Dan Miraldi feat. Palmyra Delran - Double Françoise - Brand New Heartache - The City Gates - The Anchoress feat. Eaves Wilder - The Jaws of Brooklyn

Dan Miraldi feat. Palmyra Delran - Magic in the Air.

Prolific singer-songwriter Dan Miraldi returns with his new single “Magic in the Air,” out May 15 via Wicked Cool Records. Featuring garage rock queen Palmyra Delran, the track blends Miraldi’s heartfelt storytelling with bright, infectious power-pop energy—delivering a reminder that even the most ordinary moments can feel extraordinary.

Inspired by life in New York City, “Magic in the Air” finds Miraldi reflecting on fleeting encounters and small, transformative moments. “I like to leave interpretation to the listener,” he says. “But to me, it’s about finding joy in everyday life. The world can get you down, but every now and then something mundane can feel miraculous and empowering.”

The song came together with unusual ease. “Sometimes you really have to wrestle with songs,” Miraldi explains, “but ‘Magic in the Air’ felt pretty effortless.” That spontaneity carries through to the recording process. With the exception of live drums and Delran’s vocal, the track was recorded in Miraldi’s bedroom using GarageBand—capturing a raw, immediate energy. The recording also features contributions from Michael Guggino (Brooklyn psych trio Freaky Wildness) on lead guitar and Jay Nemeyer (DC electro-rock outfit Color Palette) on bass, both longtime collaborators in Miraldi’s orbit.

Delran’s presence on the track adds both chemistry and emotional weight. “When I was writing the song, I could hear Palmyra’s voice singing it,” says Miraldi. “Having her actually on the recording is extremely special. She’s so talented and has been a constant source of encouragement for me.”

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Photo - Alistair Jutel

Double Françoise - La Poursuite (EP).

It’s clearly not widely known enough, but the dashing duo Double Françoise is quite simply one of the pop gems of the Kingdom of France, the title of their debut album certainly didn’t lie. Les Bijoux, which followed an excellent first EP, already had them exploring avenues beyond the bossa nova they revere and know so well how to honor. 

This new EP, titled La Poursuite, sees them return as pre-World War III Elli and Jacno with five utterly irresistible songs packed with cheesy synths and playful backing vocals. With tracks that are by turns melodic, haunting, playful, and lush, this admirable collection of songs never lets up. In 1979, Double Françoise would have released their records on Ze Records or Celluloïd and would have dominated the charts. 

Since 2015, they’ve been signed to the Belgian label Freaksville and, by all logic, should have the world at their feet within a few weeks. The pursuit of happiness ends here—you’ve arrived.

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Brand New Heartache - Precious Days.

Brand New Heartache, the Nashville husband-and-wife duo of Eleese and Matthew Meschery, are set to release their debut album A New Alchemy on July 24 via Mule Kick Records. Blending authentic Americana with dreamy indie-pop textures and soaring harmonies, the record explores the emotional realities of long-term love — the tension between devotion and doubt, spark and staying power.

Originally formed in Oakland before relocating to East Nashville, the duo have built a sound shaped by influences ranging from Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris to The New Pornographers and Mates of State, while collaborating with players connected to Counting Crows, Chuck Prophet, and Aimee Mann.

Produced by Michael Patterson (Beck, The Notorious B.I.G.), A New Alchemy unfolds almost like a relationship timeline, from the intoxicating uncertainty of the title track to the cinematic longing of “Montreal” and the myth-inspired emotional depth of “Eurydice.” Early singles “Raise The Shade,” “Precious Days,” and “New Alchemy” showcase a lush, emotionally resonant collection that feels equally rooted in Laurel Canyon warmth and modern indie sensibilities. The band will support the release with performances in Nashville, California, and select appearances during AmericanaFest this September.

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Photo - A l'affiche Montreal

The City Gates - Chimera (Album).

Hailing from Montreal, Canada, The City Gates blend post-punk, shoegaze, and darkwave into a reverb-heavy, atmospheric sound driven by pulsing basslines and cinematic intensity. Their albums Forever Orbiter (2018) and Age of Resilience (2021) earned international acclaim, establishing them as a standout act in the global dark alternative scene. Drawing on themes of history and social unrest, their music balances melancholic introspection with explosive momentum.

The band has now released their new album LP “Chimera’’ (May 15, 2026, via Icy Cold Records and Velouria Recordz) a dark, expansive 8-track record that unfolds like a nocturnal landscape, blending post-punk urgency with shoegaze atmospherics, brooding rhythms meeting shimmering walls of sound. Each song lingers with a haunting, dreamlike intensity, caught somewhere between collapse and transcendence. 

The lyrics drift between intimacy and decay, lingering on themes of isolation, memory distortion, and emotional disconnection, delivered in a stark yet haunted voice. They dissolve into the atmosphere — half-whispered reflections on longing, loss, and the blurred edges of perception, channeling existential tension and urban alienation through fragmented, observational imagery. 

Recorded, mixed, and produced at Velouria Studios, the band’s own studio in Montreal, CA, the album took shape from within, built on live drums, guitars, and bass driven through amps, and the haze of vintage synths, with tone, space, and atmosphere gradually coming into focus. 

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The Anchoress feat. Eaves Wilder - Damsels.

The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies) returns with 'Damsels', the second track to preview from As We Once Were — a bold, unflinching new album from one of the UK's most distinctive voices. With the album landing this August via Last Night From Glasgow, the 14-track record marks her third studio album release, following the Welsh Music Prize-nominated The Art Of Losing and the cult favourite Confessions Of A Romance Novelist.

'Damsels' arrived yesterday Friday 15 May 2026. Musically, it channels the urgent energy of Manic Street Preachers while lyrically paying tribute to generations of feminist icons. "It takes inspiration from the history lessons I got as a teenager listening to 'Faster' and 'PCP', except this time it's strictly a girl zone," says Davies.

The song sits at the heart of an album shaped by themes of motherhood, generational resilience and female strength in the face of loss and trauma. Set against a dreamy 4AD-inspired 12-string guitar shoegaze soundtrack,  think Cocteau Twins meets Sharon Van Etten, the new song features angelic guest vocals from Secretly Canadian-signed newcomer Eaves Wilder.

As We Once Were is the long-awaited follow-up to the UK Top 40 album The Art Of Losing, which received wall-to-wall critical plaudits upon its release in 2021. With Sir Elton John naming it "one of my favourite records of the year" and Caitlin Moran calling it "the inadvertent, beautiful and truthful soundtrack to this moment", it went on to sell over 10,000 physical copies via the power of pure word of mouth.

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Photo - Kyle Rothwell

The Jaws of Brooklyn - Unstoppable (EP).

The Jaws of Brooklyn have released their new EP Unstoppable. Co-produced with Grammy-winner and Alabama Shakes keyboardist Ben Tanner, the seven-track project finds the Seattle five-piece blending Motown melody, Muscle Shoals soul and West Coast rock & roll with girl-group glitter and garage grit. This week, guitarist Bryan Cohen shared insight into each track on the new EP.

Blurring the lines between genre and generation, Unstoppable expands on The Jaws of Brookyn’s signature melting pot sound of ‘60s/‘70s influences and thickly stacked vocal harmonies, which have earned praise from American Songwriter and Billboard over the years. As showcased on singles like the shimmering “Where Are You?”, the bombastic “Lie To Me” and the effervescent “Up All Nite”, these songs delve headfirst into love triangles, relationships and ride-or-die friendships – all anchored by front woman Gretchen Lemon’s powerhouse presence.

Unstoppable keeps the momentum going after the band’s 2025 album Crush On You, which was released during a whirlwind of change. Following the addition of Lemon as the group’s electric new singer, they felt re-energized and in turn, their show-stopping performances cemented their reputation as a must-see live act, booking festival slots at SXSW and Bumbershoot, as well as packing out shows at venues on both coasts.

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Nameless Friends - MOMO. - The City Gates - Emily Mercer - Alex Amor - Ark Identity

Nameless Friends - The Quiet Part, Loudly (Album).

With their album The Quiet Part, Loudly released today April 15, 2026, Toronto rock collective Nameless Friends continue to build momentum with the release of their third single, “Clara,” which dropped February 25. Expanding on the foundation laid by their 2023 debut Blasphemy, the new record finds the band sharpening both their sound and their message—blending gravity with irreverence as they confront injustice, identity, and the realities of modern Canada. 

It also marks their first collaboration with renowned engineer Nyles Spencer, known for his work with The Tragically Hip, Broken Social Scene, and Alvvays. Drawing from the band’s experiences touring across the country, The Quiet Part, Loudly delivers an unflinching look at systemic oppression and personal transformation while still pulsing with the raw, joyful energy that defines the group. “This album is a love letter with constructive criticism to our home country,” says frontperson Number One. “If you didn’t care about improving the relationship, you wouldn’t bother giving the criticism.”

Across the album, Nameless Friends push their genre-blurring instincts even further, weaving heartland rock, folk, punk, and protest traditions into a sound that feels both urgent and celebratory. The songs wrestle with themes like the erosion of human rights, generational trauma, and the legacy of colonial violence, yet the band is determined to keep the music alive with movement and possibility. “I refuse to make joyless, preachy music,” Number One explains. 

“That’s not going to be effective at anything.” Spencer’s production helps capture the band’s restless spirit, balancing raw spontaneity with careful craft—whether in prairie-gothic stompers, plaintive folk ballads, or sprawling protest anthems that draw inspiration from artists like Neil Young and Kendrick Lamar. Since the release of Blasphemy, the London, Ontario–formed band—featuring Number One alongside Number Three, Number Five, and Number Seven, with touring member Number Six—has built a reputation for explosive live shows and fearless songwriting, selling out rooms like Toronto’s legendary Horseshoe Tavern while amplifying issues from climate collapse to trans rights. With The Quiet Part, Loudly, they’re doubling down on that mission—loudly, unapologetically, and with plenty of glitter.

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Photo - Sophia Poole

MOMO. - Egum Eô.

MOMO. is a London-based Brazilian multi-instrumentalist whose music moves across borders. With roots in Brazil but a life lived in Angola, the US, Spain, Portugal, and now the UK, MOMO. crafts a sound that transcends place. His upcoming album, Tum Tum Tum, sung in Portuguese and English, is built around the idea of continuity and forward momentum featuring guest appearances from bossa nova and Brazilian legend Marcos Valle and Smoke City's Nina Miranda.
 
Recorded live in South London with his tight-knit band including long-standing collaborators and UK jazz trombonist Rosie Turton, Tum Tum Tum is a free flowing, warm, expansive and fully assured album, his 8th to date and exudes a playfulness, a sense of someone who is truly in their element and at peace when writing and recording.
 
Lead track “Egum Eô” is a wonderfully Brazilian opening and sets the scene perfectly with MOMO.’s vocal sounding much like the album’s title ‘Tum Tum Tum’, pushing the positivity sky high in unison with a gorgeous horn hook. The broken groove slowly rolls in like a curling surf-perfect wave before the band all join the jam leaving the listener joyfully entranced.

The artist shares, “Egum Eô feels like an invocation. In Candomblé, Egum refers to ancestral spirits, and the phrase appeared naturally while we were playing, following the Afro-Brazilian pulse of the drums.” The visualiser for “Egum Eô” was developed by Raíssa Pardini in collaboration with Conor Lumsden, with Pardini also creating the album artwork.

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The City Gates - Capitol Hill.

Known for their dark, melodic, and emotionally charged sound, Montreal, CA-based The City Gates have established themselves on the international alternative scene with two albums, Age of Resilience (Icy Cold Records / Velouria Recordz), and Forever Orbiter (Northern Light Records). The City Gates have been featured on several top album charts across the globe, and in outlets such as Post-Punk.com, Sonic Seducer, Orkus, and Sanctuary.cz.

Their latest single "Capitol Hill" blends driving post-punk rhythms with hazy shoegaze textures and distant, echoing vocals. The track introduces their third LP, Chimera, arriving on May 15 via Icy Cold Records and Velouria Recordz, a dark and expansive record that pushes their sound further into cold, atmospheric territory. The new album will include their stellar tracks "Lapidation", and "La douleur (des mortels)."

The City Gates present the music video for “Capitol Hill,” a stark, brutalist exploration of an urban landscape in moody black-and-white. The clip moves through the geometry of the city, with snow-cloaked sidewalks, blurred trains, corridors and revolving doors, passing bodies, and overexposed close-ups of faces. It all hints at fading warmth and social disorientation, echoing the song’s overarching themes of isolation.

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Photo - Philippa Oliver

Emily Mercer - Flatlining.

Manchester-based artist Emily Mercer returns with her kaleidoscopic new single ‘Flatlining’, released April 15th; a lush, propulsive track that captures the frustration of feeling stuck in your own patterns, and the quiet determination to break free. Blending indie, folk, alternative pop and jazz-tinged sensibilities, ‘Flatlining’, produced by Rhys Jiang, sees Mercer at her most emotionally direct, the track contrasting its upbeat musicality with a deeply introspective core.

“Flatlining was born out of frustration at feeling stagnant and stuck in life, going round in circles, getting in my own way and knowing I can be better than I allow myself to be,” Mercer explains. “It’s about feeling trapped by your own mind, falling into the same patterns over and over - but ultimately it’s a call to action. It’s that moment of realising you’ve been waiting for life to happen, and deciding to fight against the apathy.”

Originally from the Suffolk coast and now based in Manchester, Mercer has spent years crafting her distinct voice, one that blends classic piano songwriting with lo-fi textures, rich arrangements and quietly disarming lyricism. Her work explores mental health, self-sabotage and what she describes as “a messy humanity,” delivered with dry humour and emotional clarity.

Her music draws comparisons to artists such as Fiona Apple, Mitski and Weyes Blood with a vocal reminiscent of Tracey Thorn in early Everything But The Girl. She effortlessly pairs confessional songwriting with rich, genre-fluid soundscapes.

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Photo - Lewis Vorn

Alex Amor - Meet On The Moon.

Scottish-raised singer-songwriter Alex Amor has signed to New York independent label VERO Music and today shares new single 'Meet On The Moon' - a celestial meditation on grief and feminine mysticism - ahead of upcoming performances at Liverpool Sound City and The Great Escape. Co-produced by Alex Amor and Karma Kid (Jessie Ware, Jalen Ngonda), 'Meet On The Moon' was written during a month-long creative reset back home in Glasgow, marking a turning point in Amor’s artistic direction.

Opening the door to a more expansive sonic palette - built around shimmering guitars, soft-focus synths and hypnotic melodies - 'Meet On The Moon' unfolds in a hazy, slow-burning alt-pop space reminiscent of Cigarettes After Sex, with shades of Samia’s pop introspection and the melodic sensibility of Clairo’s 'Sling' era.

At its core, the song is a tribute to a close friend Amor lost, imagining her watching back from the moon, as she explains: "I wrote 'Meet On The Moon' a few years ago, at a time when I was aching to create something different, to step into a new sonic world entirely. I went back to Glasgow for a month, put fate in my own hands, and started producing myself. It felt like reclaiming something. Meet On The Moon was the second song I wrote there.

The song is about a friend who completely embodied the mystical, magical woman archetype I sing about in the lyrics. A few months before I wrote it, she passed away. I found myself thinking about her magnetism - the magnitude of her spirit, the force of her nature - and how, in some strange way, Earth felt too small to contain her. For many reasons, this song had to come first in this body of work. It’s an homage to the divine feminine, which the moon - in her glowing, milky fullness - has always symbolised. Women are cyclically tied to the lunar rhythm, and that beautiful, elusive pull of the moon became the heartbeat of the song’s ephemeral sound.”

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Ark Identity - Closer.

Toronto dream pop artist Ark Identity (Noah Mroueh) returns with “Closer,” a dreamy, euphoric indie-synthwave track that captures the feeling of standing on the edge of something bigger. Blending nostalgic production with deeply personal songwriting, the single reflects the emotional highs and restless momentum that come with chasing creative ambition and believing that your dreams are just within reach.

Inspired by his journey as a musician, “Closer” explores the moment when progress becomes tangible; when you feel yourself approaching a new chapter, yet realize that every step forward only reveals another horizon beyond it. The title itself reflects that sensation of being on the brink of something transformative, whether it’s a creative breakthrough, a personal evolution, or the quiet realization that the pursuit of a dream is a journey without a clear finish line.

This song marks a milestone for the Ark Identity project. It’s his first fully self-produced release, with every instrument performed by the artist. During production, he was experimenting with vocal ideas when his girlfriend walked into his DIY studio and started adding melodies. That spontaneous moment helped shape the song and they finished writing it together.

“One of my favourite lines is ‘Coming home from Hollywood leaves me wanting more.’ That lyric captures the song’s essence, the feeling of chasing something bigger and realizing no matter how close you get, there’s always another level you want to reach,” Noah explains, “I hope listeners connect to the message and are inspired to pursue their own dreams and passions.”

ARK IDENTITY · Closer

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