It’s been said that having an inner monologue can help regulate your emotions, nurture self-awareness and build a healthy appreciation of the world and your place in it—all the signs of good living. But the question remains: are you really living if there’s no soundtrack to back things up?
Can you imagine what The Lord of the Rings film trilogy would be like without the expert touch of composer Howard Shore? Perish the thought.
The genre hardly matters. After all, music is art, and art is subjective. What does matter is how it makes you feel—how it inspires your daily living and pushes you to embrace creative self-expression in all the ways that are quintessentially you. That being said, there are quite a few genres out there that are floating across the technological ether. We wouldn’t blame you for not being able to keep up.
Avant-garde pop and progressive heavy metal. ‘90s hip-hop and 00’s pop-punk. Ambient, instrumental, classical and everything in between. Even more niche subgenres like shoegaze and Midwest emo.
Each suite of monthly music sees new and returning artists delving into these disparate genres, and July was no exception. Settle back, and maybe bring some ear plugs: it’s going to be a loud one.
In descending order of volume: Protest The Hero and Loathe kicked the door off its veritable hinges with quite possibly their best work to-date. Take things down a notch and immerse yourself in the works of shoegaze up-and-comers She’s Green, psych rock duo Earth Tongue and punk classics The Menzingers. If you want to shake things up—variety, after all, is the spice of life—simply look for satisfaction in the music of post-punk trailblazers Yard Act and Mary in the Junkyard, or Odd Future extraordinaires Steve Lacy and Syd.
Read about all of this and more below, in the July edition of Vogue Singapore’s monthly music roundup.
1 / 9
Within by Protest The Hero
Protest The Hero has always been an outlier in the metal scene from the moment they stepped onto it in 2002—for example, they have operated fully independently of record labels since crowd-funding their 2013 album, Volition. Now, when every other act seems to be sporting their own take on djent, they are sticking to their guns on their latest record, their first in six years. Their uplifting formula of Dragonforce-levels of epic sound, astute lyrics (arguably some of the best-written in the game) and breakneck guitar runs means that every second spent listening to their tracks is a thrill ride. But the truly special factor in the band’s equation lies in their tone: epic, certainly, but also laced with a kind of inspirational positivity that’s exceedingly rare in the genre.
Listen to Within here.
2 / 9
Dungeon Vision by Earth Tongue
It’s time to boogy. Psych rock has always been underrated, even if some of its stylistic strains need no introduction—think the cleaner, lighter psychedelia of bands like Tame Impala. But if you want to get heavy with it—and still dance your heart out—look to Earth Tongue. If you close your eyes and give yourself up to the fantasy of the experience, listening to Dungeon Vision will make you feel like you’re either battling the forces of evil on a sprawling plain in hell, or crowd-surfing in the dungeon of a medieval castle. What’s genuinely crazy is that Earth Tongue are two people. That they can churn out this much energy is simply wild—we can only imagine how crazy their live sets must be.
Listen to Dungeon Vision here.
3 / 9
Swallowtail by She's Green
Despite only ever producing singles and EPs in the past, She’s Green have proven they are one of the most consistent shoegaze bands out there right now. And with the release of their first studio album, Swallowtail, it doesn’t look like they’re about to break their streak anytime soon. Other than singer Zofia Smith’s ethereal, angelic voice, what cinches their pole position in the scene is a refreshing approach to production. With She’s Green, the typical wall of sound associated with shoegaze is tempered with just the right amount of the most elemental components of dreampop. The result is music that doesn’t deafen your ears so much as it elevates your soul.
Listen to Swallowtail here.
4 / 9
Role Model Hermit by May in the Junkyard
Not for nothing have Mary in the Junkyard’s previous work been compared to the likes of Wolf Alice and Adrianne Lenker. But to relegate the London band to their sonic associations would be a grave disservice—they are very much doing things their way. Vocalist Clari Freeman-Taylor croons with a breathless lilt, an apt vehicle for lyrics that are a warm invitation to indulge in a bout of existentialism. For example, on ‘Seek and Destroy’, she tiptoes around the heady mistress of resignation, uttering: “I don’t have the body or the mind to stay out tonight; I’m already halfway home; Think I fantasise and fantasise about all that could go wrong.”
Listen to Role Model Hermit here.
5 / 9
Beard by Syd
As hip-hop collectives go, Odd Future was monumental, boasting artists like Tyler, the Creator and Frank Ocean. While we’re sad the group’s no longer around, its stable of musicians, like Syd, the vocalist of The Internet, is still alive and kicking. Syd’s latest entrance in her discography is impeccable, channelling much of the spirit of The Internet while doubling down on her own: ultra smooth soul with an extra dose of concentrated funk and love-worn lyrics. Listening to her music is a delight through and through, akin to settling back into a tightly packed cloud of gossamer cashmere. Let’s be honest: who wouldn’t want that?
Listen to Beard here.
6 / 9
A Stranger To You by Loathe
You’d be hard-pressed to find an artist with a crunchier sound (granted, Knocked Loose does come close). This time around, your favourite metal band’s favourite metal band has doubled down on their calling card: a stunning blend of old-school (Deftones) and new-school (Thornhill) metal that defies genre conventions. Twin singers Erik Bickerstaffe and Kadeem France continue their two-man juggling act of clean and screamed vocals with more agility than ever before; all propped up by drum parts that are as groovy as they are headbang-worthy and that signature crunchy, bass-heavy production.
Listen to A Stranger To You here.
7 / 9
Everything I Ever Saw by The Menzingers
The Scranton punk act’s latest is a work of defiant happiness, a testament to how age doesn’t matter—young or old, punk can, and should be, rooted in positivity. Even when the genre serves to call out evil where it sees it, the subculture has always been about solidarity, about uplifting anyone who’s ever felt left out. So if you’re feeling down, take a leaf out of lead singer Greg Barnett’s book: “You can always reinvent yourself; You can be whoever you are; ‘Cause we are nobody’s heroes; We are nobody’s heroes; We are nobody’s heroes; ‘Cause we can only be ourselves.”
Listen to Everything I Ever Saw here.
8 / 9
Oh Yeah? by Steve Lacy
By the time the first note on Steve Lacy’s new album has finished ringing out, you’ll notice something’s different: the guitarist of The Internet sounds like he’s grown up. His creamy, neo-soul-driven sound has always carried a special maturity, buoyed undoubtedly by his talent for guitar, but now it’s glazed with a measured wisdom—in the lyrics and the beat-making—that signals the artist is not someone who’s content to rest on his laurels. As he continues to toe the line between the novel and the familiar, Oh Yeah? serves as proof that Lacy just does not miss.
Listen to Oh Yeah? here.
9 / 9
You're Gonna Need A Little Music by Yard Act
At this point, we’re all going to need a little music—2026 has been rough. Thankfully, the influence of bands like Joy Division, The Cure and Buzzcocks on the fabric of modern music remains eternal. One of post-punk’s brightest stars of recent years is Leeds locals Yard Act, and their new album is, in a word, triumphant, with clever, incisive lyrics accompanied by the relentless march of slinking guitar hooks. Opener ‘Empty Pledges’ is so rousing, so slick—”Never assume, it makes an arse of you and you alone; And if you’re right? You’re not a knight to be anointed; Your bogus podium remains the same when I’m exposed”—we dare you to sit still and try to resist its addictive momentum.
Listen to You’re Gonna Need A Little Music here.
