After earning chart success, industry recognition, and a growing reputation for crafting songs that resonate with everyday life, country artist and songwriter Re Mattei returns with "Hot Mess," an empowering new anthem for women who embrace every side of who they are.
Set to appear on her forthcoming album Stories Lived, arriving later this summer, "Hot Mess" captures the duality familiar to millions of women: the polished professional during the week and the adventurous, carefree spirit who emerges when the workday ends. Co-written by Mattei and Courtney Bach, the song is equal parts country swagger, heartfelt storytelling, and unapologetic celebration of authenticity.
Inspired by a group of women Mattei worked alongside in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, "Hot Mess" tells the story of a woman who spends her weekdays making deals in heels but lives for weekends filled with tailgates, four-wheelers, fishing trips, and quality time with the people she loves.
"I was fascinated by how these women balanced so many responsibilities while still making time to enjoy life," says Mattei. "They weren't worried about being perfect. They weren't afraid to get dirty, laugh hard, and simply be themselves. At its heart, 'Hot Mess' celebrates those moments when we allow ourselves to be perfectly imperfect and are loved just as we are."
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Boorloo/Perth artist Blank Instrument, the musical project of singer-songwriter Kim Franklin, unveils her new single 'Brand New', out yesterday Friday, June 26, the first taste of her forthcoming debut album 'Jumping at Ghosts', due later this year.
While the warm, country-tinged folk release explores the end of a relationship and the hope that follows, it also marks the beginning of an album made possible by Franklin's late friend Julie, whose encouragement and generosity helped bring the long-held dream of recording a full-length record to life.
The album's origins can be traced back to one of Franklin's final conversations with Julie, a close friend she met years earlier while working together in the public service. Bonded by a shared love of music, storytelling and conversation, the pair remained close long after moving on to different careers.
Before her passing in 2023, Julie told Franklin she wanted to leave her some money to help "pursue her dreams". That gift ultimately funded the recording of 'Jumping at Ghosts', allowing Franklin to enter Sundown Studios and realise a project that may otherwise have remained out of reach. More than a debut album, the record stands as a lasting tribute to friendship, generosity and the people who shape our lives.
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The vintage soul-pop journey of Real Monte continues with its second chapter! With their new single "Take Me To The Sky," the Swiss band once again has a great tune to offer.
Swiss radio station Radio Basilisk summed it up perfectly in April: "Real Monte invite listeners on a musical journey that stylishly blends the past and the present." Meanwhile, Belgian music blog Concertmonkey described the band's sound as a "vintage soul-pop journey," and youth radio station 4TNG in Winterthur selected their debut single as its Song of the Day.
Together with countless live performances, these accolades have helped Real Monte build a loyal and steadily growing fan base over the past few years. Their debut single "Go Go Go" achieved remarkable success this spring, receiving more than 500 radio plays on stations across Switzerland and abroad.
Now it's time for the follow-up: "Take Me To The Sky." An upbeat, carefree summer soul-pop song with a modern touch, it captures the timeless spirit of the 1950s and 1960s while bringing it into the present day.
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Experimental electronic artist and multi-instrumentalist Killian Walsh releases his new album ‘Ise’, accompanied by focus track ‘Let’s Dance’, featuring his daughter Elise SW. Following the release of previous singles ‘Let’s Float’ and ‘Let’s Play Bongos’, the full body of work now arrives as a deeply personal and emotionally expansive collection that cites a journey through grief, reflection, healing and renewal.
The album is named after the Irish word for “she”, with ‘Ise’ serving as a gesture of respect to the women who have shaped Killian’s life. Created during a profoundly transformative period following the deaths of his wife and father, the album emerged organically as a creative response to loss, gradually evolving into a complete work that captures both emotional vulnerability and artistic growth.
Killian Walsh comments: “Music has been part of my life from a very young age, and I had what I can only describe as a pull to do something. This album is effectively the story of the journey of my grief, realising that grief is a form of madness and all the emotions attached to that. It's also the journey of me looking into my past, because you really start looking at yourself and asking, ‘What are you doing? Why am I here? What is the point in all of this?”
Across the album’s eleven tracks, ‘Ise’ draws upon a broad spectrum of electronic influences including Ambient, House, Trance and Techno, while also reflecting Killian’s roots in traditional Irish music. Developed alongside collaborators in Dublin, Berlin and Australia, including renowned producers and engineers Tobias Neumann and Johannes Manuel, the album balances analogue textures, immersive sound design and melodic depth with an unmistakably human emotional core.
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"New Alchemy" is the third single and title track from Brand New Heartache's forthcoming debut album, A New Alchemy (Mule Kick Records), arriving July 24. The single and accompanying video was released yesterday. Brand New Heartache, the husband/wife duo consisting of Eleese and Matthew Meschery, take their cues from the rich traditions of authentic Americana while channeling anthemic, indie-pop vibrations and dreamy harmonies. After having formed the band in Oakland, CA, the pair made a consequential move in 2022 to Madison, TN just outside of Nashville. With a rotating cast of session players that included members of Chuck Prophet’s band, Counting Crows, and Aimee Mann's touring band, they’ve sharpened a captivating sound and built momentum in East Nashville as they gear up for their release on Mule Kick Records.
Blending dreamy harmonies, Americana roots, and indie-pop atmosphere, "New Alchemy" explores the exhilarating uncertainty of a first romantic connection—that moment when attraction seems to bend reality and transform ordinary time into something magical. As songwriter and vocalist Matthew Meschery explains: "That first hint of romantic love seems to transform time and space and defy the laws of physics and pure reality."
Brand New Heartache is the husband-and-wife duo of Matthew and Eleese Meschery. Originally formed in Oakland before relocating to the Nashville area, the pair draw inspiration from artists such as Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Aimee Mann, The New Pornographers, and The Head and the Heart. Their debut album was produced and mixed by Michael Patterson (Beck, The Notorious B.I.G.) and features contributions from an accomplished cast of musicians from the Nashville and Bay Area scenes.
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| Photo - Sophia Matinazad |
Emerging singer/songwriter Cassandra Coleman has released her new single “Maggie.” A wistful ode to faded friendships, “Maggie” reflects on the ambivalence of growing apart from someone over time. Coleman’s sharp vocals cut through the driving instrumentation as she reminisces about bittersweet truths and blunt realities. “‘Maggie’ represents friendships lost by time and change - the bittersweet reality of outgrowing parts of our lives while still carrying gratitude for what they meant to us,” stated Coleman. “It hurts to lose a friend and it hurts to get older and realize you invested more into your dreams than your people.”
Cassandra Coleman will make her television debut next week on June 30th where she’ll perform the new single on The Kelly Clarkson Show. After closing out a batch of tour dates with AMBLE earlier this month, Coleman announced she will be performing in front of her biggest audience to date at Hyde Park in London on July 4th with Mumford & Sons. The appearance will cap off a limited run of Europe and UK dates opening for Angus & Julia Stone. This fall, Coleman will also perform at Oceans Calling Festival in September and Austin City Limits in October.
“Maggie” arrives after a series of new singles that have quickly established Coleman as one of indie-pop’s most compelling new voices, hailed for her “immense talent” (Paste) and “an artist who refuses to be defined by any one thing” (Rolling Stone). She previously released the “ethereal…haunting” (Melodic Magazine) “Dying Star” this spring, which finds Coleman with eyes on the horizon as she envisions a prescient visit with her future self. The sweeping instrumentation soars beneath her lush vocals anchored by wisdom-seeking lyrics that grapple with fate, longing, and the search for meaning. “‘Dying Star’ is a walk with the woman that I’ll become,” stated Coleman. “Curious of the knowledge that time has given her, I ask what the future holds. She reminds me that worry is a thief, time is an illusion, and the ones we love make the journey worth walking.”
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