Notes from the North: DAMAG3, The Just Joans, PHIA SKY, The Leaf Library

Published On: January 20th, 2026|

Things are really picking up already in terms of new releases, got a few that I want to shine a light on right now. Hope you like this small and very varied selection.

DAMAG3 – TH3 iMAG3 OF GOD

Trans L.A. rapper DAMAG3 gives no quarter, and no fucks, on TH3 iMAG3 OF GOD. Coming off like a version of The Horns of Jericho, she tears down and dissects the crossover between dysfunctional faith systems, and their transphobia, climate denial, and their manipulation of words that they use to deny others their right to exist and speak freely, it has a social and political message that is rarely heard in rap these days.

The Just Joans – Oh Veronica, How Right You Are

Siblings David and Katie Pope of The Just Joans look at what they refer to as “the self-indulgent nature of a 40-something songwriter banging on about his disappointing love life” on a track that hits some sweetly savage points lyrics, but so many sweet spots sonically. If you’re a fan of Belle & Sebastian and BMX Bandits, keep an eye out for Romantic Visions of Scotland, the new album from The Just Joans, out on the 23rd of this month.

PHIA SKY – 2Spins

PHIA SKY is a part of the New Queer Manchester scene that has formed around that city’s ascending Derby Brewery Arms (The DBA). 2SPins, like the venue, focuses on providing a clubbing experience that is hard, hedonistic, and a celebration of sexuality, gender, and community. The track does work outside a club experience, even if, as SKY points out, it’s her first adventure into a noisier, schranz-influenced techno sound. If Manchester is developing its own distinctive techno sound, this will likely be at the forefront.

The Leaf Library – The Reader’s Lamp

A taster for The Leaf Library’s After The Rain, Strange Seeds LP, which is out this March, The Reader’s Lamp taps into an 80s indie sound, most of all the C86 and Subway/Sarah scene, but takes a different route with those influences. The production is very different however, lush and comforting, and the violin adds a wistful flavour of Scottish folk sounds, giving it a winning combination of the pastoral and the suburban.