Far Caspian - Emily Hines - Georgian - Gelli Haha

Far Caspian - An Outstretched Hand / Rain From Here to Kerry.

Far Caspian is Irish singer-song writer and producer Joel Johnston. Joel writes, records and performs everything on his albums from his studio in Leeds, UK and tours as a 6-piece band. Far Caspian have released two albums to date and sold out numerous shows across the UK, EU and USA whilst quietly building a streaming audience internationally totalling over 200m streams across platforms.  Autoficion is Far Caspian's third album due July 25th.

On his new album Autofiction, Far Caspian’s Joel Johnston is learning to make peace with the cards he’s been dealt. Following his Crohn’s disease diagnosis in 2021, Johnston felt stuck mourning the loss of his life before, and struggling to cope with not only his new reality, but also an ongoing battle with OCD and anxiety. Autofiction finds the Irish musician discovering the tools he needs to keep moving forward. “I’m now at the point where I don't really let it define me,” he says. “The lyric ‘your mind changed from a fear to a song’ [on ‘Lough’] is my expression of freedom: to no longer be held down by something you’ve got used to. I’m trying to not even make sense of it all, but just live in it, and be grateful for the things I do have.”

The lyrics across Autofiction—which dive deep into mental health burdens, self-forgiveness, recovery, and gratitude for supportive, uplifting partnership—are Johnston’s most direct, diaristic and literal to date. As such, it’s also his most vulnerable release yet. “I just wanted to get the message across,” he says. “People will sometimes comment on songs of mine saying ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ I wanted to make a record that was a bit more heard. I even made my vocals louder than I usually do.” Freeing himself from any internal judgments or inhibitions, Johnston wrote songs for Autofiction with a simple motto: “I’m enjoying this right now and therefore it’s good enough.” The process helped him reconnect with the joy of music, the reason he started making it in the first place. It felt like the first time he made an album for himself, rather than an audience. “The fact that I was less self-critical and worried about others' opinions–I think that’s why the lyrics became more straightforward. I didn’t feel the need to dress them up or hide behind something.”

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Emily Hines - All Of Our Friends.

Nashville songwriter Emily Hines releases "All Of Our Friends" this week, the third single from her debut album These Days, out August 1 via Keeled Scales.

Emily writes: "I wrote this song in a guy's bedroom while he was working in the other room. Fresh out of college, I was naive and earnest, putting everything under a microscope. I’d fallen in love a little too quickly and felt the familiar nausea of an intimacy hangover. The lyrics are mostly questions I knew better than to ask out loud."

About the recording, Hines continues: "One of my favorite parts of the recording was when we asked two of my dearest collaborators and confidants, Madelyn Baier and Liv Greene to come over and add some harmonies. We sat in a crescent and sang into an omni mic. At some point, my dog, Birdy, waltzed in and made her debut in the first verse. Because we’re sentimental and silly, we kept it."

The single comes with a music video directed by Nashville filmmaker Abby Holmes. "When I asked Abby to make a music video with me, she showed up to coffee the next morning with several pages of hand sketched storyboard to show me. I love working with her so much. Her tenacity is incredible. We shot this video in two days with the help and generosity of many friends. It felt a lot like camp. I was so happy to be with everyone, all my anxiety about being on camera melted away."

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Photo - Rob Smalley

Georgian - Learning to Forget.

Manchester based Georgian continues to explore her poised melancholic sound with new single and first new music of the year ‘Learning to Forget’ out now via Heist or Hit.
 
Formed and fronted by Georgia McKiernan and completed by her band (Harry George, James Poole, James Polglase and Connor Alder), Georgian’s genre fluid output is expansive; a soft bloom of sullen 60s psychedelia and folk horror peppered with Southern Gothic inclinations and a sophisticated jazz leaning. With lyrics that are mournful yet comforting, painted alongside a vivid cinematic landscape, her sound is one that is modern yet nostalgic.
 
Georgian introduced herself with the singles ‘Big Lips in Leather’ and ‘Soleil’ last year and new track ‘Learning to Forget’ continues to showcase the accomplished musical array of Georgia and her band. Produced and recorded in Amsterdam by Arno Stols (Magenta Studios), it is a track that is both intimately warm yet darkly melancholic, blending progressive rock with dark folk and building in intensity and emotion throughout. The video, filmed in Georgian’s hometown of Manchester and directed by harry right here, sees Georgia struggle through the emotions of re-emerging from a broken relationship.
 
Georgia says, “’Learning to Forget’ has a true Georgian structure, from starting quite slow, melancholy and reflective, to progressing to a heavy, distorted and powerful sound – expect the unexpected! The song itself discusses heartbreak and how you can be so eager to forget everything when a relationship ends. Even though you don’t want the memories and small reminders of that person, they still happen.”

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Photo - Sophie Prettyman-Beauchamp

Gelli Haha - Spit.

In Gelli Haha’s latest single “Spit” - only S-words are allowed. The track has underground-club grit, with a strong, consistent bass line and strange electronic effects. On “Spit”, participation is encouraged and surrender is required. The accompanying music video, directed by David Gutel, features Gelli strapped to a spiraling operation board as Gelli Kompany scientists conduct a surreal experiment on her.

A shapeshifter, a sonic acrobat, a performer with one foot in the cosmos and the other in arthouse theatrics, Gelli Haha (pronounced Jelly-Haha) is a space for pure creative chaos that exists somewhere between Studio 54 and Area 51. Gelli’s music thrives on duality: playful but profound, tongue-in-cheek but sincere. Her debut album Switcheroo, out next month via Innovative Leisure, is the soundtrack to the Gelliverse, a sensory adventure sphere created by Gelli.

With a shared taste for off-kilter pop and vintage gear, producer Sean Guerin (of De Lux) joined Gelli in turning freshly-formed demos into a high-voltage experiment, abandoning meticulous structure for something freer and more electrifying. Every song on Switcheroo makes use of a myriad of recording toys; wacky analog effects, such as the Eventide Harmonizer, MXR Pitch Transposer, and various Electrix units, fashion an intentionally flawed and strictly silly texture throughout the album. Switcheroo is an exercise in letting go, an inside joke turned theatrical spectacle.

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Dubmones - Scott C. Park - Emily Hines

Dubmones - Dubmones (Album).

This takes me back to Dread Zeppelin and in a good way. Rather than trying to be clever, the mixing of The Ramones and Dub actually breathes new life into both dimensions, it's subtle & in your face at the same time & like the aforementioned D.Z. works at all levels.

Inspired by theory: what if a punk rock band like The Ramones would have met at another part of the globe, but at a similar decade?

Inspired by theory: what if a punk rock band like The Ramones would have met at another part of the globe, but at a similar decade? What if they wouldn’t have formed in NYC but Kingston, and how would they had expressed their anti-stance while being inspired by Toots & The Maytals and King Tubby instead of MC5 and the Stooges? A probably bizarre theory – even though they all share a common origin that just took different paths at different parts of the globe: Rock’n’Roll.

But bizarre theories and creating a musically vision are nothing new to the Dubmones: emerged from the entourage of 2008’s dubXanne (The Police In Dub), this latest project does give an insight how it might have sounded if The Ramones would have created their songs in a different way, by still keeping its original attitude and band’s message.
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Scott C. Park - Rose Pink Sky.

Scott C. Park’s debut full-length, Crossing the Line (due 23 May 2025), is a raw, deeply personal body of work that lands with quiet confidence and undeniable authenticity. Scott allowed this record to unfold organically, creating an eclectic yet focused indie rock album, unburdened by genre expectations. There's a warmth and looseness here - think Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and early Pavement, but with a melodic sensibility that pulls from Nirvana and early Sheryl Crow.

Each track feels lived-in, performed with the synergy of a well-oiled live band rather than a polished studio machine. And while Scott cites influences ranging from John Frusciante to Courtney Barnett, the record feels distinctly his own, rooted in personal stories and shaped by a willingness to follow musical instinct rather than trend.

The album title Crossing the Line carries multiple layers, each explored with lyrical nuance. The first half of the album deals with the pragmatic slog of daily life and human experience, crossing the line from youth to adulthood, while the second half deals with the transition from faith to skepticism. It’s deeply autobiographical, but never alienating, Scott’s reflections are specific yet universally resonant.

One of the more poetic threads comes from his familial maritime tradition. “Crossing the line” refers not just to personal thresholds, but also to an old merchant navy ceremony for sailors crossing the equator, where roles are reversed and traditions are honoured.

Opener and last single ‘Rose Pink Sky’, is a meditation on the soul-crushing routines of adulthood, working a day job, chasing funding, holding onto creative dreams through the haze of fatigue. The lyrics are filled with wit (a huge ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’ joke in verse two) and the guitar solo is, in Scott’s words, “like a slingshot rollercoaster launch”, exhilarating, explosive, and deeply satisfying.

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Photo - Ellie Carr

Emily Hines - My Own Way.

Nashville-based songwriter Emily Hines announces her debut album These Days, out August 1 via Keeled Scales. Today she shares the lead single "My Own Way." "This is the last song I wrote for the record. I wrote it on my porch in Nashville. I felt stuck in place and needed to sing myself out of it."

"This recording ended up playing an important role in shaping the sound of the album. At first, we weren’t planning to track any live drums on the record. We enjoyed playing with drum machines, and the cassette presented some challenges to recording live drums. But we got in an experimental mood one day and asked our friend John-Ruben Medina to play on it for us. We were so happy with how it sounded that it inspired us to record live drums on some of the other songs as well."

A self-described chronically-sincere farm girl, Hines grew up on a farm in rural Ohio before moving to Nashville where she played in other songwriters’ projects before recording her own songs on a 4-track cassette recorder.

Hines worked with producer Henry Park. Together they drew inspiration from acts like Duster, Laura Marling, and Karen Dalton to record simply and add layers one at a time.

Emily Hines · My Own Way

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Gelgia Caduff - Sarah Villiger - Emily Hines - KEYS - Sister Wives

Gelgia Caduff - Socializing.

Critics are consistently raving when Gelgia Caduff, no stranger in the Gothic- und Rockmusic-scene, from the Canton of Solothurn, Switzerland, takes the stage or releases music. And no wonder—especially when considering her latest masterpiece. While others, sometimes for financial reasons, perform in duos or solo, using background sounds from a computer, multi-instrumentalist and exceptional singer Gelgia Caduff goes all out.

For her new single "Socializing," she teamed up with an Orchestra and a grand choir. The result is an orchestral rock opus that forms part of a massive rock opera with stunning visuals. The work, titled "Wishful Thinking" (pre-release album stream), is her most ambitious and elaborate project to date. The album will be released in May in both digital and physical formats, offering a mesmerizing journey through soundscapes—from ethereal, fairy-like vocals with delicate subtlety to ecstatic, powerful "Wall of Sound" moments. "Socializing" is just a taste of what’s to come.

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Sarah Villiger - Next Corner.

Yes, soul is alive! Modern, orchestral, and smooth, with pop melodies—that’s how "Next Corner", the new single by Sarah Villiger, sounds. Dark stairways in the city of Bern lead to high rooftops and broad horizons. Perfectionism, procrastination, and despair. Hope and vastness. All of this can be found in the songs of Sarah Villiger, the sister of renowned film composer Martin Villiger. With Next Corner, the title track of her upcoming EP is now being released as a single.

The singer-songwriter writes her music in the attic of her apartment in Bern—diving into a wide range of musical styles from there. Her voice is shaped by pop, jazz, soul, and classical music. The music is built on a pop and jazz foundation, opening doors to synth-pop, neo-soul, hip-hop, and lo-fi.

Sarah Villiger plays with contrasts, blending deep tones with her bright voice. The result culminates in a mix of analog retro synths and digital sounds—featured on her debut EP Next Corner, set for release in 2025. Sarah Villiger has already made a name for herself in the music world. She has sung for film scores composed by her brother, Martin Villiger, which have been featured on Swiss television. In 2025, she also plans to release new songs that will highlight her versatile voice.

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Photo - Ellie Carr

Emily Hines - Cowgirl Suit.

Nashville-based songwriter Emily Hines has signed to Keeled Scales. This week she releases her new single “Cowgirl Suit.” A self-described chronically-sincere farm girl, Hines grew up on a farm in rural Ohio before moving to Nashville where she played in other songwriters’ projects before recording her own songs on a 4-track cassette recorder.

“I wrote ‘Cowgirl Suit’ when I was in-between farm jobs, pretty fresh out of college. I was working at a local food co-op and seeing someone who wasn’t seeing me. Everything felt precarious and precious. The lyrics are a long list of things I was too scared to say at the time.”

Hines worked with producer Henry Park. Together they drew inspiration from acts like Duster, Laura Marling, and Karen Dalton to record simply and add layers one at a time. She writes, “This was the recording that inspired me to make an album. I had already recorded a few songs with Henry, but when we made this one, we felt validated in our vision. The base of every song we made is a live-take recorded on the cassette. We wanted the recordings to be organic and honest. This is the simplest production on the record, but it guided everything else we made. Something in the drum machine, the tape, and the imperfections came together to create a vulnerable yet dynamic sound. We set out to make a body of work to match it.”

Emily Hines · Cowgirl Suit

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KEYS - What Flavour?

Libertino is proud to announce the release of “What Flavour?”, the brand-new single from @keysmusicuk A bold departure from their past work, the track takes inspiration from the raw, rhythmic urgency of ESG, Liquid Liquid, and the early ’80s New York post-disco underground, channeling the energy of 99 Records into something distinctly their own.

Frontman Matthew Evans explains the song’s unexpected origins: “‘What Flavour?’ began with something my daughter said while staring at the endless choices at an ice cream stand on holiday in Tenby. We instinctively sang it back to her, and before long, it snowballed into a full-blown song. As it unfolds, the track grows more agitated, from playful indecision into the agony of craving what someone else has. We’d been deep into disco and 99 Records bands at the time, so everything came out upside down.

It doesn’t sound like anything we’ve done before, and that’s exactly why we love it.” Built around tight, hypnotic grooves and a growing sense of unease, “What Flavour?” reflects the genre-blurring spirit of early ’80s NYC, where funk, punk, and dance music collided on downtown dancefloors. KEYS distill that restless energy into a song that starts as a playful singalong but soon spirals into something deeper—anxious, urgent, and impossible to shake.

With its percussive drive and warped funk sensibilities, “What Flavour?” marks an exciting new chapter for KEYS, proving that after all these years, they’re still pushing forward, still hungry for the unexpected.

KEYS · What Flavour?

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Sister Wives - Malady.

Sheffield's Sister Wives return with new single 'Malady - their first new music since their 2022 Welsh Music Prize nominated debut album, 'Y Gawres'.

Unearthing forgotten feminist histories through myth and landscape, Sister Wives weave wild tales braiding the Welsh and English language over their signature glam-droog-acid-stomp. The band's songs deal with ever-shifting expectations and injustices, forgone heroines, the divine feminine and the veiled mysteries of ancient lands.

'Malady' is about "an inner ‘beast waking up inside your body; backing you up and empowering you to stand up to bad men," they share. "It’s also about how strong females frighten said bad men and historically this power is perceived as a sickness, madness, or malady..."

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