ARTIST PLAYLIST

 New Jersey-based pop-punk band All Systems Go are back with a new single, Don’t Let Me Go. But today we have asked the band to select 5 tracks they believe should be in everyone's playlist.

This band’s album “Self Care” was in all of our Album of the Year lists in 2020 and this song is probably our favourite because of its bright sound and how catchy the chorus is. 

Mikaila Delgado has a really strong but also unique voice that adds to the song’s energy. High Hopes might be their most popular song (their video for that song on Dreambound is how we first discovered them) but this one is usually the first one that comes up if any of us mention Yours Truly in conversation.

Added to this playlist by Devin. I think this was mine and Devin’s #1 most played song of the year on Spotify in 2021. Ditz is a local band and has to be one of the most talented in the state of NJ. Their music, especially in this song, has it all: incredible riffs, tight drumming, both clean and unclean vocals. This song is a straight up jam and a super fun listen. Also the best lyric is the one about “walking into a sliding glass door and spilling my whole beer all over myself”.

Dean picked this one for the list. We all loved Chunk’s new album that dropped in 2021 and this song has such a nostalgic vibe especially when you listen to it while driving with the windows down in the summer. The lyrics are also super relatable as we’re all in our mid-20’s and slowly experiencing more and more responsibilities as adults.

Hot Mulligan is one of Devin’s favourite bands and I also really dig them. We recently saw them perform live at TLA in Philly in December. I’m pretty sure we had both lost our voices by the end of the night, and this song especially is fun to sing along to. The title, especially since Mark

Hoppus is nowhere on this track, captures Hot Mulligan’s humour and style perfectly.

Added to this playlist by Joe. As a pop punk band this is our go-to cover song if we ever need to fill time in a set. We’ve also played cover band shows where we’ve played this song as much as 4 times in a 2 hour set. But at shows no matter who is listening the whole room pretty much always gets hype. Lit also liked one of our Instagram posts once, around the time when we were

first starting out, and needless to say we were stoked..

 Erotic Secrets of Pompeii make weird, angular art rock-cum-post-punk, populated by grotesque characters and surreal imagery, and ‘Truth Coming Out of Her Well’ is their latest hook-laden offering. The song explores subjectivity, rumours and fervent, polarising beliefs, and featuring irreverent town cryer vocals, insectoid guitars that buzz and jitter around a dub-esque bassline and a circus drumbeat, the song has been described by the band as “Zappa does Britpop”. 

 Thomas (vocals): Nina Hagen effortlessly moves from operatic vocal to screams and grunts over this proggy track. She isn’t afraid to emote and perform in a totally unorthodox way. The live version from Rockpalast (on YouTube) sees even more vocal extremities. I dare you to watch that video and not be blown away - it’s weird, it’s theatrical, it’s 100% unabashed confidence in using her voice in ways others might deem “wrong”. 

 Sean (guitar): From the album that got me into punk. Just love the swagger and angst in this song in particular. This really appealed to me as a teenager. I love the guitar tone as well. 

 Alex (drums): I grew up listening to drummers like Terry Chambers of XTC, Alan Myers of Devo and Hugo Burnham of Gang of Four. Keeping that balance between driving but also engaging drum parts for the rest of the guys to really build (and reliably fall back) on has been my M.O. With "Truth..." I can hear those influences sneak in, with the bursts of toms through the stubborn disco beat and the Hugo-esque syncopation of china in the chorus. 

 Jools (bass): I'm a massive fan of the genre blending. The bassline is super simple but absolutely essential in supporting the groove. I think that “Truth” for me as a bass player is about holding that groove down, keeping it simple and making sure the bridges between genres are as smooth as possible. 

 Tom (guitar/synth): The marriage of lyrical imagery and beautiful melody send shivers through me every time I listen to this track. The simplicity and heartfelt sentiment of the chorus is just perfect. No one else has the ability to conceive of rhyming JFK and negligee. 

  Off The Hook Music challenged Can Guru? to share with us 5 must listen too tracks, we've put them in a playlist for you, so enjoy!    

As you discover the five track Can Guru? loves to listen too, then you should check out Can Guru's new single  "Winner Today" a massive track you need to hear.

 I first came across Alice as she was busking outside the U-bahn station in Berlin a few years back. Her angelic soft voice and the mesmerising sound of her harp caught my attention straight away. A few years later, we got to know each other and I got to play some sax and clarinet on her latest album ``While the moss redeems the stone”. 

I particularly like the softness of the song “No Frontiers” as it moves gently back and forth like the sea water on a beach on a quiet evening.

 Kate Tempest is truly a powerful wordsmith. Her lyrics are real and raw. One gets the full picture by listening to her acute depiction of social modern reality from the word go.

The intro is slow and pushes the narrative forward, then a cool trip-hop loop and beat catches you in the spin of her flow as she constantly questions the sanity of our defunct society.

This is an awesome track, but not for the light-hearted.

Do go check out the music video for it. It is eye opening.

 As we are seeing the end of the tunnel with these odd times of quarantines and lockdowns, The Chemical Brothers once again manage to lift our spirits up with this cool track of theirs.

Listening to this song transported me back to the pre lockdown festival and rave days.

The music video for it is a clever mix of arty archive rave footage and hand-painted feel-good animations psychedelia that is definitely worth checking out to get the full experience.

Love the electro vibe of this tune and its lo-fi feel. 

Being a huge Damon Albarn fan myself, I thought I’d throw this cool tune back . It was released  on the “Plastic Beach” album and it features Mos Def and Bobby Womack! 

The music video for it also features Bruce Willis in a deadly car chase in the middle of the desert against 3 of Gorillaz’s main cartoon characters. Pretty cool!

 The chilled vibe of this song takes me for a ride through the night. 

The soft and spaced out vocals of Hope Sandoval transport me slowly to another dimension. It is as if I’m floating in space. 

The song starts slowly with a repeating marimba chord pattern and an unusual soft samba-esque drum pattern that is accentuated by occasional hand claps. Then, slowly and gradually, the song unfolds into a moving new soundscape. A play on tension and release constantly evolves until eventually the song finishes with the whole orchestra coming together and then disappearing in the distance. 

  Off The Hook Music challenged Born Rogue to share with us 5 must listen too tracks, we've put them in a playlist for you, so enjoy!   

Manchester Born Rogue have recently released their newest single "The Pretty Ones" with massive catchy chorus and a thumping real rock sound.

 From the reverberation of the lone guitar at the onset, to the last notes of the climactic finale, Alive is a song which showcases the quintessential Pearl Jam sound, which has earned them millions of dedicated fans worldwide. With influences from various sub-genres of rock, the meaningful lyrics, eloquently executed by frontman Eddie Vedder, compliment the instrumental side of the song perfectly. As the iconic guitar riff blends seamlessly with the bass and drums, we are transported the world of young Eddie as he learns that his paternal heritage is not as he had believed it to be. The masterful song writing of this powerful epic is right at home where it belongs – as a part of one of the greatest albums of our time. 

 Mysterious lyrics with an edge of nostalgia define this classic Deep Purple song. Perfect Strangers takes us away and paints a picture of a fantastic past, inspired by the Elric book series by Michael Moorcock. Chugging bass and drums carry the audience along as the ethereal guitar and keyboard sounds mystify the listener. Meanwhile, the subtleties of the vocal harmonies allow us to drift into the world of sorcery and adventure. With a band like Deep Purple, who bring  a very psychedelic edge to classic rock, you will never be disappointed. 

The Reading’s outfit is one of the more interesting bands we’ve discovered lately. The energy unleashed on the chorus is powerful and when they play it live it’s like a cannonball, we have really good expectations about what their new album brings!!

 Huge stadium anthemic song, that’s the kind of energy we love to get on stage, it’s probably one of Biffy’s most uplifting and produced songs, yet it feels so raw and powerful on the chorus, and the lyrics are a jewel to enjoy! 

 This is far from being one of their most known songs, in fact it made it as a bonus track demo on their 2007 album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. It’s a combative song, we love the meaningful lyrics, straightforward and guitars on your face, it’s what the Foo Fighters do best, rock with honesty.  

 Off The Hook Music challenged Deva St. John to share with us 5 must listen too tracks, we've put them in a playlist for you, so enjoy!   

 So, I actually credit Amanda Palmer for being the catalyst that got me to start releasing music. In May 2018, I attended a party she was hosting. There was drinking, dancing, and of course live music. Toward the end of the night, she played a very stripped-back set. She played the piano fantastically, and the ukulele slightly less fantastically. It was her ukulele playing that had the biggest personal impact, though. Being pretty instrumentally stupid is a large reason why I felt discouraged to release music. To see her unapologetically playing an instrument that she was only half-good at was pretty significant for me. She was rocking it. Being truthful and poetic. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t being technically perfect. Music isn’t supposed to be perfect, it’s just supposed to make you feel something. It was that night that flicked the switch in me, I think. I released my first song a few months later. Do It With A Rockstar is my favourite song of hers - and we’ve opened a lot of shows with it! 

 I could pick any Twenty One Pilots song and be able to say that it was significant for me. I discovered them at a time where I (unfortunately) found their music to be quite relatable. I’m pretty sure that Heathens was the first one I ever heard - or at least the first one I heard and thought “shit, this is actually really good.” I dove into their discography after that and got hooked. The thing about Chlorine - and the entire Trench album really - is that it was such a huge step-up production-wise. It’s a really great album - and I love how conceptual it is. I’ve been creating a world of my own since I was about 17 - trying to initially turn it into a TV show, and then being more excited by the potential of a video game narrative. Anyway, when I heard that Tyler Joseph created his own world and made an album about it was very cool to me. I love imaginative, layered writing. Also, most specifically - the ending of Chlorine is such a perfect musical manifestation of drowning. It’s beautifully constructed, and probably one of my favourite endings ever. 

 On the total opposite end of the scale - Energy is a pretty perfect musical manifestation of spirituality unencumbered by religion. I don’t know if that’s the intention of the song, but that’s the vibe I get. A celebration of eternal human energy. Growth, weather, water and fire in a neat 4-minute bop. Sampa The Great is so good. I also really love Final Form, F E M A L E and OMG. It was a four-way tie which one I picked for this list! 

 In a similar realm, but galactic (so actually, a totally different realm) - I’m super into So Heavy I Fell Through The Earth, and just the entire Miss Anthropocene album. It’s ethereal and cosmic and when you listen to it - much like Energy - it feels like you’re cleansing your soul of 3-dimensional bullshit. 

 Last, but certainly not least - I had to pick a Blind Melon song. They’re a band that has been with me for as long as I can remember. My mum introduced me to them as a kid - but I didn’t start to fully appreciate them until I was a teenager. When I was fifteen, I visited the US by myself. I remember feeling so grown up! Even though I was staying with my family, there was a real sense of personal freedom. I have a really vivid memory of driving down the freeway in my Nana’s car and listening to Blind Melon on my iPod. Vernie, in particular, just accesses a part of my soul like no other song does. I can’t explain it! I guess it just reminds me of feeling free and being with my family. All that aside though, everyone in the band is fantastic. The lyricism, the composition - it’s outstanding. Vernie is also home to my all-time favourite lyric - “oh, flower you are to my land." 

  Off The Hook Music challenged Drummer Lewis Harwood to share with us 5 must listen too tracks, we've put them in a playlist for you, so enjoy!  

 I've never heard a better live intro song in  my life. This was a close second to Idles - Colossus but The Riverbed takes the intro spot for me. Instrumental thrashing which just builds and builds with percussive vocals. If I heard it live I'd pick up a GBH charge. "We are the brothers, In my brothers  I trust, I know that the devil watches over us" 

 This song is the anthem for you'd rather drop breezeblocks on your feet than get out of the bed in the morning. Soon to be swiftly replaced by Cuffs new Single Get Up Get On (out 13/11) 

 If I could have one song played to me before I died this song would be it. This song sounds like it was taken right from the most beautiful dream. It's ethereal, it's relaxing, it's so lovely it's almost a bit unnerving.  It's the closest I've ever felt to heaven. This song makes The Killing Moon sound like Death Metal. It's emasculate. Shoegaze is the biggest missed gem in music. If you don't like this song you're doing the wrong drugs. This band sound Otherworldly.   

 There's plenty of Architects songs I could have chosen but lyrically and instrumentally this song is perfect. Before you even get into how amazing the lyrics are, the music is sonically so nice to listen to whoever produced that  album deserves a Nobel prize. This song carries a heavy message on its shoulders; life after loss. "Holy Hell, I've got nothing left to lose but I can tell there's gold buried in the blue". There's few bands that are as talented and consistent as Architects. 

  Some of my band would have my head on a pike for choosing the Smiths and my other band would have my head on a pike for not prioritising the Cure but they are in my opinion the best band that ever existed, oops. This song  inspired me to write a whole book so I can't not have it on this list. Plus it's also a beautiful song it. It's the loneliness anthem. "if you're so funny then why are you on your own tonight". I've never related to a song so much in my life. 

 Off The Hook Music challenged Rowlette to share with us 5 must listen too tracks, we've put them in a playlist for you, so enjoy!

On the 16th of September Rowlette released her fantastic new single "Cucumber & Ice".

What an amazing voice with so much power, a completely massive pop anthem which we recommend you to check out. 

 I would describe listening to Sorcha Richardson’s music as looking at an old photo album full of memories. 

It feels as though you’re reflecting on friendships and relationships in a vivid and visual way, not to mention catchy. Can’t We Pretend is the first song I discovered by Sorcha and remains one of my favourites, describing an old friendship.  

 Again, such a visual song! This song makes me feel like I’m listening to memories, and I’ve created such wonderful memories alongside this song. 

A 5 minute song that I wouldn’t get bored of if it was 15. The instrumentation and gang vocals, along with the conversational style give it such a full and warm feeling. It’s pure fun and joy in a song.  

 BOY are a brilliant female duo, and I love all of their songs, but Waitress is a bittersweet one that I really connect with. I have spent so much time in waitressing/hostessing/shop assistant jobs just day-dreaming and waiting for “real life to arrive”. This one definitely hits differently! 

 I adore The Academic and Bearclaws is one of my favorite tracks by them. As catchy as all their other songs, Bearclaws is upbeat and talks about showing someone all of your flaws i.e. your bear claws. Clever and catchy, what more could you ask for? 

 There is something about this song that makes me feel a little anxious but I still enjoy it. It reminds me of the importance of getting out there and appreciating life. As per all of Villagers tracks, the studio version is brilliant, but there is a Spotify Live version and I would highly recommend taking a listen if you haven’t heard it. "