What we've been listening to...Warmduscher, The Lounge Society, Mush, Hey Bulldog, Silverbacks, Porchlight, Wet Leg, Geese

By Jon Milton

Slowly but surely, life seems to be getting back to normal. Gigs are happening, albeit with a few extra checks, and people are bouncing up and down and knocking into each other at the front, just as it should be. 

Top of any discerning gig goers list should be to see Warmduscher on their 2022 tour in April, surely one of the best acts on the circuit by some distance. To whet your appetite, the band have a new single ‘Wild Flowers’ out now and a fourth album on the way early next year. Wild Flowers is certainly a trip, it’s got a funky beat and you can bug out to it, as Double L once said on Paul’s Boutique. Wild Flowers should also bring a smile to your face, as Clams Baker unloads his expletive driven anxiety over a chipper seventies disco stomp. Glorious. 

Also a bit of a handful live on stage are the Lounge Society, who released their new single ‘Last Breath’ earlier this week. I caught them at my local venue Bedford Esquires a month or so ago, and despite the relatively low turnout that night, they put on a blinding show, full of energy. I can’t help but make comments about their youth when referring to them, as they are ridiculously young but they’re also ridiculously talented, as this perky new single attests. And they seem to be evolving their sound already! 

Elsewhere this week Mush have finally given ‘Clarion Call’ (the other side of their Peak Bleak 7 inch) a digital release, continuing what seems to be a trend with them of releasing superb tunes that don’t appear on their albums, like what the Smiths used to do back in the day. A fine tradition and one that should be lauded.

Silverbacks have released an excellent second single from their forthcoming second album ‘Archive Material’ which brings together the Velvet Underground and the good Captain Beefheart to impressive effect, and after a long hiatus, garage rockers Hey Bulldog have bought out the riff-tastic ‘The People That You Know’. 

​It’s been a few weeks since the last article so I thought it would be worth adding a few honorary new release mentions too to cover that period. If you’ve not heard of Porchlight you should really give their new single ‘Country Manor’ a listen and try and catch them when they gig. Outside of their support slots to Egyptian Blue (which seem to be mostly sold out) they are playing here and there (Old Blue Last in London in November for example) and judging by some of the social media footage they look well worth checking out. We expect big things from them in 2022. 

If you’ve not heard of Wet Leg, where have you been? At the time of writing the band have acquired over half a million monthly listeners on Spotify, with debut single Chaise Longue (which only came out in June) been played nearly 3 million times. Extraordinary for a debut single. Their new single Wet Dream is pretty tasty too, and they’re already slated in to play a UK tour at some sizeable venues next year. 

Another exciting newcomer for 2021 are Geese, whose debut album ‘Projector’ comes out at the end of this month on Partisan Records. So far there’s been three singles released, with the title track from the album out a couple of weeks ago. As is the case with Wet Leg, the band buck the ongoing trend of shouty/spoken vocals (not that there’s anything wrong with that by the way) by actually singing, and based on these album tasters you feel like ‘Projector’ should be an interesting and exciting listen.

Head to newmusicsocial.com/playlists to check out the best new tracks from last month (on the monthly playlist) or if you want a more up to date weekly version in bitesize, follow the fiver on the same page.