neighbourhood, mixing in a little shoegaze and emo sensibilities. This Glasgow-based duo says they “make noisy music noisily” and have recently been recording out of Liverpool.

Alone – Yoke Lore

This track is from Yoke Lore’s (otherwise known as LA-based musician Adrian Galvin, the former drummer of band Walk the Moon) stunning and reflective, just-released debut album, Toward a Never Ending New Beginning. Filled with signature introspective lyricism, this song and this album as a whole is really reckoning with overwhelming emotions like love and loss and the journey that people have to take – the human experience of finding our way to the best version of ourselves. I especially like how in this song, it really captures it’s not always a linear journey- “I know what it’s like to feel like you’re on your own/ I’m on your side and we can talk in tears tonight/ Of all the times you tried to find yourself in the fire/ You’re still not purified and your flaws will bloom from time to time.

Take Me (Back To) – NOISE

This Dumbarton four-piece has an exceptional talent for storytelling. The Scottish lads celebrated the release of their brand new EP, Not Until Tomorrow Night, with intimate, invite- and competition-only EP launch in their home city recently. They say the EP explores the link between nostalgia and the present. Check it out!

That’s Reality – Laura Jayne

This is the second solo single for the singer-songwriter who hails from the north east of England. She said it’s a sad song that was made to be happy, and it really contains the message that you can’t let life get you down. You’ve got to own up to your mistakes and realize that no one is perfect, no matter how things appear. She said it’s inspired by her own experiences being put on a pedastal, but still feeling like she’s just trying to hold onto her sanity somedays. If only we were all so talented and could turn our mistakes into beautiful pieces of art!

You’d Better Dance – The Suttles

Venturing across the channel, we’ve got a Parisian group that formed in 2020. These guys have a throwback sound that’s been called a mix of early punk rock and late 70’s power pop. The new album, their third, is packed to the brim with it. I also love the multi-lingual experience of the album. They kind of swap back and forth between songs in English and French and there’s even one in Spanish!

Suspend – The Kairos

Ah, the energy! What an absolutely monster banger from the Kairos. It’s only been a matter of months since the Liverpool band released their EP, Better Late Than Never, and what a year they’ve been having! They sold out of the vinyl for the EP, had a killer festival season and now about to head off on an 11-date tour throughout the UK in October. They’re going to stop off at Live at Leeds in the City on October 14 along the way. If you get a chance, I highlight recommend getting out to check them out. I had a chance to see them at Isle of Wight this year and they’re a greeeeeat live band!

See the Light – Teenage Fanclub

This Scottish act has been at it for more than three decades! They’ve just released their 12th album, Nothing Lasts Forever, and I hear it was recorded in an epic 10-day session in the Welsh countryside. It addresses topics like impermanence, anxiety and other mental health issues, and it’s definitely more personal said vocalist Norman Blake. Despite addressing some fairly heavy topics, the album plays with light as a recurring theme, as both a metaphor for hope and both the idea of the light of the end of the tunnel that you’re trying to get to. That’s definitely the case in this one and it’s playful, bouncy, with a really fun jazz sax going on that just makes the whole thing more lively.

Sister – Mermaidens

Ah, the shining star’s of New Zealand’s underground! Characterized as an anxiety anthem by the band, it’s a song that’s pretty bubbly on the surface, but it’s actually about being a mess said vocalist Gussie Larkin. It’s about pulling herself back from the dark and telling herself that it’s ok to feel like crap sometimes. It’s the second single from the band’s self-titled album, due to be released on November 3.

Weekends and Weekdays – Sea Girls

This song is full of catchy pop hooks and lyrics that remind us to pause and enjoy life a little. Sea Girls’ frontman Henry says the phrase “Keep your head up” that appears in the song isn’t just a phrase of encouragement. It’s about the relentless pace of today’s world against the backdrop of 24/7 social media and global instability that can be so overwhelming. He says the song captures the moment when a friend tells you not to let the world grind you down. I know I, for one, am very much looking forward to catching them live when they open for Louis Tomlinson in London in November.