TRACKS

Image: PSiMiTAR

WORDS: ALI WELFORD

The prospect of unearthing fresh, beneath-the-radar gems is the chief fillip which draws me to NARC.’s Tracks section, and having not heard a single entrant prior, this month’s offerings are of particular intrigue. First to catch my attention is Last Of The Aircraft Are Leaving, the maiden single from a collective of local stalwarts operating as Lovely Assistant. It’s another sterling production from Willy Thorneycroft, who was also behind last year’s debut albums from The Dawdler and Fax Machine, and should further delight fans of those records with its beautifully low-key melody and slow-cooked arrangement. The quartet’s eponymous full-length is out in September, and I for one will be listening intently.

The impact of PSiMiTAR’s Everybody (It’s OK), meanwhile, lies in its message. “It’s okay to not be okay. It’ll be okay,” he assures listeners; his thickly accented raps clashing gloriously with MistaBreeze’s soulful chorus and guest verse, all while jarring keys and resplendent sax clamour to control a charmingly ramshackle backdrop. With all proceeds going to mental health charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), this one’s well worth chucking a couple of quid at. Elsewhere, Parallax Skies’ Judith (whose proceeds, incidentally are donated to West End Food Bank) and Ihrsan’s Waterfalls each owe shameless debts to the indie and post-punk sounds of the mid-to-late- ‘80s. Neither is especially inspired, and both certainly lack the potency of Darren Holmes’ Pimples. His latest track serves up a rich dollop of nostalgia with soaring, impassioned vocals.

Image: Lovely Assistant

There’s more gorgeous vocal tones to be found on MullFire’s Up Street, where leading duo Phil and Chloe elevate an acoustic ode to Cleveland’s mining communities, and the generations left behind since iron ore was last extracted in the ‘60s. Church, Honey, meanwhile, isn’t shy of trumpeting his own wares, having revealed second single Church to be the song after which his entire project has been coined. I can’t pretend it elicited quite such a reaction from me, but that’s not to say others won’t be snagged by the singer-songwriter’s tender refrains and spirited delivery.

While it may not be the strongest of this month’s submissions, Matt Dunbar & The Autonomous Collective’s Different Kind of Heartbreak is certainly a contender for most powerful. Citing Ryan Adams among your key influences isn’t a good look these days, yet this country rock nugget tackles the elephant in the room head-on, conveying both the sense of betrayal and loss of trust the musician’s actions and absence of remorse have engendered. It’s a necessary denouncement of a figure whose impact – for better or worse – on modern Americana remains indelible, and the air of conflict is felt all the more keenly from a songwriter for whom his work has clearly inspired an emotional bond.

Finally, I’m probably not the reviewer you want if you’ve formed a pop punk band, so my sincerest apologies to Hometruths, Endless Season and Palace Watson. Of the three, the latter’s Dead As Leaves scores highest for both dynamism and flair, though the artwork for the former’s Soundtrack – a mock-up movie poster starring all four band members and embellished with five-star reviews – is almost enough to win me over!

Image: Matt Dunbar & The Autonomous Collective