There are days when I’ve found myself listening to so much music, for hours on end, that it all starts to blend together. The same few trends being chased time and again, melodies so similar they could be long lost twins. I find myself longing to be surprised, but by its very nature it’s hard to search for the unexpected, you simply have to trust that it will find you. This time it arrives in the form of ‘Don’t Let Them Tell You (It’s Fair)’, the new single from Australian quartet The Belair Lip Bombs. Taken from their forthcoming album Again, out this Halloween, I find myself so awed by and enamoured with this track’s guitar work. So many gorgeous and varied moments – rock solid riffs you could set your watch by, bright soaring licks swooping in and out, light ethereal harmonics gently tinkling like raindrops – all of it just so casual and fleeting, not giving you a moment to process before the next dazzling flourish catches your attention. There’s an energy and playfulness here reminiscent of The Only Ones ‘Another Girl, Another Planet’, and a timeless quality that reminds me a little of Violent Femmes’ ‘Blister in the Sun’. This track is one of my favourite discoveries of 2025; like an open flame that leaves you mesmerised by the way it dances and flickers.