Happy New Year! Each week we like to champion the music scene with ten songs in our playlist that all have a connection to the RaW (Reading and Wokingham) area and sometimes beyond. We’re starting off the new year with ten new entries, which is a reflection of just how active the local music scene is. As always, we have a wide variety of musical styles, but we think they’re all worth a listen and we hope you find something new to enjoy as well as maybe getting out to experience the thrill of live music.
1. The Dazed Minded – Oh Boy –
Long-time followers of the playlist may remember the floral indie disco sound of Lilac, featuring Beth Atkinson.The Dazed Minded is Beth’s new band, based in Reading, and this is their excellent first single. They describe their sound as indie sleaze, and their influences include indie bands, 90s Britpop and 60s rock bands. We saw them live at The Butler just before Christmas, and look forward to seeing them again this year! https://www.instagram.com/thedazedminded/
2. Puma Theory – Foolish Boy –
Another fine example of melodic indie rock from Reading-based Puma Theory, who had a busy year in 2024, releasing new tracks, playing live, and even organising their own series of events at the Oakford Club, and they featured in our Top 20 of 2024. You can see them for yourself at the Face Bar on 28th January as part of Independent Venue Week, courtesy of Club Velocity. https:// www.facebook.com/pumatheory
3. Tomos Lewis, Caitlin Lavagna – Run –
Caitlin Lavagna came second in our Top 20 of 2024; here she teams up with Tomos Lewis for this single in aid of three very worthy charities – Bigmoose, The Safe Foundation and the British Heart Foundation (in common with our regular curator, Chris Hillman, Tomos also recently survived a heart attack). Caitlin is appearing at the Jamma 2.0 launch on the 16th in London. https://
www.facebook.com/caitlin.lavagna
4. Purple Grace – Ride –
The recently released latest single from Berkshire-based Purple Grace. They’re headlining at Boundary Park in Didcot on January 25th. https://www.purplegrace.co.uk/
5. Deva St John – Oedipussy –
Another long-time favourite of the playlist, Deva also featured in the Top 20 of 2024. Inspired in part by the Greek myth, this is her latest track. https://www.facebook.com/ dayvasaintjohn
6. Who Ate All The Crayons – Fade –
The latest single from Reading-based Who Ate All the Crayons (“Crayons” for short), who had a busy year with some great live shows. They’re working on some new material, so look out for that later in the year! https://www.facebook.com/WhoAteAllTheCrayons
7. Patchy Blonde – Your Wife –
We’ve featured tracks from Adomania in the past; Madeleine Bowis’s solo project is Patchy Blonde, and she played live at The Butler last month with a full band. This is the latest single from her The Not So Funny Feeling EP. https://linktr.ee/patchyblonde
8. High Regard – Blindside –
High Regard were at the top of the last regular playlist of 2024, following a great performance at Reading Rising; they’re back with another new single, and already have a busy live schedule for 2025! https://www.facebook.com/highregardpop
9. One Last Day – Protect Me From Myself –
One Last Day put out some great tracks last year, including one which featured in the Top 20 of 2024, and we saw some great live performances from them. This alt rock anthem is their last single with Alex Willox as their vocalist, but it’s a worthy final record of their time together – we wish both Alex and the band the best for the future, and look forward to more music from both. https://
linktr.ee/onelastday
10. Masquerader – Worse Than the Wolf –
The latest single from Masquerader, the self-styled Math punk three piece noisy bois! They too featured in the Top 20. https://www.facebook.com/i.am.masquerader
