LeftLion's Latest Listens #16: Notts music we're currently spinning

EP: Otala - Fire! To The River

I was fortunate to see Otala at Dot To Dot last year in the Beta Room at Rock City. My review at the time ended with "Days later and I'm still in awe..." So, they have a lot of living up to with this seven-track EP Fire! To The River. Why all the fuss about this five-piece Nottingham band (I hopefully hear you ask)? A fusion of post rock / indie / jazz and melancholy spoken words; probing sax lines; erratic drum and bass patterns; gentle guitar and keys ... all blended into a clash of calm and almost jarring sounds throughout the EP. These guys are on their way to defining a new development in discordant sounds.

The first track Plates From The Kiln gives 12 seconds of silence, a signal that something is about to happen! The following 25-plus minutes are heavy, intimate and raw. The EP was released on 20th February - over a week later and I'm still in awe! @otalaband (Bassey)

Single: Sam Shaw & The Real Eyes - Mirrorball

Following a run of excellent singles throughout 2024, Sam Shaw & The Real Eyes have just dropped their first release of 2025 in the form of the wonderful Mirrorball – out today. No surprise it’s another barnstormer, a track as shimmering as the title would suggest, with a great bluesy riff that struts along amidst cooing vocal harmonies and an instantly catchy chorus. 

It all culminates in a dazzling 60-second guitar solo, which is as soaring and as it is jaw-droppingly impressive. It continues the band’s winning run of singles, and we just know it’s going to melt a few faces at their live show at The Grove, next Saturday 8^th March. @samshawandtherealeyes (Karl Blakesley)

Get your tickets for Sam Shaw & The Real Eyes at The Grove here

Single: Divorce - Hangman

Societal scrutiny and a penchant for judgement, Divorce’s latest offering couldn’t be closer to the critical truth. Hangman embellishes this metaphor on the complexities of life with a deceptively haunting crescendo; that twangy edge of a guitar and motif of monotonous drum fills is tastefully gritty. Tiger Cohen-Towell and Felix Mackenzie-Barrow's harmonies instrumentally balance the emotional control with pleading intonation, their vocals blending in real sympatico. It’s evident the track is laboured with faultless empathy. Benji does his Benji-best, they sing, and as anticipation continues to grow for their debut album it’s clear that Divorce have never not been doing their best.

This final single ahead of the release of Drive To Goldenhammer (7th March) encapsulates the band’s alt-country augmentation of authenticity within three meticulous minutes. @divorcehq (Talia Robinson)

Single: Green Grango - DTTR

A five-minute salvo of prevailing, euphoric psychedelia, Green Grango barrels through plenty of pedal action with DTTR. Self-described as a "one-man Odyssey", there’s no doubt that his bluesy fuzz can’t take you on a journey through tonal transcendence. His guitar ladened with the ritualistic electronics of a wah-pedal; the hazy echoes of belligerent reverb are defiant of time and space. It’s a track equally as disciplined as it is hedonistic. Green Grango attempts to envelop the expanse of noise with a languid lilt to his vocals, yet this becomes wayward for the guitar string soliloquy.

Deftly intricate and textured in depth, this latest single is one hell of a trip! @greengrango (Talia Robinson)

Single: Fallowed - Mosaic

Performed emo-tinged alt-rock of the punchier persuasion, Fallowed are the real deal. Their latest single, Mosaic, expresses heartfelt feelings starting with a classically-gloomy bass intro, then with the addition of fuzz-jangly guitars, and wavy synths for good measure. Meg's vocals come in with an air of tentative, tingling force, before she and her bandmates open things up more and more... Dispensing great lines like "It demands to be healed, it demands to be felt", or "a guilty mind throws the first stone", the band sound swaggeringly introverted to just the right measure. You don't have to be wearing all-black to listen to this, but you'll fee like you are by the time the final bars fade. @fallowedband (Phil Taylor)