The Lo-Fi Round Up

Green councillors. Viral sandwich shops. The lo-fi music community. Three things that have materialized, blossomed and made Leeds a better place to live this year. This article obviously will focus on the latter, but shoehorning in a collaboration with Silvers Deli would never be off the cards. 

At the heart of the lo-fi community is Contact Buzz - the production project of Jamie Haddington (Mince) who’s Tascam Portastudio four track has fraternized with almost all of your favourite bands this year. But Contact Buzz isn’t the cause of the lo-fi phenomenon. Nor are the independent labels, such as Shooting Tzars and Fieldwork Recordings, who are choosing to release their titles on cassette tape over vinyl. These mediums exist in response to an increasingly difficult landscape for musicians. Your favourite bands are skint. Recording studios and vinyl releases are financially out of the question. They need an alternative route to share their art with the world. The answer is lo-fi - authentic, imperfect, crackle-infused recordings.

It’s our pleasure to introduce you to four new projects never-before-mentioned in Stub, in our roundup of the most exciting new lo-fi music in Leeds…

Cyclist

Cyclist is the new solo project of Ben Parry (The Oidz, Shaene) and the stylistic antithesis to his noise-rock heritage with former band Fuzz Lightyear. 

The original Cyclist demos were recorded to cassette using a four-track in the summer of 2024 and have been in incubation ever since. In that time, Parry has more closely acquainted himself to the world of lo-fi production having recorded several bands live to tape at Mabgate Bleach (recent inclusions being Mother Said and Prima Star Power). All being well, Stub Quarterly can exclusively reveal that he will be challenging Contact Buzz to scrap in the Headingley Bear Pit this autumn.  It goes without saying that solo projects usually offer up an artist’s most personal and honest output, and Cyclist is no exception. Many of the lyrics are in reverence to loved ones and one unreleased song is entirely in Welsh, paying homage to Parry’s roots.

Recording to tape has brought both emotional and sonic warmth to Cyclist’s music. The songs are comforting and familiar, for me reminiscent of the work of Manchester’s Jolan Lewis (Temple Songs, The Pink Teens). They are also hazy and psychedelic, featuring Brain Jonestown Massacre inspired tambourine and early Ty Segall desert inspired guitar/vocals. Overall, the music of Cyclist creates the illusion of nostalgia, whilst being completely new and refreshing. This is what makes it the most exciting and anticipated Leeds export of 2026. 

Cyclist’s debut EP ‘Popular Appeal’ is out now via Esco Romanesco Records.

Pin-up Sisters

Pin-up Sisters is a recording project shrouded in mystery. Over the last year, two EPs have been released to cassette: ‘Terrors’ (via Shooting Tzars) and ‘High Wire’ (via Noise Merchant Records). Other than this, the story is elusive. No live performances. No press. No photoshoots. Unintentionally enigmatic or simply living in fear of Hyde Park Korma’s reign of terror? 

Investigative journalism reveals that this is the doodle-punk outfit of Daniel Wearmouth (Polevaulter). My brow is as furrowed as yours at the genre description. Pin-up Sisters borrow the fun of egg-punk but leave behind the toy synths and caricature goofiness. ‘This song sucks’ is a prime example of this. A little over one minute of distorted, jagged guitars and ironic lyrics creates a formula for a song that wouldn’t feel out of place on an early Uranium Club record. Leeds most underrated and unknown band?

Second Born

Only playing their first gig in March, this five-piece have gathered an impressive level of momentum for their infancy. The spine of the band has roots in Birmingham, hence their self-proclaimed ‘West-Midlands emo’ label.

Their current output includes a debut EP, ‘Free Heaters’ via Lost Wisdom, and a Contact Buzz demo titled ‘I answer’. Both releases are lo-fi with stylistic differences. ‘Free Heaters’ is succinct, lean, tight – three songs in five minutes. ‘I answer’ is looser, longer, larger - a wall of sound. Second Born live are too an altogether different experience, as described in our Fentonopolis review. A hardcore band with fast hands, resolute postures and stoic stares. There are, nevertheless, strands of similarity that bring the magic for every incarnation of Second Born. Unescapable melodies, catchy riffs and strained, emotive vocals.

Postcard

The majority of artists to take on a Contact Buzz demo have at least one other release to their
name, or a few gigs under their belt as a minimum. Postcard is an exception to that rule. The band is a cross-Pennine endeavour, featuring two fifths of Coal Mob – Rohan and Dom, who has swapped lead duties for the pots and pans. They are joined by Manchester’s Sam Jeavons and Bethan Kelleher on shared vocal duties. Their conception was announced with Contact Buzz demo #59 – ‘Bardez’. It’s a 90’s slacker rock paragon. Casual yet dreamy backing vocals and loose fuzzy guitars. Promising beginnings.

Words by Lucas Blackwell.

First Picture: Cyclist (Ben Parry) by Elle Palmer (@elle.palmer), second and third pictures: Pin-Up Sisters and Second Born cover art from Bandcamp. Fourth Picture: Postcard by Rowan Evan-Jones (@rowan_ej).