Wow, what a month July has been. Brexit, rain and poorly played football. We kick things off in a fresh month with some music to cheer you up, from Chris T-T, Wooden Arms, MIAMIGO, Team New Band, Rough Citizen, Asta Hiroki, Matt + Boog, The RPMs, Kudu Blue, Dopedemand feat. Ewan Hoozami, The Rocking Horse Club, and Said The Ghost.

Chris T-T
‘#WorstGovernmentEver’ (Xtra Mile Recordings)

Will Chris T-T will be happy that Cameron has resigned? Very likely going by the first track of his new album, ‘9 Green Songs’. As liberal and radical as ever, Chris T-T is a friendly menace in the music industry, re-capturing the vulnerable fury that bore the grassroots, folk-influenced approach of ‘9 Red Songs’. If you have time, definitely check out the animated video for ‘#WorstGovernmentEver’. You can purchase ‘9 Green Songs’ now.

Wooden Arms
‘Burial’ (Wooden Arms)

Meet a quartet whose music is remarkably classical in nature, but also draws influence from trip hop and alternative genres. Enthused with the rhythmic sensibilities of Portishead, blended with the ethereal melodies of Sigur Ros, the instrumentation of Wooden Arms (pictured) has grown since their last album, to include more electronic production elements.

MIAMIGO
‘Forever’ (Indian Hop Recordings)

Indie pop stars-in-the-making, MIAMIGO, gear up to release ‘Forever’ on Friday 15th July. Heavy production and a bold bassline leads ‘Forever’ into an electro fuelled chorus, tempting recollections of similar French styles.

Team New Band
‘Freaks’ (Team New Band)

No, we haven’t transported to the late 90s. You are listening to the Team New Band’s new track, ‘Freaks’. We’ve been told it tells the story of two lost souls in their adolescence who figure out they aren’t alone by finding each other. The single release party is being held at the Green Door Store on Wednesday 20th July, with local supports Blue Eyed Giants, Veni, Vidi, Vici and Chuck Hay.

Rough Citizen
‘Heartstrings’ (Rough Citizen)

Long time Brighton musician, Rough Citizen (aka Bob Duffield), is about to drop his fourth album, ‘Fake Youth’. Classic rock melodies and thoughtful lyrics, Rough Citizen’s music has anthemic tendencies, coupled with a new pop-sheen sensibility. His album launch gig will be at Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar on Friday 8th July, where you can watch him perform ‘Heartstrings’ and other tracks on the album.

Asta Hiroki
‘Her Image In Focus’ (Jalapeno Records)

Asta Hiroki is a Brighton based producer, who takes musical and textual cues from electronica, post-Dilla hip hop, lo-fi, glitch, jazz and soul music. ‘Her Image In Focus’ is one out of two of the tracks on his new ‘Balance’ EP that features vocals from Kathrin deBoer of Belleruche. It’s a track built on acoustic guitar, and much like the rest of the EP, intersperses delicate string phrases over a broken beat that stirs up memories of Bonobo and early Fourtet. The ‘Balance’ EP was released last month and you can listen to the rest of it on their label’s Soundcloud page.

Matt + Boog
‘Duets’ (Matt + Boog)

Husband and wife duo, Matt + Boog, write cute scuzz pop with a melancholic twist. Their record, ‘Duets’ is out now, and includes contributions from members of Bonobo, Miserable Rich, Leisure Society, Strawboy, and Rockerswitch. Not bad for a DIY music team, who we get the feeling aren’t really that lugubrious at all.

The RPMs
‘I Don’t Like It’ (Xtra Mile Recordings)

It’s not very often a band receives an invitation back to play Glastonbury in such early days of a musical career, but one such band, who this year returned to Pilton Farm, are The RPMs. Offering a familiar and timeless sound, this Brighton rock pop trio draw comparisons to Tom Petty, The La’s, Arctic Monkeys, and the Flamin’ Groovies.

Kudu Blue
‘Call Out’ (Lonely Voice Music)

Yet another great track from Brighton/Birmingham-based Kudu Blue, entitled ‘Call Out’. Focusing once again on their sweltering R&B-styled vocals over leftfield electronic production, they remain on our “ones to watch” list for 2016.

Dopedemand feat. Ewan Hoozami
‘Indigo Skyfold’ (Particle Zoo Recordings)

What do you get when a Bristol-based composer/remixer/producer teams up with a Brighton-based DJ/producer/multi-instrumentalist/rapper/singer? An EP called ‘Indigo Skyfold’. It’s an accomplished body of work full of retro computer game appeal and hip-hop elements that immediately evokes memories of skateboarding and smoking weed in the sun.

The Rocking Horse Club
‘Thinking Of Everything’ (The Rocking Horse Club)

A very Brighton track for a very Brighton band. The Rocking Horse Club create original garage rock with catchy lyrics. The video is pretty awesome too, despite singer, Ed, suffering heat stroke from running in a chicken suit in the sun and ‘cameraman’, Eliot breaking his foot in true rock’n’roll manner.

Said The Ghost
‘Inhale Day’ (Summer Solstice)

Many musicians are starting to speak out about the anxiety that they face every day, and one such artist is Said The Ghost; the musical project of Jamie Lees. His EP cleverly starts at the beginning of the day and works its way through until the end, touching on a variety of genres including progressive and psychedelic rock, neo-funk and shoegaze. His EP is out now.

Words by Sarah Puttock
Photo by Michael Clement

If you’re a Brighton band, artist or act with some new music out, let us know. We can’t guarantee we’ll be able to review it, but we’d like to have a listen.