FIFTY3FRIDAYS: IT MUST BE JUNE

If I had a pint for everyone who has grimly announced that summer is now over, I would be fully under the table. After the heat of late May comes the rain in early June and a welcome drop in temperature for anyone struggling to sleep. Those visiting small live music venues without air con may also be slightly relieved to say nothing of those who otherwise would be sweating it out on stage and regretting wearing the leather trousers. All of which has little to do with today’s selection of music even though the first video is set in a club.

Photo of sundayclub by Evie Maynes

First stop today is Canada where we find sundayclub (one word, all lower case). Self-described purveyors of dreamy, gut-punch pop, the pairing of Courtney Carmichael and Nikki St. Pierre combines naturally great names for rock stars with music that chronicles the tribulations and emotions of early adulthood. sundayclub hails from Winnipeg in the Canadian province of Manitoba and was over here last month, appearing at Brighton’s The Great Escape. The duo has a debut album coming out in July.

The single, “Camera Shy”, plays out like a personal vignette of a night out gone wrong; rites of passage laden with hedonism, miscommunication and letdown. The accompanying video perfectly matches the song’s sentiments and forms the first part of a Qran Zhu-directed trilogy. Musically, sundayclub inhabits a trail blazed by fellow Canadians, Alvvays, and one which the duo is increasingly putting its own stamp on. The story continues now with the release of “Blue Wave”, a song which carries a sense of nostalgia juxtaposed with future insecurity. Both tracks auger well for an album which is shaping up to be a contender for those ‘Best of’ lists come December.

Next to my two Alt Picks chosen from last week’s Fresh On The Net entries that did not make the Listening Post. Such is the quality of the weekly submissions to the new music site that the Alt Picks feature gives us moderators the chance to choose a couple of songs each, deemed the ones that got away. My first is from Derry native singer-songwriter Colm Warren who in an earlier guise fronted the Belfast punk outfit, The Twenty. There is a real sincerity and warmth about "Without You" that marks the song as a touching expression of familial love. The particularly lush orchestration wraps itself around Colm's heartfelt vocal, adding to the richness of experience that the song affords. Colm has dedicated the song to his sister whose son was born with Down Syndrome and is celebrated in this rather special video.

My second Alt Pick is from ISQ, the project of celebrated jazz-pop vocalist Irene Serra, along with guitarist Luca Boscagin and the rhythm section of Richard Sadler on bass and drummer Chris Nickolls. The band has an upcoming LP, The Silence Is Deafening, out in the autumn. The album’s guitar-and-electronics-driven sound is heralded as “noir jazz meets Massive Attack”. If you pardon the pun, new single "Animal" creeps up on you; a pleasant listen initially but a song that fully reveals itself the more you hear it.  Combining evocative lyrics built around mothers and daughters, a soft jazz-infused vocal and midpoint an unexpected filigree guitar solo, it has a spacious considered vibe to it.

Now to East Sussex, home of Wild Horse, an indie pop/rock band formed by brothers Jack and Henry Baldwin along with lifelong friend drummer Ed Barnes and joined by Jade Snowdon on keyboards and violin two years ago. Wild Horse has proved a particular hit with the local BBC Introducing garnering a staggering 14 consecutive “Track of the Day” features. With extensive UK tours, sold-out headline shows and festival appearances, the band is building a strong reputation for its live performances.

“Moments” is the first single of 2026 from Wild Horse. Frontman Jack Baldwin brings a blend of troubadour and pop rock to his earnest lead vocal against the band’s bright, tuneful backing which weaves in and out of Mumfords territory. Just to prove that trying too hard to label music is essentially a flawed process I could also have mentioned Squeeze or The Kinks in that sentence. Lyrically the song offers a considered viewpoint on a relationship breakdown ending in the hope of moving forward. I look forward to coming to one of those live shows soon.

We stay with a brotherly connection and indeed in East Sussex with this week’s final song choice from Barbara, founded by Brighton siblings, Henry and John Tydeman and augmented by guitarist Dean Llewellyn, bassist Jack Hosgood and drummer Lawrie Miller. Barbara needs no introduction though to Fifty3Fridays readers [thank you Sid & Doris Rocker], as the three of us have followed the band’s upwards trajectory since its first single release in January 2021, the Black Mirror inspired “BRB.” So, we will say no more and move on to Barbara’s latest single.

“Isn't She Strange!” is described by Barbara as “our ode to the unconventional... our paean to the peculiar.” The song itself is a triumph of the eccentric over conformity with a characteristic episodic structure and a central character you instantly warm to. It is a song literally to keep you on the toes and expect the unexpected, viz. the tango section soon after the midpoint of the song. Everyone should be welcome to “Dance like nobody's watching / Jive like nobody's judging” and I expect frontman John will be leading the exhortations along those lines when next introducing the song live.

FIFTY3 FRIDAYS SPOTIFY PLAYLIST MAY 2026

On the first Friday of each month, I publish a Playlist on Spotify which reprises all the songs included in this column over the previous month – all in order, should you wish to check. If you were shamefully unaware of this monthly activity, you should follow me @TonyHardy53, make a brew and give the latest one a spin.

Our Fifty3 Fridays Spotify Playlist May 2026 includes 23 songs from the month’s Fifty3 Fridays beginning with the beautifully realised “Run Little Child” by Bella Cutts and concluding with Aidan’s charming Maltese entry in Eurovision 2026 coincidentally named “Bella”. Unfortunately, The Belmont Estate is not on Spotify so I can’t include “Big Love” (featured on 15 May). I still know nothing about the band too!