Cari Cari - Flight Attendant - Phil Thornalley

Cari Cari - Welcome To Kookoo Island.

Cari Cari have shared the newest single to be released from their forthcoming album Welcome To Kookoo Island due out on September 16th, 2022 via Perla Nera Records. Despite sharing a name with the album, their new single ‘Welcome To Kookoo Island’ takes the listener on a soft and gentle daydream, stepping away from their usually zestful and energetic bursts of psychedelia.

“While Cari Cari was founded with the aim of placing their music in a Tarantino flick, ‘Welcome To Kookoo Island’ would probably be a better fit for Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom” says guitarist Alexander Koeck. The new single sees the duo unplug their electric guitars and take the listener on a magical boat ride down the Mississippi, longing for the innocence of childhood, letting go of the trouble of adult life and, as the lyrics say, “whatever I can’t change I will just let go”.

Cari Cari is Stephanie Widmer (vocals, drums & didgeridoo) and Alexander Koeck (vocals, guitars). Since their inception, Cari Cari have been tirelessly working to create their own world, carefully crafting everything from their music to their artwork, videos to set design in-house. This meticulous attention to detail has earned the band a loyal following; Rolling Stone Magazine called them ‘the biggest discovery of Primavera Sound Festival’, their die-hard fans sold out 1000+ capacity rooms across Europe and their debut album was praised by the likes of NME, KCRW, Rolling Stone, IndieShuffle and many more.

However, for the band, all roads have led them to Kookoo Island. The product of years of world-building, Welcome To Kookoo Island, was born from a desire to retreat from modern-day life completely. “Kookoo Island is our libertatia, the utopia of what we think the world should be like,” explains Widmer. “It seems to be cuckoo to dream of such a place right now, but dreaming of what we want the world to be like is the first step towards making it a reality,” she continues.

Cari Cari · Welcome To Kookoo Island (Master)

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Flight Attendant - Crybaby.

Flight Attendant has unveiled the video for new single "Crybaby" and announced their upcoming debut full length will be out on September 30th. Flight Attendant belongs to that breed of rock bands made in Nashville, where their sound is nothing less than a sonic unicorn. Blending sounds of grunge with power-pop hooks, viola and light synth textures, they have begun to create a hypnotic sound and energy all of their own.

The group met through many shared interests, friend circles and glasses of wine. Karalyne (Lead Vocals, Keys, certified Sommelier, originally from Kansas City, Kansas) met Vinny Maniscalco (Vocals, Guitar, award-winning bartender, originally from Boston, Massachusetts) while bartending together at Nashville restaurant 5th & Taylor where Nikki Christie (Vocals, Viola, great at drinking wine, originally from Los Angeles, California) joined in too. It didn’t take many nights of cocktail making and wine tasting before the band formed. With the addition of drummer, and long time drinking buddy Derek Sprague (drums, lager lover and also from Boston, Massachusetts) the lineup was complete. Together the group has released a collection of singles including pulsating grooves like “Man of Chaos,” which was described by numerous media outlets as one of the best singles of 2020.

Flight Attendant has played sold out shows from Nashville, TN, to Austin,TX, including SXSW 2022, Tomato Art Festival and the Nashville Film Festival - where they have entranced audiences, sold out merch and created a fitting example of what's to come. They are now gearing up for a European Tour in the Fall to support their debut album, produced by Grammy Winning engineer and producer, Charles Yingling. With the help of their cabin crew, Flight Attendant is quickly making a name for themselves on the global stage.

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Phil Thornalley - Fast Car.

A quick scan of the many records Phil Thornalley has worked on, and you’ll quickly spot some of the biggest names in popular music, including Bryan Adams, Thompson Twins, The Cure, Psychedelic Furs, XTC, Duran Duran, and even Paul McCartney. Phil co-wrote and produced Natalie Imbruglia’s 1997 worldwide smash “Torn,” and has written hits with Pixie Lott (“Mama Do”) and BBMak (“Back Here”). A kind of rock’n’roll Zelig, his name is probably on countless records in your collection, although you probably didn’t even know it was him.  That bass line on The Cure’s “Love Cats”? That’s Phil. The haunting and ethereal production on Prefab Sprout’s “When Love Breaks Down”?  That’s Phil too.

Now, on his latest offering, Now That I Have Your Attention, Phil Thornalley steps out of The Swamp (his North London studio) to unveil 11 catchy and brand-new original songs (plus three bonus tracks on the CD!) that find him exploring the production stylings pioneered by the Electric Light Orchestra’s Brummie boffin, Jeff Lynne.

Thornalley celebrates the fine musicality and pure joy of Lynne’s widescreen symphonic string sections, the bare-faced brutality of his straight-ahead rhythm bed tracks, and plenty of multi-tracked and stacked harmony vocals. On tracks like “Stand By Love,” and “High On Your Supply,” Thornalley makes more than a passing nod towards Lynne’s carefully layered sonic tableau, from the multiple acoustic guitars to the highly specific electric guitar lines.

Clearly, it’s a sound that Thornalley can’t get out of his head. “Maybe we should have called it the Traveling Phil-burys,” Thornalley jokes, “but I enjoyed the earlier ELO records, and the way they married a crummy beat combo with the grandeur of a full orchestra - it was over-the-top but infectiously musical, creating a foundation of the oxymoronic ‘controlled’ rock and roll drums and a super simple bass guitar.”

Why, you may well ask, would a lauded and Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer (and the focus of a recent in-depth career retrospective story in the American trade magazine, Tape Op) decide to record an album with both feet planted haphazardly in the squelch of the seventies sounds of ELO and glam rock? Because it’s fun.

“When I listen to pop radio these days,” says Phil Thornalley, “no one seems to be having any fun. In my teenage years, every other record you heard was ridiculous. I think that sense of fun is missing from today’s often turgid, doleful would-be soul singers moaning about their millionaire ennui.”

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Little Quirks - Charlie Houston - Fresh

Little Quirks - Maybelle.

Little Quirks – Australian sisters Abbey and Mia and their cousin Jaymi – are excited to reveal new single 'Maybelle' - another undeniably catchy folk-pop earworm, lifted from their forthcoming Call To Unknowns EP – out August 25th via Glassnote Records.

Abbey Toole muses, “Maybelle is a story of a woman with a wild mind and imagination. She travels town to town, sharing stories of her adventures. Over time, the news spreads and she becomes the legend of Maybelle. “I wanted to write a song that would draw audiences to dance and get excited! I wrote it while stomping my feet around the house and clapping to the beat.

“This one was especially fun to record as we got everyone involved in the recording in a big room to stomp, clap and chant. Maybelle is fun and energetic, our favourite song to play live. We can’t wait for everyone to finally hear it!”

The band has had a busy year so far having toured their high-energy live show through USA and UK. Today they are very pleased to announce a handful of Australian dates across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. 'Maybelle' is the next installment from the band’s new EP following previously released singles 'Florence’s Town', 'Someone To Hold' and 'The Rain'.

Little Quirks’ 2018 single Crumbled has been a runaway favourite on Spotify with over 4 million streams and they have amassed a loyal following for their powerful and distinctive DIY videos on YouTube, including an impressive version of ABBA’s 'SOS'.

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Charlie Houston - Dinosaurs In The Garden.

The 22-year-old singer-songwriter, Charlie Houston is following her Spotify USA Viral 50 track, "Wide Awake", which she recorded with the Grammy-nominated electronic duo, ODESZA with her new single, "Dinosaurs In The Garden" – out now via Arts & Crafts. 

Speaking about the new single which finds Charlie tapping into a more grunge-pop sound, she says: "'Dinosaurs In The Garden' is about the fear of getting your heart broken while in a relationship. While you have no reason to suspect it’s going to happen, there is always looming anxiety about the fact that you’ve allowed yourself to fall for someone and now can’t control whether it works out or not.”

Houston, whose “contemporary R&B-inflected pop straightforwardly addresses the meaningful mundanities of Gen Z life” (Bandcamp) is following her 2021 genre-bending debut five-song EP, I Hate Spring which received praise from Zane Lowe, Rolling Stone, and SPIN, while landing a Spotify Times Square Billboard. As she prepares the release of her second EP, due out later this year, she will be joining ODESZA on their mammoth stadium tour which commences tomorrow, as well as concluding her cross-Canada support tour with JUNO Award 2022 Artist Of The Year, Charlotte Cardin.

Charlie Houston · Dinosaurs In The Garden

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Fresh - Why Do I.

London punks Fresh have shared a brand new video for 'Why Do I', the closing track of their new album 'Raise Hell'. The track resolves the record with our protagonist breaking free of a toxic relationship, joyously riding into the sunset singing doo-wops. It’s the first time on the album that the inner conflict settles, and contentment takes precedence.

Talking about the new video, lead singer and principal songwriter Kathryn Woods said “After getting back from an intense UK tour, we thought it'd be nice to have a fun day out at the beach on the bands dime. A seagull stole one of our doughnuts, and another one pooped on Dan. They may have been the same seagull, we will never know.”

On the track itself, she expands; “Sadness and self-doubt are acknowledged and present on ‘Why Do I’, but they don’t hold power over you anymore. There’s power in starting from scratch. Think Nicole Kidman signing divorce papers in 2001-vibes. There’s a real catharsis and joyous presence to this song, upbeat do-woop vocals, guitar riffs with a touch of delay and soaring lead vocals make it a great note to end the record on."

Fresh have been an unwavering fixture within the UK punk scene since their first record in 2017. A joy to behold live, Woods honed her craft not only fronting Fresh but as a member of several heralded indie and punk bands, including cheerbleederz and ME REX alongside Fresh bandmate Myles McCabe.

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Improvement Movement - Forever Honey - Melting Dreams - Paper Foxes

Improvement Movement - 11:00.

With so much of the music industry feeling constantly inundated with projects being disguised as indie music by major labels, there seems to be a level of exhaustion around the discovery of new bands. The Atlanta, GA-based Improvement Movement sets out to vertically and horizontally integrate all your needs with their debut project, Don’t Delay, Join Today! – out July 29, 2022, through Acrophase Records – which is a collection of songs that might gravitate towards fans of Drugdealer, Altin Gun, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, as well as fans of startups like Theranos, WeWork, and Juicero.

In all seriousness, the project is a special amalgamation of insanely talented Atlanta musicians who have found a way to collaborate with each other under the band title. Improvement Movement includes (but is not limited to) a rotating cast of Atlanta musicians like Tony Aparo, Zach Pyles (credited on projects from Washed Out, Neon Indian, and Deerhunter to name a few), Marshall Ruffin (Lonnie Holley, The Mount, RUFFIN), Clark Hamilton (klark.sound, Safari Williams) – each a full-fledged artist in their own right – to execute their recordings and live shows. The band was aided in finishing the album by artists and producers including Kelly Pratt of Beirut playing all the woodwinds on the album and Jason Kingsland who mixed the album (notable credits include Band of Horses, Father John Misty, Belle and Sebastian).

You are about to permanently alter the course of your natural life with…Improvement Movement

Usually when a band starts an album cycle a press release is written in an effort to build a story around the band with mentions of all star producers and recording trips that yielded songs from the most famous studios on earth. For Improvement Movement we are here to dispel any of the unfounded rumors being spread that lay heavy claims of the project being mislabeled as a “cult” or “multi-level marketing scheme”. By the end of this EPK you will find yourself a believer in the greatest movement the world has ever seen.

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Photo - Rita Iovine

Forever Honey - I've Been Down.

Yesterday Brooklyn rock outfit Forever Honey will be sharing their new single "I’ve Been Down.”  It’s the second of two singles off an upcoming EP titled “Could I Come Here Alone.” Lyrically, “I’ve Been Down” draws upon the personal experiences of singer Liv Price, who explains the song’s inspiration: 

"I’ve Been Down" is about an instance of trying hard to force feelings for someone and what that point of staleness and auto-pilot looks and feels like–mentally checking out all the time; staring at the ceiling; going through the motions. 

I had this realization one night of how many times I let relationships continue beyond their expiration dates.  In general, I’ve always had a tendency of doubting myself and second guessing what my gut is screaming at me, feeling like I’m just mistaken and need to try harder.  So, it took me much longer than I’d like to admit to recognize that I don’t actually owe anyone my love or company. And that my feelings for someone aren’t something I can just turn on and off, or will into existence.

The rest of the band breathes an air of melancholy into the poignant subject matter with catchy finesse. Instrumentally nodding to their shoegaze inspirations (e.g., Mazzy Star, The Sundays), chiming guitars weave in and out, complementing the emotive and directive vocals. Like so many Forever Honey songs, guitarist Mekonnen masterfully translates the sorrowful lyrics into equally expressive guitar riffs.

Forever Honey · I've Been Down

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Melting Dreams - Like Me.

‘Like Me’ is a soft and mysterious ode to dreams. It contemplates both the sweetness enveloping a dream and its in-satiety; it speaks both of the euphoria and the anxiety that come with chasing after it. Most of all, it speaks of vulnerability – the laying bare of the skin (and of the heart) – that comes with revealing it to others.

Lush strings pull us up to the heights of adrenaline, while tense drums and enigmatic melodies seem to bring the warning of tragedy. Together, they embody the stomach-turning sensation of anticipation and the indistinguishable feelings of fear and excitement. Yet, gentle synths and xylophones wrap us on a cloud – the drunken haze of dreams is lulling and luring.

The angelic vocals travel from soft whisper to powerful belt – there is vulnerability in sharing one’s heart, but there's also courage – and so the voice trembles but rejoices at the thought of possibility, gaining strength, and guiding us to a culmination that is supported by the band's atmospheric and powerful wall of sound.

The band is sharing the first theme from their debut album; they’re giving in to their most vulnerable moment. The question that now beckons to be asked is: Will you like it?

Melting Dreams are a dark dream-pop band formed by Inês Rebelo (Vocals and Vocal Production) and Asaf Rahamim (Songwriting and Production) who teamed up with Artur Lenivenko (piano and synths) and invited musicians from all over the globe to record their debut album, Can You See Me?, set for release in September 2022. They are greatly inspired by film-noir, animation films, and acts such as Kate Bush, Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey, and Patrick Watson.

Melting Dreams · Like Me

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Paper Foxes - Heartstrings.

Phoenix-based 5-piece, Paper Foxes are back with their new single ‘Heartstrings’, taken from their upcoming new album Paradise Deluxe. With a genre-bending sound that blends elements of indie, disco and electronic music, the new single see’s the band venture further into the realm of synth-pop with an 80s-inspired, heavily electronic soundscape.

Full of bright yet warming analogue synth, punching electronic drums and thick, throbbing bass ‘Heartstrings’ quickly captures an uplifting feel as the intense, fluorescent electronic instrumentation takes hold. The effortlessly emotive, infectiously catchy lead vocal soon enters, instantly introducing the song's main hook with a cool, chilled delivery which emphasizes the track's edge. Reminiscent of the likes of M83 and MGMT, this is a fresh approach from the band, a move away from the guitar-led sound of their previous releases.

Made up of CJ Jacobson (vocals, guitar), Patro Gaston (synths), Oliver Lemke (guitar), Robert Ciuca (bass) and Henri Bernard (drums), Paper Foxes have garnered over 100 thousand streams to date, making a name for themselves with their unique brand of alternative-indie come new-wave. Having gained recognition after being named ‘the best-unsigned band in AZ’ by Alt Press in 2020, the band gained a number of sync deals with Netflix, MTV and A&E before setting out on a tour of the southwest United States with Hunny and The Happy Fits.

Now back with more material from their upcoming new album due for release in 2023, the band continue to establish themselves as an exciting up-and-coming band surely set for big things.

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Why Bonnie - Solis - Tanzos

Why Bonnie - Nowhere, LA.

New-York-by-way-of-Texas transplants Why Bonnie share a new single, “Nowhere, LA” from their debut album, 90 in November, out August 19th on Keeled Scales. On “Nowhere LA” - LA as in Louisiana - Blair Howerton uses a broken down car on an isolated road as a metaphor for a stalled relationship: “I know I walk fast, but my heart moves so slow,” she sings. Howerton elaborates: “Inspired by a true story of breaking down in the middle of nowhere Louisiana with an ex, this song is about looking at a relationship in the rear view mirror. Once you’re further away from a place, you can see it all more clearly and with a bit more understanding.” In-step with previous singles “Sailor Mouth,” “Hot Car, “90 in November,” and “Galveston,” “Nowhere, LA” is emotionally-charged and driven by rousing guitar.

90 in November is inspired by fellow Texans Townes Van Zandt, Blaze Foley, alt-rock like the Lemonheads and the Replacements, the eccentric pop of Sparklehorse, and Sheryl Crow.  As Uproxx points out, “Why Bonnie glistens with the same sun-soaked sentimentality as that of their label-mates…early singles from their upcoming debut album, 90 In November, flash polish in Howerton’s ambitious lyricism and reassuring melodies.” 

Through 90 in November, Howerton propels her songwriting forward into new realms of emotional sincerity and her band to new heights of sonic adventurousness. The songs are full of poetic, cinematic lyrics that flash like colorful scenes glimpsed from the window of a car as it barrels along an interstate highway cutting through the Lone Star State, each one a road stop revealing a different facet of Howerton’s experience. The album is a dynamic introduction to a more raw-edged indie sound from a band who have matured from bedroom dream pop into a sophisticated rock act, their evolving sound a reflection of the journey undertaken by Howerton on this vividly rendered collection of songs.

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Solis - Jungle.

Glimmering with balmy rhythms that are as sleek as they are lo-fi-tinged, “Jungle” is a scintillating masterclass in gauzy pop production.  With alluring, sun-drenched melodies that nod to poignant and melancholic themes but ultimately reach an all-the-more optimistic conclusion, Solis says of the track:

“I wrote this song when I realised there’s always an option, always a way out, the hardest part is realising that. The EP as a whole was written from a place where I didn’t feel I belonged and was dreaming of something else “Jungle” and “Osmosis” in particular are about living in the city and being part of the rat race, the never ending cycle of work and spend and very little time for living.”

Taken from the Manchester-based artist’s new five track EP ‘Open’, the release comprises five tracks including hypnotic earlier single “Be Together” and debut release “Jigsaw”. Across its five tracks, Solis flexes her knack for dreamy vocal melodies, ethereal rhythms and glinting, laidback percussion. Written by Solis, recorded at her home in Moss Side and produced by Andy Connor, ‘Open’ also features Jack Winstanley on bass and Max Barron on drums to bring the EP’s stellar set of songs to life.

Opening up about writing and recording ‘Open’, Solis explains: “I wrote these songs about 4 years ago. As soon as we finished recording, I had a really serious car accident which had me recovering for a very long time and I’m finally ready to release this body of songs. This EP ‘Open’, will be followed by a second EP shortly after, both EPs were intentionally written to follow each other and act as a big body of songs.”

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Tanzos - Mood Swings.

Austrian Indie Rock artist Tanzos delights with his latest rock single ‘Mood Swings’ available now. After the success of his single ‘Birdy,’ the singer returns with his new guitar driven single focused on capturing the complexities of a struggling mind.

Launching straight into an energetic outburst characterized by his usual squalling guitar riffs, Tanzos sonically embodies a conflicted psyche. The chorus, raw and passionate, while favoring the snappy guitar, also provides space for his robust vocals and powerful lyricism that raise supreme and convey the eruption of repressed emotions.

The multi-faceted artist, is no stranger to the music industry. Previously the frontman of the indie -rock band ‘Zeronic’ and with two nominated albums in the ‘Best Alternative’ Category at the Austrian Music Award ‘Amadeus’, Tanzos’ success is a growing trend.

Using the indie-rock aesthetic, ‘Mood Swings’ showcases an unapologetically commentary on mental health. While the electrically charged guitar riffs pulsate throughout the track mimicking the cacophony of clashing emotions, Tanzos’ energetic verses accentuate the overwhelming feeling of pent-up tension.

About the single, Tanzos says: “Mood swings is quite an unfiltered and direct song. I was trying to capture the difficult emotions of someone who is already used to internal struggles. But sometimes it´s just too much, you get overwhelmed and lose control“.

Tanzos · Mood Swings

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Tallies - Steven Keene

Tallies - Memento.

The Toronto-based band, Tallies are today sharing their new single, "Memento" which comes as the final advance preview of their forthcoming album, Patina which is out this Friday, July 29 via Kanine Records (US), Hand Drawn Dracula (Canada) and Bella Union (UK/EU). The latest single arrives following a string of recent tracks which have found support at many major publications and notable radio stations.

Speaking about this new single, Sarah of the band says: "I am a firm believer in “what goes down must come up,” people usually say the opposite, but this is a motto I’ve used throughout my life. When things aren’t going well, they have a tendency to bounce back. 'Memento', to me, is my pick-up song. When I sing “gotta get you on your way now”, I’m saying that it’s time to move on and move forward. I’ve had many moments in my life where I’ve lost momentum and felt directionless like I’d fallen into a black hole. It’s hard to crawl out of the hole and get back on track. I think there are a lot of people who spend their time thinking about how they need to get back on track. Listen to this song and remind yourself it’s time to look forward and lean into the future."

The balance of optimism and something more world-weary and wise is symptomatic of Tallies' music, this new single "Memento" lays into those ideas once more while drawing on gliding, shoegaze-adjacent jangle-pop reminiscent of The Sundays, Galaxie 500, Ride, etc. While many of their songs are upbeat, with Frankland’s breezy guitar lines drenched in reverb, soaring over Cian O'Neill’s propulsive drumbeats, Sarah’s lyrics pull out deep thought and emotive responses to day-to-day struggles.

Coming produced by Graham Walsh (of Holy Fuck, previously helmed records by METZ and Alvvays) alongside Dylan Frankland of the band at Palace Sound, Baskitball 4 Life and Candle Recording in Toronto, Patina arrives as a true labor of love; one that was delayed due to the pandemic but ultimately marks a truly rewarding collection for the band. Upon sharing the music with labels, it pricked the ears of Cocteau Twins' Simon Raymonde – a hero of the band – who signed Tallies to his Bella Union label, providing "a light at the end of a dark tunnel" according to Sarah Cogan of the band.

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Steven Keene - Soon.

New York-based singer-songwriter and folk artist Steven Keene is adept at handcrafting consistently powerful and timely songs with the ability to resonate across generations, with deeply meditative lyrics and lessons that deliver progressive,  universal messages of hope to the collective consciousness.

The newest emanation of Keene’s signature ethos arrives in the form of his latest single “Soon” (out now via Reviver Records), a track that seamlessly melds a James Agee-styled social critique with the ardent defiance of the best in American protest music. Once again leveling the sights of Keene’s masterful compositional craft dead-center on the faltering heart of the matter, “Soon” holds an unflattering yet hopeful creative mirror up to the great lumbering leviathan of a numb world sleepwalking into yet another World War.

Whether motivated by ignorance or outright disregard for the most costly lessons of human history, or by an equally untenable lack of collective self-awareness — it has now become frighteningly clear that the world is falling in, single-file, behind political pied-pipers bent on night-walking us straight into chaos. An eloquent creative effort to reclaim some sense of collective reason and spiritual autonomy, “Soon” represents a kind of exorcizing incantation against unwanted hate, propagated by powerful corporate and governmental interests who run the world and have too much to gain by sowing discord around difference.

Steven Keene · Soon

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Jackson Mico Milas - Free Time - David Beck - Bill Scorzari

Jackson Mico Milas - White Noise.

Accomplished musician and composer Jackson Mico Milas unveils his debut album this November. ‘Blu Terra’ brings together eleven tender and emotive compositions and finds the British artist hitting his stride. New single ‘White Noise’ follows first album track drop ‘Lost In Seasons’, which has picked up airplay from BBC 6 Music’s Cerys Matthews and came alongside a hypnotic visualizer for its B-side ‘Katia Standing Alone’.

On ‘White Noise’, Jackson’s eclectic sonic vista expands from the hushed acoustic lushness of ‘Lost In Seasons’, inviting the listener further into his intimate world, with subtle electronics and gorgeous airy atmospheres layered over organic drums and double bass. ‘White Noise’ washes over the listener like a cool summer breeze, with Jackson’s soft vocal hooks and melancholic tones penetrating that inner psyche. The accompanying video is the first of three videos which will progressively expand visually to narrate the Album’s journey to a November 2022 release. “White Noise” sees Jackson on a secluded beach, the waves and sea foam crashing behind as the song’s moods progress and expand.

Having cut his teeth at New York’s Nylon Studios, Jackson carved out a career with award-winning film and TV scores including a long standing collaboration with Tim Minchin on the acclaimed Sky Atlantic drama ‘Upright’.

On ‘Blu Terra’, Jackson comes of age, and delivers a mature and elegant suite of compositions encompassing acoustic, alt-folk and jazz elements to set up soaring and heartfelt songs. The LP features a cast of great players, including String arrangement on ‘June’ comes from Elliott Wheeler (Musical Director/Composer on ELVIS), and Tim Lefebvre (David Bowie 'Blackstar'), Troy Simms (Lee Scratch Perry).

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Free Time - That's Rare.

Free Time announce third full-length album 'Jangle Jargon' out September 30, 2022 and share first single 'That's Rare.' Six years on since the release of 2016’s In Search of… album, ex-Panel of Judges frontman and Melbourne-via-NYC luminary Dion Nania returns with Free Time’s third studio album in eight years, Jangle Jargon.

The album was recorded chiefly in two parts, beginning in 2017 in Ridgewood, Queens, with engineer Jarvis Taveniere (Purple Mountains, The Avalanches, Molly Burch) and guests Martin Frawley and Amy Franz (Twerps, Super Wild Horses) from Nania’s home in Melbourne, Australia.

After a period of quiet in which he focussed on his academic work, Nania, now living in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Williamsburg, returned to these original sessions in 2021 with a bag of new material and regular collaborators Jonah Maurer and Mike Mimoun. After a while demo’ing new material with Maurer during the pandemic, Nania discovered that he shared an apartment building with engineer John Epperly (Veldt, Daddy Long Legs, Baby Shakes), and so without further ado they booked in time to track new material and mix the 2017 sessions. After a few roadblocks, including Mimoun’s newborn baby Noam arriving the day the album’s tracking sessions were to begin, the band eventually had themselves a record.


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David Beck - Miner's Song.

When it came time to take his new collection of songs into the studio, noted bassist, songwriter, producer, and recording artist David Beck started the process with a simple, albeit off-the-wall, question that led the entire project into a new, adventurous atmosphere. “I’d discovered this idea with my buddy Ryan Quiet when I was producing his single,” says Beck. “We talked about these hypothetical situations—what if Dwight Yoakam did a record that was produced by The War On Drugs? What if Robert Earl Keen-like stories were seen through a Coldplay soundscape lens?” With those stylistic guidelines, Beck’s imagination and artistic creativity thrived.

Having an affinity for both Texas storytellers by like of Keen, Guy Clark, and Rodney Crowell and the modern indie rock of Coldplay, The War on Drugs, and Big Thief, Beck’s upcoming album Bloom & Fade creates a cinematic world built around endearing storytelling and a soft, airy sonic palette. While Keen and Coldplay may seem like polar opposites of the musical spectrum, finding the connective tissue between those two worlds gave Beck additional perspective for Bloom & Fade’s pensive, visceral reflective nature.

While previous solo efforts, Good Nature and Tascam, Vol. 1 & 2, embraced a lo-fi temper and tone, Bloom & Fade is a cascade of vibrant, crisp, and warm sonic hues and tones that channel central Texas meadows wet with morning dew, bouquets of Hill Country wildflowers, the low hum of city streets, and the ambient splendor of being beneath a cloudless starlit sky. “This record, I had a very clear goal,” says Beck. “There were some discoveries along the way, but I wanted to make the best-recorded album that I could at a high fidelity studio. I’ve always messed around with the format, but I wanted to do one without any restrictions.”

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Bill Scorzari - The Broken Heart Side Of The Road.

Bill Scorzari is excited to release “The Broken Heart Side of the Road” as the 2nd single (and 2nd music video) from his upcoming album, The Crosswinds of Kansas (independently released Aug 19). In “The Broken Heart Side of the Road,” Scorzari recounts a hard tale of the destruction of a relationship, set to traditional roots music, while with upbeat mandolin and banjo lines prominent in the mix, and a Dobro swell tugging at your heart in the distance.

He tells Glide Magazine, “I started writing ‘The Broken Heart Side of the Road’ back in 2015 and then it kind of fell off my radar for a while. When I returned to New York after the end of the Now I’m Free tour in 2019, I found that it fit really well with the other songs I was writing at the time, and so I made a few changes to the lyrics and reworked the song structure until it felt right. The lyrics sprouted right out of the chord progression and, at least on some level, are grounded in time I spent in my childhood, learning from my dad how to plant and care for growing things. I especially loved being able to work a lyric into the first chorus, about the risks of planting corn too early in the season. ‘And then a cold rain in the morning corkscrewed my cold-planted corn, and then half my crop took twice the time to grow.’”

Bill recorded the acoustic guitar and vocal tracks for “The Broken Heart Side of the Road” (and much of the 13-track album) in his studio—First Thunder— in New York in late 2020. In mid 2021, after many people had gotten vaccinated and it appeared to be relatively safe to travel again, Bill drove to Skinny Elephant Recording in Nashville, TN (where he previously recorded Now I’m Free 2019) and met with album Co-Producer Neilson Hubbard (drums, percussion), Michael Rinne (upright bass), Fats Kaplin (fiddle), Matt Menefee (banjo), Brent Burke (Dobro), Will Kimbrough (mandolin), and Engineer Dylan Alldredge to record their parts live there together for the song. Later, in September of 2021, Bill returned to Nashville to work with Dylan on the final mixes and they recorded Marie Lewey and Cindy Richardson Walker, a/k/a The Shoals Sisters, singing the backing vocals to “The Broken Heart Side of the Road.” Lewy and Walker recorded backing vocals for a few of the other tracks. For some of the other songs, Rinne also plays electric bass, in addition to his upright, and Kaplin adds his richly melodic and rhythmic sensibilities on pedal steel guitar, and viola, in addition to his fiddle.

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Scarves - Carleton Stone - Shutups

Photo - Rachel Bennett

Scarves - Delicate Creatures.

Over the past few years, and through a few different iterations, Seattle-based math-rock emo-punks Scarves has established themselves as, “One of the city’s top notch rising acts,” according to KEXP. In that same paragraph, the words “jarring” and “abrasive” also appear so that starts to paint a picture of the dichotomy that has been at play for the band and its frontperson/founder Niko Stathakopoulos.

On “Delicate Creatures,” Scarves ponders human fragility through an ordinary day that changed in an instant. Inspired by a friend who maintained her composure after busting her lip open on a basketball court, “Delicate Creatures” conjures up the character of “Jackie,” a person who comes to embody the attempt to be strong within an unrelenting world.

“A regular moment can explode into blood so quickly.” Stathakopoulos says. “What does that mean for a human? What are we pushing against by existing?” As he paints the portrait of Jackie, a wild thing, Jackie, a switchblade on her shoulder, he fleshes out her out-frame-opponent through her struggles: “It’s hard to stay soft when you feel surrounded by such sharp teeth / It’s hard to stay calm when you feel just like fresh meat.”

Still, Stathakopoulos glimpsed an act of resistance on the basketball court that day, however small, and it is this such act that drives the track’s reluctantly hopeful closing lines: “We are all just tiny comets up against one big rock / And I hope you make an impact.”

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Carleton Stone - House In The Hills.

On his third solo album, the self-produced Papercut—armed with a couple lifetimes of songwriting and touring in his rear view mirror—Carleton Stone gets honest about the toll of devotion to craft while illustrating his mastery of it. Through sax-blasted Americana, power-pop laced with '80s synth, and dreamy, sophisticated pop melodies, the Nova Scotia songwriter blurs genres to explore a tumultuous few years and some of the scariest questions someone can ask: "What the hell have I done? What if I'd gone down some other path?"

His brand new song, "House In The Hills," encapsulates the feeling of accepting that we are enough with what we have in our lives. It feels like the media or internet is always trying to sell us something to help improve our lives or make us feel like we aren’t enough, and Stone is trying to counterbalance that feeling with this song.

With this song, Stone really wanted the lyrics and the message of the song to stand out so he kept the production as simple as possible with just enough to help support the story. When the song was written in early 2020, the pandemic wasn't even a thing that was on most people’s radar at that point. The pandemic only highlighted the feelings in the chorus of this song and reminded us what is truly essential in our lives.

Jones & Co · Carleton Stone - House In The Hills

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Shutups - Endless Heaven.

Bay Area indie-punk band Shutups are proud to share “Endless Heaven”, the lead single from their new album, titled I can’t eat nearly as much as I want to vomit. The full album was mixed and mastered by Grammy nominated engineer / producer Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Jeff Rosenstock, King Woman), and will be released via Kill Rock Stars on October 21st, 2022.

“Endless Heaven” is a four and half minute crash course on the songwriting style of Shutups, who combine catchy indie punk melodies that share similarities with bands like Mannequin Pussy and PUP, filtered through the go-for-broke ambition of a band like Foxing and the experimental genre swirl of Spirit of The Beehive.  Describing his intentions behind the single “Endless Heaven”, the band’s songwriter and vocalist Hadley Davis says “I wanted to write a song that mirrored the feeling of letting out all your air and laying on the bottom of a pool. The crushing comfort of calm water. Every time I worked on this song, I pictured that. It’s a summer song, but for the more mundane moments of summer (sitting in hot cars, power outages, sunburns, days lost to the void). It’s about dissociating and returning mid sentence”. Meanwhile, bassist Bud Armienti said about the song – “I played the gong”.

Beginning as a duo of Hadley Davis on vocals and guitar and Mia Wood on drums, Hadley recruited childhood friends Eric Stafford (Guitar/Synth) and Bud Armienti (bass / synth) from his hometown of Livermore to round out the full band roster. The influence of Weezer on Shutups is immediately apparent – something that Mia and Hadley bonded over early on in their friendship. Songs that contrast distorted guitar tones with disarmingly pleasant pop melodies are not exactly a reinvention of the wheel – in addition to Weezer, they cite bands like The Pixies as inspiration for their own take on the classic quiet-loud-quiet-loud 90s alt rock sound – but the way they assemble these songs is truly unique. “There’s also a good amount of inspiration pulled from mash-ups, as a compositional tool.” Hadley says. “I was and still am obsessed with Girl Talk’s Night Ripper. I worshiped that album in high school as it satisfied my need for non-stop hooks and changes. It also taught me the value of juxtaposition in texture. When I write now I’m thinking about cut and paste techniques more so than typical song structure. This album feels like a mashup of our songs.”

Twain - girlpuppy

Twain - The Priestess.

Twain announces a new album called Noon, out October 21 via Keeled Scales. This week they share the softly rollicking new song, “The Priestess.” Songwriter Matthew Davidson offers, “I thought I was writing this song to a friend and later found out it was directed towards myself. It is about allowing the heart to speak, and being direct.”

Davidson elaborates on the new song, “‘Rugby’ is a street in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn and ‘the Odyssey’ is my old van. The inner landscape of the song, the place it takes me and where it was written, is Las Trampas, New Mexico, and I think about the cold nights and sleeping on the ground under wool blankets, taping up holes in my sleeping bag with duct tape, Folgers coffee in the blue cardboard can, and hearing the elk song for the first time.”

Twain’s fourth release on Keeled Scales, Noon, is a collection attempting to balance soul-fantasy with self-scrutiny, to erode the barrier between those two places, and to find the liminal state between the spirit’s ambition for itself and the often harsh truth of the present. Says Davidson, “Sometimes the facts of life make dreams difficult to protect. Twain is my effort to reconcile those two states… to forget that they could ever exist in opposition.” Noon was recorded by Twain’s longtime collaborator Adrian Olsen at Montrose Recording in Richmond, VA and features bass by Ken Woodward and drums by Austin Vaughn. From Noon, Davidson previously shared “King of Fools,” an offering that compelled Under The Radar to praise “a songwriter of uncommon emotional weight.”

“Noon is where I am, more-or-less, in my natural life span and in my creative life span. I picture noon being at the very bottom of a bowl… the resting point of a pendulum… not the apex of an arc, or the crest of a hill. Arriving at noon for the first time in my life, I sense everything reversing and the possibility to change and cure and heal is real for the first time. This album is a prayer from noon for the rest of the day.”

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girlpuppy - Wish.

Last year, girlpuppy (aka Becca Harvey) released her debut EP Swan. made with producer Marshall Vore who is known for his work with folk dynamo Phoebe Bridgers, the five song collection, found a supportive home with Royal Mountain Records, and drew remarkable acclaim for a debut EP, earning praise from outlets like NPR, FADER, Paste, Under The Radar, Coup De Main, Office Magazine, i-D, Line of Best Fit and NYLON who called her "one of indie folk's most promising newcomers."

This week, girlpuppy is back and announcing her debut LP When I'm Alone, which will be out October 28th on Royal Mountain. To mark the announce she is sharing the album's lead single "Wish".

“On 'Wish' I was thinking about when friends leave your life and you're not entirely sure why," Harvey explains. "It's a pretty universal feeling, I think. And, the thing is—even if you managed to live in the walls of that person's apartment and were able to figure it out, their reasons might not make total sense. This song is me living with that feeling, when loss just doesn't quite add up. This is the first shoegaze rock song I’ve made and I did that intentionally—the emotions in the song go from anger to sadness to nostalgia and all the other emotions that you feel when you go through a “friend breakup." I imagined it being really cathartic to play it live.”

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Tuomo & Markus - Pearl Diver

Tuomo & Markus - Highest Mountain.

After returning in recent months to deliver their highly-praised single ‘Wishful Information’, their first piece of new material since the release of their stunning debut album ‘Dead Circles’ in 2018, Finnish outfit Tuomo & Markus are back to announce the details behind their eagerly-awaited sophomore LP ‘Game Changing’, alongside the vibrant new single ‘Highest Mountain’.

Throughout their tenure, the pair have always looked to bridge the gap between psychedelic and folk-inspired soundscapes, and ‘Game Changing’ aims to continue that broad and adventurous spirit. With the record cut in the studio of Jonathan Wilson, best known for his production work with Father John Misty and Angel Olsen, and after the stellar reception to the record’s lead single ‘Wishful Information’ earlier this year, ‘Highest Mountain’ makes for an airy and more atmospheric listen. Sitting in the same vein as Nick Drake and David Crosby, it revives more of that smooth and tranquil quality they are known for, this new offering makes for the perfect introduction for what to expect from their upcoming full-length.

Speaking about the inspiration behind ‘Highest Mountain’, they said, “Highest Mountain was inspired by the political polarization and dogmatic thinking that our societies have been faced with in the last 5-6 years, starting with the elections that lead to Brexit and Trump presidency, resulting with the US Capitol attacks, the overturn of abortion rights in the US and in parts also the current war in Ukraine. Some of these can be attributed to the tribalism that the age of social media has created - the idea that ”we believe what we need to believe” and our confirmation bias.”

Tuomo & Markus are a new musical project from acclaimed Finnish soul/jazz artist Tuomo Prättälä and singer/songwriter Markus Nordenstreng of The Latebirds. The duo’s music has been described as Nordic Americana and indie-folk with distinct jazz, soul and prog-rock influences. Their haunting harmonies complement each other much like in the cases of Simon & Garfunkel or Crosby Stills Nash.

Tuomo & Markus · 5 Highest Mountain

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Pearl Diver - Heaven Help Me.

Written by Pearl Diver’s Matt Sage following an intense psychedelic experience which saw him feel an epiphanous sense of connection with the natural world, the lead singer reflects of “Heaven Help Me":

“Heaven Help Me came to me in the woods on strong mushrooms.  It’s about the way in which it sometimes feels as if nature is luring us to rejoin it, to remerge, to allow ourselves to be subsumed.  It’s almost like a poetic death wish in slow motion.  It’s the same impulse that sometimes makes you want to serve into oncoming traffic, or leap over the edge, but you don’t: some grace manages to save you at the last minute and you continue to cling to life, at least for now.”

Through a labyrinth of casually trippy guitars and tightly knotted riffs, wormhole backing-vocals and lysergic lyrical couplets; Sage’s sentiments like “came upon a fallen tree, I thought it was a throne so I took my place. No one there to witness me, or record my fall from grace” make “Heaven Help Me” a listen that is as tightly intricate as it is wholly immersive.

The new single is a glittering entry-point to the ‘Look For The Light’ EP (out now on all streaming services); a record which sees the trio of Matt Sage (vox/guitar), Josh Rigal (Bass), and Joel Bassuk (drums) deliver 4 original songs of a finessed calibre far beyonds its debut credentials. Nodding to the classic works of Radiohead, Pink Floyd and The Beatles, the release finds a band spiralling through psychedelic portals (“Look For The Light”) and taut post-rock jams (“Heaven Help Me”), sleepy reflections (“Give It All Away”) to soulful 70s-inflected grooves (“You Can Bring Your Darkness”).

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Franklin Gothic - Chris St. John

Photo - Victoria Escobar

Franklin Gothic - Slow Down Bang Bang.

Franklin Gothic, the solo project of musical artist Jay DiBartolo based out of Portland, OR, announces his debut record titled Into the Light, out August 19th via split release with Very Jazzed and Pleasure Tapes. The record was made in collaboration with producer Erik Blood (who has worked with Shabazz Palaces, Pickwick, Tacocat, and more).

Into the Light draws inspiration from musical influences that stem back to Jay’s early ‘90s childhood. It showcases a variety of styles, from shoegaze to Americana, challenging the expectation that a band, record, or song is bound to any specific genre.

The 12-song LP follows the ups and downs of the singer/songwriter’s experience, as he struggles to leave behind an old cynical view of the world to make room for a more openhearted one.

 
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Chris St. John - Walk Between The White Lines.

Chris St. John has been on a roll these last two years, having written dozens of songs which have appeared on two separate albums. His first album, I’m Dreaming, which was released in 2021, gained critical acclaim and commercial success. The album had four chart-toppers on the World Indie Music Charts and the Euro Indie Music Network, including “I Called You Rose,” which climbed all the way to No. 3.

Recently, Chris was in Nashville, working with legendary producer Stephen Wrench, as well as some of the finest session musicians in Music City, to record his upcoming album Fly Away. During the production of the album, Chris released the song “Hey Siri,” which quickly hit No. 1 on the World Indie Music Charts and the Euro Indie Music Network and remained there for five weeks. “Hey Siri” has a playful, rolling African groove reminiscent of Paul Simon’s Graceland. This clever, lively, and thought-provoking song focuses on the drawbacks of modern technology. Stylistically, it’s an outlier of sorts, scratching only the surface of the deep and impactful artistry Chris showcases over the course of 13 tracks.

The diversity of the songs makes it very hard to fit Chris’ music into any one genre. His voice is velvety and clear on the album’s ballads, and heartfelt and rocking on the up-tempo songs. His tenor voice has remarkable range and clarity, and his different vocal stylings on each track make it hard to believe it’s the same singer throughout the album.

Chris St. John Music · Walk Between The White Lines

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Elf Power - Derek Hoke - Marcus Man - Lilly Winwood

Elf Power - Clean Clothes.

Last Friday the Athens, GA-based psychedelic folk band Elf Power released their new album Artificial Countrysides via Yep Roc Records. Also released the same day is an official animated video for the new song “Clean Clothes” created by Michael Rostig. Elf Power are currently in the midst of a summer tour that will make stops in Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta and more.

Artificial Countrysides has been praised by Stereogum, Under The Radar and BrooklynVegan, who said “It finds their unique psychedelic pop/indie rock fusion sounding as great as ever.” FLOOD Magazine proclaimed, “Elf Power are far from running out of ideas nearly 30 years into their time together as a psych-folk unit,” while MAGNET Magazine said, “The songs themselves are some of the catchiest and most structurally sound Rieger has written in quite some time.”

With Artificial Countrysides, singer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Rieger and his Elf Power bandmates — drummer Peter Alvanos and guitarist Dave Wrathgabar, with contributions from keyboard player Laura Carter — have created some of the band’s most expansive musical terrain yet. Along with a blend of fuzz-tone electric and layered acoustic guitars, Moog keyboards and lively drums, the group experimented with the sounds of marimba, Mellotron, harpsichord, synth bass and distorted drum machine loops, taking a try-it-and-see approach to recording in the studio. Artificial Countrysides is Elf Power’s 14th album across their almost 30 year career.

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Photo - Alex Berger

Derek Hoke - Wild And Free.

East Nashville-based singer-songwriter Derek Hoke has announced that his new album Electric Mountain will be released on September 9 via 3Sirens Music Group, the first release from the Music City collective 3Sirens’ label arm. Hoke has also just shared his new single “Wild and Free,” a dreamy blend of acoustic guitar and synthesizers that arrives with a lively music video.

“‘Wild and Free’ is an acoustic song that I wanted to have build and build and build,” shares Hoke. “Originally it was about 10 minutes long and we edited the end off, as it just kept going which would be too much for some people. The idea was to start small with a chorus of voices. I think of it as driving through the desert as the sun’s coming up, as the idea.”

Hoke's forthcoming record Electric Mountain finds the East Nashville music veteran stepping back into the light following his previous release, 2017's Bring the Flood, which in contrast was a bit darker and moodier. Produced by longtime collaborator and childhood friend Dex Green (Elvis Costello, Allison Russell), Electric Mountain draws on influences that range from Appalachian folk music to Peter Gabriel classics to Bruce Springsteen demos, with plenty of futuristic instrumentals in between. Hoke’s previous records have featured such talents as Robyn Hitchcock, Jason Isbell, Luther Dickinson, Elizabeth Cook, Aaron Lee Tasjan, and more. On Electric Mountain, he keeps the local Music City love going: Prudent listeners will recognize vocals from Thayer Serrano and fiddle from Lillie Mae.

Hoke has spent the better part of the last two-plus decades making a home for himself in East Nashville, whether he’s hosting $2 Tuesday at iconic venue The Five Spot or spending a quiet night alone fiddling with Eurorack synthesizers. But his musical success has been hard-fought every step of the way. Raised in Florence, South Carolina, Hoke taught himself to play and write music by ear, mimicking the sounds he’d heard on records and through airwaves. Despite not having a musical family or a local community of players, Hoke found new influences – including '90s staples like Ben Folds, Wilco, and Drivin N Cryin – through his job at the town record shop.

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Marcus Man - Aspirations.

Marcus Man is a 23 year-old independent artist from Warrington (UK) who has just released the rather splendid song 'Aspirations' along with an engaging video. He tells us "I’ve been writing and performing music for several years now, and I’ve been releasing music for at least the last two. I started off performing in my local town, then moved on to Manchester & Liverpool, before finally moving to London. My biggest influences include Damien Rice, The Last Shadow Puppets, Amy Winehouse, Frank Turner to name a few. I particularly like music that has a lyrical focus and tend to write songs with that in mind."

Regarding the new single he continues, "‘Aspirations’ is about tackling the idea of whether or not someone’s aspirations or work ethic can affect their relationships. 

While trying to be quite fun and light-hearted lyrically, I think the song is bittersweet at its core. The track was recorded at Matchbox Studios in Warrington & is part of an upcoming EP due to be released at the end of summer. Musically, it’s sort of like soft indie-rock, and I like to think it’s the perfect soundtrack to putting your feet up at the end of the day, doing nothing, & being content with being lazy!"

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Lilly Winwood - Sleep Issues.

Leading up to the writing of her new album, Talking Walls, singer, songwriter, and guitarist Lilly Winwood had all but resigned herself from continuing her music career. Burned out after her last album cycle and in the midst of a pandemic, Winwood took a job to pay the bills—but she couldn’t stop writing. She knew she was on the cusp of something important. “I’d be working in a restaurant all day and then at night, come 3 a.m., I’d be pulling half-written songs out of my apron,” she recalls. “Then it all came together.”

When Winwood decided to get sober, the floodgates opened. Talking Walls captures that tumultuous period, with Winwood literally “talking to the walls” as she looked inward with new purpose. Penned over long sleepless nights, with clear eyes and a willingness to ask tough questions, each song takes a different tack into the introspective wind, backed by a minimalist-roots sound. 

The now East Nashville-based artist (and daughter of Grammy-winning British rocker Steve Winwood) simply wrote her story and brought it to her band at Nashville’s Trace Horse studio—no producer needed. The new single “Brighter Days,” is a swaggering, pedal-steel laden track showcasing Lilly’s soulful voice and the simple, organic feel that the band landed on in the studio.

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