Longer evenings, warmer days and here's Julia Mason with a couple of earworms to funk your way into Spring.

Artist: DEADLETTER

Track: The Snitching Hour

DEADLETTER have released new single The Snitching Hour and it’s the band’s first new music since the release of their debut EP Heat! which is out now on SO Recordings. The Snitching Hour sees DEADLETTER continuing their crusade to fill the dancefloors with their wry look at society and the human condition but delivered with a raucous energy.

Here the themes are even more thought-provoking as lead singer Zac Lawrence comments: "Are we slowly but surely being tacitly tempted into a culture of casual betrayal? The messages we are fed, on the outside, might be read as being solely in the interest of public safety - but take a closer look, and perhaps there’s a more insidious undertone to it all."

The instrumentation opens with scratchy guitar, funky bass and a saxophone which for once adds to the melody rather than the chaos. The chorus of “Love Thy Neighbour” will definitely become an earworm and the whole track has a party vibe as its bounces along. However it's only when you listen closer to the lyrics that you interpret the underlying message here. Is a neighbourly distrust being fostered by the powers that be? There is always a subversive undercurrent to DEADLETTER’s lyrics and this is no exception. The groove is ever present and it's this that makes them such a compelling live act. There are plenty of opportunities to see them live throughout the summer – I’ll see you on the dancefloor.

* * *

Artist: The Allergies

Track: Stanky Funk (feat Bootie Brown)

The Allergies are back with another massive dollop of feel-good hip-hop funkiness. On new single Stanky Funk they have teamed up with a living legend of hip-hop - The Pharcyde’s Bootie Brown. It’s a match made in funky heaven. Out now on Jalapeno Records, the Bristolian duo have joined forces with the Californian bands hip-hop artist as he sells the fictional product Stanky Funk like a cable TV infomercial salesman.

The result is, of course, music to make you dance, to make you smile and to warm your soul. The hilarious lyrics are delivered wrapped in a bundle of lo-fi funk loops, neck-snap drums, cuts and rumbling basslines. I guarantee this will have you moving and grooving. Its horn fuelled serotonin fix is a joyous way to lift the mood.

And more good news from The Allergies, they head out on the road for an extensive headline tour beginning on 10 May at Club Ifor Bach in Cardiff. Let’s dance our way through spring……

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and never miss out on gig info and our latest deals