Welcome to Issue #23 of Singles Selection. With Singles Selection, we take a look at some of the brand new singles that have pricked our ears. Some of them might be the precursor to a forthcoming album, others might be standalone. Whatever the intent, these singles are worthy of your time.
RANAGRI – BOUND FOR NEW YORK CITY
Pronounced with an ‘eye’, Ranagri are still rolling on the cusp of a year or three back, these seemingly inexhaustible musicians firing on all cylinders, after yet another summer of packed festivals. And that is even were we to disregard flautist, Eliza Marshall, and her similarly hectic solo schedule.
And I’ll bet you’ll find it hard believe this rolling rootsy road song is the same “folk band who play with Tony Christie“, or however else you had, wrongfully, written them merely off as. With a driving percussive rhythm from Jordan Murray, Dónal Rogers’ vocal is a lax casual drawl that fits perfectly the mood evoked and, even with the prominent flutes (Marshall) and harp (Eleanor Dunsden), the overall vibe is still more Catskills’ jam band than virtuosi chamber folk ensemble.
If you catch my drift, and if you have earlier held back from this band, and for reasons you know not quite why, this is where to come in hard. And embrace them with both ears.
DAVID MURPHY & ETHER ENSEMBLE – THE RAIN SONG
Of course it’s that one; is there any other? But, never will you have heard the Led Zeppelin song sound quite so glacially fragile. Murphy is a pedal steel slinger for hire, the European man to go, whenever the Delines tour this side of the pond. Previously, his solo métier has been dreamy ambient “covers” of tunes from the Irish tradition, this suggesting there is a whole pile more inspiration on hand, just waiting to be tapped.
Steel guitar and electric piano glide gracefully through the melody, tipping out polygenic nuances that trip around the tune with delight. And is that a cello? It sounds so. No vocals; broadly necessary they would destroy the mood, as a string section and surprisingly muscular drums enter the fray.
Is this Sunday morning coming down music, or for Saturday, night before the bash? No judgement, it’s whatever you want it to be. And, should you need any other reason, which, believe me, you don’t, all proceeds go to Médecins Sans Frontières.
ACID CASUALS – BOWL ME OVER
Twenty years have passed since Cardiff-based collective Acid Casuals released their one-and-only album, Omni. That’s a cause for celebration, don’t you think? Well, as it happens, Acid Casuals are thinking the same and Omni is scheduled to be re-released – in vinyl, CD and digital formats on 30th October.
As an early taster for the impending reissue, Acid Casuals have released the album’s closing track, Bowl Me Over as a single. The song is, perhaps, the album’s most melodic and accessible track. “It was written on the ferry back from Ireland on a 4am crossing,” says Acid Casuals synth pilot, Cian Ciarán. “I’d met a girl called Niamh backstage at some festival and… she bowled me over. I wrote it on the journey back after too much whiskey and full of regret for not asking her out. Quite apt, as the song itself turned out to be quite radiant and bright just like the name. I was in the middle of exploring the history of doo-wop as well at the time. Who’d have thought it?”
A light drumbeat intro gives no clue of the rich, melodic, fun doo-wop that’s in store on Bowl Me Over. It’s so easy to see why Acid Casuals chose the song to close Omni – it’s just the type of song that’s impossible to follow. The crazed, distorted guitar solo is worth the entry fee on its own – and the video is a corker!
THE WAR ON DRUGS – WHO’S THAT
A welcome return for Adam Granduciel and his big sky, broad screen, Heartland American music. This format of music relies on swelling anthemic unison play, and this plays to that strength, as well as demonstrating Graduciel’s softer and more vulnerable side. Featuring a slimmed down section of drums and bass, all the guitars and keyboards come from the bluff frontman.
“Did I blow it? Did it just explode? There’s a lion hanging from my teeth, I can taste it but I can’t get close,” he says, “It’s only my depression, baby.”
The first new since 2022, Granduciel has been far from idle, producing (and appearing on) Sam Fender’s ‘People Watching;, as it vaulted to winning 2025’s Mercury Prize. Is there an album coming? Who knows, but Granduciel is certainly taking the band out on tour, starting later this month, if just in the U.S.
DEAD WELLS – COLD SEAS
They hail from Macclesfield, and wouldn’t you just know it! Dead Wells – Oli Mellor (vocals, guitar), Dan Smith (drums), Ed Warrington (Guitar) and Kevin Lujano (bass) are a 4-piece outfit with a sound that channels the dystopian darkness of their townsfolk Joy Division and Cold Seas is their second single.
In truth, Cold Seas marks a change of route for Dead Wells – a route that introduces a dose of grunge into their portfolio, as guitarist Ed Warrington explains: “The sounds of the guitars are inspired by the spanky spring reverb sound used in early garage rock, but with a thick layered fuzz sound underneath to give them an edgier, grungy-sounding kick.”
Cold Seas in an intense affair. Vibrant, chiming guitars and an insistent drumbeat provide the way in to three minutes of grungy riffage. The backing is authentic mid-90s but, when Oli’s cloudy vocals join the mix, we’re transported back to those dark, northern days of the early 80s. The guitar solo shrills and sustains and, after a fade-down, the song signs out on a sudden, grungy, high.
Dead Wells are planning an EP release for early 2027. On the evidence of their first two releases, anything is possible. watch this space…
