Indie dream pop artist CASTLEBEAT has announced the release of his latest album CASTLEBEAT II, set for release on June 26th, 2026 via Spirit Goth Records. Following the release of "This Takes Time," he now drops the second offering from the collection, "My Love," out now. "My Love" is CASTLEBEAT at his most hypnotic — minimal, synth-laced dream-pop with an almost 80s edge, bittersweet and melancholy in all the right ways. The track reads like fragments from a diary and a photograph you can't stop revisiting, building quietly until the chorus arrives with an understated devastation.
As Hwang puts it: "'My Love' reads like fragments from a diary and a photo you can't stop revisiting, while the chorus hits with a quiet crash: 'I hit the floor and it's breaking my heart.' Minimal, hypnotic dream-pop with a repeatable hook designed for late-night listening, breakup playlists, and introspective indie pop."
The single serves as a further introduction to CASTLEBEAT II, a decade-spanning love letter to the project's 2016 self-titled debut. Ten years after that breakthrough release captured the hearts of the underground indie scene, Josh Hwang — the half-Korean, half-Spanish songwriter behind CASTLEBEAT — has crafted an album that looks both backward and forward.
"This album is a 10-year anniversary ode to my 2016 debut," explains Hwang. "Some of the songs started as ideas from that era that I never finished at the time. Other songs were written more recently, but I intentionally limited myself to the kinds of sounds and choices I would've made back then – just with a more dialed-in approach I've developed over the years."
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We Found Love is a powerful blend of contemporary pop and soulful storytelling, exploring the raw, unfiltered journey of connection and rediscovery. With soaring vocals, polished production, and a memorable hook, the track delivers both vulnerability and strength — marking a defining moment in Anna’s artistic evolution.
Anna Young is an emerging singer-songwriter, born in Bristol, but now residing with her family in Wales. Which she calls home. Young is known for her distinctive voice and heartfelt lyricism, drawing inspiration from real-life experiences and modern relationships.
Anna has built a growing reputation for crafting songs that resonate deeply with listeners. Her sound sits at the intersection of pop, R&B, and indie influences. With previous releases gaining traction across streaming platforms and social media, Anna continues to establish herself as an artist to watch.
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Western PA based American rock and roll band Noble Hops release their first single of 2026, titled “Music Man.” Based on a fictional mystery musician whose inspiration was drawn from real world experiences and musical lore of old, the song tells a story of a man who travels the land, with his guitar in his hand.
“You think about the old legends of those who went down to the crossroads and sell their souls for rock and roll. Well, the Music Man didn’t do that, nor did he find fame or fortune.” says Utah Burgess, who wrote the song. “But he was the real deal, a man with principle, a man with a story”.
The band once again recorded with Jazz Byers at Rattle Clack Studio in Pittsburgh PA. Recording of the song actually started back in January of 2024, but initial tracks were scrapped and the band started over with the song in December of that same year.
“When we recorded “Music Man”, we were trying to capture what it feels like to fight for something you love, in this case music.” said Byers. “Even when it doesn’t love you back sometimes”.
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Hello Cosmos are back with the heartfelt new single: “Love Is Waiting”, taken from the new ‘Old Friends Know’ EP. The final track recorded as part of their critically acclaimed 'Come Out Tonight' album session at Greenmount Studios in Leeds, working with producers Rob Slater (Westside Cowboy) and Jamie Lockhart.
Ben Robinson walks us through its arrival: “An ode to the realities of true love being forgotten in the everyday and how it's always waiting for us if we go out into the world to find nature or people to share our lives with. Angela Chan features with some stunning violin fx and analogue tape machines were experimentally used to give some texture and hiss to the piano and guitar parts.
I’ve never sang in such a soft range before, When Rob & Jamie just kept saying ‘sing quieter, no quieter.. no even quieter’ I checked it wasn't an April fools as it felt so odd given my usual style of vocals. I loved the result so much we’ve recorded a full record in the same vein which should be out later in the year”
The new track arrives as part of a new EP showcasing the softer side of the Hello Cosmos universe. A single version of the epic album closing track ‘Old Friends Know’ is accompanied by a remix by their old friends Lost Colours which takes the track into new territory with low fi electronica worthy of a play at any afterparty around 2am. Joe Thompson reshapes ‘Awake and Bake’ into a stunning piece of electric wizardry with new synths and vibes under his Modsync monica.
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London-based ethereal-grunge four piece, Dogviolet return with their latest single, 'Daisy Crowns' (Today April 14th), a song about feeling nostalgia for the frivolous joy of youth and feeling weighed down by the demands and pressures of adulthood. Having built a reputation for their blend of 80s goth, 90s grunge, shoegaze, and alternative rock, drawing comparisons to the likes of Warpaint, The Cranberries, and Siouxsie & The Banshees, the quartet have been building momentum opening for the likes of L.A. Witch, Heartworms, Desperate Journalist, The Wedding Present, wych elm, Whitelands and GENN.
Produced by the band’s own Ella Patenall, recorded and mixed alongside Tom Hill (GENN, Pollyanna, Knuckledust, I Feel Fine), the new single ‘Daisy Crowns’ highlights the band’s feel for musical beauty and poignant lyricism, capturing a haunting sense of emotion over an understated, restrained and considered instrumental backdrop. Bringing together the band’s shoegaze tendencies, a theatrical flourish through Naz’s vocal delivery and an emotional depth comparable to that of Daughter.
Speaking about the single, Naz explained: “I wrote Daisy Crowns in one evening in summer 2024 whilst caring for a loved one who was experiencing a mental health crisis. The song is about feeling burnt out and wanting to return to simpler times. I can’t go back to being a child with no responsibilities, so the chorus is me asking for help from those close to me, which is something I struggle with. I love performing Daisy Crowns live as it’s so beautiful when the audience sings with us – it embodies that feeling of being taken care of in hard times.”
Ella adds: “Daisy Crowns is the most delicate and vulnerable track we’ve recorded so far, so it was important to me that the production mirrored that fragility from the first note. We layered the main riff with a cathedral reverb against a drier take, which makes it sound so huge and atmospheric. By the final chorus – with synths, e-bow, stacked guitars and group vocals – it feels expansive but never loses its tenderness. The classical guitar at the end is one of my favourite moments on the track.”
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