Splitsville - Beth Steel.
“They're burning down the empire, but the trains still run on time”: that's the brash opening couplet on Splitsville's new single, and it's guaranteed to turn a few heads. Equally arresting is the sound of the new song, with churning guitars joined by a loping, Revolver-esque drumbeat leading up to a lush, yearning chorus (“You can't run away from yourself”) and a bridge to die for.
It's clear that the band hasn't reunited for the sake of nostalgia, although their legacy would allow for that: formed in 1994 by identical twins Brandt and Matt Huseman of the beloved power pop band The Greenberry Woods along with former GBW guitar tech Paul Krysiak and later adding Tony Waddy, Splitsville was one of the leading lights of the turn-of-the-century guitar pop revival. From their home-recorded debut through 2003, their initial run yielded five critically acclaimed albums including genre classics like Repeater(1998) and the retro-focused concept record The Complete Pet Soul(2001).
They've been missed, but the audacity of the new single indicates that Splitsville have returned not only with their melodic gifts and powerful sonics intact, but with heady new ambitions. The title “Beth Steel” might suggest a classic power pop “girl's name” song, but there's much more at work here. And while the talk of burning empires evokes the global realities of 2025, there's something much more local –and personal –at the core of the song.
It's a hint of the thematic concerns the band explore on the forthcoming album, as they explain: “From 1887 to 2012, the Bethlehem Steel mill at Sparrows Point provided steady -if dangerous -work for tens of thousands of men and women. The closing of the mill had a devastating effect on the lives of many residents of Baltimore, including a former supervisor who was Brandt’s Uber driver one evening. She inspired the lyrics to this song.”
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Amanda DeBoer Bartlett - Braided Together (Album).
Braided Together is Amanda DeBoer Bartlett’s second collection of original songs. Blending her roots in country, folk, classical, and experimental music, the album delves into Bartlett’s childhood in Nebraska, her life as a young musician on the road, and the transformations of early motherhood.
The songs pay tribute to gas stations and cheap motels, embrace the chaotic sweetness of raising babies, and contemplate reckless escapes into the clouds. With powerful and expressive vocals, Bartlett brings these themes to life through intricately crafted songs, recorded with Taylor Hales at the legendary Electrical Audio and performed by some of Chicago’s most admired players in the folk, jazz, and indie rock scenes. Amanda’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Bandcamp Daily, I Care If You Listen, and more.
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Brit surf punk artist, Tooth Gore, released his explosive sophomore album, For Losers, By Losers, on Friday 6th June. TOOTH GORE (aka Kobi Joe) is a supremely talented and exciting surf punk solo artist hailing from the seaside town of Newquay, Cornwall. Tooth Gore sprung to life in late 2021, but it wasn’t until last year that Kobi started turning heads and making waves.
By meshing gutsy fuzzed up guitars and taking in the emotive raw punk energy of modern acts such as Fidlar, The Frights, PUP and Jeff Rosenstock, Kobi Joe also blends in hooky reverb drenched doo-wop vibes (which are inspired by the music of the 1950s) and has crafted a sound that is unique and absolutely engaging. Kobi’s lyrics channel his uncertainties and anxieties, capturing both the joy and terror that comes with youth. The end result is something deeply alluring, passionate and cathartic.
Tooth Gore dropped his debut album, Halloween, last Spring, and tracks from the record picked up widespread global radio airplay (including support from BBC Introducing), as well as hearty Spotify streaming numbers. The single, Werms, was also featured on a curated playlist by Frank Turner. Kobi is now ready to step up further and is loaded with his best work to date in the shape of his new album, For Losers, By Losers. The record is poised to be a game changer for Tooth Gore. From back to front, the album twists and contorts and is such an accomplished piece of work. Kobi remarks: “For Losers, By Losers, was inevitable, it was necessary for me as a person, it's a step up in every way from everything I’ve ever worked on before. It also taught me so much about myself as a person and has been an expression of all the bad stuff that goes on in my head all the time. I’ve really found myself as an artist and can’t wait for people to hear what I’ve got in store.”
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It’s been a long time coming – 29 years in fact – but influential indiepop band Heavenly are releasing a new single. (A full album will follow in February 2026.) Portland Town is as effervescent a pop song as any of Heavenly’s past recordings, with duelling vocals from Amelia and Cathy; looping, twanging, ‘how-did-he-do-that’ guitar escapades from Peter, and a super-catchy melody. As so often with Heavenly, though, the lyrics have real bite.
The song embraces those who find themselves on the margins of a hostile world where maleness, straightness and conformity are in the ascendant. So why Portland? It has always been a sanctuary – one of those places where difference is celebrated, a place where, as the song puts it, anyone can fit in.
The B side is a cover version of a much-loved Only Ones song, ‘Someone Who Cares’. Copies of the 7” single will be available with a special signed postcard at Heavenly’s only show of 2025, at Islington Assembly Hall, London on 19th July, as part of the Skep Wax Weekender.
Heavenly formed in 1989 out of the ashes of short-lived punk pop combo Talulah Gosh. Original members Amelia Fletcher, Peter Momtchiloff, Rob Pursey and Mathew Fletcher were joined later by Cathy Rogers, and the full Heavenly sound - a combination of an energetic punkish rhythm section, sweet, wandering lead guitar lines and full-on girl group harmonies - was consolidated. The band recorded for cult label Sarah Records in the UK and, by the time of their second album, for K Records in the US.
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Just a few bars of the playful indie-pop song "Future-Men" are enough to bring back fond memories: New Radicals, A-Ha, Tears for Fears, Eurythmics... These bands may have inspired At Baron Lane on this track. And they give a hint as to what makes the new single from the Zurich and Schwyz-based band so special: clever arrangements, airy electro beats, and partly multi-voice vocals, all woven into atmospheric synth sounds.
A track like this isn't just written on a whim. A glance at At Baron Lane’s history helps explain it: Since their debut album in 2019, the band has continuously refined their songwriting with numerous releases – and successfully tested them live at countless concerts. The quartet has already performed at venues such as Schüür in Lucerne, Amboss Rampe, and Werk21 at Dynamo Zurich.
Now, At Baron Lane have set their sights high: "Future-Men" is the first taste of a concept album to be released later this year.
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