Brooklyn-based purveyor of brazen, psych-tinged rock n' roll and biker punk, Lord Sonny the Unifier, returns with his most brazen and raw offering yet on new album "The Escape Plan Handbook". Staying true to his trademark radical honesty, this release is a literal daredevil that boldly captures collective frustrations and the cultural zeitgeist like lightning in a bottle. Lord Sonny the Unifier is the artistic brainchild of Greg Jiritano, multi-instrumentalist musician, vocalist, lyricist, painter, biker, rebel and a downright nuisance to the uninspired status quo.
"The Escape Plan Handbook" is an eclectic sonic blast that will appeal to fans of Viagra Boys, The Lennon Claypool Delirium, Ty Segall, Tom Waits, David Bowie, Motorhead, The Beatles and Jack White. In other words, expect dark storytelling and gritty, untethered rock. Greg Jiritano happily revels in pure, uncut menace with diabolical vocals, grunts and screams, expressing his frustrations with aplomb.
"When I was working on this album I kept thinking: Keep it dirty...and real. All analog, tube amps and wild, near incoherent synths from the early 70's, like a very used Motorcycle's vibes. I kept thinking about those times that don't exist anymore, before the internet and social media when people could leave for a while and nobody knew where they were. No way at all to track you down. Even just a walk down the road, or a weekend vanish. The freedom in that, which was subconsciously guiding us. It was in the superconscious, in the Archetype of humanity, that unbridle freedom. In America it was easier to live then, for a lot of people. In the 60's and 70's rent was cheap, food was cheap, even minimum wage covered the basics. There wasn't an undercurrent of fear for basic survival which forces us to do things we don't really want, like spend most of our day at a shi66y job with no reward at the end of the day or week.
I was thinking of those times, thinking of really cool woman in their cutoff shorts and all of us meeting at hidden spots many days drives from home to a wilder uninhabited America. Some in Vans, some on motorcycles, some in small Campervans. This is The Escape Plan. Iconoclasts who disregard the day to day politics and realities of daily life who say, I see you and don't accept an iota of it. I disregard all of you and I'm gonna go this way with my tribe, and we are the happy ones here, and you aught to be us. You, including the ones in power and the ones trapped in the day to day of your own making. You want to be us. All the songs on this album were dreamt up thinking of that world, of those people, of those times, written from the perspective of being either IN IT or of looking AT IT from the outside."
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We don't know much about FEART (pronounced 'fear-t') beyond the info below and that he is an Amsterdam-based Scottish indie artist. The featured song however is something quite special, exuding a raw emotional feeling without any self indulgent overtones, allowing the listener to be drawn into a shared experience, something we might simply relate to today or through past memories.
This single was written, recorded, and produced by the solo Scottish artist known as FEART. It's a rich, analogue track with a somber and melancholic undertone.
The second single 'a boy can dream', was released yesterday 25 September, from the upcoming full-length LP 'bonnie mourn'. Musically it's an intriguing mixture of alternative acoustic, along with some beautifully placed orchestral arrangement.
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Blank Instrument, the musical project of Boorloo/Perth-based singer-songwriter Kim Franklin, whose new single, ‘Know Nothing’, was released yesterday Friday, September 25. This track marks the third single from her forthcoming debut album, ‘Jumping at Ghosts’, which is out in just a month's time on Friday, October 23.
As the third single from ‘Jumping at Ghosts’, ‘Know Nothing’ continues Blank Instrument’s deeply personal songwriting journey while shifting the focus more directly onto Franklin herself. Warm Hammond organ, acoustic guitar and subtle vocal harmonies create a reflective country-folk atmosphere, while lively drums add a brighter, more buoyant edge.
Where earlier singles ‘Brand New’ and ‘Green and Blue’ were shaped in part by the memory of her late friend Julie, whose generosity continued after her passing and helped fund the project, ‘Know Nothing’ turns inward, exploring Franklin’s relationship with intuition, perfectionism and decision-making. Inspired by her tendency to search for the “right” choice, the track reflects a shift in mindset as she learns to accept uncertainty and embrace the idea that there can be several workable paths rather than one perfect answer. Franklin states:
"Some decisions aren’t simple or easy. I've struggled with the idea of making the ‘right’ decision. This is, I've realised recently, because I'm a perfectionist. While it's often seen as a positive trait and the perfect job interview answer, living with it can be difficult. There is no amount of information that can make a decision easier, when you’re looking for a level of certainty that’s impossible to find."
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Sydney-based artist Holly Wild channels the jealousy of an annoyingly perfect friend into a new sarcastic, punchy indie-pop rock single, ‘So Annoying’, out this weekend alongside an accompanying music video. The single comes ahead of her debut album 'Technicolour', out Friday, October 16. Since releasing her debut single in 2021, Holly Wild has built an array of music, television and international collaborations, working with highly acclaimed industry talents including producer David Arkwright (James Arthur, Teddy Swims, Katelyn Tarver) and Australian ARIA chart-topper Jolyon Petch, demonstrating her growing industry recognition.
Now turning that growing experience towards a punchier, more playful side of her sound, Holly Wild brings a garage-rock edge to ‘So Annoying’. Distorted electric guitar riffs and powerful drums collide with catchy, lo-fi spoken-word vocals, before gritty vocals push the track into a slightly chaotic explosion of raspy frustration and upbeat energy.
'So Annoying' uses playfulness and exaggerated sarcasm to capture the envious feeling of having a friend who is effortlessly perfect. It combines internal feelings and critiques to reflect pettiness and jealousy, focusing on the self-awareness and irrationality of knowing how ridiculous and unhinged it may be. Wild takes this jealousy and turns it into a sarcastic and funny commentary on the envy that isn’t always shared. As Holly Wild shares:
"’So Annoying’ is about that one friend who makes everything look way too easy... gorgeous, unbothered, life just falling into place. My co-writer and I got a bit ridiculous imagining every petty thought you could have about her, and somewhere in all that laughing, the song showed up. I like to think of it as the anthem for 'friend-vy'... the jealousy nobody likes admitting to."
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| Photo - Karen Santos |
Miko Marks releases “Hell or High Water,” the deeply personal title track from her forthcoming LP Hell Or High Water, due October 30 via Redtone Records. Drawing from the losses and struggles that have shaped her life, Marks looks to the wisdom she has gained, the people she has loved, and the ancestors she carries with her as sources of strength to keep moving forward.
The song reaches back to Marks’ roots in Flint, Michigan, a city she remembers thriving during her youth but has since watched struggle, with much of her family still there. Her own life has brought profound loss as well, including the deaths of her mother and sister and the end of her 29-year marriage. As grief accumulated, Marks found herself struggling with depression and isolation and trying to escape sadness she could not outrun.
“I lost my way and tried to drown my sadness and grief to no avail,” Marks shares. “Depression kicked in and isolation was becoming a friend. Through support and help, I was able to climb out of a self-imposed misery and find my joy again.” That journey takes on powerful symbolism throughout “Hell or High Water.” The “stone in my pocket” Marks sings of represents the wisdom and inner strength she carries with her, while the “spirits all around me” are her ancestors and loved ones whose presence reminds her to keep moving forward.
“Perseverance could be my middle name,” Marks explains. “Despite my willingness to give up, I have not. I have a ‘stone in my pocket’ that I carry for wisdom and inner strength. The ‘spirits all around me’ are my ancestors, loved ones, and they encourage me to keep going even when things are not as I believe they should be. I will continue to make it through, and I’ll press on through whatever comes my way.”
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| Photo - Justin Rix |
Prince Edward Island singer-songwriter Shane Pendergast shares “Jack Pine,” an introspective yet uplifting folk song inspired by the rugged resilience of its namesake tree. Rooted in earthy imagery, live instrumentation, and Pendergast’s deep connection to the landscape and literary traditions of Prince Edward Island, the track finds beauty in adapting to difficult surroundings without losing sight of who you are. It’s the title track from his upcoming fifth album, Jack Pine, set for release on October 23rd, 2026.
The song takes inspiration from Pendergast’s longstanding fascination with jack pines: hardy, unconventional trees capable of growing in barren and unforgiving ground. Their ability to bend, adapt, and assume unexpected forms offered a natural reflection of ideas that have increasingly found their way into his songwriting.
That connection is also rooted in the work of legendary Prince Edward Island poet Milton Acorn, whose writing about the tree particularly resonated with Pendergast. “The Jack pine grows to any shape that suits the light, suits the winds, suits itself,” Acorn wrote, capturing the same rugged individualism that drew Pendergast to the image.
Throughout the song, the Jack pine becomes more than a piece of the Maritime landscape. Its bent branches and ability to withstand difficult conditions offer a metaphor for resilience, adaptability, and the tension between yielding to outside forces and holding onto something essential within yourself.
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