Discovering the Jackhammer Sound and Clubby Alt-Rock of Ashnymph and This Week's Top Fresh Music

Based in London and Brighton
If you enjoy Underworld, MGMT, Animal Collective
Coming soon A new EP planned for 2026, currently without a title

Both tracks shared to date by Ashnymph resist simple labeling: their personal label of their work as “subconscioussion” provides few hints. Their initial track Saltspreader blended a pounding industrial rhythm – member Will Wiffen has at times appeared on stage wearing a T-shirt that displays the emblem of the trailblazing band Godflesh – with old-school electronic keys and a guitar line that subtly echoes the enduring garage rock anthem I Wanna Be Your Dog, before melting into a mass of eerie audio. The planned result, the group has mentioned, was to conjure highway journeys, “the ceaseless flow of vehicles 24-hours a day over vast spans … nighttime orange glows”.

The subsequent track, Mr Invisible, occupies a space between dance music and left-field alt-rock. Firstly, the track’s rhythm, strata of mesmerizing synths, and vocals that arrive either trippily blurred or mesmerizingly repeated in a way that recalls Underworld's Dubnobasswithmyheadman period all suggest the dancefloor. Alternatively, its forceful live-sounding dynamics, brink-of-disorder feel and fuzz – “achieving a crunchy texture is a long-term goal,” Wiffen has said – distinguish it as clearly a group effort rather than a solitary home producer. They've performed around the independent music circuit in south London for less than a year, “anywhere that will turn the PA up loud”.

But each is thrilling and unique – from each other and contemporary releases – to prompt questions about what Ashnymph might do next. Regardless of the form, on the evidence of Saltspreader and Mr Invisible, it’s unlikely to be boring.

The Week's Fresh Highlights

Dry Cleaning – Hit My Head All Day
“I really require adventures”​, Florence Shaw decides on the group's captivating comeback, but across six minutes – with breath sounds keeping rhythm – you feel that she's unsure of the reason.

Danny L Harle – Azimuth (ft Caroline Polachek)
Combining Evanescence's dark flair to the height of trance music – including the line “and I ask the rain” – the track implies dusting off your best Cyberdog wear and dancing the night away, stat.

Robyn's Acne Studios mix
Robyn's composition for the Swedish designer’s SS26 show previews her TBA ninth album, including Soulwax-worthy grinding guitar, Benny Benassi-style thrust and the lyrics “my body’s a spaceship with the ovaries on hyperdrive”.

Like That by Jordana
Critics praised her record Lively Premonition last year and the American artist continues to show off her impressive hook-crafting ability as she laments her latest hopeless infatuation.

Get a Life by Molly Nilsson
The one-woman Swedish pop operation put out her new album Amateur this week, and this track from it is remarkable: a synthetic guitar line thrusts forward rapidly as Nilsson insists we seize the day.

Artemas' Superstar
Post explorations of tired relationships on his megahit I Like the Way You Kiss Me and its accompanying release Yustyna, the musician of mixed heritage is hopelessly devoted to his new flame amid driving coldwave beats.

Jennifer Walton's Miss America
From one of the year’s standout debuts, a soft synth lament about the artist hearing of her father's passing in an airport hotel, describing her eerie environment in gentle refrains: “Shopping plaza, illegal trade, anxiety episodes.”

John Barker
John Barker

An experienced digital marketer and e-commerce consultant with a passion for helping businesses thrive online through data-driven strategies.