Libby Ember - TANGIENTS - The Foot & Leg Clinic - Bluestronica - Keeley

Libby Ember - News at the Party.

Following the January 2026 release of “Let Me Go,” Montreal singer-songwriter Libby Ember returns with “News at the Party,” an energetic yet emotionally heavy indie-pop single that captures the dissonance of heartbreak unfolding in real time. Upbeat and instrumentally vibrant while lyrically raw, the track explores the quiet isolation of receiving life-changing news in a room full of people.

Inspired by a real experience, “News at the Party” reflects on the moment Ember learned that someone she cared about had begun seeing someone else and the emotional performance that followed. “For the rest of the night, I just had to pretend to be okay with that and act like I never cared in the first place,” she explains. “But the second I was alone that night, all I could do was start crying.”

While the song was written the same night after returning home from the party, its evolution stretched far beyond that initial moment. The recording process marked a shift in energy, bringing together a full band arrangement featuring jazz guitarist Baron Tymas and drummer Thomas Sauvé-Lafrance. The result is a layered and kinetic soundscape where flute, piano, guitar, and drums intertwine, mirroring the emotional overwhelm at the heart of the song.

Libby Ember · News at the Party

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TANGIENTS - The Ether.

Just released, the first single, “The Ether” from the long-awaited full-length debut of Los Angeles duo TANGIENTS, Embers, arrives with a nocturnal pulse. Dreamweaver Chelsea Ray evokes ethereal sweetness with her vocal delivery, landing somewhere in between Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser’s lush murmurs and modern alt-pop icon Aurora’s soaring call. A nostalgic, romantic feeling whisks the song into a dreamy splendor. Seriously glittery guitars send the track swooning into the stratosphere like stars hanging speechlessly in the sky, leaving ample space and pause to reflect between pulses. The interstellar transmission is situated atop a laid-back yet tightly knit percussive backbone.

“The Ether” is the first single from the upcoming full-length album Embers, out May 1, 2026. "Embers is about self-discovery and the one thing we all must do: survive. To me, it is a reminder to live in the now.”

The music video for “The Ether” enchants with an evocative fantasy quality, featuring vocalist Chelsea Ray’s sweetly delivered siren calls from a celestial milk bath adorned with flower petals. Surreal cracked-skin effects on both band members lend additional vulnerability and surrealism to the aesthetic. Layers of dreamy gauze create more interdimensional immersion — and a nebulous state of consciousness where reality meets the immaterial, and experience transcends the ordinary.

TANGIENTS are a Los Angeles-based duo comprised of multi-instrumentalists Chelsea Ray and Be Hussey, who craft modern nu-gaze gems inspired by ‘80s post-punk, ‘90s shoegaze, and dream pop. Combining Chelsea Ray’s dreamlike vocals with a melodic sonic wall of blissed-out guitars, the duo melds together dreamworlds of gazed-out delight. After releasing 2018 single “White Foam” and 2019’s “Hazel,” the band carved a name for themselves amongst fans of dreamy post-punk and ethereal wave. Now, they return with the contemporary yet timeless collection of songs that make up their hotly anticipated debut full-length, Embers. 

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The Foot & Leg Clinic - Sit Down for Rock and Roll (Album).

Glasgow wonk-rockers The Foot & Leg Clinic (fka The Wife Guys of Reddit) return with Sit Down for Rock and Roll (released via Bingo Records), a raucous, restless, and unexpectedly tender debut album led by the urgent new single ‘Where did all the fruit go?’. The Foot & Leg Clinic — Niamh R MacPhail, Arion Xenos, Angus Fernie and Elise Atkinson — arrive at this album following what MacPhail describes as “a bit of a shiter the past couple years.” Written and recorded across illness, close bereavements, and a year-long break from live shows, Sit Down for Rock and Roll is the sound of a band forced to slow down and discovering they benefit from it.

With a new name and a deliberately slower creative process, the album marks a clear turning point for the band, grappling with adaptation — personal, societal, and bodily — using humour, surreal imagery, and sharp hook. “We were kind of forced to work at a slower pace,” says MacPhail, “but probably for the better of the final product.” Xenos agrees: “It still feels eclectic, but it’s a little bit more focused. We definitely thought about this as an album project when working on it, as opposed to other things before.”

Sit Down for Rock and Roll balances humour with weight, absurdity with emotional clarity. Side One opens with folk-rock curtain-raiser ‘Intro – Showtime’, before darting through the jaunty menace of ‘The Early Bird’, the skittering anxiety of ‘Hot Air’, and the stream-of-consciousness rush of ‘Dear Bongo’. Genre is treated as something elastic rather than fixed, moving easily between bossa nova absurdism (‘Worms 2’), early music textures (‘Music for Baby Fairy’), and 90s jangle (‘I’m living in the…’).

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Bluestronica - Dark Beats & Electric Soul (Album).

After Midnight Sessions, Dark Beats & Electric Soul is the second release in the Bluestronica series. Here the blues is pulled out of its comfort zone and wired into modern electronics. Gritty vocals, overdriven guitars, and dirty harmonicas collide with heavy beats and dark, hypnotic grooves.

Featuring artists like Boo Boo Davis, Byther Smith, Mississippi Big Beat, BLu ACiD, ElectroBluesSociety, Rivherside and miXendorp, this compilation bridges deep-rooted tradition and contemporary production. The focus stays on feel, grit and groove. These tracks don’t polish the blues—they rough it up. Tradition is the backbone, but the sound is restless and electric. This is blues that sweats, growls, and refuses to sit still.

The Album features: The Snake – Boo Boo Davis (miXendorp remix) -- Go For A Ride – Big George Jackson (miXendorp remix) -- Hurricane – Mississippi Big Beat (Tibor Bicskei remix) -- Deep Slide – miXendorp -- Sorry Baby – Boo Boo Davis -- Same Thing On My Mind – Byther Smith (miXendorp remix) -- Elektrance – miXendorp -- Georgia – BLu ACiD feat John Blake -- Big Mama’s Door – Mississippi Big Beat -- SixSixtySix – Turnip Greens (miXendorp remix) -- Back Door Man – ElectroBluesSociety feat Boo Boo Davis -- Come Over Here – Rivherside -- Dirty Dog – Boo Boo Davis (miXendorp remix) -- A Lie – BLu ACiD.

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Photo - John Emerson

Keeley - Trains and Daydreams.

Dream-rock trio Keeley, fresh from their recent UK headline tour, present the latest video from their acclaimed third album ‘Girl On The Edge Of The World’. 

"Trains and Daydreams" features a rousing backing vocal from special guest Simon “Sice” Rowbottom, singer of Brit-Pop heroes The Boo Radleys, a band much admired by the Keeley camp, and with whom the band has toured in the UK. The video was filmed and directed by Glasgow-based film-maker Laura Meek using vintage VHS techniques, and the results are both dream-like and visually sumptuous. 

Singer and songwriter Keeley Moss notes… “this is the most out-and-out pop song on the new album, it possesses an ethereal dreaminess but also a biting fuzziness and a pure pop melodic buoyancy in addition to a bittersweet poignancy. The song tells the story of my muse Inga Maria Hauser on her first train journey in England in late-March 1988 when she travelled from Harwich International Port to London”. 

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Place Position - Libby Ember - Maria Taylor - The Legendary Ten Seconds

Place Position - Went Silent (Album).

Dayton-based math rock/post-hardcore power trio Place Position, a band that includes members of Landfilth, Shadyside, The 1984 Draft, etc., released its Went Silent album on January 23. A foursome of DIY labels, including Sweet Cheetah Records, Poptek Records, Bunker Park Records, and Blind Rage Records, are offering up the album on vinyl.

According to Place Position, it is “a musical group from in and around Dayton, Ohio. We write as needed and play when necessary. What do they play? How fast? Will they be playing after 9pm? How effective are their socials? The answer is simple: Place Position is a musical group.”

Place Position adds, “Went Silent is an album. It comes complete with 10 songs. We recorded together in a Southwest Ohio basement in the Fall 2024 over the course of two days. After stitching together loose ends we handed off mixing duties to Derl Robbins formerly of Motel Beds of Dayton, Ohio.”

“Every now and then Andy from Poptek Records would ask; ‘How’s the record coming?’ The band was uncertain whether or not to have it released. After six months, Gwen of Blind Rage Records said, ‘You should get the album pressed and play this show.’ So, we give you the album Went Silent.


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Libby Ember - Let Me Go.

Following the September 2025 release of her debut EP I Kill Spiders and the subsequent single, "To Her," Montreal singer-songwriter Libby Ember shares "Let Me Go," a melancholic, dreamy indie-folk single that sits in the uncomfortable space between holding on and letting go. Nostalgic and emotionally raw, the track captures the quiet contradictions of a relationship that lingers long after both people know it isn't right.

Inspired by a complicated relationship rooted in mutual fear, Libby reflects on the tension of staying when leaving feels just as painful. "I felt like someone was holding onto me because they were afraid of letting me go," she explains. "Even still, I knew that it was wrong to keep dragging the relationship on when we knew it was wrong for the both of us. It also touches on the fact that the opposite feels wrong. Both letting go and not letting go feel wrong."

What sets "Let Me Go" apart is its careful attention to detail in both instrumentation and texture. Delicate flute lines weave through the arrangement, while reversed sounds subtly fall into the landscape, creating a hazy, immersive atmosphere. "We were very particular about the instrumentation," Libby shares. "We also emphasized the detail in the imperfection as a means to drive the emotion forward. The voice isn't always polished, the sounds can be a bit random. It makes the song feel more raw."

As the song unfolds, its instrumental outro becomes a space for reflection, allowing the listener to linger in the emotion long after the vocals fade. "It makes me reminisce," Libby says. "It pushes me back to that time of strong emotions and gets me in my own head. Once my voice cuts out at the end, the instrumental has a way of making me tune out the world and just be in the music."

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Maria Taylor - Story's End.

Today, the Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Maria Taylor announces her first new album in 7 years Story’s End will be released on April 3. Alongside the announcement, Taylor shared the official video for the album’s title track that was released also today. The 10-song collection marks her first release on Conor Oberst’s Million Stars Records and unfolds like a hazy, cinematic narrative—songs acting as chapters that trace love, loss, fracture, and the quiet search for solace in the aftermath of personal upheaval.

About the new single, Taylor explains: “For years, I would play this chord progression and melody; knowing it would be one of my favorite songs, but it took me 5 years to complete the lyrics. I had no sense of urgency… it was like I knew, somehow, the story was still unfolding and I just had to be patient.”

The album began slowly with Taylor building songs from demos in her home studio, yet it was the spark of conflict that gave her the resolve and focus to complete the project. “After spending years working on this record, an irrevocable fracture in both my marriage and a friendship gave me the urgency to finish it. I think I needed to make something beautiful as things fell apart around me,” she explains. 

The project eventually moved to Mike Mogis’ ARC Studios in Omaha, Nebraska where Taylor played drums on much of the record (following her recent stint as a touring drummer with Bright Eyes), joined by Macey Taylor on bass and Mogis on guitar. The album was ultimately produced by Ben Brodin (First Aid Kit, Bright Eyes), who also recorded many of Taylor’s vocals and added much of the instrumentation. Longtime friend and collaborator Brad Armstrong (13 Ghosts, The Glass Hours) produced the pulsing single “Never Thought I’d Feel New” that sits at the very heart of the album.

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The Legendary Ten Seconds - Churchward Road (Album).

The Legendary Ten Seconds is the solo music project of Ian Churchward who is the former guitarist of The Morrisons, who were featured on John Peel's Radio One show in 1987. Ian has a deep passion for blending rich historical narratives with his distinctive sound. His musical project took on new life in 2013 when Lord Zarquon joined forces with Ian, bringing additional depth to the recordings. Since then, a talented roster of guest musicians and vocalists have stepped in to contribute to the studio projects, the most recent being Jay Brown, who co-composed and recorded the evocative time travel track called the Time Stream.

As The Legendary Ten Seconds Ian has made a name for himself in the folk-rock genre, notably for his historically inspired albums. He has received critical acclaim for the work chronicling the Wars of the Roses and the life of Richard III, focusing on England’s 15th century. The music is more than just entertainment; it's a dedication to keeping history alive through story-driven songs that resonate with modern listeners. In addition to crafting meticulously researched and artistically compelling albums, Ian has donated part of the proceeds from his music sales to a scoliosis charity.

In 2018 he took the historical work to new heights with the release of the Mer de Mort album, commissioned by the Mortimer History Society in honour of its tenth anniversary. This album is a historically accurate collection of songs that delve into the fascinating and impactful history of the Mortimer family, from their roots in Normandy before the Battle of Hastings to their role in the 15th century. The album features narrative interludes read by the late actor John Challis—known for his iconic role as Boycie in Only Fools and Horses—who was a proud patron of the Mortimer History Society.

Ian has released numerous albums and his latest endeavour called ‘Churchward Road’ is released this month (January 2026). He continues his exploration of storytelling through music.

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