Always Judge A Record By Its Cover

Starting the new month with a hefty slab of noise we have Nottingham's Babe Punch with Wildfire , their fourth single. According to the band "The song was written during a time of disillusionment and division in the UK and the rest of the world, particularly involving politics. We wanted it to serve as a reminder that while anger is valid and important, kindness and strength have to exist alongside it to really unite people". As protagonists of unity, we're pleased to share their song with you. Turn it up!

We are ending the month with a track called  The Fix , the debut single from San Francisco based experimental punk/grunge band, Burd .  Inspired by elements of shoegaze, 90s grunge and their general love for the macabre they provide this rather complete explanation about the track:  "Dark and ethereal, this song transports you to the world in which you must inevitably face your shadows. It tells a tragic tale of feverish toxic love, escapism, hedonism, chasing extreme highs to mask the lowest lows. Have you made it to the pits of rock bottom? Do you want to somebody to meet you there? Welcome, come and join me. Together we can perpetuate the illusion, never admitting that we siphon our love from a finite dwindling well. How long can you make it last? Every last drop! Lets stay in purgatory as long as we can because even death is better then letting the fantasy slip through the cracks. Just one more hit please. Open to interpretation..." We certainly love the combina

A total pop tune for you today, another in our sequence of self-isolation songs, this is NY-based  Sidney Hulburd with Wild , a vibrant production to remind you of the outside.

Today we have a genre which is new to us called "Vamp Metal", it is a song called Nothing by Liliac . What really piqued our interest was discovering that they are a family band; actually all siblings and their ages range from 12 to 21. Young goths, what's not to like!

Some great wordplay on this track by Norwegian-born, NYC-based singer/songwriter  Andrea Niane . The song is called  When January Comes and is a joy to the ears with its sophisticated simplicity. Quirky and honed to perfection, with a bonus point for using the word "minimalist". Give it a listen.

This is The Retrospecter 's first single, Relapse , as they explain "Relapse is a song that dives into the idea that many humans live in habitual self destructive patterns but they ultimately don't define us. Overall, I wanted to convey we can break through those patterns, but often it takes us getting to a dark and low place before we are finally ready to break the cycle. The video was made with over 4500 individual photos all compiled into video clips that are actually relapsing". We must say that the video is an excellent piece of work and the song itself is an terrific art-pop production.

This is the Way it Has Always Been is the first single from Ministry Of Truth 's new EP In Loving Memory of Man. It is a long, expansive instrumental track with lovely layers of sound. Ministry of Truth is the one man project of Patrik Hellström, he creates create dark, ambient, melancholic, dystopian post-rock. Be sure to give it a listen!

Another isolation-inspired song for you today, this is It's Been A While by Bristol's Maia Miller-Lewis . As Maia explains  "This song was inspired by speaking to my friends and family about what they want to do once this crisis is over. It's about the little things that we took for granted and didn't realise we would miss once they were taken away from us".  It is always good to have a positive song to help lead us towards better days. Enjoy! <a href="http://maiamillerlewis.bandcamp.com/track/its-been-a-while">It&#39;s been a while by Maia Miller-Lewis</a>

We have been very impressed by Hertfordshire's Stratton 5 with their second tune  Dread Boy . The group are all 16 years old and the release comes across with a pleasing combination of confidence and craftmanship. In particular, it has an excellent vocal performance and the motif leading into the chorus is a cheeky moment of genius. Great stuff. Dread Boy by Stratton 5

We have started to get some recordings inspired by self-isolation, here's such a song, it is Something Other by Tara-Bridget . It comes with a simple but effective video, which is worth watching even just for the amusing end. Here's what Tara-Bridget has to say "In Brooklyn, New York City is where I've been left alone in isolation since early March - away from my lover, my friends, family. I'm watching the world from my window while I can't be part of it. Finding solitude meant finding something beautiful - and I think working from the opposite ends of the city, we were able to do that." Nice tune, super vocal, smashing video.

It is always great when, out of the blue, you discover a new favourite band, namely Day & Dream . We started with their new single  A Study In The Pixels Of Your Face and were so impressed that we went straight to their back catalogue to discover more. So much treasure was there waiting for us, it almost made this self-isolation a gift to allow us to listen to even more. The band describe themselves as 'forest explorers, stargazers, sleepwalkers, dreamers' - so if you like shoegazery served with hint of the night sky, go check them out. Will they be on our radio show in the near future? For sure! A Study in the Pixels of Your Face by Day & Dream

Any song that uses the word "pirouetting" is usually an instant winner with us, with that in mind, here's Microcosms with  Tightrope . It is a song about  "frustration and mental gymnastics" , very good it is, too!

Today we have a song about self-inflicted loneliness by Skippy called the Quiet Kind . Unusually, for a song about loneliness, it is rather upbeat. Enjoy!

We always like a song sung in French, so today we are pleased to have Montreal's Meggie Lennon with a rather fruity video for  Ton Amour, Ma Bouche . Succulent and juicy, it is a rather sensual experience. Prendre plaisir!

Something a shade darker today, this is Salt with Junk , a song with an excellent vocal and deliberately menacing sound. As the band explain "It is inspired from the scene in Breaking Bad where Walter White watches Jess's beautiful girlfriend die" . Based in Edinburgh (UK), Salt are a four piece and feature members from the late 80s bands The Ruby Suit and Vatican Shotgun Scare. Taking the best from that era and giving it a modern sheen, this is perfect post-punk noise. Junk by salt

Today we're featuring something from New York, a city that really needs some positivity at the moment - actually, I think we all do. Anyway, to help raise the mood, this is Wild Manes with a breezy, harmonious cut called Cicadas . Music to transport you to swaying meadow grasslands. Lovely. Cicadas by Wild Manes

From Canada, here's Soulish with All A Had Known , it gets on with it from the very beginning and pulsates with contagious energy. As the band explain "It is a break up song that focuses on reflecting on the loss of a significant other after a break up. Its not about the person, but it's about the hole they left and living with that hole". This one really gets under your skin, so give it a spin.

To contrast with yesterday's serenity, today we have Radio Riot with Let It Burn . A four-minute-dystopia about the prevailing climate crisis and the threatening mass extinction summarized in the chorus line: "Let's go to war, let's go extinct!". Get your placards at the ready!

This is an adorable track from Alicka called Golden Flowers , a sensual, spoken word piece with beautiful instrumentation. It is like bathing in golden sunlight. Love it!

A stylish twangy guitar instrumental for you today, this is Fried Fruits with Bachnananas . Fried Fruits are a 5 piece band hailing from an ancient hippie commune, Ljusbacken, in the dark forests of Sweden. They play a strange brew of powerful rock, psychedelic dub and something in between. This track is available on 10" vinyl as part of their Amazonas EP .

Something special, we have the video premiere for a track we absolutely love. It is Fashion Bird Danger Danger by Fashion Bird Danger Danger  and it is one of those odd songs which just makes you smile with a combination of bemusement and amusement. What's more, the video simply enhances the experience. Favourite track of the moment? Maybe? Make sure you check this one out, no doubt it will be on our radio show very soon. After all, the early bird catches the earworm!