Exploring this Jackhammer Sound and Clubby Alt-Rock of the Band Ashnymph and the Week's Top Fresh Music

Based in London and Brighton
Recommended if you like artists like Underworld, MGMT, or Animal Collective
On the horizon An as-yet-untitled EP, to be released in 2026

The two singles released to date by Ashnymph are hard to categorise: their own description of the sound as “subconscioussion” leaves listeners guessing. Their initial track Saltspreader blended a pounding industrial rhythm – bandmember Will Wiffen has occasionally been spotted on stage in a tee that bears the logo of industrial metal pioneers Godflesh – with vintage-sounding synthesisers and a guitar riff that subtly echoes the classic Stooges track I Wanna Be Your Dog, before dissolving into a barrier of unsettling sound. The planned result, the band has indicated, was to evoke motorway travel, “the ceaseless flow of vehicles all day long over great lengths … orange lights at night”.

Its follow-up, Mr Invisible, occupies a space between nightclub tunes and unconventional alternative rock. Firstly, the track’s rhythm, strata of mesmerizing synths, and singing that comes either trippily blurred or spellbindingly cyclical in a way that evokes the classic Underworld album era all suggest the dancefloor. Alternatively, its powerful concert-like energy, near-anarchic character and overdrive – “making everything sound crunchy is a long-term goal,” Wiffen noted – mark it out as clearly a group effort rather than a lone electronic artist. They've gigged around the independent music circuit in south London for under a year, “any spot with loud speakers”.

But both are exciting and different enough – from one another and other current music – to make you wonder about the band's future direction. Regardless of the form, on the evidence of Saltspreader and Mr Invisible, it’s sure to be engaging.

Top New Music This Week

Dry Cleaning – Hit My Head All Day
“I absolutely need experiences”​, singer Florence Shaw declares on her band’s beguiling return, but throughout the song's duration – with exhales setting the pace – you get the sense that she can’t work out why.

Danny L Harle – Azimuth (ft Caroline Polachek)
Combining Evanescence's dark flair to classic 90s trance – even the words “and I ask the rain” – Azimuth suggests dusting off your best Cyberdog wear and making your way to a rave, immediately.

Robyn – Acne Studios mix
Robyn’s soundtrack for the Swedish designer’s SS26 show previews her TBA ninth album, including driving guitar parts à la Soulwax, energetic beats like Benny Benassi and the verse “my body’s a spaceship with the ovaries on hyperdrive”.

Like That by Jordana
Listeners adored her soft rock album Lively Premonition last year and the Stateside musician continues to show off her impressive hook-crafting ability as she sings about a futile crush.

Get a Life by Molly Nilsson
The independent Swedish artist put out her new album Amateur this week, and this track from it is extraordinary: a synth-guitar melody surges ahead with punk speed as the singer urges we grab life by the scruff of the neck.

Artemas' Superstar
After documenting jaded love and sex on his smash I Like the Way You Kiss Me and its accompanying release Yustyna, the musician of mixed heritage is wretchedly in thrall to his latest lover amid pulsating coldwave production.

Jennifer Walton – Miss America
From one of the year’s standout debuts, a soft synth lament about Walton discovering her dad had died in an transit lodge, tracing her uncanny surroundings in gentle refrains: “Retail area, shady transaction, nervous fits.”

Manuel Morales
Manuel Morales

A seasoned gaming enthusiast and writer, Aria specializes in reviewing online casinos and sharing expert tips for maximizing player experiences.