Pollyfromthedirt’s grey-skied Anglo ambience and the week’s best new tracks

From Darlington, County Durham

Recommended if you like Blood Orange, Dean Blunt, Elliott Smith

Up next The Dirt Pt 1 EP out now

As the internet spits out underground artists like mouthwash, it has becoming harder to separate the visionaries from the vibe-hackers. But Pollyfromthedirt’s jagged pastoral pop demands more than just a passing scroll. Released independently this week, the County Durham native’s first EP clashes brass band samples, shuddering Midi strings and awkward acoustic guitar together. There’s a trace of Elliott Smith in his grey-skied songwriting, yet made entirely his own by the crude drum machines, pitched-up vocals and DIY production. At best, like the EP’s weirdest track, Kalm, the music departs from traditional song structure and coalesces into delay-steeped, s