Weekly round-up: YUNGBLUD, Oasis and the AI battle in Music
Musings about what's happening in and around the industry, including new releases
Following a quiet week ahead of the Easter bank holiday, things definitely ramped up last week, with plenty of new bangers to soundtrack this year’s festival season. Here’s a handful of my favourites.
Recent Releases
Following the success of their chart-topping single ‘Caramel’ just a few weeks ago, Sleep Token have released their third and final single, ‘Damocles’, ahead of their upcoming album Even in Arcadia, out 9th May.
With ‘Damocles’ offering a more introspective look at fame, it’ll be interesting to see how the themes of virality and their meteoric rise weave through the full album, which now has an official tracklist. Either way, it’s a monumental achievement that the band are headlining Download this summer.
Dayseeker have dropped their brand new single ‘Pale Moonlight’, their first since last year’s gorgeous acoustic album ‘Replica’. Accompanied by a dark, brooding video, frontman Rory Rodriquez’ vocals are as incredible as always.
‘‘Pale Moonlight’ is about giving into your vices,” Rory explains. “It’s about the addiction to things that you know are toxic for you — but you simply can’t stop yourself.”
If last week was all about deluxe versions, this week it's all about bands stepping into a new era. Following their three-track EP Bruises in early 2024, The Band CAMINO are back with new single ‘Infinity’, marking ten years since they released their first-ever track. One of my top bands on Spotify last year, I’m crossing my fingers this means a new album is on the way.
Following his nine-minute track ‘Hello, Heaven. Hello’, YUNGBLUD continued his ‘rebirth’ last week with the release of his latest single, ‘Lovesick Lullaby’ which he’s proudly described “English as f***.”
He recently revealed that his upcoming album hones in on British rock, British culture, and well, all things British. ‘Lovesick Lullaby’ is pure party anthem (fitting, since he wrote it at an actual party) and continues to propel the star into a new direction that we just can’t get enough of.
French metalcore band LANDMVRKS released their new album The Darkest Place I’ve Ever Been on Friday. Led by the powerful single ‘Requiem’, the album captures a raw, unfiltered energy and marks their darkest and most personal work to date.
Frontman Florent Salfati described it as a “painful album to write” under the pressure of touring, but says he’s proud of the story they’ve managed to tell.
Questions of the week
The constant fight against AI
A new survey by the BPI found, perhaps unsurprisingly, strong public support for protecting human creativity in music. Polling over 1,750 UK music fans the results show that listeners overwhelmingly believe music made solely by AI should be clearly labelled and that AI systems should only use music when authorised to do so.
Artists like Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Kate Bush have already raised concerns about AI, in particular around the UK Government’s proposed copyright changes surrounding authorisation. But while 82.7% believe human creativity is essential to music, could there still be a space for a genre that’s purely AI-created? And can we truly have music without the human element?
Supposed ‘Nepo babies’ in music: are we being too harsh?
There’s been a lot of talk lately about Lola Young and whether she should be considered a ‘nepo baby’. While she’s right that having a Great Aunt who wrote The Gruffalo isn’t exactly a direct path to pop stardom, in a recent interview with CapitalBuzz her defence saying it’s just a case of ‘losers’ and ‘other artists who just don’t really know what they’re doing in life'’, maybe wasn’t the best argument.
Especially when you consider how artists like Cruz Beckham or Jaden Smith have had opportunities others could only dream of. But still, should we stop putting artists down that we’ve propelled into the limelight?
What you might have missed:
Billy Idol released Dream Into It, his ninth studio album and first in over a decade and honestly, I’m a fan!
Good news for Oasis fans: the brothers were spotted together for the first time since announcing their tour. Hopefully, that means they’re fully prepped ahead of their long run of summer shows.
Figures from Record Store Day 2025 revealed the highest weekly vinyl album sales through UK independent record shops since at least 1994.
Yungblud surprised fans in London by pulling a shift behind the bar at the iconic Hawley Arms in Camden, then recreated his new video near Tottenham Court Road Station with the help from his fans.
The Kooks announced their biggest London headline show to date, with a gig at The O2. With ‘Indie Sleaze’ creeping back into the fashion world, could this be the real return of the indie era?
Keep an eye out for the next newsletter, but in the meantime, tell me what I’ve missed and who I should check out!