New music review with Pelowska and ratbag

Our weekly fix of the best new music as Julia Mason brings us her review of new singles from ratbag and Pelowska

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Artist: Pelowska

Track: Safety

Credit Pelowska

Edinburgh based duo Pelowska have released their new single Safety. Going through a list of old, forgotten projects, they unearthed a hidden gem from their past. The duo decided to focus on it, polishing it with the experience of all they have garnered since their early days.

The breathless vocal at the opening soon gives way to electronic beats which continue to pulsate through the track. Lyrically the theme “explores the sublime connections between humans, whether they be friends, bandmates and even co-workers, coming together to create something extraordinary, or existing in a state of profound mutual understanding.”

The multi-instrumentation ebbs and flows throughout Safety and combined with the vocals of Aneshka Pelowska creates a glorious ride. Along with Dave Tynen the duo are planning their first headline gig in March 2024.

Intriguingly Pelowska are collaborating on a new single with the renowned Croatian composer, Marko Tomasović called Deep Water, working remotely between Croatia and Edinburgh. Marko Tomasović’s current take on things is: you don't need a label to promote your music if you know how to promote it. With his audience of 1.7 million followers on Facebook alone he should know. They plan is to promote the song along with the music video through Internet channels and to see where that takes them. Exciting times indeed.

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Artist: ratbag

Track: dead end kids

Photo Frances Carter

ratbag shares her latest single dead end kids. It’s her third single following exit girl and her debut rats in my walls.

dead end kids is an expression of adolescent rage. It rails against those who refuse to listen. With its wonky guitar opening and vocal which sits somewhere between sung and spoken dead end kids continues at pace. The catchy chorus intersects the verses which are, quite frankly, all over the place – such is the lack of interest in following any rules. ratbag’s band includes Deemo, Slug, Fritz and Eugene (as fictional members representing different parts of her personality), and together they are against those unwilling to change, particularly the rich and powerful. And just when you think its over…

ratbag shares: “dead end kids is not a very positive song, but i needed somewhere to throw up my frustration. I often feel stuck in a dead end, with all my friends. the very system we live in, fundamentally works against the majority of us. It’s stupid. I would like to kill the systems that keep these dickheads in power so that we can have a real chance at making this work.”

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