MARIANNE – Wanna Be 
Wanna Be by MARIANNE is a glossy, confident break-up anthem that flips the classic Spice Girls reference on its head and reclaims it with sharp modern energy. Built on a bed of pulsing synths and guitars strumming, slick production, and fearless vocals, this track is all about self-worth, setting boundaries, and walking away with your head held high.
From the first beat, MARIANNE sets the tone, bold, upbeat, and completely in control. There’s a bounce to the rhythm and an edge to the lyrics that gives it bite, but it never feels bitter. Instead, it’s joyful in its defiance. This is the kind of empowerment anthem you dance to in your bedroom after blocking someone toxic.
Her vocals sit front and centre, crisp, emotive, and full of personality. There’s a hint of Anne-Marie’s swagger and Griff’s elegance, but MARIANNE is carving her own lane here. She blends indie pop polish with real heart, letting the emotion come through without ever losing the fun.
Lyrically, Wanna Be is sharp without being cutting. Lines like “You never knew what you had ‘til I walked” land with precision, while the Spice Girls callback adds a playful nod to pop history. It’s clever without being gimmicky.
As the third release from her debut EP, Wanna Be shows MARIANNE knows exactly what she wants her sound, and her story, to be. Confident, catchy, and full of intent, this is the kind of track that will resonate with anyone who’s finally had enough.
Liam Higgins – Through The Wild
Liam Higgins’ newest release ‘Through The Wild’ is a gentle, breathtaking journey through reflection, memory, and motion. From the moment it begins, Liam Higgins draws you into a sonic landscape that feels vast and personal all at once, delivering a track that feels like the musical equivalent of looking back at your life from a mountaintop. It’s sweeping, soul-searching, and deeply rooted in the landscapes, both literal and emotional, that shape us.
The track opens with soft acoustic guitar, subtly layered with ambient textures and field-like sounds that immediately place you somewhere in between nature and nostalgia. Higgins’ vocal is intimate, almost confessional, with a delivery that’s earnest and quietly powerful. His phrasing feels conversational yet poetic, like he’s speaking directly to someone who’s no longer there.
As the track unfolds, strings enter like sunlight breaking through cloud cover. They don’t dominate, but they elevate, swelling beneath the melody with warmth and grace. The rhythm remains understated throughout, with delicate percussive touches that pulse like a heartbeat, grounding the emotion without rushing it.
What makes Through The Wild so effective is its restraint. Every element feels necessary, nothing is overplayed. It’s a song about space: physical space, emotional distance, and the quiet places in between where we find clarity. It’s ideal for fans of artists like Ben Howard, Nick Mulvey, or Bear’s Den, music that finds strength in softness.
Whether you’re navigating your own metaphorical wilderness or simply need a moment of calm, this track offers a gentle hand to hold. It’s reflective, transportive, and quietly unforgettable.
With PURPLE CLOUDS, Moniah delivers a dreamy, groove-soaked slice of R&B-tinged pop that floats effortlessly between head-nod bounce and heartfelt reflection. Built around a warm, wavy bassline and laid-back percussion, this track oozes late-night energy. This is the kind of song that turns a solitary walk into a strut or quiet moment into something cinematic.
From the outset, Moniah’s voice is the star: smooth, confident, and full of subtle emotion. There’s a cool, conversational tone to her delivery, every line feels natural, almost like a diary entry set to music. Lyrically, the song explores ambition, distance, and desire, but it does so with restraint. Nothing is over-explained; instead, it captures feelings through vibe and mood.
The production is slick but never sterile. There’s space in the mix, air between the beats, texture in the pads, and a swing in the rhythm that makes it impossible not to move at least a little. It’s easy to imagine PURPLE CLOUDS playing in a rooftop bar or drifting out of car speakers during a golden hour road trip. But there’s depth beneath the surface too. That metaphor of “purple clouds” isn’t just pretty imagery, it hints at a kind of quiet longing, the tension between chasing your dreams and holding on to love in the middle of the whirlwind.
In short: this is a track with replay value, substance, and serious style. Moniah’s got something special, and this single proves it.
Drew Thomas – Girls Like Girls
Girls Like Girls is a bold, bittersweet and brutally honest track that captures the emotional complexity of queer love and self-acceptance. Drew Thomas crafts a soaring alt-pop anthem that’s as vulnerable as it is empowering, wrapped in a melody that sticks with you long after the last chorus fades.
The track kicks off with layered synth textures and rich guitar strumming, setting a reflective tone that builds steadily into a high impact chorus. Thomas’ vocal is rich and expressive, equal parts longing and defiance, as he recounts the experience of unrequited love and learning to stand in his truth. There’s a real sense of storytelling here, but it never feels heavy-handed. The lyrics are direct and sincere, with lines that land like private thoughts suddenly spoken aloud, but Drew Thomas wouldn’t take them back.
Sonically, Girls Like Girls walks a fine line between indie introspection and polished pop. The production is crisp and radio ready, but it still retains a sense of intimacy that keeps the listener emotionally engaged. There’s a cinematic quality to the dynamics; the quiet verses pull you in close before the chorus lifts off like a release of years held in silence.
It’s a song that speaks not only to the LGBTQ+ experience but to anyone who’s loved bravely and honestly. By leaning into his own truth, Drew Thomas gives listeners the courage to do the same. Girls Like Girls is more than a great single, it’s a quiet act of revolution, wrapped in catchy melodies.
Angel Lust is an unholy cocktail of grunge grit, industrial edge, and chaotic charm. Graham Burgess doesn’t just blur genre lines; he blows them apart in this gloriously unhinged single. From the opening distorted guitar stabs to the clattering rhythm section, it’s clear that subtlety isn’t on the menu here. But that’s exactly what makes it so compelling.
There’s something strangely theatrical in how the track builds. The vocals lurch from snarled proclamations to half-muttered chants, like a sermon delivered through a busted amp in the middle of a neon-lit apocalypse. Lyrically it’s provocative, unfiltered, and borderline absurd, but it works. It captures a sort of gleeful chaos, a sonic embodiment of the title itself: lust, destruction, and dark euphoria rolled into one.
The production is raw and deliberately rough around the edges, where feedback, fuzz and clipping are part of the aesthetic. But hidden within the madness are moments of genuine musicality, with twisted harmonies, clever layering, and tension-and-release, it’s more calculated than it first appears. Burgess clearly isn’t afraid to push buttons, both musically and thematically.
This isn’t background music, it demands attention, and probably a few raised eyebrows too. But for listeners tired of polish and predictability, Angel Lust is a shot of pure, unfiltered energy. Unapologetically wild and weird – it’s dirty, it’s loud, it’s slightly deranged and it might just be brilliant.
On the surface, Smile On might seem upbeat, but beneath its driving guitars and soaring choruses lies something far more raw and real. Bristol-based IOTA take off the mask with this emotionally charged alt-rock track, tackling the quiet struggle of keeping it together when everything feels like it’s falling apart.
The verses are taut with unease, the vocals understated and weary, like someone running on empty but still going through the motions. As the chorus kicks in, the track explodes into defiance. Sharp riffs, a full-bodied rhythm section, and lyrics that cut through the noise. “Smile on,” the band urges, not with joy, but with the resignation of someone faking their way through the day.
Sonically, IOTA balances grit with clarity. The mix is punchy but clean, giving space for the heaviness to hit without becoming overwhelming- clearly you can hear the work of award-winning producer Sam Bloor. You can feel the band holding nothing back, this is music made for rooms with sweaty walls and people who need to feel seen.
What stands out most is the honesty. There’s no sugar-coating here, no tidy resolution, just an unfiltered reflection of how it feels to put on a brave face in a world that doesn’t always ask how you’re doing. It’s bold, vulnerable, and refreshingly unpolished.
If you’ve ever felt the pressure to “just get on with it” when your head says otherwise, Smile On will speak directly to you. A defiant anthem for the quietly breaking.
If raw emotion had a sound, Burn the Bridges might be it. SANSOM’s latest single is a high-voltage storm of angst and release, gritty guitars and thundering drums fuelling a track that feels both explosive and purposeful. It opens with a simmering tension, underpinned by jagged riffs and a snare that snaps like a warning. You can feel it building, until the chorus hits like a match to gasoline.
Lyrically, it’s about more than just walking away, it’s the violent, cathartic act of cutting ties with the past and refusing to look back. “Burn the bridges to light the way” isn’t just a lyric in this track, it’s a mission statement. There’s no regret here, only a raw determination to move forward at any cost. SANSOM captures the fury and freedom that comes with reclaiming your path, and the result is genuinely thrilling.
The vocals are central to that emotional core, switching from almost whispered confessions to explosive roars of defiance. It’s a vocal performance that feels lived-in, like every line has been dragged up from deep within. Instrumentally, the track sits somewhere between alt-rock and post-grunge, with a wall of guitar tones that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Foo Fighters set, but there’s a fresh energy here too, something more urgent and modern.
With this being the first of four upcoming tracks, SANSOM is clearly setting the tone. It’s bold, blistering, and leaves a mark.
Walter Kocays – Watch the Road
There’s a gentle ache running through Watch the Road, a slow-burning piano ballad that feels like a conversation you’ve been avoiding with yourself. Walter Kocays taps into something haunting and honest here, building a sonic space filled with quiet reflection and emotional weight.
The instrumentation is sparse, but every note feels considered. Soft guitar picking drifts alongside subtle ambient textures, while percussive strumming and drums enter like a distant pulse, just enough to anchor the mood without disturbing the stillness. It’s in this restraint that the track really shines. Nothing is rushed; everything is allowed to breathe.
Kocays’ vocal delivery is equally intimate, full of cracks and nuance that suggest unspoken thoughts and buried regrets. There’s a cinematic quality to the performance, like we’re watching a scene unfold through a rain-flecked car window, emotions left unsaid between the lines. Lyrically, it navigates memory, movement, and the silence that often sits in the wake of loss or change. As the track progresses, strings gently rise into the mix, creating an emotional lift without ever tipping into melodrama. It’s a slow reveal rather than a crescendo, and that subtle arc makes the final moments feel quietly monumental and distinctive.
Watch the Road doesn’t try to dominate your attention, it earns it, with a kind of raw beauty that’s becoming increasingly rare in the digital age. For fans of Ben Howard or Aqualung, this one will hit home. A stunning track that lingers like the ghost of a feeling you can’t quite name.
Consequential – LivinLife-NeedU
LivinLife-NeedU is the kind of track that lifts your mood before you even realise it. From the first few seconds, Consequential brings a wave of sun-drenched synths and a rolling beat that feels like windows down, volume up, destination unknown. It’s slick, bright, and effortlessly feel-good, truly perfect for springtime playlists and breezy afternoon soundtracks.
While it leans into pop and liquid drum and bass influences, there’s a subtlety to the production that keeps things grounded. The drop isn’t flashy or overblown, it’s smooth and measured, like the track knows it doesn’t need to shout to be heard. Consequential builds atmosphere with real finesse, balancing nostalgic undertones with a modern, polished finish.
The vocals are a light touch but effective, woven into the mix with care rather than sitting on top of it. They float between airy harmonies and delicate refrains, gently reinforcing the track’s themes of hope, connection and calm. The overall effect is both immersive and quietly euphoric, like a smile you didn’t know was forming.
What’s especially exciting about LivinLife-NeedU is how it manages to feel personal and expansive at the same time. It’s clearly crafted with intention, but there’s a warmth and looseness to it that makes it feel alive. This might be a step away from Consequential’s more experimental side, but it’s a strong stride towards something deeply listenable and refreshingly sincere. One to keep in your rotation, this track grows with every listen.
Words by Rachel Colton.
