The moment the jaunty guitar kicks in on John Smyths’ new single, "Now I'm Wiser", you feel a familiar, comfortable warmth. It’s the sound of a good chair in a bar where the floor is sticky with spilled truths. And then the story starts, a classic yarn of a hard-living past yielding to a peaceful present. Smyths, a Dutch ex-metalhead singing country out of...

Right, so, Sleeping Together. Manchester and Liverpool's own four-piece purveyors of… what was it again? Oh yeah, energetic indie rock. "The Essentials," their new single, dropped recently and I think it contains atoms. You know, like everything else. Except maybe thoughts. Are thoughts atoms? My cat doesn't think so. He thinks thoughts are made of tuna. https://open.spotify.com/track/67VYZmYQDqQsOeSbbnmNO3?si=c305f9979ce44321 Anyway, "The Essentials." This tune is all about a...