Fran Carlyon has been writing acoustic based songs in the folk tradition for a number of years now. He records them in threadbare fashion in as few takes as possible, incorporating synths and electronics to add light and shade. In his view, capturing the initial spark of inspiration is key, as it conveys the message and meaning in the purest possible way. After a batch of digital singles, his debut mini album, Home Truths, was released 6th February via the wonderful Manchester/Brighton based label YYZ Records. Beyond his songs, Fran is a kind of musical soul brother to us, sharing our values and taste in true independent music and being very active in the underground independent scene: he writes for HeavyMetalKids.uk and DJs at Ship Full Of Bombs, Southend’s alternative radio station.
The High Span is a UK post-pop band based in Medway, Kent. Formed by songwriter Kevin Younger in late 2019, the band’s sound is possibly best described as a pop-inflected mix of sprightly guitar jangle and suburban angst. Releasing their first EP, Quirky Miniboss Squad, in 2020 on the Spinout Nuggets label, they tapped into a vein of English bloodiness and absurdity which was followed up in their first, self titled, album in 2023. The band comprises Kevin Younger (guitar, vocal, keys), Mark Aitken (bass), Canadian expat Jimmy Moore (drums), and Sarah Post (vocals). A history of the players’ previous bands includes Subway Sect, The Speed of Sound, Ye Ascoyne d’Ascoynes, Baby Birkin, London Dirthole Company, and Canadian grunge heroes Rusty among many others. Their latest album, Blithering is out now on Spinout Nuggets.
Sunny Intervals combines indiepop, folk and light electronica, as put together in London by Andy, formerly of the band Pocketbooks. Active from 2012 to 2016, when he released three delicious albums, Rooftops (2012), Step Into Spring (2014) and Sunrise (2016), Sunny Intervals returned, after almost ten years, with Swept Away. It is “a late night whisper,” written over the course of a decade, and recorded as lightly and naturally as possible at home, mostly in Andy’s kitchen at night while the neighbourhood was sleeping, with acoustic guitars, light percussion, keyboards and soft synthesisers. A soft mix of indiepop, folk and light electronica, Swept Away was released in April 2025, and re-released as a deluxe Bandcamp version including the original 10-track album and the five-track Almost Imperceptibly EP (and a sort of disco remix of Electromagnetic) in November 2025.
Theory Of Ghosts take their name from a song by the self-proclaimed Anglo-French “ghost-rock” group, Piano Magic who, between 1996 and 2016, crafted a cinematic, melancholic and richly emotional sound, at once fragile and immersive. Led by ex-Piano Magic founder, Glen Johnson and long-time guitarist, Franck Alba, Theory Of Ghosts make no less evocative music, weaving a very romantic, European sophisti-pop that echoes the dreamier moments of The Blue Nile and The Durutti Column. Originally a three-piece on their debut extended players, succinctly labelled EP1 and EP2, Johnson and Alba retreated to their rehearsal space as a duo and began utilising a complaisant drum-machine for their minimal backbeats. The songs, driven by Alba’s fluid Fender VI six-string bass and Johnson’s sparse, unfussy guitar, were spacious, lyrical, vivid. In Summer 2024, Johnson suffered a life-threatening brain haemorrhage but miraculously, by early 2025, felt healthy enough to continue with the production of an album. The foundation of new songs was laid by Johnson at his home studio in Crystal Palace and in July 2025, the duo filled their car with guitars and set off to record with Julian Tardo at his Church Road Studio in Hove on the East Sussex coast. Johnson had been a huge fan of Tardo’s own duo, Insides, since their debut album, ‘Euphoria’ came out on 4AD subsidiary, Guernica, in 1993 and to work with not only Julian but his partner, Kirsty Yates, was something of a granted wish. Yates guests on ‘No Contact,’ a bittersweet song about that very modern strategy of disassociation in a bid to protect the self. The Sulphur And The Grey, Theory Of Ghost’s debut album, with a cover designed by Maria Makripoulias, recorded and mastered by Julian Tardo at Church Road Studio, is out today on Second Language Music.
Would-Be-Goods made a profound impact on the emergence and evolution of the twee pop scene with their stunning debut album, The Camera Loves Me, released in 1988 on the iconic él label. Originally conceived as one of Mike Alway’s deliberately “artificial” él projects, built around the striking, glamorous image of Jessica Griffin and her sister Miranda, it quickly became evident that Jessica Griffin was an exceptionally gifted songwriter. Her compositions are distinctive and refined, combining keen observation, elegance, and cultural awareness with beautifully crafted melodies. After more than ten years of silence, in October 2020, during lockdown, Jessica Griffin embarked on a new creative venture: composing one song each day, each with a title supplied nightly by her partner and bandmate Peter Momtchiloff. The Night Life, released in June 2023, collected twenty tracks from this “song-a-day” project. Tears Before Bedtime is the band’s forthcoming album and is scheduled for release via Skep Wax Records on February 13.
Indie Sunset in Rome 