Hailing from London and Brighton
For fans of Underworld, MGMT, Animal Collective
Coming soon A new EP planned for 2026, currently without a title
The two singles put out so far by the group Ashnymph defy easy classification: their own description of their work as “subconscioussion” provides few hints. Debut Saltspreader married a pounding industrial rhythm – guitarist Will Wiffen has sometimes been seen on stage in a tee that bears the logo of the trailblazing band Godflesh – with vintage-sounding synthesisers and a riff that partly brings to mind the enduring garage rock anthem I Wanna Be Your Dog, before transforming into a mass of eerie audio. Its intended effect, the band has indicated, was to conjure highway journeys, “the endless movement of vehicles all day long over huge distances … orange lights at night”.
The next release, the song Mr Invisible, sits somewhere between club music and left-field alt-rock. Firstly, the track’s rhythm, strata of mesmerizing synths, and singing that comes either hallucinogenically distorted or mesmerizingly repeated in a way that brings back Dubnobasswithmyheadman-era Underworld all indicate the dancefloor. On the other, its intense performance-style shifts, brink-of-disorder feel and overdrive – “achieving a crunchy texture is a personal mission,” Wiffen has said – distinguish it as undeniably a band creation rather than a lone electronic artist. They've gigged around south London’s DIY scene for under a year, “anywhere that will turn the PA up loud”.
But each is thrilling and unique – from one another and other current music – to spark curiosity about the band's future direction. Whatever it is, on the strength of these tracks, it’s probably not dull.
This Week’s Best New Tracks
Hit My Head All Day by Dry Cleaning
“I simply must have experiences”, Florence Shaw decides on her band’s beguiling return, but throughout the song's duration – with exhales setting the pace – you feel that she's unsure of the reason.
Danny L Harle's Azimuth featuring Caroline Polachek
Merging gothic intensity to the height of trance music – right down to the lyric “and I ask the rain” – the track implies dusting off your best Cyberdog wear and making your way to a rave, right away.
Acne Studios mix by Robyn
Robyn's composition for the Swedish designer’s SS26 show teases her upcoming ninth album, including gritty guitars reminiscent of Soulwax, energetic beats like Benny Benassi and the words “my body’s a spaceship with the ovaries on hyperdrive”.
Jordana's Like That
We loved her album Lively Premonition last year and the Stateside musician continues to show off her remarkable skill with choruses as she laments her latest hopeless infatuation.
Get a Life by Molly Nilsson
The one-woman Swedish pop operation dropped the record Amateur this week, and this cut is remarkable: a synth-guitar melody jerks forward at hardcore punk pace as Nilsson insists we seize the day.
Artemas' Superstar
Following tales of weary romance on his megahit I Like the Way You Kiss Me and its accompanying release Yustyna, the musician of mixed heritage is completely captivated by his latest lover amid icy synth-driven sound.
Miss America by Jennifer Walton
From one of the year’s standout debuts, a crushed synth hymnal about the artist hearing of her father's passing in an airport hotel, describing her eerie environment in tender incantations: “Shopping plaza, illegal trade, anxiety episodes.”
