LeftLion's Latest Listens #47: Notts music we're currently spinning

EP: EMiDORA – haunted by the outside

She is the Midlands’ answer to artists like Grimes and Charli XCX – Emily Baldwin, AKA EMiDORA. Having quickly impressed around Nottingham with her engaging live shows and vibrant, DIY-brand of alt-pop, EMiDORA officially arrives today on her sharp, electrifying and Youth Music-funded debut EP, haunted by the outside.

With all five tracks written in her bedroom, there’s an intoxicating contrast at the heart of the record, as the listener floats between the luminous hyperpop pulses of the music, to the darker lyrical thread centred on anxiety and social pressures. With glossy production, distorted textures and emotional vulnerability, it’s a confident and coherent first project that shines brightest on idk if I’m even feeling, are you sure you wanna see this? and the brilliant title track. For a first EP, haunted by the outside is a striking introduction to EMiDORA’s music if you’re not already familiar, spotlighting her as an artist who knows how to turn her inner chaos into uplifting energy that pulls you vigorously onto the dancefloor. @emidora__ (Karl Blakesley)

Single: Drinking With Lucy - Desert Eagle

For a band that have only had two single releases to date to be lauded by Dean Jackson on BBC Introducing as a “band set to break through", Drinking With Lucy are definitely one that should demand your attention. Their debut single got the band off to a flying start, resulting in a rapidly increasing following for this ambitious five piece. Combining musical influences from classic rock to 90’s grunge along with present day indie sounds, Desert Eagle demonstrates why Drinking With Lucy have attracted so much media attention in such a short time. There’s real meaning in the song’s lyrics that blend captivatingly with the guitar riffs, which alternate between gentler indie-style rhythms and the more grungy breaks at times tantalisingly reminiscent of Nirvana. This single has real promise of exciting times ahead for the band. They will be supporting The Zangwills at The Bodega on 17 October. @drinkingwithlucy (Claire Spencer)

EP: Saffron Gray – Soul In Motion

The latest project from last year’s Future Sound of Nottingham winner and Nottingham’s favourite busker, Saffron Gray, Soul In Motion finds her reflecting on love and self-worth. Showcasing just how quickly her songcraft has elevated in such a short space of time, the three track EP is rich and assured, with Gray’s warm vocal delivery always the star of the show.

Balancing gospel intimacy with contemporary R&B textures, the delicate production always leaves enough room for Gray’s voice to breathe, allowing the melodies to unfold naturally while subtle grooves keep everything in motion, giving the record a smooth, late-night glow. The highlight is without a doubt The Medley, a piano-led, near seven-minute mini-epic that just glides along wonderfully through Gray’s passion and grace. Altogether though, this is a mature, elegant and quietly captivating listen, once again spotlighting Saffron Gray as an artist capable of turning vulnerability into something soulful and deeply inviting. @iamsaffrongray (Karl Blakesley)

Single: Isaac Neilson - Getting Better

This Nottingham-based artist is perhaps one of the hardest working in the industry this year, having committed to (and succeeding in) playing a gig every single day... In Getting Better he seems to be letting out all the pent-up energy, allowing the adrenaline wave to sing through his utterly-sincere music. Isaac describes the song as "unknowingly, a microcosm of the year I’m experiencing so far" and that sense of fate and serendipity comes through strongly. After singing the best part of the first half almost acapella, Isaac allows a huge wave of inspiring and above all hope-filled sound to build and carry him through - just as the energy of live music and commitment to the art form has seen him through almost six months of daily gigs so far. @isaacneilson00 (Phil Taylor)