Rick Hromadka - Frank Rabeyrolles - Hanne Leland

Rick Hromadka - Are You Magical? / My Son.

Rick Hromadka has long been a major player on the LA power pop scene, from his early days fronting Double Naught Spies in the '90s through the 25-year (and counting!), four-album run of the mighty psych-rock and power pop quartet Maple Mars. Most recently heard from on the hit 2022 album Someone's Got To Listen and last year's special Anniversary Single, Maple Mars is still going strong, but it's far from Hromadka's only musical venture. Recent years have seen creation of his occasional sunshine pop-oriented side project Ruby Free, and he's always maintained a solo career with album releases in 2014 and 2020, as well as occasional standalone singles including one each for the Christmas and Halloween seasons, both now firmly enshrined as perennial holiday favorites. 

It's to those solo endeavors that the singer-songwriter returns on the new double single, pairing AM Gold vibes with a touch of psychedelic melodicism on “Are You Magical?” and mining real life experience on the sweetly whimsical B-side “My Son.” Of the lead track, Rick says: “This song was originally written and recorded for the first Ruby Free album. I’ve always loved the tune, but because the album was self-released, I felt it never reached the audience it deserved. That inspired me to revisit the song, re-recording it with new musical parts and updated lyrics. I also wanted to involve family members, especially my kids! The song is about meeting someone very special, but hoping the love is real, and not just some grand illusion!” 

If the B-side “My Son” brings not just a smile but also a hint of cinematic origins, that's down to Hromadka's other job in the movie industry. “While doing sound design on Dog Man for DreamWorks Animation, which went on to be the number-one box office film for two weeks in 2025, I noticed the story carried a strong father-and-son emotional thread. During one of the early animatic screenings, an older song I had written years ago suddenly came back to me. 

'My Son' was originally written shortly after my oldest son Dylan was born. I decided to revisit the song and record it with a cinematic, film-score-inspired feel, hoping it might eventually find its way into the film’s end credits. Unfortunately, the director was also a musician and already had several of his own songs featured in the movie, so there simply wasn’t room for another track. I played all the instruments on the recording and brought in my stepdaughter, Kylah Langevei a tremendously talented singer to add the background vocals.”

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Frank Rabeyrolles - Bossa in My Heart.

Last February saw the release of "Slow" by Frank Rabeyrolles (Too Good 47). In three weeks' time, the album will be joined by its companion piece. Made up of eleven tracks drawn from the same writing session (with the exception of one song whose title hints at a later composition). 

"Slow 2" was entirely written, performed, produced, mixed and mastered by Frank at home, driven by an almost obsessive desire for freedom and independence, and created with whatever means were available.

"Slow 2" (Too Good 56) will be released on June 19 as a limited edition CD (presented in an 8-page A5 booklet featuring a variation on the artwork from the first volume - once again designed by Studio Trois Quatre) and digitally. 

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Hanne Leland - Say It Once More.

Hanne Leland is a Norwegian indie pop artist and songwriter based in Oslo, known for her melodic, emotionally charged songwriting and a distinctive crystal-clear voice. She has amassed over 26 million streams across all platforms (17M+ on Spotify alone) and has toured the UK extensively, supporting All Saints across 10 sold-out shows and Gavin James at O2 Academy venues in Brixton, Sheffield, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.

Her new single "Say It Once More" is an 80's-inspired summer pop anthem, female-led, storytelling-driven and production-forward, sitting in the emotional cinematic pop space. It was picked up by Amazing Radio the UK station credited with the early discovery of Dua Lipa, The 1975 and Wet Leg — with 29 UK and USA airplays across their Pop and Easy Listening streams, plus a feature on their flagship "Audition" show with DJ Charlie Ashcroft.

In the studio Hanne has collaborated with Jim Eliot (Ellie Goulding), Red Triangle (Little Mix, Charlie Puth), Hight (Charli XCX, Ava Max) and Brian West (Nelly Furtado). Her track "Stay" went viral on YouTube with over 4 million views, and her 2024 single earned a five-star review from Norway's leading newspaper Aftenposten. 

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Marketplace - Frank Rabeyrolles - Tedeschi Trucks Band - Death By Love

Photo - Megan Wyrill

Marketplace - Play Nice! 

Hartlepool (England) rising five-piece Marketplace return with the razor sharp new single ‘Play Nice!’ (just out 20th February 2026). Releasing ahead of anticipated slots at New Colossus Festival (New York) and SXSW (Texas) this March, the band are riding a wave of critical acclaim into what is set to be a big 2026. 

Produced by Chad Rodgers (Cape Cub, Finn Forster, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Llovers, Loren Heat), ‘Play Nice!’ sees Marketplace deliver their bright, hook-laden alt-pop meets indie sound in all its glory. Bright guitar tones, subtle synths, driving drums and grounding bass create a buoyant breezy backdrop for the melodic and charismatic lead vocals. Equal parts cathartic and cutting, the track channels pent-up frustration into a punchy, guitar-driven diss track.

Vocalist Evie Rhodes explains: ““Play Nice! was born from being thrown into the kind of situation which I had not been in since secondary school, and the frustration of feeling like I was long past the point of dealing with interpersonal issues in that sort of immature, psychological, mean-girl way. In its most basic form, it is a diss track, which was something I would never have expected I’d do. It kind of demonstrates how checked out I’d become with the situation, in that it’s basically years of frustrations boiling up to the surface that I wished I’d been able to express at the time.”

MARKETPLACE · Play Nice!

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Frank Rabeyrolles - Slow (Album).

Released this weekend we have the new album 'Slow' released on the French label Too Good To Be true. We often expect change from a musician who has a reputation for being prolific. It's in the interstices, in the sound, the arrangement and the writing that we will have to listen with this new album entirely produced and mixed by Frank Rabeyrolles We also find our traveling companions Romain Delorme on bass, Sébastien Pasquet on drums and some appearances from Rémi Saboul. 

In our last feature about Frank on Beehive Candy we had this to say: Ultimately, little is known about Frank Rabeyrolles. A discreet and unclassifiable figure on the French music scene, he first gained attention in 2004 with Life Behind the Window, the debut album from his project Double U. His dreamy, hybrid music, oscillating between pop, electronic, and songwriting, astonishes and seduces. He has been featured in Les Inrockuptibles and Libération and was named Album of the Month by Trax.

A prolific and insatiable artist, Frank Rabeyrolles has released a solid succession of albums first under Double U and then Franklin on various labels such as Sonar Kollektiv, Nocturne, Karat, and Plug Research, Wool Recordings His creative approach over the years, and now decades, could be seen as a yearning for artistic ritual driven by passion, but also as an existential necessity.. 

At the end of 2011, Frank Rabeyrolles decided to release a new album under his real name, and with it, a desire to reveal himself a little more. Between Experimental Pop, Lo-Fi Folk, and Ambient, Frank has never wanted or needed to choose. In early 2024, Frank Rabeyrolles returned to solitary work in the home studio, cultivating a gentle schizophrenia between tenderness, sonic roundness, echoes, spleen, and hope. The album "In Conversations" was released in February 2025 on Araki Records. After two albums recorded in a trio/quartet format, this new album marks a return to a certain pop bricolage and organic work created around layers of guitars. 

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Photo - Chapman Baehler

Tedeschi Trucks Band - Who Am I.

Tedeschi Trucks Band (TTB), the GRAMMY Award-winning band led by the dynamic wife and husband duo of Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, has released their new single “Who Am I,” the latest offering from their new studio album, Future Soul, out March 20th via Fantasy Records. Written by Tedeschi and Trucks along with two of the band’s key songwriters Mike Mattison and Gabe Dixon, “Who Am I” harkens back slightly to TTB’s hit “Midnight in Harlem” while also being its own beast.

“‘Who Am I’ feels a little bit like a dream to me,” shares Trucks. “The riff came naturally to me one of the mornings that we were all writing together up at our farm in Georgia. Susan immediately came up with the opening vocal melody and lyric and Gabe really took it to a beautiful place from there. It feels biographical and a bit surreal at the same time. I always love when a song can put you in between worlds.”

Known for its world-class musicianship, Tedeschi Trucks Band is Susan Tedeschi (guitar, vocals), Derek Trucks (guitar), Mike Mattison (guitar, vocals), Gabe Dixon (keys, vocals), Brandon Boone (bass), Tyler “Falcon” Greenwell (drums, percussion), Isaac Eady (drums, percussion), Mark Rivers (vocals, percussion), Alecia Chakour (vocals, percussion), Kebbi Williams (saxophone), Emmanuel Echem (trumpet) and Elizabeth Lea (trombone).

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Death By Love - 444 (Album).

Enigmatic, transatlantic gothic/industrial duo, Death By Love has announced the release of their full-length debut: a concept album called 444.

444 includes 11 tracks exploring themes of mysticism, identity, spiritual tension, and emotional rebirth. 444 is more than a record. It is a ritual of survival, transformation, and paradox wrapped in atmospheric electronics, heavy, hypnotic rhythms, and Middle Eastern-influenced vocal lines and instrumentation. 444 plunges listeners deep into shadow and transcendence. The album is a collision of goth, industrial, trip hop, and heavy  Middle-Eastern influences, a soundscape that feels at once ancient and futuristic. 444 is not casual listening; it is an immersive, genre-bending dark odyssey.

The journey began in October 2024, when Inga and Peter converged in Warsaw, Poland, to record the first tracks: “Strong Inside” and “Temros.” Both songs were captured alongside cinematic music videos. “Strong Inside” emerged as the first single on the American label, Distortion Productions— setting the tone for what would become an ambitious 11-track cycle.

Crafted over the course of an entire year of transatlantic collaboration, 444 came to life through relentless back-and-forth file exchanges, a painstaking process that mirrors the album’s themes of endurance, distance, and connection. From the brooding trip hop of “Cosmic Power” to the industrial weight of “I Don’t”, and the spectral intimacy of “Sellenno”, the record moves between extremes - despair and transcendence, fragility and force.

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Lasse Lokøy - Luke Shamblin - Colin Lillie - Walter Rootsie and the Blue Connection - Delilah Rose - Frank Rabeyrolles

Lasse Lokøy - Lot of People Here.

Norwegian artist and producer Lasse Lokøy just shared the new single ‘Lot of People Here’, and announces new album ‘& The Roommates’ - out 9th January 2026 via his own Glimten Records.

Written in his bedroom studio overlooking the LA River and the sprawl of Northeast Los Angeles, ‘Lot of People Here’ began with a passing piece of advice from neighbour Øystein Greni (Bigbang): write the first half like Lennon, the second like McCartney. The result is Lokøy’s dustiest and most rustic work to date, a song that lets the desert seep into his voice, released today alongside a video shot by Lasse Lokøy & The Roommates in Lanzarote.

Its lyrics mirror the heavy traffic of the 5 freeway and the endless grid of houses before turning inward, asking where he belongs, as Lasse explains: “It embodies two crises. An inner crisis of belonging, and the climate and political crisis of the world. I hoped I’d find an answer while writing but instead found peace in the drifting. I’ve drifted far from where I started and I don’t know where I’m going either. I guess I’ll keep on going.”

Across the ‘& The Roommates’ track list, stories unfold like a scrapbook of inner snapshots, sometimes melancholy, sometimes mischievous, and shaped by the musicians who became his closest collaborators. The album features contributions from Safario, Emma Jensen, Mikhael Paskalev, Vuyo and more, with earlier singles ‘Treatment’ and ‘Julia’ revealing Lokøy’s evolving voice as a songwriter and performer.

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Luke Shamblin - Hills of Home.

Bluegrass musician Luke Shamblin is releasing a heartfelt new recording of Hazel Dickens’ beloved classic “Hills of Home” today November 29, 2025. The single pays tribute to one of Appalachia’s most iconic songwriters while spotlighting a fresh, emotionally resonant interpretation led by a powerhouse lineup of Appalachian and Bluegrass-rooted artists.

Anchored by Shamblin’s moving lead vocal, the recording captures the longing and reverence at the heart of Dickens’ original, a timeless reflection on home, loss, and the enduring pull of the mountains. Lending their unmistakable harmonies are Suzanne Cox of the legendary Cox Family and acclaimed vocalist Corey Hensley, whose voices blend seamlessly to elevate the song’s plaintive emotion. Jason Barie provides haunting fiddle work that threads through the arrangement with warmth and restraint, echoing the spirit of classic mountain balladry.

“This song has always hit me in the heart and is the first song of Hazel’s I ever learned to sing,” Shamblin shares. “Hazel captured something that every Appalachian knows deep down—that no matter how far you go, those hills never really leave you. I wanted this version to feel like coming home.”

Produced with an emphasis on clarity, authenticity, and heart, “Hills of Home” feels both reverent and revitalized. Shamblin’s interpretation balances traditional bluegrass instrumentation with contemporary precision, allowing the vocals and lyrics to take center stage. The result is a sound that feels as rooted as it is current—a fitting homage to Hazel Dickens’ legacy and the Appalachian soul she so eloquently embodied.

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Colin Lillie - This Land.

“This Land”, is more than a song – it’s a national story told through music, film, education and children’s literature. Inspired by Colin Lillie’s journey as a Scottish born migrant who fell in love with Australia, “This Land”, celebrates freedom, gratitude and belonging – reminding us that art should bring people together.

At the heart of the project is the anthem, “This Land”, a soaring ballad of courage and identity. “It’s refrain, “We belong to this land”, captures the essence of those who’ve come from all corners of the world to call Australia home”, says Colin. “The song is both personal and universal – a declaration of love for a country that welcomes, unites and inspires.”

Produced by Brad Bergen (Catherine Britt/The Pleasures/Wade Forster) the song was recorded all around Australia, capturing an incredible sound of unity. Featured artists include Norman Daymarringu, Liam Jangala Price, Xueyan Chen, Gretta Ziller, Pete Denahy, Brad Bergen, Wayne Davis, Colin Lillie and the stunning AustraNesia Choir from Cairns.

The accompanying music video was shot by Wayne Davis of Treetop Media, highlighting the magic of all contributors in their own local environments. Wayne also filmed a feature length documentary following Colin’s journey across Australia, meeting artists, elders and everyday Australians whose stories reveal the true heart of the nation. It celebrates a land of beauty, resilience and humour.

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Walter Rootsie and the Blue Connection - People Talk (Album).

Top Dutch/Finnish roots unit Walter Rootsie and his Blue Connection have just release of their new masterpiece People Talk. In 2025, Finnish Roots Americana band Walter Rootsie and his Blue Connection marks its 20th anniversary with the release of their fourth studio album, People Talk, available worldwide via Coast to Coast released by Wraf Records.

Formed in 2005 around Dutch singer-songwriter Walter Rootsie, the band has built a reputation for heartfelt, genre-blending music that draws from blues, country, folk, rock, and singer-songwriter traditions. With a Dutch core and Finnish soul, the band has toured extensively across Europe and earned international acclaim for their performances, songs and sounds and previous albums Waiting, Get Up and Go and Dark Water.

People Talk features 10 original songs written and composed by Walter Rootsie, exploring themes of love, loss, longing, and emotional truth. From the haunting ballad Empty Heart to the gritty groove of Gone, Gone, Gone, the album offers a rich and varied sonic journey. All the songs are arranged to get a unique sound to capture the stories and analogue played, recorded and mixed to keep and the right sound into each of them.

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Photo - Tashi Hall

Delilah Rose - Times A Wastin'

Hailing from Boorloo/Perth and now based in Meanjin/Brisbane, Delilah Rose is a firecracker of soulful sound and fierce style. With her big hair, velvet flares and unapologetic stage presence, every stage becomes her playground and every crowd feels like a room full of old friends.
 
Delilah’s musical journey has taken her from award-winning beginnings (Best Group, WA Country Music Awards; two-time Best Country Act nominee, WAM Awards) to festival stages across Australia and beyond. From Nannup and Boyup Brook in WA to Gympie Music Muster and Malaysia’s Miri Country Music Festival, she has shared the bill with artists including Samantha Fish (USA), Regurgitator, Jaguar Jonze, Nathan Cavaleri, Kasey Chambers and Andrew Swift.
 
Now, Delilah returns with Times A Wastin’, the kind of song you would sing arm in arm with your mates on a balmy country night, full of beer, good food, hope and heart, reminding us that we are stronger together, not despite our differences, but because of them.
 
“It’s about being present, right here, right now, with your people,” Delilah shares. “We all move through highs and lows. No one gets to skip the dark or the dawn. Everything can change in an instant, so don’t wait. Hold close, laugh hard, eat the cake and wear the dress.”

Delilah Rose · Times A Wastin'

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Frank Rabeyrolles - All is in your head.

Ultimately, little is known about Frank Rabeyrolles. A discreet and unclassifiable figure on the French music scene, he first gained attention in 2004 with Life Behind the Window, the debut album from his project Double U. His dreamy, hybrid music, oscillating between pop, electronic, and songwriting, astonishes and seduces. He has been featured in Les Inrockuptibles and Libération and was named Album of the Month by Trax.

A prolific and insatiable artist, Frank Rabeyrolles has released a solid succession of albums first under Double U and then Franklin on various labels such as Sonar Kollektiv, Nocturne, Karat, and Plug Research, Wool Recordings His creative approach over the years, and now decades, could be seen as a yearning for artistic ritual driven by passion, but also as an existential necessity.. 

At the end of 2011, Frank Rabeyrolles decided to release a new album under his real name, and with it, a desire to reveal himself a little more. Between Experimental Pop, Lo-Fi Folk, and Ambient, Frank has never wanted or needed to choose. In early 2024, Frank Rabeyrolles returned to solitary work in the home studio, cultivating a gentle schizophrenia between tenderness, sonic roundness, echoes, spleen, and hope. The album "In Conversations" was released in February 2025 on Araki Records. After two albums recorded in a trio/quartet format, this new album marks a return to a certain pop bricolage and organic work created around layers of guitars. 

It's 2025/2026 and here's a new album ''Slow'' which will be released in February on the French label Too Good To Be true. We often expect change from a musician who has a reputation for being prolific. It's in the interstices, in the sound, the arrangement and the writing that we will have to listen with this new album entirely produced and mixed by Frank Rabeyrolles We also find our traveling companions Romain Delorme on bass, Sébastien Pasquet on drums and some appearances from Rémi Saboul. Here is a first extract / ''all is in your head'' while waiting for winter and the album.

Frank Rabeyrolles · All is in your head

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