Photo by Kevin Donnelly
With an electrifying jolt, Isaac Neilson begins his 2026 with the high-energy riot of ‘No Affection’. The gritty indie rock urgency, the underlying crackle, the restless performances, it all tees up a year where Neilson is attempting to perform a gig, every… single… day.
Produced by Tayte Nickols and recorded at ARC Studios with Matt Taylor, the track leans into a raw, alt-rock edge. Electrical hum of the synths, the biting guitars decorating the mix and punchy drums marching forward. The vocals are excellently performed, embodying the frontman feeding off the crowd for the studio recording.
Neilson shares, “No Affection started as an afterthought. I’d booked a recording for three songs, and after the first two were finished, none of the demos felt up to the standard of the previous two. With the pressure of time, and my now fully expended budget, I dug deep into the archives and found the seeds of No Affection, with its working title—A Cat Named Paul. The demo consisted of the backing vocal synth hook and the breakdown guitar riff. With those two foundational elements, the entire song was written in the studio and recorded in one day. It seems that all my most interesting artistic output has come from that same high-intensity situation—no song, no budget left, and the clock ticking down to get everything over the line. Somehow… we managed, and produced the best song of the session on that final Friday.”
Based in Nottingham, Neilson fuses indie-rock sonics with rap-inspired vocal delivery. Lighting up the stages of YNot, Big Festival and Hockley Hustle, alongside Jake Bugg and The Lottery Winners. Embarking on the most ambitious of challenges for 2026, if he succeeds, there’s no doubt he’ll be a name to watch out for.
Check it out here…
