Exploring the Jackhammer Noise and Dancefloor Alt-Rock of Ashnymph and the Week's Best Fresh Music
Originating in the UK cities of London and Brighton
If you enjoy Underworld, MGMT, Animal Collective
Coming soon A new EP planned for 2026, currently without a title
The two singles put out to date by the group Ashnymph resist simple labeling: their own description of their work as “subconscioussion” doesn’t offer many clues. The first single Saltspreader combined a pounding industrial rhythm – member Will Wiffen has sometimes been seen on stage in a tee that bears the logo of the trailblazing band Godflesh – with old-school electronic keys and a guitar line that subtly echoes the classic Stooges track I Wanna Be Your Dog, before transforming into a mass of eerie audio. Its intended effect, the trio have suggested, was to evoke motorway travel, “the grinding circulation of vehicles 24-hours a day over great lengths … amber lights after dark”.
Its follow-up, the song Mr Invisible, falls between nightclub tunes and unconventional alternative rock. On one hand, the cut's tempo, multiple entrancing electronic parts, and vocals that arrive either hallucinogenically distorted or spellbindingly cyclical in a way that recalls Underworld's Dubnobasswithmyheadman period all indicate the club floor. Conversely, its forceful live-sounding dynamics, brink-of-disorder feel and distortion – “achieving a crunchy texture is a lifelong ambition,” the musician stated – mark it out as very much the work of a band rather than a lone electronic artist. They've gigged around south London’s DIY scene for less than a year, “anywhere that will turn the PA up loud”.
But both are exciting and different enough – from each other and other current music – to make you wonder about what Ashnymph might do next. No matter what it is, on the basis of these two singles, it’s probably not dull.
The Week's Fresh Highlights
Dry Cleaning – Hit My Head All Day
“I absolutely need experiences”, vocalist Florence Shaw states on the group's captivating comeback, but over six minutes – with exhales setting the pace – you perceive that the motive eludes her.
Danny L Harle's Azimuth featuring Caroline Polachek
Combining Evanescence's dark flair to the height of trance music – even the words “and I ask the rain” – Azimuth suggests dusting off your best Cyberdog wear and making your way to a rave, right away.
Robyn – Acne Studios mix
The music by Robyn for the Swedish designer’s SS26 show teases her upcoming ninth album, including driving guitar parts à la Soulwax, energetic beats like Benny Benassi and the lyrics “my body’s a spaceship with the ovaries on hyperdrive”.
Jordana's Like That
Listeners adored her album Lively Premonition last year and the American artist keeps displaying her remarkable skill with choruses as she expresses unrequited feelings.
Molly Nilsson – Get a Life
The solo Swedish pop act put out her new album Amateur this week, and this cut is extraordinary: a electronic guitar part surges ahead with punk speed as Nilsson insists we take control of life.
Superstar by Artemas
After documenting jaded love and sex on his hit single I Like the Way You Kiss Me and its accompanying release Yustyna, the British-Cypriot star is hopelessly devoted to his latest lover amid icy synth-driven sound.
Jennifer Walton – Miss America
From one of the year’s standout debuts, a crushed synth hymnal about Walton discovering her dad had died in an hotel near an airport, tracing her uncanny surroundings in softly sung lines: “Strip mall, drug deal, panic attacks.”