Described as fusing soft, introspective lyricism with effervescent, ear-worm riffage, South-West London four-piece Slaney Bay have carved out a distinctive space in the alt-indie landscape. New single 'That's Cool' reinforces their creativity and observant lyricism, back in 2023 they created considerable interest, the latest single should stir up plenty more. The band are Cait Whitley (vocals), Joel Martin (bass), Will Nicola-Thompson (guitar) and Jonny Burraway (drums).
Some more background - Hotly tipped by Dork (Hype List 2023) and Under The Radar (23 for 2023), Slaney Bay made an early impression with their debut EP A Life Worth Living (November 2022), earning early support from Jack Saunders on BBC Radio 1 and Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 6 Music.
Their third EP, The Long Way Home, received further backing from BBC Radio 6 Music, playlisting on Radio X, and multiple placements on Made in Chelsea. Since then, the band have drawn praise from Dork, Under The Radar, Billboard, The Independent, The Line of Best Fit and Rough Trade.
Live, Slaney Bay have supported the likes of Coach Party, Bleach Lab, Sinéad O’Brien and The Clockworks, alongside selling out a 250-capacity headline show at Colours in London. The band have also played multiple EU festivals including Left of the Dial (Rotterdam) and They’re Gonna Be Big (Paris) to full capacity rooms. Slaney Bay were also long-listed by industry panels for both Glastonbury Festival and the Isle of Wight Festival in 2025.
Perhaps you are familiar with Chicago-based musician Josh Chicoine via his 2000's band The M's, who released three albums on Polyvinyl and performed at SXSW, Lollapalooza, ACL, and Pitchfork, or his more recent groups Sabers and Cloudbirds. His most recent project, Cult Canyon, features a revolving cast of friends and collaborators including Alison Chesney (aka Helen Money), Susan Voelz and Max Crawford (both of Poi Dog Pondering fame).
Cult Canyon's debut LP (following 2024's Golden Line EP) Smoke Tricks was released digitally (and on limited edition vinyl via Rattleback Records) on Friday, March 13 & Beehive Candy are more than happy to play catch up and share this superb release.
Josh Chicoine tells us - Cult Canyon came out of a deep need to create and to stay creative. I love making things and exercising the creative spirit, sharing it with people, and collaborating with other artists. It’s a thrilling little thing to make a little song and offer it to other people so they can alter it with their talent and passion. We need little things too. Music making is world-building, and a relief from an actual world that increasingly is practically begging us to be outraged every day. Art and music binds us, challenges, informs, and astounds. What better calling?
Contrasting eerie, tension-building dissonance with moments of cascading, iridescent bliss, ‘Elements of Air’ is the stunning new single from San Francisco’s Octavian Winters: one of the most exciting new bands on the North American dark post-punk scene.
Produced by William Faith, and released on the band’s own Stratis Capta Records just ahead of Western US tour dates with Germany’s Pink Turns Blue, ‘Elements of Air’ showcases the band’s trademark blend of propulsive Californian deathrock, gritty post-punk, and serpentine goth rock, alongside the more haunting, expansive textures of ethereal darkwave. Frontwoman and lyricist Ria Aursjoen says: “…‘Elements of Air’ is about how we see the world, our chosen frame of reference, and how much power that holds over us — including the power to destroy things we value. The direct inspiration was someone I knew who chose to view the world through a lens of hate, and how that ultimately cost the friendship.”
Guitarist Stephan Bryan Salit adds: “…‘Elements’ really exhibits my love for tension and release. Dissonance and harmonic resolve. This one is pure alchemy…” Octavian Winters was born into the ghostly isolation of San Francisco, 2022. Their sound mirrors the surrealism of that time, weaving threads of the visceral and ethereal together into shimmering instrumental layers, with vocals that alternately soar and dive.
Northern Norwegian duo Konradsen the project of Jenny Marie Sabel and Eirik Vildgren - have now released their new album ‘Hunt, Gather’ via Norwegian independent label 777 Music. Konradsen will celebrate the release of their third album with a unique headline show at Oslo's MUNCH Museum on 10th April. Featuring collaborations with Gia Margaret, Angie McMahon, Bruce Hornsby and Beharie, 'Hunt, Gather' sees Konradsen expand on their distinctive indie/folk-pop - where organic instrumentation meets subtle electronics, and intimate songwriting unfolds with cinematic scope.
Written between studio sessions and Jenny’s home in Northern Norway, the album reflects a shift toward a more instinctive, atmosphere-led process. Across its ten tracks, Konradsen explore themes of adulthood, responsibility and the search for grounding - choosing closeness, protecting relationships and asking difficult questions about the lives we build.
Konradsen's music treats everyday detail with cinematic patience - folding observations, overheard voices and small domestic details into arrangements that feel intentional without ever sounding forced. Jenny Marie Sabel’s voice carries a rare steadiness - intimate without tipping into sentimentality - while Eirik Vildgren’s production feels tactile, curious and understated. Across their discography, they’ve built a space where emotional clarity and subtle production sit side by side, creating songs that stay close to the body while thinking far beyond it.
Liya Shapiro is a London-based singer-songwriter exploring the depths of love, identity, mental health and emotional fragility through her music. Having studied the history of art, fashion, and anthropology, each field tangibly shapes her artistry: art informs the way she hears and interprets sound; fashion fuels the visual identity she directs; and anthropology helps her explore the human condition. Through layered storytelling and intentional creative direction, she builds a world that is deeply personal and reflective of her journey to self-worth.
The title-track from her upcoming EP, “Another Woman,” channels that same introspection, diving into the ache of unrequited love. Written after she thought she had already healed, the song was sparked by discovering that the person she once loved had moved on. “Watching someone you once loved be with someone else when you never even got the chance. Knowing it’s irrational, that you don’t even love them anymore, but feeling it anyway.” The lyrics confront that contradiction head on, as she sings, “I don’t love you anymore, not at all. But why does it still hurt somewhere deep in my heart when I see you embraced by another.” The song captures not just the emptiness of unshared love, but also the way struggles with self-worth can intensify that longing. While the single reflects on past pain, it also hints at transformation. The EP as a whole explores both closure and new beginnings, she’s now another woman, not only looking back, but moving forward.
Sonically, “Another Woman” captures this uncomfortable ache. The track’s chamber rock sound mirrors that emotional ebb and flow, showcasing soft, melancholic verses that swell into a crescendo, delivering something that is raw and frustrated, yet cathartic. Her vocals feel effortless yet theatrical, full of character and feeling, while the live-recorded instruments add a visceral authenticity.
Between their innovative arrangements, instrument swapping, scope of emotions and experiences conveyed in their songwriting, and an eclectic group of old friends and collaborators, NYC-based trio Bandits on the Run are truly living up to what they call their “ethos of artmaking” on their new album, Rough Magic.
With rotating lead vocals and varied instrumentation, Adrian Blake Enscoe (guitar & suitcase drum), Sydney Shepherd (cello), and Regina Strayhorn (accordion) combine to evoke the 60s and 70s spirit of bands like Fleetwood Mac while also carrying the sonic inventiveness of the modern folk power pop acts like First Aid Kit and Bonnie Light Horsemen, and trios like I'm With Her featuring impeccable harmonies and elevated songwriting so good they make the balancing act seem simple. The band's sophomore full-length, Rough Magic, is about friends — how we connect with them (or fail to), how we fight with them, and most importantly, how we love them. It's a testament and a celebration of what's possible when making something from nothing with your nearest and dearest. Relationships, old and new, are the heart of this LP.
“The cheat code for us has always been that if you surround yourself with good people, chances are the art will be something you're proud of,” Strayhorn shares. “And we are so incredibly proud of Rough Magic.” The song strips away the band's frequent kaleidoscope of instrumentation to the bare essentials just guitar and three vocals; their rawest selves speaking straight to the listener. “'Rough Magic' is a message to slow down, release, and trust the timing is just right to share what's inside you. And that those who see your magic will be there sharing in it with you. And what better thing could one dream up than that?”
This weekend, Layla Kaylif releases her new album Call Of The Yoni. Dripping in alt-rock, singer-songwriter vibes, the new album is an immersive experience for all that come across it. An organic mixture of world music built on Arabic instrumentation, chamber strings, and lyrics-forward composition, the new album by Layla Kaylif focuses conceptually on the "7-in-1 woman". Each track is a part of a continuous cycle that dissects different arenas of the female experience: innovation, eros, sovereignty, spirituality, roots, sight, and transformation.
The English-Arab singer-songwriter's new magnum opus Call Of The Yoni is a testimony to what genuine womanhood looks like. With each track completing a piece of the puzzle, the singer showcases her most vulnerable side yet. Aptly released during Women’s History month, the album features seven introspective tracks that analyze what womanhood means while offering a unique perspective on feminism.
Layla Kaylif is an English–Arab singer-songwriter and filmmaker known for her genre-bending, lyrics-first approach that blends poetry, pop, and cinematic storytelling. After studying Arabic at Oxford University, she signed with Edel Records and released the international hit "Shakespeare in Love", which received critical acclaim as BBC Radio's Record of the Week and a top ten success across Southeast Asia.
Plain Mister Smith - Lucian & Frances Ft. Tyson Motsenbocker.
Plain Mister Smith returns this weekend with a delicate indie-folk track called “Lucian and Francis.” Simply put, the track focuses on the majestic paintings of Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon, who often depicted raw, yet realistic portrayals of the human body.
Available now on most streaming platforms, “Lucian and Francis” is a chill tune that features the fluorescent vocals of Tyson Motsenbecker. His presence on “Lucian and Francis” packs a punch, as his textured vocals create a luscious sonic soundscape throughout. Featuring a pleasant mash of synths, mesmerizing guitar strums, and a poised drum beat, the new single by Plain Mister Smith feels like a perfect anthem to usher in the springtime.
Plain Mister Smith’s music continues to be simple, yet effective, focusing on cut and dry themes that penetrate deep within the soul. The new track perfectly captures the rush of dopamine and elation these legendary painters carved out. At its core, “Lucian and Francis” is a great tune for fine art buffs, as it highlights the amazing artwork humans can create with just a brush and some paint.
A veteran of Canadian indie scenes, Plain Mister Smith (formerly of Moev and Cinderpop, and current cellist with the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra) blends indie pop, baroque folk, and psychedelic sensibilities. His sound draws inspiration from an eclectic range of artists including The Beatles, Bryce Dessner, Matt Maltese, Led Zeppelin, and The Zombies, and even 20th-century classical composers like Prokofiev, who subtly influence his layered, string-laced arrangements.
Gráinne Duffy continues her steady rise as one of modern blues and roots music’s most compelling voices with the release of her new single, “Streets of Love” off her forthcoming Spring release, recorded at 64 Sound Studio in Los Angeles and co-produced by Justin Stanley and Marc Ford (The Black Crowes.)
Gráinne explains "This song was inspired by a beautiful bike trip around Amsterdam. I was there to see Lucinda Williams playing one of my favorite venues, The Paradiso. While I was cycling around I was watching the life of the people on the streets and all the beautiful interactions people were having, waving hi to one another, lovers kissing goodbye on the street, friends meeting each other at the traffic lights with their kids in the wooden baskets in the front and it was all so peaceful and humane. I loved that feeling of being an observer of that kind of humanity which exists everyday around us. We are constantly in these times bombarded with all the negative aspects of life from war to murder to horrible injustices in the world that we can forget that there’s actually another way to see the world in the very ordinary everyday exchanges between people which are often beautiful and full of love. That’s what this song is about really, my internal hippie speaking out I suppose! "
The Spring release was made in Los Angeles with producers Justin Stanley and Marc Ford (The Black Crowes), and you can hear that lived-in, analog warmth right away. It’s got some serious players behind it including drummer Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney), bassist Jørgen Carlsson (Gov’t Mule), keyboardist Peter Levin (Blind Boys of Alabama), Marc Ford, and Duffy’s longtime collaborator Paul Sherry. Duffy’s story starts back in County Monaghan, Ireland, where music filled the house instead of television — everything from Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton to B.B. King and Fleetwood Mac. You can still hear that mix in what she does now: blues at the center, but always pulling in other colors.
With their new single “Go Go Go,” Realmonte from the canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland invite you on a musical excursion that stylishly blends past and present. The band has created a captivating earworm that not only gets stuck in your head instantly but also makes your heart beat faster.
Over the past years, Realmonte have built up a solid fanbase through countless live performances. When they’re not writing their own songs like “Go Go Go,” they enjoy taking on current hits and reinterpreting them. They run these songs through a retro filter—refined, soulful, jazzy, with a touch of swing and a bluesy note. The result is a charming mix that revives the spirit of the 1950s and 60s without losing its modern edge.
With their own track “Go Go Go,” the band stays true to this style while delivering an energetic piece that combines vintage aesthetics with a contemporary pop attitude. The musicians certainly have the skill. Among those in Realmonte is Ramaon Vaca, a bassist who has played with countless bands and is still well known from the Basel indie pop heroes of the 1990s, Phébus.
Helsinki-based Lala Salama released their new single Muistot haalistuu on Friday, March 27, marking the band’s first new song since their acclaimed debut album Miltähän me näytettäis yhdessä. The single also opens a new chapter for the band’s line-up, with Elli Holmström, known from Drug Store Raid, joining as bassist.
Muistot haalistuu brings out a more wistful and atmospheric side of Lala Salama. Moving between dream pop, shoegaze and indie rock, the song centres on the pain of letting go, memories that slowly begin to fade, and the feeling that when something ends, something new may also begin to take shape.
“We’re super excited about this new phase and about Elli being part of it. This song is maybe a kind of in-between point, and it’s really from here that we start properly building the new Lala Salama,” says guitarist and singer Rosa Jules.
“The song was born in a space of transition. It captures the feeling of leaving something meaningful behind: a person, a moment, or an entire phase of life. At the same time, it reminds us that even when something disappears, new possibilities begin to open up.”
The New Pornographers - The Former Site Of (Album).
A woman is trapped on a cruise ship. A preacher decides to go down with his town. A man at the florist finds himself lost in the meaning of the arrangement. These and other people at personal and societal extremes are the subjects of ten timely, timeless short stories collected as meticulously crafted pop songs by The New Pornographers on their new album, The Former Site Of, released yesterday March 27 on Merge Records.
The album, like Continue as a Guest, finds The New Pornographers—bandleader A.C. Newman, Neko Case, Kathryn Calder, John Collins, and Todd Fancey expanding their already rich catalog in surprising fashion. Joined for this album by legendary session drummer Charley Drayton (Divinyls, The Cult, The Rolling Stones, Fiona Apple), the space contained in a New Pornographer’s song has never been this clearly articulated or generously textured, giving a distinct pulse to the characters whose lives spill out in Newman’s tender, evocative lyrics.
The Former Site Of adds new depth to the sound Newman shook loose through building and recording in a home studio, fine-tuning the band’s creative process far beyond the lockdown-era necessities of remote collaboration. “Having time in my studio really opened things up,” he explains. “I don’t like wasting my bandmates’ time, and always felt guilty when I’d give them a song, ask them to do something, then completely change the song and ask them to do it again. Now I can get the skeleton of a song together first—just a couple of elements, the key feeling, really as little as possible—before bringing it to the band and running from there.”
Two albums into this shift, The New Pornographers are creating universes of intricately textured sound and narrative detail, every layer keyed to reveal an unexpected new facet. As on Continue as a Guest, one of the more readily apparent layers is the way a song forms itself around a featured instrument. On The Former Site Of, it’s a mandolin which, in Carl Newman’s hands, lends lead single “Votive” its sense of acceleration as it builds from the atmospheric sweep of its synth and keyboard opening to a classic, wide-open jam.
Ashley Monroe has spent nearly 25 years building a life and career in Nashville, writing songs, making records, and earning the respect of her peers. But even with all she’s accomplished, Monroe has often felt invisible in the very town she’s devoted her life to. On her surprise-released album Dear Nashville, she puts those conflicted feelings front and center.
“I had a writing session on the books with Luke and I’d woken up that morning with a storm in my heart, like, ‘My gosh, have I done this all for nothing?’” she says. “When I got to Luke's house that day, I knew I had to address my hurt feelings and get it out of my system. I told him the idea of ‘I Hate Nashville’ and he loved it. That song put everything into motion. We felt the window of all the muses open, and decided that I’m going to say what I feel and make it a whole project.”
Those emotions come through immediately in “I Hate Nashville,” a title that masks her deep love for the genre. “Country music is the reason I’m alive,” she declares.
“This album started with Ashley bringing the title, "I Hate Nashville," to the room one day,” Luke Laird explains. “The music is what brings most songwriters to this town – but when it comes to the business, that’s when people can get burned out. So Ashley and I talked that day about our love for country music, the songs and the people – we had such a good day talking about all of our favorite Nashville memories and what led us both here. I love how honest Ashley is in her writing and just how pure her singing is. She really is the triple threat: artist, songwriter, and producer. We had so much fun making this record. No rules… just what felt right.”
Alys North is an emerging artist we think you’ll genuinely enjoy. Alys new single is called Replace You With and was released yesterday. Dynamic, raw, and fiercely authentic, Alys North brings a storyteller’s fire to every stage she steps onto. Raised in a small Northern Territory town, before honing her skills and passion in Brisbane, Australia, Alys can now be found carving out her sound in venues and streets around Cardiff and the UK.
Known for lyrics that land with striking honesty—the kind that stops new listeners in their tracks, Alys’ songwriting is unfiltered and unafraid, offering a powerful mix of vulnerability and grit. For her growing audience, each performance is more than a show—it’s an invitation into the real, unpolished life of an artist who refuses to hold back.
Alys blends heartfelt songwriting with a raw, authentic vocal style, creating music that connects immediately. In the build up to today's release, this track has been played on stations in both the UK and Oceanic scenes, with early charting on Amazing Radio (up to #27 from initial entry at #32!), as well as 'B' Playlisting on Amazing Radio UK, and a fantastic debut and reception through BBC Introducing, which has led to placement on the BBC Radio Wales A List!
Galway via London fourpiece The Clockworks have this weekend shared their second full-length musical project with brand-new album ‘The Entertainment’ out now via V2 Records. The Clockworks introduced themselves and their cinematic sound with debut album ‘Exit Strategy’ in 2023 and their self-titled EP ‘The Clockworks’ in 2022, gaining acclaim from the likes of BBC 6Music and BBC Radio 1. With a sonic palate that pulls from seemingly disparate regions of the musical landscape, namechecking Daft Punk next to Pixies, next to Ennio Morricone, they are also influenced through their passion for film and literature. Lyrically, singer and lyricist James McGregor writes with purpose, integrity and emotion, balancing light with darkness and finding poetic intrigue in everyday life.
New album ‘The Entertainment’ was largely written and recorded in isolation and is a project that looks to loneliness and connection in its exploration of life in the modern world. The framework for the album came intuitively and fast, carving out a sonic landscape built around tension and release; moments of darkness juxtaposed with glimmers of light. A raft of cinematic inspirations were on the moodboard - Bladerunner, Drive, the works of Fellini – alongside cover art inspired by an old LIFE Magazine cover featuring the first theatre to show 3D films. Their second record is not so much a concept album, but more a ‘work of friction’. The band say;
“The whole album seems to be filled with push and pull, black and white. There is such a conflict and contrast between everything. Even just recording the music, we did it all separately and then put it back together.” “We had the idea to record in a way that was in keeping with what the album is talking about, and to try and do it in isolation completely. We wanted creatively to turn in and see what we could do, so then when we did bring it all together, the parts had all this tension to play with.”
“We had this really strong identity for the album from the start, which meant that we could then spend so much time on the details. It’s like if you have all the beats of the film, then you can tell the actors to go and improv between them.”
Manchester risers The Rolling People release the new single ‘A Crack In The Glass’ released just ahead of the anticipated new EP Outlier (due 6th April). Marking a bold step forward in both sound and identity, the upcoming EP captures a band in the midst of reinvention - sharper, more expansive, and unapologetically themselves.The EP coincides with the launch of a new brand partnership alongside Pretty Green.
Produced by the renowned Richard McNamara (guitarist of Embrace, production credits including Basht., EEVAH), the new single showcases more of the contemplative, 90s alt-rock influenced side of the bands sound, comparable to The Verve whilst bringing a contemporary indie-rock flourish. McNamara’s influence brings clarity and scale to the band’s evolving identity, balancing anthemic indie hooks with atmosphere and depth to create an expansive and immediate, yet, emotional and reflective sound.
Speaking about the single, the band explain: “A Crack In The Glass is our most stripped-back work to date. It was one of the songs that was born out of a live recording session, giving us the freedom to build the song up from a more natural-sounding and relaxed setting. For this EP, we chose to go in a new direction in terms of production, and this live and raw style lent itself perfectly to the track.
The lyrics of this song focus on the emotional journey of living with mental health challenges, following the emotional lows and highs and the quiet relief that comes from overwhelming thoughts. It felt important for us to address this topic, as music can be a cathartic outlet that helps people feel heard and understood, especially when managing personal and unspoken issues.”
Started late 2020 as 'full Belgian' band, Travellin' Blue Kings had a major update in autumn 2023, displaying solid letters of nobility and an impressive pedigree: Blues Lee, Last Call, The Electric Kings, The Scabs, Hideaway, Howlin' Bill, ... just to name a few. Travellin' is not in the name by chance, these five gentlemen worked with their respective bands all over Europe.
One could find them on festival stages in Norway, Sweden, Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain. And of course, in every corner of Belgium and the Netherlands. The 'Bending The Rules' album, released in 2022, has been very well received and generated considerable airplay in Europe and the States (64 weeks (!) in Roots Music Report's Top 50 Blues Rock Album airplay chart in the US), resulting in the band being booked in France, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway.
But from now on, never say 'Travellin' Blue Kings' again, but say 'Travellin' Blue' !! A modified line-up, a renewed repertoire, written for the 3rd album, which does even more justice to the previous album title "Bending the Rules", prompted the band members to make this (minor) name change.
Finnish synthpop duo Sin Cos Tan continue the Greed era with the single “Wall of Stone,” the fourth release from the upcoming album. Formed by producer-DJ Jori Hulkkonen and singer-songwriter Juho Paalosmaa.
Sin Cos Tan are known for their rare balance of Nordic melancholy, classic pop songwriting and precise electronic production. Their music lives in the space between nostalgia and forward motion: restrained, melodically exact and deeply connected to the tradition of European electronic pop.
Sin Cos Tan have received an Emma nomination, toured across Europe, and enjoyed long-standing support from international critics. Their music has also been featured in the AMC series Halt and Catch Fire. Their previous album Living in Fear (2022) received a full five-star review from Soundi.
The Corner Laughers - Concerns Of Wasp And Willow (Album).
Northern California indie pop/folk outfit The Corner Laughers have been weaving a rich tapestry of timeless sounds and lyricism since the early 2000s to ever-increasing acclaim, solidifying their quintessential lineup of Karla Kane (vocals, ukulele), Khoi Huynh (bass, vocals and more), KC Bowman (guitar, vocals and more) and Charlie Crabtree (drums) on their 2015 breakthrough album Matilda Effect. When last we left our heroes, they'd spent five years crafting its follow up, the band's Big Stir Records debut Temescal Telegraph, only to have its release date coincide with the onset of the 2020 pandemic.
In a musical miracle for troubled times, the album's themes and musical settings resonated with the unease of the year and offered solace for the losses and isolation of that bleak miniature era. The global music press took note: Goldmine Magazine called it “a wonderfully enticing triumph,” The Swindonian labeled it “a magical otherworld, idyllic and innocent and yet poignant in its many charms,” and Shindig! Magazine's five-star review concluded “Every track is absolutely brilliant, brimming with vim and vigor.” In the end, the album was not just a leap forward for the band, but a lifeline of comfort for fans old and new.
We haven't been treated to the unique wordplay, inventive arrangements and sheer idiosyncratic ebullience that characterize The Corner Laughers' music for the half-decade since, and it's arguable that we need them more than ever. The world remains unsettled, and anyone possessed of empathy might find themselves vacillating between profound sadness and the need to reclaim the joy on which hope is founded. With their new album Concerns Of Wasp And Willow, the band audaciously and artfully create consonance from those very contrasts.
While the band is often thought of as purveying “sunshine” pop, Kane's lyrics and the band's musical textures have always balanced the dark and the light. On 'Concerns', erasing that dichotomy becomes a mission statement with endlessly fascinating results. Listeners first heard this new blend last Halloween when the single “Dark Matter” appeared, its title belied by its jubilant beat and bright melody as Kane celebrated (not for the first time) ravens and crows, inviting listeners to join the band's “new crone coven” in solidarity with anyone who's ever felt like an outsider.
“When I realized I’d been wrong to doubt Willie Nelson, that’s when music really started to make sense.” Brooklyn-based musician Karen Dahlstrom grew up singing in show choirs and Jazz ensembles, a popular soloist earnestly emulating Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald. “I enjoyed performance, but I also knew my limitations. You have to have a certain focus on technique in order to go really far.” She accepted what she considered her constraints and stopped singing for the better part of her twenties. Today, listening to Dahlstrom’s incisive, unflinching lyrics, delivered straight to the heart with a husky, insurgent depth, it’s hard to imagine pesky technique was ever the point.
Around age thirty, at a turning point in her life, Dahstrom’s relationship to music began to change. Visiting a friend in San Francisco, she scavenged Amoeba Records for vinyl and perhaps even a rejuvenated sense of self. “I didn’t even know what music I liked anymore.” She was surprised to find herself drawn to artists whose music didn’t rely on any complex arrangement—Townes Van Zandt, Lyle Lovett, The Stanley Brothers, Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard, Jean Ritchie—folksters palpably at ease alone with their instruments. “Three chords and the truth suddenly seemed like enough. Plenty, even.” She opted for High Lonesome over high brow, sentiment over skill. “The kicker was discovering Gillian Welch,” she says. “Other singers had made me want to perform, but she made me want to write.” In her third decade, Dahlstrom picked up the guitar.
Back in Brooklyn, Dahlstrom began sitting in on sessions at Jalopy and Sunny's in Red Hook. “You can’t help but learn from other people,” she says, wistfully recollecting a time akin to a freshman year. She answered a Craigslist ad for a rhythm guitar-player who could sing harmonies, and soon enough, joined the all-female Americana trio Bobtown. The band released four acclaimed albums from 2010 to 2019; Dahlstrom’s late-blooming love of folk didn’t just endure, it flourished.
The Great Emu War Casualties - Public Sweetheart No.1 (Album).
Growing up is hard. Dissecting those universal feelings and turning them into art is much harder, but that’s exactly what The Great Emu War Casualties have achieved on their debut album ‘Public Sweetheart No.1’, out today Friday, March 27.
Across three EPs, Melbourne indie-rock outfit The Great Emu War Casualties have steadily sharpened their sound and songwriting, building toward their most fully realised work yet. The band recently shared the first glimpses of what was to come with the singles ‘Donut’ and ‘Wanna See You’, two tracks that capture different sides of their melodic, emotionally direct indie rock.
Now, it all comes together on their debut album ‘Public Sweetheart No.1’, a record that reflects on personal missteps, relationships, and the search for clarity amid chaos. Blunt, reflective and at times wryly self-aware, the album frames these reckonings through punchy, guitar-driven songwriting and sharp lyricism, presenting an honest self-examination that balances remorse, humour, and a determination to confront the past. Speaking on the album, Joe Jackson shares:
"‘Public Sweetheart No.1’ is a blunt, honest self-assessment of my own behaviour over an extended period of time and the various ways in which I have affected the people closest to me, so I’ve at least tried to make it catchy in order to better live with myself. It’s about the clarity I’ve found in going back to basics, in trying to remove the chaos and noise of the world in favour of honesty. An anthemic apology, with some ‘sorry, not sorry’ sprinkled on top. I am sorry though, really."
Known for penning tunes that Lee Ann Womack, Charley Crockett and others have recorded, Texas singer-songwriter Brennen Leigh flips the script on her new single “The Traveling Kind.” A cover of a song released eleven years ago by Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, it’s set for release in March on Truly Handmade Records, a Nashville-based label owned by Guy Clark, LLC.
Leigh’s version of the song, which was co-written by Harris, Crowell and Cory Chisel, strips things down to just two musicians. The exquisite and heartfelt rendition features Leigh playing mandolin and lead vocals, with her husband Kevin Skrla on acoustic guitar and backing vocals.
Leigh and Skrla recorded the song at the request of Truly Handmade Records president Tamara Saviano, who wanted a fresh version of the tune to use as the theme song of her new Wisconsin radio show. The Americana music program, which also will be called The Traveling Kind, will air from 5-7pm on the third Saturday night of each month beginning March 21 on Monona, WI, community station WVMO 98.7 FM.
It is frustrating waiting for someone to change, and even more so when defeat and hopelessness begin to settle in. Perth/Boorloo-based artist EDIE captures that anger and despair as she ushers in a new era on her latest single 'Fall Of Man', out Thursday, March 26. Following her 2024 EP 'unsaid' and the sharp-edged singles 'Bleed' and 'Girl’s Girl', 'Fall Of Man' signals a striking shift in EDIE's sound. Where her earlier releases leaned into indie pop/ alt-rock, she trades guitars for synths in this new chapter.
Exploring darker, alternative electro-pop, sparse synth lines and a pulsing electronic drumbeat form the foundation, allowing EDIE’s melodic verses and ominous choruses to sit front and centre. The result is an entrancing composition with a dreamlike quality.
Co-written with Calvin Bennett, 'Fall Of Man' pairs EDIE's biting lyricism with hypnotic pop production. Controlled and restrained in its opening moments, the track slowly builds tension as EDIE’s vocals hover over the minimal arrangement. What begins as a slow-burning atmosphere gradually swells into a cathartic final section, where waves of synths surge beneath her voice, releasing long-held emotion.
The track explores the emotional exhaustion that comes from trying to help someone who refuses to change, capturing the moment when hope begins to give way to resignation. Speaking on the meaning behind the song, EDIE explains: “This song explores my frustration about someone who is not willing to change or not willing to listen. It’s that feeling of defeat and hopelessness you get when you realise you can’t fix that person.”
DOPESICKFLY’s brand-new single “Side2Side” is a high-energy track that encourages listeners to let loose, get on their feet and move their bodies. The song blends the best of Funk, Soul, Disco, and HipHop to create an upbeat anthem about living life to the fullest and dancing the night away.
With its unique blend of genres, catchy hooks, and infectious beat, “Side2Side” is the perfect soundtrack for anyone looking to add some excitement and motivation to their daily routine. The lyrics reflect the band’s commitment to living life on their own terms. "We're excited to share this new single with the world," says Ant Thomaz, the band’s frontman. "We hope it brings people together, gets them moving, and inspires them to chase their dreams.” This single drop is ahead of their new EP "I Woke Up On My Good Side” due out Summer 2026.
DOPESICKFLY is a band built on friendship, chance encounters, and a deep love of groove and soul. Frontman Ant Thomaz, a singer-songwriter with Creole heritage, is known for his eclectic musical style. Nearly a decade ago in Glasgow, he met singer Wendy Rae at an open mic and was struck by the power and feeling in her voice. When they sang together, the chemistry was instant. What began as friends playing small shows quickly felt like family, with Ant and Wendy sharing lead vocals and a musical bond that reached beyond the stage.
Dani Ivory is back with her EP No Other Way, a project that reads like a late-night confession you weren’t meant to overhear. It’s intimate, unfiltered, and emotionally relentless. At the center of it all is “Looney Bin,” a track that doesn’t just set the tone for the EP, but defines it. “Looney Bin” is messy, loud, and self-aware in a way that feels intentional. Sonically, it leans bright and almost carefree, but underneath that gloss is heartbreak dressed up as rebellion. Ivory comes in swinging: “I’ve been beating down every single door / I got no good shoes left to throw I’m looking for some more / I just can’t wrap my head tight around the thought / You’ve had enough of my love don’t want me no more”
There’s no poetic cushioning, she says it plain and simple. You feel the exhaustion, the disbelief, the sting of realizing the love you were pouring out is no longer wanted. Then the chorus hits, and the unraveling becomes visual: “I turn into a wreck, a nasty mess / Mascara dripping, big hair flippin’ party bitch / I drink too much wine, I stay up all night / I’m a different woman when you’re roaming / Yeah I’m losing my mind to the Looney Bin” This is the heart of the EP. “Looney Bin” isn’t romanticizing chaos, it’s documenting it. Ivory doesn’t pretend she’s thriving. The “Looney Bin” isn’t a place, it’s a state of mind when love turns into abandonment and the house that once felt like home starts closing in.
That diary-like unraveling flows into the rest of No Other Way. On the gut-wrenching ballad “Anymore,” she trades chaos for clarity: “I ain't got much help / Well, I’ve got myself wrapped in a bunch / When I had a hunch you were creepin' behind closed doors / I'm not yours. No, no no no, I’m not yours anymore” Then there’s “Get Through,” which feels like bargaining in real time: “So, we’re gonna get through / There’s no other way around it /We can’t hop skip or go backward / We looked our whole damn lives and found it / Though all my friends think I’m absurd / For sticking around and watching you drown / But if you go down, baby, I go down”
And when you’re in the trenches of losing the person you love, “Hope” becomes exactly what its title suggests, the fragile thread you cling to when logic says let go. This EP is full of feeling, not just sadness, but anger, denial, devotion, and desperation. Dani Ivory stands brave in the middle of it all, spilling every thought without flinching. No Other Way doesn’t offer easy resolutions. Instead, it offers truth, and sometimes, that’s the only way through.
Los Angeles, California’s J Mau & The Kiss Off emerge from what they lovingly call their “beloved hellhole” with their debut single “Poison,” out March 25. Founded in 2025 by Justin “J Mau” Maurer, longtime punk lifer and founder of Clorox Girls, Suspect Parts, L.A. Drugz, and Maniac, the project finds Maurer turning toward something darker and dustier without losing the bite that’s always defined him. “Poison” is a cinematic honky tonk murder ballad filtered through decades of West Coast punk history. It’s the first glimpse of a songwriter who’s always followed the feeling, even when it led somewhere uncomfortable.
Maurer’s story isn’t mythology. It’s messy and real. A CODA raised between Los Angeles and Bainbridge Island by a single Deaf mother, American Sign Language was his first language. Punk became his second. After surviving a turbulent childhood and helping put his abusive father in jail as a teenager, Maurer found autonomy in the underground. By fifteen he was booking shows and touring. By twenty he was releasing records and circling the globe with Clorox Girls. Along the way he built a parallel career as one of the country’s most respected ASL interpreters, working alongside prominent political figures like Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, and Joe Biden, stage interpreting for punk legends like Alice Bag and The Avengers, interpreting Deaf actor Troy Kotsur’s historic 2022 Academy Award acceptance speech, and appearing with Kotsur on Curb Your Enthusiasm. His life has always moved between worlds.
After stints living in Madrid, London, and Baja California, and in the wake of a divorce that leveled him, Maurer found himself flat on his back in an East Hollywood apartment, cowboy boots still on, old country records spinning. Hank Williams. Buck Owens. Merle Haggard. Gram Parsons. Kris Kristofferson. Townes Van Zandt. He finally understood it. “Real country music is poetry,” Maurer says. “It’s about failure, heartbreak, and the tragic human condition. Music to laugh and cry and live and die by.” That rock-bottom clarity led him to write “Poison.”
Yea-Ming and the Rumors have announced that they will release a new album, titled Residue, on Bay Area label, Dandy Boy Records, on June 12th. Bay Area indie pop band Yea-Ming and The Rumours return with their fourth studio album, Residue. With Yea-Ming’s signature heart-tugging lyrics and Nico-esq voice, she continues to explore the rawness of human experience and emotions. While 2024’s I Can’t Have It All signified a time of change and transition for Yea-Ming, Residue embraces the reset and the examination of reality after a storm, grappling with the overbearing nature of memory (remembering and forgetting) while submitting to the coarseness of love, intimacy and regret.
With the help of long-time collaborator Eóin Galvin (Hoxton Mob, Readyville) on lead guitar and lap steel, Ryli colleagues Rob Good (The Goods, Ryli) on bass and Luke Robbins (Ryli, R.E. Seraphin) on drums, Yea-Ming takes us on a journey of regrowth, with songs like Paper Doll where she admits inauthenticity in a world where one has been taught to please everyone around them to survive. In Treasury of Loved Ones, Yea-Ming explores the permanence of memory, or what appears to be permanent even as time moves on and erases moments out of our lives.
It’s a sweet and sad ode to remembering our loved ones, especially those we have lost to in time and in death. In Fine Afternoon, we are confronted with the reality of a tainted rebirth as Yea-Ming sings “in this life renewed, you’re my residue” (here we find our album title) and we remember that resets are never clean. The Rumours explore a little bit musically this time as well, which you hear in uncharacteristic danceable numbers like in the catchy but vulnerable and sensuous St. Etienne-like Sweet Opiate. While Good served as the band’s skilled recording engineer, Yea-Ming mixed the album at home; her vision realized through exploring texture, rhythm and sound, making Residue a Yea-Ming production through and through.
