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| Photo - Sally Jaye |
Some songs don’t announce themselves. They take their time. Ruby James’ “Honeydripper” moves that way. It doesn’t rush to explain itself. It settles in, holds its ground, and builds until it gives way to something heavier, and impossible to ignore.
“Honeydripper” traces back to a writing session at the Holiday Music Motel’s “Love on Holiday” gathering in Door County, Wisconsin, where James connected with songwriter Kate Vargas and built the track from instinct. It began with a simple groove, and a shared sense of chemistry.
“I’d wanted to write with Kate for years,” James says. “She has this incredible voice and presence. When we finally connected, it just clicked.” What began as a playfully, provocative point of view has since taken on a different meaning. James says, "It’s really become about owning your sexuality and your power - all the girls want to be Honeydrippers.”
It was also the song that caught the attention of Lucinda Williams during James’ first Nashville performance. Williams remarked, “That’s the tune. That funky, soul-driven feel really suits you. Lean into that.” With “Honeydripper,” Ruby James isn’t fitting into a lane. She’s carving one out, equal parts grit, groove, and a slow burn that eventually explodes."- Ruby James.
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Paper Citizen have just released a new single Station, a song that doesn’t wait for permission; it sprints ahead. It feels like platform lights flickering past. A last call echoing through the speakers. Your bag already packed before you’ve fully decided where you’re headed.
There’s no overthinking here. No perfect plan. Just movement. Just instinct. What starts as anticipation becomes momentum. What feels uncertain turns into something electric. At its heart, Station has a question. A simple one that keeps coming back around: “Who you waiting for?”
There’s a restless energy running through it emulating late nights, loud shows, and chasing something just out of reach. The kind of feeling that pushes you forward before doubt has a chance to catch up. But this isn’t about having it all figured out. It’s about leaving hesitation behind and trusting the pull of whatever’s calling you.
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Brook Fox is set to release one final single ahead of his highly anticipated debut EP, 'Everybody’s in Love'. Titled 'Anywhere with You', the track arrived yesterday 8th May across all streaming platforms. A highly energetic indie-pop cut, 'Anywhere with You' blends driving momentum with a cinematic sense of escape, pairing the heartland charm of Bruce Springsteen with the jangling guitar shimmer of The Cure. It’s a restless, emotionally charged anthem that captures the tension between nostalgia and the need to leave something behind.
Brook Fox explains: “Anywhere with You' tells the story of wanting to leave your hometown before drama and jealousy boil over. It draws directly from my relationship with Burry Port, a place that shaped so much of my childhood, but one that feels like it’s deteriorating as I grow older.”
The single also serves as a deliberate companion piece to Together, the opening track on 'Everybody’s in Love'. Designed to mirror and deepen the themes introduced at the start of the record, 'Anywhere with You' expands the emotional world of the EP and hints at the narrative arc still to come. With 'Anywhere with You', Brook Fox offers one last glimpse into the world of 'Everybody’s in Love' before the full EP lands on the May 22nd.
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Murray & The Movers return with ‘Dirty Laundry’, a slow-burning, late-night blues-rock cut steeped in mood, tension and restraint. Fronted by Lizzie Mack, whose voice moves between raw intimacy and controlled power, and anchored by Murray Cook’s instinctive, minimal guitar work, the track leans into a darker, more cinematic space — where restraint and atmosphere take precedence over excess.
There’s a sense of narrative running through Dirty Laundry. It doesn’t rush to reveal itself. Instead, it simmers — drawing the listener into a world of shadow, suggestion and slow-release energy, with Mack’s vocal holding steady at the centre.
Murray & The Movers will also follow up the release of ‘Dirty Laundry’ with ‘Squeaky Clean’, a frisky, electrified reworking that pushes the song into sharp-edged rockabilly territory. ‘Squeaky Clean’ is released on 22nd May and together, the two versions offer contrasting moods — from slow-burn tension to high-energy release — making them a versatile pairing for film, TV and soundtrack placement.
Together, the two tracks reveal both sides of Murray & The Movers: one slow-burning and shadowed, the other sharper, louder and built for speed. Drawing on blues, country, garage rock and classic soul, the band’s sound is never revivalist. Instead, it lives in a distinctly cinematic space — music with dust on its boots, neon in its reflection, and a sense of backstory running through every musical choice.
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| Photo - Lionel Turner |
Mon Rayon are one of those rare bands that feel entirely their own, somewhere between “a full English breakfast and the Sanremo Music Festival in the 1960s.” Blending orchestral pop, 60s French influences, harpsichord, and sweeping string arrangements, the Stockholm duo create music that feels both meticulous and alive.
Their new single ‘One of a Kind,’ featuring Vira Milton, is the first taste of their debut album, announced for later this year via Flak Records. Written at Miloco Studios with Charlie Hugall, the track brings forward everything that last year’s EP ‘Post Romantic Stress Disorder’ was praised for: tastefulness, melodic sensibility, and a gentle grandeur that continues to define Mon Rayon’s sound.
“Our core idea from the beginning has been that it should feel alive,” explains Josef Ask. “That we play together, that the playing is real. That it should sound organic in some way - that’s probably the idea we’ve embraced most strongly from orchestral pop.”
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Irish quartet Scustin release the hotly anticipated new EP The Lock-In (May 8th), a radiant four-track release which blends visceral post-punk with indie tendencies, creating music which delivers intense and evocative bursts broken up by anthemic, melodic turns. Building on a year of rising momentum, the band fully deliver on their promise. From opening for Inhaler at the Royal Albert Hall, Ulster Hall in Belfast, and St Anne’s Park in Dublin, to appearing on major festival lineups and selling out their own headline shows, they’ve steadily proven their ascent. The four-track release showcases some of their most polished and impactful work to date.
From the bombastic satire of ‘Dodgy Box Pyramid Scheme’, to the biting commentary on Irish identity of ‘Scustinism’, the fizzing grit and humour of ‘Pub Talkin’ and the hypnotic, anthemic, trad-folk tinted closer ‘The Ballad Of Scampi Fries’, the EP captures the band flourishing both musically and lyrically - making music which manages to offer scathing, thought provoking social commentary, whilst retaining a vibrant and loveable sense of charm and humour.
Produced by Richie Kennedy (Interpol, The Murder Capital, Shame, Ride, The Libertines, Last Dinner Party), the EPs guitar led sound is broken up with the subtle addition of keys and brass among the bands punk attitude and indie tendencies. Spacious yet rich in texture, the instrumental backdrops carry a strong sense of depth, all brought into focus by the charismatic delivery of vocalists Joe Hearns and Liam Smith, particularly on ‘The Ballad of Scampi Fries.’
Speaking about the EP, the band add: “The Lock-In is the culmination of everything we’ve built so far, a bit of a sonic tip of the hat to the community that’s grown around us. We’ve spent the early years of this band playing and hanging out in pubs, meeting incredible people along the way, and everything always comes back to a few key things: community, humour and sincerity. That’s what we wanted to capture on this record, and I think we gave it a good shot. As we close that chapter, it feels like we’ve landed on something that’s genuinely connecting with people, you can really feel that in the shows.
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