Rainy Miller introduces us to the Northern Gothic with his new single, Vengeance

There’s loads of music out there, and sometimes it’s hard to keep up.

Rather than letting the algorithm dictate your music taste, you can listen to Rated by THE FACE – a playlist that’s lovingly curated and updated by our (human) editorial team every week.

bb trickz – Not a Pretty Girl

A Spanish cover of Pretty Girl? Sign us up. After featuring on the remix of Charli xcx’s Club Classics, Barcelona-based rapper bb trickz has taken on FACE cover star Clairo’s 2018 breakout track. ​“I’m not a pretty girl/I’m a mean pretty kitty in the city girl/​No me hace falta un OnlyFans [I don’t need an OnlyFans], you a silly girl”, trickz raps over a souped-up version of the lo-fi bedroom pop beat. Paying homage to the original video, which featured a baby-faced Clairo in her bedroom, bb trickz films herself on her laptop camera. Surrounded by a gang of pink plushies, she shows off her collection of Sylvanian Families figures, glasses and intricate nail art. So then, Pretty Girl or Not a pretty girl? Answers on a postcard… TL

Avalon Emerson – Treat Mode

After earning her rep as one of the most adventurous DJs and producers on the techno circuit, during lockdown, Avalon Emerson decided to pack away her decks and try something different. She assembled her band The Charm, crafted a shimmering dream pop sound for their 2023 self-titled album and embarked on tours which almost certainly didn’t require her to play until sunrise. But Emerson is headed back to the club with her forthcoming album, Perpetual Emotion Machine. Second single Treat Mode is a retro-futuristic electro banger that’s been crafted with incredible sonic detail, and it’s probably catchy enough to appeal to some of the indie kids she’s won over in recent years. DR

YT – Put Your Hands Up

Towards the end of last year, the alternative UK rap triumvirate of Lancey Foux, Fimiguerrero and Len dropped their scene-defining collaborative album Conglomerate. The buzz around the record set things up nicely for their friend YT, who scored an underground anthem last year with his Lancey collab Black & Tan. YT’s debut full-length project, Oi!, doesn’t disappoint. On Put Your Hands Up, the Oxford graduate instructs the dancefloor over a hectic beat that blends bits of jerk, hyphy, early 2010s dance-pop and the bombastic trap we expected from Maybach Music’s golden era. It’s going to make someone feel like a superstar in the club this weekend. DR

Rainy Miller – Vengeance ft. Graham Sayle

Across his discography, Rainy Miller has merged contemporary rap production and vocal techniques with grey scale ambience. It’s a sound that captures the hedonistic energy and melancholy that can be found in the post-industrial surroundings of Salford’s infamous venue The White Hotel. The concept of Rainy’s next album Joseph, What Have You Done? is the Northern Gothic – a distinctly British reframing of the dark aesthetic of America’s Southern Gothic. On the anthemic single Vengeance, he conjures an epic feeling with brooding vocals, purring organs and scratching noise-rock guitars. Graham Sayle, the scouse frontman of the punk band High Vis, yells something about burnt bridges, but he’s washed away by a sea distortion. Welcome to the Northern Gothic. DR

MJ Lenderman – Dancing in the Club (This Is Lorelei cover)

MJ Lenderman puts a poignant spin on Dancing in the Club, which was originally released last year by This Is Lorelei, aka NYC musician Nate Amos. With his signature, slightly warbly vocals, Lenderman emphasises the pleading heartbreak in the lyrics: ​“I lost your love today/​In a lonely summer breeze/​I was dreaming all my dreams/​Yeah, I’m my own worst enemy”. JW