James Tonic - Railcard - ADULT. - The Imaginary Band - Julian Never

James Tonic - Safety II (Album).

James Tonic's Safety II is out now, the second chapter in his dream pop trilogy following 2025's breakout Safety. Released January 28, 2026, this seventh studio album takes the saga further, mixing dreamy vibes with real life edges.

Safety II builds on the first album's indie win (20,000 sales and a solid 60% Spotify save rate), plus the buzz from 2024's Stuck in LA and its sold out West Coast shows pulling in crowds. Early signs show strong fan love: a high pre-save rate and it's on track for 30,000–40,000 units in week one. The 9 song set pairs dark stories with light beats, using live drums, old school synths, and raw plays for that true feel missing in most tracks today. 

James Tonic is a Montreal-born artist blending hip-hop, R&B, and pop roots with soft rock and folk compositions and band instrumentation. Known for albums like Stuck in LA — produced by Chris Peden with live orchestration — and his latest Safety, he explores self-discovery, resilience, and real-life narratives through organic, unhurried sounds. Following successful tours, his work continues in a series into 2026. Beyond music, James is a tech investor building a platform for musicians to automate websites and focus on their craft. 

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Railcard - Day Dream.

Skep Wax are pleased to announce a new single and a limited edition CD album from Railcard, a brand new band featuring Rachel Love (Dolly Mixture), Ian Button (Papernut Cambridge, The Penrose Web) and Peter Momtchiloff (Heavenly, Would-be-goods). The new single, Day Dream, is a perfect indicator of the dreamy Bacharach pop that Railcard have embraced and reinvented. Rachel Love’s vocal sounds as pure as it did in Dolly Mixture.

Railcard formed in 2025 when Rachel Love (Dolly Mixture), Ian Button (Papernut Cambridge, The Penrose Web) and Peter Momtchiloff (Heavenly, Would-be-goods) discovered that they were all born within weeks of each other.  It seemed like a great reason to form a new band, so Love and Button began writing songs together, and Railcard was born. Their original ‘1962’ age limit rule was relaxed shortly afterwards when suspiciously youthful trumpeter Allison Thomson completed the line-up.

Following two limited edition download-only EPs (the first accompanied with a Railcard wallet, the second with a pair of iron-on patches) Skep Wax and Slumberland are proud to release this collection of ten songs as a CD album (release date: 6 February 2026). The seven tracks from those first two EPs are included, along with three new ones. (The fetish for merch hasn’t been overlooked: the CD comes with a useful Railcard information leaflet). 

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ADULT. - No One is Coming.

ADULT. is not cooperating. For over 25 years, the dystopian Detroit synth-punk institution founded by Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller has embodied steadfast frustration, distrust, and apprehension. One might expect the edges to soften with time, but ADULT. is not interested in the comforts of legacy. The duo’s music has never sounded as visceral, urgent, and downright angry as it does on the culminating, uncompromising Kissing Luck Goodbye, their scorched-earth 10th LP and fourth with Dais Records.

Built with upgraded gear and a whole new library of sounds, the material is crushingly dynamic, louder yet clearer, with Kuperus’ commanding delivery given greater prominence in the mix, outlining an arsenal of vivid, caustic calls, chants, and musings. Laughter, whether in the lyrics or as a possessed presence, serves as a leitmotif that speaks to the menacing absurdity of modern times. 

“No One is Coming”, the album’s lead single is a poignant, bassline-driven industrial anthem that turns feedback into melody, the track attacks inaction in the face of fascism.

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The Imaginary Band - Polka Hands.

The Imaginary Band, longtime Chilliwack, BC-based musician Andrew Christopher's latest project, steps fully into focus on their debut single, "Polka Hands." A carefree, roots-leaning indie-folk single, it celebrates intuition, creativity, and the beauty of not overthinking life's next move.

"At first, The Imaginary Band only existed vaguely in my mind," explains Christopher. "But when I wrote 'Polka Hands,' I learned to fully embrace the concept." Without a bass player at the time, he began playing a bassline on guitar, imagining exactly how it would feel once the right players arrived. "Immediately, an imaginary drummer sat behind the kit in my head, laying down a groovy but straight-ahead rock beat. Just sitting in the pocket. That's still the intro of the song."

The clarity of this vision unlocked something new; not just musically, but emotionally. Written during a lazy afternoon at a pump track while watching his son ride his bike, the lyrics came naturally and without force. "They speak of taking chances, doing hard things, accepting the reality that life is inherently complex, and that it's beautiful that way," Andrew shares. With real-life bandmates who are ever-so imaginative now filling the roles once envisioned, "Polka Hands" becomes both a song and a statement of intent. 

The title itself reinforces the song’s central message: don't overthink it. Inspired by a recent polka band performance at a friend's 40th birthday and lyrics referencing a barroom scene and a game of Texas Hold'em, the original phrase "Polka Bands & Poker Hands" was quickly distilled. "It was a bit too wordy," Andrew laughs. "So I went with 'Polka Hands' without overthinking it."

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Julian Never - Anything.

Los Angeles' Julian Never shares the third single and video from its forthcoming Everyday Is Purgation LP for Mt.St.Mtn. “'Anything' tries to hold all the things you’ve done, good and bad, and all the love you carry in one song. Repeated words that have lost meaning. So much energy wasted for little purpose, connection or insight.  Sometimes capturing a moment is enough. Maybe each time the song plays it will teach you something. 

“'Anything' is a song about a time of desperation with a brief and relevant reference to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s tragic novel, Tender is the Night.

 “'It’s 5 o'clock in the morning. Awake again and no place to go.' The early morning sets the tone for an entire day, whether the skies are clear or opaque. 'Anything' is about the search for peace when you’re not sure if you’d recognize it. The pull toward chaos, and the strange comfort found in distortions. It’s a reflection on the patterns we return to, even when we know better. - JAE, 2026.

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Heavenly - Hannah Schneider - Project Earthbridge Feat. Aubrey Illurimo - Julian Never

Heavenly - Excuse Me.

The single, 'Excuse Me', is an outburst of punk energy, as effervescent as a song on the first Undertones album, recalling a teenage romance with the nerdiest person in school. It's a foretaste of the album "Highway To Heavenly" which has been announced this week and is out on 27 February. 

Heavenly are seen as the originators of a whole genre of music – known to some as ‘jangle’, others as ‘twee’ and to the band themselves as ‘indiepop’.  As fiercely independent as any punk band, but as sweetly melodic as any chart-topping act, Heavenly combine sharp-edged politics with shamelessly joyful pop music.

‘Highway To Heavenly’ shares this recipe with the band’s first four albums, all of which were released in the 1990s at a time when sensitive indie types in the UK were sheltering from the prevailing macho-rock storm under the Sarah Records umbrella, and when women in the US were starting to find their Riot Grrrl voices in the small town of Olympia, where labels like K and Kill Rock Stars were designing a new creative space.

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Hannah Schneider - In This Room.

In an era where artificial intelligence is increasingly shaping the music industry, Danish artist Hannah Schneider is choosing a completely different path. On her upcoming album ‘In This Room’ (released February 27, 2026), she insists on presence, intuition and craftsmanship as the driving force in the creation of music.

To create the album, she invited a number of musicians she admires to her residency at Thorvaldsens Museum in Copenhagen. Here, the museum's historic space became the setting for a musical experiment in which both composition and recording were turned on their heads: What happens when acoustic instruments become the starting point for modern electronic music?

‘In This Room’ - the title song from the forthcoming album is a meditation on the stories we hold, the rooms we return to, and the moments that define us — even when nothing seems to change. With this new single release, which has already received BBC 6 Music & Radio X airplay, Hannah Schneider continues to solidify her place as a singular voice in Nordic electronic music, blending introspection, poetry, and immersive production into a quietly powerful statement. Driven by active piano figures, and the distinct drumming by fellow labelmate Øyunn, the song catches the ear, asking the question- “if these walls would talk, what would they say?”.

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Project Earthbridge - Love Will Always Be Near (Feat. Aubrey Illurimo).

"Love Will Always Be Near" was born after co-writer Anders Hasselquist (music/lyrics) heard on the radio than a young person in Sweden commits suicide every week, wanting to write a positive uplifting song about reaching out to people in distress. He approached Thomas Karlsson (music) and Jimmy Granstrom (lyrics) about writing a song on this theme, later joined by Filipino singer Aubrey Illurimo who recorded the vocals for the song.

Project Earthbridge consists of the Swedish duo Jimmy Granstrom (music and/or lyrics) and Thomas Karlsson (music/production) as well as invited collaborator(s), which will vary between songs. Project Earthbridge's songs have been played on the radio in at least 12 countries on five continents, from Australia and South Africa to Sweden, France, Belgium, Peru, England and the USA. The singles "Alicia" and "Made Of Stars" were selected for rotation on P4 Sörmland, which is a major Swedish radio station equivalent to a regional BBC radio station in the United Kingdom.

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Julian Never - Say Something.

Los Angeles' Julian Never shares the second single and video from its forthcoming Everyday Is Purgation LP for Mt.St.Mtn. “Say Something” is about trying to fix yourself by making the same mistakes and following the same attachment patterns. You’ve just wrecked your life, and this relationship isn’t going to fix you. An artist drops into your life—only to disappear as fast, ending things through a cryptic screenshot posted by their friend on Instagram.

You expected more of yourself for getting vulnerable like this, for caring as much as you did. You know you weren’t owed anything, but it still stings. It bruises the ego. Give yourself a rest. This wasn’t meant to be. Move on.

“Say Something” is a country-ballad take on jangle pop, featuring Josh Yenne on pedal steel. It’s about that raw feeling of being left behind—caught in the loop of rumination, waiting for words that never come.

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Eric Selby - Julian Never

Eric Selby - Horseshoes & Hand Grenades.

This song is about the concept that life is going to happen so you can either be an observer or a participant. Action is more important than words, so since participating will ultimately make you happier, get off your duff and take charge of your life.

"'Sh*t happens' and you can’t always rely on other people that you think are in your corner and when they do let you down, their remorse is fleeting, reflecting the immediate gratification that this social media world delivers in almost faster than real time," shares Eric Selby. "So what do you do? Well, hope is not a strategy so you must plan and execute your life your way because the promises and intent of others are often thrown around without care."

When not being a single Dad to four awesome daughters and spoiling his cat (who thinks he's a dog), Eric is a sought-after artist, producer and multi-instrumentalist. After many years behind both the drumkit and mixing board, Eric has stepped out front, releasing his first solo, original music in 2020, including the Do, Baby EP, as well as two singles: “Anxious Zen” and “Another Page.”

Eric Selby · Horseshoes & Hand Grenades

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Julian Never - Grassharp.

Julian Never have released "Grassharp," the second single from their debut LP, Pious Fiction. The song is clearly inspired by the Flying Nun catalog, Prefab Sprout and other odd underground pop hits by Chris Spedding and Dwight Twilley.

Pious Fiction sees release via Mt.St.Mtn. (100 copies on Natural vinyl, 200 copies on Black vinyl, very limited “Meyyer Lemon” for Monorail Music in Glasgow) on January 13, 2023.

Julian Never is the latest vehicle for former Mayyors drummer Julian Elorduy’s jangle pop alter-ego. An evolution in songwriting that produced the short-lived, but much loved Fine Steps.  Pious Fiction is 15 tracks of bittersweet, sun-warped jangle self-recorded off and on over the last four years in a variety of Sacramento homes and warehouses with the help of former Mayyors bandmate Mark Kaiser (also of Castle Face goth punks Male Gaze), a Tascam half-inch reel-to-reel and a borrowed mixer.

The album is built upon a solid base of guitar-centric pop that is richly layered with ethereal synths and piano, and intertwined with themes of love, loss and the ghosts of Elorduy’s Catholic upbringing, all delivered with his captivating tenor.

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