The MOnday: 13.01.25

Bob Vylan, Rosie Gault and the Class of 2025

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Bob Vylan + Amy Taylor - Dream Bigger

Perhaps the most ideal modern collab we never realised we needed: Bob Vylan teams up with Amy Taylor (Amyl & The Sniffers) to reprise ‘Dream Big’ as … ‘Dream Bigger’. The song sets out to inspire what Bob previously described as a “delusional” belief in oneself to accomplish whatever you want to; and here, Amy’s injection of energy turns all the dials up to 11, bringing a further layer of audacious punk credibility. It’s a message we’ll all welcome right now.

Rosie Gault - Dim Lights

Warm, carefully-layered and truly heartfelt, Rosie Gault opens the next chapter in her early-stage singer-songwriter career with ‘Dim Lights’. This is a sub-3 minute study in reflective, emotional slow pop which sparkles with honest creativity. I interviewed Rosie last summer:

Rosie Gault: Petals, and a sense of purpose [Interview]

There’s lots more new music on my January playlist here / below:

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I mentioned ‘Sweet Success’, the latest single from Blue Violet, last week — it’s another teaser for their second album ‘Faux Animaux’ which releases on 24th Jan. The accompanying video is a heady whirl of imagery which matches cleverly with the glam aesthetic of the song, and also serves as a good intro to the new era of this shape-shifting band.

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We’ve seen some controversial shortlists being drawn up in the mainstream music world recently. For example, as much as I love Chappell Roan, for BBC Radio 1 to name her as “Sound of 2025” feels like another missed opportunity to champion those artists who are genuinely on the cusp of big things. In fact, the whole list (while mentioning many artists who are undeniably great in their own right) feels more like a best of ’24 than a genuinely forward-looking analysis.

As an alternative, the Class of 2025 project really seems to mean something. As Drowned In Sound explains:

“…800 grassroots venue owners were asked by Music Venue Trust to nominate the live acts that they believe every music fan should see in 2025.”

The longlist features 58 live acts that every music fan should see in 2025. It’s a wonderfully multi-genre list including names like Amelia Coburn, Chalk, English Teacher, Lambrini Girls, Pale Blue Eyes and Wunderhorse. Don’t look away because the 10-act shortlist is coming soon…

Don’t miss this week

• Wednesday 15th Jan: ‘Just Wanna Give’ by milkshed, combining alt-rock with throwback, wall-of-sound indie style.

• Friday 17th Jan: A big release day, including Tessa Rose Jackson’s intimate and emotive EP ‘A Mirror Sometimes’ ; the impossibly catchy ‘Happy Never After’ from fiercely independent Canadian pop/rock artist CMAGIC5; and an inescapably hard-hitting yet retro-sultry single named ‘JFK’ by BBC Introducing favourite Jean.