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Nels Johnson - The Light That Guides Me. Nels Johnson recently released the Americana single “The Light That Guides Me". It’s off the upcoming album release, “Ios,” due out October 14. “The Light That Guides Me” delves into a father/son relationship asking, “If he passed away, how would I want to remember our time together?” The single wistfully remembers and processes loss while finding hope within it all. The single takes a nostalgic look at positive memories growing up, some real, some contrived, all of them gone and not here anymore. Johnson says, “I love the nostalgia of the first verse, of finding a picture of an old loved one in an attic and being surprised at how different and young they used to look, and just remembering them in a new and different way.” The song also looks to the past as a guide through challenges in the present, “as I travel through this distant and foreign land, longing to grow into a man.” On “Ios,” Johnson leans into the theme of surrender, coming t...

Night Swimming - Freight Train. Bath-based dream pop five-piece Night Swimming are pleased to announce the release of their debut double single ‘Freight Train // A Wall’ today August 12th. Formed in 2021, the band have spent the last year honing in on their sound at sold-out headline shows in their home city of Bath and supporting the likes of China Bears and Parlophone Records’ own Sad Night Dynamite. They were also scouted by the Close Encounters Club to be featured in Glastonbury Festival’s 2022 ‘Longlist’ - chosen to be one of their 90 top acts. Night Swimming’s sound incorporates the ethereal, melodic elements of the early Wolf Alice EPs and Slowdive albums; combining them with the minimalism of local idols Portishead and Massive Attack. Produced by Calum Wotherspoon at Joe’s Garage in Bristol, and mastered by Novatines’ Tom Cory, their debut release Freight Train // A Wall is instantly striking. Combining atmospheric guitars, ethereal vocals and airy synths with echoing percussi...

Shannen Moser - Paint By Number. Philadelphia-based artist Shannen Moser announced their first album in more than four years The Sun Still Seems To Move will be released on September 30, 2022 via Lame-O Records. They also shared the official video for the album’s opening track “Paint By Number.” “I wrote this song at a time when days truly just felt like the days were bleeding into one another. I had been experiencing a lot of change in my life and the dichotomy of monotony and chaos at the same time was really confusing - things felt slow and in that I found a lot of comfort despite the sadness and uncertainty. “‘A series of quiet moments makes forever’ you reply” - Leaning into the stillness of those kinds of feelings can be extremely humbling. This song is really an attempt at gratitude for the loved ones in my life and the experience of being able to quiet the darkness for one another,” explains Moser. On The Sun Still Seems To Move, Moser’s third studio album, they take the arres...

Slum Summer - Living In Milk / Tenderize The Night. We first featured Slum Summer back in November 2018 describing them as a vibrant indie rock band. The two songs featured from the new album confirm all of that and more, they really do impress! From San Diego, CA, and made up of two British expatriates along with two US natives we can comfortably quote them as "a special relationship - a special new band." Living in Milk is their second album, following up their 2019 debut, ABABO. Standing out from 99% of recent releases, this is NOT a pandemic album, having been written and recorded before all that happened, and, refreshingly, featuring no songs about isolation, staring at walls, craving human contact, etc. Instead you will find songs about houses being engulfed in flame, houses being choked by snow, hotels suffocated by storms; songs about riding the Greyhound into northern California, desperately hiding out in dilapidated cinemas; songs about dying in prison, and about l...

Heavy Gus - Paracosm. California-based indie/rock trio Heavy Gus just released their debut album Notions. Available everywhere through BMG, the collection of songs blur the lines between grungy garage band fare, hazy desert surf, and dreamy, sun-soaked indie rock. The group also shared the official video for "Paracosm," a powerful visual that shows singer/songwriter/guitarist Dorota Szuta's recent pregnancy through time lapse. "Inspired by Ursula K. LeGuin and a low-grade fever, this song is the outstretched hand grasping for answers to deep questions, and is ultimately a reminder of how beautiful it can be to remain empty handed," she stated. "One thing that helps me move through times of hardship is remembering how small we are. Being alive is purpose enough." Formed in the high desert town of Bishop, CA, Heavy Gus is led by songwriting couple Szuta and multi-instrumentalist Stelth Ulvang (The Lumineers) along with percussionist Ryan Dobrowski (Blin...

The Valery Trails - Zancudo. The Valery Trails announces the release of their indie-rock single, “Zancudo.” Through keenly observed detail, swirling instrumentals, and a spirited melody, “Zancudo” captures the mood of the sleepy little Costa Rican beach community and its people. It’s off the album, The Sky is Blue, out August 12. “Zancudo” was written after a pre-pandemic spontaneous trip to Costa Rica. The Valery Trails frontman, Andrew Bower says, “I’m always drawn to end-of-the-earth’ locations, partly because you meet interesting people there who tend to have fascinating stories about how they got there, so I wanted to try and write about that.” On the upcoming album, The Valery Trails takes the listener through a globetrotting exploration infused with energized guitar-walled hues. In 2020 Andrew Bower moved back to Brisbane following an extended period of travel that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The album chronicles Bower’s stops around the world, including Jaisalmer...

Catherine Elms - Monday Eyes. Catherine Elms is a dark pop singer-songwriter who combines untamed intensity with softly-defined edges; introspective and fierce in equal measure. Drawing on the raw, heartfelt emotion of Tori Amos and the brash power of Amanda Palmer, Catherine has found an evocative and cathartic style that is all her own. A self-taught non-classical pianist with a soft yet powerful voice, Catherine creates an epic and transcendent sound that explores millennial frustrations with sensitivity and quiet hope. This third studio single ‘Monday Eyes’ sees Catherine’s rich vocals and haunting piano accompanied by an orchestral soundscape. Her confessional lyrics rail against the falsehood that we exist in a world where anything is possible, if only we prove ourselves to be “good enough.” The cinematic sound elevates this deeply personal and intimate journey into something powerful and universal. ‘Monday Eyes’ is accompanied by a compelling conceptual music video that blends ...

Photo - Jen Meller Lukka - Life In Reverse. Lukka, the brainchild of German-born, New York City-based artist Franzi Szymkowiak, released her latest single “Life In Reverse” this week, from her sophomore album, Something Human due August 26. Discussing the track, Franzi noted, “‘Life In Reverse’ talks about the end of a close relationship, as both partners realize that time has changed them. And that one shouldn’t be afraid of that change… 'only a matter of time and you get used to it’” - watch + share “Life In Reverse” via YouTube. Something Human speaks to both the head and the heart. The album’s essence is perfectly captured in its first two singles “Wisdom of the Sun” - a yin-yang ode to finding positivity in even the darkest of situations, and “Life In Reverse” where Lukka finds herself closing one chapter, to start the next. At once an escapist psychedelic synth-rock odyssey and a timely shot of science-based spirituality, the 10-song LP wraps messages of oneness and self-det...

Photo - Bret Curry Will Sheff - Enstrangement Zone. Today, Will Sheff known for leading the critically acclaimed indie-rock stalwarts Okkervil River across nine beloved albums announces ‘Nothing Special’, his debut solo album set for release on 7th October via ATO Records. While Sheff acknowledges that the album’s title opens him up to some cheap digs from music writers, ‘Nothing Special’ is not mere self-deprecation: it’s a record that wrestles with the dream of rock and roll exceptionalism and the realignment of values necessary to move past youthful delusion and give your day-to-day life a more mature sense of meaning and hope. Says Sheff, “When I was just a kid, I got caught up in the dream of being a rock and roll star. Like so many other young people, I fell in love with the idea of being called to this glorious path outside of ordinary life. And I ended up in a band with people who felt this same call - especially our brilliant drummer Travis Nelsen, who was like a brother to m...

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, guit...