NEW #59 Joe Unknown

 

“I like my life in halves, half full’s going to look half empty at times, but thanks to the later licensing laws it’s somewhat easy to get a top up.” 

That’s a selection of just one of the many blistering and heavily quotable lines spat out by Joe Unknown, an artist who blends spoken word with a very British no-holds-barred punk attitude on his debut single Ride from last year.

Think Slow Thai, think The Streets, think Sleaford Mods, think Lady Bird, think Bob Vylan. Then add the driving bass riff from Neat Neat Neat by The Damned and you’ve got yourself a relentless underground classic. It’s easy to imagine this one going off live in a particularly pumped up and rowdy way .

Since that debut in 2021 Joe Unknown has been pretty quiet, but last April he dropped Silent, his  second track. Once more it featured a nonstop barrage of sentences.  If you want hooky choruses Joe probably isn’t your man. But if you want something with mosh pit energy, based on these two tracks, sign him up.

Joe’s been spending the summer touring the small stages at this year’s big festivals such as Latitude, Secret Garden Party and Reading, slowly spreading the word (he has lots of them). As we go into autumn and winter expect a whole bloody dictionary.

Joe Unknown - Ride

 

Joe Unknown - Silent

 

Joe Unknown · Silent

NEW #58 House On Fire

 

It’s time for another addition to the slowly growing roster of artists that feature on Breaking More Waves under the title of ‘NEW’ because, quite obviously, they’re new.

This year has been the slowest year on the blog ever, but there’s still been some gems. From the punk-funk-disco-punch of The Queen’s Head (recently played and interviewed on Radio 1’s Jack Saunders show) to the sassy-r’n’b-pop of Flo who have now dropped their debut EP, to Southampton’s Caity Baser who recently sneaked into the UK top 100 singles, played Reading Festival on the BBC Introducing Stage and could (I think) easily become a regular on your internet streaming service of choice and radio.

According to Spotify our latest new diamond selection has just 239 monthly listeners. This is criminal. They deserve more. 

Why? Because House on Fire are purveyors of the sort of modern hooky pop the likes of Glass Animals make so successfully. Based in Liverpool, House On Fire consist of Tom Murray (vocals and programming), Josh Gorman (drums) and Jan Frost (guitar).

Their most recent single, Neighbourhood, one of only two they have on streaming services, is a slinky, buzzing, uplifting earworm that takes about one minute of playing to confirm its ear kissing friendliness. I had to check the writing credits to make sure it wasn’t a cover it sounded so familiar.

Geronimo, their debut, is more dancefloor friendly, with elements of electropop, funk and a hint of Years and Years in the sound as Tom sings of being ‘a keyboard warrior – modern day Geronimo’. 

Both songs are both rather good, but the question is, why is there so little online about them? There’s a tiny scattering of low-key blog posts |(including this one here) but otherwise nothing. They don’t even appear to have any social media (although there’s evidence of  now deleted Soundcloud and Instagram accounts). The only picture I can find of them is the one above – a poor quality shot taken in a pub somewhere. In fact, the only concrete thing I can find about House on Fire still existing as a going concern right now is that they are playing at Live at Leeds In The City festival in October. 

So maybe there’s more to follow? Keep your ears peeled.

House On Fire - Neighbourhood

NEW #57 Cruel Sister

 

It’s time to introduce a new artist who you’ll probably find adjectives such as swirling, shimmering, ethereal and blissful thrown at more times than 10 Downing Street (now known as the Tory Hacienda) had parties during lockdown (eg: quite a bloody lot). Why? Because Cruel Sister (real name Faith Nico) from Dublin does a nice line in the sort of shoegazey noise-pop that was once the domain of the likes of Curve and Ride and more recently has at least in part been rejuvenated by Wolf Alice.

Having put out a couple of tracks last year, Cruel Sister’s third release shows there’s still life in guitars, reverb, distortion and delay combined with some pretty vocals. The song in question is called chihiro, named after the lead character in Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away (Faith’s favourite film) and is taken from her debut 5 track EP released this September. 

Lose yourself in this artist's dark but beautiful wash of sound. There's a claustrophobic video as well which has shades of The Cure being stuck inside a wardrobe on Close To Me (view here) and Chihiro can also be found on this week’s Breaking More Waves New Music Weekly playlist (here).

Cruel Sister - chihiro

Cruel Sister · chihiro

NEW #56 Nell Mescal

 

If you’re the sort of person that likes to watch Normal People, listen to Phoebe Bridgers and generally get a bit emotional, then Nell Mescal may be the artist you’ve been waiting for.

This 19 year-old singer songwriter from Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland (who has now moved to North London) has just released her second song ‘Graduating’. It’s a rousing coming of age and growing apart ballad, one that quickly builds from a simple piano intro to a swirling, arms aloft at the top of the mountain blockbuster of the highest order. It adds to debut track (and another ballad) ‘Missing You’ that was released way back in 2020 and Nell's recent performance at Barn on the Farm Festival.

The references to Normal People and Phoebe Bridgers are specifically chosen here. The link being Nell’s brother Paul who played Connell in the TV adaptation of the story and whom is currently dating Phoebe Bridgers. However, don’t let these celebrity connections put you off listening to ‘Graduating’. It stands on its own merits – an intimate and yet full-bodied tune that suggests Nell Mescal could well be one to watch.

You can find ‘Graduating’ on the current edition of the Breaking More Waves New Music Weekly playlist (here) and watch the video below. 

The song was produced by Steph Marziano who has worked with the likes of Bloxx, Claud and Millie Turner.

Nell Mescal - Graduating