Utah alt-rock trio The Sunmills returned this week with ‘Bird That Used To Sing’, a more mellow and introspective track that sees the band stepping away from their usual funk-rock swagger to reveal a more intimate and emotionally exposed side of their sound. Known for their blend of hard-driving riffs, funk-laced grooves and sharp sense of humour, The Sunmills have always balanced infectious energy with thoughtful storytelling. But ‘Bird That Used To Sing’ finds the band exploring quieter territory — a laid-back, rootsy rock track built around atmosphere, nostalgia and the complicated feelings left behind when something once unbreakable falls apart.
The song also gives frontman Jim the perfect space to showcase his vocals, delivering a more restrained and vulnerable performance that captures the weight of the story at the heart of the track. Originally, the song could have been called ‘Rotting Away’ — an honest reflection of the place it comes from. It explores that strange period after a relationship has completely broken down, when the future you imagined together has disappeared and you’re left trying to understand how something that felt unstoppable could come to an end.
The lyrics look back at the moments that made the relationship feel indestructible: the reckless certainty, the sleepless nights, the belief that nothing could ever come between two people who were completely devoted to each other. But once everything is gone, memories can become complicated.
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Building on a breakout year that saw her earn Spotify Editorial support and recognition as a rising voice in indie pop, Montreal singer-songwriter Libby Ember shares “Pool Life,” a wistful and quietly reflective single that captures the feeling of watching life unfold from the outside and wondering what it would be like to step fully into it. Blending intimate lyricism with airy, understated production, the track explores social longing, identity, and the subtle ache of feeling just outside the frame of “cool” or effortless belonging.
At its core, “Pool Life” is about perception: the way certain people seem to move through life with spontaneity and ease, as if constantly living inside a moment you were never quite invited into. For Libby, the image of “Pool Life” became a metaphor for that distance.
“It’s about watching people’s lives from the outside, seeing the way that the ‘cool’ people choose to live, and feeling like I’m missing out on that,” Libby explains. “The title just encapsulated that feeling for me since when I think about these people I just imagine hanging out by the pool and spontaneously jumping in as a metaphor for the way they live their lives ‘on the spot’.”
Libby Ember is a 20-year-old singer-songwriter based in Montreal, currently pursuing music studies at Concordia University. A self-described artist for the “yearners,” her music merges the emotional honesty of indie-folk with dreamy indie pop textures, creating songs that feel intimate, vulnerable, and deeply lived-in.
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Chris Clark’s roots run deep in Vermont’s West River Valley. Born and raised in the town of Jamaica, he writes songs shaped by back roads, small towns, old mistakes, chance meetings and the restless pull of leaving again. His music draws from Americana, psychedelic folk, classic pop and vintage rock, with melodies that arrive easily and lyrics that tend to stay behind.
After years of gathering a truckload of songs, Clark found the right creative partnership just a few miles from home at Song Catcher Recording in neighboring West Townshend. Working closely with producer and multi-instrumentalist Ken Anderson of Hungrytown, Across a Carnival took shape as a warm, cinematic album inspired by the late-1960s and early-1970s sounds they both loved, without feeling like an exercise in nostalgia.
The album also features vocals by Rebecca Hall of Hungrytown and violin by Lissa Schneckenburger, whose performances add warmth and depth to the record’s distinctive sound. Recorded with vintage instruments, careful arrangements and a deep commitment to songcraft, Across a Carnival introduces Chris Clark as a songwriter with a sure melodic sense, a wry eye for human trouble and an enduring connection to the place he comes from.
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| Photo - Jaycee Grover |
Cosmic-country Texas artist Israel Nash returns with his adaptation of The Byrds' iconic 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo releasing on September 25. Reinterpreting the landmark record through a modern lens, Nash transforms the country-rock classic into a genre-bending take on contemporary American roots music. The first single released yesterday, "You Ain't Going Nowhere," offers a psychedelic perspective to the pedal steel and swirling organ of the Bob Dylan-penned original.
Nash on the new single: "My first act of sacrilege in reimagining Sweetheart was changing the entire album order right out of the gate and taking ‘You Ain’t Going Nowhere’ out of the opening slot. But this song was always an open, fluid conversation: Dylan wrote it, the Byrds answered, McGuinn changed a lyric, and Dylan later rerecorded it in a meta move that made the whole joke legendary. I just wanted to let these songs breathe a little in my world, through my own language. I wanted to join that old conversation, make it new, move it forward, and invite everybody else into it."
This album is what happens when an artist stops thinking about the industry's rules and simply stays in a constant state of creation. Having reclaimed ownership of his back catalog and finished building his dream studio in the Texas Hill Country, Nash found himself free from the relentless schedule of album cycles and finally able to call his own shots. Sweetheart of the Rodeo developed during a prolific era that found him releasing a deluxe version of Rain Plans, creating the instrumental Moods album, and continuing to write original songs.
Exploration runs throughout Sweetheart of the Rodeo – classic melodies shift in new directions, familiar rhythms are rebuilt, tempos move differently. Songs that once leaned into traditional country are reframed with synthesizers, programmed percussion, pedal steel, arpeggiators, ambient textures, and the panoramic production style that has become Nash's signature. Even the track list is different. The resulting collection of songs serves not only as a celebration of a timeless record, but as a snapshot of an artist building a new creative rhythm.
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| Photo - Ian Maley |
Song People, one of Philly's brightest and most unique new acts, have announced their second album Tho I Seem Tame. Arriving via Strange Mono on October 9th. "Silver Flag" is a sliver of everything Song People do well - tight, catchy guitar arpeggios, vocals that melt and swoon with romantic abandon, and a sense of tension that builds from the first note to the end of the track. The lyrics here are particularly unique, touching on themes of self-protection and self-sabotage and using a very interesting character to do so: the worm that allegedly helped King Solomon build his temple.
Known in early rabbinical tradition as a Shamir, this wholesome mythical creature supposedly helped Solomon construct his first temple, as he had been commanded not to use any tools that could double as weapons. In the words of Shaina herself, "You can't build a temple with anything that can be used as a weapon," and therein seems to lie the key to the song, which seemingly reveals itself in new layers with each new listen.
When the long-awaited chorus swoops in and Shaina croons, "You can only do so much to protect yourself/if you keep letting fear erase your kindness," the whole song builds to a beautiful catharsis, a post-punk potpourri of distorted lead guitar, punk-fierce drums, and vocals that ache, yearn, and brim with romantic struggle. Song People was formed in December of 2022 by core members Shaina Kapeluck, Darian Scatton, and Benjamin Schurr. Having played in each other's bands for over twelve years, they’ve settled into a comfortable songwriting cabal made fruitful by over a decade of collaboration.
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| Photo - Caity Krone |
Nashville-based singer-songwriter Aubory Bugg returns with her captivating new single "the one you want to lose," out August 12th on all platforms - the latest preview of their debut full-length album, i think i had something once, out September 18th via Dualtone.
"the one you want to lose" blends indie folk with pop sensibility, showcasing Bugg's captivating vocals and emotional depth in a way that calls to mind the songwriting and sound that put Lizzy McAlpine on the map. It's a raw reflection on unexpected heartbreak, where tenderness slowly builds into something sonically triumphant and cathartic.
The single arrives as part of a significant step forward for the 21-year-old artist, who wrote their entire debut EP solo before relocating to Nashville and embracing a new era of collaboration, community, and creative openness. Of the upcoming album, Bugg shares: "I think having written my entire first EP on my own, I was really excited to dive into the co-writing of it all. This album is as direct a representation that I have of how I felt the last couple years, moving out and being a person on my own. And I think at its core, the thread that moves through the whole album is a love letter to things you didn't think you'd lose."
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