Cat Nova - The Falls - Young Martyrs - Felicity Hamer & Black Leather Rose

Cat Nova - Parallel World.

Cat Nova has just released her new single “Parallel World” and we have to say it's both beautiful and lyrically thought provoking. So many of us have experienced troubling relationships, this song is both personal and more broadly relatable to the listener, we will let the background story tell the rest. 

"It's about a relationship that felt impossible to live with and impossible to leave." – Cat Nova. Parallel World tells the story of a passionate and turbulent relationship from Cat Nova's early twenties. Before taking a hiatus from music to complete a doctorate, write a book, and establish herself as a clinical psychologist, 

Cat spent a decade as a much-adored front woman of Oxford-based indie rock bands the Courtesy Kill & At Risk (the latter's catalogue recently re-issued for streaming by indie label Quickfix Recordings), supporting the likes of Kasabian, King Adora and other 00s luminaries at the now legendary Zodiac in Oxford. "I wrote the lyrics and vocal melody soon after (the relationship ended) and the song just lived rent-free in my head for the next fifteen years until I finally recorded it."

The release marks a new chapter for the singer-songwriter, who has traded (at least for now) her primary writing instrument and accompaniment from the guitar to a piano, with sparse instrumentation that allows the melodies to take centre stage. Drawing inspiration from artists including The Cure, AFI, Cigarettes After Sex and Garbage, her instinctive songwriting process blends atmospheric indie pop rock and her trademark open-hearted, somewhat doomed romantic lyricism with an intimate yet cinematic feel.

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The Falls - Loaded Gun.

Manchester's indie-rock four-piece The Falls are pleased to unveil their powerful new single ‘Loaded Gun’, just released on July 3rd 2026. The track is the third to be taken from their upcoming second studio EP ‘Would You Do It All Over Again’ which arrives on September 18th 2026 via Revo Pro.

Since forming in 2023, The Falls have hit the UK's indie scene with remarkable momentum, quickly establishing themselves as one of Manchester's most exciting emerging bands. The band have cultivated a strong live presence, playing key venues UK wide, whilst consistently selling out venues in their hometown of Manchester. February 2026 saw the band play their biggest hometown headline show to date, at Manchester's iconic Manchester Academy, marking another major milestone in their rise. With demand continuing to grow, their upcoming November headline show at Manchester's Gullivers sold out in under 24 hours, prompting the addition of a second intimate date at The Castle Hotel.

Their debut EP, Viva La Falls, released in September 2025, has already amassed more than 100,000 streams and earned early support from John Kennedy at Radio X. Drawing influence from The Courteneers, The Kooks and Jake Bugg, The Falls combine soaring guitar hooks, infectious melodies and sharp storytelling into a sound that feels nostalgic yet refreshingly modern.

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Young Martyrs - Seventeen.

Bath England's alt-Americana four-piece Young Martyrs returned (July 3rd 2026) with their new single ‘Seventeen’, the third track to be taken from their forthcoming third studio album ‘Might Just Be Enough’, arriving August 21st 2026 via Honey Badger Records on limited edition vinyl. Formed in 2020, Young Martyrs released their debut self-titled album that same year. Their coinciding debut headline tour saw them sell out shows throughout the UK, which led to them sharing the stage with the likes of Badly Drawn Boy, The Hooziers and McFly, as well as playing slots at a variety of festivals including Glastonbury and Rock Oyster. Their second album ‘Time Is Not On Our Side’ was released in 2023, expanding their fanbase beyond the UK and saw them playing shows across New York City.

A reflective anthem wrapped in driving rhythms and soaring melodies, 'Seventeen' explores the blurred line between missing a past relationship and missing the person you once were. Built around a sparse, tom-heavy groove before opening into an expansive chorus, the song captures the bittersweet pull of nostalgia, asking whether it's an old love that is being longed for - or simply to feel the way they felt at a certain time in life that can never be revisited.

Recorded while the band were operating as a three-piece, guitarist Rich Beeby also handled bass duties throughout the album sessions before the recent arrival of bassist Phil Smith completed the line-up. 'Seventeen' was recorded by the band at Real World Studios in Bath and Indefra Studios in Frome, co-produced with Sebastian Brice, engineered by Ben Koch and mastered by Christian Wright (Ed Sheeran, Franz Ferdinand, Blur, Laura Marling) at Abbey Road Studios.

Vocalist and lyricist Tom Corneill says, “Seventeen” is a song that everyone in the world can relate to. It’s about getting over a past love but it’s also about wishing you could turn back time to feel the way you did at the point in your life where things felt more free and exciting. It’s about thinking ‘maybe I don’t miss my ex; maybe I miss who I used to be’.”

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Felicity Hamer & Black Leather Rose - Heavy Hitter.

Felicity Hamer & Black Leather Rose brings together three of the most prominent names on Montreal’s alt-country and garage rock scenes to create a new sound that combines classic honky tonk with modern indie in ways only Montreal musicians can.

That sense of adventure is palpable on the group’s self-titled five-song debut EP (six if you get it from Bandcamp), that will officially arrive on July 24. It presents surprises at every turn, with melodies drawn from icons such as Tammy Wynette and Emmylou Harris blending with ambient soundscapes and psychedelic overtones inspired by contemporary Americana heroes like Neko Case.

Along with Felicity Hamer, whose CV contains stints with United Steelworkers of Montreal, the Slowinks, Filly & The Flops and other projects, the trio is comprised of guitarist Roy Vucino, a staple of Montreal’s punk and experimental scenes who has worked with Evan Dando, Mac DeMarco and Mike Watt, and engineer/multi-instrumentalist Sebastien Perry whose studio experience includes David Usher, Nikki Yanofsky, Florence K, and a host of other beloved Quebec artists. Tracks also feature Berlin native Omri Gondor (Saba Lou, Hellshovel) on drums as well as appearances by various Montreal musicians.

Today they share the EP’s first single “Heavy Hitter,” a tribute to Canada’s greatest boxer, George Chuvalo. Felicity explains, “Roy had this idea for a song about a boxer who never gave up, and he shared a melody with a few lines: ‘He won’t throw in the towel, when he’s on the ropes.’ I didn’t know any boxing lingo, but I know how to conduct research!

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The Cyrkle - DIVKA - Freyja Elsy - Kat Greta - Asara - Ryan Hamilton

The Cyrkle - Revival.

In celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the first album from '60 hit makers and sunshine pop pioneers The Cyrkle and the band's landmark performances as the opening band on The Beatles' final tour, Big Stir Records proudly presents the first-ever Vinyl release of the group's acclaimed 2024 reunion album Revival. Remastered and re-sequenced from its original CD release, the album (featuring founding singer-guitarist Don Dannemann, original keyboard player Mike Losekamp and vintage vocals from late co-founder Tom Dawes) joins the band's original albums on wax in record stores and online retailers on July 10 2026.

Famed for their 1966 #2 radio smash “Red Rubber Ball” and its era-defining follow up hit “Turn-Down Day,” both regarded as classic cornerstones of the sunshine pop sound, The Cyrkle had an all-too-brief but astonishing heyday exactly sixty years ago. Beyond the beloved hits, they were the only American band to be managed by Brian Epstein and landed a coveted slot opening for The Beatles on their historic final tour. Despite their stratospheric early success, The Cyrkle would only issue two proper albums, their debut and 1967's underappreciated-at-the-time Neon, before disbanding. 

It would be forty years before founders Dannemann and Dawes reconnected to explore a prospective reunion, only to have it cut short by Dawes' tragic passing. Yet another decade elapsed before Dannemann and Losekampre united as the anchors of a new lineup of The Cyrkle including bassist Dean Kastran (a founding member of The Ohio Express) as well as Pat McLoughlin (vocals, guitar), Don White(lead guitar, vocals) and Scott Langley (drums, vocals). They've been performing on the retro rock circuit to adoring crowds since 2016, mixing their own classics with other key '60s tracks and, most excitingly, brand new original material.

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Photo - Lauren Stewart

DIVKA - folk fatale (Album).

On the heels of their spellbinding new debut album folk fatale, which sounds ancient as dirt and scans post-modernly feminist as Bikini Kill, the charismatic and revolutionary Ukrainian-rooted duo DIVKA, launch their LP release tour of Ontario and Western Canada on July 7, 2026, at The Tranzac Club in Toronto. For more information, please visit the DIVKA website.

DIVKA is made up of Alina Kytasty Kuzma, a tradition-re-focusing player of the bandura (Ukrainian national harp/zither) and vocal forest nymph; and Zoë Santo, a guttural viola player and gremlin of chaos and sometimes vocals. DIVKA use bygone folk songs from Ukrainian and global women's music-making traditions to launch their ethereal, polyphonic vocals and throaty, primeval invocations – haunting as fear itself, hypnotic as a trance. As a sonic rebel reckoning, DIVKA's music is charged with mythology, traditional village singing, and generations of femme power, mystic whimsy, and a dash of vengeance.

DIVKA began with a deceptively simple mission: To find and perform songs where women are allowed joy, and not punished for desire, curiosity, pleasure, or power. From that seed, the project expanded into something larger: a sonic archive of women’s inner lives across time filled with flirtation, rage, grief, eroticism, humour, longing, survival, and magic.

DIVKA’s live performances, like the folk fatale album itself, range from playful rural songs celebrating the forces of nature and wildlife (“Of Storms, Babas, and Fiddling Rabbits,” “Kozel”); a cover of a feminist-gunslinger country novelty from the ‘50s, with an ending re-written to deservedly punish the patriarchy (“IDK”); to alternately raunchy and devastating songs of attraction, courtship, romance, and sex (“Harbuz,” “Oj Na Mori,” “Volodar,” “Shopski Prispevki”); to dead-serious meditations on the ecocide and genocide in Russia's invasion of Ukraine (“Rusalka”), as well as horrific income inequality and the impermanence of genocidal empire in “Garden of Time.”

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Photo - Siria Ferrer

Freyja Elsy - Control.

Following the release of ‘In My Veins’, Freyja Elsy returns with ‘Control’ - a darker, more inward-looking chapter from her forthcoming EP to stop the world turning. Where its predecessor captured fleeting childhood vignettes, ‘Control’ turns sharply inward, navigating cycles of intrusive thoughts, emotional overwhelm, and the fragile grip we try to maintain over our inner world. “These facts all sound so fictional…”

Stripped back and deliberately tense, ‘Control’ trades Elsy’s signature sweeping strings for a skeletal palette of drums, bass, guitar, electronics and voice. The result is a moodier, more claustrophobic sound, placing Elsy’s exposed vocal at the centre, surrounded by fractured and reshaped vocal manipulations that denote the spiralling, nebulous thoughts of a chronically anxious mind. 
 
‘Control’ reflects a psyche attempting to hold itself together as it slips between certainty and doubt. Lyrics like “Take control / nothing but a soul in me” and “I’ve seen it all / everything I’m scared I’ll be” capture a fragile internal dialogue where vulnerability, fear, and self-perception collapse into one another, while “Lead me on / make me believe I’m worthy” speaks to the struggle to maintain belief in oneself as that sense of stability begins to erode. Adam Walton described ‘Control’ as “an elevating slow burn… sumptuously produced.”

‘Control’ is the second single from to stop the world turning, following ‘In My Veins’, which was selected as a Fresh Fave by Freshonthenet and named Molly Palmer’s ‘Must Add’ on BBC Radio Wales. Alongside tracks ‘Another Life’ and ‘From Within’, the project explores memory, identity and emotional consequence through shifting sonic landscapes - moving between expansive, cinematic arrangements and darker, more insular moments.

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Kat Greta - Audacity.

Melbourne/Naarm based multi-instrumental artist Kat Greta returns with her new single ‘Audacity’, released yesterday Friday, July 3. A melodically driven indie-pop anthem, deceptively enveloped with an underswell of grief, ‘Audacity’ and its accompanying music video are anchored in mourning and bolstered by shimmering electronic textures.

Following the release of her debut EP in November, which highlights Kat Greta’s unbridled pop-senses, ‘Audacity’ takes the pop dial and cranks it up to 10 with vibrant and energetic charisma. Below the surface of ‘Audacity’s pop rhythm lies the complex feelings and multitudes of grief and acceptance. Written after experiencing immense loss, ‘Audacity’ is a track riddled with mourning and the battle of understanding - masquerading in dance vibrancy. 

From the outset, Greta’s vocal distortion emulates speaking through a mask as one uncovers the bitter reality of the lyrics at hand. Accompanied by the instantaneous punch of the drums, high-spirited electronic elements and guitar, Greta’s distinctive artistry takes centre stage, embodying the confidence and conviction that sit at the heart of ‘Audacity’.  

Co-produced by Melbourne producer Seetali Mack, this collaboration has allowed for Kat Greta to explore the themes and elements of the world around her unvaryingly as her own collapses in. The track brings light to the blatant absurdity of loss as the days roll in and out - remaining unchanged for the masses while Kat Greta is wondering how this could be. Kat Greta shares: “‘Audacity’ explores the emotional whiplash of grief, where the world carries on as usual while yours quietly falls apart." 

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Asara - 028 Crises (Album).

Asara is the solo project of Paris-based French-Moroccan artist Sarah Pitet, a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, and video director whose debut album 028 Crises was released yesterday July 3rd via French label Géographie. After spending four years as a member of Dog Park, moving fluidly between guitar, bass, keyboards, and vocals, she now steps into a more intimate and personal space with her first solo work.

Having played music since childhood, Asara grew up through various band projects before joining Dog Park, alongside Erica Ashleson, Isabella Green Catani, and Jean Duffour. Together, they released the album Festina Lente in 2024 on the same label, Géographie. That collective experience now feeds a more introspective form of songwriting and a deeply personal approach to creation.

Written throughout 2025, 028 Crises unfolds like a near-documentary sonic diary, tracing the emotional landscape of her twenty-eighth year. Voice takes center stage throughout the record, balancing raw vulnerability with sharper rhythmic momentum. Her debut single Cute draws from the textures and pulse of hip-hop drum machines, while Thank You, Thank You stays rooted in a melodic, stripped-back bedroom pop aesthetic. On With Love, Asara blends upright piano with French touch-inspired electronic elements, while the rest of the album leans toward a darker, denser, and more organic form of rock. From her apartment studio in the Paris suburbs, she writes, produces, and shapes the entire visual and sonic identity of the project.

GÉOGRAPHIE · Asara - 028 Crises

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Ryan Hamilton - Haunted By American Dreams (Album).

Ryan Hamilton returns with Haunted By American Dreams, a powerful new album arriving July 3 via Wicked Cool Records. Blending heartland rock, power pop, and deeply personal storytelling, the record finds Hamilton examining ambition, identity, and the often-unspoken cost of pursuing the life we've been told we're supposed to want. Written from the perspective of someone looking back on the roads traveled and the expectations carried along the way, Haunted By American Dreams captures both the hope and disillusionment woven into modern life. Across the album, Hamilton balances soaring melodies, sharp songwriting, and emotional honesty, creating one of the most reflective and compelling releases of his career.

"'Haunted By American Dreams' is really about chasing something you were told would save you—and realizing it doesn't," says Hamilton. "It's the echo of small-town promises, late-night highways, and all the ghosts of who you thought you'd become. I didn't want to make a perfect record—I wanted to make an honest one, even if it rattles a little."

That spirit runs throughout the album, which finds Hamilton confronting uncertainty, disappointment, and reinvention without losing the warmth, humor, and melodic instincts that have long defined his music. The album's focus track, "Dreaming Screaming," serves as a fitting introduction to the record's themes, exploring the darker side of ambition while still finding moments of hope and clarity amid the noise.

With Haunted By American Dreams, Hamilton begins a new chapter—one that embraces hard truths while remaining deeply connected to the human experiences that have earned him a devoted international audience. It's a record about growing older without growing cynical, about confronting reality without surrendering optimism, and about finding meaning in the space between who we were and who we become.

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Kate Prascher - Dude Cervantes & The Panchos - Barbarossa Beat - Motorcycle - Overtracked

Photo - Sander Randall

Kate Prascher - Thousand A Million.

Kate Prascher has released 'Thousand A Million' the second single from her highly anticipated sophomore album ‘Sunday Afternoon,’ out August 28 on First City Artists (Alexa Rose, Carly King). Tender and lilting, the new single “is a meditation on physical space, setting roots and greeting the past,” says Prascher. “I wrote it with my ancestors in mind and with a feeling of wide, open plains.”

No Depression once praised Prascher as "a mesmerizing singer whose traditional-sounding tunes upend any feeling of comfort with lyrics that cut deep." Her forthcoming collection carries that eerie elegance forth. Co-produced by Diana Walsh (Amanda Shires, Jason Isbell, Wild Rivers), it calls brings esteemed comparisons to mind—the classic country soprano of Allison Krauss; the dark, dusty Americana of Gillian Welch; the bright melodicism of Madison Cunningham—as Prascher examines the forward motion of life. Today’s offering follows “Jubilee,” praised by The Bluegrass Situation as “folky in a timeless fashion with a delicious and slow sonic build, as well as a weekend residency at Soho Farmhouse, the latest location from Soho House.
 
Prascher was raised in Memphis, a childhood steeped in spiritual storytelling. “Where I’m from, it’s expected for the people in your life who’ve passed to show up again, one way or another,” she says. In adulthood, she carried that experience to New York City and embraced the lively vibrance of the city’s Bluegrass scene, taking mandolin lessons from Michael Daves and joining open sessions at staple venues like The Jalopy, Mona's, Sunny's. Prascher wrote about half the songs on ‘Sunday Afternoon’ while she was living in Brooklyn—the rest, after she left. 

“I’m interested in how environment informs identity,” she shares. “Leaving New York was a reckoning for me. I moved there out of ambition. If I left, could I still consider myself ambitious?” Now based upstate, she’s grateful for the opportunity to answer that question. “My life is less about chasing one thing, and more about grounded rituals, the practices of work and creation. I can hear myself more clearly. I know what I want to say.”

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Photo - Anna Norward

Dude Cervantes & The Panchos - Billion Dollar Art.

Dude Cervantes & The Panchos blend psychedelia and heart on their new single “Billion Dollar Art.” Dude Cervantes has always approached music as a shared experience. Whether leading Chest Fever, producing records through his Nashville-based Blind Owl Records, or hitting the road with The Panchos, collaboration has remained at the center of his work. That spirit drives “Billion Dollar Art,” the latest single from his forthcoming self-titled album with The Panchos, due October 2nd via Blind Owl Records. 

First performed during The Panchos’ inaugural Southern California tour in 2023, “Billion Dollar Art” captures the spirit of a band discovering its identity together. Blending vivid images of faraway places, priceless art, and shared experiences, the song reflects on adventure, love, and the fragile beauty of relationships. Beneath its dreamlike imagery lies a simple truth: no matter how far life takes you, the greatest journey is finding your way back to the person who feels like home.

Driven by soaring twin guitars, expansive psychedelia, and classic rock swagger, “Billion Dollar Art” captures the adventurous spirit that defines Dude Cervantes and The Panchos.

Recalling the band’s earliest days together, Cervantes says, “‘Billion Dollar Art’ was one of two originals we debuted on our first Southern California tour in 2023. The middle solo belongs to Dylan Donovan, who absolutely shreds it. We both come from the school of Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix when it comes to classic rock solos, but the ending jam is pure Panchos at its embryonic genesis—fountaining psychedelic fluorescents from our guitars in a room with no walls while the paint peels off the universe.”

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Barbarossa Beat - Phattie’s Lunchbox.

Barbarossa Beat is a new project by Dave Barbarossa, who was the drummer in Adam & The Ants (original line up), Bow Wow Wow and Republica, and has played with Fatboy Slim, Chicane, Roland Gift, Chime Oblivion (Oh Sees offshoot). Each track is created with a different collaborator and built around Dave’s unique drumming, dropping once a month into 2027, a modern day singles club (with an album in the future). The first release is Phattie’s Lunchbox featuring Mekon, was released via Invisible Hands Music.

Dave said, “I’m proud of the work I’ve done through the years but I never felt it expressed the diversity of my playing like it did in the early Ants and Bow Wow Wow. In these collaborations, there are some real surprises along the way, and I am excited for people to see how this develops.” Barbarossa Beat allows Dave to be at the hub at the centre of a spinning wheel of musical indulgence, marrying his unmistakable drumming style and passion with a true pick ‘n’ mix of the very best musicians that he has chosen to pull into the project.

Dave said of debut track Phattie’s Lunchbox, “I started playing live with Mekon (John Gosling), who I've known since the eighties. He’s a top DJ, and was Alexander McQueens music man for many years. Phattie’s Lunchbox was quite unique sounding with my live drums, so we recorded it. The No Breaks mix illustrates the purity of the beat and the journey of the arrangement.” Born Dave Barbe, the nom de guerre Barbarossa was bestowed upon him by punk impresario Malcolm McLaren. Dave was raised in the East End of London in the seventies as a mixed-race kid with a father who loved big band and Cuban music, creating a unique set of influences.

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Motorcycle - Friday the 13th.

Sacramento’s premiere middle-aged teen pop group - Motorcycle - speed into their debut full-length this summer. Motorcycle’s sound is a blend of 90s alternative guitar rock and classic pop punk mixed with 2010s maximalist radio pop anthems that bring a party vibe that feels intoxicating and energetic and makes the listener question how much is ironic humour and how much is unabashed fun. Guitarist/ sometimes lead singer, Chris explains, “We have no idea how to actually do it that big, so we end up sounding like Weezer b-sides.”

Motorcycle is teaming up with Dandy Boy Records for their debut album, Relive It, this summer. Their hit single, which shares the same name as the album, is about growing up, drifting apart, and longing for the past. The chorus, “Can I relive it? / Just for a minute / Back to the beginning / Can I relive it?” hits at the heart of feeling unsure when the safety of familiarity ends and the comfort of routine is lost. 

The whole album is a collection of music that makes you nostalgic for your misspent youth listening to Lookout! Records and drinking Boone’s Farm on hot summer nights with your friends, while the overall theme of coming to terms with adult life and putting the call of the wild in the rear view adds to the dichotomy of the good time sounds.

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Overtracked - Sundown.

“Sundown” by Overtracked captures the feeling of a warm summer evening as the sun slowly disappears below the horizon. Built around smooth Rhodes keys, laid-back female vocals, and stripped-back minimal house grooves, the track delivers an intimate and atmospheric listening experience.

Warm melodies and subtle percussion create a relaxed flow, while the soulful vocal elements add depth and emotion without overwhelming the groove. Balancing elegance and simplicity, Sundown blends organic textures with modern minimal house aesthetics, making it equally suited for sunset sessions, beach side lounges, and deep after-hours sets.

As the first official single from the upcoming self-titled album Overtracked, scheduled for release in 2027, Sundown offers an early glimpse into a new chapter for the project. The forthcoming album promises a refined blend of emotional house music, organic instrumentation, and immersive summer-inspired atmospheres. A sophisticated and feel-good record designed for long summer days, golden-hour moments, and endless nights under open skies.

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Bleu Reine - The Hempolics - Tender Claws - CR & The White Lights

Photo - Léa Grégoire

Bleu Reine - Cavalier Seul.

Bleu Reine has just joined the Géographie label. Bleu Reine is the solo project of Léa Lotz, who skillfully blends shoegaze, dark folk, and dream pop. Poised to open a new chapter in her burgeoning career, she returned yesterday June 30th with a new single titled "Cavalier Seul"—the first track from her upcoming album, due for release in early 2027 via Géographie.

"Cavalier seul" is the first single from Bleu Reine's upcoming second album. Composed upon returning from a European tour, it evokes an ambiguous fantasy of freedom and loneliness in the form of a dreampop/shoegaze ballad bathed in hazy synths. This intentionally nostalgic and ethereal track could be the soundtrack to a last kiss or a first night train journey; a perfect addition to a playlist alongside other bittersweet symphonies that have nourished its writing, both right before and right after the year 2000.

(Léa Lotz) is a Paris based singer and producer taking an active part in the DIY alt scene since 2019. Her sound is rooted in both nostalgic grunge-coated dream rock and a fierce passion for layered synth pop, with a distinctive digital glow. As a solo live performer she recently supported international bands such as US Girls, They are Gutting a Body of Water, Cinder Well, Jozef von Wissem.

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The Hempolics - A Fist Full Of Covers (Album).

The Hempolics return with A Fistful of Covers, a brand-new singles project produced and mixed by Grippa Laybourne and released on ZeeZee Records. This three-track series sees the band reworking some of their favourite songs as a tribute to timeless music, each paired with a signature dub version. All tracks are sung by original Hempolics lead singer Harry Collier, whose distinctive, moving, soulful voice brings a unique warmth and emotion to each reinterpretation.

Leading the release a few weeks back is a reggae-infused take on “No Ordinary Love” by Sade, flipped into a deep, bass-heavy groove. The smooth, emotive tones of the original shine in a fresh arrangement, now carrying a moving, upbeat Rub-a-Dub reggae flow. The second offering pays tribute to one of the band’s favourite artists, Shuggie Otis, with their version of “Aht Uh Mi Hed,” reimagined with a soulful, jazz-tinged reggae feel, driven by a four-to-the-floor rhythm and accompanied by a dub.

Rounding things off is “Nothing More To Say,” inspired by one of their favourite New York bands, The Frightners. It’s reworked with an upbeat, summer-ready Hempolics twist, complete with vibrant horns and feel-good energy. With A Fistful of Covers, they tap into nostalgia while delivering something fresh for selectors and new listeners alike, continuing to push boundaries while staying rooted in organic, analog warmth through their fusion of reggae, dub, soul and beyond.

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Tender Claws - Twinge.

Alt-grunge solo artist Tender Claws shares the evocative new single ‘Twinge’ (July 1st) - a powerful and emotionally charged gut-punch that offers another compelling glimpse into her highly anticipated debut EP, Tear Him To Pieces, due for release on 7th August. Tender Claws, the stage moniker of Belfast-born artist Tess Corr, is an independent musician now based in the North West of England, draws inspiration from gothic aesthetics, introspective storytelling, and the darker facets of both nature and the human experience. 

Across her material, Tender Claws crafts a sound that is as gritty and punchy as it is ethereal, alluring, and distinctly otherworldly. Blending fuzzy alt-grunge textures with expansive production, her music explores themes of escapism, vulnerability, and transformation, creating immersive worlds that feel both hauntingly familiar and beautifully untethered from reality.

The new single ‘Twinge’ (produced by Ben Harper - The Mysterines, The Zutons, Sister Sledge, Luvcat, The Luka State, The Kairos, Toy Car, and The Sherlocks) embodies this approach, combining a fuzz-soaked bassline, relentless drums, and a wall of guitars to generate a palpable sense of urgency, offset by shimmering synth flourishes and atmospheric depth. Anchored by Corr’s melodic, instantly catchy vocal delivery, the track carries a cathartic emotional weight that makes it both resonant and accessible while remaining true to its alternative-rock core.

Talking about the track, Tender Claws explains: “I wanted to write an upbeat, in-your-face song to, ironically, have some fun while processing the feelings stemming from a relationship that I had really hoped would develop into something more, ending quite abruptly. It left me quite devastated at the time. Despite things not going the way I wanted, I felt some freedom from being ‘released’ from a connection that was making me feel anxious and small in a way. When we play this one live, I don’t play guitar for a change, which gives me the freedom to move more on stage, which is a nice parallel to the message of the song. Dance away the heartache as Roxy Music once said!”

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CR & The White Lights - Yearbook.

"Yearbook," is the new single from CR & The White Lights, out today. It's the final preview of their forthcoming album, My Old Self, due July 17 via Magic Door Records. An earnest alt-country meditation on memory and the passage of time, "Yearbook" reflects on the people who once seemed destined to remain part of our lives—and the quiet realization that many have faded into the distance.

The song was inspired by an evening at CR's wife's childhood home, where she and her sister were flipping through old yearbooks. Watching them revisit old classmates and memories prompted CR to reflect on his own past, the friendships and relationships that once felt permanent, and the many people he hasn't seen or spoken to in years. Created by CR entirely from found footage sourced from the Internet Archive, I love the way the accompanying music video balances heartfelt nostalgia with understated humor.  

Filled with blistering guitars, shimmering pedal steel, and hard-earned heartbreak, My Old Self showcases the band's blend of classic country storytelling and roots-rock energy.

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Taxi Girls - Cimarron 615 - Dave Clark - D.B. Tait

Taxi Girls - Static (Album).

Montreal's Taxi Girls arrive with Static, their debut full-length album, out June 26 on Stomp Records. If the first two singles introduced the band, Static is where the full picture develops. Across ten tracks, Taxi Girls pull together giant hooks, sharp songwriting, dual-vocal chemistry, and a deep appreciation for the women who made rock and roll dangerous, stylish, and impossible to ignore. There are flashes of The Runaways, Girlschool, Nikki Corvette, The No Talents, and the melodic punch of classic power pop throughout the record, but never as imitation. These songs feel less like homage and more like continuation.

The album feels born from afternoons spent digging through dusty bins, arguments over forgotten punk singles, and record bags slung over shoulders. Mile End bars become afterparties. Somebody always puts on the perfect 45 at exactly the right moment. The city is everywhere on Static, not as subject matter, but as perspective. It’s the sound of a band raised on great records, great stories, and the belief that a three-minute song can still change your day.

While the album carries plenty of swagger, it also reveals a band willing to dig deeper. Across Static, Taxi Girls explore love, loss, mental health, postpartum depression, self-doubt, and the strange comfort of nostalgia. The songs don't offer neat conclusions or easy answers. Instead, they trace the difficult path toward self-acceptance, resilience, and learning when to let go of the things that no longer serve you.

The album's title captures that tension perfectly. Static represents the feeling of being stuck while somehow remaining in motion, caught between reflection and reinvention. Even the lemon on the album cover reflects that spirit. It's a symbol of making the best of life's worst situations, finding meaning in setbacks, and pushing forward when standing still would be easier.

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Photo - Alan Messer

Cimarron 615 - Aruba.

Acclaimed Americana collective Cimarron 615 returns with Same Sky, arriving August 7th via Blue Élan Records. The band’s third album and most fully realized statement to date, is introduced by the lead single, “Aruba,” a breezy horn-driven reggae ode about escaping life’s daily pressures. “It’s a party song about a lost weekend,” says bassist and vocalist Jack Sundrud. “The story of a guy who goes to the Caribbean on vacation and parties so hard that he not only has no memory of what happened, he apparently didn’t even make it out of his motel room.”

The album finds Poco veterans Jack Sundrud (bass, vocals), Michael Webb (keyboards, accordion), Rick Lonow (drums, percussion), and guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Ronnie Guilbeau, Combined, the band builds on the chemistry that first brought them together following the passing of Poco co-founder Rusty Young.

The story of Cimarron 615 begins with Poco, one of the pioneering bands of the country-rock movement. After Rusty Young’s passing in 2021, Blue Élan Records founder Kirk Pasich assembled Lonow, Sundrud and Webb for a tribute concert and recording project. The chemistry was undeniable. When Guilbeau—who co-wrote Poco’s 1989 Top 20 hit “Call It Love”—joined the lineup, what began as a tribute quickly evolved into a band with its own identity.

Collectively, the four musicians represent decades of American music history. Beyond Poco, their résumés include Burrito Deluxe, Great Plains, Brooklyn Cowboys, Palomino Road, and GYG, along with recording and touring credits alongside Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Loretta Lynn, Chris Stapleton, John Prine, John Fogerty, Hank Williams Jr. and many more.

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Dave Clark - Through The Wall.

The journey continues. Dave keeps us intrigued with “Through the Wall” an intimate reflection on disintegrating relationships and our desire not to accept reality. The masterful guitar complements the lyrics without overwhelming, allowing us to sink into the melody.

Producer Glenn Kerrigan created a lush atmospheric backdrop for the song with floating synths and intricate beats. “We’ve all buried our heads in the sand when things go wrong in a relationship," said Dave. “Rather than write the standard. "You write the now and I’m sad type of song."

"I thought it would bring something new and reflect on how we cling on, even when we know it’s well past its sell-by date." Dave continues to release intriguing and listenable songs, each with it’s own character but recognisably his own, making him one of today’s more interesting songwriters.
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D.B. Tait - Before You Go.

As the latest artist to appear out of the fertile musical soil of Ontario’s Prince Edward County, D.B. Tait makes a powerful first impression with his debut single, “Before You Go.” A haunting cosmic country ballad with echoes of Jason Molina and MJ Lenderman, the song is a preview of a full-length album entitled Losing Time that is sure to establish Tait as a vital new voice within the alt-country world.

Tait explains, “I wrote ‘Before You Go’ as a song about knowing there’s something difficult coming, in any sort of relationship, whether it’s romantic or platonic, and the anxiety and stress that comes with waiting to have that sort of confrontation—almost like waiting to hear if you got a job or if you made the cut on a sports team, but on a more personal and even existential level. The anticipation of that confrontation can be a real struggle sometimes.”

Tait recorded “Before You Go,” as well as the rest of Losing Time (release date TBC), largely in his home studio, tracking most of the guitars and vocals on his own. Close collaborators Ian Roantree and Mitch Cory from the band Kojak added overdubs, while fellow Prince Edward County singer-songwriter and Littleknown Records head David James Allen handled the mix.

Since co-founding Kojak in 2018, Tait has gradually embraced a parallel path as a solo artist in order to express different themes of life’s everyday problems and how facing them helps to break free of destructive cycles. His songs explore how these actions affect love, death, relationships with friends, and the need to gain control of one’s self-governance. In naming the album Losing Time, Tait is essentially taking up the fight for all of us against letting our personal hourglasses run out.

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