NME New Music – The best new bands, tracks, albums and videos

• Exclusive Stream – Honeyblood, 'Bud'

  Here's the debut single from Glasgow duo Honeyblood. Called 'Bud', it's produced by man of the moment Rory Atwell (Palma Violets, Veronica Falls), who's pushed the vocals right up in the mix. There are a tonne of wicked reference points to get excited about – a vague hint of The Vaselines, nice touch of Velvets two-chord simplicity and even bit of Moz (solo, circa 'Viva Hate') chucked in for good measure in the melody. Read More

• Exclusive Stream - Blaenavon, 'KOSO' EP

  Showing greater variety in their combined amassed skills on 'KOSO', their debut EP, Blaenavon prove there's more to them than the introduction given on debut single 'Into The Night'. Like a (much) younger, fresher Wild Beasts, over the four tracks on this new release from the teenagers, they present deft representations of delicate indie-pop with folk tinges, waltz structures, classic rock licks and an all round sense of dreamy romanticism. They might not be old enough to buy booze just yet but Blaenavon prove, when it comes to making beautiful, understated gems, age really is just a number. Read More

• Radar Band Of The Week - Lorde

  "Everything that’s put out with my name on it should be representative of me and what I want to do as an artist, as opposed to what some dudes in a room think is going to make a lot of money.” This is Lorde, pop’s most stubborn and fiercely in-control new star. Since signing with Universal four years ago, 16-year-old Aucklander Ella Yelich-O’Connor has been waiting to make her move into the spotlight. That moment came in March, when she released her debut EP ‘The Love Club’ in her home country. Read More

• Exclusive Stream - Crushed Beaks, 'Tropes'

  It might have taken them three years to release something longer than two tracks but, finally, Crushed Beaks have managed it with their debut EP ‘Tropes’. Sure, they’re still pretty far from a full-length but it seems as if the South London duo of Matthew Poile and Alex Morris are opting for a more quality over quantity approach. Expanding on their skuzzy garage-rock to make something more strapping and burly, whilst still retaining their sweet sense of melody. Read More

• Track Exclusive - Radkey, 'Overwhelmed'

  Missouri trio Radkey are back with their massive riffs and andrenaline-fuelled anthems. Touring with Drenge this October, the brothers are following up their acclaimed first EP 'Cat And Mouse' with 'Devil Fruit, recorded in Kansas City. Read More

• Track Exclusive - Darlia, 'Queen of Hearts'

  This new track from Darlia hooked me in as soon as lead singer Nathan Day snarls "Anyone up for a kill? I don't like the way they looked at me" before launching into a chorus about the Northern Lights. Blackpool threepiece met while working as cleaners at their sixth form college, Day using the music room to dust and scrub (read: work up the music he'd written through his teens until it was band-ready). 'Queen of Hearts' is as hooky as a Bald Eagle's beak, brimming with vim, raw energy and the suggestion of a bright future. Read More

• Beliefs, 'She Comes Alive' - Video Exclusive

  I met Beliefs an age ago at SXSW and they were heaps of fun. On record the Toronto duo have been hailed as the "band who are doing shoegaze right" but I think it's a little harsh to paint them purely with that brush. This tune, taken from their self-titled debut album (out now), certainly adheres to it but there's so much more there too – the chorus verges on being jangly the way The Loft were, while the rest of the album offers a few surprises too. Read More

• Radar Band Of The Week - Younghusband

  Younghusband’s debut album, ‘Dromes’, won’t be the most frightening album released this year, but the home that inspired it is the stuff death-metal dreams are made of. “When I was writing the record I was living on my own in this cheap block of flats,” says singer Euan Hinshelwood. Turns out the building was once a bank, then a halfway house for drug addicts with grim bathrooms." “They were like big wet-rooms, so if someone overdosed and died they could just be dragged in and hosed down while their room was sorted out,” he explains. Read More

• Track Exclusive - Blaenavon, 'Wunderkind'

  Following their debut single ‘Into The Night’, Hampshire teenagers Blaenavon return with something a bit lengthier in the ‘KOSO’ EP. They’ve already shared one track from it – the intricate and urgent rush of ‘Prague’ – and have now revealed a second cut in ‘Wunderkind’. Taking a softer approach, it opens with gently twinkling notes before leading into Ben Gregory’s sombre poetics, hushed over a muted, atmospheric from his two bandmates. Read More

• Radar Band Of The Week - Telegram

  "It’s like when you’re driving through a godforsaken part of the American Midwest and you get to a level crossing and there’s a really long train that’s going on for ages. It’s a bit like that, but if it was a toy train. It’s relentless. It’s a relentless toy train.” Telegram guitarist Matt Wood is describing the band’s forthcoming debut single ‘Follow’. Radar would say it’s more like a never-ending freight train. Read More

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