Basht., Molly Payton, Grumpy and green star: here are four gems to brighten the darker days ahead.
Halloween approaches. Then, the busy calendars and insatiable eating of the festive season. The clocks have gone back. Or forward? I don’t really understand how it works. Some people love this time of year. I’m personally indifferent. I don’t like the fact that the sun sets so early, but I do love indulging in a dirty oat chai latte on a crisp sunny morning. Comme ci, comme ça.
What this month of October has brought us is one standout album from the biggest band on the planet. Fontaines D.C. just keep getting better, taking their sound to soaring, sophisticated heights on the Dublin five-piece’s cinematic fifth album, Dopamine Chamber.
But that’s not the only Irish band that shared an excellent album this month – meet Basht., the potent and poignant quartet who are leading the pack of stellar acts to follow in the Fontaines wake. Also making the best kind of noise this month is New Zealand-born London-based singer-songwriter Molly Payton, whose sublimely melancholic and richly intimate sophomore record, eternity, is out next Friday 6th November.
Elsewhere, green star are revamping shoegaze for a new generation, and Grumpy are combining alt country music and trans joy. Keep scrolling to get to know October’s best rising acts.
Basht.
Basht., like most of us, are really fucking angry at the current state of the world. They just manage to make that fury sound a lot more melodic, cinematic and poetic than the rest of us. On their outstanding debut album Poor Advice, they cover a wider array of significant topics – from the genocide in Palestine to the dangerous media landscape and the hypocrisy of the Catholic church – atop an eclectic, energetic, and overtly engaging sonic backdrop. A hell of an introduction; another brilliant Irish band to add to the list.
What’s the worst piece of advice you’ve ever received?
The worst piece of advice I’ve ever received was probably ‘Hair of the dog’, meaning that the only cure for a hangover is to get back on the drink. Personally, it’s never worked for me.
How does it feel to be releasing the new album?
It feels amazing. I think the best way to sum it up is how the drummer of Westside Cowboy Paddy described it. He said it’s a funny feeling because, for us, it feels like the album cycle has ended now that it’s out, but of course it’s actually only the beginning for everyone else.
You worked with revered producer Ali Chant on the record; how was that experience?
Ali was amazing to work with. We’d all been fans of his work over the years, so when the offer arose to work with him, we jumped at it. We couldn’t have imagined anyone better for this particular record. His involvement was really important to us all.
Why is this a body of work people need to hear right now?
I think it’s a body of work people need to hear right now because it’s a very strong representation of not only how we see the world, but where we’re at sonically right now. To us it feels like a real moment in time.
You’re on a huge tour – what can attendees expect from a Basht. live set?
There are a few things people can expect; high-energy live shows are one for sure. Expect to hear not only all the album tracks but old songs we haven’t played in a while too. We’re really excited to get out there and meet the fans.
Molly Payton
Molly Payton has one of those voices that speaks directly to your soul. It sees through you, smiles sadly back at you, swirling with that sweet kind of sentimentality. After the promise of her 2024 debut YOYOTTA, the New Zealand-born, London-based singer-songwriter and musician returned this autumn with a refined and matured approach, holding an emotional vastness in her palm with tunes like “subaru” and “wiser”. Her sophomore album, eternity, drops next Friday the 6th; let me let you in on a secret – it’s fucking great.
What’s your favourite hour of the day?
Uuuuuuh happy hour, obviously.
Did you find making your sophomore album harder than your debut?
We definitely had to be a bit craftier. We recorded most of the album for free in small studios across London and with friends, but I actually think this made the process much easier and more enjoyable. These environments were so relaxed and fun, and I felt so confident in the songs that all the fear and anxiety I’d felt during my first album dissipated; I was able to just really enjoy making music.
Why have you named the album eternity?
The title track ‘Eternity’ is one of my favourites on the album. It’s a song I abandoned years ago and rediscovered when touring my last album, writing a new chorus on that tour, which turned the song into this perfect earworm. That process of reworking and perfecting the song changed how I write music and influenced my songwriting on the rest of the record, so it felt fitting to name the record after that song in a way. Also, I was listening to “Sadness As a Gift” a lot at the time; in it, Adrianne Lenker sings “you and I could see into the same Eternity’ which has always stuck with me.
What’s your favourite song on the album? Why?
Probably “Mary”, a song I wrote about my mum. We’re very close but she lives on the other side of the world, and I think the song really captures that feeling of being far away from someone you love.
What’s the hardest thing about being you?
I like being me! It gets easier every year.
Grumpy
With five of their six members being trans, Grumpy are one of the most progressive and significant acts coming out of America right now. Brooklyn-based, their joyful and gorgeously odd strand of country music feels essential, forward-thinking and undeniably nuanced. Debut album Unfindable Ring is weird and wonderful in equal measure.
What makes you feel grumpy?
Being uncomfortable in any way. I much prefer to be perfectly comfortable and at the exact right temperature.
At the core, what inspires you to create?
I am most motivated to write a song when there is someone I want to please. My best songs come out when they’re meant as a gift for someone.
Describe your album Unfindable Ring in three words.
Embarrassment of riches.
Why should people listen to the album?
That’s none of my business.
What works so well about the six of you as creators and musicians?
More is more. We all have such perfectly complementary skills. When you hear a track, you are really hearing the specific and exact combination of all six of our spirits.
green star
green star are the London four-piece epitomising the renaissance of shoegaze music across the western guitar hemisphere. Merging distortion-heavy guitars with crashing drums and emotionally charged vocals and lyricism, the band’s new EP “silver + dust” is confident and compelling work from a band nestling nicely into a niche that’s continuing to grow quickly outward in popularity.
How did you form as a band?
Alberto and Pedro met at uni and started making music together. After trying out a few different line-ups, Lilah joined through a website called JoinMyBand, and Dan came along through mutual friends. It all came together pretty organically
Why do you make the type of music that you do?
We’ve never really set out to make a particular type of music. But we’re all drawn to a similar sound aesthetic and influences, and I think the sound comes from our own way of experiencing those. We like music that feels a bit uncomfortable but can still be catchy, something noisy and abrasive with a pop sensibility underneath. We’re interested in that tension between things that shouldn’t necessarily work together but somehow do.
What’s the new EP, “silver + dust”, about?
The EP explores the idea of contamination, particularly the way people and experiences leave traces on you. There’s something quite beautiful and destructive about that at the same time. The songs deal with heartbreak, vulnerability, and the difficulty of making sense of things that stay with you long after they’ve happened. “silver + dust” itself started as a very simple demo Alberto recorded on a four-track, and we ended up bringing that original feeling into the record. I think the EP is about those things that get under your skin and become part of you, whether you want them to or not.
How does this second EP differ from the first in its making and meaning?
This time around, we had a clearer idea of who we are as a band, but we still wanted to leave room for things to happen naturally. We’ve become more confident in the way we approach recording and production, and that allowed us to experiment more with textures and arrangements without losing the energy of playing together. In terms of meaning, this EP feels more personal and introspective. It’s less about trying to define ourselves and more about exploring the things that have shaped us, including the uncomfortable ones.
What’s on the 2027 bucket list?
We’re currently writing an album and want to use it as an opportunity to define our sound even further and push it in new directions. We’d love to play more festivals, reach new audiences, and most importantly. We want to keep things exciting and see where it takes us.
Words – Ben Tibbits
