Off The Wire: April 2022

Off the Wire takes a look at the most captivating new musical releases of the previous month by upcoming acts and bands both within the UK and internationally. In this column we seek to scratch below the surface and draw light on the underground and boundary-pushing alternative artists who's work has roused the attention of ourselves and music fanatics alike.  

A round up of April's efforts sees an abundance of exciting LPs and singles that are hot off the press- from the Turkish folk-come-psychedelic sounds of Israel's Satellites to the ambient yet industrial Just Mustard, here are four new musical releases from April 2022 that are a must-hear.

Satellites- 'Satellites' (LP)

Though only forming two years prior to the release of their astounding debut self-titled LP, Satellites's impeccable unity of trad-Turkish folk and psychedelic pop makes for a sound that appears to have multiple years of practice, writing and experimentation behind it. 

As part of Israel's Tel Aviv music scene, Satellites cleverly blend native traditional song and instrumentation with Western melodies and rhythms. Ripe with a neo-psychedelic pop and rock influence, 'Satellites' rings bells of acts such as Khruangbin and Tame Impala at times, particularly for the album’s exceptional production value, not to mention the heavy dance and disco characteristics that unforgivably plague the record. 

Their cross-continental style stretches as far as the Eastern hemisphere, incorporating resounding Afro-beat type drumming patterns on tracks like 'Olurmu Dersin' and 'Yar Oi'. Sitting atop these dance-invoking foundations of bass and drums are their signature blend of baglama, bouzouki and further percussion, which honour the Anatolian folk artists of their heyday, all the while granting Satellites their trademark sound. While the majority of the album explores Satellite's ability to delve deep into their groove and rock capabilities, closing tracks 'Yagmur Yagar Tas Ustune' and 'Cecrom' (respectively) see Satellites wind the LP down to a close, with Azriel 'Raz' Man's percussion dropping out and to make room for Yuli Shafrifi's shimmering yet haunting vocals. 

For fans of: Kikagaku Moyo, Khruangbin, Tame Impala, CAN, Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Just Mustard- 'Mirrors' (Single)

Just Mustard's sharp contrast between ethereal and industrial proves an idyllic juxtaposition of genre for the Dundalk quintet. 2018 saw the release of debut album 'Wednesday', a beautifully crafted eight-song body of work that perfectly demonstrates their unique pairing of Shane Maguire's unrelenting, tom- heavy drums and David Noonan's raucous six-string barrage of fuzz and echo, with the delicate vocals of Katie Ball sat atop this cacophony of noise. 

While 'Wednesday' truly shows us the chiaroscuro of sounds that they have to offer, latest single 'Mirrors' captures the fragility and grace of Just Mustard's songwriting capabilities like nothing else in their current discography. 

'Mirrors' sees the five-piece wearing their nineties dream-pop influences on their sleeves. While still not a far cry from the sounds of their debut, Just Mustard do eliminate the metal-on-metal, feed-back ridden guitar and rumbustious drumming of their previous work, stepping into a somewhat gentler and more melodic territory with their recent effort. The third instalment in their recent string of singles, 'Mirrors' leads us ever-closer to their highly anticipated sophomore album 'Heart Under', and with their sonic palette seemingly expanding, it's looking to live up to its expectations.

For fans of: Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, The Cranberries, Portishead, The Telescopes 

Pol- 'Comme Ca' (Single)

Netherlands born siblings Ruben and Matthijs Pol's emergence as a full-throttle eighties inspired synth duo marks quite a drastic change in musical direction for solo artist Ruben Pol, at least. The brothers' immersion into drum machine loops and polyphonic synthesizers is successful  in unearthing the lost and now-overlooked digitalized tones of the eighties new-wave and synth-pop scene.

 Drawing strong influence from the likes of New Order, Duran Duran and Japan to name a few, debut single from the Dutch two-piece 'Comme Ca' takes the listener back to a golden era of electronic music, sandwiched between two guitar rock-prominent decades. While eighties revival acts such as Corners and Molchat Doma are stylishly resuscitating this untouched time period in music by swapping out guitar riffs and acoustic drum kits with saturated, chorusy synth lines and programmed drum loops, this modern take on music made some forty years prior to now still sounds somewhat contemporary. While it may be perceived as a negative to define a song as a 'carbon copy' of something, it would not be wrong to state that Pol's sound on 'Comme Ca' is incredibly difficult to differentiate from that of a Depeche Mode or Human League track, at least production-wise, which seems to be something that they are striving toward on their debut effort.

This can be contributed in part to the input of renowned mixing engineer Dave Bascombe of Peter Gabriel, Tears for Fears and Erasure fame (to name a few), who's aid on the mixing of 'Comme Ca' can be clearly identified for his highly recognisable style of mixing. Despite obvious influence from previously mentioned acts, the reverb-drenched, roomy vocals of Ruben and Matthijs to the sporadic segments of delayed keys that interrupt the song's continuous looping drum sample give Pol a distinctive touch that puts them in their own league entirely thus far into their new musical endeavour. 

For fans of: Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Molchat Doma, Gary Numan, Tears for Fears

The Lazy Eyes- 'SongBook' (LP)

No doubt, any avid follower of Australia's ever-growing psychedelic music scene has heard The Lazy Eyes' captivating 'Fuzz Jam', the lead single off of their recently released debut LP 'SongBook'. With it's distinctive bass line and aligning fuzzed out, pitch-shifting guitar riff, the track lays a solid foundation for the album's continuous switch between shimmering keyboard melodies and and high octane stoner-rock tinged grit.

Though critics are eager to compare the sounds of the Sydney outfit to that of fellow space-rockers King Gizzard, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets and Oh Sees, a respectable chunk of the LP takes on a soulful approach that entwines subtle funk grooves with vintage art-rock and jazz-oriented psychedelia. 

Indeed, the twelve tracks of SongBook encompass the musical versatility of The Lazy Eyes from one song to the next. 'The Island' is a prime example of their ability to write a fundamentally pop earworm, thanks to Harvey Gereghty's richly melodious vocal delivery. Instrumental track 'Hippo' is a two minute- twenty second progressive climax that plays with phase-soaked jazz chords and experimental drum fills, while the hypnotic 'Starting Over' leaves no stone unturned, employing Elliot Smith-esque acoustic guitar and vocal pairing alongside Beach Boys reminiscent harmonies and Glockenspiel usage. Penultimate track 'Imaginary Girl''s sweeping, frequency-bending synthesizers hit upon strong Electric Light Orchestra energies, while album closer 'Cheesy Love Song' further excavates seventies-soft-rock territory with it's plodding piano hook and dry lead-guitar noodling that sound tonally akin to that of the songs of 'Imagine'. The Lazy Eyes' sonic ambidexterity on 'SongBook' only lays the groundwork for further musical exploration in the form of a sophomore album, which we're positive is on the cards.

For fans of: Babe Rainbow, Post Animal, Tame Impala, Oh Sees, Fuzz