Playlist: New Tunes (July edition)

I thought for a change, and to challenge myself a little to stay up to date, that I would start dropping in the odd playlist of new songs!

These could be from brand new bands, older bands you've still never heard of, and a few old pros that you will definitely know. All these tunes have been released in the last few months, and cover a few different genres, so hopefully something for everyone...

---

1. Kurt Vile: Zoom 97

Photo: Tore Saetra

Here we have the opening track from Philly native Kurt Vile's latest LP, aptly named Philadelphia's Been Good To Me. This is a typically loopy folk-rock tune with his distinctive drawly singsong-almost speaking way of singing - and some lovely guitar hooks thrown in.

(official 'visualizer' video)

2. Panic Shack: Grin & Bear It

Here we have the Welsh art-punks with a song about exhaustion. It's loud, abrasive with some great weedy high lines counterpointing the relentless crunch of the main riff, while singer Sarah Harvey gives a delivery that is matter of fact bordering on disinterested, until the chorus roars into life, and into your face!

(official music video)

3. Foo Fighters: Child Actor

Twelfth album, Your Favorite Toy, is getting some mixed reviews, as is this single. It is a simple tune (which some are calling boring), with trademark quiet then loud bits. Does the repetition of Dave Grohl shouting "turn the cameras off" hint at some frustration with the world? It's a bit of a grower - but I'll let you decide...

(live on SNL UK, April 2026)

MY PICK OF THE PLAYLIST!

4. Bodega: Pick Up The Check

This Brooklyn band have been around for a decade or so, but this marks the first time they have ever recorded songs outside of New York City (Leeds, England, actually). It is a song all about unfulfilling relationships; it trips along with some 80s echo-laden guitar arpeggios and a propulsive beat, before launching into short, punchy choruses. This is a great song!

(official music video)

5. Peaches: Whatcha Gonna Do About It (Jordan Re-Mix)

Everyone's favourite Canadian electro-punk artists Peaches, real name Merrill Nisker, has brought back a re-mixed version of this to celebrate her upcoming tour and first new record in ten years. It's bouncy, crazy, incessant and catchy as heck, oh and she looks a little demented in the video.

(official music video)

6. Panda Bear & Sonic Boom: A ? Of When

This is what you get when someone calling themselves Panda Bear (Noah Lennox from Virginia) works with Sonic Boom (Pete Kember from Rugby, England). Actually, what you get is this - a really good song, a weird combination of the Jesus & Mary Chain if they sat down with the B-52s and had the results produced by Brian Wilson, or as I one person I saw calling it psychedelic surf-pop.

(audio only)

7. Beth Orton: Otherside

Photo: Rosie Marks

We bring it down a notch or three for a return from Norfolk's finest, Beth Orton, back with us after four years away with a new album, The Ground Above. Otherside is a song about sleeplessness, resilience and freedom - it is delicate, mellow and strangely uplifting. Orton can still really sing, as you can see when she allows herself to open up and let it all out.

(live, June 2026)

8. Paul McCartney: Come Inside

This is some big rocking sound from 84 years young Macca, as he shows very little sign of slowing down. There is some punchy, clap along choruses going on here, taking us back to the heady sounds of Flaming Pie (1997) and beyond, as he reminisces on the days of his youth. And he throws in a cheeky little classical Tierce de Picardie trick at the end - switching from minor to major chord to end.

(official lyric video)

9. Jack White: Dollar Bill

We get some hints from this of what direction Jack White may take us with eighth solo record, Frozen Charlotte, when it comes out later this month. The answer is, we get an idea of what Zeppelin might sound like if they were still ploughing the heavy blues rock furrow today. No one is better than White these days at keeping that blues flag flying high, with this being no exception - some more great fuzzy riffs, interspersed with the odd trippy sound to keep it fresh.

(audio only)

10. Olivia Rodrigo: Stupid Song

The third single from the epicly titled third album, You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love. It feels sometimes like Rodrigo is something of a Golden Girl and can do no wrong - and the thing is, her music matches the hype. Actually more than matches it... this is full of theatre, as she effortlessly switches between the slower moments of drama and furiously paced pop (with a hint of Lorde). Breathless stuff...

(official music video)