It feels like summer. I bought new sunglasses and wore shorts for the first time all year this week. My jeans aren’t making another appearance until September. Feel just as summery as me with some great, shiny new tracks.

Snail Mail – Let’s Find An Out

This is the second time Snail Mail has featured in an edition of this column, and are we surprised? Not at all. Lindsey Jordan, the 18-year-old (!) singer-songwriter-fabulous-guitarist has released the third cut from her upcoming album, ‘Lush’. And it’s the best so far.

This track reels you in straight off with a brilliant guitar pattern that you’ll immediately want to learn to play yourself (how do you think I’m spending the weekend?). Although it’s pretty short, this song has an unusual structure, with no chorus as such, and more of a rolling verse carried on top of that mesmerising picking. It ends with an imperfect cadence, which is a little technique that I’ve always loved. Makes you wanna hear more, right? Right.

‘Lush’ is due on June 8 via Matador, and Snail Mail tours the UK next week. See you at the Bristol show, fans.

Mourn – Fun at the Geysers

Aren’t you glad we caught this single in the press inbox! Despite June seeing the release of their third LP, the Catalan punk band Mourn aren’t a band I’ve come across before.

Their new single, Fun at the Geysers, is about having fun, surprisingly, at the geysers – hot springs that intermittently spout water, like a more benign, tiny volcano. It all started with their trip to Reykjavík to play at the Iceland Airwaves festival in 2015, and the that which stopped them from touring for over a year and a half.

Having spent about 11 hours without eating, the band stated:

“The people from the label that came with us [to Reykjavik] were telling us that through the years we’d learn how to endure being hungry. They didn’t really care about us at that point. We arrived to the city, ate something and went to sleep right away. The next day we woke up and found ourselves alone in Reykjavík without money or food. The people from the record label had taken a taxi to visit the geysers without telling us. We found out because one of them posted a photo on Instagram. They payed for their excursion with the money the festival was paying us, as usual, counting it as ‘expenses’.”

Brutal! So, taking suitably punk revenge, Mourn went off on a day trip to play in the hot springs. They documented an awesome record of their experiences in the form of the song’s accompanying video. Super fun and a great track.

Tunng – ABOP

Honesty alert: I actually only heard of this band because of the recent LUMP project, created by Tunng’s co-founder and producer Mike Lindsay and the ineffable Laura Marling. Colour me intrigued. A quick Internet scroll reveals they’ve had loads of albums, are relatively big, and began back in 2003. Now I feel a fool – but I was eight at the time of their formation. What’s your excuse?

Not my usual approach when discovering new music, but I decided to start with their brand new single. ABOP begins with an electro-pop feel, and a simple vocal sample “Oh, it felt so marvellous!”, which is pretty much on the money with this track.

It’s refreshing to hear an English accent, having spent much of today listening to American singers, furthered when Lindsay’s vocals creep in. It’s neat, precise, and addictive. The only thing that annoys me is that I can’t find out what ABOP stands for.

Their sixth album, ‘Songs You Make At Night’ is due for release on the August 24.

Bully

We saw Bully on their current UK tour on Sunday. They were ACE, despite us having to lug around bellies full to the brim of pre-gig cocktails and Caribbean food. Alicia Bognanno, frontwoman, took over with her searing, raspy vocals as they stormed through songs from ‘Losing’ and ‘Feels Like’, including highlights Kills To Be Resistant and I Remember.

Tune in next time for more waffling from me.

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