Cult Figures + Lover + Tor7 + Girls Like Us + Lilac Melt

 Cult Figures – Having just released their nigh on 40 years in the making debut album, the very wonderful and very recommended ‘The 116 Ploughs A Lonely Furrow’, Swell Maps associates and West Midlands post punk/indie psych heroes Cult Figures have been astounding all comers with their remarkable live shows all these years later. Much fun, bridging the gap perfectly betwixt joyous irreverence and hard nosed intensity. Something for everyone. Lover-Big bollocked soul inflected pop rock…great vocal, techy ’80s crossover sound, big guitars, dance/hiphop textures and a chant along chorus perfect for radio old schoolwise. Tor7-Groove based blues rock, grunged up guitars and a possible nod to Queens Of The Stone Age, also Foo Fighters, rocks admirably but also has hooks.  Girls Like Us-All girl grunge but with a brooding post punk angle, tense Joy Division bass and drums, edgy atmospheric tunes, great stuff. Lilac Melt – an indie dream-pop/shoegaze band from Scotland/Greece based in Edinburgh. Expansive atmospheres and luminous melodies with a ’90’s quality, their first single, Oxidise, got them signed by independent record label, Infinite Hive Music. Gathering airtime from many radio stations, including BBC Radio Scotland, the band diversified with acoustic arrangements of their songs, always maintaining their multi-layered, reverberated sound. ”Fantastic BBC Introducing track” – Vic Galloway, BBC Radio Scotland for ‘Hey Stranger’…