Heliara - The Pintos - Alex Amor - Horace Andy - Star Print Clad

Photo - Curtis Perry

Heliara - Everything’s a Love Song (EP).

Ottawa-based singer-songwriter Heliara shares Everything’s a Love Song, a deeply intimate and emotionally rich EP that explores love in all its forms. Blending pop, rock, indie, and genre-spanning influences, the six-song collection unfolds as both a personal reflection and a universal meditation on connection, vulnerability, and what it means to love and be loved.

Originally conceived under the working title Eclectic Love Songs, the project evolved organically as its deeper thread revealed itself. “I wanted to explore different types of love and different musical genres,” Heliara explains. “When I realized each song reflected a different form of love, the title Everything’s a Love Song just made sense.” The EP culminates in its most personal moment: “Confessions to my Daughter,” a heartwarming and vulnerable closing track that captures the depth of motherhood and unconditional love.

What makes Everything’s a Love Song particularly striking is its unexpected alignment with the Ancient Greek concept of love, which categorizes love into distinct forms such as eros, agape, mania, and storge. “I found out about this after I had already written all six songs,” Heliara says. “When I looked into it, I almost fell off my chair. Each song I wrote corresponded to one of those forms. In two cases, it was right down to the title.” 

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Photo - Robert Georgeff

The Pintos - Studio Rain.

The Pintos, formerly Matt Paxton & The Pintos are a Hamilton, Ontario alt-country band that has been gaining international recognition over the past several years for heart-wrenching songwriting, augmented by a distinctive musical chemistry. The quartet comprised of singer/songwriter/guitarist Matt Paxton, bassist Carrie Clark, pedal steel guitarist Chris Altmann and drummer Robin Pirson is poised to release the follow-up to their acclaimed 2023 EP Tornado later this year, with the first preview coming in the form of “Studio Rain,” a hazy excursion into cosmic country territory that boldly displays The Pintos’ new direction.

“Studio Rain” was recorded in Hamilton and co-produced by Steve Pitkin of Juno Award winners Elliott Brood, with Altmann also contributing banjo and electric guitar to the track. "This is the first song we’ve put out since rebranding the band The Pintos,” Matt Paxton says. “After three years we have become close friends, a family, and one as a band. ‘Studio Rain’ is about Hollywood co-stars and their on-and-off-air romances and relationship, and I think it’s gives a good overall impression of our new material. We’ve been listening to Buck Owens, Wilco, Neil Young and Blue Rodeo, to name a few.”

As a singer/songwriter, whether he's on stage or in the studio, Matt Paxton has always worn his heart on his sleeve, delving into themes of love, loss, and self-reflection. With his fellow Pintos now fully in sync with that approach, expect the band to keep building momentum throughout the year with each new single and live appearance.

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Photo - Lewis Vorn

Alex Amor - Icarus.

Scottish-raised singer-songwriter Alex Amor just announced her debut album 'Heavenly Bodies' will be released on 21st August via New York independent label VERO Music. To mark the announcement, Amor releases new single 'Icarus' ahead of performances at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton this Friday (15th May), and Footsteps Festival in London on 21st May.

Led by reverb-soaked drums and slow-burning, guitar-driven arrangements, 'Icarus' moves with a dreamlike unease, as Amor’s radiant unflinching vocal cuts through the haze at its centre - capturing the helplessness of watching someone disappear into themselves.

Speaking on the song, Alex Amor said: "Icarus was inspired by my love of Greek mythology, and born from accumulated frustration in my personal life. I’ve watched too many men I love - friends, family, partners - struggle with addiction and self destruction over the years. There’s something so innately human in the urge to escape: to outrun the mundanity of everyday life and the discomfort of being yourself. That’s what drew me to the myth of Icarus.

"This song tells that story from the sidelines, as a witness to the chaos, and feeling powerless in that position. It’s about loving someone who is chasing their own oblivion, and realising that no matter how much you care, you can’t save someone who doesn’t want to save themselves. Sometimes love isn’t enough. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is to walk away, and allow someone to make their own mistakes so they can find their way back to the shore, without you."

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Horace Andy - The Voice In Sound (Album).

Horace Andy’s ‘timbre’ is definitely of the “once heard, never forgotten” variety, regardless of whether you first heard it on one of the numerous Jamaican reggae singles he released during the 1970s or, as most people did on one of the Massive Attack albums to which he contributed vocals. His falsetto and characteristic slow-motion vibrato have breathed a unique spirit into tracks like “Spying Glass”, “Cuss Cuss”, “Skylarking”, and “(You are My) Angel”.

His origins are in the roots reggae of the 1970s, but he has always enjoyed experimenting: whether with British dub master Mad Professor (who also dubbed Massive Attack's “Protection” into “No Protection”), house master Ashley Beedle and the New School album on the legendary Strut Records label, or most recently with On-U Sound legend Adrian Sherwood.

Echo Beach continues this tradition – and, of course, the much older tradition of versioning – by inviting friends of the label to treat Horace Andy's classics to a new sound outfit. This is also very much in the tradition of Echo Beach, which 25 years ago created a perennial hit much embraced by free-spirited sound systems across Europe with the Black Star Liner remix of his song “Do You Love My Music” (Select Cuts From Blood & Fire Vol.3).

Horace Andy’s voice has become deeper with age, but by no means weaker, as can be heard on this album, where Echo Beach invites old acquaintances and new faces to take a seat behind the mixing desk: the cast includes Rob Smith aka RSD, who, as part of More Rockers and Smith & Mighty, was just as important to Bristol’s musical reputation as Massive Attack or DJ Krust & Roni Size. From Munich come the legendary Captain Yossarian (percussionist with La Brass Banda) and aDubta, now a versioning legend. Both conjure up superb versions, from extreme, super-quirky delay settings to perforated dub treatment with the legendary Roland Re-201.

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Photo - Dominic McKenzie

Star Print Clad - The River.

Brighton’s Star Print Clad return with real intent on their new single ‘The River’ (12th May), the second release in a striking run of singles arriving throughout 2026. The single comes ahead of the band's appearance at this year's Isle Of Wight Festival. Following the release of ‘Melanie’ earlier in 2026, ‘The River’ brings intricate, soaring guitar work, carrying a vibrant blend of classic rock aesthetics with blues and indie-rock undertones. It captures the full force and chemistry of the band’s live shows while showcasing the tight musicianship and unflinching songwriting that make them such a thrilling new name to watch.

Recorded and produced at Salvation Studios in Brighton with Jake Stainer (Wet Leg, shame, David Gilmour, NewDad), the track unfolds with effortless momentum drifting through atmospheric verses, before breaking into explosive, hook-laden choruses. Vocal lines carry a free-inspired swagger, while a simmering tension builds throughout, finally erupting into a soaring, high-impact guitar solo that lands with real weight.

Speaking about the single, guitarist and lead vocalist Joseph explains: “The majority of The River was recorded off of the back of the ‘Melanie’ session, the final hour we had the place. I remember laying down the bones, and most of the rest, in this whirlwind repetition of chasing to and from the control room between takes to make sure everything was captured. 

When it came to the acoustic overdub I believe we had around fifteen minutes left on the clock, I went in to check that Jake had caught the take and didn’t even stop to listen to it once he’d given the thumbs - I recall we did lay down some vocals then, as well as on the back end of another recording session a month or so later, both against the clock, of course.  In the end that gave the vocal a desperation in its delivery, I feel it’s fitting for the track.  The solo was cut in that second session too, a Selmer Zodiac Twin, double tracked and pushed to have the notes shake through the floor… That was fun.”

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Heavenly - Florence Dore - Run Remedy - Keeley - Son Little - Star Print Clad - i - Jody Glenham

Heavenly - Scene Stealing.

Yesterday  Skep Wax released a single from the imminent new album by indiepop scene-setters Heavenly. The band are now hitting 750k monthly listeners on Spotify, mostly driven by a younger fan base. 'Scene Stealing' is sweet, upbeat and danceable, but has a sting in its tail. Are online influencer demigods any more respectful of the women and girls who follow them than the dodgy men who Heavenly took aim at back in the riot grrrl punk days of 'Attagirl'? 

Heavenly are seen as the originators of a whole genre of music – known to some as ‘jangle’, others as ‘twee’ and to the band themselves as ‘indiepop’. As fiercely independent as any punk band, but as sweetly melodic as any chart-topping act, Heavenly combine sharp-edged politics with shamelessly joyful pop music.

‘Highway To Heavenly’ shares this recipe with the band’s first four albums, all of which were released in the 1990s at a time when sensitive indie types in the UK were sheltering from the prevailing macho-rock storm under the Sarah Records umbrella, and when women in the US were starting to find their Riot Grrrl voices in the small town of Olympia, where labels like K and Kill Rock Stars were designing a new creative space.

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Florence Dore - Sunset Road.

Nashville-born, Chapel Hill-based Florence Dore returns with her third album, Hold the Spark - a sharp, funny, deeply human collection that pairs rich storytelling with a killer rock band.
 
“Sunset Road,” the lead single from Hold the Spark, finds Florence Dore stepping outside herself and into character. After writing dozens of songs for the album, Dore stopped wanting to look in the mirror - the feelings were still there, but instead of turning inward, she let the characters take over. Chelsea arrived, and as the song took shape, it shed its complexity and sharpened into a lean, driving rock track. By shifting the focus from artist to character, the story snapped into focus, with the truth bent just enough in service of a better song.

A songwriter with the narrative bite of James McMurtry and the melodic instincts of Lucinda Williams, Dore delivers her strongest collection to date, rich storytelling wrapped in emotional vocals and backed by a killer rock band. The songs span the spectrum, from a tear-jerking love song for her daughter to a hilarious, Stooges-leaning rocker skewering academic meetings, alongside reflections on missed romance and mortality that recall the sharp insight of Aimee Mann.
 
Produced by Don Dixon (R.E.M.) and mixed by Paul Voran (Bon Iver, Nathaniel Rateliff, Waxahatchee), Hold the Spark features an all-star cast of Americana greats including Jason Wilber (John Prine) and Chris Masterson (The Wallflowers, Steve Earle & the Dukes) on guitars, with husband Will Rigby (Steve Earle & the Dukes, The dB’s) on drums, plus guest appearances from Mitch Easter (Let's Active), Libby Rodenbough (Mipso), Robert Sledge (Ben Folds Five), Kelly Pratt (Father John Misty), and Eleanor Whitmore (Elvis Costello, Steve Earle & the Dukes).

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Run Remedy - Jessie's Girl.

Alt-pop artist Run Remedy has turned Rick Springfield’s iconic 1981 hit Jessie’s Girl into a soft-girl, sapphic daydream. Released today, the warm and witty cover version gives an updated perspective on the song, with lush instrumentation, playful key changes and a queer spin. Run Remedy transforms the classic yearning of the original into a fresh, intimate narrative while honoring its timeless emotional core.

“I swear if I’m back home driving around South Jersey, ‘Jessie’s Girl’ will come on within the hour (shout out 95.1WAYV),” says Run Remedy, the alter ego of Manchester based American born songwriter Robin Koob. “It’s been stuck in my head my whole life. That level of cringey yearning is timeless, so obviously I had to make my own sapphic spinoff.”

In her reinterpretation, all the characters are women, flipping the song’s original perspective into a queer, tender slow-burn - one that feels equal parts playful pop maximalism and masterful musicianship. She swaps the guitar solo for a banjo, changes the key twice no less, and reinvigorates the song’s lyrics with playful sapphic twists - all while preserving that iconic riff that music fans know and love.

“The original video is pure camp, so I basically Weird Al’d it with rainbow kids,” Run Remedy explains. “We recreated almost every shot in one day, gorilla-shooting around Manchester, spared my bathroom mirror, and ended the day passing around the wig. Everyone looked better in it than I did, which feels correct.”

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Keeley - Crossing Lands.

Dreamrock trio Keeley, fronted by Dublin-born singer-guitarist Keeley Moss, are thrilled to present “Crossing Lands” from their forthcoming album ‘Girl On The Edge Of The World’ which lands February 20 via Definitive Gaze.

The new track is just one example of the stylistic diversity that threads its way across their new release, driven by a scratchy punk-funk beat that recalls the post-punk heyday of 1981, while retaining the dreampop elements the band has become known for since their debut ‘Floating Above Everything Else’ in 2023.

“Crossing Lands” is an elegy to the vibrancy of youth and wanderlust, incorporating travel themes and the yearning to explore. The song’s visual counterpart is a video shot entirely using vintage VHS techniques. Filmed and edited in Scotland by Glasgow-based film-maker and photographer Laura Meek, the clip captures the kinetic thrill of forward motion and daydreams. 

Moss and her Keeley bandmates Lukey Foxtrot (Bass) and Andrew Paresi (Drums, Programming) head out on a UK headline tour next week and will be showcasing tracks from the new album including recent singles “Who Wants To See The World” and “Hungry For The Prize”. 


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Photo - Jasmin Valcarcel

Son Little - Cherry.

Curiosity about his ancestry has led songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Son Little on a journey throughout the American South that has resulted in his new album, simply titled ‘Cityfolk’ (out 20 March). The West Coast-born, Northeast-bred musician finetunes his craft here and speaks for those enduring tribulations about finding their place in the world. Equal parts cosmic and carnal, on 'Cherry' Little drifts through hazy memories and half-truths, chasing that electric moment when love feels both eternal and fleeting. It’s tender, a little tipsy, and full of wonder - the sound of falling in love at light speed, knowing it might all disappear by morning. Give it a listen below.

Little, whose real name is Aaron Livingston, has sonically travelled everywhere that his songwriting and instrumentation have taken him. He’s toured with the likes of Black Pumas, Kelis and Mumford & Sons and made festival appearances at Newport Folk and Bonnaroo, melding his dedicated fanbase with mainstream listeners. On the soulful fluidity of 2020’s ‘aloha,’ the ANTI- Records act braves his way through realisations about his personal shortcomings, but endeavours to persevere through the madness. 2022’s ‘Like Neptune’ unspools Little’s time in therapy, no longer silencing his inner fire. With a catalogue that has amassed over 250 million streams, Little’s originality has embarked on a new chapter.
 
Now living outside of Atlanta, Livingston attributes the development of ‘Cityfolk’ to going even further south to record in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It was there that Little, whose past collaborations include The Roots and RJD2, connected with two-time GRAMMY-winning musician and Alabama Shakes band member Ben Tanner to flesh out sketches of songs that he’d crafted through epiphanies about his family’s roots. 

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Star Print Clad - Melanie.

Brighton (England) five-piece Star Print Clad share the new single ‘Melanie’ (Feb 12th), the first in a run of singles due throughout 2026. Blending classic 70’s rock swagger with a bubbling indie energy, the band have quickly built a name for themselves on their local scene, becoming renowned for their electric live presence and driving ambition.

Recorded and produced at Salvation Studios (Brighton) with Jake Stainer (Wet Leg, shame, David Gilmour, NewDad), ‘Melanie’ captures Star Print Clad at their most unfiltered, foregrounding emotional sincerity against a guitar-driven instrumental backdrop. Crunchy, weighty and intricately layered guitars, accented by subtle piano, locked-in drums and a grounding bassline, usher the song in with a playful, alluringly awkward groove that contrasts beautifully with the vocal’s heartfelt melancholy. While echoes of Sam Fender and Kings Of Leon are present, the songwriting blooms in the chorus before drifting into a whimsical middle eight, closing on a euphoric final refrain where the guitars swirl around the vocals with a classic-rock flourish.

Speaking about the single, the band explain: “The bones of the single were recorded as a live take with all five of us playing around in Salvation Studio’s live room. This allowed us to capture the raw edge and unfiltered energy of our live sonic profile.

During the time Melanie was being penned I’d just fallen back in love with KoL’s “Aha Shake Heartbreak”, the clash of the guitars, that rasping vocal delivery that winds as it howls until you finally arrive at Caleb’s wavering destination. That sort of attitude is what we wanted to put into this song.  We had an old Selmer and a Marshall stack set up, cut down the road for breakfast, came back, cranked it and the rest is on the record.”

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i - Often.

Los Angeles alternative rock band i return with “Often,” a deeply personal and emotionally charged single that blends grunge grit with heartfelt vulnerability. Drawing from the melodic melancholy of Alice in Chains, the emotional storytelling of Counting Crows, and the raw sincerity of Pearl Jam, “Often” stands as one of the band’s most authentic releases to date.

Originally written as a poem for his wife, vocalist Al never intended for “Often” to become a full band recording. “I originally wrote Often as a poem for my wife,” Al explains. “But when the muse sent me the melody, I sent over what I had to Paul, who then wrote the music.” What began as a private love letter evolved into a powerful alternative rock ballad rooted in devotion, resilience, and survival.

The song took on even deeper meaning in 2021, when Al’s wife was diagnosed with pheochromocytoma, a rare adrenal gland cancer. After a difficult two-year battle and recovery, the band knew it was time to properly record and release “Often,” not just as a love song, but as a testament to strength through darkness.

Musically, “Often” showcases i’s eclectic influences. Clean, emotive verses bloom into soaring choruses, layered with textured guitars and a warm, analog-inspired atmosphere that feels both nostalgic and immediate. The lyrics balance simplicity and depth: “My angel has no wings - My angel loves to sing -
My angel laughs out loud - Often.”

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Jody Glenham - Love Deficiency Syndrome.

Still Here, Jody Glenham’s self-produced EP, arriving April 24, 2026, marks a new chapter in her nearly two-decade career, centering on emotional endurance and creative maturity. Moving beyond the immediacy and mood of her past work, the collection emphasizes patience and presence, weaving hazy guitars, door-chime synths, and dreamy vocals into a cohesive, timeless set of songs. Lead single “Love Deficiency Syndrome” captures the awkward optimism of post-breakup rebirth, pairing a sunlit, mid-tempo bounce with what Glenham describes as “grinning through the pain.” 

Inspired by an article Lena Dunham wrote about ending a long-term relationship, the track is full of subtle nods: the opening synth-and-guitar hook evokes a drawn-out doorbell waiting for an Uber Eats delivery, and the bridge references computer shutdowns, reflecting both the autopilot of being in a relationship and the process of becoming whole again. “We leaned into really melodramatic imagery,” Glenham says, “as a nod to how a breakup can make you feel like ‘my life is ending,’ when really… you’re going to be just fine.” The result is bittersweet yet buoyant—heartbreak reframed with a confident sense of ease and forward motion.

For nearly twenty years, Jody Glenham has been a notable presence in Canada’s independent music scene. Her 2020 album Mood Rock earned national support from CBC Radio, charted on Canadian college radio, and was considered for the Polaris Music Prize long list, while her cinematic style of indie rock has landed syncs in Netflix series including Snowpiercer, Tiny Pretty Things, and My Life with the Walter Boys. Praised by outlets like NME, Refinery29, and American Songwriter—who wrote that it’s “as if she composes music from the very elements in the air and atmosphere around us”—Glenham’s work offers listeners permission to feel deeply without despair. American Songwriter also notes that she “holds time in her palm on Still Here, an EP that cradles each song like a memory,” a fitting description for an artist whose music consistently balances cinematic sweep with intimate reflection.

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