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| Photo - GLK Media |
Bristol rock group Oswald Slain are excited to share that their debut album ‘Bucky’ will be released on October 24th 2025 to limited edition vinyl, with the title track being the final single ahead of the album. This is a superb collection of songs with some previously shared singles included below, all of which bode well for this exciting and clearly talented band.
Background is as follows: Born from the creative cocoon of their home studio, Oswald Slain is a testament to both personal growth and musical evolution, their music reflecting a period of deep introspection and growth for the band. Having reconciled with the chaos of youth and the trials of aging, lyricist Fitz channels these experiences into sincere, humorous, evocative songwriting alongside the timeless swagger of old retro rock records.
Their debut album ‘Bucky’ was recorded and produced in-house by Ryan Rogers (Mumble Tide) and the band themselves in their DIY self-built home studio, mixed by John Logan and mastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering (PJ Harvey, XTC, Big Special). For Fitzgerald and Williams, partners in life as well as music, their debut record is more than a curated collection of songs, it’s a love-letter to their trials and errors, their self and musical exploration and perfectly highlights the band’s striking evolution from their previous moniker. Throughout the album’s eight tracks Oswald Slain combine sleazy rhythms, driving drums, nostalgic guitar lines and the evocative lyricism they’re fast becoming known for, to celebrate their personal flaws, flamboyant failures and ultimately sees them finding self-acceptance.
Reflecting on the creation of the album, Fitzgerald says: “Making this record was a massive turning point in our lives. After being a bit unsure of where things were headed and what we were doing, the days spent recording these songs in our little studio were the moments of clarity we needed to get the ball rolling with something new and creatively exciting.
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Italian post-punk band Talk To Her have recently announced the release of their second album 'Pleasure Loss Desire' on 30th October via Shyrec/Icy Cold Records. This week, they share their new track 'Dyve'. Representing one of the album's most intense moments, the title is derived from the fusion of 'Dive' and 'Dying.' These recurring words encapsulate the song's theme of dependence, surrender, and self-loss. The track's structure exudes strong tension, showcasing a sharp duality between the calm yet tormented verses and the explosive choruses.
Talk To Her use heavily distorted guitars over synth sounds to convey a mix of vulnerability and energy. 'Dyve' is a plunge into the depths, a burst of force that challenges the balance between desire, self-loss and the need to let go. 'Dyve' comes after the first single 'PLD', a track built on dark, obsessive synths, tribal drumming, sharp bass, deep baritone vocals, and guitar textures.
The album traces a descent into a cold world where clarity and oblivion endlessly alternate in search of balance, oscillating between moments of calm and emotional outbursts, exploring the duality between detachment and alienation. Each track unveils contrasting emotions—desire, suffering, nostalgia, hope, fear— painting a raw portrait of the fragilities of those who live in an era marked by uncertainty and changes. With 'Pleasure Loss Desire', Talk To Her explore new soundscapes compared to their previous record “Love Will Come Again”. The themes once tied to the emotional and passionate sphere give way to alienation, suffering, and fear.
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| Photo - Thomas Oliver |
Like sunlight spilling over shadows, Cedarsmoke’s new single ‘Something Over Nothing’ finds joy and melancholy moving hand in hand. Out yesterday (Friday, October 10), it offers the final glimpse of their forthcoming album 'Under The Rainbow' (October 31).
A Brisbane/Meanjin band long admired for their lyric-driven approach and genre-bending sound, Cedarsmoke continue to evolve with every release. Since their 2016 debut, they have moved restlessly between folk, rock, country, and psychedelia, always with singer-songwriter Jon Cloumassis’s storytelling at the centre. Their upcoming third full-length album embraces this adventurous streak fully, with each track tied to a colour and a theme, creating a record that is as expansive as it is intimate.
With 'Something Over Nothing', Cedarsmoke frames life’s extremes as essential, suggesting it is better to embrace the turbulence of joy and sorrow than to settle for stillness. Upbeat and energetic yet tinged with an undercurrent of sadness, it recalls a kind of indie rock where poetic storytelling and ragged honesty sit side by side, turning introspection into something vital and alive.
In keeping with the album’s colour-coded theme, the track shines in yellow, symbolising vitality, excitement and adventure. Its imagery draws on the rising and setting of the sun as a reflection of life’s cycle, casting the song as both a celebration of sweet beginnings and an acceptance of sour endings.
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Winnipeg duo The Bros. Landreth release “Knuckles” from their forthcoming album Dog Ear – out November 14, 2025 via Birthday Cake Records. “Knuckles” features a beautiful and emotive featured vocal from one of the band's musical heroes, Bonnie Raitt.
The Bros. Landreth grew up listening to and adoring Raitt's music in their childhood home. The artists initially connected after sharing a bill at the Winnipeg Folk Festival and some ten years later Raitt recorded her own version of one of their songs called "Made Up Mind." That version won a Grammy for Best Americana Performance in 2023. It feels like a full circle moment to have her iconic voice now on The Bros. Landreth's new album.
Dave Landreth says of the song, “Some relationships will stand the test of time, but a lot don’t. Even the good ones can dissolve, fall apart, drift away. Knuckles is about the idea that sometimes being a punching bag is the last kind thing you can do for someone, when it’s easier to let yourself take all the lumps than to ask the other person to face things that they aren’t ready or willing to.”
Dog Ear explores themes of connection, refuge, and self-reflection with guests like Raitt (“Knuckles”, “Half Moon Eyes”) and alt-pop powerhouse Begonia (“Strange Dear”) offering listeners an intimate yet expansive journey. The album is fueled and informed by the band’s live shows and the many hours they’ve logged sharing the stage together. That is the energy they tried to bottle.“These songs kept circling back to ideas of refuge—a lighthouse, a shoreline, a dog-eared page to hold your place,” The Bros. share. “They’re tiny prayers for who we want to be for our children, and hopeful ideas about who they might become for their own communities.”
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