LeftLion's Latest Listens #36: Notts music we're currently spinning

Single: Marseille - Fever

Marseille are five young Derbyshire lads who demonstrate a talent beyond their years, and their latest single is a powerful number that attacks the cerebral synapses head on. This composition is breaking new ground with a sound that is uniquely theirs, overlaid with suggestions of the heady days of Madchester. The song’s haunting vocals have attitude, reminiscent of Liam Gallagher, and are the lynch pin around which the piece as a whole pivots. There are heavy basslines with equally heavy, relentless pounding drumming that doesn’t tire throughout, while some pretty innovative guitar work weaves a complex web of melody around the structure of the song, which will lodge in your consciousness long after the music has finished. @marseilleband (Claire Spencer)

Single: Kelsey and The Embers - Monsters

This indie band are a true local favourite but release new music relatively sparingly. So it's a real treat to hear a new single, and one which will inspire strength and warmth as the winter nights get ever darker. Monsters is a carefully paced but powerful rock ballad, enriched with plentiful space and expression. It's a gentle, atmospheric start with guitars and chimes ringing softly with plenty of reverb. But then, the vocals soar, the guitars shred, and every verse and chorus is an epic statement. The song pans out into an incredibly satisfying listen, a paean to heavy rock and roll, a triumphant piece of essential evidence that guitar music is by no means dead. @kelseyandtheembers (Phil Taylor)

Album: Richard Snow & The Inlaws - Beautiful Decay (The Best of Richard Snow)

Richard Snow draws on his extensive back catalogue for this 14-track vinyl album which features the best tunes from his previous four albums along with a peppering of single releases thrown in for good measure. This excellent collection covers some of his earlier power pop songs to the more recent Rickenbacker-led, jangly tunes so reminiscent of The Beatles, Beach Boys and Byrds. 

As was often the case in the halcyon days of vinyl records, the LP cover is aesthetically pleasing with track listings and info including pictures of the band members from their younger days right up to the present time. 

Every track is a gem and opens in fine style with an early release, Real, with its catchy melody and close harmonies strongly affirming Richard’s beloved Beatles connection. Another early release of his power pop period, Am I Really That Boring, with its driving beat, is anything but boring while Richard’s most recent single, the tongue in cheek Governments Always Lie sounds as poignant as ever. Other songs that stand out are the upbeat and very catchy Analogue Calls and the indie-infused Girls On The Tube. Middle Class Girl demands attention as does the album’s title track, the comparatively laid back Beautiful Decay, which contrasts nicely with the more upbeat songs. @richardsnow_theinlaws (Claire Spencer)

Single: ALT BLK ERA - Okay (Cyber Racing)

Fresh off the back of a massive arena tour with electro-rock legends Pendulum, sisters Nyrobi and Chaya, better known as Notts’ favourite dance-metal duo ALT BLK ERA, have dropped this pulsating new single. Arguably their most pure electronic track to date, it sees the sisters deliver glossy pop harmonies over an avalanche of trance-like synths, with care-free lyrics about living life in the fast lane. Delivered at a ferocious pace and bursting with their ultra-infectious high energy, it’s another banger of a track that successfully caps off a huge 2025 for them.

Where will we see ALT BLK ERA go in 2026? Wherever it is, they will be accelerating there at full throttle. @altblkera (Karl Blakesley)