"Marble and Mud" is from In The Pines front person Charlie Horn's whose debut solo album Rhythms Unexplained is out later this year as a self-released effort. In The Pines is widely known as Cincinnati, OH's next big psych-rock export. Horn's work, however, dials back the bombast of ITP's swelling, spacey songs in favor of stripped-back, emotionally poignant narratives that track some pretty harrowing emotional points in Horn's timeline.
Marble and Mud both kicks off Charlie Horn’s debut album and acts as the opening salvo to listeners from the Cincinnati, OH psych rock In The Pines guitarist. Vintage synthesizers (which Horn salvaged and rebuilt) kick off the opening melody of a song that ponders the usefulness of self-deprecation and lax boundaries under the command of shimmering synths, deft guitars and Horn’s commanding voice that hits somewhere between Kurt Vile and Evan Dando.
Recorded at the In The Pines nerve-centre, a synthesizer repair shop in the basement of a decommissioned Masonic Temple in Dayton, KY, these songs have a world-weary sound of being fully lived in. Fans of Big Star's 3rd, Conor Oberst's Ruminations or the darkness around Kurt Vile's halo of smoke will find a lot to love here.
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| Photo - Federico Cabrera |
Finnish alternative electronic artist Detalji has shared another cut from their new album Imagine Life, a genre-fluid electronic record that moves between dreamlike synths, alternative pop melodies, club influences and 80s nostalgia. ‘So Call (Summer Night)’ captures a moment of possibility and optimism amid uncertainty. Inspired by a night spent dancing, celebrating and falling in love, it reflects the fleeting moments where everything feels open and full of potential.
“This song was distilled directly from a certain memory,” said Detalji. “I remember partying at a midsummer festival with my friends, being intoxicated and happy at that moment listening to techno music and dancing the entire night. And at the same time being excited that I had met a certain special person, and that even though things were uncertain and they were far away, I was feeling hopeful and falling in love with the person and just feeling thankful for being alive. At that moment I felt the world was full of possibilities.”
Imagine Life is a record about navigating contradiction, the desire to escape and the need to connect, the pull between nostalgia and moving forward, and the search for identity within the chaos of everyday life. Throughout the album, themes of longing, desire, heartbreak, anxiety, liberation and connection emerge repeatedly.
Written across Helsinki, Los Angeles and Berlin, the album captures a year of transition, exploring love, loss and reinvention. Across nine tracks, Detalji weaves together elements of electronica, trip-hop, house, drum & bass and synth soundscapes into a cohesive journey.
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Bath’s indie-americana outfit Young Martyrs return with their most ambitious statement yet. ‘Might Just Be Enough’, their third studio album, arrives on August 21st 2026 to limited edition vinyl via fledgling record label Honey Badger Records. The record’s final single ‘Only You’ is released this one week.
At its core, ‘Might Just Be Enough’ tells the story of a band striving for something bigger. Written and recorded after years of self-funding releases, relentless touring, and steadily building an audience through sheer perseverance, it’s a classic underdog story as old as recorded music itself: a group of friends with big dreams, refusing to stop believing that the next album might just be enough, capturing the optimism and uncertainty of a band still chasing their next breakthrough.
Recorded between Real World Studios and Indefra Studios, the album was created largely as a three-piece, with guitarist Rich Beeby also handling bass duties during the recording process, before welcoming bassist Phil Smith to the lineup. The record was self-produced by the band themselves alongside Sebastian Brice, engineered by Ben Koch, and mastered by renowned engineer Christian Wright (Ed Sheeran, Franz Ferdinand, Blur, Laura Marling) at the iconic Abbey Road Studios.
‘Might Just Be Enough’ represents the band’s most fully realised work to date. Across the album’s ten tracks, the record explores the essence of the human condition: love, longing, grief, hope, mental health and perseverance. Combining driving rhythms, expansive guitars, rich harmonies, addictive choruses and cinematic soundscapes, the album captures a band reaching a new creative peak, all the while remaining grounded in the honesty that has defined their music from the beginning.
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| Photo - Noah Tidmore |
In continuation of their banner year, beloved indie/rock group The Brook & The Bluff have announced a new EP titled Lookout Pond will release on September 25th through Dualtone Records. Comprised of five brand new songs, along with a reimagined version of “Moving Along,” Lookout Pond finds the Nashville-based quartet reuniting with acclaimed producer Micah Tawlks (Hayley Williams, Mat Kearney), who also produced their latest full-length Werewolf.
They also shared the lead single from the EP titled “It Can’t Be,” a driving, piano-drenched sing-a-long “about the first fall,” described the band. “When you really start to love a person and you feel like you are floating through the air and the only thing that can touch you is the breeze.”
After a packed spring headline tour, plus festival appearances at Hinterland and more, The Brook & The Bluff will jump back on the road this fall for a new round of US headline dates, true to their roadwarrior spirit. Kicking off at the top of October, the route includes stops in Alabama, Knoxville, Savannah, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Florida among many others. The band will also appear at this year’s AmericanaFest in September, which will include a performance at Dualtone’s 25th Anniversary Bash at The Basement East on September 17th.
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Toronto-based singer-songwriter Julian Taylor shares “Drive,” a stirring new track that reflects on the uncertainty of the current moment while offering a reminder to keep moving forward. Blending thoughtful lyricism with a warm, full band arrangement, the track explores themes of hope, compassion, resilience, and the ongoing pursuit of a more connected world.
Written when Julian observed growing tension, confusion, and hurt between people, “Drive” was born from a desire to counter those feelings with something more hopeful. Inspired by the writers, thinkers, and teachings that shaped his worldview including Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou, Handsome Lake, and The Giving Tree, the song serves as a reminder to continue striving toward kindness, understanding, and positive change.
“The song was inspired by the times in which we are living,” Julian explains. “It’s a strange time and I think people are stressed, confused, hurt, and it feels as if those emotions are being taken out on each other. I want to keep spreading the good word.”
That sense of purpose is reflected in the song’s title. After considering several options, Julian ultimately chose “Drive” as a daily reminder to himself and others to keep pushing toward meaningful goals. It speaks to the internal force that motivates creators, thinkers, and everyday people to continue working toward something bigger than themselves. At its core, “Drive” is about the commitment to growth, compassion, and finding a way forward even when circumstances feel uncertain.
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| Photo - Natalie Deryn Johnson |
Award-winning singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer Kate Schutt shares “Drumfire of the Hurricane,” a moving new single inspired by the extraordinary true story of Austrian painter and writer Christiane Ritter’s 1934 memoir A Woman in the Polar Night. Blending folk-rooted storytelling with sweeping adult contemporary arrangements, the song captures a moment of profound uncertainty: a woman alone in an Arctic hut, facing a violent winter storm and the terrifying realization that her survival depends entirely on herself.
The song’s title comes directly from Ritter’s description of the storm as “the furious drumfire of the hurricane,” a phrase that immediately stayed with Kate after first reading the memoir. “Ritter’s phrase is pitch perfect,” Kate explains. “Her writing is so visceral, capturing the overwhelm and terror of being inside a major winter storm. It’s my hope that my song adds another dimension to Ritter’s incredible, indelible story.”
“Drumfire of the Hurricane” explores a moment suspended between fear and action. Ritter knows the danger she is facing, but she has not yet found the courage to act. The song exists in that liminal space between the person she was before the storm and the person she becomes after surviving it.
The track’s emotional intensity is rooted in Kate’s commitment to storytelling. Guided by the songwriting advice that “songs are like little movies,” she approached the song with a cinematic mindset, carefully considering every lyric, sound, and moment. “I knew in a song I’d only have about 150 words, so every word (and every sound we recorded) had to count,” she says.
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