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James Tonic's Safety II is out now, the second chapter in his dream pop trilogy following 2025's breakout Safety. Released January 28, 2026, this seventh studio album takes the saga further, mixing dreamy vibes with real life edges.
Safety II builds on the first album's indie win (20,000 sales and a solid 60% Spotify save rate), plus the buzz from 2024's Stuck in LA and its sold out West Coast shows pulling in crowds. Early signs show strong fan love: a high pre-save rate and it's on track for 30,000–40,000 units in week one. The 9 song set pairs dark stories with light beats, using live drums, old school synths, and raw plays for that true feel missing in most tracks today.
James Tonic is a Montreal-born artist blending hip-hop, R&B, and pop roots with soft rock and folk compositions and band instrumentation. Known for albums like Stuck in LA — produced by Chris Peden with live orchestration — and his latest Safety, he explores self-discovery, resilience, and real-life narratives through organic, unhurried sounds. Following successful tours, his work continues in a series into 2026. Beyond music, James is a tech investor building a platform for musicians to automate websites and focus on their craft.
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Skep Wax are pleased to announce a new single and a limited edition CD album from Railcard, a brand new band featuring Rachel Love (Dolly Mixture), Ian Button (Papernut Cambridge, The Penrose Web) and Peter Momtchiloff (Heavenly, Would-be-goods). The new single, Day Dream, is a perfect indicator of the dreamy Bacharach pop that Railcard have embraced and reinvented. Rachel Love’s vocal sounds as pure as it did in Dolly Mixture.
Railcard formed in 2025 when Rachel Love (Dolly Mixture), Ian Button (Papernut Cambridge, The Penrose Web) and Peter Momtchiloff (Heavenly, Would-be-goods) discovered that they were all born within weeks of each other. It seemed like a great reason to form a new band, so Love and Button began writing songs together, and Railcard was born. Their original ‘1962’ age limit rule was relaxed shortly afterwards when suspiciously youthful trumpeter Allison Thomson completed the line-up.
Following two limited edition download-only EPs (the first accompanied with a Railcard wallet, the second with a pair of iron-on patches) Skep Wax and Slumberland are proud to release this collection of ten songs as a CD album (release date: 6 February 2026). The seven tracks from those first two EPs are included, along with three new ones. (The fetish for merch hasn’t been overlooked: the CD comes with a useful Railcard information leaflet).
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ADULT. is not cooperating. For over 25 years, the dystopian Detroit synth-punk institution founded by Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller has embodied steadfast frustration, distrust, and apprehension. One might expect the edges to soften with time, but ADULT. is not interested in the comforts of legacy. The duo’s music has never sounded as visceral, urgent, and downright angry as it does on the culminating, uncompromising Kissing Luck Goodbye, their scorched-earth 10th LP and fourth with Dais Records.
Built with upgraded gear and a whole new library of sounds, the material is crushingly dynamic, louder yet clearer, with Kuperus’ commanding delivery given greater prominence in the mix, outlining an arsenal of vivid, caustic calls, chants, and musings. Laughter, whether in the lyrics or as a possessed presence, serves as a leitmotif that speaks to the menacing absurdity of modern times.
“No One is Coming”, the album’s lead single is a poignant, bassline-driven industrial anthem that turns feedback into melody, the track attacks inaction in the face of fascism.
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The Imaginary Band, longtime Chilliwack, BC-based musician Andrew Christopher's latest project, steps fully into focus on their debut single, "Polka Hands." A carefree, roots-leaning indie-folk single, it celebrates intuition, creativity, and the beauty of not overthinking life's next move.
"At first, The Imaginary Band only existed vaguely in my mind," explains Christopher. "But when I wrote 'Polka Hands,' I learned to fully embrace the concept." Without a bass player at the time, he began playing a bassline on guitar, imagining exactly how it would feel once the right players arrived. "Immediately, an imaginary drummer sat behind the kit in my head, laying down a groovy but straight-ahead rock beat. Just sitting in the pocket. That's still the intro of the song."
The clarity of this vision unlocked something new; not just musically, but emotionally. Written during a lazy afternoon at a pump track while watching his son ride his bike, the lyrics came naturally and without force. "They speak of taking chances, doing hard things, accepting the reality that life is inherently complex, and that it's beautiful that way," Andrew shares. With real-life bandmates who are ever-so imaginative now filling the roles once envisioned, "Polka Hands" becomes both a song and a statement of intent.
The title itself reinforces the song’s central message: don't overthink it. Inspired by a recent polka band performance at a friend's 40th birthday and lyrics referencing a barroom scene and a game of Texas Hold'em, the original phrase "Polka Bands & Poker Hands" was quickly distilled. "It was a bit too wordy," Andrew laughs. "So I went with 'Polka Hands' without overthinking it."
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Los Angeles' Julian Never shares the third single and video from its forthcoming Everyday Is Purgation LP for Mt.St.Mtn. “'Anything' tries to hold all the things you’ve done, good and bad, and all the love you carry in one song. Repeated words that have lost meaning. So much energy wasted for little purpose, connection or insight. Sometimes capturing a moment is enough. Maybe each time the song plays it will teach you something.
“'Anything' is a song about a time of desperation with a brief and relevant reference to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s tragic novel, Tender is the Night.
“'It’s 5 o'clock in the morning. Awake again and no place to go.' The early morning sets the tone for an entire day, whether the skies are clear or opaque. 'Anything' is about the search for peace when you’re not sure if you’d recognize it. The pull toward chaos, and the strange comfort found in distortions. It’s a reflection on the patterns we return to, even when we know better. - JAE, 2026.
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