Hello and welcome back to Totally Wired Magazine’s Creators Monthly! For such a young magazine, we receive an insane amount of music from all sorts of places across the globe and what a whopper of a month October has been!
Today we’re sharing some of our very favourites from this months pool of songs, so strap in, press play and discover some fantastic tunes.
The Lovepools
This awesome tune from US band The Lovepools is their most recent single ‘White Lies & Palm Trees,’ a song inspired by the false perception that cities like Los Angeles are where anyone with a dream can make it, but look closer and things in the big city aren’t as wonderful as they seem. This single is the band’s first venture into the unknown, away from their usual indie-rock territory and into the dreamy world of synth-pop. Despite still being a relatively new band on the scene, their tunes have certainly been noticed for their powerful and punchy qualities – one band to watch in the coming year that’s for sure.
Jess Kemp
Jess Kemp is a singer/songwriter from Manchester taking over the airwaves of her home town with two brilliant new tunes and a superb voice. Despite being a difficult time for any young artist to be releasing music, her two latest singles ‘We Were Falling’ and ‘Matter Of Time’ have by no means gone unnoticed – having since been played on some of Manchester’s biggest radio stations. We love seeing even more talent pouring out of the north. Bright things ahead for Jess Kemp!
The Optimists
The Optimists are a self-proclaimed ‘Brit-rock’ band from the Isle of Wight, who take a heavy influence from the Britpop era. With a vocal style resembling the likes of Blur and an attitude more akin to Oasis, this influence is certainly not lost on the group. Despite their obvious acclaim for some legendary bands, make no mistake, The Optimists are no tribute act and have begun to tread their own path. Their new single ‘Yesterday is Gone’ is out next month.
Hot Plastic Poets
Hot Plastic Poets from North Carolina formed at the very beginning of the COVID outbreak with new-found time stuck indoors and a determination to put it to good use. Their goal is to have recorded two full albums before ever playing live – a truly unique origin story that meant I just had to take a listen. Standing by their promise, the band have just released their debut EP with their second one on the way. Since starting out, the band has amassed thousands of streams and blown their own expectations of what they could achieve out the water. I only hope this encourages them to consider an increase to their initial two-album goal. Their sound is funky, dynamic and a little bit bonkers (everything the world needs right now).
Kicking
‘Kicking’ from Mississippi are certainly kicking off a riot with their brand new single ‘Surfdom’. Recorded during the band’s downtime in isolation, this group are again proving that rock never sleeps. This single is brimming with top guitar riffs and classic, unmissable punk attitude – a perfect new addition to the playlists of fans of The Von Bondies, Sonic Youth, Wolf Alice or Amyl and The Sniffers.
The Down & Outs
The Down & Outs from NYC described their new single ‘LANDLORD’ as “Batman beyond playing jazz with The Stooges” – well that certainly caught our attention. Five seconds in and the song’s vigorous bass line had us. With so many submissions from great artists to get through, it’s rare that we have time to stick anything on twice, but this time we had to. Influenced by bands such as The Prodigy, I’d say The Down & Outs’ playing style is also almost Sonic Youth inspired. Any band to play around with and mash up the sound of their guitars mid-song is going straight on the playlist. Unmissable when it comes to grabbing your attention from the get-go, The Down & Outs have undoubtedly caught ours.
CHARLES HS
CHARLES HS is a songwriter from Kent who since releasing his recent single ‘Fake Twisted Emotions,’ his low-fi synth-pop tunes have quickly gained much wider attention from the likes of BBC Introducing and has turned the heads of many of other publishers, ourselves included. While still early days for CHARLES HS, his new song promises much more in store from this UK talent and we can’t wait to see what’s next!
Darity
Darity are a band from Ohio fronted by singer Linsley Hartenstein. Their brand new single ‘Silver Spoon’ is Linsley’s take on “The obscurity of seemingly failed relationships.” At first glance, a charming, dreamy pop song, soul-touching and heartfelt – it reminded me very much of a song by one of our favourite artists Lisa Mitchell (always a good sign). On closer inspection though, this song was SO much more than I expected. Before knowing it, I was hit by a choir of Linsley’s voice. At that moment I was totally knocked off my seat and the tune went straight on my playlist with no hesitation. If the past few days are anything to go by, I can safely say that if I owned a physical copy, I might very well wear it out by the end of this week.
BULZARA
BULZARA are a band who produce hard-hitting synth-rock tunes which they say are inspired by “Gritty cop movies” – an incredibly accurate description listening to their new single ‘Dirty Cops’ – just don’t do it while you’re driving or you may find yourself in a cop movie yourself. This vibrant, psychedelic and punchy new single has been released in the run-up to their upcoming EP and has certainly got us hyped for the release next month.
The Soods
The Soods are a band from The US who have just released their cracking second album ‘Ornaments of Affection’. Their sound is very much a blend of The Arctic Monkeys, a bit of Oasis and pinch of The Beatles – a mix that we seriously dig. A passion project of musician Jason Roy, The Soods’ music explores the inexplicable feelings that come with growing up and adult life – oh boy can we relate to that.
Deborah Crooks
After teasing the idea of becoming a field biologist or embarking on a career as a journalist, Deborah Crooks from California decided that writing and playing music was where her heart truly lies. Her recent songs have been inspired heavily by her Californian roots she says. “I wanted to write a love letter to the places that have shaped me” a fantastic story fit for some fantastic work. Check out Deborah’s recent album ‘The Department of the West’ on Spotify now.
You can listen to all of our Creators Monthly artists over on this month’s Spotify playlist – save our playlist now, go out and follow these bands and keep supporting music through these mad times!
Thanks to all the incredible bands that submitted their music this month – if we didn’t feature you this time feel free to resubmit via our website, we try to listen to as much as we possibly can.
Do you make music? We want to hear from you! Submit now for a chance to be part of next month’s Creators Monthly.
Can’t wait for more? Read last months issue here.
BIG LOVE to you all.
The Totally Wired Team x
