Resa Saffa Park - Big Little Lions - Disgusting Sisters - Rosina Cove - Living Hour - Lottie McLeod

Photo - Henriette Sagjord

Resa Saffa Park - Standing Still.

Emerging cinematic indie singer/songwriter Resa Saffa Park releases her new single 'Standing Still', the latest glimpse of her forthcoming album Kendra, out 6 November via Ja. Group. Wrapped in smoky production, softly echoing guitars and an unhurried groove, 'Standing Still' wrestles with inertia, slowly gathering emotional tension. 

Speaking about the song, Resa Saffa Park said: "Standing Still is a song about the fear of stagnation and a fading sense of self-worth. It's about how even simple things can start to feel threatening when you lose movement and direction."

A graduate of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Resa returned to her home city of Oslo to write her new album Kendra. Written largely in her apartment over the course of a year, the album finds her paying closer attention to the people around her. Across twelve songs, she keeps returning to the same question: "how do we understand ourselves through other people?"

Cinematic indie steeped in jazz, trip-hop, noir-pop and soul, Resa Saffa Park's music sits at a distinctive intersection of influences, in the orbit of Tamino, Michelle Gurevich and Portishead, with inspiration drawn from Billie Holiday, Chet Baker, Nirvana, Mitski and Julia Jacklin.

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Big Little Lions - No One Is Mad At You.

Big Little Lions continue to release monthly singles & Beehive Candy are starting to run out of new things to say, except they are on one incredible roll of creativity this year. September's song is for anyone who has the underlying feeling that they are trouble and someone is mad at them. It's nice to be reminded that this is probably not the case and we hope this will give the listeners a break from any critical self talk.

For those new to them... Big Little Lions are an award winning duo who were born out of a collaboration that won them a JUNO Award in 2014. Since then they have been cranking out infectious folk pop songs that are jam-packed with emotion and tight harmonies that sound like the product of two people working side-by-side instead of living in different countries. 

They have released 7 albums to date, which have garnered them awards and nominations including the CFMA Ensemble of the Year, Independent Music Awards Americana Sing of the Year and John Lennon Songwriting Competition Song of the Year. Their critically acclaimed music has appeared on the CBC’s Top 20 and featured on shows like q and Vinyl Cafe. The duo consists of Paul Otten and Helen Austin, both hugely prolific songwriters - their music has been placed in hundreds of movie trailers, ads, network TV shows.

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Photo - Pierpaolo Saccomandi

Disgusting Sisters - Waste Of Space.

Disgusting Sisters have just shared the new single "Waste Of Space" taken from their upcoming debut album Skin & Blisters, which will be released October 30 on Source Records. "Waste Of Space" is another slice of intrigue that explores the world of Disgusting Sisters. As ever with Disgusting Sisters, influences span electro to emo but the horror and the humor are always evident. 

On the new single, Disgusting Sisters say - “'Waste of Space' is about forgetting someone after a breakup, like your brain is a hard drive that’s run out of storage. All the unused data gets wiped and the memories are gone. You were never worth the upgrade - you were just a waste of space"

Skin and Blisters: a record that comes good on all the tongue-in-cheek, slightly gruesome yet perpetually entertaining promise that their name - partly a homage to Succession’s Disgusting Brothers; partly a reference to the “bad sisters from Cinderella because we kind of feel like them on stage” - suggests. Across 10 tracks, the pair aim their lasers at hopeless exes and sugar daddies; productivity punishers and the sad drudge of the 9-5. Their delivery is riddled with deadpan absurdity, but at their core, Disgusting Sisters mean every word. “I hope people can relate to the songs because they really come from inside us,” says Josephine. “All the lyrics are inspired by real moments. We're not trying to pretend and I think that's what makes us kind of fresh - we're just being ourselves.”

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Photo -Travis Nesbitt

Rosina Cove - Kenwood.
 
Rosina Cove is an Edmonton, Alberta-based musical collective led by singer-songwriter Peter Stone and close friends Vicky Berg and Drew Malcolm that offers unpretentious Canadiana with a big heart. Debuting in 2023 with the album Someday We Will Make It There, the group is now poised to release the follow-up, Left Of Me, at the start of 2027.

The first single, “Kenwood,” is a prime example of Rosina Cove’s instantly engaging sound, with its blend of bright jangle-pop and breezy folk-rock, highlighted by expressive harmonies and sparkling production, courtesy of Harry Gregg, also a member of Juno nominees Second Hand Dreamcar. Peter Stone describes it as a song about unexpectedly finding love in the aftermath of an abusive relationship.

“‘Kenwood’ is a reflection on how new love is sometimes built one small moment at a time,” he says. “Learning how someone takes their coffee, sharing stories over cider, listening to records together, and slowly discovering what it feels like to be safe in another person’s presence. What begins as a slow dance of companionship becomes connection, and connection becomes a place to breathe, to soften, and to begin healing from the trauma of what came before.”

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Photo - Lucas Pingitore

Living Hour - Magnet (EP).

Winnipeg's indie rock quintet, Living Hour release their  Magnet EP, this week via Keeled Scales / Paper Bag Records. The four-track release is a collection of b-sides and previously unearthed demos channelled from the work on Someday is Today (2022), and 2025's Internal Drone Infinity, which is one of ten Canadian albums nominated for The Meridian Prize, being awarded next weekend, as part of BreakOut West. The quintet shares a dreamy visualizer for lulling EP track, “Good Afternoon.”

The bundle of phrases that make up the EP are from an incubation period of a lot of TV, projecting movies for work, and general dissociative activities. “I was thinking about how people are magnets if they want to be. Attracting what they think about most, interact with or watch on screens,” says lead singer and lyricist, Sam Sarty. The band previewed with the EP's title-track “Magnet” earlier this month, and Sam expands more on “Half Can,” noting; “At the beginning of the song, I get the image in my mind about a flat, straight ahead, snowy, dark highway going for infinity converging to an ominous black point, high beams flashing sheets of snow blowing across the cement in front of a truck.”

Living Hour transforms the passage of time into something both urgent and sacred. Anchored by Sam Sarty’s vivid lyricism, shaped by years as a projectionist conjuring stories in a dark theater, the band explores the quiet magic hidden in everyday life. The band drifts between dreamy noise rock, folky slowcore, and fuzzy indie-pop, coining a genre all their own: “yearn-core.” With wistful vocals, textural distortion, and poetic detail, Living Hour capture the ache of memory, the mess of feeling, and the beauty in what remains. 


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Photo - Ghina Sari

Lottie McLeod - The Boathouse (EP).

Following an intimate launch party at its namesake venue yesterday, Magan-djin/Brisbane-based singer-songwriter Lottie McLeod now shares her long-awaited The Boathouse EP via ABC Music, a intimate coming-of-age "for people who love to feel deeply" drawing from indie, alt-pop, folk and beyond - signalling a young artist coming out of her shell, stepping into the confidence to follow her own path and express herself openly, making McLeod's much-praised ability to make the personal feel universal stronger than ever. 

It arrives ahead of a newly-announced London headline date in December presented by Joy Promotions expanding her headline EP tour kicking off in October across so-called VIC, NSW & QLD with her hometown date expanding venue due to a rapid sell-out, and off the back of a nomination for the Emerging Artist Award via Australian Women In Music Awards plus mammoth support announcements with The Tullamarines and Peter Garrett & The Alter Egos across November - all live dates below. 

Featuring alt/folk-pop focus track + video 'Thomas' as well as previous singles triple j's #1-most-played track 'Wednesdays at the Waterloo', 'Sunburnt', and 'Important To You', The Boathouse EP is out now via ABC Music.


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Soft Loft - Dexys Midnight Runners - Leon Majcen - Vivi Belini - Living Hour

Soft Loft - Gravity's Pull.

Soft Loft celebrate the release of their sophomore album, Throw The Dice, with the focus track “Gravity’s Pull,” a soaring indie anthem about growing up without giving up on the dreams that keep pulling you forward. Inspired by modern masters of open-hearted songwriting, from Big Thief to Sam Fender, the track captures the delicate tension between stability and freedom that lies at the heart of Soft Loft’s music. Out this week via [PIAS] Recordings, Throw The Dice was mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, Florence + The Machine), bringing added depth and scale to the band’s emotionally rich new chapter.

Switzerland-based Indie collective Soft Loft ‘Throw The Dice’ is, in many ways, a reflection on life itself. It’s about what the band learned, what they’ve observed, what has helped and what hasn’t. It questions whether they’re stepping into a new phase in life, or if that idea of clear-cut phases doesn’t really exist at all. It’s about it all being a big game, a huge gamble and you won‘t know if it‘s all gonna turn out fine or if it’s not, let‘s throw the dice. ​

After a breakthrough year of headline touring and festival appearances across London, Berlin, Paris and Zurich, as well as slots at The Great Escape, Reeperbahn and Montreux Jazz Festival, plus tastemaker praise from BBC 6 Music to KEXP, this year is shaping up to be even bigger with their [PIAS] debut and a 2026 EU fall tour.​

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Dexys Midnight Runners - Love (Album).

Produced by Belfast musician / DJ David Holmes, LOVE is a deeply personal and emotionally rich album that may mark the final chapter in Dexys Midnight Runners' extraordinary musical journey. 

Their first release under the Dexys Midnight Runners name since 1985’s Don’t Stand Me Down, LOVE gathers stories spanning Kevin Rowland’s life - from his 2nd generation Irish childhood and family relationships to late-life romance, loss and reconciliation. Built around themes of love in all its forms, the album moves beyond traditional romance to explore aging, memory, and emotional connection. 

Focus single “Once A Man, Twice A Child,” is a soulful track finds Rowland reflecting on a relationship with his father that he once believed could never truly exist, capturing the unexpected closeness and love they found in their time together.


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Leon Majcen - The Leaving Kind (Album).

Won’t ya take a ride with me / On the road dog express / Where living ain’t easy / But life’s the best, sings Leon Majcen on his new album released yesterday, ‘The Leaving Kind.’ Produced by Pat Lyons (Colter Wall, Sam Barber) and engineered by Sean Sullivan (Sturgill Simpson, Old Crow Medicine Show, Sierra Hull), it’s a collection of rugged and romantic cowboy songs that trod on as earnestly as Majcen himself. “This music thing requires life to move a lot more quickly than it should, and racking up fifty thousand miles a year can take its toll,” he says. “But I wouldn’t trade the chance for anything.” In a wind-worn voice, over unpretentiously plucked guitars, Majcen sings of cheap motels, long highways, tackle shops, sinking suns, cokes, smokes, and postcards—you can nearly hear the dust kicking up around him. 

And with all this sepia-tinted wayfaring, where is he headed? In 2025, Rolling Stone proclaimed Majcen “in the middle of a major career rise.” He’d toured with the likes of Margo Price, Trampled By Turtles, American Aquarium, and Turnpike Troubadours, putting borrowed spotlight to good use; audiences locked into his backroads balladry, a vagabondish blend of wit and grit frequently compared to Prine. Majcen’s prolific output—four albums in five years—gathered continuous acclaim and landed him on Holler. Magazine’s list of 20 Best New Country and Americana Artists for 2026, further solidifying his place in the modern Americana canon. 

The son of Bosnian refugees, Majcen may gravitate toward an open road by instinct. But his childhood in Safety Harbor, Florida also instilled in him the power of a stabilizing base. He grew up on his father’s musical influence—Dylan, Kristofferson, Van Zandt—and received his first guitar as a Christmas gift at age nine. “My dad’s been a huge supporter of everything I’ve ever wanted to do, whether it was sports, the outdoors, or music. I’m thankful to have good folks.” This much is clear on “Long Way From Home,” Majcen’s strings-laden, emotional ode to the grounding power of family. Ain’t slipped up yet / Be a shame if I do / Because I’m a long way from home / And they still know my name. “Growing up as an immigrant, my whole life, I’ve watched my parents work jobs they hated,” says Majcen. “I think it’s why they always pushed me to chase my dreams. Getting to a position where I can help my family out has always been a big motivator.”

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Vivi Belini - All Mine.

Fresh from captivating audiences at the “Sounds am See” Open air in Sarnen (Switzerland), musician Vivi Belini now welcomes the approaching autumn with a soulful and funky pop track. Her new single, “All Mine,” brings together influences and ambitions from soul, pop, funk and indie. In it, the Berlin-born artist, who now lives in Switzerland, draws on stories from her life as a cosmopolitan.

Originally from Berlin, Vivi Belini moved to Rome at the age of 18 and, after numerous stops along the way, found her second home in Switzerland more than ten years ago. Her international background is also reflected in her band: Swiss guitarist Sven brings his love of blues, rock and pop; American-Austrian drummer Timothy draws on his roots in jazz, hip-hop and fusion; while Serbian bassist Stefan comes from the worlds of jazz, big band and pop. Together, they give Vivi’s compositions their very own signature sound.

Vivi Belini’s music is often deeply introspective. Her songs explore life and its transience, identity, loss and grief – but also hope, resilience and the desire to keep moving forward despite it all. Her debut EP, “Time,” already captured this tension perfectly. Her motto: “Existential crisis, but make it groovy.” Uncompromising honesty meets a sound that invites you to dance not despite its depth, but precisely because of it.

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Photo - Lucas Pingitore

Living Hour - Magnet.

Acclaimed Winnipeg indie rock quintet, Living Hour released a new single this week, “Magnet” via Paper Bag Records / Keeled Scales. It is the title-track of their forthcoming Magnet EP, a four-track companion of demos and b-sides to their 2025 full-length, Internal Drone Infinity, which is one of ten Canadian releases nominated for The Meridian Prize, being awarded this October at BreakOut West.

The bundle of phrases that make up the EP are from an incubation period of a lot of TV, projecting movies for work, and general dissociative activities. “I was thinking about how people are magnets if they want to be. Attracting what they think about most, interact with or watch on screens,” says lead singer and lyricist, Sam Sarty.

“Magnet” marks a return to the atmospheric and ethereal sonic palette that drew listeners to the band in the early years. The song is pastoral and ambient, with layers of swelling glitchy guitar loops, e-bow, vibraphone, vocal drones, and plain, spoken-word poetry. Far-away harmonies and vocalizing from Lindsey Verrill of Little Mazarn bring a ton of cosmic ear candy.

“I started to think about all the rotted reality TV swirling around on a quantum level and where that stuff is stored in a head, all edited together, and how it switches up life in a way that feels cellular and tangible.” And of the EP as a whole, “The songs are a nice reminder to think we can focus on what we need from that soup of stuff and pull out the details we like and want to keep.” 

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A.S. Fanning - Living Hour - Mariel Buckley - Malena Smith - Josh Ritchie

Photo - Neil Hoare

A.S. Fanning - Romance.

Irish songwriter A.S. Fanning announces his fourth studio album Take Me Back To Nowhere, arriving February 6th via K&F Records. Now he kicks off the album lead up with ‘Romance’, offering the first glimpse into Fanning's most disorienting and immersive work to date.

Opening with layered synths that build into an anthemic crescendo over a steady drumbeat, ‘Romance’ showcases Fanning's distinctive baritone voice—drawing comparisons to Nick Cave—delivering a stark, disillusioned meditation on love and human connection. The track maps emotional desolation onto stark sonic terrain, stripping love down to its rawest components: fear masquerading as desire, need mistaken for connection.

"This is a disillusioned love song," Fanning explains. "Representing a feeling of hopelessness through imagery of a barren physical landscape. There's also some hint of room for hope or vulnerability in the line 'love lets you in…' but it's generally quite a cynical song suggesting that romantic feelings are just a confused mixture of fear, need, and desire."

The single introduces broader themes that run throughout Take Me Back To Nowhere: inescapable isolation and the idea that our relationships are shaped more by our internal chaos than any genuine connection with others. "In some ways it touches on the wider themes of the album," he continues "That everyone is isolated and that their own issues and interior processes are what's informing their relationships with other people—that who you fall in love with is just based on your own particular cocktail of neuroses, which you somehow find reflected in another person." 

a.s. fanning · A.S FANNING - Romance

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Photo - Alex Squire

Living Hour - Internal Drone Infinity (Album).

Winnipeg-based Living Hour releases their new album Internal Drone Infinity. With 10 tracks coming in around a 30-minute runtime, the latest record sees the indie rock band move away from dreamy shoegaze sounds in favour of tightly controlled and cathartic sonic release through heavily distorted guitar riffs. 

“Everyone’s kind of angry, we’re getting pissed, the world is fucked, and sometimes it feels like I can’t just be in a nice indie rock band anymore playing twinkly things,” lyricist Sam Sarty says about the change in style. “It’s still nice to do that, but I think there needs to be a release, a scream, or a grunt or something.”

With a lifelong practice of noticing the little, mundane details, and framing them to show potential beauty, Sarty has honed her composing and songwriting skills to the point of finding moments of beauty in places full of literal garbage. 

"Texting is written from this really mundane but intimate point of view of trying to explain Winnipeg to someone over text," she says. "In the winter, everything disappears in the snow, but when the snow melts, we’re left with the mosaic of shit. I keep a list on my phone of things I see on the sidewalk: garbage that breaks my heart or situations that I try to explain, either to myself or over text – that blue bubble carrying my thoughts somewhere else."


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Photo - Emma Palm

Mariel Buckley - Strange Trip Ahead (Album).

Acclaimed Americana singer-songwriter Mariel Buckley returns with her third studio album, Strange Trip Ahead, out now via Birthday Cake Records. Following the success of her 2022 Polaris Prize–longlisted album, Everywhere I Used to Be, Buckley steps boldly into a new sonic chapter — one that blurs the lines between alt-Americana, indie rock, and emotive confessional songwriting.

Serving as the album’s emotional centerpiece, “Anvil” captures the tension of life-altering decisions in a relationship — specifically around the question of whether to have children. Co-written with Nashville songwriter Robby Hecht and featuring Buckley’s brother T. Buckley on mandolin and background vocals, the track is one of the most meticulously constructed on the record.

“Anvil explores the decision around having kids — those ‘will we/won’t we’ conversations,” Buckley explains. “As a woman and as a queer person, the scrutiny around that choice is intense. It forces you to look unromantically at what partnership and permanence really mean.”

Driven by heavy rhythm sections, pedal steel tension, and Buckley’s soaring vocal delivery, the song embodies the weight of love and inevitability — a slow burn that simmers with emotional gravity.

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Malena Smith -Maybe.

St. Louis-based singer-songwriter Malena Smith has shared her latest single, “Maybe,” an emotionally raw preview of her upcoming debut EP, 27 in Maine. Following the transparency of her previous release, “Paralyzed,” this new track, written by Sonca Nguyen, Jack Pordea, and Joshua "Paco" Lee dives even deeper, capturing the tension of love in limbo.
 
Simply put, “Maybe” is a love song, but beneath its gentle melodies lies a layered emotional landscape and an introspective plea, a yearning for the other person to return and affirm your feelings. It's a confession, a question, and a prayer for emotional clarity in a relationship hanging by a thread.
 
With introspective lyrics, delicate harmonies, soulful guitar and skillful mandolin, “Maybe” reflects the intimate emotional spaces we often keep hidden. “I’ll wait for your answer / Just ask me the question / Don’t leave me to figure it out / I promise to show you / Whatever you go through / I’ll be by your side,” she sings, inviting the listener into a quiet but powerful moment of sensitivity. “I’ve been there more times than I’d like to admit in my twenties, maybe that’s why it resonates so deeply,” she shares. 

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Josh Ritchie - So Much More Than A Dream (Album).

By the time an artist makes their third album, it’s a safe bet they’ve learned a few lessons. In the case of Canadian singer/songwriter Josh Ritchie, those lessons led to taking control of all aspects of So Much More Than A Dream, with the result being a dynamically powerful 11-song collection that blurs the lines between modern rock, experimental folk, and contemporary r&b.

In some ways, it’s the sound of our age, where genres are fluid, and an artist has the tools at their fingertips to take any idea and construct a unique sonic landscape out of it. In film parlance, it’s been called “the auteur theory” for decades, and for Josh Ritchie, it guided his vision throughout the making of So Much More Than A Dream.

In short, So Much More Than A Dream can be described as a concept album telling the story of a young adult searching for peace and purpose in our increasingly turbulent world. It’s hardly a stretch to say that theme mirrors much of Ritchie’s life to this point, having grown up BIPOC in Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula. Much of his music to date has been a product of his experiences, but on So Much More Than A Dream he pours his soul into each song, as on the first single, “Numb,” which asks the increasingly common question, “Do you believe in anything at all?”

Josh clearly believes in many things, and wants you to believe in them as well. On the anthemic new single “Celestial,” he firmly pins his heart to his sleeve, running through the list of things that sustain his spirit, with love firmly at the top. Later, on the stunning ballad “Vancouver,” he sounds like a young Leonard Cohen, surveying the wreckage of his life amid the wreckage of the inner city. But it’s “Small Town Boys” that Josh highlights as a personal triumph.


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Indigo Fire - Wilder Maker - Living Hour

Indigo Fire - Gone Away.

Indigo Fire have returned with a synth rock beauty entitled 'Gone Away.' Gone Away draws upon events that happened years ago. But it could have been yesterday. Or it could be tomorrow. The emotions would be the same… a mix of hurt, bewilderment, frustration and anger that comes with the loss of something important. Heavy on the synths and vocals with a punchy drum line and more subtle guitar, Indigo Fire has tried to craft a catchy but poignant song.

ndigo Fire was formed in 2025 when old school friends, Guy Martland and Pete Burdon, finally put their heads together and started writing and recording their own songs.  Although they never pursued music professionally, they have both played in various orchestras and jazz/blues bands over the years. 

With Indigo Fire, they are venturing into a new genre (for them) as they try to create their own sound, drawing upon the various bands and artists who influenced them growing up, such as Depeche Mode, The Cure, New Order and Pink Floyd. With mixing and post-production help from their friend, Dan Skinner, they released their first single, Lyrics for a Song, in May 2025. Gone Away is the second single from Indigo Fire's forthcoming debut album, Incipient.

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Photo - Keegan Grandbois

Wilder Maker - The Moon Says / Darkness Leaning Like Water Against the Windows.

Wilder Maker have shared two more songs from The Streets Like Beds Still Warm before the full record is out next Monday. The two tracks are "The Moon Says" & "Darkness Leaning Like Water Against the Windows". Those who visit us even occasionally will have probably picked up on the fact that Beehive Candy loves original, creative and unpretentious new music, Wilder Maker have ticked all those boxes for us, we are very impressed.

Band member Gabriel Birnbaum tells us, “The Moon Says” is a love song for someone who begs for help and refuses it at the same time, for someone who can’t love themself. It contains a beautiful saxophone contribution from Joseph Shabason, rhythm guitar/piano parts that slowly warp and bend as the song progresses, and a title that references one of my all time poets, Frank Stanford.

Brooklyn band Wilder Maker’s principal songwriter, Gabriel Birnbaum says that the group’s latest full-length, The Streets Like Beds Still Warm follows “an overall formal asymmetry, like dream logic.” It is richly textured, moody, and deep and is as distinctly narrative as it is literally experimental. To call it a concept album, as big as that term is, would actually be to sell it short. It is, in fact, only the first part of a concept trilogy that tells the tale of one long night in the city, from dusk to dawn.

The Streets Like Beds Still Warm follows a lonely narrator as he drifts down avenues and in and out of bars and hospital rooms. He thinks on big questions and bigger questions, gets into some trouble, worries about his sick father, grapples with rivals and competitors who could be his friends but are not; he orders cocktails, dreams he is a genius, thinks about God and fate and so on. The record closes out at around 1:15am, leaving the story to be continued. If this sounds a bit noirish, that’s because it is. “Film noir detectives always start out looking immaculate, but by the end of the film they have a torn collar, a black eye, their slacks are stained, and they’ve started slapping people around in desperation,” Birnbaum says. “Are they the good guy anymore? I find this fascinating and I love the visual cues reflecting the internal landscape.” While there are no visual cues, per se, on The Streets Like Beds Still Warm, the record owes a great debut to cinematography.


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Photo - Lucas Pingitore

Living Hour - Best I Did It.

Winnipeg band Living Hour releases "Best I Did It" today, the third single from their new album Internal Drone Infinity, out October 17 via Keeled Scales. Lyricist Sam Sarty writes: "In the end, the song is about confronting a lot of dark feelings head-on, and not just driving by or looking for a distraction. I really like singing the line 'I’m just out here to try my medicine,' because that’s truly all I can do. All I can do is try to prioritize all the forms of medicine at my disposal."

Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Living Hour experiences long winter seasons characterized by thick, grey sky and a colourless cityscape. A lot of the lyrics in this song are built around this colour landscape, and how Sarty confronts these intensely grey feelings.

Despite the gloom giving birth to the song, Sarty says the chorus is a hopeful reminder to herself. "I imagine myself 10 years from now looking back at this song and thinking of all the ways I’ve tried to heal myself, and saying I did the best I could. I’m doing the best I can." 

Living Hour worked with engineer/producer Melina Duterte (Jay Som), who previously worked with boygenius, Whitmer Thomas, and Lucy Dacus. Living Hour's combination of hushed lyrics and fuzzed-out guitar calls to mind artists like Squirrel Flower, Soccer Mommy, and Slow Pulp.

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The Planet Smashers - Romanie - Amanda Pascali - Living Hour - flipturn feat. Old Mervs - Lydia Luce

Photo - Michael Crusty

The Planet Smashers - On the Dancefloor (Album).

Ska-punk legends The Planet Smashers are back with their new studio album, On the Dancefloor, out via Stomp Records (home to Wine Lips, The Anti-Queens, The Real McKenzies, and The Dreadnoughts). 

On the Dancefloor isn’t just a comeback, it's a coronation. Featuring electrifying guest appearances by ska trailblazers Neville Staple of The Specials, Charley “Aitch” Bembridge of The Selecter, and Sara Johnston of Bran Van 3000, the album taps into the rich legacy of 2Tone and third wave ska with heart, swagger, and soul. These collaborations bring an unmatched pedigree and history to the project, linking the band’s infectious energy with the genre’s pioneering voices.

Formed in 1994, The Planet Smashers have carved out a legacy as one of ska-punk’s most vital acts. With over 30 million Spotify streams, iconic tracks featured in everything from MTV’s Undergrads to Japanese cult anime Catman, and a live show that’s equal parts punk chaos and carnival joyride, the Montreal-based crew has spent over three decades earning their place in ska royalty.

On the Dancefloor features 13 high-octane tracks built for movement and uplift: party anthems, heartbreak jams, and protest songs delivered with unapologetic spirit and punchy horn arrangements. The album’s visual aesthetic was brought to life by renowned digital artist Scorpion Dagger, whose artwork matches the album’s vibrant energy beat for beat.


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Photo - Marcus Coblyn

Romanie - When Will We Lose Hope?

This week Melbourne-based Romanie shares her emotive new single ‘When Will We Lose Hope?’ Keeping hope alive against the odds, Romanie’s new single is a sincere and raw offering. Effortless vocals and reflective lyricism share a haunting reminder of the bigger pitcher. When Will We Lose Hope? is an honest and beautiful output, here to gently offer perspective. Sharing more, Romanie said; ‘I wrote this song in January 2024 during Adrienne Lenker’s School of Song workshop. 

I was feeling kind of lost in the world, wondering if making music was the right thing to do in a time of turmoil, reading the news and looking at villains ruling the world and destroying the planet. During the first lecture, Adrienne talked about having to let yourself feel things in order to write music and be curious. I cried during that lecture, and felt so inspired knowing that so many other beautiful songwriters were experiencing the same thing and suddenly writing songs and making music felt like the only straight forward thing to do.

It’s a really sad song, but I really want to emphasize the element of hope in it too, because it’s important to keep loving and caring for community. When Will We Lose Hope? is Romanie’s second single to arrive this year. It follows ‘Uh Oh’ which was released in May marking a new era for the artist, one that blends grit and grunge with softness and emotion in equal measure.

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Photo - Davide Casciolo

Amanda Pascali - Cleopatra.

Rising singer-songwriter Amanda Pascali shares her new single "Cleopatra," a powerful ode to resilience, identity, and the strength of women who break barriers across borders. Inspired by Pascali’s mother, an immigrant who arrived in 1980s New York City and built a life and career from the ground up, "Cleopatra" fuses Arabic melodies, Spanish guitar, spaghetti Western soundscapes, and world folk elements to reflect the multicultural mosaic of her story. 

"Cleopatra" follows Pascali's previous singles, including a song of unrequited love, "Wake Up, Baby!," and an ode to all-consuming love, "Amuri." Her new album Roses and Basil was produced by acclaimed singer-songwriter and fellow Texan Robert Ellis and will release on September 12.

"'Cleopatra' is a bilingual, genre-blending tribute to my mother — who was born in Egypt and journeyed to America by way of France — and to every woman who has had to fight to make her story heard," Pascali explains. “The song is inspired by my mother’s story, but it’s also about my responsibility as her first-born daughter to carry that story forward. The repeated line ‘I was left with the pen in my hand’ speaks to the urgency I feel, especially in this moment, to tell these stories.”

She continues, "I have had to convince many people that it is compelling to tell stories where women are at the forefront. Today, I am sharing this one: I wrote this song about my mom but it’s also about me, and every woman who came before me. In every story, there are pieces of the writer that seep in. This song celebrates my relationships, past, present, and future with the most important women in my life: my sisters, my mom, and my grandmothers in heaven. We are the main characters of this story.”

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Photo - Lucas Pingitore

Living Hour - Waiter.

Winnipeg band Living Hour releases "Waiter" this week, the second single from their fourth album Internal Drone Infinity, out October 17 via Keeled Scales. 

Lyricist Sam Sarty writes: "This is a song about people who wait. Wait-ers. I find myself waiting without knowing what I’m waiting for. I wait in all these liminal spaces: hotels, parking lots, and even relationships. This song reflects on two relationships where I spent a lot of time waiting; waiting to feel something or to see what would happen."

The song is an ode to time passing after a relationship, becoming self-sufficient after a period of emotional intimacy. Sarty continues: "This song feels like a tribute to all that energy that pours out of me when I’m yearning for someone to be closer to me, but it also acts as a realization that I’ll always have myself. It’s a relief, like feeling that the wait is over."

Anchored by Sarty’s vivid lyricism, shaped by years as a projectionist conjuring stories in a dark theater, the band explores the quiet magic hidden in everyday life. With wistful vocals, textural distortion, and poetic detail, Living Hour capture the ache of memory, the mess of feeling, and the beauty in what remains.

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Photo - Andy Vinson

flipturn - Burnout Days (feat. Old Mervs).

flipturn, "one of the most innovative bands out now" are set to bring their acclaimed album Burnout Days to UK audiences this November, with a run of dates that includes their biggest London show to date at Kentish Town Forum on November 14th, and an appearance at Live At Leeds City Festival.

The announcement comes as the band unveils a special collaboration with Old Mervs on a new version of their title track "Burnout Days", released today (August 20th). The collaboration emerged from the bands' recent sold-out afterparty performance together at Park West in Chicago following Lollapalooza.

"We've always thought 'Burnout Days' was a summer song, and since we will be coming over during the Australian summer we thought they would be the perfect fit," says flipturn frontman Dillon Basse. Old Mervs' Dave House adds, "We are absolutely stoked with this collab with flipturn! 'Burnout Days' is such a fun song and playing around in the studio with it was a blast."

Released earlier this year via Dualtone Records, the 12-song collection Burnout Days finds the indie-rock powerhouse returning as sonic architects, harnessing their impressive knack for hooks, shimmering soundscapes and "nostalgia-inducing lyrical delivery" (Uproxx). The album has been lauded for its "rays of optimism" (SPIN), "irresistible hooks" (Consequence) and "infectious energy" (Luna Collective).

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Photo - Ryan Usher

Lydia Luce - Quiet.

Nashville-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lydia Luce shares "Quiet," the latest single from her new album Mammoth, which releases October 30. A much-needed antidote to the relentlessness of the world around us, the soft-pedaled keys and mellow strings mirror the feeling of sitting in harmonious silence with someone you love. The song is accompanied by an acoustic live video performed with Lockeland Strings.

“'Quiet' is a song for my partner and I," Luce says. "‘Quiet' is about the ability to sit with someone and not have to say anything. To be able to soak up their presence and find contentment, joy and peace in the silence. We are about to have our first kiddo and it's something we've been trying for, for the last year and a half. Everything is about to change in our house and we are truly cherishing these final months at home, just the two of us and our dog."

Recorded in just one week at Peter Gabriel’s celebrated Real World Studios, Mammoth was produced with longtime creative collaborator Jordan Lehning (Kacey Musgraves, Joy Oladokun, Caitlin Rose), with whom Luce runs the Nashville-based string collective Lockeland Strings. These songs are inspired by the ambient compositions of Luce's solo Lethe music project, as well as the natural surroundings of the UK countryside where Mammoth was recorded, with sounds of blowing winds and morning birdsong woven into the instrumentation. Gone are the boisterous elements of her previous releases, now replaced by something more quietly contemplative that represents this new chapter of tranquility. From the sweeping title track to the dreamy "Wisteria" and the tender lullaby "Florence," Mammoth is bound by a common thread of self-love, hope and acceptance, along with a fervent belief in the serendipity of the last few years. 


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Tiberius - The Outers - Living Hour - Bunnygrunt - Texas Headhunters - The Bats

Photo -  Zoe Hopper

Tiberius - Sag.

Boston’s Tiberius have announced their new album, ‘Troubadour,’ for release via Audio Antihero on November 14th. "Sag" is taken from ‘Troubadour,’ the label debut of Boston’s Tiberius. Originally a solo outing for songwriter Brendan Wright (they/them), the lineup has evolved into a catchy and cacophonous four-piece. With a sound that blends Indie Punk, Alt Country and Psychedelia with confessional but conversational lyrics, Tiberius have dubbed their sound “Farm Emo.” 

After a series of self-releases, which received great praise and support from New England-based press like Allston Pudding and Penny Mag, ‘Troubadour’ sees Tiberius make their label debut with Audio Antihero (Frog / Avery Friedman / CIAO MALZ). 

Artist Statement for "Sag": "Sag is about this dreaded ‘Allston to Bushwick’ pipeline we have in Boston. A lot of musicians end up using Boston to cut their teeth before heading off to New York or LA to pursue their music careers. I wrote ‘Sag’ when I was really playing the ‘comparison game’ in my head and asking myself what role I wanted music to play in my life. It was the first in a batch about looking at yourself in relation to the others around you and trying to decipher who you are without that context.“ – Brendan Wright.

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The Outers - Wishy Washy.

The Outers Channel Gritty Glamour and Sonic Edge in New Single “Wishy Washy” Has the time come for another classic London band? The type that bring a uniquely British slant to indie pop and somehow call to mind the entire city’s heritage of catchy personality led guitar pop from X-Ray Specs & The Bellestars to Lush & Echobelly To The Libertines & The Noisettes. Well, here come The Outers to fill that void for the modern audience with their perky new summer single Wishy Washy.

“Wishy Washy” opens with a sharp bass-line and tight dance groove rhythm section before erupting into a chorus packed with raw emotion and biting delivery. The lyrics chart the downfall of a character fuelled by selfish ambition and surface-level charm, exposing the cracks beneath a carefully curated façade. There is a real sense of narrative tension here, told with both sonic swagger and lyrical edge.

As chirpy as the tune may be, the lyrics actually deal with dark subject matter: “It is about a character driven by disguised self interest always trying to take advantage of people and situations, despite permanent efforts to project a glamorous appearance and chase popularity, actions guided by circumstances and greed will clash with his narrative. Acting behind closed doors to gain power by isolating others or pinning them against each other, the character does not realise his intentions show.” - Ade (Singer).

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Photo -  Devonte Johnson

Living Hour - Wheel.

Winnipeg band Living Hour releases "Wheel" this week, the first single from their fourth album Internal Drone Infinity, out October 17 via Keeled Scales. 

Lyricist Sam Sarty writes: "The story of 'Wheel' begins with buying a car off Facebook Marketplace in BC. Turns out the car was junk, but I had no choice but to drive it home to Winnipeg. It took 3 days. I was driving through the mountains, and the headlights were so dim, and for a stretch there was nowhere to turn off. It felt like a weird, horrific video game–navigating the road and dodging danger and trying not to die. I also felt so deeply betrayed by all the men involved in the whole thing."

The song captures a certain powerlessness involved in the affair: the car salesman handing over the keys, the cops interrogating from the side of the road, the ex arguing from the passenger seat. Sarty continues: "In this song, I was able to imagine an alternate reality where I’m a vengeful spectator in these men's lives. What if I had died on the road, and what if I came back and plagued them all with my powerful essence that they so easily dismissed, contorted and took advantage of in order to sell me a fucked up car?"

Anchored by Sarty’s vivid lyricism, shaped by years as a projectionist conjuring stories in a dark theater, the band explores the quiet magic hidden in everyday life. With wistful vocals, textural distortion, and poetic detail, Living Hour capture the ache of memory, the mess of feeling, and the beauty in what remains.

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Bunnygrunt - Eggy Greggy.

St Louis, Missouri's favorite indiepop nerds Bunnygrunt are to return with a 30th Anniversary reissue of their long out of print cuddle-core classic 'Action Pants.' The band dug deep and unearthed lost recordings that were left off of the album due to last minute line up changes way back in the day. The album will now finally be heard in the way it was meant to way back 30 years ago adding three never before heard tracks. The album comes out on August 8th on HHBTM Records and the band's own Sillymoo Records label.

 St Louis e’er-do-wells Bunnygrunt sprung fully formed into the Great Indie Pop Underground of the early 1990’s, when gas was cheap, 7” singles grew on trees, and every zine had a reader. After a hugely successful turn at 1994’s YoYo-A-GoGo festival and a steady stream of 45’s, the band hit the studio in early 1995 to record their full length debut Action Pants for LA scene makers No Life Records. 

Unfortunately, the band lineup shifted and the track list contracted between recording and release, leaving a few songs on the cutting room floor. Now is the time to re-introduce the world to the Action Pants it needs now more than ever. Alongside the breezy perfection of Just Like Suppertime, the clattering feedback frenzy of GI2K, the jangle motorik of Open Up And Say Oblina, and the other hits you know and love, faithful Bungalos can now feast their ears on the shambling glory of Eggy Greggy, the transmission from another planet of Maude (in two parts!), and originally planned pre-release single Inanimate Objects. 

Meet Action Pants: The Thirtieth Anniversary Director’s Cut! A split release between Georgia’s Happy Happy Birthday To Me & St Louis’s Silly Moo, it’s just like the old one, only, like, better…

HHBTM Records · Eggy Greggy

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Photo - Ray Redding

Texas Headhunters - Gimme Some Love.

Texas Headhunters aren’t here to play it slick; they’re here to play it real. This week, the trio of Johnny Moeller, Ian Moore and Jesse Dayton, drop “Gimme Some Love,” the third single from their self-titled debut album, out August 22 on Hardcharger / Blue Élan Records.

This time, it’s Johnny Moeller stepping out front. Long known for his razor-sharp guitar work with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Moeller shows a new side of his artistry here -- cool, sly, and soaked in Texas groove. Think Ray Wylie Hubbard swagger meets Delbert McClinton soul, with a little Billy Gibbons grit for good measure.

“This one came together real quick in the studio,” says Moeller. “I’m playing rhythm and singing while Jesse and Ian laid down the ‘ancient art of guitar weaving,’ Texas style, all in one live take. The song’s about looking at this crazy world and realizing we all just need a little more love. I was stuck on the third verse, and my wife said, ‘write something about your dog.’ So, ‘my little sweet Talullah’ made the cut.”

Lyrically, “Gimme Some Love” is a gritty gospel-blues plea for redemption, cut with humor and heart. It’s a song about breaking bad habits, riding the soul train out of trouble, and shining a light in the darkness. Musically, this track rides a low-slung groove. With the swampy pulse of Little Feat, the grit of a Chess Records session, and the laid-back cool of a late-night Austin jam, captured live at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studio with producer Steve Chadie.

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The Bats - Lucky Day.

New Zealand indie rock royals, The Bats, have recently had their heads down recording new music and have today announced their 11th full-length album, ‘Corner Coming Up’, out on October 17th via Flying Nun Records. The new album strikes a very distinctive and familiar chord that exists in the fuzzy-loving hearts of fans all round the world. Throughout their 40 plus years of existence, and now with 'Corner Coming Up' ready to share with the world, The Bats have stayed true to their roots, creating timeless music that continues to resonate with fans old and new.

The Bats are Robert Scott, Kaye Woodward, Paul Kean and Malcolm Grant. Since their inception in Christchurch in 1982, The Bats’ music has earned a devoted following around the world, and they remain one of New Zealand’s most cherished and enduring exports. The band has a phenomenal ability to create melodies that linger long after the record has stopped spinning.

This week the band have also shared their brand new video single ‘Lucky Day’. Shot out of a suitcase by Marc Swadel, Julian Reid and Kermath, while on work trips, the accompanying lo-fi psychedelic video was shot in Florence, London, Tokyo, Doha, Taipei, Liverpool, Zagreb, Manchester and Hong Kong with the band filming themselves in Christchurch. This is the fourth Bats video by director Marc Swadel (who has previously worked with Crowded House, Thurston Moore, The Datsuns, Jonathan Bree, Sparks, Liam Finn, Duran Duran, Head Like a Hole and The Chemical Brothers).

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