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NME‘s Radar Roundup is your weekly reminder of the rule-breaking rising artists you simply can’t afford to ignore right now. From interviews to reviews to track recommendations, here is where you’ll meet your favourite new artist.
Interviews
This week, Yorkshire’s Working Men’s Club on how the bleak winters inspired their debut, Brooklyn’s mxmtoon insists that going back to the bedroom isn’t a stepback, and Ruby Fields finds some much-needed clarity on her new album.
Working Men’s Club
Inspired by the bleak winters in his hometown of Todmordon in Yorkshire, Syd Minsky-Sargaent and his band tear lumpy chunks out of the surrounding hills on their brilliant self-titled debut album. But the real victory? Keeping listeners on their toes, he says: “We’ll just continue to fuck with them. I enjoy confusing people”. Read the full interview Matty Pywell
mxmtoon
Having initially built her following as a successful YouTuber, making music in a virtual world is something that comes naturally to Brooklyn singer-songwriter mxmtoon. But as the global pandemic forces her back into her bedroom, Maia refuses to see this as a step backwards. Instead, she has embraced the challenge of Zoom meetings and solo writing with a tenacity evident on new EP ‘dusk’. Read the full interview Katy Hills
Ruby Fields
At the heart of Ruby Fields’ ‘Pretty Grim’, there’s a startling realisation; this isn’t working for me. The song paints a grim picture of blood in the bathroom sink, a pounding headache and a lifestyle of barely getting by. As the song evolves, Ruby concedes that it was never meant to be this way. It chimes with many’s experience in 2020. With the pandemic bringing into focus the value and qualities of our lives, ‘Pretty Grim’ encapsulates that feeling of imagining some kind of self-improvement. Read the full interview Thomas Smith
Reviews
Never let a killer new release fly under your radar. This week, there’s a mysterious arrival from Las Vegas-based artist Isola and the long-awaited debut from Beabadoobee.
Isola – ‘EP 1’
By naming her debut without connotations, ‘EP1′ gives Isola the artistic freedom to explore multiple ideas at once while conjuring contrasting vibes across each of its seven tracks. ‘EP1’ marks confident first steps of an innovative artist whose intricately-crafted compositions are breathing new life into experimental electronica, and deserves closer inspection. The artwork – that of organisms hustling and bustling under a microscope – is a fitting one. Key track: ‘Ischia’ Read the full review Ben Jolley
Beabadoobee – Fake It Flowers
One of the album’s greatest triumphs is the fact that Bea’s duality – rock star-slash-kitchy-introvert – is displayed so explosively is the album’s greatest triumphs. Neither part cedes space to the other; the two sides of her persona stand confidently shoulder-to-shoulder, intimate melodies giving way to choruses that, in another time, would have enraptured the masses live in concert (nevermind). Read the full review Key track: ‘Dye It Red’ Thomas Smith
New Bangers
NME’s New Bangers is our weekly-updated playlist that’s full of the essential new tunes you need in your life. Here are some highlights…
Low Island – ‘Don’t Let The Light In’
Channel Tres – ‘Skate Depot’
Joesef – ‘Does It Make You Feel Good?’
Club Intl – ‘Ash Is Gone’
Listen and subscribe to NME’s New Bangers:
The post Radar Roundup – October 9, 2020: The killer new music you need to hear this week appeared first on NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM.
