Re Mattei - Blank Instrument - Real Monte - Killian Walsh - Brand New Heartache - Cassandra Coleman

Re Mattei - Hot Mess.

After earning chart success, industry recognition, and a growing reputation for crafting songs that resonate with everyday life, country artist and songwriter Re Mattei returns with "Hot Mess," an empowering new anthem for women who embrace every side of who they are.

Set to appear on her forthcoming album Stories Lived, arriving later this summer, "Hot Mess" captures the duality familiar to millions of women: the polished professional during the week and the adventurous, carefree spirit who emerges when the workday ends. Co-written by Mattei and Courtney Bach, the song is equal parts country swagger, heartfelt storytelling, and unapologetic celebration of authenticity.

Inspired by a group of women Mattei worked alongside in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, "Hot Mess" tells the story of a woman who spends her weekdays making deals in heels but lives for weekends filled with tailgates, four-wheelers, fishing trips, and quality time with the people she loves.

"I was fascinated by how these women balanced so many responsibilities while still making time to enjoy life," says Mattei. "They weren't worried about being perfect. They weren't afraid to get dirty, laugh hard, and simply be themselves. At its heart, 'Hot Mess' celebrates those moments when we allow ourselves to be perfectly imperfect and are loved just as we are."

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Blank Instrument - Brand New.

Boorloo/Perth artist Blank Instrument, the musical project of singer-songwriter Kim Franklin, unveils her new single 'Brand New', out yesterday Friday, June 26, the first taste of her forthcoming debut album 'Jumping at Ghosts', due later this year.   

While the warm, country-tinged folk release explores the end of a relationship and the hope that follows, it also marks the beginning of an album made possible by Franklin's late friend Julie, whose encouragement and generosity helped bring the long-held dream of recording a full-length record to life.

The album's origins can be traced back to one of Franklin's final conversations with Julie, a close friend she met years earlier while working together in the public service. Bonded by a shared love of music, storytelling and conversation, the pair remained close long after moving on to different careers. 

Before her passing in 2023, Julie told Franklin she wanted to leave her some money to help "pursue her dreams". That gift ultimately funded the recording of 'Jumping at Ghosts', allowing Franklin to enter Sundown Studios and realise a project that may otherwise have remained out of reach. More than a debut album, the record stands as a lasting tribute to friendship, generosity and the people who shape our lives.

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Real Monte - Take Me To The Sky.

The vintage soul-pop journey of Real Monte continues with its second chapter! With their new single "Take Me To The Sky," the Swiss band once again has a great tune to offer.  

Swiss radio station Radio Basilisk summed it up perfectly in April: "Real Monte invite listeners on a musical journey that stylishly blends the past and the present." Meanwhile, Belgian music blog Concertmonkey described the band's sound as a "vintage soul-pop journey," and youth radio station 4TNG in Winterthur selected their debut single as its Song of the Day.

Together with countless live performances, these accolades have helped Real Monte build a loyal and steadily growing fan base over the past few years. Their debut single "Go Go Go" achieved remarkable success this spring, receiving more than 500 radio plays on stations across Switzerland and abroad.

Now it's time for the follow-up: "Take Me To The Sky." An upbeat, carefree summer soul-pop song with a modern touch, it captures the timeless spirit of the 1950s and 1960s while bringing it into the present day.

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Killian Walsh - Ise (Album).

Experimental electronic artist and multi-instrumentalist Killian Walsh releases his new album ‘Ise’, accompanied by focus track ‘Let’s Dance’, featuring his daughter Elise SW. Following the release of previous singles ‘Let’s Float’ and ‘Let’s Play Bongos’, the full body of work now arrives as a deeply personal and emotionally expansive collection that cites a journey through grief, reflection, healing and renewal.

The album is named after the Irish word for “she”, with ‘Ise’ serving as a gesture of respect to the women who have shaped Killian’s life. Created during a profoundly transformative period following the deaths of his wife and father, the album emerged organically as a creative response to loss, gradually evolving into a complete work that captures both emotional vulnerability and artistic growth.

Killian Walsh comments: “Music has been part of my life from a very young age, and I had what I can only describe as a pull to do something. This album is effectively the story of the journey of my grief, realising that grief is a form of madness and all the emotions attached to that. It's also the journey of me looking into my past, because you really start looking at yourself and asking, ‘What are you doing? Why am I here? What is the point in all of this?”

Across the album’s eleven tracks, ‘Ise’ draws upon a broad spectrum of electronic influences including Ambient, House, Trance and Techno, while also reflecting Killian’s roots in traditional Irish music. Developed alongside collaborators in Dublin, Berlin and Australia, including renowned producers and engineers Tobias Neumann and Johannes Manuel, the album balances analogue textures, immersive sound design and melodic depth with an unmistakably human emotional core.

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Brand New Heartache - New Alchemy.

"New Alchemy" is the third single and title track from Brand New Heartache's forthcoming debut album, A New Alchemy (Mule Kick Records), arriving July 24. The single and accompanying video was released yesterday. Brand New Heartache, the husband/wife duo consisting of Eleese and Matthew Meschery, take their cues from the rich traditions of authentic Americana while channeling anthemic, indie-pop vibrations and dreamy harmonies. After having formed the band in Oakland, CA, the pair made a consequential move in 2022 to Madison, TN just outside of Nashville. With a rotating cast of session players that included members of Chuck Prophet’s band, Counting Crows, and Aimee Mann's touring band, they’ve sharpened a captivating sound and built momentum in East Nashville as they gear up for their release on Mule Kick Records.

​Blending dreamy harmonies, Americana roots, and indie-pop atmosphere, "New Alchemy" explores the exhilarating uncertainty of a first romantic connection—that moment when attraction seems to bend reality and transform ordinary time into something magical. As songwriter and vocalist Matthew Meschery explains: "That first hint of romantic love seems to transform time and space and defy the laws of physics and pure reality."

Brand New Heartache is the husband-and-wife duo of Matthew and Eleese Meschery. Originally formed in Oakland before relocating to the Nashville area, the pair draw inspiration from artists such as Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Aimee Mann, The New Pornographers, and The Head and the Heart. Their debut album was produced and mixed by Michael Patterson (Beck, The Notorious B.I.G.) and features contributions from an accomplished cast of musicians from the Nashville and Bay Area scenes.

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Photo - Sophia Matinazad

Cassandra Coleman - Maggie.

Emerging singer/songwriter Cassandra Coleman has released her new single “Maggie.” A wistful ode to faded friendships, “Maggie” reflects on the ambivalence of growing apart from someone over time. Coleman’s sharp vocals cut through the driving instrumentation as she reminisces about bittersweet truths and blunt realities. “‘Maggie’ represents friendships lost by time and change - the bittersweet reality of outgrowing parts of our lives while still carrying gratitude for what they meant to us,” stated Coleman. “It hurts to lose a friend and it hurts to get older and realize you invested more into your dreams than your people.”

Cassandra Coleman will make her television debut next week on June 30th where she’ll perform the new single on The Kelly Clarkson Show. After closing out a batch of tour dates with AMBLE earlier this month, Coleman announced she will be performing in front of her biggest audience to date at Hyde Park in London on July 4th with Mumford & Sons. The appearance will cap off a limited run of Europe and UK dates opening for Angus & Julia Stone. This fall, Coleman will also perform at Oceans Calling Festival in September and Austin City Limits in October.

“Maggie” arrives after a series of new singles that have quickly established Coleman as one of indie-pop’s most compelling new voices, hailed for her “immense talent” (Paste) and “an artist who refuses to be defined by any one thing” (Rolling Stone). She previously released the “ethereal…haunting” (Melodic Magazine) “Dying Star” this spring, which finds Coleman with eyes on the horizon as she envisions a prescient visit with her future self. The sweeping instrumentation soars beneath her lush vocals anchored by wisdom-seeking lyrics that grapple with fate, longing, and the search for meaning. “‘Dying Star’ is a walk with the woman that I’ll become,” stated Coleman. “Curious of the knowledge that time has given her, I ask what the future holds. She reminds me that worry is a thief, time is an illusion, and the ones we love make the journey worth walking.”

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TRAITRS - AVES - Wormstew - Re Mattei - Sara Hugelshofer - Matthew C. Whitaker

TRAITRS - Dream Drowning.

Toronto-based coldwave duo TRAITRS present their final single before the release of their tertiary album, Possessor. The new goth-horror track “Dream Drowning” is now available on all major streaming platforms. An intricate blend of analog horror, heartthrobbing drum beats, and haunting synths, “Dream Drowning” evokes a sense of urgency with its thought-provoking lyrics. On the captivating new track, TRAITRS aim to analyze the meanings and emotions behind their dreams. Showcasing the horrors of everyday life on an endless loop, the Canadian duo create a track shrouded in mystery.

As avid connoisseurs of post-punk and coldwave, TRAITRS are turning heads with their entrancing soundscapes that penetrate deep. Keeping the spirit of The Cure, Joy Division, or New Order alive, TRAITRS have mesmerized audiences with their electrifying performances and uniquely elevating sound.

With their cinematic blend of horror-based imagery, anthemic choruses, motorik drum loops, atmospheric synths and angular guitars, Canadian cold wave duo TRAITRS stare unflinchingly at our dystopian present while paying homage to artists from the post-punk past. In the decade since their debut record to now, the Toronto-based TRAITRS went from bedroom artists selling cassette tapes on a small boutique record label to accumulating millions of streams worldwide and performing hundreds of shows on massive stages across multiple continents.

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AVES - Justice (feat. IkeN).

Few Finnish groups sound as effortlessly international as Helsinki-based AVES – and even fewer do so with such a meticulous producer's touch. Operating since 2011, Aves has evolved from a band into a music collective where the combination of creators is the idea itself: songs may originate from different members, but they are jointly finalized into carefully selected, polished releases.

The group, originally founded by Antti Ojala, Eino Anttila, and Joonas Hakava, has grown into a music collective with the addition of Alpo Nummelin, Elias Durac, and Markus Perttula. In the collective, the combination of creators is the idea itself: tracks can start from various sources, but they are jointly finalized into carefully selected, polished songs.

The now-released single, Justice, encapsulates the collective's current core: the production can be grand and polished, but it doesn't have to be sterile. It is carefully constructed pop music where the indie background is audible in the details and the warm, human touch. The melancholic pop gem sounds like its creators, not just "ready-made."

The single features Kenyan vocalist IkeN (Ike Ngala), a rising alternative R&B and pop artist based in Britain, whose deep interpretation provides the track with its bright core. At the same time, the collaboration highlights Aves' approach, where guest artists are not an exception but a natural part of the collective's way of writing and finalizing songs.

AVES · Justice (feat. IkeN)

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Wormstew - Spinning.

While Wormstew has existed in various forms, all fronted by LA pop scene fixture Mike Schnee, for years, the band –in its definitive new lineup including bassist/vocalist Teresa Cowles (EZ Tiger, Dragster Barbie, Evie Sands) and drummer/vocalist/producer Michael Simmons (of sparkle*jets u.k. and solo renown) consider their new material their “proper” debut. The band's live shows and prior singles and EPs, as well as Schnee's ongoing surrealist comedy work as his alter ego Chissum Worthington, have earned them a loyal local following, and the strength of their recent songs along with the deftly detailed touch of Simmons as a producer have resulted in an album, Last Days Of Loma, that demands a broader audience. The giddy hooks, winning wordplay and ace harmonies of “Spinning” are the perfect introduction. 

Galloping in on a shuffling beat and an instantly-memorable organ riff, “Spinning” brings a smile right away, especially when Schnee starts singing. The wit of the lyrics and the glee of his delivery simply radiate off of the track, and when Cowles and Simmons join in for the immaculate harmonies of the chorus, the track lifts off into the AM Gold stratosphere. It wouldn't do to say that Wormstew has gotten more “mature” in comparison to their early work: the humor may be more understated and the reasons for Schnee's citation of Neil Young, McCartney and Paul Simon as influences are evident, but there's more than a touch of the childlike enthusiasm of Jonathan Richman and the playfulness of Ween on display, too. 

“I wrote this entire song—everything except the lyrics—years ago: the chords, rhythm, and melody. I couldn’t think of anything to sing about, but I also knew I didn’t want to change a single note. I wanted every syllable to stay exactly as I had 'scat-sung' it on the demo,” says Schnee. “Years later, on a road trip to Lone Pine with Teresa, I finally found the subject matter. As a bonus, I somehow managed to find a real word for every single 'da' I had sung.” Everything gels on the resulting track and it's an ideal jumping-on point for new fans, who can expect the breezy production and warm humor to inform every track on the new album, even as the songs touch on topics from grief, aging, the drive to be a better person and even the characters of the classic movie Jaws.

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Re Mattei - It's A Love Thing.

Re Mattei delivers “It’s A Love Thing,” a warm, soul-stirring single that strips romance down to its truest form. No flash. No status symbols. No polish for polish’s sake. Just the kind of love that hits you in the chest and stays there.

Written by Re Mattei and Courtney Bach, “It’s A Love Thing” is a love song for grown hearts. Sonically, the track glides with effortless confidence—rooted in country and Americana, but elevated by Mattei’s sultry, soulful delivery and a band that knows when to lean in and when to let the song breathe. The result is intimate, timeless, and deeply human.

“I wrote ‘It’s A Love Thing’ because real love isn’t about appearances or what’s sitting in the driveway. It’s not about horsepower or polish—it’s about feeling your heart race when you look in their eyes for the first time and you know they’re the one.” — Re Mattei

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Sara Hugelshofer - Hoffnung.

“Hoffnung” means "hope" – and that's what we need more than ever these days. Winterthur/CH-based art-pop and neoclassical artist Sara Hugelshofer has given it a musical form, together with renowned musician Lisa Oribasi, who produced the single.

Following around 300 plays of her previous release—mostly on international indie radio—a new “art-pop song with soul,” as Sara Hugelshofer describes her sound, is now being released. The first musical sketches for “Hoffnung” were created at the piano during the pandemic. In a time of isolation and inner unrest, the melody became a quiet companion in uncertain moments—and at the same time, an expression of optimism. With the later development of lyrics and production, it grew into a song that today, in a world shaped by uncertainty, conveys a subtle but powerful message of hope and trust.

Sara Hugelshofer spent more than two decades as a classically trained soprano performing on opera and concert stages in Switzerland and Germany. She embodied numerous roles—from the spirited Csárdásfürstin to the ethereal Eurydike—and touched her audiences with expression, presence, and a voice that fills spaces.

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Matthew C. Whitaker - Songs for the Weary (Album).

Renowned Manchester-based musician Matthew C. Whitaker has just finished ‘Songs for the Weary’, a soothing and introspective miniature album designed for those seeking rest.

Following his 2016 record ‘Man With the Anvil Hat’, Whitaker dedicated the following years to recording and touring extensively across the UK and Europe with HENGE, releasing four albums of high-energy, rave-infused prog. In contrast, ‘Songs for the Weary’ offers a serene listening experience - eight gentle compositions featuring subtly intricate harmony, delicate classical guitar, and warm instrumentation.

October 2025 marked the release of debut single “Lucid Dreamer” - a lush, cinematic composition that weaves sweeping strings, nostalgic melodies, and electronic textures into a spellbinding whole. The music finds its visual counterpart in a hypnotic video directed by acclaimed artist Antony Barkworth-Knight. Filmed at Manchester’s Supermassive visual installation, the piece brings Whitaker’s vision to life with breathtaking, ethereal detail.

Co-produced and arranged in collaboration with longtime friend and neighbor Alan Keary (Shunya), the album weaves Whitaker’s compositions with lush string arrangements and subtle electronic elements. The project also features an impressive lineup of guest musicians, including Alabaster DePlume, Rob Turner (GoGo Penguin, Mammal Hands, Elf Traps), Liviu George (Matt Halsall, Elf Traps), as well as his HENGE bandmates Roy Medhurst, Pete Turner, and Sam Draper.

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