The best things we heard in August

Fran Slater: I was at Manchester Psych Fest on the final day of August. Among good to great performances from Prima Queen, Billie Marten, NewDad, and Cloth, the absolute standout of the day was Girl and Girl.

They thrum with intensity on stage, as tight a unit as you’re likely to see. But their songs are fun, packed full of relentless energy and lyrics that will bring a smile. I’ve been listening to their album Call The Doctor all month, and it was a joy to see the raw sound come to life at Manchester’s Deaf Institute.

Katie Burke: August’s highlight for me was Angie McMahon; 2023’s Light Again, Dark Again has been on heavy rotation as I eagerly awaited the Glasgow date of her recent European tour.

A sold out show at Oran Mor, McMahon shifted gear with ease between the melodic ‘Fireball Whiskey’, a full-scale crowd singalong to ‘Making it Through’, and crowd-favourite heavy hitters ‘Slow Mover’ and ‘I’ve Been Lost’. A magical evening of Indie Folk and I’m excited to see what is next.

I was also fortunate enough to see Haiver in August, an indie rock five piece led by Frightened Rabbit Guitarist Billy Kennedy. Kennedy’s self-deprecation about his lack of experience as a frontman, made for an evening of laughs and comradeship. I personally think he’s at it – he had the audience in his palm of his hand. Every member of the crowd was rooting for a good show, and the band delivered. Kennedy’s talent as a songwriter is evident, with raw lyrics matched to catching melodies. Not currently with a label, you’ll find self-released singles on Spotify and YouTube as a taster of what’s to come. 

I squeezed in a final show on August 31st, a rescheduled Blink 182 at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro, looking for some teenage pop punk nostalgia. The band came on at 8.45pm and finished at 10.15pm. Many young people were there. There were some pyrotechnics. My friend told me that Travis Barker had “aged like a fine wine” about six times throughout the evening. It was £7.80 for a pint. 

Roll on September with the release of Bright Eyes new album, Five Dice, All Threes on the 20th!

Tom Burrows: An easy pick for my favourite August listening: the recent album release from Bashy, Being Poor is Expensive. 

I mostly knew Bashy from my sister’s late noughties rotation of mid-range UK hip hop and R&B artists that my teenage self was fairly uninterested in. But this release – his first album in 15 years after pursuing an acting career – is the latest example of the elder statesman era of British rap, where forefathers of the genre reckon with their advancing years and look around at the society that they’ve grown up in (see Kano and Ghetts’ recent output for further examples).

I’m a great fan of the development in these artists’ work. It’s giving us the kind of compelling album-length storytelling that we routinely get from US conscious rap but has been lacking over here in the past. Being Poor is Expensive uses its sound to ground us in the environment of Bashy’s upbringing, with warped garage, gospel and dancehall samples conjuring the feeling of hazy recollections punctuated by occasional vivid memories.

We’re taken through North West London, where even ‘sweet boys’ with strong support networks could ‘turn sour’ through the politics of the street. Our author reflects on his experience of being othered by Britain’s treatment of its Black and migrant communities. And we get vignettes from life growing up in the capital, on highlight ‘On The Rise’ (recorded into an iPhone voice note), and on closer ‘Midnight in Balans’.  Being released one day before the cut-off for the Mercury Prize is a shame as it deserves further recognition, but it’s well worth a listen if you haven’t heard it yet.

James Spearing: August was perhaps a surprisingly good month for new music. Caribou is back and he seems to have a real thing for 90s deep house. And I’m all for how it’s rubbed off on his music. ‘Honey’, title track of the upcoming new album, is unmistakably Caribou at the top end, but the bass is off the scale. Jill Lorean also has a new song, ‘Crushing the Campsies’. With a hint of PJ Harvey, it feels like a step up from her criminally underrated debut album. We’ll see where else the new direction takes us, but surely album number two is on the cards soon.

On eagerly anticipated new albums that are already out, Rosie Lowe has released another incredible piece of work in Lover, Other. ‘Mood to Make Love’, ‘In My Head’ and ‘Gratitudes’ teased more of the same sultry soul in advance, but album tracks ‘Bezerk’ and ‘Sometimes’ have opened up a whole new unexpected experimental electronica side to her songwriting and production. I’ve been hugely impressed and can’t wait for her to announce some tour dates. On the live side, I finally got to see LCD Soundsystem, along with newer acts like Nation of Language and Sofia Kourtesis at All Points East in London.

Rick Larson: Amyl and the Sniffers released a new single, “Chewing Gum,”and announced an album release in October. That’s happy news! Best thing I saw/heard this month, via the magic of live streaming, was their set at Outside Lands, the 3-day festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Amy Taylor is a phenom at commanding a stage.

Out of curiosity I watched Chappell Roan’s set the next day in front of a huge crowd. I’m glad I did. She is a total theater nerd in the best of ways. I liked the costumes, the drummer, the vibe. This was before she went public regarding her fragility in the face of sudden overwhelming fame. I hope she gets through it and her fans relax and don’t become freaks like that cruddy subset of Mitski fans.

Sam Atkins: I am the pop fan of Picky Bastards. I am the one who complains any time I get told to listen to the next shouty man music band that’s ‘important’ and ‘raw’ in a world of mainstream pop. Being annoyed at having to listen to Fontaines D.C. has become an integral part of my personality at this point, but one listen to Romance has completely destroyed that world view.

Romance might be the guitar album of the year, it’s hard to remember a band sounding as confident when pushing their sound into a new direction. All 11 of these songs completely nail it and not since Wolf Alice’s Blue Weekend has an album like this had me so hooked. Every single, from ‘Favourite’ to ‘Starburster’ is already a classic hit, but it’s on Desire, Bug and Death Kink that this album has me completely under its spell. I’m not sure how, but Fontaines D.C. have completely blown me away this month.