August 2026 - New Music Friday
Dear DeMON - AV69
Chosen by Christian 이수 Mata (@chris_isu_m)
Frantic. Erratic. Paranoid. All words that could aptly describe Dear DeMON’s energy. The band is wearing every hat on Luv (Hate) pt. 69, but the backbone of their music feels like angsty 90s teens that like slacker rock with zany lyrics, and Isaac Brock’s unorthodox delivery. Their tracks range from haze-drenched confessions of inadequacy and eating ice cream to discordant spouts of guitar with rapid-fire bars. AV69 is the best representation of their sonic identity and irreverent charm. Delivered frenetically, littered with the band's argot, it's about the struggle to survive as a musician. Success seems to be portrayed as an actual room where the band struggles to get in (People comin’ in a bitter/ “ShuTTT the doors, please!!!”), but near the end the band is desperate to leave. They sound like students that scribble band logos on their notebooks in class then spend summer days in a garage all day jamming and throwing pizza at a wall until they can spend the night practising kickflips.
e_so - Songline
Chosen by Christian 이수 Mata (@chris_isu_m)
A sombre, sweet gem, Songline makes time stand still. The sparse acoustic guitar stylings pair well with the cyclical nature of the song. It's an exploration of where our words and stories can take us, a validation of feelings. Like a compass that loosened slowly, each line shifts slightly around the trajectory. The song begins isolated to a single voice and guitar in an airless room, but as the passages unfold, production fills in the air with the swooning trombone rounding out the dreamy atmosphere. Some may recognise e_so as one half of Moher, and there is certainly a connection there, but her solo outing also stands on its own as something thoughtful and emotive.
Sangha - Shall We Hide
Chosen by Christian 이수 Mata (@chris_isu_m)
Shall We Hide is touching in its sincerity. Any song can say I love you, I hate you, or I’m lonely; that's probably the hook, but instead of declaring a feeling, Sangha offers a specific action. She talks about caring, safety, and rest. It doesn’t necessarily have to be romantic; it could be self-care. The grey days and nights she describes bring to mind the lack of colour in depression. Musically, the song has a nice rhythmic feel carried by drum fills and a dynamic bass with only a hint of haze and echo. The bass gives really solid character to a track that overall keeps its indie atmosphere neat and tidy. The gliding synths do well, adding some hope and sparkle to the track.
SØHJ - Deep Blue Dive
Chosen by Christian 이수 Mata (@chris_isu_m)
There is a misty quality to the production in Deep Blue Dive. The opening has a driving kick with some cascading drums playing off each other. A single track of synth shrouds the opening at first but soon other droplets of melody colour in the song as the singer talks about becoming new. Once the song begins in earnest, it becomes hypnotic and danceable with some gated synths over a more straightforward rhythm. There is a light, spacious feel about the whole piece with a break nestled in the middle.
Love Syndicate - The Rhyme, Sun Gin and The Love Syndicate
Chosen by Christian 이수 Mata (@chris_isu_m)
Love Syndicate nice, majestic long-form rumination on love with sharp production backing it. Part of a larger collaborative album between The Rhyme and Sun Gin and The Love Syndicate, Affranchi, they are fresh and with roots running deep. There are so many clever bars playing with syllables and internal rhymes, and The Rhyme keeps a great steady flow closer to East Coast style. He gives two straight long verses touching on relationships, faith, and people winding through each turn effortlessly. The hook anchors the song around samples from Common’s Love is… and KRS-One on BDP’s classic Love's Gonna Get'cha (Material Love). While both of these tracks deal with love itself, they talk more about community and a dangerous society that needs it. This song is guided more by individual love, and the samples are recontextualised from the heavy, raw Bronx style of BDP and Common’s soulful leaning into a jazz dressing with some solid scratching. It’s evident that the group has heart and respect for the culture. Love Syndicate is a perfect introduction to some jazz-loving old heads who sound like they’ve been to bodegas between crate digging.
Huiwon - Birth…
Chosen by Christian 이수 Mata (@chris_isu_m)
There is a nice wispy quality in Huiwon’s vocals that brings an emotional lean to the vivid track. The lyrics set a scene of urgency with images of fire. Still, a snake slithering across the overpass, or the sting of the wind waking your body, conjures up concrete sensations. The bass lines are expressive, and the tone gives the song a definite character. Overall, there is a strain and tender feel to Birth… that feels far removed from Huiwon’s last 2005 EP 反骨商會. This new side of the group has us curious to hear more.
QRIM - I don’t care
Chosen by Charity Lynn (@_charitylynn_)
As someone who moved from their hometown to the other side of the world, QRIM’s I don’t care really hits home. To me, this song conveys an understanding that to become who you really are, you cannot remain boxed in an environment that holds you back. To choose growth over comfort can be daunting, but it takes courage to embrace the unknown and reclaim the freedom to define yourself on your own terms. The repetition of “I don’t care” is less of a bitter, rebellious chant and more of a reminder to oneself to look past criticism and the fear of failure. Because at the end of the day, whose expectations are you really living for? You have to trust that brighter days are waiting on the other side of uncertainty. The upbeat, pop-punk energy and uplifting lyrics really transform the song into an empowering anthem.
Gikuhasi - Parade
Chosen by Charity Lynn (@_charitylynn_)
This bubbly, dreamlike track from Gikuhasi drifts through fragments of memories and reminds us that growing up means accepting that the world is far more complicated than we imagined as children. Kind words alone cannot stop conflict, and even the promises we make can become burdens to carry. Yet despite its bittersweet reflections, Parade doesn’t quite feel so hopeless. But sometimes hope can only help us move forward. Just like a parade marching by, seasons change, children grow, and memories fade. But nothing stops moving.
Leaveourtears - look at me
Chosen by Charity Lynn (@_charitylynn_)
Leaveourtears’ look at me expresses the loneliness and fatigue hidden behind visibility. The title itself is a contradiction of the song’s more isolating lyrics. On the surface, look at me sounds like a plea to be seen, but the lyrics, rather directly, convey a desire to escape the very attention being received. “I want to disappear, stop harassing me now, I have no one to lean on” – these words capture a moment of being so profoundly overwhelmed by the presence and expectations of others, yet still feeling alone. The repetition of both the lyrics and melody gives a sense of being stuck in an endless cycle of exhaustion, and the song touches on the complicated emotions of someone who is always being looked at, but not truly being seen.
Cloudkreme - Beyond The Seasons
Chosen by Mica (@mishckah)
Cloudkreme leans fully into their identity in Beyond The Seasons. It’s fun, playful, bouncy, and unmistakably theirs. There's a childlike wanderlust running through the track, the kind of energy that makes you want to throw open a window and let the summer in.
The piano is the heart of it. Playful, almost mischievous, it keeps the whole track grounded in that lighthearted spirit even as the production pushes forward. Then the techno riffs cut in, crunchy and sharp, giving the lyrics more of an edge. That's the trick of the song—it never lets the sweetness go soft. The piano keeps it human, the techno and guitar keep it moving, and together they turn a simple summer feeling into something almost tangible.
Sailor Honeymoon - Click Click
Chosen by Mica (@mishckah)
Click Click kicks the door open, guitar already snarling, all crunch and fuzz and zero patience for a slow build. Sailor Honeymoon always loves to show up loud and full of energy.
The vocals are distorted, raw, and shouted more than sung, garage-band grit cranked past comfortable. The bass line is what keeps the whole thing from flying apart. Tight, driving, relentlessly danceable, it’s the kind of groove that grabs your body before your brain catches up. Chaos on top, control underneath, and that tension is what gives the song its teeth.
Click Click is fast, dirty, and completely unbothered. Full attitude, no apologies, pure Sailor Honeymoon.
O.O.O - Slow, Blurry Dance
Chosen by Mica (@mishckah)
Slow, Blurry Dance is O.O.O at their most generous, a track that passes the spotlight around instead of hogging it. Every instrument gets its moment, and the vibe stays funky and laid-back the whole way through.
The guitar riffs come in sharp and intense, but they don’t fight the mellow undertone of the song. They call, and the vocals answer back easy and unhurried, keeping things smooth even when the guitar pushes harder.
The bass is what ties the funk together, bouncing loose and groovy under everything else, giving the track its sway without pulling focus. It’s laid-back but never lazy, funky without trying too hard.
Nothing overstays its welcome, nothing crowds anything else out. It’s a song built on trust between instruments, and O.O.O lets that easy, funky groove carry it all the way through.
wiki - sun, sun, sun
Chosen by Ethan Kim (@count.kim)
Although wiki only released their debut EP in July, anticipation had been building around the duo long before its arrival. Their music feels as though brief fragments of sound have been gathered and arranged in their own distinctive way: strikingly sharp and raw, yet threaded with lyricism. The opening track on their EP sun, ‘sun, sun, sun’, runs for around 12 minutes, serving as a grand opening salvo for the duo’s bold experimentalism.
Stego - Giggle
Chosen by Ethan Kim (@count.kim)
Stego are an emerging three-piece instrumental band whose debut record, hi, we are stego, was released on 23 July. Their music bears traces of both post-rock and industrial rock. Giggle, the record’s closing track, pairs a superb build-up with a palpable sense of exhilaration. This is a trio whose future we should certainly be watching closely.
Wonhyung - Never Dance Again
Chosen by Ethan Kim (@count.kim)
A highly distinctive band has emerged from Korea’s post-hardcore scene. Since releasing their EP Sky Ball last year, Wonhyung have steadily carved out a place of their own. Their latest single, Never Dance Again, brings together the band’s characteristically forceful noise, spoken word and melodies that seem to tangle around one another, its breathless progression making time slip by unnoticed. Equally striking is the track’s closing moment, where the vocals meet a heavily distorted guitar in a warped harmony.
nahyee - Triangle
Chosen by Jamie Finn
One of the most surprising new acts of 2025 returned this week with two new songs. On Triangle, she (mostly) drops the shoegazey soft rock of her debut album for vibrant 90s-inspired pop. It’s a warm and nostalgic sound and the kind of thing you might expect from a self-confessed Cardigans mega fan.
Kim Oki feat. Yamagata Tweakster - Ya-man (Did You Really Have To Take Your Shirt Off?)
Chosen by Jam Fin
For Kim Oki’s new track, Ya-man (Did You Really Have To Take Your Shirt Off?), he’s joined by fellow eccentric fella, Yamagata Tweakster. It’s a surprisingly funky song from Kim Oki and, more surprisingly, one that doesn’t have any saxophone. The song is taken from the new album suave qui peut, which was recorded and released in connection with the Gallry Hyundai art exhibition of the same name.
Rainbow99 - Jido Park
Chosen by JF
Rainbow99 is, for me, an artist who can do no wrong. The hyper-prolific musician is currently working on his 20th(!!!) album, and every one of them is dripping with gorgeously ethereal and introspective ambient layers. His new song, Jido Park - Live is a sure sign that the next album will continue this tradition. As with much of his music, Jido Park explores the geography of an area he has a special connection to. The 7-min track builds up to a surprisingly emotional final act, which is heartbreaking to listen to. Really amazing stuff.
Zzzaam - 마리아 maria
Chosen by Ethan Kim (@count.kim)
Zzzaam’s songs always evoke the kind of vision one might hear in a dream. Their new single, maria, is also a track that beautifully carries their own distinctive sense of ecstasy. The vocalist’s cry towards something sacred, together with the slowly drifting synthesiser and noise, all flow very organically, as though they were one body.