STN Select: March 2025

Actually timely for once, the thirty-strong best of what we heard over the course of this month just ending.

April 29th will mark Sweeping The Nation's twentieth anniversary. We had special things planned to coincide with it. None of them are coming to fruition, or at least not in time for that date. As always, idealism has been ruined by reality and drive.




Adebisi Shank - Start A Band
This is the return of a band called Adebisi Shank. Their first new release in ten years, in fact, with the kind of drive that doesn't suggest they'd been away at all.

Backxwash - Black Lazarus
The most extraordinary album of the year so far, the Montreal-based rapper's fifth album Only Dust Remains absolutely compels you not to turn away with the intensity and complete lack of compromise or veil over the personal or political darkness encompassing.

Black Country, New Road - For The Cold Country
Might be understating things to say the new BC,NR have been divisive, and that woodwind heavy press photo has absolutely not helped (nor has the growing army of those inspired by the Isaac era) but put that baggage aside and hear how this develops from plangency to rococo to percussive soaring.

Bob Mould - Fur Mink Augurs
If you're going to recall the later Husker Du albums, as the Tubs' album does, the man who wrote and sang on them may as well too on Here We Go Crazy.

caroline - Total euphoria
Somehow only 4:30, the post-rock octet skilfully play all their different parts out of time and then gradually coalesce into catharsis.

Dana Gavanski - Bolted Heart
Stately piano-led rumination from EP Again Again.

David Lowery - I Wrote A Song Called Take The Skinheads Bowling
A song about writing Take The Skinheads Bowling, by the man who wrote Take The Skinheads Bowling.

Emma-Jean Thackray - Maybe Nowhere
A slippery groove with thick old bassline housing open thought about the grief that followed her partner's death, from second album Weirdo out on 25th April.

Girl Group - Yay! Saturday
We've had Girlband!, before that we had Girl Band who became Gilla Band, maybe this was the next natural step. Musically understated (self-produced too) for something that itemises the messiest of all nights out and ends in the only way possible. a monologue about piss on a toilet seat.

Kelcey Ayer - Different Planets
The former keyboard player and co-vocalist in Local Natives breaks for a solo career, built on knotty guitar picking and layers forming that recall some of Grizzly Bear's most becalmed moments (speaking of whom, what happened to those reformation dates you said were happening this year, Ed?)

Knitting Circle - Safe Routes
"Safe Routes encourages an end to all arms sales everywhere, and an end to all wars! No borders!" is pretty conclusive, a strident call for human solidarity from the jagged indiepop-post-punk band featuring members of Milky Wimpshake, Crumbs, Red Monkey and No Fit State. 100% of proceeds from Bandcamp sales (after fees) will be donated to Campaign Against Arms Trade

Lawn Chair - Fancy Car, Girlfriend And The Big House
Back into the European post-punk wilds, this time to Cologne where we pick up the kind of synthy pulse that fills floors under a pointed picture of that kind of confident man.

Little Simz - Free
Lotus is out 9th May (on Inflo's label, which is awkward given she's suing him), we find Simbi in contemplative mode that suits her as much as the explosive stuff.

Matt Berninger - Bonnet Of Pins
While Aaron is off producing Gracie Abrams and refusing to apologise for it, world-weary singer boy has made a second solo album, Get Sunk out May 30th, and captures an energy the band haven't always lived up to in very recent years. Even a bit of a New Order influence in there.

Mclusky - people person
I mean, what do you need to know at this stage? Apart from that 'the world is still here and so are we' is out on May 9th.

Mhaol - DM:AM
Is it Mhaol now or still M(h)aol? Sources differ. Anyway, the reconstituted band continue a path between slinky and sinister, deconstructing online harassment and the self-regarding defences thereof on the road to Something Soft, out May 16th.

Neev - He Built Himself
A highlight of the cinematically expansive blown out folk of second album How Things Tie In Knots.

Panic Shack - Gok Wan
ATTN: SHITMUNCHERS. What have they been doing for the two and a half years between releases? Making an album, of course, no details yet but this is its first single. And touring lots, including practically every festival. And drinking, in all likelihood.

pencil - Silent Corners
"Something beautiful turning into something terrifying" according to the band, previewing their Bohemian Clutter EP with something that develops upon flurries of ornate folk-pop.

Perfume Genius - Clean Heart
But you already know how great Glory is.

The Pill - Problem
Five singles of this kind of sticky compressed shoutpop, loads of festivals and HotWax and Panic Shack tour supports ahead, and yet no word of an EP or album. What gives?

Prohibition Prohibition - Columns
Back to the German underground, Munich this time, and anxiety induced build and release post-punk with a vocalist who sounds like Hamish Hawk.

Prolapse - On The Quarter Days
Had they not been teasing it for the last few years and seen them live twice along the way we'd have gone up into orbit at the news that the mid to late 90s' actual finest noise-pop band had reformed. Even with that this is the kind of return that shows they've barely lost a step, noise freakouts, Scottish Mick shouting and all.

Rival Consoles - Catherine
Ambient electronic producer with Jon Hopkins parallels previews ninth album Landscape From Memory by conjuring shards of melody and emotion amid pulsing atmospherics.

Sacred Paws - Winter
The hi-life guitars/busily propulsive drums combination turns up trumps again throughout third album Jump Into Life, this track adding some of Ray Aggs' other speciality, weeping and soaring fiddle.

Snapped Ankles - Smart World
Machine tooled arrythmia from new album Hard Times Furious Dancing

Sugababes - Jungle
Don't know if you know these, they've been around in various Thesean forms for a while now. A weirdly overlooked actual comeback single given how keen people were for new material from the original three before they settled onto the corporate occasion circuit instead, but absolutely bringing their classic era momentum into house-pop modernism.

Sunny Intervals - As Summer Draws In
Late night ruminative/melancholic acoustic indiepop from Andy Hall formerly of Pocketbooks (and Indietracks), from album Swept Away out on 11th April.

Superchunk feat. Rosali - Bruised Lung
Chunky, cripsy power-pop just as they did it back in the day.

Throwing Muses - Drugstore Drastic
Meanwhile the first new Muses album in five years Moonlight Concessions uses acoustic and cello to create the necessary shaded mood, none better than here.