Hailing from the badlands of the East Lancs Road, self-styled ‘slacker punk’ outfit Severe Girls are just about to emerge from a quiet period on the product front. Sunset Mindset is the band’s first piece of new material since October 2025 and their debut EP, Another Night. But they’re back with a bang, that’s for sure.

With Sunset Mindset, songwriter and frontman Andre Richardson confronts the issues of validation and self-awareness, and does so with an assureredness that is, ultimately, uplifting.

Speaking of the song, Andrew says: “The phrase ‘sunset mindset,’ in my opinion, bears two meanings. One is a state of calm acceptance and the other is a state of depressive thoughts, or joy of leaving. The song’s dynamics capture both states. It was written as a relationship song in some ways, but also about my relationship with music, the industry and the people around it. the resulting feeling of being on your own, trying to figure it out before ‘it’s too late’ is the crux of the song.”

Howling guitars and a thrash around the kit get Sunset Mindset up and running. The sound is that late 70s/early 80s dystopian post-punk mixture that so characterised Manchester and its environs. The drums are whacked and the guitars churn; Andrew’s vocals feature a measure of despair and a healthy dose of f— you attitude. And the point is made loudly, and clearly.

Wall of Sound is the first glimpse that Alex Ellis – aka Our Man in the Field – has revealed of a forthcoming new body of work that remains, for the moment, under wraps.

Produced by Guy Fletcher and featuring performances by Ethan Johns, Robbie McIntosh, Nick Pini, Will Fry and Fletcher himself, Wall of Sound explores the frustration and disillusionment of people who believe they’ve gone unheard.

Alex takes up the story: “People can endure a lot, but when they feel ignored for long enough, especially when they worry about their children’s future, that frustration can become something much bigger. I wanted to write about that without judgement.”

I’m sure I won’t be the only listener to be immediately reminded of Van Morrison by Wall of Sound. Indeed, The Man They Call ‘The Man’‘s spirit seems to inhabit every aspect of the song – Alex’s melodicism, Guy’s production, the choice of instrumentation and Alex’s vocal styling. Alex sings with a tone that’s slightly world-weary, as organ and discrete splashes of brass pile on the sophistication. And, with lyrics like: “Can you hear me now? Tell me if the words ever make it to you – coz there’s a wall of sound and it’s drowning me out,” Alex delivers his message with profound clarity.

Known for pasting political dissent over danceable basslines, pummeling drums, scuzzy guitars and brutally candid vocals, Manchester-based Holly Head are a band for our times. I’ve Had Want is the band’s fourth single, and it’s another uncompromising attack on issues that pervade society.

This time, the band tackle depression, numbness and the ways personal struggles become entangled with planned, cruel imbalance.

A typically fluid solo from bassist Liam provides the prompt for singer/lyricist Joe to say what’s on his mind. And he does so in drowsy tones that contrast sharply with the bright riffage and accomplished guitar picking. Drummer Oscar supplies a driving rhythm and the listener is left gasping in exhileration.

Irvine’s Trashcan Sinatras have a new album – Ever the Optimist – in the offing and they’re making well sure that we all know about it. Games For the ZX Spectrum is the fourth single that they’ve released to spread the word and, on the basis of this one alone, Ever the Optimist looks like being something very special indeed.

Written towards the end of the album sessions, Games For the ZX Spectrum takes its title from the small – but dedicated community of enthusiasts who continue to create games for the titular, long-obsolete, computer games system.

The strummed, jangly guitars and harmony vocals provide a sharp hint of what The Byrds might have sounded like, had they been formed in the late 80s, rather than the early 60s. But, beneath that bright exterior, Games For the ZX Spectrum is a volatile package of self-awareness, warmth, wit and quiet reflection. A feeling of wellbeing oozes from the grooves and the song ends far too quickly…

Games For the ZX Spectrum is an enticing harbinger of what Trashcan Sinatras have in store for us…

I confess I had thought we had seen the last of these guys, whose blistering live shows and two superb albums were such vibrant examples of, for want of a better word, folk-prog. But, with erstwhile members popping up, in Jon Doran’s Northern Assembly and in Heather Ferrier’s band, suggesting they were still on the boards.

Yes, and whilst they may have lost a double-bassist on the way, in his place here is that very same Ferrier, bringing her accordion to the ensemble, filling out further an already rich palette of pipes, flute, mandolin and guitars, not forgetting the astonishing bodhran plus kit of dynamo drummer, Callum Younger.

This must surely be a forerunner for more, not least as they have just played the first of a run of festival. Neither broken, nor needing mending, the additional flavours here only enhance their “bold and brave” take on the music, largely derived from the debateable lands, aka the Scottish Borders and down into Northumbria.

This lively dance number bursts out on jagged syncopations of percussion and the strummed strings, mandolin pils and accordion plotting to drop in wayward textures that then all make complete sense. Welcome back!

Morrison we know well, her endeavours to remind and restore the place of a black population to the folk tradition respected and appreciated. Sood, a highland Scot of mixed Teuchter and Punjabi heritage, comes from a similar perspective, if skewed more towards the Indian subcontinent and the music of the West Highlands and Islands. (Bear in mind that there have been Gaelic speaking Pakistani traders in the Outer Hebrides for well over a century, my late mother remembering them well as a feature of her childhood.)

Sood, whose debut release, 2022’s Searching Erskine was the Guardian’s then album of the year, is a musical artist and an academic, whose work draws together sound and field recordings, strings, electronics and tape loops. The involvement of Morrison adds her deeply spiritual vocals to the wash of layered drones of traditional Scottish instrumentation, over which bass-heavy beats, lush synth lines, abrasive guitars, and ambient soundscapes swirl and shimmer.

This all heralds the later arrival of an album, Donn/Dubh, translating as Brown/Black. If that all sounds a little too trite, remember the Gaels gave colours to the various winds that gusted across their landscapes: westerly winds were considered brown (Donn) and Northern winds were black (Dubh).