This week has seen a variety of bands debuting music from new projects and albums that are set to drop later this year. I thought I’d share a couple of my favourites from 5 artists that really grabbed my attention.

1. Bloody Knees- I want it all

Bloody Knees are a grunge/punk band from Cambridge that have released a couple of EPs over the years; ‘Stitches’ is my favourite and expresses 20 minutes of gritty guitar licks and shrilling vocals from frontman Bradley Griffiths. They’re an outfit that could be compared to Birdskulls and Demob Happy – two more alternative punk/grunge bands that are slowly making a name for themselves in the world of music.

This song however sounds more sophisticated than their other releases, with the length of the track being nearer to 5 minutes than their normal short and sharp 3 minute songs. The start of the song has a similar guitar tone to previous releases but the catchy chorus is louder and more in your face than before. Griffiths’ vocals are slightly more tamed too but this doesn’t take away the naturally thrashing sound of the guys.

2. Parquet Courts- Outside

Toning down from previous releases and using more instrumentation rather than focusing on lyrics, Parquet Courts’ short length track ‘Outside’ is extremely infectious and will leave you wanting more. The track uses pianos to back up the rhythmic guitar riffs and, unsurprisingly, it works really well. The album is shaping up nicely with Courts also having released songs ‘Dust’ and ‘Berlin got Blurry’; ‘Dust’ is definitely my favourite but I’m loving all of the new material from the band.

3. SBTRKT- Let Them In

I have been a fan of this electronic artist for a while now and I think SBTRKT is only getting better and better.  His music is constantly evolving, becoming more complex and using various synthesisers to open up new soundscapes and different musical parallels.

This song comes from SBTRKT’s new project ‘Save Yourself’ which is Aaron Jerome’s feelings on modern society, whether that is racism or politics. ‘Let Them In’ is one of the darker tracks on the project but its pulsating patterns and contrasting electronic synths merge to create the best track for late night headphone raving ever. It is completely different to earlier track ‘Ready Or Not’ but no song is ever the same with SBTRKT and I guess this shows how broad his thoughts on society are.

4. Kendrick Lamar- Untitled 07 levitate

This song does not feature on Kendrick’s ‘Untitled Unmastered’ album but it is certainly good enough to. I’m new to liking Lamar’s music and this song is certainly the reason why I came around to his musical innovation. Touching on many social issues in his lyrics about his home roots and his rise to success, Kendrick proves to be one of Hip Hop’s biggest lyrical hopes.

‘Untitled 07 levitate’ is undoubtedly depressing and has drill-esque instrumentals but also funky synthesisers whirring around Lamar’s soothing, childlike vocals. I actually prefer this song to any of the tracks on ‘Untitled Unmastered’ so this is a track definitely worth checking out.

5. Abattoir Blues- Tell Me

This track only came to my attention yesterday night but it was way too good to leave off my songs of the week. The psychedelic guitar riffs and screeching vocals make this such a massive, stadium filling song; how this only has around 500 plays on Soundcloud is beyond me. Abattoir Blues are from Brighton and therefore face competition from the likes of Black Honey and The Wytches when trying to claim alternative status in the area but if they keep producing tracks like ‘Tell Me’ then they’ll be up there with the rest of them.