The Orielles – You Are Eating A Part Of Yourself / To Undo The World Itself
It’s no exaggeration to say The Orielles’ fourth studio album is one of the most eagerly awaited releases of 2026. Recorded in two locations – Hamburg and the car-free Greek island of Hydra – Only You Left is due out in March on Heavenly. Heralding its arrival is this new double-A single, (a follow-up to the first album teaser Three Halves), offering further evidence of a distinct gear-shift from the Halifax trio.
The Orielles have approached each studio album as an opportunity for rebirth and their latest, it seems, is no different. From the dreamy indie-pop of debut Silver Dollar Moment and freeform machinations of Disco Volador to 2022’s experimental Tableau, they’ve journeyed an arc of many colours. These two new tracks confirm that the edgy, fragmentary cinema of Tableau has been usurped by a somewhat cleaner, fuller and more unified sound.
Each track has a considered narrative. Precise, reverb-packed melodies build and bloom into post-rock emblems. There is artful Kevin Shields-esque layering in the design. You Are Eating A Part Of Yourself opens up with a metronomic, lilting guitar line and elegant yet mournful vocal. The track builds and morphs into a symphonic swell, rolling, cascading and ultimately tumbling back to its source. The second offering, To Undo The World Itself, tingles with hushed vocal abstractions that nod to the harmonic warmth of Lush, traversing at times into a Cocteau-like reverie.
These are not songs weighed down by any traditional sense of structure by any means, but they are complete, coherent pieces, each with bold purpose, clarity and strident individuality. For further reference points, consider Explosions In The Sky, the post-rock of latter-day Mogwai or the ambience of Pygmalion-era Slowdive.
Such evolution is largely down to a change in the band’s creative process. Whereas Tableau was semi-improvisational and put together relatively quickly, the new album has been fleshed out through a number of intense writing sessions over a good couple of years and the songs have undergone a rigorous workout in the studio. Judging by this, you have to say it’s time well spent.
CHAR – We Are Not The Same
CHAR’s debut single exudes grunge decadence. The Leeds-based artist, backed by Launchpad+, played her debut headliner at Hyde Park Book Club in November 2025, which was swiftly followed up with this, her first single.
Created from a spur-of-the-moment writing session, it’s now presented as a gritty and angsty exploration of feeling. The haunting instrumental, packed with high distortion guitar, compliments the floaty vocals, a juxtaposition that emphasises that raw emotion. The sound is reminiscent of Paramore and Radiohead with an indie twist, the underlying frustration pushing through to the forefront.
Described as “providing liberation for herself”, it’s a track that aims to address the pain and frustration that comes along with constant comparison. It feels extremely fitting in the current social climate that forces people into a spiral of self-scrutinisation and jealousy.
The genre-blending track, featuring shoegaze, grunge and rock elements, pushes full force into CHAR’s own emotions. You can sense the song originated from a space of vulnerability and honesty, having been an attempt to “gain closure”. CHAR captures the turmoil and chaos of modern life in a grunge-soaked rock debut that’s equally as catchy.
-Review by Poppy Cortese
Marie Franc – Fabric
Manchester band Marie Franc have been turning heads all over Calderdale these past 18 months. Won over by their early singles, Michael Ainsworth at The Grayston Unity promptly offered the soulful dream-rock five-piece a support slot. The band played The Puzzle soon after and returned to The Grayston later in the year for a headline show.
They’re a well-drilled outfit that flit across multiple genres – soul, indie, jazz, dream-pop – all driven by singer-songwriter Rachel Maria Francesca.
Their latest release Fabric has a both a new-ness to it and a sense of introspection. A sparse opening, featuring jangly reverb-guitar and gossamer vocal melody, is the springboard to a more overtly rock centre-piece. The full range of band attributes are on show – pummelling drums, lead guitar highs, dramatic lifts and all.
The track comes with a higher production tariff than last year’s four-track EP Saturday Boy. The arrangement is more sophisticated, with some of the band’s innocent, folksy charm giving way to a sound that is altogether more powerful and opulent. Rachel’s voice carries greater depth and remains star quality.
The subject matter is more ambitious here too. Fabric “explores the idea of becoming your own god — surrendering to the lucid, uncontrollable nature of life and choosing self-love within the chaos.”
It’s certainly a weight topic. And why not? It reveals a gravitas that was perhaps not so evident in the band’s previous work, though it is nonetheless treated with warmth here. 2026 could be a very big year for Marie Franc.
The Light Show – Fran
Released towards the back end of 2025, Fran is the first new material in four years from The Light Show, a hyperactive four-piece from the edges of Halifax. The band have previously earned top-notch support slots to the likes of Toploader and Cast and you can see why – they’re a polished unit that would slot in neatly with the kind of anthemic, nostalgic vibe such bands proffer.
The latest single is an unadulterated two-minute burst of hammer-down, pure punk-pop. It’s a galloping ride with crunchy guitar, punchy vocal and the kind of repetitive lyric that worms its way into your brain on first listen. Full of thrills and spills, Fran is a feel-good, fast-living slice of alt-rock energy.
Fittingly, the narrative is direct and effective. It’s on-the-nose stuff with little need for deviation or embellishment – and it’s all the better for it.
Hey, who is that down the street?
Well she looks proper nice
She’s something quite exciting
From her head down to her feet
And then she looked my way
She said her name was Fran
She took me to a bar
Down the side of the canal
And knocking back the shots
She said show me what you got
The Light Show are in that mould of post-Arctic Monkeys / post-Cribs bands that took the spirit of indie-rock but brewed it up into something more upbeat, irreverent and fresh. The likes of Sports Team and Courting come to mind.
They are a band that stick to what they do well – and, with new single Fran, they’ve ended up doing it quite wonderfully.
Lily Rae Grant – Poison Ivy / Forget About
Lily Rae Grant’s debut on Red Licorice Records is a double-A sided single that reveals two very different sets of capabilities.
Poison Ivy is an emotive, folk-coated ballad, both delicate and rousing. The foundation is a sliding four-part progression on acoustic guitar, slightly reminiscent of Stephen Fretwell’s Run, that repeats and builds with a slither of strings. But it’s the plush, velvety vocal that stands out. Lily’s voice is pure decadence. It soothes and moves, particularly at the bass-ier end of the range, like a Stevie Nicks or Aimee Mann. Captivating stuff.
The flip side, Forget About, is a very different sonic journey. It’s the result of a Zero 7-inspired kitchen jam that transmuted into something rather grandiose. Shuffling, downtempo rhythms melt into layers of soft-lit instrumentation. Electro-synth and a meandering stream of alluring piano lines stretch out like a distant, hazy sunset. It’s a laid-back trip-soul affair. A post-Ibiza soundscape in the realms of Thievery Corporation, with a healthy lick of R’n’B sheen in the vocal, the likes of which Morcheeba’s Skye Edwards would be damn proud.
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