No Frills Reviews

Abigail Lapell Feels Like We Only Go Backwards

Taken from an upcoming expanded edition of the Toronto songwriter’s impressive Anniversary LP, this track does what the best covers do and re-imagines the sound of the original. It takes the dreamy psych-pop of the Tame Impala modern classic and transforms it into a hauntingly sparse folk-rock heartbreaker. Where Kevin Parker conveyed a weary resignation to his fate, Lapell’s powerful vocals intensify the anguish and anger that fuel this ode to unrequited love.

Billy Nomates Plans

The reliably excellent, Billy Nomates, continues to preview her Metalhorse LP; set for release on 16th May. With societal doom looming, Plans is an anthem of helpless defiance; one last call for love and joy in spite of it all. While it’s not a huge departure from her typical sound, it’s perhaps her outright poppiest effort to date. With just a hint of 80’s Fleetwood Mac and vocal flourishes that straight-up sound like a young Michael Jackson.

Bruce Springsteen Blind Spot

The Boss has announced the release of an extensive collection of ‘lost’ albums, including his mid-90’s “Streets of Philadelphia Sessions”. Described as his “loops record”, as Springsteen explored the rhythms of mid-1990s contemporary music, including West Coast hip-hop. Classic rock legend goes rap – honestly, it sounds like a recipe for disaster. But this is genuinely intriguing, tasteful … and good! We get Springsteen as we know him, but not quite like we’ve heard him before; delivering a brooding ballad in the vein of the sessions’ namesake hit, set against a gentle pulse that’s somewhere in between trip-hop and Chicago house.

Grief Club Out For Me (feat. AJ Suede)

Grief Club is a new hip-hop duo, bringing together Esh & The Isolations (who is, confusingly, just one dude) and Andrew (less confusingly, also just one dude). Their debut single, featuring another underground mainstay in Seattle’s AJ Suede, sounds like an emo-rap classic (but not the shit kind – think more prime Kid Cudi, less of that whole Soundcloud generation). With a chorus only fit for communal singalongs, it’s a despairing anthem that finds solace out of paranoia and self-destruction.

ialive Camden Beach

Philadelphia’s ialive delivers a bouncy, boom-bap throwback, with laid-back funk grooves courtesy of Detroit producer, Illingsworth. A showcase for his wry, satirism as climate catastrophe provides the backdrop for a breezy, summer jam.

Jim Legxacy stick

South-East London’s Jim Legxacy is the next big name in British rap, and this may be his best single yet. What begins as a tale of heartbreak, quickly morphs into a backstory to a life of evictions and “sellin’ Charli to the brats.” Stick is difficult to define; a raw blend taking in UK garage and grime, a hint of the hyperactive production of JPEGMAFIA, and some of the pitched-up gospel beauty of classic Kanye. An innovative approach, setting the scene for his snapshot storytelling that exudes emotional vulnerability. Legxacy is a rare talent, carving out his own sound.

Komparrison Jane

After calling it a day, Jane is the final single from North-East five-piece, Komparrison. The hazy rush of The Cranberries’ Dreams, merges with irresistible harmonies for an expression of pure, lovesick euphoria. A gorgeous slice of indie-pop perfection marks a fine farewell for an underrated young band.

Lightheaded Same Drop

Following up last year’s Combustible Gems (one of our favourites of 2024), New Jersey jangle-poppers, Lightheaded, are back with more sugary-sweet, lovestruck yearning. Like The Velvet Underground covering The Mamas & The Papas (there’s a 60’s girl group somewhere in the mix there as well).

The Moonlandingz It’s Where I’m From (feat. Iggy Pop)

Sometimes you just need an old dude to really ratchet up the melancholia; even better if that old dude is Iggy Pop. Written by The Moonlandingz’ Adrian Flanagan, and rendered in soothing lounge jazz, it’s Iggy’s hangdog delivery that really transforms this. He seems to capture a lifetime’s worth of joy and sorrow into a beautiful ballad; made all the more moving by the menacing spectre of mortality.

OCENPSIEA Minho-Funk (feat. Ghais Guevara)

OCENPSIEA is a Portuguese collective that sets out with the aim of exploring new sounds; and they do just that on Minho-Funk. It’s a trip that takes in 80’s synth cheesiness, pounding club beats, and traditional folk harmonies. All that, plus a guest verse from Philly rapper, Ghais Guevara, fresh off his acclaimed debut album. And it somehow makes sense; a glorious mess.

Rhys Langston When I’m Squared with Happiness

I have it on good authority that Rhys Langston is due to release one of the best underground hip-hop albums of 2025. But its scope goes far beyond hip-hop; with him describing it as a rapper’s singer-songwriter record. This being a case in point as he croons woozily atop gentle fingerpicked guitar, working through internal conflict with the kind of lyrical dexterity that only he can.

Seb Lowe We Must Defend Ourselves

Seb Lowe has emerged has one of the UK’s best young political songwriters over the past few years. His animated acoustic appearances have taken off on social media, but his recent releases are very much full band affairs. The ominous escalation of this track turns it into perhaps his angriest effort yet, as he helps make sense of another round of cynical opportunism, proxy wars, and empire building for a new generation.

Stealing Sheep Let’s Go! (feat. She Drew The Gun)

With their first release on their own G-irl label, Liverpool electro experimentalists’ Stealing Sheep might have just dropped one of 2025’s best pop moments. As they channel the self-defeating cycle of procrastination into a frenzied swirl of early 00’s UK garage and modern pop maximalism. Like Charli XCX without the marketing budget.

Wife Patrol Ruthless

The Indianapolis trio preview their upcoming second album with a stampeding punk banger. They tackle the human propensity for self-interest, with jagged guitars, pounding drums, chant-along hooks, and even a mini horn freakout. Frenetic punk energy, pop sensibilities, and the production sheen of a hard rock classic; think Joan Jett fronting Buzzcocks.

WU LYF A New Life is Coming

Manchester’s self-styled proponents of Heavy Pop return with their first new music in 13 years. They were always prone to self-mythologising, and they’re back with typical bombast on this 6 minute epic. As the guttural growl of Ellery Robert declares “This is spirituality to me, Something comes from nothing”; you can’t help but buy into the teachings of WU LYF.