British Birds - The Rallies - Purple Pilgrims - Loren Berí - Mel Denisse - The McKenzie FIX

British Birds - Scary Movies.

We have the superb new single 'Scary Movies' from the wonderful British Birds ahead of their forthcoming album. Chorley-based British Birds are Bobby and Emma Townson. Drums are by Dominic Lawson and bass is by James Robinson. It's another taster for their forthcoming album 'Murmurate, Oscillat' which is due 16 October. 

The single reminds us of The Kinks and The Sweet. Meanwhile, according to Bobby, "Scary Movies is a nostalgic road trip through memories of our grandad, who recently passed away, celebrating the unconventional influence he had on us through his own unorthodox interests. It gives a gentle nod to Ty Segall’s ripping guitar riffs, Black Sabbath-esque drum fills and the hazy vocals of Tomorrow Never Knows."

‘Murmuration’ is the low hum made by those vast, beautifully choreographed flocks of starlings as they simultaneously flap their wings and take to the sky.  Some people say that the frequency of this unique, rumbling, oscillating sound can cure diseases...  

One of the most exciting live bands in the UK, British Birds combine the garage-punk energy of Billy Childish, the wry English sophistication of XTC and the witty pop inventiveness of The Lovely Eggs.  Like the murmurating flocks of starlings, they create a unique sound, and might even be able to cure diseases.

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The Rallies - No Better Time (Album).

Released earlier this year The Rallies fourth album 'No Better Time' has only just arrived on our radar, thanks to the band contacting us themselves and we are really pleased they did, as this is such a wonderful fit for Beehive Candy. They tell us "On this album, we wanted to get a bouncy, sunny, pop feel just in time for summer to shine!" All we can do is agree.
 
The Rallies have a knack for writing deliciously infectious power pop tunes, seamlessly not missing a beat and delivering irresistible melodies with hooks that stick like glue. Their music might have a reminiscent retro sound that you swear you've heard before, but the final result is something quite new and original.

Four albums and forty-two songs later, The Rallies will be celebrating fifteen years of existence. Their signature sound remains intact, with songs immersed with heartfelt love for melody and uplifting intoxicating harmonies, apparent in every song.

Their previous album 'It Must Be Love' received exceptionally positive reviews, even selected the #1 Power Pop Album of 2023 by Power Pop News. For their fourth and most recently recorded album, No Better Time, they returned back to the same Seattle studio and producer, Johnny Sangster at Crackle & Pop!. If it's worked before in the past then why meddle with success!

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Photo - Olivia Renouf

Purple Pilgrims - Innocence Lost.

Purple Pilgrims have announced the release of their third album, Given to the Night, out on the 27th November via Flying Nun Records in New Zealand. Truths and secrets often reveal themselves at night, under the freedom of shadowy darkness, away from prying eyes. In creating Given to the Night, sisters Valentine and Clementine Nixon have crafted a world that drifts through the in-between: between dream and reality, between day and night and the undefined, and ultimately a world that embraces the discomfort of being untethered. 

A process that follows simplicity and intuition rather than pre-determined narratives. “We recorded songs as they appeared, which sometimes felt like catching light. Before we realised it we had a record”, the duo explain. The first single, ‘Innocence Lost’, is out today alongside a brand new visualiser made with the support of NZ on Air. The new track is a dreamy example of the duo’s signature kaleidoscopic sound.

As Purple Pilgrims, Clementine and Valentine Nixon make music that is at once classic and wholly idiosyncratic. Raised between New Zealand and Hong Kong, the sisters began performing in subterranean gallery spaces and music venues across Hong Kong’s abandoned industrial estates, with sets of experimental noise and futuristic dream-pop.

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Photo - Nate DiDomizio

Loren Berí - Stagehand.

The new single "Stagehand" from inventive New York-based singer-songwriter Loren Berí is released this week. The artist blends lush chamber textures with catchy indie songwriting, marked by inventive storytelling and a charismatic performance style. “Stagehand” is about abandoning exaggerated versions of yourself and finding unexpected beauty and relief in simply being yourself, even when you feel like you’re living backstage rather than starring in the story.

Loren Berí is a New York-based singer-songwriter whose work blends lush chamber textures with catchy indie songwriting, marked by inventive storytelling and a charismatic performance style.

Berí's sophomore album, Stagehand will be released this year alongside a book of accompanying poems.The title track is a dreamy chamber pop embrace. He shares, “After the late night writing I got into this idea of a stagehand who’s convinced he’s a character in a play, unaware he’s just the person moving set pieces around in the dark while the actual characters stand frozen, waiting for him to leave the stage before starting an actual scene. Midway through I realized it felt like the completion of an arc that began with Alby’s Ghost. Where ‘Alby’ centers on this egoic, larger-than-life, limelight sort of character, ‘Stagehand’ is the opposite.

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Mel Denisse - Hunted.

The new single "Hunted" from Nashville based artist Mel Denisse is released this week. “Hunted” is a driving alt-pop/rock track that draws from dark romance themes that blur fear and obsession. It's dark, nocturnal, and atmospheric. She shares, "It’s a bit of a psychological game, blending obsession, fear, and desire towards someone or something that you are fighting one day, embracing the next. Things aren’t always black and white and this track explores a lot of those emotions.”

Nashville-based artist and producer Mel Denisse leans into duality, blending left-field pop with jagged alt-rock. With delicate vocals threaded through dissonant, distorted production, Denisse is drawn to the clash with her newest genre-defiant single, “hunted.”

Previous releases earned spins on BBC Radio 1’s Alternative Show, placement on Spotify’s All New Rock, and tastemakers from Ones to Watch note “I've learned to expect the unexpected when I put her on,” while LADYGUNN praised her “singular approach to alt-rock and pop, setting her apart in a saturated landscape,” calling it “refreshing, an essential listening for those craving authenticity in an age of imitation.”

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The McKenzie FIX - Wonder The World.

The single 'Wonder The World' is our first brand new music in two years. It's taken from our third album, which is coming out in early 2027. ''A driving, 80s-inspired synth-pop anthem with bright melodies and a pulsing bassline. 'Wonder the World' blends nostalgic new wave energy with reflective lyrics about time and wanderlust. Perfect for retro-aesthetic TikToks, travel vlogs, and late-night driving playlists.'' (Auramusic)

The McKenzie FIX is the Pop-Wave / Synth-Pop sound of musician-songwriter Ewan McKenzie. McKenzie has an eclectic collection of songs and releases behind his back. His music is kaleidoscopic and diverse - he is continuously finding new ways to express himself through a broad sonic palette.
 
Formerly Ewan was lead singer with the Edinburgh band Emporium, gaining traction with BBC introducing / BBC Radio Scotland, with reviews in national press. They were also awarded a grant from the Scottish Arts Council for their album 'Silver Brainwaves'.

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The Day of the Rabblement - Daysea - Los Tres Mortales - Mad Painter

The Day of the Rabblement - The Bard.

Released today The Bard is the brand new single from The Day of the Rabblement. Recently signed to Chufty Badge Records, they blend Celtic melodies, driving guitars, pulsating rhythms and soaring vocals to poetic, politically sharp lyrics. In our opinion they also cut some modern vibes, whilst delivering timeless and adorable music.

The Day of the Rabblement use their music as a place to come together — a place to hope, to grieve, to resist. Intrigued by the bands name Beehive Candy did a little search and came up with this. 

"The Day of the Rabblement" is an essay by James Joyce, written in 1901. In it, Joyce criticizes the Irish Literary Theatre (later the Abbey Theatre) for catering to popular taste and promoting cultural provincialism. He argued that a nation that had not progressed to the level of a miracle play offered no literary model for artists, and that they must look abroad for inspiration. This essay reflects Joyce's early disillusionment with Irish cultural nationalism and his desire to break away from its perceived limitations. It foreshadows his later experimental literary methods and his focus on universal themes rather than purely nationalistic ones.

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Daysea - Without You.

With their debut single out now, and more hitting streaming services in 2026, Daysea is stirring up a storm in the Sydney music scene. Daysea is more than just a group of friends turned wannabe band; they are a 4-piece playing nostalgic, pop rock music, combining elements of classic rock, pop, and soft rock.

Forged from a back room in the depths of the Sutherland Shire, they bring an electric mix of music to the stage. With three different songwriters, their sets take audiences on a journey from fun, romantic jazz bar date nights to reminiscing about something you once had.
 
Daysea will have listeners hooked and their heads spinning with scenarios and emotions, so get ready for a ride.

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Los Tres Mortales - Bourbon.

Based between New Jersey, Ohio and California, Los Tres Mortales bring together Caroline Blind and CWHK of Sunshine Blind with Troy Payne of The Wake for a new dose of proof-scorched, gun-slinging goth-rock. Their debut single and video, ‘Bourbon’, over the weekend.

Built around CWHK’s hard-hitting rhythms and guitars, ‘Bourbon’ couples weight and swagger with the male/female vocal exchange between Troy and Caroline. The pair trade perspectives across the song like protagonists in the same disreputable story, while Rich W. of The Wake contributes a lead guitar break. Caroline explains:

“CWHK gave us the music and the title, ‘Bourbon’, and Troy came up with the story of the Blackout Bourbon Baby. I knew it would be perfect to respond to his character by becoming the voice of the Bourbon Baby herself, telling him to chill out and stop being so tight-laced. The back and forth between two people trying to convince each other of their point of view creates a tension you just don’t get from a single voice. It’s also only somewhat reflective of my actual friendship with Troy!” 

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Mad Painter - Debt Collector.

US rock veteran Mad Painter present the single & video for “Debt Collector”, a track taken from the band's upcoming album "Island Poetry", due for release on October 9th, 2026 via Epictronic. Driven by gritty vocals, infectious basslines, and an explosive garage-rock attitude, “Debt Collector” delivers a swagger-filled blast of classic rock energy. Built on a tight, swinging rhythm section, sharp guitar hooks, and a playful sense of mischief, the track captures Mad Painter’s ability to blend vintage influences with their own distinctive personality.

The track turns relationship frustration into a witty rock ’n’ roll courtroom—where emotional debts and overdue affection become a fiery battle of wits between lovers. The new Mad Painter's album “Island Poetry” is a focused, collaborative album shaped by the current band's lineup. Inspired by the image of island dwellers gathered around a campfire under a full moon, the record explores the idea of creative freedom and escaping everyday pressures.

Rooted in 1970s British rock, the album blends Hammond-driven hard rock, boogie, progressive textures, theatrical arrangements, and heavy riffs across twelve tracks. Recorded at Lowell Street Sound by Tom Hamilton, who handled production and mixing, the album embraces a warm, natural analog-style sound. Featuring lyrics by Dmitry M. Epstein on six tracks and closing with a cover of Uriah Heep’s “Circle of Hands,” “Island Poetry” celebrates the spirit of classic rock while adding Mad Painter’s own identity.

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Andy Lauth - Lisa Bouchelle - Mon Rayon - VSQ & Girl Named Tom - Teni Rane - Karen Myatt

Andy Lauth - Under Construction.

Andy Lauth is an accomplished drummer and singer with an unmistakable soulful voice. The Lucerne-based artist moves between groovy rhythms, atmospheric art pop, and warm soul. He first attracted international attention with his 2023 single “Beautiful.” The song received numerous plays on indie radio stations around the world and was also added to the rotation of Radio Swiss Pop.

Now, the light-footed “Under Construction” marks the next chapter. Once again, Andy Lauth reveals a personal yet playful side. Stylistically, he combines elements of art pop and soul pop with an organic band sound and a strong attention to detail. Catchy melodies meet groovy arrangements, while the lyrics move between self-reflection, a playful wink, and emotional openness.

For the recordings, Lauth brought his live band into the studio: Andreas Meili, formerly a member of Mothers Pride, on keys; Steve Werle on guitar; and Simon Kaufmann, known among other things for his work with Lina Button, on bass. Together, they give the songs a lively, organic character.

“Under Construction” is a preview of the upcoming EP, which will be officially launched on 17. Oktober at the Jazzkantine Lucerne was produced by Manuel Halter, who has previously worked with artists including Luca Hänni, Child, and Remo Forrer. Singers Child and Miss C-Line add further vocal accents, appearing as backing vocalists on several tracks. In 2026, Miss C-Line received the Artist Award.

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Photo - Cristina Arrigoni

Lisa Bouchelle - Vandals, Thieves & Lovers (Album).

Lisa Bouchelle has released her new album Vandals, Thieves & Lovers. Boasting an array of special guests and collaborators including Amanda Shires, Larry Campbell, Waddy Wachtel (Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt) and E Street Band saxophonist Jake Clemons, the record finds the New Jersey singer-songwriter grappling with the full spectrum of the human experience, balancing darkness and light as she navigates love, loss and liberation.

Featuring early singles “Make This World Stand Still” (feat. Amanda Shires), “Vandal” (feat. Waddy Wachtel), “A Light To Come Home To” (feat. Amanda Shires & Larry Campbell) and “Game To Play,” Vandals, Thieves & Lovers sees Bouchelle embracing a collaborative spirit to serve the music. To that end, she invited additional all-star players like celebrated guitarist Clay Cook (Zac Brown Band), pedal steel virtuoso Doyle Grisham (Jimmy Buffett), drummer Rich Scannella (Tonic), fiddle player Tim Carbone (Railroad Earth) and bassist Hal B. Selzer (Joan Jett) to join these sessions. The album takes a similarly wide-ranging sonic approach, drawing on folk, country, rock, blues, gospel, soul and funk as it weaves together the disparate threads of American roots music into a captivating, cohesive whole. Add it all up and you’ve got a timeless work that’s as indebted to Laurel Canyon and Bakersfield as Memphis and Motown, a revelatory exploration of survival and resilience that showcases just how far Bouchelle has come, and where she’s headed.

A relentless road warrior, she has sung backup for Bruce Springsteen, dueted in concert with Jon Bon Jovi and shared bills with the likes of The Wallflowers, Train, Blues Traveler, Bryan Adams, Shooter Jennings and Steve Miller, among others. Now with Vandals, Thieves & Lovers, the spotlight remains firmly fixed on Bouchelle throughout these songs, with arrangements centered around her evocative vocals and infectiously rhythmic guitar work.

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Photo - Emilia Jagerman

Mon Rayon - Pale Memory.

Every so often, a band comes along that feels almost impossible to pin down. Mon Rayon are one of those bands, occupying a world somewhere between “a full English breakfast and the Sanremo Festival in the 1960s”. Behind the duo’s finely detailed arrangements and carefully constructed songs is a strong sense of spontaneity, and above all, a love of playing together. “From the beginning, the whole idea has been that the music should feel alive,” explains Josef Ask. “That we play together and that everything you hear is actually being played. It should feel organic, and that’s probably one of the biggest things we’ve taken from orchestral pop.”

Made up of Josef Ask and Christoffer Zetterlund, Mon Rayon release their debut album Image Repertoire on 2 October. Across its twelve tracks, the duo draw on 1960s French pop, baroque touches of harpsichord, sweeping string arrangements and even Göran Fristorp’s 1974 Melodifestivalen appearance, while French semiotician Roland Barthes provides an unexpected conceptual thread running through the record.

What ties these influences together is Mon Rayon’s instinct for melody, restraint and understated grandeur. The result is an album that feels meticulous without ever becoming rigid. The duo produced the record themselves, with Simon Nordberg on mixing.

“A lot of the songs come from small fragments of life, brief snapshots and memories,” the band explain. “That made us think of Barthes’ concept of the ‘image-repertoire’ - the idea that we carry around an internal collection of images, memories, fantasies, cultural references and emotional associations through which we understand other people. We never really meet someone as a completely ‘new’ person. We filter them through this existing repertoire of images.”

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VSQ & Girl Named Tom - Ordinary World.

Pop-culture-inspired instrumentalists Vitamin String Quartet (VSQ) have teamed up with acclaimed vocal trio Girl Named Tom for a sweeping rendition of Duran Duran’s 1993 hit “Ordinary World,” out this weekend via CMH Label Group/Vitamin Records. The revamp and accompanying performance video is a nod to their upcoming joint “Crazy Ordinary World” Tour, with both groups bringing their captivating arrangements to Nashville, Atlanta, D.C. and more.

"We loved joining forces with Girl Named Tom to create a fresh interpretation of a song as iconic and moving as ‘Ordinary World,'" says VSQ violinist Rachel Grace. "It’s a piece we’re especially excited to share with our audiences when we take it on the upcoming tour and perform it live."

“We love discovering great music from years gone by, and it's been awesome diving into ‘Ordinary World,’” says Girl Named Tom. “Somehow we've lived all our lives without knowing this Duran Duran classic (maybe because our dad was tunnel-visioned on U2, or because Bekah was only 3 years old when it came out!). Upon hearing it for the first time, we'd made a vocal arrangement and demo within 24 hours. It reminded us of the many frantic hours we spent arranging songs on The Voice! We like how this arrangement features the beautiful lyrics and also brings out the best in both our vocals and the musicians of Vitamin String Quartet."

On the upcoming tour, Girl Named Tom adds, “We can't wait for y'all to hear your favorite Girl Named Tom music in this brand new setting - in symphony halls with a string quartet! Working with these tremendous musicians has already been a great joy and we know the music we create on stage will change us - and you - every night.”

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Photo - Tom Netherland

Teni Rane - Never Turning Back (Album).

Teni Rane’s new album Never Turning Back unfolds as a reflective journey through the many kinds of places people inhabit over a lifetime. Rooted in intimate storytelling and atmospheric arrangements, the album traces movement not only across landscapes, but also across inner terrain. Each song acts as a waypoint, capturing moments of arrival, departure, and the quiet in-between spaces where transformation often happens.

Geographic place plays a grounding role throughout the record with tracks like “Arkansas” and “Soil on My Soul” speaking to the pieces of our hearts that we leave behind or that we feel we’ve never fully found. The physical settings are not merely backdrops; they mirror the shifting states of the narrator and reflect restlessness, craved for belonging, and the pull of the elusive feeling of home. Rane’s songwriting uses place as memory, where a location can hold the weight of a decision or the echo of who someone used to be.

Beyond geography, Never Turning Back explores how we define and manage social and cultural place throughout our lives. “Secondhand Memories” and “Driveway Conversations” inspect the roles we are assigned, the communities we navigate, and the expectations we push against or grow into. Throughout the album, the lyrics linger in spaces of relational inflection points and introspective musings about how our inner and outer worlds are reconciled. Rane’s writing asks the listener to contemplate the quiet tension between fitting in and stepping away, between tradition and self-definition.

Rane’s sophomore release makes space for an exploration of emotional places: joy, grief, hope, resilience. The title, Never Turning Back, suggests a threshold crossed, a recognition that the journey must move forward. With warmth and her own brand of moxie, Teni Rane offers an album that feels both deeply personal and widely resonant, inviting listeners to reflect on where they’ve been, where they are, and the unseen places still ahead. 

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Photo - Alma Perreault

Karen Myatt - Valise (Album).

Montreal vocalist Karen Myatt has released her new album Valise. Comprising 9 original compositions (and 2 covers), Valise captures and conveys both the act and the art of sacred travel. Inspired by journeys - internal and external - over the past decade, the new songs explore time travel, spiritual quest, and multi-cultural pilgrimage - experiences that exist well beyond the veil and trappings of tourism.

“Phil Cousineau says in his powerful book The Art of Pilgrimage; ‘What matters most on your journey is how deeply you see, how attentively you hear, how richly the encounters are felt in your heart and soul.’

“This idea had a profound effect on the making of Valise,” shares Myatt, “Travel is engaging, educational and entertaining, and - I believe - vital for healing our world during times of conflict.”

KarenMyatt · Valise

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Soft Loft - Dexys Midnight Runners - Leon Majcen - Vivi Belini - Living Hour

Soft Loft - Gravity's Pull.

Soft Loft celebrate the release of their sophomore album, Throw The Dice, with the focus track “Gravity’s Pull,” a soaring indie anthem about growing up without giving up on the dreams that keep pulling you forward. Inspired by modern masters of open-hearted songwriting, from Big Thief to Sam Fender, the track captures the delicate tension between stability and freedom that lies at the heart of Soft Loft’s music. Out this week via [PIAS] Recordings, Throw The Dice was mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, Florence + The Machine), bringing added depth and scale to the band’s emotionally rich new chapter.

Switzerland-based Indie collective Soft Loft ‘Throw The Dice’ is, in many ways, a reflection on life itself. It’s about what the band learned, what they’ve observed, what has helped and what hasn’t. It questions whether they’re stepping into a new phase in life, or if that idea of clear-cut phases doesn’t really exist at all. It’s about it all being a big game, a huge gamble and you won‘t know if it‘s all gonna turn out fine or if it’s not, let‘s throw the dice. ​

After a breakthrough year of headline touring and festival appearances across London, Berlin, Paris and Zurich, as well as slots at The Great Escape, Reeperbahn and Montreux Jazz Festival, plus tastemaker praise from BBC 6 Music to KEXP, this year is shaping up to be even bigger with their [PIAS] debut and a 2026 EU fall tour.​

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Dexys Midnight Runners - Love (Album).

Produced by Belfast musician / DJ David Holmes, LOVE is a deeply personal and emotionally rich album that may mark the final chapter in Dexys Midnight Runners' extraordinary musical journey. 

Their first release under the Dexys Midnight Runners name since 1985’s Don’t Stand Me Down, LOVE gathers stories spanning Kevin Rowland’s life - from his 2nd generation Irish childhood and family relationships to late-life romance, loss and reconciliation. Built around themes of love in all its forms, the album moves beyond traditional romance to explore aging, memory, and emotional connection. 

Focus single “Once A Man, Twice A Child,” is a soulful track finds Rowland reflecting on a relationship with his father that he once believed could never truly exist, capturing the unexpected closeness and love they found in their time together.


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Leon Majcen - The Leaving Kind (Album).

Won’t ya take a ride with me / On the road dog express / Where living ain’t easy / But life’s the best, sings Leon Majcen on his new album released yesterday, ‘The Leaving Kind.’ Produced by Pat Lyons (Colter Wall, Sam Barber) and engineered by Sean Sullivan (Sturgill Simpson, Old Crow Medicine Show, Sierra Hull), it’s a collection of rugged and romantic cowboy songs that trod on as earnestly as Majcen himself. “This music thing requires life to move a lot more quickly than it should, and racking up fifty thousand miles a year can take its toll,” he says. “But I wouldn’t trade the chance for anything.” In a wind-worn voice, over unpretentiously plucked guitars, Majcen sings of cheap motels, long highways, tackle shops, sinking suns, cokes, smokes, and postcards—you can nearly hear the dust kicking up around him. 

And with all this sepia-tinted wayfaring, where is he headed? In 2025, Rolling Stone proclaimed Majcen “in the middle of a major career rise.” He’d toured with the likes of Margo Price, Trampled By Turtles, American Aquarium, and Turnpike Troubadours, putting borrowed spotlight to good use; audiences locked into his backroads balladry, a vagabondish blend of wit and grit frequently compared to Prine. Majcen’s prolific output—four albums in five years—gathered continuous acclaim and landed him on Holler. Magazine’s list of 20 Best New Country and Americana Artists for 2026, further solidifying his place in the modern Americana canon. 

The son of Bosnian refugees, Majcen may gravitate toward an open road by instinct. But his childhood in Safety Harbor, Florida also instilled in him the power of a stabilizing base. He grew up on his father’s musical influence—Dylan, Kristofferson, Van Zandt—and received his first guitar as a Christmas gift at age nine. “My dad’s been a huge supporter of everything I’ve ever wanted to do, whether it was sports, the outdoors, or music. I’m thankful to have good folks.” This much is clear on “Long Way From Home,” Majcen’s strings-laden, emotional ode to the grounding power of family. Ain’t slipped up yet / Be a shame if I do / Because I’m a long way from home / And they still know my name. “Growing up as an immigrant, my whole life, I’ve watched my parents work jobs they hated,” says Majcen. “I think it’s why they always pushed me to chase my dreams. Getting to a position where I can help my family out has always been a big motivator.”

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Vivi Belini - All Mine.

Fresh from captivating audiences at the “Sounds am See” Open air in Sarnen (Switzerland), musician Vivi Belini now welcomes the approaching autumn with a soulful and funky pop track. Her new single, “All Mine,” brings together influences and ambitions from soul, pop, funk and indie. In it, the Berlin-born artist, who now lives in Switzerland, draws on stories from her life as a cosmopolitan.

Originally from Berlin, Vivi Belini moved to Rome at the age of 18 and, after numerous stops along the way, found her second home in Switzerland more than ten years ago. Her international background is also reflected in her band: Swiss guitarist Sven brings his love of blues, rock and pop; American-Austrian drummer Timothy draws on his roots in jazz, hip-hop and fusion; while Serbian bassist Stefan comes from the worlds of jazz, big band and pop. Together, they give Vivi’s compositions their very own signature sound.

Vivi Belini’s music is often deeply introspective. Her songs explore life and its transience, identity, loss and grief – but also hope, resilience and the desire to keep moving forward despite it all. Her debut EP, “Time,” already captured this tension perfectly. Her motto: “Existential crisis, but make it groovy.” Uncompromising honesty meets a sound that invites you to dance not despite its depth, but precisely because of it.

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Photo - Lucas Pingitore

Living Hour - Magnet.

Acclaimed Winnipeg indie rock quintet, Living Hour released a new single this week, “Magnet” via Paper Bag Records / Keeled Scales. It is the title-track of their forthcoming Magnet EP, a four-track companion of demos and b-sides to their 2025 full-length, Internal Drone Infinity, which is one of ten Canadian releases nominated for The Meridian Prize, being awarded this October at BreakOut West.

The bundle of phrases that make up the EP are from an incubation period of a lot of TV, projecting movies for work, and general dissociative activities. “I was thinking about how people are magnets if they want to be. Attracting what they think about most, interact with or watch on screens,” says lead singer and lyricist, Sam Sarty.

“Magnet” marks a return to the atmospheric and ethereal sonic palette that drew listeners to the band in the early years. The song is pastoral and ambient, with layers of swelling glitchy guitar loops, e-bow, vibraphone, vocal drones, and plain, spoken-word poetry. Far-away harmonies and vocalizing from Lindsey Verrill of Little Mazarn bring a ton of cosmic ear candy.

“I started to think about all the rotted reality TV swirling around on a quantum level and where that stuff is stored in a head, all edited together, and how it switches up life in a way that feels cellular and tangible.” And of the EP as a whole, “The songs are a nice reminder to think we can focus on what we need from that soup of stuff and pull out the details we like and want to keep.” 

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Hank Tree - Sorry Darling - Twice A Man - Oscar Lindsey - Amélie Giardini

Photo - Kersti Nagel

Hank Tree - Tagalong.

Glasgow's Hank Tree return with 'Tagalong', a striking new single that pairs intricate classical guitar with bursts of distortion, electronic percussion and haunting dual vocals to tell a powerful story of vulnerability, exploitation and the need for human connection.

Led by songwriter Fergus MacDonald, Hank Tree have long balanced fragility and intensity, but 'Tagalong' is among the project's most immediate and emotionally affecting releases. Built around fast-picked classical guitar, accordion, electronic beats and rich vocal harmonies from Clarissa Cheong, the track was shaped alongside acclaimed composer and producer Peter Broderick, whose production expands the song's intimate core into something both unsettling and beautiful.

Inspired by MacDonald's experiences working in the care sector, 'Tagalong' reflects on the story of a vulnerable person with learning difficulties who is manipulated into criminal activity by those seeking to exploit their trust. While rooted in real experiences, the song avoids becoming a literal retelling, instead exploring universal themes of dependence, manipulation and the search for acceptance. "I resisted writing about my work in care for a long time," says MacDonald. "But eventually I realised these experiences had stayed with me too deeply to ignore. They're stories that exist all around us, yet they're rarely reflected in music or the arts."

Rather than dwelling solely on darkness, 'Tagalong' invites listeners to consider the ways we all depend on others throughout our lives. "The more I wrote," MacDonald explains, "the more I realised the song wasn't just about care work. It's about relying on other people. Whether that's through family, friendship or love, it's something everyone understands."

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Sorry Darling - Like You.

Brooklyn rockers Sorry Darling released their new single, "Like You," yesterday, the latest preview of their forthcoming EP, Mirrors, out October 6th. Amongst the EP's heavier hitters, "Like You" stands out as the melodic one — melancholic in tone but still driven by the band's signature rock n' roll pulse. Lead singer Liz Wagner Biro brings a smoky, plaintive quality to the track reminiscent of Placebo's Brian Molko, lending the song's ache an extra edge.

"Like You" tackles the way a relationship can erode someone's sense of self and capability. Its accompanying music video follows a pageant queen who places second and wakes up questioning the life she's built. - "It's almost as if you can do everything right, everything you think is being asked of you, and you still might not win," the band add "The real winning is choosing yourself."

The single is the second offering from their upcoming EP Mirrors. The collection  takes its title from the way a mirror can reflect backward, reveal what's around the corner, and throw light, or blame, wherever it's needed, with the EP's songs circling the idea of projection and being truly seen within a relationship. It was recorded with producer Mike Dwyer at The Bunker in Cairo, NY, marking the first time the band decamped upstate together to record — a departure from the day-commute sessions that shaped their self-titled debut LP. 

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Twice A Man - Desert Snow.

Twice A Man unveil a beautiful visualiser for 'Desert Snow', the first to be plucked as an advance single from the electronic environmentalists' forthcoming album "Reveries Before Silence". The Swedes' new full-length has been chalked up for release on November 20, 2026.

Twice A Man comment: "The first single track, 'Desert Snow', is one of our musical footprints in a time marked by uncertainty, division, and change", Karl Gasleben explains on behalf of the band collective. "This song reflects on the world we live in today while reminding us that hope and positive thinking can still be a path toward unity. As modern societies continue to challenge our sense of human connection, we need to find what brings us together rather than what drives us apart.  

If we can discover a common voice that leads us away from war, polarisation, and the climate crisis, there is still a future worth believing in. We want to be able to look our children in the eyes and speak about tomorrow with honesty, responsibility, and hope. 'Desert Snow' is our contribution to that conversation – a song that carries both reflection and faith in a better future."

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Photo - Cole Silberman

Oscar Lindsey - Painting The Walls.

Nashville-based artist Oscar Lindsey recently signed to Mom + Pop Music (Courtney Barnett, Caamp, Tiny Habits, Hudson Freeman) and will release his label debut, Sunshine, on October 16. Described by Lindsey as "every phase of an early-20s, fucked up love story," Sunshine is an honest and vulnerable chronicling of the final shove into "real adulthood," a period of change, growth, and self-annihilation. He self-produced and recorded the 10-track set primarily in his home studio, with strings and horns overdubbed by instrumentalist friends throughout the greater Nashville area.
 
Lindsey previously teased the upcoming album with singles "Metal Through Her Lips" and "Flip A Coin," and he returns today with "Painting The Walls." Of the new song, he offers, "I was attempting to see how honestly I could explain the mental anguish I was in. It was written in a particularly bad downward spiral of anxiety paired with OCD that makes me do a lot of self-soothing behavior. 

I knock things, I count things, everything has to be a certain way. I have to complete little tasks or I feel like something terrible will happen to me. The verses question why my brain is sabotaging itself. The chorus of the song expresses how these little tasks and rituals add up, and I can’t leave the house without doing them. All of this feels like a unique experience, but I have hopes that it will reach more people who can relate to it, and try to find some peace listening to it the same way I did by writing it."
 
Lead single "Metal Through Her Lips" has received an enthusiastic welcome from the internet's Alex G-loving lo-fi folk circles since its release in June, with Ones to Watch calling it a "complex and entirely captivating work of art." Written during Nashville's catastrophic ice storm this past winter, while in the midst of a long-term breakup, the song's opening line — "She puts metal through her lips like a fish that got caught by a fisherman" — showcases Lindsey's ability to set a scene in a way that immediately pulls the listener into his singular POV.

Oscar Lindsey · Painting The Walls

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Amélie Giardini - Beast.

Have you ever kept going back - again and again - even when you knew a relationship was bad for you? Beast lives in that uncomfortable space between knowing and leaving. It explores the guilt we have for returning, for wanting, for still hoping — even when the greater guilt belongs elsewhere. At its heart is a deliberately twisted image: a fragile mind “leeching on a beast.” The narrator sees herself as the parasite, clinging to something she knows will hurt her, while slowly confronting the possibility that she may have been blaming the wrong creature all along.

Amélie is a Franco-Australian, London-based singer-songwriter whose work turns an observant eye towards the contradictions of human behaviour. Her writing explores the nuances of power - between individuals, within systems, and within ourselves - moving between vulnerability and control, complicity and resistance. Drawn to ambiguity rather than easy conclusions, her songs are often laced with dark humour and a wry self-awareness.

Raised on a small tropical island, Amélie developed an early sensitivity to the textures, colours and rhythms of nature - a sensibility that continues to shape both her music and its visual world. Alongside her music, she works across international environmental and human rights policy, a parallel life that exposes her to complex and often uncomfortable realities and sharpens her attention to human instincts and contradictions. Music offers another space in which to process and reframe what she sees.

Following her debut Sombre Maze and second single Red Pill, Beast marks the next chapter of the Colour Bound project - a body of work that will continue unfolding throughout the year.

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