Editor’s Note: Anyone who says there isn’t good music coming out these days — and quite literally, every day — simply isn’t paying attention. Vanyaland’s new compilation feature The V List highlights the best in new music over the past month, pulling together the sounds that have soundtracked the website in recent weeks from our wide-ranging series of features. It’s all the stuff we’re bumping here at Vanyaland HQ, one new bop at a time.
Adore, ‘Can We Talk’
Adore would like a word. It’s best we just listen. The rising Irish trio continue a striking new blast of energy from the Ould Sod with “Can We Talk,” a buzzing dose of melodic garage punk that hit the streams this month with a reckless fervor. Produced by Gilla Band bassist Daniel Fox, “Can We Talk” is described as a cross-examination of cyclical patterns of abuse, and follows punchy September call-to-action anthem “Supermum!,” which brazenly took us back to the halcyon hype era of Cool Britannia’s ’90s heyday. “‘Can We Talk’ revolves around a pattern of abuse where one is picked up when broken, broken down even farther and is moulded into something subservient, meek and willing to please,” says vocalist Lara Minchin. “There is an awareness that one doesn’t get into these situations from a good start. In my experience there has been something unhealed in me that has made me lean into control in the past. It begins with not being allowed to disagree with small things, until dangerous patterns of behaviour come to the front and you are so beaten down and made to feel so worthless that you feel like there is no conceivable way you can leave.”
Oslo Twins, ‘I See Mountains’
When we look to the mountains, how do we feel? Are we gripped by a humbling sense of how small we truly are, or are we emboldened by an ambitious desire to ascend? Oddly, “I See Mountains,” the ethereal dream-pop and trip-hop single from Oslo Twins, straddles a line between both, marking a far-off horizon that connects back to our own doing and our own willingness to embrace what’s in front of us. How we react is up to us. The hypnotic track will be featured on the Bristol-formed and London-based duo of Eric C. Davies and Claudia Vulliamy’s forthcoming EP, Tresor, out February 14 on Half-Normal Records. “I See Mountains” utilizes violin by El Hinton-Hallows and a haunting grand piano by Ed Lyness’ to augment the mood, combining folk and electronic elements in a rather intoxicating way, and it seems to exist in its own genre lane. “I wanted to create an image of the sublime, a kind of journey upwards into the sky,” says Vulliamy. “The phrase ‘I see mountains’ was originally my attempt to describe a strong emotional response to certain music, the images that were coming up in my head.”
Blusher, ‘Somebody New’
If music can truly provide an escape from our cruel and miserable reality, then Blusher strive to deliver us to the dance floor of our dreams. The Australian trio this month unveiled “Somebody New,” a pulsating electro-pop seducer that blends a rave ambition with mainstream allure. It’s escapism set to a beat, and we can sure use that mood right about now. “’Somebody New’ is our fun, flirty mantra that mirrors the cycle of breaking up, rebounding, swearing off love, and knowing you’ll do it all over again,” Blusher declare. “Mostly, it’s a love song to the friends who are by your side through the whole process. Late nights out with your new crush, first kisses in the club followed by tears on the dance floor — whatever stage of the cycle you’re in at the moment, we wrote this song to be the soundtrack.” Get lost with Blusher, one of the most exciting new acts to emerge in 2024, below.
Scustin, ‘Charmer’
Dublin has been exploding with killer new bands in recent years, especially when it comes to a particular strain of post-punk. But post-funk seems to be a wide open territory, and Scustin have staked a significant claim with a heavy dose of fun and swagger via a new disco-mad dance tune called “Charmer.” The electric track, recorded and produced by Richie Kennedy (Interpol, Shame, The Murder Capital) at Black Mountain Studios, hit the streams this month, and has allowed us to dance to keep from crying ever since. “The new single is an analysis of the deluded — a love song rooted in fiction, a love letter to the Celtic Tiger — Ireland’s boom era,” Scustin declare. “‘Charmer’ narrates the tale of a pub regular who attempts to hide their insecurities and bolster their ego by fabricating a fable about a romantic encounter with a pop star in the ‘90s on a flight home from New York to Dublin. Set during the dawn of the Celtic Tiger, our anti-hero reminisces about a time defined by decadence and excess as he tries to remember an echo of love in the dregs of his pint glass.” We’ve all heard varying versions of that tale once or twice in our lives.
The Vices, ‘Before It Might Be Gone’
The world is becoming increasingly dark and hostile, but The Vices are visualizing a clear path forward. The hot-tipped Dutch band this month released a towering fit of indie-psych and guitar-tone-goodness called “Before It Might Be Gone,” the title track to a new album out in February ahead of a short North American tour. “Before It Might Be Gone” outlines a journey of personal struggle, where we bear witness to the struggles of those around us but hide our own through substance abuse and other coping mechanisms that strip away at our souls. Beyond the darkness, light can be found “Most of us are dealing with some kind of pain — at times it feels easier to hide away and sedate yourself in some way,” says vocalist Floris van Luijtelaar. “Away from the hurt, but before you know it all the other feelings might be gone, too. In my experience, you need to feel the bad in order to be able to see the road to the good again. We as The Vices needed to go down that path.”