Listen: Matrimony by Don’t Get Lemon

With stark keys, reverb kissed drums and vocals that invoke an operatic yet clear-eyed aesthetic, the latest single from Don’t Get Lemon channels the feeling of the 80s New Romantics.

Texas trio Don’t Get Lemon appeared on BlackPlastic.co.uk back in 2023 with their similarly retro-inspired Autocratic Gore. The dream pop feel of that song is still present here, but on the new single, Matrimony, some edges have been filed off. Scratchy guitars and Hooky-esque bass lines have been replaced with rounded synth melodies and a warm glow of affection. The result is a song that retains a crisp frisson of the analogue, but basks in the loved-up feeling the lyrics depict.

Matrimony is dedicated to the conflicting sense of love as both something eternal and yet simultaneously fragile. Check it out below:

Listen: No ID BY Softmax

Featured on BlackPlastic, in 2023, with her growling exploration of disconnection and modern communication, Swishers, the Chicago artist has just released her new single, No ID.

With production duties shared between Softmax herself and partner Sam Hudgens, No ID has a similar sound to Swishers, chunky, robotic and dark. Thick, fuzzy guitars come from Cameron Winter collaborator and MGMT guitarist James Richardson, and they provide the skeleton for Softmax’s performance.

A product of the system it portrays, No ID is an exploration of the nature of the music industry. Artists have to seek approval and support from a system that encourages inauthenticity, effectively contributing to a disconnect between artist and audience. This theme extends to the song’s artwork, where Softmax sits on the floor, disengaged, as she is photographed in front of a giant print of an image she herself took on her travels.

Throughout the song, Softmax repeats the refrain, ‘Nothing I do, will ever be good enough for you’, and yet in doing so she has created an infectious, authentic and, frankly, catchy depiction of the actual reality of being a musician.

Watch: Off The Cuff by Glassio

Having appeared on BlackPlastic.co.uk in April 2020, NY-based Irish-Iranian musician Glassio has just unveiled his new single, Off The Cuff.

Opening with a crisp drum beat and a warm, fuzzy guitar melody, Off The Cuff basks in a familiar and intimate performance. Glassio’s vocal sits above layers of tight instrumentation, gently yearning and shot through with September sun. This all gives way to a much bigger sound for the chorus, those vocals pulled taut like elastic, seemingly becoming weightless, in contrast.

That lightness is appropriate with lyrics so concerned with being on one’s feet, and what is on the ground. Glassio invites us to ‘Come see the stress on the ground’, and the song ultimately culminates in the statement ‘…lost without a crutch, help me get my feet back, off the cuff’. For a song seemingly preoccupied with inertia, perhaps that floaty, gravity-free feeling isn’t the ultimate solution either — to move, one needs something to push against. As Off The Cuff enters its fourth minute, it becomes consumed by crunchy guitars, and in their grounded energy, it feels like the push we all require.

Glassio’s new single is full of bright, considered detail. The percussion and drums remind me of the brilliant creativity of MJ Lenderman, but combined with something just a little dream-like. Check it out below, and look out for the forthcoming album, The Imposter, due 25 February 2026, which is itself an exploration of replication and authenticity in an age where reality itself is difficult to pin down.

Listen: Run by Molly Mogul

Originally hailing from the small German village of Ammersee, near Munich, Molly found her voice after her father accidentally signed her up for choir. Her vocal work gradually shifted from feeling like an obligation to a calling and a deeply personal practice. Molly moved to Bristol for love at 19, but stayed to study art and became immersed in the UK music scene.

Mogul’s background led her to pursue a bilingual approach to her music, writing songs in both English and German, and to co-found Dirty Spread Collective, a queer and FLINTA-led (Female, Lesbian, Intersex, Non-binary, Trans, and Agender) platform for experimental music and performance. Her pursuit for creativity eventually led her to complete a Master’s in Creative Performance Practice in Barcelona.

A debut album, itself written in Munich with long-term collaborator Niki (Young Hoffi) and produced with Yann Rose at Ciel Rouge Studios in Paris, represents the culmination of Mogul’s years spent travelling across cities, languages, and disciplines.

Single Run draws together Mogul’s love of modern pop and experimental soundscapes to create an emotive and atmospheric slice of music. Syrupy synths and fizzy bass wrap around vocals, creating a densely layered and disoriented feeling. This culminates in a soaring performance from Molly, as the song draws to its conclusion.

Describing Run’s creation, Molly says:

‘One of the first demos written on my own was written out of my camper van in Bristol. The song is a reminder that you can’t outrun your fears, and eventually the things you don’t look at will catch up with you, whether it’s in relationship with yourself or others. At the end, what’s left is yourself.’

Check out Run below, and lookout for the forthcoming album, A Bouquet Of Hopes And Dreams, on 30 April.

Watch: Vision by Snake Orange Cake

Following on from her hypnotic BlackPlastic.co.uk debut, Stitch, from last year, Berlin artist Snake Orange Cake has just unveiled the new single Vision.

Snake Orange Cake, the musical pseudonym of Julia Carlsson, deals in similarly textural, collage-like soundscapes on here as she did on Stitch. However, where Carlsson previously embraced distortion, on Vision she deals in clipped percussion and minimal melodies that weave together a melancholic soundscape. Droplets of sound evoke the feeling of trickling water as deep pulsing bass forms an anchor for the overall song. The result feels perfectly constructed for the currently slow and frozen January many of us are experiencing.

Vision comes with a video, filmed by Maren Frey in Berlin. Arriving on shortly after 2026’s arrival, Vision invites the listener to stare into a crystal ball and reflect on what’s next.