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| Photo - Jenny He |
Beloved folk-pop singer-songwriter Rachael Sage and her longtime band The Sequins have released their new single “Belong To You” from their upcoming studio album Canopy, out October 24 via MPress Records.
“I wrote ‘Belong To You’ as a gospel ballad and it was really meaningful that so many of The Sequins ended up singing on it, versus just me singing all the harmonies myself,” shares Sage on the new single. “The Hammond organ and harmonica – played by Kevin J. Killen and Will Wilde, respectively – add so much and Dave Eggar’s cello playing grounds the arrangement so beautifully. The devotion and loyalty of our friendships expressed in the lyrics is something I know we all genuinely feel for one another, and in that sense it’s a very emotional song for me to sing. It’s probably the most universal song on the record and it’s been really gratifying to have live listeners at shows come up and share their own interpretations of it.”
A much-needed musical reprieve from our current cultural upheaval, Canopy is equal parts emotional exhale and invitation to a more compassionate future, as well as a masterclass in radical inclusivity and self-acceptance. “Creating safety and inclusivity in times of divisiveness can be a radical and powerful act; it takes courage to stand up for justice and for our fellow human beings,” Sage adds. “Acceptance, inclusivity and safety are big themes on Canopy.”
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Toronto's Victoria Staff returns with "Love Should Feel" – a bright, romantic indie-pop single that soaks in the joy of love when it's simple, easy, and right. The track beams with warmth, capturing that rare kind of connection where everything else fades into the background.
"For a long time, I thought love was something that was supposed to be difficult. It was supposed to be chased and fought for," Staff says. "Turns out, it's supposed to be easy. 'Love Should Feel' is about just basking in how simple good love is."
That sense of playful ease even made its way into the single artwork – though not without chaos. The idea was simple: a dive into a lake surrounded by sunflowers. The execution? Not so much. "We had about 75 sunflowers, but the stems were too heavy and started sinking, so we were frantically cutting them down in the boat. Every time I jumped off, the boat moved, the flowers scattered, and we had to rearrange them again," Staff explains. "Then the seagulls started circling, thinking they were food," she laughs. "And all of this was on film so we didn't even know if we had the shot until we got home."
With its buoyant melodies and heartfelt lyricism, "Love Should Feel" showcases Staff at her most joyful. "This song is special to me because there are no bad memories tied to it. From writing to recording to releasing, it's been easy, and that's exactly how love should feel."
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Dandy Boy Records has announced the fiery debut power pop LP from a Bay Area underground mainstay, Joel Cusumano. The album comes out on October 24th, but you can get a taste with the lead single, "Two Arrows" Joel Cusumano has played a huge role in the Bay Area underground scene for years—as songwriter and/or lead guitarist in a wide-ranging lineup of bands such as Sob Stories, R.E. Seraphin, and Body Double.
Cusumano began writing the music that would become his first solo album, WaxWorld, after a stint in a mental hospital treating his debilitating OCD: “It was bleak. For a year I could barely function, barely leave the house. After [the hospital] I recovered pretty rapidly. But instead of feeling relief, there was dread, like, ‘Well, what now’? You spend over a year falling off the deep end and you’re a different person when you hit the ground … I needed to write differently than I had before. I was looking around the world and not recognizing what I saw.
The songs had to reflect that alienation. I was done with the ‘angry young man’ jilted lover stuff I’d been doing in Sob Stories. I was bored with that kind of boilerplate rock’n’roll topography.” A painful breakup at the end of writing process further sharpened Cusumano’s eye towards material reflecting his growing unease in a world in unrelenting flux.
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| Photo - Jon Karr |
Nashville-based singer-songcrafter Kashena Sampson has released “Phases,” the latest from her forthcoming LP, Ghost Of Me, out on October 3. “Kashena Sampson describes ‘Phases’ as ‘a spell of self-reflection, a way of honoring all sides of myself - the light and the shadow.’
“Like the moon, we all go through phases, and I’ve come to see how always trying to please everyone and never rocking the boat only leads to self-abandonment,” Sampson told Magnet Magazine. “I finally grew brave enough to say, ‘I’m done with that charade. I’m done giving myself away just to keep the peace.’” “The song is a ritual and affirmation for letting go of what no longer serves me. It’s OK to get mad, to say no, to change your mind, to walk away. It’s not only OK—it’s empowering.”
Ghost Of Me is structured like a ritual under the phases of the moon, a cycle of letting go, calling in, and rising again. That arc is felt across both the tracklist and the album’s release timeline, which intentionally aligns key singles and events with lunar milestones. Today, “Phases” emerges ahead of a rare September 21 convergence of the solar eclipse, new moon, and International Day of Peace, a moment echoed in the song’s psychedelic swirl and lunar howl. September 22 is the Fall Equinox, bringing with it a powerful time of reflection, growth, and new beginnings. “Rear View Mirror” arrived on July 25, just after the July 24 new moon. Built around crashing cymbals and guitarist B.L. Reed’s power chords, the song drives forward with the force of personal reckoning. The title track landed in time for new moon intention-setting on August 23, embracing the theme of transformation at the heart of the record. The full album will be unveiled on October 3, just ahead of the full moon on October 6, which culminates the record’s lunar journey.
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Berlin duo Nick & June will release their new album 'New Year's Face' on 5th December. Produced by Grammy-winning producer Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Sharon Van Etten,) and recorded in Bridgeport, Connecticut, 'New Year's Face', which includes collaborations with Owen Pallett, The National’s Kyle Resnick and Ben Lanz, The Antlers and others, will be released on CD, vinyl and digitally. 'New Year's Face' is the duo's first release since 2023's 'Beach Baby, Baby EP', which enjoyed over 30 million streams, widespread critical praise and led to sold-out shows across Europe. To accompany today's announcement Nick & June have today unveiled a video to new single 'Husband & Wife'.
At the end of a long relationship, you don’t usually find yourself sitting at a studio piano with your ex, writing songs. Or do you? In this case, you pack a suitcase, get on a plane, decamp to the small and melancholic harbour town of Bridgeport, Connecticut and begin work on a new record. 'New Year’s Face' is the outcome of this strange experiment: two ex-lovers, one studio, months of work and discovery. Together with Grammy-winning producer Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Sharon Van Etten, Stars), they settled in and shaped ten songs that feel at once intimate and expansive, fragile and resilient.
Nick & June drift through a shimmering haze of reverb-soaked guitars, vibrating synths and gently pulsing beats and drums. Their voices merge into a hypnotic mélange, guiding listeners through a delicate balance of euphorically staged restraint and intricate, winding thoughts. Their sound is an eclectic fusion of indie folk, evoking Bon Iver, Velvet Underground and Big Thief, blended with the dream-pop textures of Beach House and Lana Del Rey and the alternative rock of The National, St. Vincent and Mazzy Star.
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