At night Birkenhead based singer-songwriter Paul Nowak sings songs about love, politics and cowboys. By day, he has a sideline as the general secretary of the TUC, speaking up for 5.3m union members across Britain. 

Paul’s debut EP ‘Cowboy Songs’ & follow up ‘People Like You’ are available on Spotify and Bandcamp.

After gigs around Merseyside and London’s Hope and Anchor, Green Note & Betsey Trotwood - including support slots for Pele and Amsterdam front man Ian Prowse - Paul will be making a rare foray up to the North East for Marrapalooza. 

FFO: Appleseed Cast, Lemuria, Fiddlehead, Pianos Become The Teeth and Spanish Love Songs.

London-based trio Muttering’s debut EP ‘Don’t Think About It’ finds the band considering the state of the world and trying to hold on to those glimpses of optimism that shine through the almost constant doom. In fact, the band describe the EP as a collection of ‘songs for the end of the world’.

Swirling Appleseed Cast-esque guitars signal the start of the EP with recent single ‘Swim’, a song about the environmental crisis and the worries and anxieties that can bring about: ‘You better teach your kids to swim’. There’s also a self-awareness running through as Chaz Bush considers his own actions: ‘I know how lucky I am. I can be a hypocrite without any question’. ‘Beyond Belief’ follows in slower fashion with subtle drums, stop-start hooks and powerful lyrics about how there’s light at the end of the tunnel and how important is to try to connect with others: ‘I want to know what you’re holding on to’.

‘Disquiet’ is a quiet, instrumental interlude while ‘Good Luck is full of woozy and melodic hooks that reminded us of Cursive, even though the lyrics talk about being told you’re crazy and how the world is on fire. However, there’s still a hope and love for the subject and their well-being shining through: ‘Who would you follow to the end of the Earth and would they be worth your time?’ ‘Rattle Your Cage’ rounds off the EP with a stream of consciousness delivery that finds Chaz again trying to help someone (‘I want to break you out. I have no doubt that life’s more than just living’) work through issues: ‘You want a quiet life where everybody listens to your head full of contradictions, well, I’m here to rattle your cage’.

Muttering’s message is loud and clear – don’t even think about it, you need to get this EP in your ears.

The Quietus on SUEP:
Featuring members of Porridge Radio, Joanna Gruesome, Garden Centre and PC World, SUEP’s debut is fresh outsider guitar pop packed in a six track genre-fluid mini album. Tied by the force of invincible friendship, SUEP playfully subvert every little life-struggle into cohesively winsome tunes, flying high on lighthearted theatrics and absurdist reserve against the world.

‘Domesticated Dream’ deftly wraps the realities of the boozy post-lockdown artificial paradise in breezy tropicalia and enchanting synthscapes, spacing out a safe space for dreams to rise and fall apart in. Self (un)consciously fun, with finely measured left-turns full of cheeky vocal harmonies, scintillating second-hand percussion clutter, domesticated guitar hero licks and infectious yippy-yay-ay chorus digs, this is a hit never shy of more cowbell.