There are times when all I want is a song with a great tune played really well. You know the sort of thing – tune that you can either singalong to or hum, the kind of thing you find yourself singing or humming as you make your way down a sunny street or traipse around a supermarket.

York based One Iota are giving us that in spades. ‘Summer Daze’ has it all – a beat that’ll have you dancing your feet off (or even in your seat if you’re not up for anything more vigorous), a tune that’s positively infectious (in a good way), words that demand you sing along, and some damn fine playing.

Look I’d be the first to admit that this is nothing cutting edge, It’s not going to test out your ears in weird ways; it’s a fab slice of 60s/70s influenced pop. But there isn’t anything wrong with that, great pop is hard to do. And examine it a little closer and you’ll hear some fine vocals, a fantastically tasteful 70s pop guitar break. And you can hear and feel the sunny days; the hope of Summer.

So get a group of mates together, grab your preferred beverages, sit in the sun, and crank this one up. In seconds you’ll be smiling. It’s Summer in a song.

Summer Daze will be released on Spotify, Apple, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Music and several others including Tik Tok and Deezer!

Another release from VENUS GRRRLS, another excuse to gush outrageously (as though you need an excuse – Ed). The reason I continuously gush is that with every release the band push the envelope of their sound changing it in small, or indeed big, ways that add fresh thrills.

The fresh thrill in the case of ‘Hate Me’ is a big dose of funky pop goodness. Cueing this thing up for the first listen I got the impression that they had decided to take the radical step of making a pop song – filled with funky bass, some wonderful sly synth lines – but no they’re just messing with us, first impressions can be wrong. Think of this as alt-rock where the quiet is that wonderful poppy sound, and the loud is, well let’s describe it as an all out sonic attack. I say all out but there’s nuance that funky bassline kind of continues into the loud; and this, my friends, is an utter fucking joy.

Lead singer GK, says; ‘Hate Me began as a Garageband demo that was written during one of the lockdowns, where we really wanted to focus and hone in on making some memorable motifs and melodies. It’s got a pop edge that we’re really excited about, but feel it maintains all of the crucial elements of our original musicianship’.

And this being VENUS GRRRLS you’d expect this to be a song about something, a message, a story, and it is. GK continues ‘The song can be construed in a multi-faceted manner, tackling once again similar issues that exist within our previous tracks such as Goth Girl and Deranged. An example of this being where women are continually judged for behaviours that their male counterparts are not judged for, and thus being looked at differently for no real logical reason. Correspondingly, Hate Me is delivered in a story-telling fashion that focuses on unsaid emotions between people, where there is a complete lack of communication about said feelings and happenings. It’s about the internal complexities this can cause, and explores the desire to have clarity and closure. It’s one of our more simplistic songs lyrically, but with the punchiness of the song we wanted there to be an uncomplicated and bold dialect alongside it’.

And while being a ‘more simplistic song lyrically’ it still gives you a lot to think about. The fabulousness of the band is that not only do they give you a raging fantastic sound but something to think about. And this, my friends, is a good thing.

There is so much to love about this track; my personal favs – the range of vocal styles that GK employs from poppy to full on rock, that bass, the power of the full on raging sound, the particular way that GK delivers the phrase ‘it’s lame’ (I know, that’s just me, I have a thing about vocal inflections). I could go on, I won’t.

If you’re late to the party with VENUS GRRLS, this is the one to get on ASAP. For those of us who’ve been tracking the band’s musical journey this is yet another ‘push of the musical envelope’. The contrast between the poppy hooky bits and that raging sound is delicious – the seasoning in the sonic mix.

This is a brilliant release from a brilliant band. Simple as that. Play loud and proud.

Firstly – just so we are all in the same information space – this Bull song is going to appear on Formed By A River Volume 2 (read more about that).

I have to admit that this is actually the first Bull track I have ever heard (that is knowingly, it’s quite possible I might have heard something from them not knowing who it was). So after my first listen I had to do a quick diversion over to my streaming service of choice to check out some of their other songs. On that research, and what I’d read about the band, this song isn’t quite what I expected.

It lasts 60 seconds, and is a chaotic blast of crazy guitar and frenetic vocals. For those of you who have seen the band you’ll know the song.

Bull say “‘Grandma’s Pen’ is a song quite literally about my Grandma’s Pen. It’s a fast poem really. My Grandma was an extremely cool woman, so I’m expressing pride in her. We recorded it live and in about 10 minutes. It’s fun to play live, people can jump about to it. We plan to release an album at some point in the future called ‘An Inch a Minute’, a new recording of the song will feature on this album, composed of 20, minute long songs – ‘With Grandma’s Pen I’ll Write Again’.”

It’s quite difficult to review a 60 second long song to be honest. It would be simple, and true, to say that it’s bloody fantastic but that doesn’t seem enough.

It has hints of back in the day US punk bands – The Dead Kennedys for one – and strangely, or perhaps not, The Cramps and one huge dose of punky garage rock. There’s some fab out there guitar. Bull are packing a lot into a minute here.

It’s bloody fantastic.

Formed By A River · Grandma’s Pen – Bull

Leeds’ band Restless Youth do songs that are stories about everyday life, about things they see and experience. They are, if you forgive me this slightly pretentious statement, the musical equivalent of street photography; they take the everyday and turn it into art.

Setting the scene for ‘The Tobacconist’ the band say ‘You’re soaking up the sun in a local park, with a can of your poison and good company; when you’re approached by a young man selling cheap illegal tobacco. Usually you shrug off these types, but something about him tells you there’s a story to be told. This is that story’.

This story is told in both almost spoken word rap and soulful vocals over slightly jazzy, touches of soul – piano up front, a jazzy groove to die for. And rest assured you are in for some fine fine playing here; this is a band who know their musical stuff.

This is one entertaining song; the mix of soulful jazzy sounds, spoken word and soulful vocals can be described in no other way as happiness encapsulated. The musical breakdowns for spoken words that shine. This is mixed media music that conveys the story in words, music, sonic textures, feel and mood.

The reason you want to go back to their songs time and time again is not just because musically they’re fab but because the words in their songs are like poetry or prose. You can really get your teeth into them.

I adore what the band do; and this is, in my humble opinion, their most adorable release yet. A wonderful short story in musical form.

Stream/download: https://songwhip.com/restless-youth/the-tobacconist

The info

Restless Youth play a unique fusion of genres; using elements of various contemporary styles to create their infectious, upbeat sound. Formed by disgruntled students in Leeds, the band focus on telling the stories of local characters, whilst keeping your feet tapping

It’s been a while since I’ve had a release preview from Gawjuss in my hot sweaty hands – not literally of course, it’s a stream but I’m guessing you know what I mean – so I was excited to hear it and, of course, review it.

Gawjuss have what I like to call an inventive DIY approach to their music; the feel isn’t polished to an immaculate sheen. There’s a sonic texture, there is a looseness that is a joy. I call it Alt-Rock Pathetique. Or alternatively we might call it Alt-Art Rock; there’s that arch feeling on display.

A small aside: Alt-Rock Pathetique is my own personal term. It comes from the genre of Punk called Punk Pathetique back in the day. There were bands who took the format and feel of Punk but made it ‘not rock’ at all; all the crashing drums and thrashing drums were taken out. So it is with Gawjuss – it’s Alt-Rock in format – quiet loud, out there guitar solo, hints of things you might recognise as being Alt-Rock riff wise – but it’s not in any way mosh your arse off rock. This is not a critical term at all.

‘Sleepwalker’ starts with a glorious slightly twisted vocal that’s just not a rock vocal at all, a raw strummed guitar, a loping rhythm; that’s the quiet. Then a strident guitar sound – that’s the loud. Are you getting this now? There’s wonderful warped guitar breaks. There is somewhere in there a dash of blues. And through it all runs that vocal; taking a tone that is one part early Bowie and one part DIY music of the 80s. It makes me go all wobbly.

It’s like nothing you’ve heard before but at the same time reminds you of lots of things far, far too numerous to list. It’s highly original, inventive and clever, as well as being fun. ‘Sleepwalker’ is way up there on my list of fav releases I’ve reviewed this year.

This release is like a glinting light in the darkness, a burst of joy in the bleakness of the world. It’s just too lovely for words. It’s a song I just want to hug. I both want to keep it as a private song that I hold as special and nobody else knows about, and tell the world that it’s fabulous. It does that to you.

The info

Where that band name came from, explained, Kieran says ‘I saw the graffiti ‘Nikki iz Gawjuss ‘09’ under a bridge in Durham. It reminded me of all those band names spelt wrong like DIIV, Wavves, etc and I put it in my notes immediately”

In recent years Kieran Wade Clarke (AKA Gawjuss) has released a steady stream of singles and EPs as a way to capture something, release it and move on, constantly exploring. It’s always been quite laid back, however, things have changed in the past year; Kieran is pushing forward to more certainty, putting a band together and adding production support, while still retaining a raw approach to themes and topics covered. For all intents and purposes, this is the beginning of Gawjuss.

With the addition of James Douglas Wilkinson (bass) and Blue (drums), Gawjuss feel more than a one-person exploration. Despite Kieran recording the majority of the songs alone, James supported with arrangements and Blue programmed the drums. The artwork was provided by Kieran’s sister, Devon Clarke.

Kieran has teamed with super-producer Alex Greaves (BDRMM, Working Men’s Club, Maximo Park, LICE) who also contributed bass and organ to the track, to create a lulling lament of restlessness and uncertainty. With the line “At night I just go to bed, and when I wake up I’m just somewhere else” underpinning the sense of unease, it builds slowly, with Kieran’s yearning vocals leading the line, then crashes into a descending chorus hook before opening into a ragged, Neil Young-like guitar solo – packing a lot into two and a half minutes.

“I wrote this song while I had insomnia, it’s a love letter to sleep. Like a reset button when you get lost in the noise of your own head”

Samh is one of those bands who do that thing I adore; you never quite know what a release is going to sound like, you expect the unexpected. And so it is with ‘Keeping Waves’.

Skittering drums and moody warped guitar may lead you to think you know what’s coming but there’s a twist. Over this skittering rhythm comes the sweetest melody and an angelic voice, occasional vocal harmonies to make you swoon. The skittering gives it an edge of darkness, a feeling of unease, of anxiety. Reinforced by the return of the warped guitar and a thudding jerky bassline. The contrast of the sweetness and the darkness is exquisite. It’s so finely balanced; one is not allowed to overcome the other.

That sweet slightly yearning voice sings words about love, about sexuality. Another double edge to the song.

It reminds me of Scritti Politti (formed incidentally by Green Gartside while studying fine art at Leeds Polytechnic – now Leeds Beckett University); that sweetest thing and drum feel and sound. But then again it has echoes of somewhat avant-garde jazz based post-punk music (I’m thinking Rip, Rig and Panic).

Enough of the comparisons because this has something all of its own. A beauty in the darkness that edges into the light. It bestows a feeling emotionally that is addictive; I found myself playing it again and again.

This is something you must hear, you must listen to really hard, it demands that. This is so good it hurts.