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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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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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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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 |
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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