Is there any good music left? The MOnday 05.05.25

(Spoiler alert - yes, yes there is) Including Cappo, Lizzie Esau, Maya Lakhani and Amble...

May 05, 2025

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Amble - Treehouse Wings

If you like heart-rendingly beautiful, acoustic guitar-centred, folk rooted songwriting delivered with precise, warm passion then Amble are for you. The Irish trio seem to have found a beautiful point of equilibrium between reflection and outgoing energy.

This song features on an album coming later this month, and there’s a tour in the autumn.

Cappo - Houses (Album)

Cappo, legendary Nottingham hip-hop artist, blends awesome musical sense with prolific energy. His latest project is the ‘Houses’ album. It’s an honest, real record, exploring challenging themes as always, but boy does it go hard too, with ice-cold beats, wide-ranging samples, and inspired riffs and basslines. I definitely feel a full review coming on… for now, listen for yourself and let me know what you think.

You can read my full thoughts on Cappo’s previous album below:

Cappo: S.T.A.R.V.E. [Album]

Music Observer (Phil T)

September 23, 2024

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Lizzie Esau - Bugs

Newcastle-based indie artist Lizzie Esau is a Music Observer favourite and I hope you’ll join me in her fandom. She crafts punchy, heartfelt tunes, working immensely hard on every facet of the sound — and it pays off in tracks such as ‘Bugs’. The song hits your ears in multiple layers and just keeps on going with a really great sense of rhythm and progress.

Maya Lakhani - Fall For Me

Alt-rock singer Maya Lakhani writes, records and produces all of her music. This one, is a huge, anthemic song, combining elements of swirling shoegaze with pure punchy rock. It’s a great listen, energising and fun without ever feeling overly light or derivative.

The song will be on her upcoming EP; look out for an interview on the blog very soon!

Watch this

I’m going back almost a decade this week, but with Wolf Alice actively putting out new music again, this feels like a good time to remember their brilliant Tiny Desk performance from 2016. They performed (more accurately, reimagined) three songs from ‘My Love Is Cool’ to great effect. They’ve come so far since then, and listening back with nine years’ hindsight brings shivers…

Read this

Over on the 5-9 blog, there’s something very exciting brewing: a mid-decade review, marking the halfway point through these ridiculous ’20s. Next week, the longlists will be revealed. They’ll cover: album of the decade so far, artist of the decade, song of the decade, EP of the decade and moment of the decade.

For starters, have a read about the panel of 7 judges (which includes yours truly).

Don’t miss this week

As always, check the Release Tracker, but be sure not to miss this Friday 9th:

Adult Leisure: See Her
Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke: Tall Tales (Album)
No Windows: The Great Traitor (EP)

Further ahead, I’m really excited to see Wolf Alice are back at it — ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’ comes out on 15th and I’m sure this is only the start…