Music
Setlist
The Discover Setlist – 24 January
Tune in to what's been playing at Ticketmaster this week – including Superchunk, Crystal Eyes, Pussycat Dolls and Saba
‘Running With The Hurricane’ – Camp Cope
Contemporary 90s-influenced rock can sound a bit like fancy dress, but not in the hands of this superb Aussie trio. ‘Running With The Hurricane’ dials down the fury and leans into the angst, the rolling piano, wandering basslines and Georgia Maq’s impassioned howl blending together into something that wouldn’t sound out of place on Yellowjackets. MG
‘Wishes’ – Crystal Eyes
Nope, it’s not ‘Pictures Of You’ or ‘Inbetween Days’ by The Cure. Squint at the artwork and it almost looks like Disintegration, but Calgary retro-New Wave kids Crystal Eyes manage to spin their own shimmery dream pop into something much more optimistic, calling it “a feel-good self-help record for the age of existential dread.” PB
‘Animals’ – KAWALA
My playlists are heavily dominated by songs I like to walk to at the minute as I drag my feet through each of the 10,000 steps I’ve challenged myself to complete daily. This KAWALA track is one I’ve found myself sticking on as I start my walks recently. The sweet playfulness of the London band’s opening verse is a nice warm up before getting to that foot-tapping rhythm that quickly dictates my pace. Note: this also makes a good road trip tune! OC
‘This Night’ – Superchunk
How do you make a Superchunk song even better? Adding in Camera Obscura’s Tracyanne Campbell certainly doesn’t hurt. Her voice proves a perfect foil for Mac McCaughan’s high, plaintive whine on this frankly brilliant second single from the band’s upcoming album. The acoustic guitars and strings call to mind Mac’s superb albums as Portastatic, and nobody’s going to complain about that. MG
‘Come My Way‘ – Saba (feat. Krayzie Bone)
Soulful and spaced out, the new cut from Chicago rapper Saba actually flexes a lot of vocal intricacy and energy in spite of its instantly inviting beat. He’s joined by one of his idols, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony member Krazyie Bone, whose dextrous style helps to blow energy onto the track, but it’s the dreamy “And then we good” hook that brings you back for more. JB
‘Let’s Pretend We’re Not In Love’ – The Reds, Pinks & Purples
As long as Glenn Donaldson keeps writing songs, they’ll keep appearing in these lists. ‘Let’s Pretend We’re Not In Love’ is yet another sighing, jangling heartbreaker from the San Francisco indie popper. MG
‘Light Switch’ – Charlie Puth
I have rarely used TikTok over the last two years but when I did it was to check in on Charlie Puth and his latest release ‘Light Switch’. The singer-songwriter has documented every step of the writing process over the last number of months – including recording the actual light switch heard in the finished track. OC
‘The Middle’ – Jimmy Eat World
Anyone who ever owned black nail polish has been getting misty-eyed over the When We Were Young line-up ever since the poster went up. The Paramore comeback has hogged most of the headlines, but any decent emo-pop-punk nostalgia-trip will land right at Jimmy Eat World’s feet. PB
‘It’s Only Dancing’ – Young Guv
Young Guv is ex-F***ed Up guitarist Ben Cook, but this alter ego is fast outstripping his old day job. In 2020, Cook released two albums of pure power pop joy: Guv I and Guv II. Guv III is on the horizon, preceded by this blast of unadulterated 80s-flavoured fun. MG
‘Looking Back’ – Melody’s Echo Chamber
‘Looking Back’, the groovy new single from French psych-rock titan Melody Prochet is, in her own words, “like a vivid, nonchalant, poetic walk to the unknown”. She’s not wrong, but it also sounds like a return to the blissfully kaleidoscopic self-titled debut, having delved into far more isoteric and chaotic realms on 2018’s Bon Voyage. If ‘Looking Back’ is anything to go by, the forthcoming LP Emotional Eternal will be the perfect accompaniment for the first days of spring.
‘React’ – Pussycat Dolls
Not to lament too much about the last two years but one of my biggest regrets is not being able to get a mild buzz on and embarrass myself on some dance floor to this return-to-form from Pussycat Dolls that was released just weeks before… well, you know. OC
‘This House Is…’ – Jarvis Cocker and Gustavo Santaolalla
Netflix’s surreal new animated anthology film The House is gorgeously grotesque. Come for the creepy stop-motion mice – but stay for the beautifully odd end theme by Jarvis Cocker and film composer Gustavo Santaolalla. Imagine ‘Live Bed Show’ whisper-sang in an Argentinian cemetery. PB
Hear January’s full Discover Setlist below:
Tickets are on sale now or soon for many of the names on this week’s list at ticketmaster.co.uk. Check back next week to listen to another Discover Setlist.
