A brief round-up of the year so far, according to Keith Goldhanger who has been out and about catching as much live music that time allows during the evenings and tending to a swelling mailbox during the daylight hours.
It wasn’t intended to be like this. Throwing up a page of bands one feels the world should be listening to without it looking as though we’re operating a new year desk clearing exercise isn’t easy. But this stuff does need to be highlighted and requires more people’s attention.
Dog Race (pictured) released an EP last year (Return the Day), and one or two of us felt their music was all a bit ‘too weird’ before realising somewhere in between ‘not being arsed to stay up late to see again’ at Cardiff’s Sŵn Festival last October and the bands glorious show at The Old Blue Last at the start of this year that we were so wrong about these and now can’t go more than a day or two without listening to this EP. Maybe if they were all dressed in layers of black clothing, had dyed black crimped hair and wore heavy make-up we’d have concluded earlier that we’ve found the first band since 1981 to capture the moment when our new romantic music collection began to morph into the genre that was eventually labelled ‘Goth’ half a decade later. B-Movie, Ultravox, OMD and Visage were the bands that got dragged out of the cupboard again recently, however the music that this band create is as uplifting and has more in common with our musical tastes today than music made four decades ago. The ‘unconventional’ vocal delivery by singer Katie Healy is the first thing that captures our attention and we’re very much back in a similar position to where we were when we first set our eyes and ears on Dry Cleaning. This band could possibly go the same way, the world some of us live in like something original, captivating and challenging to listen to in 2026. Dog Race sit among the music we go out in the evenings to witness perfectly. There may be an album out later this year, you will be alerted once there’s a copy in our grubby mitts. Go and see them and make sure we’re all there too. Despite all the muddled-up comparisons being made, this band needs your attention and hopefully will get it.
This is Ninush who also played a free show at The Old Blue Last in East London recently and performed one of the most beautiful shows seen since Mercury Rev were first playing tunes from Deserters Songs. Piano, Flute, Violin, a lovely voice, the occasional percussion and a must hear for anyone with a previous obsession with California band Grandaddy. Fronted by Nina Lim who has also been involved with Black Country, New Road and Jockstrap this is another act one of us needs to see again this year.
Teenage four-piece band Typical Girls are starting to find their way onto the live circuit slowly but surely as the year begins. Debut track Stains is a good start; playing some more shows further North than their base in Bournemouth would be worth encouraging. For fans of The Lambrini Girls (of course) this debut already has us anticipating more.
Mandy, Indiana have a second album out that’s bursting at the seams with mad electronic noise, manic beats and intense, angry vocals sung in singer Valentine Caulfield’s native French tongue. Produced by Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox (always a good sign) this twists and turns in ways that no other album you’ll hear this year travels. It’s almost slightly disturbing at times but the anticipation of not knowing what to expect a minute or two later will maintain the listeners’ interest. Hearing these pieces of music live and loud one imagines will be terrifying yet equally satisfying and not like any other band on the live circuit we could possibly compare them to. Tune into this then roll up your sleeves for the rest of the album suitably titled Urgh.
Finally, Jodie Langford has an album out (Softly Spoken) that introduces us to another encouraging chapter of Punk Rock in the 21st century. It arrives with more fierce convincing vocals over a back-drop of brutal electronic dance beats (provided by ‘Hulls King of Electro’ Endoflevelbaddie ) and not too serious subject matters. Jodie Langford first came to the attention of a wider audience during the Covid years when she released the unforgettable ‘I Miss it‘, a heartfelt spoken word composition that was the link between her spoken word past and where we are currently. Songs with Drum and Bass rhythms that Prodigy fans would love, eloquent punk rock vocals that those with half a century old Mohicans one can imagine could be seen dancing late at night to after the guitars have been cleared away. These are fist in the air sing-a-longs for the snakebite ravers still kicking around as well as floor fillers for the twenty somethings happy to leave their pints at the bar whilst they take over the dance floor (or dance around in their bedrooms to because going out has now become too much of an affordable luxury for some). For fans of Bob Vylan, Sleaford Mods and Meryl Streek (of course).
More recommendations will follow during the year once a certain person’s in-box gets deal with (OK then…perhaps this was a desk clearing exercise).
Connect with these bands here;
Dog Race Instagram
Ninush Instagram
Typical Girls Instagram
Mandy, Indiana Instagram
Jodie Langford Instagram
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