Marian - Teagan Johnston - Brother Wallace - Asara - Georgian - The Call & Todd Rundgren

Marian - Play Louder, Hit Harder (Album).

Marian is a music lover’s band. Guided by their collective love for lush harmonies, big riffs, and unforgettable hooks, their debut album, Hit Record, blends the best of rock music’s heyday with a fearless appreciation for the here and now. Whether you’re into the classics or keep your ear to the ground for the next big sound - you need to hear the latest from Marian. Rock and roll hasn’t sounded this sweet in too long.

Weaving together themes of adulthood’s relentless grind and the uncertainty of what lies ahead, sophomore record Play Louder, Hit Harder marks a bold reintroduction for New Brunswick rock trio Marian. Following-up celebrated 2022 debut, Hit Record (Music NB’s Song of the Year and an ECMA Rising Star Recording of the Year nominee), Marian preview Play Louder, Hit Harder with focus tracks “Rock N’ Roll” and “K-Leigh.”
 
“‘Rock N’ Roll’ is the companion song to PLHH,” said Marian’s Dylan Ward (he/him). “It captures the loudness and hardness of the record, and sits directly in the transition point between adolescence and adulthood. This song is the anthem to doubling down, sticking to your guns, and turning up the sound to block the noise.”

“K-Leigh,” meanwhile, channels the same loud, carefree rock energy, but with a gentler message. Jerry-Faye Ward, who works as a teacher in addition to being a musician, wrote the song after seeing so many children having a tough time fitting in. “It’s hard to know your worth if you don’t have anyone telling you that the things you’re insecure about are insignificant to everyone but you,” she said. “This song is for anyone who’s ever felt left out.”

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Teagan Johnston - Beat a Dead Horse.

Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist Teagan Johnston shares her latest offering, “Beat a Dead Horse,” a deeply reflective and emotionally charged single that examines the lingering impact of past relationships and the process of releasing what no longer serves you. Rooted in indie rock and singer-songwriter sensibilities, the track moves through grief, awareness, and ultimately toward a renewed sense of hope and forward motion.

The song was sparked by an unexpected moment during a psychic reading in New York City. “I’m not sure what I believe when it comes to psychics,” Teagan shares, “but something she said really hit me. She told me I was allowing old experiences of dark and painful love to dictate how I love now and in the future.” In that moment, Teagan felt a renewed urgency to step out of cycles of emotional repetition and into something more present and alive.

That sense of reflection carried directly into the song’s visual world. The accompanying video was filmed during a trip to Spain with Teagan’s parents, revisiting a place she hadn’t been since her time living there between the ages of 13-14. “Those years in Spain were before the trauma I reference in the song,” she explains. “It felt like the perfect place to reconnect with feelings of optimism and openness.”

Armed only with a digital camera, Teagan approached the shoot with a return-to-basics mindset, documenting beauty, colour, and everyday moments with a sense of curiosity and emotional clarity. The result is a visual companion that mirrors the song’s central theme: revisiting the past not to live in it, but to finally move beyond it.

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Photo - Hana Snow

Brother Wallace - You’re The Man.

Brother Wallace doesn’t just have a voice, he has command. Now, the West Point, Georgia-bred singer, pianist, and soul revivalist shares 'You’re The Man' alongside an official music video, offering a powerful new centre piece from his forthcoming debut album, 'Electric Love', which arrives this Friday, 8 May via ATO Records.

A darker, harder-hitting side of Wallace’s “Electric Love soul music,” 'You’re The Man' moves with a moody ferocity — a song that stares straight at pride, power, and the stories we tell ourselves when we think we’re untouchable. Built for big rooms and bigger feelings, it’s a performance that doesn’t blink: Wallace’s vocals land with preacher’s conviction and street-corner truth, carrying a narrative that’s both unflinching and strangely compassionate. “That song comes from someone I know personally getting caught up in a treacherous life and thinking they could somehow escape the consequences,” Wallace says. “But then of course they ended up in trouble.”
 
Now midway through a spring tour supporting St. Paul & The Broken Bones across the US, Wallace is set to arrive in the UK for the first time this May. The visit includes performances at The Great Escape and Cross the Tracks, as well as two headline shows in Manchester and London.

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Asara - Thank You, Thank You.

Following the success of his first single "Cute," Asara returns with "Thank You, Thank You," a new track announcing the release of his debut album "028 Crises," scheduled for July 3rd on the Géographie label (Dog Park, Marble Arch, etc.).

With its catchy melody, this second track is built on the groove of a drum machine derived from an old Farfisa keyboard from the 70s, which belonged to his grandfather. Balancing sweetness and gentle melancholy, the song infuses the track with a touch of humor, also present in the music video, and radiates a decidedly positive energy.

Asara is a French multi-instrumentalist artist launching her first solo project. For the past four years, she has been a member of the band Dog Park, where she has played guitar, bass, keyboards, and vocals. She now opens up a more intimate space with her solo project, Asara.

Composed throughout 2025, this debut album is structured like a sonic diary, almost a documentary, retracing this year rich in personal emotions. This collection of songs places the voice at the heart of the project, and the eight tracks that make up "028 Crises" oscillate between melancholy and rhythmic energy. Asara recorded at Studio 48L with her longtime friend and sound engineer, Baptiste Leroy.

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Photo - Aaron Farrimond

Georgian - Californian Jeans.

Manchester-based Georgian continue their fresh chapter today with the release of their cinematic new single and visualiser ‘Californian Jeans’. The single follows recent release ‘Crackled Grounds’ and is taken from their first full body of work the ‘Crackled Grounds EP’ out on 12th June via Heist or Hit (Westside Cowboy, Her’s).
 
Formed in 2024 and with three previous singles in their musical catalogue, Georgian are a five-piece outfit comprising Georgia McKiernan (vocals, acoustic guitar), James Poole, James Polglase (both lead and rhythm guitar, BVs), Connor Alder (drums) and Harry George (bass). Together Georgian have an expansive sound that reflects each of the band’s tastes, retaining a modern approach, but keeping the sound of their influences alive. Wrangling ‘60s pop, country, folk, shoegaze, psychedelia and further-flung traditional styles, their songs tell tales of navigating harsh emotional environments and lived experiences.
 
The debut ‘Crackled Grounds EP’ was laid down with producer Arno Stols at Magenta Studio in the peaceful Amsterdam countryside. Taking a leaf from Brian Jonestown Massacre’s melodic revivalism, Georgian began emulating the warm, unsettling, mysterious 60s-70s production of artists to which they had mutually become accustomed. Lyrically taking the listener to a place of escapism, the songs tell of battling the elements, female empowerment, and deep-rooted nostalgia.

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The Call & Todd Rundgren - The Walls Came Down.

We are catching up somewhat with this release on Beehive Candy, however we feel it's more than worth a share, so here's the back story & please enjoy. Critically acclaimed American modern rock band, The Call along with legendary performer Todd Rundgren announce a fiery call to action on a new studio version of The Call's "The Walls Came Down", which is out now. "The Walls Came Down" is a politically charged 1983 song orginally recorded by The Call, known for its Cold War themes and biblical Jericho allegory, featured on their album Modern Romans and popularized by its black-and-white MTV video, with singer Michael Been leading the band. The song reached #17 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock tracks in 1983.

Michael Been died of a heart attack in 2010, and the remaining band members (Tom Ferrier, Scott Musick, Jim Goodwin) reunited occasionally but never officially broke up. Taking over lead vocals, this is Todd Rundgren’s first collaboration with The Call.

Released as the lead track from the The Call’s 1983 album Modern Romans, “The Walls Came Down” landed in a world steeped in political tension. The Cold War was at its height: the Berlin Wall still divided East and West, the nuclear arms race dominated headlines, and Reagan’s “Star Wars” defense initiative was on everyone’s lips. Fear of global conflict wasn’t abstract—it was nightly news. Against that backdrop, The Call delivered a track that felt less like a pop song and more like a warning broadcast.

Four decades later, “The Walls Came Down” remains one of the most enduring political anthems of its time. It captures the uneasy heartbeat of 1983, but its message remains timeless. Every generation has its walls—literal and symbolic—and every wall eventually falls. Todd Rundgren would sometimes perform a cover version of “The Walls Came Down” in his solo concerts and get an enthusistic reactions. The remaing Call band members (Jim Goodwin, Tom Ferrier, Scott Musick) came across his videos on Youtube and reached out to see if he would like to collaborate on a new version.

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JES x Spada - Mary Ocher - flyingdeadman - Brother Wallace - Futurebirds

JES x Spada - Everybody Wants to Rule the World.

Grammy-nominated artist JES and Italian producer Spada join forces for a bold reimagining of the classic Everybody Wants to Rule the World. Released tomorrow via Magik Muzik, the track blends JES’s unmistakable vocals with Spada’s refined melodic house production, bringing rolling basslines, crisp synth textures, and dynamic energy to a song that continues to resonate decades after its original release.

The collaboration highlights both artists’ strengths: JES’s ability to deliver emotionally charged performances and reinterpret familiar material with nuance, and Spada’s talent for crafting grooves that are both precise and captivating. The result is a version that feels immediate, cinematic, and club-ready, while remaining true to the iconic spirit of the original.

“I don’t do a lot of covers because I really have to feel a connection to the song,” JES shares. “‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ is one of those songs that sticks with you. When Spada sent me his version, I immediately felt it. His groove gave it new life but still left space for the emotion of the song. Working together was so natural, and I’m really proud of how it came together and the version we made.”

JES has helped to define the sound of modern electronic music, achieving #1 Billboard Dance hits and collaborating with artists like Tiësto, BT, Armin van Buuren, and ATB. Spada has built a global reputation for melodic house and techno productions that combine infectious energy with memorable hooks, earning support from tastemakers and festival stages worldwide. Together, they bring a fresh perspective to a song that continues to feel urgent and relatable, bridging timeless songwriting with undeniable electronic aesthetics.

JES · Everybody Wants to Rule the World

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Mary Ocher - Weimar (Album). 

The adventurous Berlin artist returns with a surprising piano record, written on a classic instrument from the 1870s, marking a departure from recent experimentations with post-punk, krautrock, ambient and field recordings.

Weimar draws on 20th-century minimalism, chamber-pop, and modern classical. Yet it remains unmistakably Ocher, thoughtful and grounded in emotional depth. Its title alludes to the current era, echoing the fall of the Weimar Republic a century ago and the shadow of fascism that rose in its wake.  

Born in Moscow to Jewish-Ukrainian parents and raised in Tel Aviv, she learned early on to question authority - and that it came at a hefty price. At twenty, after refusing the draft, she left for Berlin, where she became a central underground figure, known for her uncompromising mixture of music, art and politics and critical writing on nationalism and war.

Her recent releases include collaborations with Mogwai, King Khan, Die Tödliche Doris, Roberto Cacciapaglia and Felix Kubin, and homages to Delia Derbyshire and Dorothy Ashby / Omar Khayyam. 

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flyingdeadman - Mirages (Album)

French post-rock storytellers flyingdeadman have just streamed their new album 'Mirages'. The wait is over. The journey is now open. flyingdeadman are back to guide us through the eye of the storm with the official release of their highly anticipated album, 'Mirages'.

Following the cinematic premiere of "Before Chaos," the full-length odyssey has arrived as a self-released labor of love, inviting listeners to immerse themselves in its soaring, atmospheric landscapes. Created nearly fifteen years ago in Bressuire, in the Deux-Sèvres, having experienced several changes of line up, flyingdeadman evolves in trio. The idea is always the same to know how to share emotions and make the mind travel.

Since 2010, French post-rock storytellers flyingdeadman have carved a unique path through the instrumental landscape, evolving toward an aerial sound that is at once refined and full of rage. By brilliantly developing the art of the "chiaroscuro" - a contrast so dear to the genre’s most iconic acts - the band strikes a masterful balance between wild strength and delicacy. 

Their instrumental compositions, characterized by rich melodies and sensitive arrangements, are meticulously crafted to guide the listener through a world of evocative, sonic storytelling.

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Brother Wallace - Who Do You Love?

Brother Wallace has a gift for making soul music that feels like a mirror and a release all at once, the kind that hits you in the chest, then gets you back on your feet. Today, the West Point, Georgia-bred singer, pianist, and soul revivalist shares 'Who Do You Love?' alongside a new music video, offering another powerful look into his forthcoming debut album 'Electric Love', out 8th May via ATO Records.
 
Where previous singles have introduced Wallace’s high-voltage joy and lived-in reflection, 'Who Do You Love?' sharpens the focus to a single, human question — equal parts invitation and reckoning. Anchored by Wallace’s unmistakable voice and a band-in-the-pocket pulse, the track rides a propulsive, dance-ready groove that feels both classic and immediate, letting the hook land like a challenge you can’t dodge. The accompanying video leans into that same bold simplicity, framing Wallace and band in a stylised performance setting that flickers between hyper-saturated colour fields and graphic, leopard-print backdrops, with a grainy, vintage-TV texture that makes the whole thing feel like a lost soul broadcast—loud colours, big feeling, no distractions.
 
“‘Who Do You Love?’ is a check-in—one of those questions you can’t run from forever,” says Wallace. “It’s not just about romance. It’s about where you’re putting your time, your energy, your attention… and whether the love you’re giving is coming back to you.”
 
“Who Do You Love?” continues the rapid rise of Brother Wallace, whose debut moment has already arrived with rare momentum for a brand-new artist. The album’s title track “Electric Love” premiered internationally via Craig Charles’ Funk & Soul Show on BBC Radio 6 Music, while Wallace’s first-ever ATO single “Who’s That?” hit Top 20 at Triple A radio in the U.S. — an impressive feat for a debut release, and especially notable given it wasn’t originally planned for radio servicing.

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Photo - Brian Harding

Futurebirds - Sienna Life (EP). 

After nearly two decades in flight, the Athens, GA-born Futurebirds announced their first double album Far Out Country, set for release on June 5 via Dualtone Records. Produced by GRAMMY-winner Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman), the record is split into two distinct worlds of Far Out Country I & II —a restless, sunlit "day" and a deeper, more interior "night" that blends psychedelic country-rock, indie, and something that feels less like a genre than a place.

In a rare physical-first approach, the band will release the full project as a double vinyl on June 5, with the second half of the album arriving on streaming platforms months later, making vinyl the only way to experience the complete record early. Today, the group released the Sienna Life EP featuring three songs from Far Out Country I – “Sienna Life,” “Sleepless in the Cage,” and “Ghost Moon.”

Fronted by three distinct singer-songwriters – Daniel “Womz” Womack, Carter King, and Thomas “Tojo” Johnson – the band writes in conversation, their voices shaped by a shared history but diverging perspectives. Across 18 songs, Far Out Country unfolds like an honest dialogue about their transition to fathers and family men navigating the tension between the road that made them and their lives back home.

About the double album, King explains: “We’re really excited to be releasing our first double record in the truest sense. Far Out Country I & II are the two different lenses of the 3D movie glasses. Our three different songwriting perspectives speaking with each other about a shared life, experienced unbelievably close together, and also far apart. It’s a daytime talk, and another one deeper in the night. Far Out Country is a place, not a sound. It’s a place outside ourselves that hopefully helps us see inside the house a little more clearly. New terrain is always best explored with friends. Always use the buddy system, and be safe out there. The full double album will be available on vinyl out of the gates, but digitally, I & II will live and breathe on their own, unfolding one-at-a-time. Come on out and find us.”

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Sin Cos Tan - Brother Wallace - Thomas Duxbury and New Mother Nature - Night Swimming - Marie Dahlstrom - Danny George Wilson

Sin Cos Tan - I Wasn’t Young, I Needed the Money.

Finnish synth-pop duo Sin Cos Tan continue their Greed era with “I Wasn’t Young, I Needed the Money”, the third single from their forthcoming album Greed. Following the late-night pulse of In My House, the new track sharpens the album’s central theme into a clean, hook-driven statement: desire, justification, and the ways money can become both motive and excuse.

Formed by producer-DJ Jori Hulkkonen and singer-songwriter Juho Paalosmaa, Sin Cos Tan are known for their rare balance of Nordic melancholy, classic pop songwriting, and precise electronic production. Their music exists between nostalgia and the future: intimate, detailed, and timeless synth-pop that resonates equally well in headphones, after-dark settings, and on the edge of the dancefloor

“I Wasn’t Young, I Needed the Money” is built like a classic: tight structure, immediate chorus, and a steady electronic momentum that never turns into a genre exercise. Instead, it delivers a focused, literate narrative voice, letting the lyric carry the tension. It is one of the most direct tracks in the Greed cycle so far, capturing the album’s view of greed not only as money, but as power, control, and the normalization of harmful choices. Elegant, unsentimental, and highly melodic, it underlines why Sin Cos Tan remain one of Northern Europe’s most respected synth-pop acts.

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Brother Wallace - Gone With The Wind.

Every so often, an artist arrives with a voice so seasoned and a story so grounded that they feel less like a "discovery" and more like an inevitability. Brother Wallace is that artist. Now, the West Point, Georgia-bred singer, pianist, and soul revivalist releases “Gone With The Wind,” the latest single and music video from his forthcoming debut album, 'Electric Love' (out 8 May via ATO Records). 
 
While his previous singles showcased a high-octane grit, “Gone With The Wind” reveals a more introspective, tender side of the powerhouse vocalist. It is not only luminous, but it also finds him turning inward without losing any of the fire that’s quickly made him one of soul’s most compelling new voices. Built on a rollicking piano riff and carried by Wallace’s sublime vocal, the track is a lived-in meditation on letting go of the noise, protecting your peace, and giving yourself permission to breathe. 
 
“I started writing that song when I was driving home from work one day, feeling like I needed to let the world go and take some time out for myself,” Wallace explains. That sense of sanctuary is amplified by the song’s heavenly background harmonies, provided by a group of young vocalists from Wallace’s hometown—students he personally trained during his years as a choral director. “When they added their parts, it felt like they were carrying me away as they were singing,” he says. “It was like a beautiful journey that I didn’t want to end.” 

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Thomas Duxbury and New Mother Nature - She Never Knows.

Hamilton, ON's Thomas Duxbury and New Mother Nature are following up on their debut single, "Istanbul," with "She Never Knows," a high-voltage garage-rock burner that pairs blistering blues riffs with deeply reflective songwriting. Written years ago and resurfacing with renewed clarity, the track wrestles with avoidance, identity, substance use, and the quiet heartbreak of watching someone you love slip away from themselves.

"This is a song about seeing a close friend resort to substance abuse to avoid confronting their reality," Duxbury explains. "As I've moved forward through my life, I have seen so many close people go through similar issues; my dad, close friends, and even bits in myself. Avoidance takes many forms. Sometimes it's substances. Sometimes it's just lying in bed and not wanting to face the world."

Despite its heavy subject matter, "She Never Knows" is delivered as a punchy, riff-forward blast of electric rock; an intentional contrast. "You'll find this scenario in a lot of my music," Duxbury notes. "There'll be something fun and energetic, and then you listen back and realize what I'm actually saying. Songwriting is journaling for me. It's my way of converting negative feelings into something positive."

Recorded, mixed, and mastered at Duxbury's home studio Bonnie Doon Records, "She Never Knows" embodies New Mother Nature's DIY ethos. "I like to keep production as part of the songwriting process," he explains. "I'm wired as an audio engineer so I can hear what direction I want the production to go as I record and layer a track.”"

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Photo - Derek Bremner

Night Swimming - Poison Berry.

Bath, UK-based dream-pop band Night Swimming today announce their second EP 'Melting, Sometimes Bleeding', out 22nd May via Venn Records (Bob Vylan, Witch Fever, High Vis) - produced by longtime collaborator Peter Miles (Orla Gartland, Nina Nesbitt) and mastered by Simon Scott of Slowdive.

With the EP announcement comes the release of new single 'Poison Berry' and a one-take video directed by Jay Bartlett depicting a relationship deadlock. 'Poison Berry' provides the new EP's second taste, following 2025 single 'Submarine'. Built around a hypnotic rhythmic pulse, Night Swimming lean into a gauzy dream-pop palette, turning the lens inward on recurring relational dynamics. 

Speaking on the release of new single 'Poison Berry', vocalist and lyricist Meg Jones said: "'Poison Berry' is an amalgamation of my experiences with men and how they have made me feel in relationships, but it is also a reflection of my own responsibility for the kinds of dynamics I can be drawn to. There is a dryness of tone to this song that I haven’t explored before in lyrics, and a numbness. ‘Poison Berry’ details the state of being acutely aware of your partner’s emotions, although they seem distant, and the loneliness (or bitterness) of feeling like that isn’t reciprocated."

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Photo - Lennon Gregory

Marie Dahlstrom - Frostbite.

Danish London-based vocalist, songwriter and producer Marie Dahlstrom today shares her new single ‘Frostbite’, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the Roskilde-born musician and offering the first glimpse of a new project set to arrive later this year. Over the past few years, Dahlstrom has quietly built one of contemporary R&B’s most trusted catalogues – rooted in neo-soul, jazz and understated groove.

That sustained momentum now sees her entering her most assured phase yet, starting with new single 'Frostbite', produced by Dan Diggas (Central Cee, Mahalia).

Staying rooted in the soul-led intimacy that has defined her work to date, 'Frostbite' finds Dahlstrom pushing further into nuance and atmosphere. With a cooler tonal palette than her recent work, the track explores love’s mutability through immersive textures and glistening melodies, unfolding with the quiet control that has become Dahlstrom’s signature.

On the release of 'Frostbite', Marie said: “‘Frostbite’ is a song about longing and about how the feeling lingers in the body. It’s drawn from many experiences in my life, all wrapped into this piece. It was recorded on my old piano at my parents’ house in Roskilde, in my childhood bedroom. We tracked it with one small mic held close to the piano — nothing pro about it at all — but the instrument has this warm, muted tone that really captured the feeling. To me, this is what music is about".

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Danny George Wilson - Arcade.

Danny George Wilson, who releases his new album 'Arcade' on 20th March via Loose Music, has been confirmed as a special guest on The Handsome Family's forthcoming UK tour in May. Coinciding with the announcement, Wilson has today unveiled the title track to the new album. "Arcade’ is a song about youth culture and nostalgia…a mix of sadness and gratitude" reflects Wilson. "Doffing a cap to the classic and influential ‘Subway Art’ book that emerged in 1984, a first taste of Dinosaur Jr’s ‘Freak Scene’ and Sonic Youth’s ‘Teenage Riot’ and memories of Sutton’s long demolished Arcade."

'Arcade' finds Danny George Wilson returning to Hamish Benjamin’s studio in East Sussex - five years on from his startling, post-lockdown solo album Another Place – to construct its sequel. With Lewes-based Benjamin and right-hand man Henry Garratt, again given free rein, 'Arcade' presents a fresh collection of sonically inventive, deeply romantic songs, with atmosphere taking primacy over meaning, and narrative dissolving. As Wilson tells it: 

“The songs are about the ways we deal with losing people, time, place, or don’t deal with it… Looking back, we discover what was always there, or things that are just easier to ignore - different and contradictory perspectives. And I wanted a chance to work with Hamish and Henry again, and this seemed like their thing, and it was”.

Traditional instrumentation meets technology; the majority of tracks feature a string quartet, while Benjamin and Garratt employ synthesiser and mellotron along with a plethora of guitars. Gerry Love again provides backing vocals with cameos from Emma Tricca and Annie Dressner. Fragile, tender, full of uncertainty, ultimately 'Arcade' is a song-cycle in which the premise of each track subverts the previous, and demonstrates most assuredly, we still move in doubt.

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Em Spel - Ninå - Chalice Sect - Brother Wallace - The Green Apple Sea - MUKI

Photo - Deidre Huckabay

Em Spel - Geographic.

Em Spel is scheduled to release the new LP "Bird or Snake" on the 27 March on Birdwatcher / Carilloni, the first single "Geographic" is released this week. Em Spel's intricate, flute-driven alt-folk sounds like nothing else in Chicago. Led by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Emma Hospelhorn, Em Spel's debut album, The Carillon Towers, was hailed by the Chicago Reader as "Scintillating" and by Dusted Magazine as "a folktale turned oddly, surreally modern, a magical realist scenario set in the right now." 

Hospelhorn is a flutist in avant-classical group Ensemble Dal Niente, and her discography includes work on flutes, bass guitar, and keyboards for V.V. Lightbody, Mute Duo, and others working in a diverse array of genres including folk, drone, garage rock, post-punk, and classical. In this solo endeavor, she fuses all of these influences with story-driven lyrics to create invitingly strange folk vignettes.

Em Spel’s second full-length album, Bird or Snake, finds the artist teetering joyfully between art-folk and intimate indie rock. Recorded in Chicago by veteran Califone and Iron & Wine producer Brian Deck, Bird or Snake is an exuberant leap forward for Em Spel. Hospelhorn is at her arranging best, folding dizzying vocal harmonies, elegant instrumental writing, and deftly deployed electronics into a musical tapestry that evokes the warmth and wildness of an industrial Midwestern landscape. The album pulses with life, from the driving drums and propulsively patterned guitars of “Poet” (featuring guest Sam Wagster on soaring pedal steel) through the organ and vocal-driven road trip love song of “Fruiting Body,” which features bird songs Hospelhorn recorded on a handheld microphone at an artist residency in Maine.

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Ninå - Truth or Dare.

Ninå’s “Truth or Dare” blends pop-soul with a bluesy edge and an unmistakably adult feel, classy, confident, and made for late-night rotation. Driven by a locked-in bass line and acoustic guitar, the track moves with effortless groove while letting the vocal lead with warmth, control, and attitude. 

The songwriting keeps it timeless: sharp, vivid lyrics, a chorus that sticks after the first listen, and a guitar solo that seals the mood with real personality. It’s the kind of record that feels both intimate and bold, polished but still human.

Behind it is Ninå, a vocalist who turns real-life turning points into music that feels honest, fearless, and alive. She doesn’t oversell the emotion, she delivers it, and that’s what makes the song hit. "Truth or Dare" is the latest single leading into her upcoming album Bloom with Fire.

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Chalice Sect - Violet Grey.

“Violet Grey” is the latest single from Los Angeles-based electronic darkwave project Chalice Sect. Merging electro-industrial style vocoder, darkwave romance, and dance-driven club rhythms, “Violet Grey” is ready to rouse goth boots onto dancefloors worldwide.

With “Violet Grey,” the band forges a path into goth club rotations with their characteristic blend of industrial-rich beats reminiscent of Kontravoid resculpted with New Order-esque melodicism. Showcasing a unique blend of dark dance fare and '80s alt-inflected songwriting sensibilities, "Violet Grey" delivers a charged reanimation of classic darkwave sounds into heavy electronics for a retro-futuristic sound all its own.

Chalice Sect is a darkwave/post-punk project from Los Angeles, drawing from post-punk, new wave, and dark electro while maintaining a modern electronic edge. Built around driving basslines, synth-heavy arrangements, and direct songwriting, the music balances atmosphere with momentum.

Rather than leaning on nostalgia, Chalice Sect focuses on clarity, rhythm, and energy — creating songs that reference classic influences without sounding dated, and delivering a sound that is both recognizable and current.

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Brother Wallace - Electric Love / Who's That?.

Some artists spend their whole lives getting ready for the moment the world finally hears them. Brother Wallace is one of them. This week, the West Point, Georgia-bred singer, pianist, and soul revivalist announces his debut album 'Electric Love', out on 8th May via ATO Records, and shares the album’s title track—a Motown-esque number that’s equal parts playful, revelatory, and gloriously cathartic—alongside an official music video.

On “Electric Love,” Brother Wallace doesn’t just sing about joy—he fights for it. The song moves like a shot of sunlight through a storm cloud: Stax-and-satin soul, piano-driven, and bursting with momentum, it’s built for the exact moment when you decide you’re not going to let the world harden you. “It’s about choosing connection,” Wallace says. “Finding that current again—the thing that reminds you you’re alive.”

Across its 13 songs, Electric Love is less a debut than a revelation—a body of work fueled by gospel roots and classic soul lineage (Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Southern soul greats) while refusing to live in nostalgia. Wallace writes in lived-in scenes and hard-earned feeling: heartbreak without defeat, joy without naïveté, vulnerability without apology. The album’s rhapsodic opener “Who’s That?” (released last fall as his first ATO single) entered the Top 30 at Triple A radio in the US for the first time this week—an amazing feat for his first-ever single. Now, the title track “Electric Love” expands the frame: this is an artist building a world where joy is radical, and connection is survival. Now, the title track “Electric Love” expands the frame: this is an artist building a world where joy is radical, and connection is survival. 


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Photo - Nic Knelleken

The Green Apple Sea - Big Heart.

German Indie Folk/Americana institution The Green Apple Sea are releasing their new, very personal album "Dark Kid" on February 20th via KF Records. “Big Heart” is a song for and about people who would rather say nothing at all than say something wrong. For those who sneak out of parties without saying goodbye. Who don't answer the phone when it rings because they're afraid of an awkward situation. For people who postpone or don't do important things at all, for fear of messing everything up. 

Those who laugh too loudly at the wrong time. For those who avoid eye contact when talking. For those who use "one" when they mean "I." For those who lower their heads when spoken to. For those who don't reply to a message for weeks because they're afraid of saying the wrong thing. For those who are actually quite funny, but also very strange. For those who feel they don't fit in. For those who know they can't. For those who are far too honest for anyone to take seriously. For those who rarely reply, "Very good. Thank you. And you?" For those who are best off on their own. For those who rarely plan more than a few weeks ahead, because who knows what might happen then. For those who talk to themselves far too loudly when others are around. For those who can't simply be happy when something good happens, because it's supposedly impossible and will inevitably turn into crap. For those who are constantly preparing to die in every possible way. For those whose philosophy of life is more or less reduced to the phrase "I'd rather not."

The theme running through the episodes on the album "Dark Kid" is Stefan Prange's not always easy childhood and adolescence. The fact that his stepfather nicknamed his father "Satan" only seems a bit strange in retrospect. The fact that his stepbrothers chained him to a stair railing with a bicycle lock when no one else felt like watching him might seem a bit cruel in hindsight. But for 10-year-old Prange, it was nothing out of the ordinary. When he tells these stories and sings lines like "I wasn't afraid to die, I was just waiting to die," it's meant with the same pragmatic naiveté with which the protagonist, "Dark Kid," accepts his surroundings.

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MUKI - Gasoline.

MUKI (pronounced mʊk.ie) makes his first impression with 'Gasoline', an emotionally charged indie pop and folk-leaning debut, out this Wednesday, January 21. Born in Dubai with Indian roots, the now Naarm/Melbourne-based Mukul Jiwnani has built his life around making and performing music. A full-time performer, 'Gasoline' marks his official debut under the MUKI moniker, a project shaped slowly and deliberately after years of writing, refining, and searching for the right moment to step forward.  

'Gasoline' unfolds with a gentle sense of space and restraint. Layers of finger-picked electric guitar sit against a spacious kick drum and a hypnotising, echoed snare. While piano drifts through the arrangement to create a lush, dreamlike atmosphere, subtle guitar licks and warm bass lines add colour without crowding the song.  

MUKI’s vocals move between intimacy and emotional release, shifting from wispy softness to impassioned cries and airy falsetto, before opening out into a chorus lifted by layered, choir-like harmonies that wrap the song in warmth.   The result is a loving, immersive intensity that feels deeply personal.  Captured in its slow-burning, impassioned sound, 'Gasoline' reflects on the aftermath of a relationship where love has faded, and acceptance begins to take its place. It captures the moment when holding on no longer makes sense, even while the feeling still lingers. Speaking on the single, MUKI shares:  
 
“'Gasoline’ is my debut single as MUKI, and it’s deeply personal. With ‘Gasoline’, I wanted to capture the tension of a relationship that wouldn’t survive despite every effort. It’s a breakup song, but one about acceptance and moving on.”

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