Rick Hromadka has long been a major player on the LA power pop scene, from his early days fronting Double Naught Spies in the '90s through the 25-year (and counting!), four-album run of the mighty psych-rock and power pop quartet Maple Mars. Most recently heard from on the hit 2022 album Someone's Got To Listen and last year's special Anniversary Single, Maple Mars is still going strong, but it's far from Hromadka's only musical venture. Recent years have seen creation of his occasional sunshine pop-oriented side project Ruby Free, and he's always maintained a solo career with album releases in 2014 and 2020, as well as occasional standalone singles including one each for the Christmas and Halloween seasons, both now firmly enshrined as perennial holiday favorites.
It's to those solo endeavors that the singer-songwriter returns on the new double single, pairing AM Gold vibes with a touch of psychedelic melodicism on “Are You Magical?” and mining real life experience on the sweetly whimsical B-side “My Son.” Of the lead track, Rick says: “This song was originally written and recorded for the first Ruby Free album. I’ve always loved the tune, but because the album was self-released, I felt it never reached the audience it deserved. That inspired me to revisit the song, re-recording it with new musical parts and updated lyrics. I also wanted to involve family members, especially my kids! The song is about meeting someone very special, but hoping the love is real, and not just some grand illusion!”
If the B-side “My Son” brings not just a smile but also a hint of cinematic origins, that's down to Hromadka's other job in the movie industry. “While doing sound design on Dog Man for DreamWorks Animation, which went on to be the number-one box office film for two weeks in 2025, I noticed the story carried a strong father-and-son emotional thread. During one of the early animatic screenings, an older song I had written years ago suddenly came back to me.
'My Son' was originally written shortly after my oldest son Dylan was born. I decided to revisit the song and record it with a cinematic, film-score-inspired feel, hoping it might eventually find its way into the film’s end credits. Unfortunately, the director was also a musician and already had several of his own songs featured in the movie, so there simply wasn’t room for another track. I played all the instruments on the recording and brought in my stepdaughter, Kylah Langevei a tremendously talented singer to add the background vocals.”
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Last February saw the release of "Slow" by Frank Rabeyrolles (Too Good 47). In three weeks' time, the album will be joined by its companion piece. Made up of eleven tracks drawn from the same writing session (with the exception of one song whose title hints at a later composition).
"Slow 2" was entirely written, performed, produced, mixed and mastered by Frank at home, driven by an almost obsessive desire for freedom and independence, and created with whatever means were available.
"Slow 2" (Too Good 56) will be released on June 19 as a limited edition CD (presented in an 8-page A5 booklet featuring a variation on the artwork from the first volume - once again designed by Studio Trois Quatre) and digitally.
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Hanne Leland is a Norwegian indie pop artist and songwriter based in Oslo, known for her melodic, emotionally charged songwriting and a distinctive crystal-clear voice. She has amassed over 26 million streams across all platforms (17M+ on Spotify alone) and has toured the UK extensively, supporting All Saints across 10 sold-out shows and Gavin James at O2 Academy venues in Brixton, Sheffield, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.
Her new single "Say It Once More" is an 80's-inspired summer pop anthem, female-led, storytelling-driven and production-forward, sitting in the emotional cinematic pop space. It was picked up by Amazing Radio the UK station credited with the early discovery of Dua Lipa, The 1975 and Wet Leg — with 29 UK and USA airplays across their Pop and Easy Listening streams, plus a feature on their flagship "Audition" show with DJ Charlie Ashcroft.
In the studio Hanne has collaborated with Jim Eliot (Ellie Goulding), Red Triangle (Little Mix, Charlie Puth), Hight (Charli XCX, Ava Max) and Brian West (Nelly Furtado). Her track "Stay" went viral on YouTube with over 4 million views, and her 2024 single earned a five-star review from Norway's leading newspaper Aftenposten.
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