Surprise Baby - Pen Pin - Von Wildenhaus

photo - India Coombs

Surprise Baby - Motorcycle.

Surprise Baby is the Los Angeles based project of musician and songwriter Sarsten Noice and producer Claire Morison. Described as rock and roll cowboy meets indie pop, the two, who are originally from Northwest Montana, use their long-standing relationship as friends and creative partners to craft a sound which is both authentic and captivating.

Their upcoming EP is a result of Surprise Baby refusing to be pigeon-holed and see’s the two exploring a realm of different genres and sounds. Following the release of their debut single “Poison the Well,” “Motorcycle” is the second track from the EP and details a commentary on the feeling of escapism. It is a mostly fictional narrative on the desire to escape a relationship, specifically on a motorcycle heading to New York. Noice shares, “Call it a quarter life crisis, call it fear of commitment, the feeling is that of running away. There is also a sentiment of not wanting your partner to worry over you, and making the unrealistic promise that you won't die on the road. The fact that the narrator believes so deeply they won't die while simultaneously desiring to be as close to danger as possible is the irony of the song itself.”

“Motorcycle” shimmers with muted, jangly guitars, mellow melodies and celestial harmonies, creating an iridescent soundscape that you can truly lose yourself within. Not afraid to speak her truth, Noice shares how she uses songwriting as a way to process her internal world and give intense emotions a way out of her body. She shares, “I try to create imagery that accurately captures a specific feeling and then allow myself to build lyrics in an abstract way, opposed to straightforward storytelling. This I hope leaves the songs open to the listeners’ interpretation.”

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Pen Pin - Fringe.

Pen Pin is the new sun-soaked indie pop project from songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeni Magana and Emily Moore. Both established musicians in their own right, they met while touring with Mitski and started writing and recording their debut album whenever they weren't on the road. The result of their "pen pinspiration" has become a chill, vintage pop album that sounds and feels like lounging by a Palm Desert pool when the afternoon becomes the dusk.

The whole process of self-producing these songs has captured a moment of inspiration and a joyous collaboration between friends. The LP entitled Pony Up is about these feelings: the spark of inspiration, holding onto happiness, and friendship.

Pen Pin's single "Fringe" details capturing a moment in a relationship that is pure joy and recalling that feeling when times get tough. The breezy track features golden-hued vocals, dreamy melodies and nostalgic piano, creating a warm and cathartic musical moment. Designed to bring you company on your evening walks through the park, Pony Up is set to be released Spring, 2024.

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Von Wildenhaus - Ketamine.

Apocalyptic avant-pop artist Von Wildenhaus has shared new single “Ketamine”, ahead of a UK tour across September. In lieu of a traditional album release the artist is issuing an extended series of singles across the coming months, culminating in a new compilation ‘Von Universe’, which will be available exclusively at the UK shows.

A spacious, sublime offering that sees Von Wildenhaus fuse alchemistic rhythms and airy instrumentals with celestial vocal delivery and a cavernously clean approach to production, “Ketamine” is the sixth track to be taken from the artist’s forthcoming compilation.

Evoking a feeling that is as fragile as it faraway, Ben von Wildenhaus explains of the new track: ”Ketamine” embodies the feeling of dissociation that overwhelms when you separate from someone you love. We often play this as spacey folk, but here we really wanted to take it into the realm of ethereal ‘80s pop — that crisp digital world full of inorganic heartbreak.”

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The Artist Formally Known as Vince Band - Ashton Nyte - Shadwick Wilde

The Artist Formally Known as Vince Band - A Problematic Opera (E.P).

This one came out back in May but escaped our radar at the time, anyway it's never to late for some robust 'recent' new music when it's this good! The Artist Formally Known as Vince Band (or TAFKAVince Band for short) formed in 1996 and began playing out regularly upon the release of 2002's At Last CD. Other notable releases include 2007's Welcome To The Show, the 2011 vinyl release On Display, and the singles "NYC" and "Luck," which were released in 2014 and 2016, respectively.

TAFKAVince features Vince SanFilippo on vocals and guitar, Lauren Kurtz on vocals, Brian Chinino on drums, percussion and backing vocals, Chris Geisler on bass, percussion and backing vocals and Vee Sonnets on guitar, backing vocals and keys.

The band plays a heady mix of glam, power pop, punk, and rock n' roll and has built a reputation as a fierce live act who have graced stages at the Empty Bottle, Beat Kitchen, Liar's Club, Subterranean, Reggie's, The Hideout, and Double Door in their hometown of Chicago and have performed at the esteemed venues Berlin (NYC), Plain Dealer Pavilion (Cleveland) and Slash Run (Washington DC) while on tour.

TAFKAVince Band has opened for (and held their own against) Michael Monroe of Hanoi Rocks, The Fleshtones, The Undead featuring Bobby Steele of The Misfits, Hunx & His Punx, The Dollyrots, The Melismatics, Scott Lucas and The Married Men, Prima Donna and many other celebrated bands from the indie underground.

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Ashton Nyte - The Garden.

Singer-songwriter Ashton Nyte has just released Autumn's Children: his eighth album and second book of poetry, short stories and musings, as well as the fourth video single, "The Garden". Based in the U.S., Ashton Nyte is a South African-born composer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, writer, and producer. He has released seven solo albums as Ashton Nyte and eleven albums as The Awakening, one of South Africa's most prominent alternative rock bands.

Nyte has contributed vocals and lyrics to a number of other projects, featuring members of The Cure, Cheap Trick, Peter Murphy, The Mission, and Beauty In Chaos, among many others.

Ashton has written and performed in theatrical productions and hosted philanthropic events, including his “Rock Against Rape” concert series and presenting a lecture series at U.S. universities focusing on tolerance and acceptance. He’s worked on film scores, most recently with Ethan Gold on the movie Don't Let Go, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019. His songs have also been featured in major television shows, including Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (HBO Max), The Purge (USA Network), and more.

Described by music journalists as "Johannesburg's Bowie" for his widely varying musical styles and theatrical performance approach, Nyte has a released catalog of over 300 original songs and has received airplay and chart success on major independent radio stations worldwide.

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Shadwick Wilde - Floating Away.

Shadwick Wilde has released "Floating Away," the third single from his upcoming solo record Forever Home, produced by renowned Nashville drummer Ken Coomer (Billy Bragg, Will Hoge, Margo Price, Vance Joy, Al Green, Wilco and Uncle Tupelo), available everywhere September 22nd!

"My partner Sarah and I came up with the concept of this video while out on a walk in the woods together. She can do just about anything that requires a great deal of fine motor skills. We had both been imagining the paper boat playing a lead role, but the rest was all her. The theme of water comes back a lot on this record. While writing and demoing “Forever Home”, before it had a proper title, I had jokingly titled it “Waterworld” after the behemoth film that almost ruined Kevin Costner.

The parallels are difficult to ignore: both he and I nearly bankrupted ourselves to bring our apocalyptic visions into reality. I have been thinking and writing a lot about water these past few years; how Heraclitus said we can never step into the same river twice… both the human and the river being in a constant state of flux. Our bodies have roughly the same salinity as the ocean, the source of all life on Earth.

I learned a lot of letting go, in the process of making this record. We all are in this river of time, everchanging. All we can do is row, row our little boat, gently down the stream– making small adjustments to our course, but ultimately heading toward the same destination: the ocean that is eternity, the infinite vastness of the cosmos. When the waves of this life come and knock us down, we have a tendency to forget that, we too are the ocean, and that in fact everything does come in waves." - Shadwick Wilde, on "Floating Away" and its video.

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Daniel Walton - Thrillhouse - Ghost Party

Daniel Walton - Through The Glass.

An endless need for self expression has helped songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Walton focus on his creative vision as an independent artist to write and produce his debut EP titled Island: a beautiful, heartfelt collection of songs about love, loss and change.

The 28-year-old from Hamilton, ON has been involved in a handful of collaborative original bands spanning many genres (Wooly Mantis, Downstream) but “Island” is the first of many projects that are from the mind of Walton as a solo act. Being able to have full creative freedom has allowed Walton to find his voice in the songwriter space.

Reminiscent of the Laurel Canyon era of folk and singer-songwriter with a genre-blending modernism, Walton’s latest single “Through The Glass” is a drift inspiring transportive listen.

About his songwriting intent: “My goal with songwriting is to take the listener on some kind of journey, whether it may be from lyrics, music or both. To take the listener out of the present moment and into a place that feels familiar, yet new and exciting. A place that is comfortable, where the listener does not feel alone and can drift away in peace.”

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Thrillhouse - Big Tree.

Brighton duo Thrillhouse, release the intimate yet expansive new album Something About This Place, with the lead track ‘Big Tree’.

Showcasing their electrifying Alternative-Indie-come-Alternative-Country tendencies, the album further delivers on the unique sonic approach which has seen the band garner widespread acclaim from musical luminaries such as KEXP, Radio X (John Kennedy), and BBC Introducing. The brainchild of duo Sam Strawberry and Jack Nielsen, Thrillhouse gained their name as a humorous and nostalgic nod to an old Simpsons episode, but digging a little deeper, the name also evokes the yearning of being stuck in an increasingly bleak present whilst being rooted in a fragmented and pretend past.

Now releasing their hotly anticipated debut album 'Something About This Place', the band describe the 11 track release as: “A hark back to childhood - to simpler times, before ambition, failure and regret wrapped us up with our dreams and tossed us crashing back down to Earth.”

Capturing a melancholic sincerity tinged with wry humour within the captivating lyricism, the band's stylistic sound shines across the album. Heartfelt and honest vocal delivery comparable to Matt Berninger glides above intricate musical backdrops of driving drums, warming, intertwining guitar tones, sparkling synths and melodic hooks to create spellbinding, genre-bending soundscapes. Comparable to The National, Nick Cave and The War On Drugs, Thrillhouse boldly challenges the boundaries of contemporary Indie music with a post-punk flare and alternative undertones.

The new lead track ‘Big Tree’ is a perfect representation of the band's approach, blending melancholic beauty with intricate musical ideas and an underlying sense of driving energy.

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Ghost Party - Yankee Reaper.

"Yankee Reaper'' borrows its name from a Van Dyke Parks album, conveys a sense of nostalgia and loss through the guise of the surreal, and is treated with a vintage sounding gospel stomp arrangement, where barrelhouse piano, soaring pedal steel, fuzzed out guitar, and hand claps all create a ruckus, supported by the pulse of a finger picked acoustic guitar. Evocative of a psychedelic tent revival, "Yankee Reaper" suggests some sort of cosmic mashup between T.Rex and the White Album sessions. Ghost Party is joined by pedal steel master Will Van Horn, notable for his contributions to Khruangbin and Leon Bridges' latest collaborative EPs.

Ghost Party is the nostalgic, retro psych revival project of McCullough Ferguson. Mixing the ingredients of classic acts from the golden era of 60s psych and Americana music with modern interpreters as well a adding a bit of the subliminal sublime, spooky nature of the great beyond, we arrive at the Ghost Party.

Part garage rock, part cosmic country, part psych, Ghost Party came into existence in Houston Texas in 2020. As half of psychedelic rock tricksters Flower Graves, Ferguson has shared the stage with Roky Erickson, Night Beats, Holy Wave, and many more.

Ferguson is joined by Austin Sepulvado, Victor Sanchez, and Kendrick Ballard on bass, drums, and organ/keys/mellotron, respectively. They have released two singles in 2023, tracked and produced by Steve Christensen, notable for his production work with Khruangbin. Ghost Party will be releasing their first full length album this fall and will be appearing at River Revival alongside The Black Angels.

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Zach Berkman - Fast Romantics - Georgia Mooney - Bedolina

Photo - Nicole Mago

Zach Berkman - Alone.

Zach wrote "Alone" at the beginning of the end of a relationship, just when he knew he could feel something slipping away. "The verses describe a crumbling house as a metaphor for a crumbling love. The crooked pictures and fading marks of a thing untended," he says. "I thought about my grandparent’s old farmhouse where we made these recordings, left dusty and in disrepair for so long then restored and renewed, and I wondered whether you could do that with people.

I know that when I wrote the song, the chorus was meant to be sung to someone else. It’s all in the second person, but I hear and sing those lyrics now as directed to self. The repeats of the title are at once mantra, warning, and a facing of fear. If we can’t reconcile our differences, we will end up Alone."

A renowned songwriter whose compositions have been featured on ABC, NBC, The CW, Nickelodeon, The Travel Channel, and more, Zach had found himself at a crossroads artistically. He enlisted his inner circle to help him flesh out what would be his ninth LP, The Heart Of. Recorded over four days in his family's rejuvenated farmhouse in rural Michigan, these songs, which began as a quest for answers, became a beautiful celebration of the journey itself. It's a fantastic listen.

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Photo - Jen Squires

Fast Romantics - Smoke + Lightning.

Toronto duo Fast Romantics offer up another provocative new single and video, “Smoke + Lightning,” taken from their new album, Happiness + Euphoria, scheduled to be released September 29 via Postwar Records.

Fast Romantics never shy away from exploring the complicated or the contemplative. Kirty takes the lead on “Smoke + Lightning” with her ethereal vocals, and offers this insight on the track: "‘Smoke + Lightning’ was written during a time that I felt like I was being swallowed up in the most vivid dreams every night. It started to blur my waking hours with a twisted, colourful dream-life in my sleeping hours. This song is filled with stream-of-consciousness words and images that made up those dreams.”

Fast Romantics have built a reputation as tenacious musical adventurers, working their way up the mountain of classic pop songwriting, eager to carve out a piece of it for themselves. Matthew Angus and Kirty - partners on and off stage, are bringing F.R. fans, ten sprawling new songs, masterfully crafted and equally and intentionally split into two distinct sides this fall.

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Photo - Cybele Malinowski

Georgia Mooney - Full of Moon (Album).

Sydney-based polymath Georgia Mooney has just unveiled her stunning debut solo album ‘Full of Moon’. The record is a meticulously crafted sonic universe, the birth of which marks the stepping forward of a major talent. Carried by Mooney’s soaring ethereal voice over lush, cinematic soundscapes, Full of Moon features the singles ‘War Romance’, ‘Break It Off’, ‘I Am Not In A Hurry’, ‘Soothe You’ and ‘Nothing Is Forever. “Go look at your eyes, they’re full of moon” - Joni Mitchell

This album is for daydreaming. Lyrically, it yearns for connection, examining intimate human relationships, and their variations in perception and fantasy. When stories have many sides, they also have many truths. Musically, it’s a glorious and cinematic sonic fresco, holding beauty, musicality and romance in highest regard. It was recorded remotely over 18 of the strangest months in living memory, linking an all-star band based across three continents. The album grew outward in response to the physical world closing in; even the more intimate songs luxuriate in their drama.

Full of Moon’s songs were penned between All Our Exes Live in Texas tours, on solo writing trips all over the world, half on piano and half on a handmade dulcimer Mooney won in a raffle and subsequently fell in love with. Influences from every member of the Wainwright family, Joni Mitchell, the sophistication of the Great American Songbook and even classical composers sift through the songs seamlessly, alongside fuzzed out guitars and production that evokes the unsettling genius of Kate Bush. It was made during a period of global tragedy, as a way to find solace and catharsis in art and love. This record seeks someone to spend the end of the world with.

Georgia Mooney · Full of Moon

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Bedolina - Bedolina (Album).

Bedolina are thrilled to share their self-released debut album, Bedolina.  Developed at Miner Street Recordings, the album dissects society’s greatest imperfections and their effects on human nature, all with a crooked smile.

Philadelphia’s own Ken Gould is the heart and brain behind sleek new indie rockers, Bedolina. Debuting after previous singles “Yellow Boat” and “C’mon Fun”,  Bedolina continues to test the limits of conventional pop music. With jackhammer beats and smooth guitar solos that flow effervescently throughout, the record’s eight tracks each tell a unique story.

Altogether, Bedolina is an abstract musical cornucopia that channels the listener to ponder the faultiness of the digital age. Centerpieces of the album are “Cicadas” and “The Zoo”, with the former charging into a snapping drum beat with atmospheric sweeps in the background. About halfway through the track, Gould laments “This year’s gone so wrong”, allowing the listener to question what begins as a triumphant, happy-go-lucky sounding tune. Then there’s “The Zoo”, who’s purposely out of tune third chord creates an eerie sense of dissonance, further pulling the audience towards an unsettling atmosphere. Here, the crude message of human beings acting animalistic is put on display, building up to a shocking climax of shrieking and a nasal guitar tone that sounds like a hornet’s nest.

Another album highlight is the final track, “Taking the Canyon”, a saturated bass-heavy dance track that invokes classic shoegaze guitar motifs of My Bloody Valentine. The repeated refrain “Boots marching in a line” showcases the narrator’s disdain for fascist dystopia as it cascades its way into a final minute of drone-like noise. Ending the album on a just as surprising note as it begins, Bedolina show that although this is their debut, their musical gusto and expertise couldn’t be clearer.

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Lilac Haze - Arielle Silver - Survival Guide - Cara Hammond

Lilac Haze - Daisy Girl.

'Daisy Girl', is the stunning new single from dream pop artist Lilac Haze, released today, taken from her upcoming debut EP due later this year.

Lilac Haze is the project name for songwriter Katrina Swift. Greatly influenced by bands of the ‘80s/’90s, Swift draws inspiration from The Cure, All About Eve, Eva Cassidy and Fleetwood Mac, combining atmospheric and ethereal textures with a sense of nostalgic romance.

Daisy Girl, was written about pursuing new relationships and how fear can hold you back from experiencing something beautiful.

Discussing the single, Lilac Haze explains: “We all have a little “daisy girl” within us, giving courage to take a chance on something new and different. I wrote this song with the idea of pursuing new relationships with an open heart without letting fear paralyse an opportunity for happiness.  We had a great time experimenting with different guitar sounds for this track, and had fun creating this sweet treat.”

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Photo - Anabel DFlux

Arielle Silver - Ghost Ships.

Much of Arielle's music finds inspiration in the stories she's writing and reading as a literary writer and professor of creative writing at Antioch University, and in the various philosophies she explores as a yoga and meditation instructor at her own Bhavana Flow Studio in Los Angeles.

"A lot of songwriters start by writing the chorus, because from an audience standpoint, that's the part that should stick in the ears," says Arielle when describing her writing and creative processes. "But I typically begin with writing verses in order to dig into the sensory-perceiving portion of a story. I typically enter songwriting (and my other creative writing) by describing setting, character, place in order to present a situation."

A literary mind who cites inspiration in writers like Cheryl Strayed, Jane Austen, Jeanette Winterson, and Mary Oliver (to name a few), Arielle's lyrics read like moving self-contained stories, and are further elevated by her stunning instrumental and vocal performances. “Ghost Ships” is a perfect example of this approach. Inspired by Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Things as well as Silver’s own flash essay "The Sleeping Porch", the song ruminates on the paths not taken to stunning effect.

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Survival Guide - Lady Neptune.

“Over the last few years, I've had a handful of dreams that involved my own death in various ways, and they've all been profound for me,” says Emily "Agent M" Whitehurst (former vocalist for punk standouts Tsunami Bomb) about the themes surrounding her upcoming fourth full-length Survival Guide album deathdreams (release date: October 19, 2023 via Double Helix Records). “It seemed natural to call the album deathdreams after this theme, and I like the opposing imagery and feelings those words can conjure. I like the way dreams can be thought of as soft, sweet, or strange, and death as dark and ominous. These are all descriptors that fit various songs on the album as well, so it seemed like the right title for the collection.”

"Lady Neptune" is the second single (following "Blood Perfume") off deathdreams and Em says the lyrics for the track are based on a dream she had where she had died, "It involved a chaotic battlefield where people were fighting and killing each other, and somehow, I knew that if I drowned myself, I’d come back to life and emerge from the water with the power to make the fighting stop."

A former Northern California native now residing in San Antonio, Texas, Emily is an electronic indie-pop artist with a background in punk. Her music obsession began with Green Day, leading her to a dreams-come-true life of punk rock as she traversed continents fronting the band Tsunami Bomb as “Agent M.” Over the years, her music gradually shifted toward synth pop in The Action Design, then further into the electronic indie-pop realm as Survival Guide. Her danceable tunes evoke a sonic birthday cake: alternating layers of Depeche Mode, Metric, Peter Gabriel, and Grimes, with vibrant melodies and vocals as the icing on top. “Music is crucial to my survival,” she says wholeheartedly, adding, “Survival Guide is one woman trying to shape her own place in this world as a musician."

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Cara Hammond - America.

Welsh Based Artist Cara Hammond has unveiled a new video for acclaimed new single 'America' and announced her Debut UK Tour which will be in November. Support on the tour comes from Rebecca Hurn.

'America' is Cara Hammond's second self produced single of 2023, following a string of successful festival appearences including Usk's Green Man Festival, 'America' has so far been supported by John Kennedy, Xposure on Radio X, Huw Stephens announced 'America' as his Track Of The Week on BBC Radio Wales, and Adam Walton on BBC Introducing in Wales.

Influenced by Lana Del Reyand Fleetwood Mac, America is a summer anthem about what happens after theAmerican dream. Country guitar slides, gospel organ and 60s girl group harmoniesblend together in creating a classic Americana sound that slowly disintegrates viaharmonic shifts.

I wrote America after returning from showcasing at SXSW 2022. At the beginning of 2022 I’d been dropped by my label & left my management, so when I was invited to play this huge festival in Austin, Texas, I couldn’t have been happier.

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Gold Dime - Vera Bloom - Ora Cogan

Gold Dime - Denise.

Gold Dime has just released "Denise," the propulsive second single from their upcoming LP, No More Blue Skies. Headed by Andrya Ambro (Talk Normal), the art-rock project's full album will be out October 20th via Liars' Angus Andrew's new imprint No Gold.

Featuring Ian Douglas-Moore on bass and Jeff Tobias on alto-sax, the instrumentation on "Denise" is deeply intricate, sharp, and rigorous. Along with the single comes a video co-directed by Joe Wakeman and Ambro herself. As unflinching as the music itself, the video shows Ambro sprinting fearlessly towards the beach and into cold water.

Regarding the music, Andrya Ambro says – “Denise” the song is about perseverance. Approaching most of my music from a cinematic perspective, Denise, the character, is on the bottom of things. With a weakened gaze, she just keeps going. No More Blue Skies? You gotta believe. The ZZ Top inspired repetitive rhythm section keeps Denise buoyant through her journey while the wailing sax by Jeff Tobias acts as her spiritual guide. As for the motivating drum beat– this was definitely under the influence of a charged live performance by Irreversible Entanglements drummer Tcheser Holmes."

Regarding the video, directors Andrya Ambro and Joe Wakeman say – "From the onset, “Denise” feels like an endurance test with its always forward momentum. So I thought I’d run. Performing this song live can be demanding on me physically."

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Vera Bloom - Eyes On You.

Emerging rock artist Vera Bloom, who holds nothing back in her addictive hybrid of alternative, grunge, and punk, has released her new single “Eyes On You” and announced her sophomore EP, It’s Me, will be out Friday, September 29th. The new track storms out of the gate on a galloping drumbeat and as the momentum increases, Vera sinks her teeth into a hypnotic hook punctuated by a promise, “my eyes are always on you.”

“‘Eyes On You’ is my dance song!” shares Vera. “It started out as a love song, which is something I don’t really write often, but it leans into the possessiveness of love. It visits the loss of excitement in a relationship where things get a bit settled in and mundane. I’ve noticed that I am afraid of this stage in a relationship, so I used this song to process that. Over time, the lyrics have revealed new meanings as they always do and I can find the loss of childhood innocence where even the touch of skin is fascinating, and acknowledging the demons and darker feelings we find in adulthood.

And, lastly, as I grow as an artist, I can see my desire to be seen and heard. My admission of wanting eyes on me and owning up to that. I wanted the video to be interesting, colorful, and also shine some light on the real rock and roll happening in the music. It’s about energy and making vibes through sound with other humans. This song, as with all my songs, really comes to life in a live band setting. I hope you like it!”

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Ora Cogan - Feel Life.

Experimental singer-songwriter Ora Cogan will release her new album Formless this Friday, August 25, an LP that finds beauty, absurdity, humor, and unlikely joy in the bleakest of times. Ahead of the album release, Cogen shares one final gift in the urgent “Feel Life,” a track that dances through the derangement of everyday turmoil and epic, life-changing loss.

Cormac Mac Diarmada from LANKUM plays strings on “Feel Life”, which speaks to diverse kinds of grief – losing loved ones to overdose and suicide; losing love where a connection can’t be sustained; seeking out ways to better understand love –, slashing, shimmering guitar both a foil for and echo of Cogan’s imploring, trance-like timbre. The track dances through the derangement of everyday turmoil and epic, life-changing loss. “I want you to feel life - I want love.”

“Feel Life” is the final part of a trilogy of videos by K. Bray Jorstad created for Formless. It follows “Dyed”, which revolves around a singular character who carries water as a symbol for the human heart, and “Cowgirl”,  a haunted acid trip of intense sorrow, deep solitude, and dark nights of the soul.

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CLOVES - Paige Hill - Linebeck - Popincourt

CLOVES - Good Try.

Talented songwriter CLOVES returns with her subtle yet hard-hitting new track titled “Good Try.” The track comes complete with a visualiser that is the perfect companion for the song’s poignant lyrics.

Kaity Dunstan aka “CLOVES” born in Melbourne, Australia has to date generated over 300million-plus streams, attracted critical acclaim including Pigeons & Planes, i-D, Clash, NME, Vice & Consequence of Sound among many others, performed on U.S network show “Late night with Seth Myers”, toured the U.S opening for Grammy award winning artist Michael Kiwanuka,and her second album saw collaborations with Hudson Mohawke & Jake Portrait from Unknown Mortal Orchestra alongside multiple taste maker praise including her single “Nightmare” becoming BBC Radio 1’s “Hottest Record in the World ”the coveted spotalways seen as a high marker for quality artists.

For CLOVES, now is the time she feels most creatively free and mentally strong as  she steps out to release her first music  independently, marking the beginning of a new relationship with herself and her music, in the midst of the often discussed & debated major label system for artists these days, CLOVES knows this is the best way forward for her make the music she wants and to do it the way she needs to.

 

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Paige Hill - Good Woman (E.P).

Paige Hill is an independent singer and songwriter based in Dallas, Texas. She is an Austin native and "a bit west coast obsessed," living there for eight years prior to making Dallas her current location. Her music is about authentic connections to the best and most challenging parts of being a woman and a mother. Her recently released debut Americana five-song original EP, Good Woman, ranges from classic 70s country and soul to rock and blues.

Every track weaves a story of a real woman who wants to be "good." Her soulful melodies also hint at her Austin roots. "I feel a special draw to sing songs for women and mothers that portray real and complex women. I used to think I'd have it all figured out someday, but we're all just learning and figuring it out together. I feel like music connects us, and I want to share a common thread we may have with someone."

Good Woman was produced, engineered, and mixed by Guillermo Murillo and mastered by Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone of Sterling Sound. The EP was recorded at Acoustic Kitchen and The DuJour House in Dallas. The recording engineer was Nick Clem. Musicians on all tracks include Paige Hill (vocals), Guillermo Murillo (electric guitar), Robbie Saunders (pedal steel), Brandon Broussard (bass), Jay Brown (Wurlitzer, B3 organ, melodica), and Ethan Sedelmeier (drums.) "In the summer of 2022 I was asked to sing background vocals for a friend whose music career was taking off, then a duet.

My producer Guillermo heard I wrote the music; the rest is history. It took us less than five months to make my EP, Good Woman. I had just lost a pregnancy, and making this music was healing. I stumbled upon a group of musicians who encouraged me that my songs had stories and experiences worth sharing with others. Guillermo and I co-write a lot together now while our daughters play in the next room, and he played guitar on Good Woman and is on my next album. I love his ear for sound, his music knowledge, his mixes, and how we co-write and realize my songs into beautiful works of art that I am so proud of. Ethan is the drummer on all my projects, as well. I trust these two to help me realize my music and treat it with care so that my original message is conveyed even more powerfully than I originally wrote. And we have so much fun doing it all."

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Linebeck - Give Us A Try.

'Give Us A Try' is a gorgeous hook filled affair, with an uplifting melodic vibe hitting us right from the opening chords. The band tell us: Our new single is about being in love with your best friend and deciding to just go for it, even though you might get hurt. Heavily inspired by John Hughes' Pretty in Pink, as well as some "situationships" that our friends were caught in, "Give Us A Try" was written as a love letter from Duckie to Andie, and for anyone else who has ever been too afraid to risk it all.

Being in this in-between phase is an intense emotional roller-coaster. Honestly, I find the anticipation before a big jump to be one of the best parts of being human.

I knew soon after writing this song that if we ever released it, I would want to have a prom themed music video as a way to pay further homage to Pretty in Pink.

I personally think prom is so overrated. I went to two proms and it wasn't as fun as the movies always make it seem. We wanted to create a fun prom experience for all our friends. Many of the extras appreciated the opportunity to take their significant other to prom, and a few hadn't even had the chance to go to prom due to COVID. It was a very long shoot but so much fun.

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Popincourt - Love On the Barricades / The Worst Of Lullabies.

Popincourt's new album 'We were bound to meet' is due to be released on September 15th, 2023. We have to really fine tracks to share ahead of the release.

Love On the Barricades is a duo with Gabriela Giacoman, for a title inspired by both The Jam, Billy Bragg and the B'52s. The lyrics refer to the futility of angry political disputes when you are with well-meaning but essentially powerless people … especially while in complete safety around a good table (May as well enjoy yourself a bit while waiting for the revolution).

The Worst Of Lullabies is a syncopated and groovy rhythm reminiscent of certain 60's titles by Serge Gainsbourg with superb string arrangements evoking John Barry.

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Tamar Berk - The Grahams - Stephen Wilson Jr - Jacob Weil

Photo - Brandon Mosquera

Tamar Berk - tiny injuries (Album).

Noted indie darling Tamar Berk is excited to unveil tiny injuries, her third solo album. The album itself follows singles “drop in the bucket” and “if u know, u know”. To celebrate the album’s release, Tamar Berk is also elated to share the music video for “cash out”, the album’s latest single. An array of emotions are explored throughout tiny injuries courtesy of songs that incorporate elements of indie pop, alternative rock, and singer-songwriter slow burns.

Lead single "drop in the bucket" shows the evolution of emotions over time in a relationship. Alternative rock and indie pop are cleverly blended to create a fun and energetic sound. With its engrossing guitar and assertive vocals, this song evokes Liz Phair and Snail Mail with its wistful synth and pulsing guitar. The second single "If you know, you know" uses Tamar Berk's passion to explore existential crisis caused by loss, reminiscent of Soccer Mommy and Aimee Mann. With latest single "cash out" Tamar Berk blends cinematic, guitar-driven alternative pop with indie folk flavor on a track that is captivating and soothing.

When discussing her new single, Tamar Berk writes: “In the middle of moving my mother from her house to an apartment, I wrote the two sentences for "cash out" on one of those small airplane napkins. It had been a year since my father died, so I knew this would happen, but I wasn't prepared for the emotional devastation I would undergo during those two weeks. After packing up the house and going through all of my dad's belongings, I was absolutely crushed. With each passing day, I became more and more depressed and numb. The shock was still fresh in my mother's mind, but she was mostly angry and scared, and I was dealing with my own private hell. My next stop was to get home, so I took the little napkin they give you with your drink and I wrote "I've got no promises left in me, I'm getting ready to cash out." When I got home, I sat down at the piano and wrote it. As I had written it that day, I pretty much kept it the same.

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The Grahams - A Good Man.

The Grahams have shared their new single “A Good Man,” which appears on the duo’s upcoming self-titled album, out September 8 via 3Sirens Music Group. Accompanied by a playful music video, “A Good Man” is a vulnerable reflection on the indelible impact of experiencing true love. The new single is one of ten reimaginings from The Grahams, which finds the duo revisiting fan favorites to reflect their artistic growth over the last decade.

“‘A Good Man’ was never a question for this project,” shares Alyssa Graham, who is one half of The Grahams with Doug Graham. “I think people love it because it’s so honest. The reimagining plays up that naked honesty with a fresh layer of tenderness and playfulness — and less of its old twang.”

“A Good Man” follows the anthemic “Glory Bound” and the serotonin-boosting “The Wild One,” which have been praised by Magnet Magazine, RIFF Magazine, The Alternate Root, Americana UK, Americana Music Association and more. The Grahams’ new self-titled album takes 10 songs from their catalog and pours them through a new filter – what they’ve learned, how they’ve changed, and perhaps most centrally, how they sound today. While these songs bear some resemblance to their Americana roots, they lean harder in a new direction, weaving threads of the duo’s other influences: the bands they grew up with, the input of collaborators, and the ever-evolving love affair that now includes their child. Track by track, the changes are transformative, stripping the songs down in some cases and dressing them up in others.

The Grahams credit much of their newfound ease to the record’s team who are seasoned all-stars in their own right. Recorded at their own Nashville label and studio 3Sirens, the new album was engineered by their longtime friend and producer Dex Green, and produced by Dan Molad (Lucius, Coco) who they first worked with alongside the late Richard Swift on Kids Like Us. In addition, these recording sessions feature Ray Jacildo (The Black Keys) on keys, Jack Lawrence (Jack White) on bass, and Lucius, who lend mesmerizing backing vocals to several tracks and feature on “Lay Me Down.”

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Stephen Wilson Jr - patches.

Southern Indiana-born, Nashville-based artist Stephen Wilson Jr. has released new single “patches” from his upcoming debut double album søn of dad, out September 15 via Big Loud Records. With its deceptively breezy melody and easygoing chorus underscored by melancholic slide guitars, the song touches upon the importance of learning to live with the scars, scratches and holes in our lives. Today, Wilson also announced that he will join The Lone Bellow on tour for another string of dates this winter.

Of the song, Wilson shares: “My scars got scars. Graffiti on graffiti on graffiti. ‘patches’ is a playful song with a serious message. A life lived not avoided. øne packaged with consequences and fibrosis. A built-in collagen-based repair system showing the world the road map to where we’ve been. Wearing scars we’ve earned like we’ve earned ‘em.”

Informed by Wilson’s wildly diverse background as a boxer, a scientist (he has a degree in microbiology and chemistry from Middle Tennessee State University) and a songwriter, søn of dad is a 22-song tribute to his late father, to be released exactly five years to the day of his death. Album centerpiece “Father’s Son” and its stirring music video received praise from CMT, Whiskey Riff and Rolling Stone who named it one of the “Best Country Songs of 2023 So Far.”

“Writing and making this album has been very therapeutic for me to learn who I am and what my existence looks like after my father. Because life has to go on,” Wilson says. “I'm living my own life, but it's like his death bookended what life he should have had onto mine and I'm carrying it around like a train car.”

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Jacob Weil - Lived In (Album).

After years of crisscrossing North America, Europe, and the U.K., playing in bands such as Sam Weber and Luca Fogale, Jacob Weil found himself with a collection of his own songs that he was ready to share. The indie-folk debut record, Lived In, was produced by Sam Weber. The album’s production is fast, innovative, and intelligent, and the songs are filled with strength, grit, tenderness, courage, and nostalgia. And, like a string of images, Weil leads us through observations and experiences that have led him to where he is now.

Co-written with Luca Fogale, the focus track “9999” is about multiple realities – more specifically it represents the nine-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-nine ways out of ten thousand that your life could have gone, had you made one specific decision, as opposed to another. It’s a reflection on a life, a relationship, whatever, where you made a decision, and things ended up one way instead of another.

In this situation, the song is about a relationship that felt so right, where everything was so perfect, and yet it didn’t work out. It’s about imagining a multitude of realities, in which, if you lived the same life 10,000 times, you just happened to be living in the one where things didn’t work out.

“The album started off as a collection of songs from different periods of my life – periods of significant growth and change,” explains Weil. “I didn’t begin with a set throughline between them, but it became apparent later on as I was looking back at them that they all shared a commonality - a reflection on what it feels like to be part way through one’s life and have a mind, body, spirit and even home that feel ‘lived in.’”

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Viv & Riley - Paging Doctor Moon - Meagre Martin - Dictator Ship

Viv & Riley - Imaginary People.

The new single from Durham indie roots duo Viv & Riley (formerly Vivian Leva & Riley Calcagno) is a wistful look at our many selves, at the refractions of our identities as we navigate the world. "‘Imaginary People’ is about evaluating and juggling all of the different versions of myself," Leva (the songwriter) says. "Was I adventurous and a little reckless? Or was I grounded and measured? Am I kind to myself or too judgemental?"

A bittersweet nostalgia lies at the heart of Imaginary People, the new album from Viv & Riley, coming September 15, 2023 on Free Dirt Records. Over ten tracks, the pair applies an indie roots sheen to newly composed pop gems.

Rooted originally in the folk tradition, the pair reframe the production into experimental territory, crafting songs that speak to finding a path forward into adulthood in an uncertain world. Gifted songwriters and multi-instrumentalists, Vivian Leva and Riley Calcagno’s first album under the name Viv & Riley is a subtle masterpiece of thought and reflection.

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Paging Doctor Moon - Dirty Alcoholic.

Pittsburgh-based indie band Paging Doctor Moon has released their newest single, Dirty Alcoholic, available for streaming from August 18th.

“This is our Spaghetti Western (Appalachian) exploration of addiction and self harm.  Sonically, it feels like cowboys dreaming on a pirate ship,” says Kirsten Heibert, songwriter and founder of Paging Doctor Moon.  The guitars rock us gently back and forth as the drums roll the ship through the waves; Heibert’s dreamy vocals blow wind into the sails.  The band recorded the song at Audible Images in Pittsburgh, and at their producer Julian Giaimo’s studio in upstate NY.

Paging Doctor Moon started as Heibert’s solo project in Brooklyn.  With an album and EP under her belt, she relocated to her hometown in 2021.  This is the first single featuring the new band members.

Dirty Alcoholic is the first of three singles with accompanying music videos to be released this year.  It will be followed by “Scars” and “Middle Management.”  The music videos are scripted by Heibert and filmed/directed by Danielle Powell with creative consulting by Giuliana Fox. The content may be dark, but this group is dedicated to finding the joy in everything they create.  Heibert hopes that the music makes you feel deeply…even if she is afraid to herself.

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Meagre Martin - Please Clap.

Berlin-based trio Meagre Martin has their shared new single 'Please Clap'. The single comes alongside the exciting news that on November 10th, the band will release their debut album Gut Punch via Mansions & Millions, as well as heading back to their native USA for a slew of live dates supporting Alt-J.

The project was founded in the summer of 2021 by the African-American musician and songwriter Sarah Martin (guitar), who was quickly joined by Federico ‘Freddy’ Corazzini (drums) and Max Hirtz-Wolf (bass).

On Gut Punch, Meagre Martin create a sound inspired by shoegaze, 90’s indie, or 'faux country,' as the band calls it, and juxtaposes these beautifully light soundscapes with lyrics that belie the sweetness of the sound with their vulnerability and depth. Sonically evoking images of California deserts and Berlin basements, of long thoughtful conversations in the twilight, days turning into nights in the park and nights turning into day again at a studio, Meagre Martin have created eleven tracks that beautifully flow into each other.

New single, 'Please Clap', is a satirical take on the feeling of inadequacy. "The original inspiration for the song came from using performance as a means of connection and a way to feel seen," explains Sarah. "As the song was forming, a lyric I was writing reminded me of a viral video from the 2016 US Presidential race of Jeb Bush giving a 'rousing' speech, then having to ask his audience to 'please clap'." Despite being against everything the Bush family stands for, Sarah felt pity for the eldest son, since he has always been overlooked throughout his career. Being the unseen second choice is something she could relate to.

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Dictator Ship - City Girl.

Dictator Ship is back, ready to launch their second studio album ”Electric Jihad” in September 2023. Blending energetic and raw rock’n'roll with exquisite multi-layered vocal harmonies and melodies inspired by 60’s soul and doo-wop, the band has carved out their very own niche in the rock landscape, perfectly displayed on the new album.

The second single leading up to ”Electric Jihad” is called ”City Girl” and is released on the 18th of August on The Sign Records.

The band comments on ”City Girl”: It’s a song about romance. About meeting a fantastic someone that you really want to sleep with and hang out with but you know you won’t ever get the chance. What can you do? You just get yourself a drink and move on.

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Spoils - Charlie Rogers - Tilia - The Resonant Rogues

Spoils - Nothing For a Man (E.P).

In the mid-90's when the giant wave of post-Nirvana A&R signings crested and broke, Cincinnati, OH experienced a blink-and-you-miss it moment in the sun birthing a sultry, greasy and noise-addled contribution to the Indie Rock lexicon with bands like Afghan Whigs, Ass Ponys, Wussy and compatriots Brainiac. But to say that Cincinnati possesses a "sound" that has any kind of throughline is a bit more difficult to place. Instead, the city like the music it produces, is a bit of a liminal zone - straddling the South and the Midwest, concentration of the world's most successful multi-national companies and a startling high poverty index. The music that makes it out feels unplaceable - how did a city of just over a million birth Why?, The National, Adrian Belew and John Bender?

While so many of the acts named feel like they are constantly in the act of becoming, Spoils, a band formed in 2021 right on the cusp of another wave of creativity in Cincinnati, feels completely the opposite. Their songs sound as if they were plucked from the slipstream as fully formed, fully realized and hooked into a lineage much bigger than themselves. Songs by Spoils, once played, immediately dig deep caverns into your brain with a pace that feels practically metabolic. On their latest EP - Nothing For a Man (their first for the Cincy based Happy Families label) expands on the tunefulness of their debut 2022 EP Find Later - while expanding their musical vocabulary. 

Violins appear on the intro and "Riverbed (Redux)" and Rhodes piano grace "David", giving these songs a bit more space to breathe while catalyzed by perfect hooks that songwriter, guitarist and violinist Nina Payiatis's is so well suited for. The tunefulness of that dog., the irresistible hooks of bands like Unrest and the scrappy economy of The Spinanes are good entry points while contemporary indie bands like Spirit of the Beehive and Horse Jumper of Love seem to be fellow travelers.

Within the span of two years Spoils has managed to retain the accelerants that made Find Later such a treasured find allowing the simmering verses to feel out their depth a bit more. About the creation of the EP Nina Payiatis states, "The EP itself was written in the past year or so when the atmosphere felt more fertile from pandemic tensions being released. It's made of threads that tie back to growing and living here– family, friends, fables, emerging into adulthood as the world opens back up."

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Charlie Rogers - When He Was Me (Acoustic Version).

Nashville's charming country artist, Charlie Rogers, is gearing up to release the acoustic version of his latest single, "When He Was Me." This song is a heart-wrenchingly vivid account of letting love slip through one's hands and overcoming a broken relationship, all told over a distinctly Western ballad. The song was notably co-written by Shay Mooney of the famed pop duo Dan + Shay and Benjy Davis (Jake Owen, Anderson East, Maddie & Tae).

Oregon-born and Kansas-raised, Charlie Rogers' writing and musical journey began at a very young age. His passion for musical pursuits was purposed to communicate equity and commonalities between the listener and the musician resulting in his genre-alchemizing country/singer-songwriter style.

Now residing in Nashville, his love for representing unheard voices helped push his career to open for artists like Russell Dickerson, Brothers Osborne, and Janelle Arthur. His prominent writing and compassionate voice accelerated his musical journey, allowing him to play CMA honors ceremonies for Charley Pride and Ricky Skaggs. Rogers’ music has been praised by The Boot, Country Fancast, and more.

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Tilia - Healing Voice.

Tilia is a songwriter from Zurich and explores themes of escape, uprooting, and the hope of finding happiness elsewhere in her latest single «Healing Voice».

The song tells about the search for meaning, setting out for unknown places, ending up in dead ends on detours and the confidence of always finding the right path.

After two albums and tours in Switzerland and Germany, she took a break for 4 years ago to pursue other artistic projects. However, the distance from music led to new music.

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The Resonant Rogues - Show Me.

The Resonant Rogues are Keith Josiah Smith and Sparrow. Keith (guitar, vocals) grew up in the punk scene, and started hopping trains at 18, riding the rails all over the country and busking for a living. Sparrow grew up performing everything from music and dance, to figure skating, was a circus performer, and holds down vocals, banjo and accordion duties for The Rogues.

They are announcing their amazing self-titled LP (out on November 10th) with its lead single "Show Me," featuring background vocals and harmonies from their pal, Sierra Ferrell. "Show Me" is a yearning track about how we all deserve to be be treated right, and it's out today August 18th.

The album was produced by the illustrious Andrija Tokic (Hurray For The Riff Raff, Alabama Shakes) at his analog paradise, The Bomb Shelter, here in Nashville. It's the first records for The Resonant Rogues since 2019. Naming this LP after themselves was a bold move for the band - they're staking their ground, laying down roots, and giving us the best of their career with this one. It's a delicious blend of traditional music, Appalachian old-time, classic country, and vintage soul, featuring friends like Sierra, Benjamin Tod, The Deslondes' John James Tourville, and more.

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