Puppy's new single, Angel, is out now!
Image: Bob Foster
London-based grunge trio Puppy have dropped their stellar new track, Angel. To celebrate the release, the trio have shared their Top 5 emerging artists with MILKY!
Without further adieu, here are Puppy's Top 5 emerging artists...
ZETRA
A dark, melodic two piece whose unique sound sits somewhere between atmospheric Dungeon synth and electro pop. Imagine Gary Numan channelling frosty black metal, with cinematic undertones and dense, ambient textures. Kerrang! recently described Zetra as “More akin to what you expect Ghost to sound like had you only seen pictures”, which makes total sense, but maybe negates the strength of their song writing which to our ears, is really really strong; there’s big Power Pop flavours to the theatrical Goth sensibilities at the heart of this band’s sound. Our drummer Billy just did the artwork for their forthcoming new release ‘From Within’, and we’re expecting big things from this band going forward.
Recommended song: Ithaca from their self-titled EP.
M.T. HADLEY
We went to school with Martin (that’s what the ‘M’ in the enigmatic initial stands for – no one knows what the ‘T’ stands for), and we always knew he was super talented. However, when he put out his debut album Empty in 2019, I think we were all quite blown away by how good it was. He writes clever, succinct and weird pop songs in the vein of Arthur Russell or Billy Joel, which always manage to be simultaneously sad & funny. It’s rare that someone, in any medium, is able to combine sincerity and humour so well, but this is something which he has down to a T (maybe this is actually what the ‘T’ stands for?). Our guitarist and singer Jock recorded a guitar solo on Martin’s album, and it was our honour to be involved, however tenuously, in his unique musical universe. He also makes brilliant music videos, which is something we always enjoy.
Recommended song: Suddenly. Also, be sure to check out his video for Janet.
UNDERDARK
Intense, anxiety inducing Black Metal, with a peppering of darkly ambient Post-Rock that is as much ‘God Speed You! Black Emperor as Emperor’. Also, crucially, Underdark sit proudly amidst the anti-fascist black metal scene and manage to make dark, extreme sounding music, which is both inclusive and progressive, culturally and socially. Much as we love the textures, tones and visuals of black metal music, it is sadly, a genre to which a lot of extreme right politics and small-minded fools gravitate. With global politics veering dramatically to the right, and hate crime, (online and on the streets) at an all-time high, it feels both timely and vital that bands like Underdark reclaim the sounds & iconography of extreme music to enact positive interaction with music fans.
Recommended song: Plainsong (The Cure cover).
GREEN LUNG
Mixing dark pagan imagery & classic hammer horror tropes with a folk-tinged new wave of British Heavy Metal sound, Green Lung write Doom-laden songs, with catchy, unforgettable choruses. They supported us on a UK tour a few years back and we loved watching them every night, which is not always the case when you’re on the road and all you can think of is finding somewhere to eat and drink before you play. They were always great fun and always sounded huge on stage. With their second full album Black Harvest due out later this year, these guys maybe aren’t the exact definition of ‘up & coming’, but with riffs this heavy and hooks this good, we can definitely see them breaking out of the Doom/Stoner world and into mainstream heavy music in the very near future.
Recommended song: Let The Devil In.
VOICE OF BACEPROT (VOB)
An all-girl three piece from Garut, in West Java, Voice of Baceprot sound kind of like Primus covering your favourite songs by the Big Four of Thrash. There’s a proggy element to their song writing, which places them in the company of bands like System of a Down or Mr Bungle, and an unapologetically juvenile energy that makes everything they do sound quite fun. Add to this the fact that Voice of Baceprot are hijab wearing Muslim school girls from an intensely conservative background, and you’ve got a totally unique and much needed band. They sing mainly in their native Sundanese and despite being barely older than High School age, have garnered fans across the world, with their amazing cover of Slipknot’s ‘Psychosocial’ going viral a couple of years ago. A huge inspiration.
Recommended song: School Revolution.