WATCH: REWS – ‘Not Your Soldier’

Following on from previous single ‘Misery‘, Bristol-based pop rock outfit REWS have shared their latest track ‘Not Your Soldier’. Full of the band’s trademark gritty riffs, passionate vocals and pop rock energy, the new song is a cathartic anthem designed to empower listeners and encourage them to reject the expectations of others in order to live an authentic life.

Created and fronted by Northern Irish multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Shauna Tohill, REWS have been busy recording new material after a string of live shows last year, including a support slot with Therapy?. Now, with the release of their new single, REWS are gearing up for a busy year, fueled by the determined spirit that underscores their new track.

“’Not Your Soldier’ is a song about taking control of your own life, rejecting the pressure to conform to others people’s expectations, and making choices that benefit our planet and every living being on it,” Tohill explains about the song. “In a world with so much uncertainty, its important to embrace our true selves and stand up for what we believe in, so I hope people feel empowered by this track!” Tohill has transformed her feelings of frustration and uncertainty into another vibrant pop rock anthem.

The single is also accompanied by a video, shot by Shona Cutt and edited by Tohill. The visuals feature the songwriter causing chaos in the kitchen, whipping up some seriously unappetizing treats whilst belting out the chorus to the new song.

Watch the video for ‘Not Your Soldier’ below.

Follow REWS on Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Five Favourites: SOFTEE

Having just released her debut album, Brooklyn based artist Nina Grollman – aka Softee – creates sparkling alt-pop soundscapes with a stirring, heartfelt emotion. Oozing a glistening immersive splendour throughout, Natural explores complex themes of identity and transformation with a soulful, uplifting energy.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspires them. So, to celebrate the release of Natural, we caught up with Softee to ask about the music that has inspired her the most. So, read about her five favourite songs, and make sure you check out the album, and watch the beaut new video for latest single ‘Isn’t Enough‘ below...

Stevie Wonder – ‘Summer Soft’
The first time I heard this track, I was nine years old. My mom played it in the car. I was so into all the key changes and the build of the song. I’m obsessed with Stevie’s voice. As I grew up, my appreciation for the song deepened. For years I thought he was singing about a past relationship. When I finally looked up the lyrics, I realized it’s about the seasons, and aging. It makes me so emotional when I hear it now, because it’s so full of passion and fervour, and it’s about getting older and time slipping by. The dichotomy of these two concepts is so rich. Stevie can truly write about everything and make it timeless.

Charlie XCX – ‘Sucker’
Let me explain. I know this isn’t Charli’s best song, but it’s extremely important to me. The year is 2014, and one of my best friends had an extra ticket to the Bleachers concert in Minneapolis. Charli was co-headlining the show, but I had no idea who she was. I barely even knew Jack Antonoff but I went cause duh, free ticket. Charli comes onstage in Adidas pants (BEFORE they were super trendy) and sports bra, with an inflatable guitar and sunglasses. She has an all girl band. She opens the set with ‘Sucker’. Something in me completely shifted. I was like “oh, THIS is a fucking POP star.” I didn’t know pop could be grunge??? For that album, she was influenced by the Shangri-Las and super cool underground ’90s pop. I was obsessed with her energy and the set brought me an adrenaline high I don’t think I’ve ever topped at a show. To this day I hear this song and I get butterflies.

Robyn – ‘With Every Heartbeat‘
I think my favourite Robyn song changes daily, but today it’s this one. The strings. The simplicity of the beat. This song completely hypnotises you while ripping your heart out of your chest. It’s hopeful while reckoning with the fact that the relationship is over. Robyn is a genius, and one of my biggest influences. I love how simple and powerful her songwriting is. She is endlessly innovative. Her chords and melodies make me want to cry.

La Roux – ‘Automatic Driver’
When this song came out I listened to it on loop for ages! It’s so danceable and fun. A perfect song to walk to on a sunny day when you’re in a good mood!

Little Dragon – ‘Another Lover’
This is me and my fiancé’s song. It’s so infectious, from the melody to the production, to Yakimi Nagano’s vocals, to the driving bassline. This song has it all. I’m a major Little Dragon fan. Their electronic-pop-rnb fusion is so singular to their sound. I am very inspired by it. 


Massive thanks to Softee for sharing her Five Favourites with us! Watch the video for latest single ‘Isn’t Enough’ here:


Natural, the debut album from Softee, is out now via City Slang.


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ALBUM: Hannah Jadagu – ‘Aperture’

Blurring the lines between pop, shoegaze, hip hop and grunge, Texas-born, New York-based musician Hannah Jadagu‘s debut album Aperture is a bright, kaleidoscopic collection of heart-on-sleeve indie anthems. Released via Sub Pop, the record’s title – defined as both “an opening, hole or gap” and as the “space through which light passes in an optical or photographic instrument” – hints at the way the artist processes and filters her musings on family ties, personal growth and epiphanies about life, love and religion. The result is a shimmering collection of guitar-based tunes that reflect Jadagu’s vibrant talent as a songwriter.

The follow up to her 2021 EP, What Is Going On?, also released via Sub Pop, Jadagu’s debut full length is a real step up. Her simple but effective method of using Garageband iOS and her iPhone 7 to produce and record her five track EP in her bedroom, has been subbed in for time in a professional recording studio alongside French songwriter and producer Max Robert Baby. Whilst her environment and set up may have changed, the result remains the same: Aperture deftly captures Jadagu’s personal-yet-universal approach to songwriting; it just feels more polished and precise.

“Every track on this album, except for ‘Admit It’, was written first on guitar, which is an instrumental throughline,” Jadagu explains about the process. “The blanket of synths I use throughout helps me move between sensibilities. There’s rock Hannah, there’s hip-hop Hannah, and so on. I didn’t want any of the songs to sound too alike.” This desire to thread her collective influences and experiences together underscores Aperture.

From the tender, slow-building opener ‘Explanation’, to the combination of hip hop-inspired beats, ambient guitar tones and buzzier riffs that cut through on ‘Warning Sign’, right up to her buoyant ruminations on final track ‘Your Thoughts Are Ur Biggest Obstacle’, Jadagu’s charming vocals lead her navigation through genres and emotional learning curves. The songwriter’s self doubt melts away when it’s pushed through a vocoder on the latter, allowing listeners to drift off into the ether with her.

There are two tracks that stand out on the record: ‘What You Did’ and ‘Admit It’. The driving beats and jangly, reverb-laden riffs on the first are totally infectious, enhanced by Jadagu’s cutting lyrics and bittersweet vocal delivery. The latter is a hazy, humble ode to her older sister, who Jadagu refers to as “the blueprint”. She made the reluctant songwriter join the local children’s chorus when they were younger, an experience which Jadagu says she “hated”, but was core to her learning how to harmonize, as well as being able to recognise and write melody.

Reflections on her upbringing – which are also underscored by her relationship to, and growing distance from Christianity – permeate Aperture, simultaneously giving the record its intimate-yet-omnipresent feeling. Whether she’s working through feelings of frustration on ‘Say It Now’, or drifting away on a cloud of melancholic bedroom-pop on ‘Dreaming’, Jadagu’s shimmering guitar tones, catchy beats and emotive lyrics are the bittersweet soundtrack to growth in all its forms.

Follow Hannah Jadagu on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Sam Wilbert

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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WATCH: jellyskin – ‘I Was The First Tetrapod’

Following on from their eccentric rave anthem ‘Bringer Of Brine‘ released at the end of April, electronic Leeds-based duo jellyskin have shared their latest single ‘I Was The First Tetrapod’. Accompanied by a quirky new video, the track is lifted from their upcoming debut album, In Brine, which is set for release on 9th June via Wrong Speed Records.

Formed of Will Ainsley and Zia Larty-Healy, jellyskin have spent the past four years meticulously writing and recording their debut record between Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol, Palamos and Berlin. The pair invited Berlin-based producer Lewis D-t to co-produce, mix and master In Brine, and to “finesse the tracks into fat-free hunks of ecstasy and sonic exploration”. The result of this collaboration is a record that brims with a palpable sense of urgency and euphoria, with narrative themes that range from intense longing and desire, to misadventure by the sea and aquatic apparitions.

It’s the latter of these elements that the band explore on ‘I Was The First Tetrapod’. Through their pulsating beats, eclectic synth sounds and bizarre narratives, jellyskin playfully examine would the world might look like through the fresh eyes of a new life form. The track’s accompanying video, directed by Richard Ainsley, is an extrapolation on this idea.

Following high-profile UK festival slots and shows alongside The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Warmduscher, Sea Power, Moonlandingz and The KVB, and with their debut album on the horizon, 2023 looks set to be an exciting year for jellyskin.

Watch the visuals for ‘I Was The First Tetrapod’ below.

jellyskin’s upcoming debut album In Brine is available to pre-order via bandcamp now

Follow jellyskin on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Misha Warren

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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