A.L. Noonan, Author at So Young Magazine

London’s bar italia Return with New Single ‘Cowbella’

A.L. Noonan — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 12:00:38 +0000

Cult groups are built on the internet but made in the concert hall. bar italia have proved their cult-status mettle over the past five years with plentiful output bolstered by worldwide touring, something they’re only building on with the release of their latest single ‘Cowbella’, alongside the announcement of broad European and North American tour dates this year.

Following on from 2024’s EP ‘The Tw*t’s’, ‘Cowbella’ is a return to slacker rock form for the London trio. Blending a motorik Bloc Party drive with a fuzzed out vocal and guitar pairing, bar italia are bolder and weightier than ever. The shifting vocal lines between the trio keep things dynamic and fresh, with Nina Cristante’s equable tones contrasting to the wild exaggerations of Jezmi Tarik Fehmi. A sparkly and psych-inflected coda closes the track with a bright openness reminiscent of early 90s Sonic Youth – a highlight of the bar italia oeuvre.

Without reinventing the wheel, ‘Cowbella’ signifies bar italia returning with gusto and grit. Ahead of new music debuting at their upcoming sold out 93 Feet East show on Thursday, bar italia are set to confirm they are worthy of all hype typed out about them.

Photo by Rankin

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Double Virgo Sign to YEAR0001 and Share New Single ‘bemused’

A.L. Noonan — Wed, 21 May 2025 12:29:22 +0000

Across dwindling pop culture press and the social media beast that consumed it, there is a debate surrounding indie sleaze. Aging cultural commentators have turned their noses up at this revival, but if you look at the landscape of music and fashion in 2025, the careless notions of the 2000s are certainly A THING. To search for a group that embodies this revival with bravado, poise and a keen insouciance, look no further than Double Virgo.

Two thirds of fellow slacker darlings, bar italia, Jezmi Tarik Fehmi and Sam Fenton make up Double Virgo. With their latest release ‘bemused’ the duo are surprisingly spritely, pairing lo-fi major guitar progressions with chipper ‘woah oh’ gang vocals – a lighter touch than previously heard. Despite this brighter turn from the group, they are conscious to steer clear of oversentimentality, stringing us along by asking ‘can we just skip to the end cause I haven’t got the time or the will to make you mine‘.

Invoking the laid-back lull of prime Julian Casablancas but with levity and bounce, on ‘bemused’ Double Virgo go beyond the bored affectations of slacker rock. Here the duo land on something that holds fast to their aesthetic but displays true range and breadth. All of the indie but with none of the landfill.

Photo by Zanne Chaudhry

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London’s mark william lewis Returns with ‘Tomorrow is Perfect’ via A24 Music

A.L. Noonan — Wed, 21 May 2025 12:09:39 +0000

To capture intimacy in art is a balancing act. Performed carefully, an artist is able to convey sincerity, authenticity, vulnerability. Done carelessly, the work becomes self-indulgent, saccharine, cringe. With his latest single release ‘Tomorrow is Perfect’, London singer-songwriter mark william lewis situates himself firmly in the former camp.

While other singer-songwriters of late may cloak their music in bloated arrangements and irony, mark william lewis is minimalist and candid in his exploration of change. lewis’ baritone is almost at touching distance as he conjures memories of a ‘cold December when the millennium turned’, murmuring over bent and sliding acoustic guitars that punctuate his musings on how ‘life moves so fast these days, you’ve never get to just be alone.’

mark william lewis is tasteful in his transfiguration of slowcore, ensuring that his latest release soars and shimmers with layered choruses, distant brushed drums and hushed bass. An exhibition in subtlety and poise, ‘Tomorrow Is Perfect’ is confessional and earnest in all the right ways.

Photo by Steve Gullick

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