THE PLAYLIST

Brandnew Sunset/ Spaceship A concept studio album six years in the making, Brandnew Sunset’s Of Space And Time sees the long-serving metalpunk quartet in a state of introspective contemplation as they explore themes of life, spiritual journeys, alternate realities and a dying mother. The latest single Spaceship is a solid heavy metal number built on punchy guitar riffs and tight arrangements. Lyrically, it talks about leaving behind this planet on a spacecraft to find a new one while posing a series of what, when, how and why questions to the creator of the old world — whoever that may be. Preoccupations/ Degraded Following their name change from the controversial Viet Cong to Preoccupations earlier this year, the Canadian post-punk quartet return with a self-titled new album. Here, we’re treated to Degraded, a second taste of the band’s forthcoming sophomore release after lead single

Anxiety. A mix of snarling guitar riffs, moody synths and thunderous drums, the track finds frontman Matt Flegel announcing the impending doom of mankind in his signature nonchalant baritone: “We’re absolutely obsolete/ Intolerant and overheating/ Leaving our footprints in the concrete/ There’s nothing left here to compete for.” Boredom/ Geometry Boredom is a collaboration between James Cook from British synth-pop outfit Delphic and Melodic Records label manager Andy Moss. Here, the duo shares with us Geom

etry, their debut single that draws together a heady blend of influences from something as wonderfully obscure as “Polish disco” to something as impressively precise as “1980s Japanese re-releases or Paradise Garage mixes”. Oscillating synths, a drum machine and cow bells kick off the musical proceedings, ushering in Cook’s vocals which sit nicely between a state of flippancy and halfhearted enthusiasm. Roosevelt/ Fever Since the release of his 2013 EP Elliot, German producer Roosevelt has been working hard to perfect his unique brand of throwback ’80s new wave and electro-pop, the sound that manifests itself in his new singles such as

Colours and Moving On. Lifted from his self-titled debut LP, latest offering Fever has all the makings of a nostalgiainducing pop jam — sun-drenched grooves, wistful synth loops, funky guitar lines and tom drum rolls. “Get back to where we started out/ Far away up in the sky,” he sings. “Bring back the fever again/ Don’t lose the fever again.” Is this the sound of the summer? We’d like to think so. Glass Animals/ Youth Oxford-based indie-pop outfit Glass Animals keep things positively offbeat on their latest offering Youth, the second cut taken from their sophomore full-length How To Be A

Human Being. Much like lead single Life Itself before it,

the track comes packed with eccentric tribal rhythms and summery vibes underpinned by a nagging sense of melancholy. In his hazy-slash-sultry falsetto, vocalist Dave Bayley croons “Fly, feel your mother at your side/ Don’t you know you got my eyes/ I’ll make you fly/ You’ll be happy all the time/ I know you can make it right.” Youth is as weird as it is wistful.