Based in London and Brighton
Recommended if you like artists like Underworld, MGMT, or Animal Collective
On the horizon An as-yet-untitled EP, to be released in 2026
The two singles released so far by Ashnymph defy easy classification: their own description of their work as “subconscioussion” provides few hints. The first single Saltspreader married a heavy mechanical drumming – bandmember Will Wiffen has sometimes been seen on stage sporting a shirt that displays the emblem of Godflesh, icons of industrial metal – with retro-style synths and a riff that subtly echoes the classic Stooges track I Wanna Be Your Dog, before dissolving into a mass of eerie audio. Its intended effect, the group has mentioned, was to evoke motorway travel, “the endless movement of vehicles 24-hours a day over huge distances … amber lights after dark”.
The subsequent track, Mr Invisible, occupies a space between dance music and experimental rock. For one thing, the cut's tempo, multiple entrancing electronic parts, and lyrics that appear either trippily blurred or hypnotically looped in a way that evokes the classic Underworld album era all suggest the dancefloor. Alternatively, its forceful live-sounding dynamics, edge-of-chaos quality and distortion – “achieving a crunchy texture is a lifelong ambition,” Wiffen noted – set it apart as very much the work of a band rather than a solitary home producer. They’ve been playing around the independent music circuit in south London for a short time, “anywhere that will turn the PA up loud”.
But the two tracks are vibrant and distinct – from each other and contemporary releases – to make you wonder about Ashnymph's upcoming moves. No matter what it is, on the strength of these tracks, it’s unlikely to be boring.
The Week's Fresh Highlights
Dry Cleaning – Hit My Head All Day
“I really require adventures”, vocalist Florence Shaw states on her band’s beguiling return, but over six minutes – with human breath marking time – you perceive that the motive eludes her.
Danny L Harle's Azimuth featuring Caroline Polachek
Merging gothic intensity to peak 90s trance – including the line “and I ask the rain” – Azimuth suggests reviving your rave outfits and dancing the night away, immediately.
Acne Studios mix by Robyn
Robyn’s soundtrack for the Swedish designer’s SS26 show hints at her next record, including gritty guitars reminiscent of Soulwax, Benny Benassi-style thrust and the words “my body’s a spaceship with the ovaries on hyperdrive”.
Jordana's Like That
We loved her album Lively Premonition last year and the US singer-songwriter keeps displaying her impressive hook-crafting ability as she laments her latest hopeless infatuation.
Get a Life by Molly Nilsson
The solo Swedish pop act released her latest album Amateur this week, and this track from it is remarkable: a electronic guitar part thrusts forward rapidly as Nilsson demands we grab life by the scruff of the neck.
Artemas' Superstar
After documenting jaded love and sex on his smash I Like the Way You Kiss Me and its overlooked mixtape Yustyna, the musician of mixed heritage is hopelessly devoted to his current partner amid pulsating coldwave production.
Miss America by Jennifer Walton
Taken from a notable debut album, a delicate electronic ballad about Walton learning of her father’s death in an airport hotel, mapping the strange setting in gentle refrains: “Retail area, shady transaction, nervous fits.”
