Jesca Hoop - Salarymen - Lydia Luce - Drift City - Meghan Clarisse - Clover County - The Grahams

Jesca Hoop - Simon Says.
 
California-born, Manchester-based singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop has shared a new unplugged version of her track 'Simon Says'. The single is the second to be taken from Selective Memory - a live, unplugged reworking of her acclaimed 2017 Memories Are Now (Sub Pop). Joining the cast of stripped back album versions for her first three releases, this new collection finds Hoop and her two bandmates, Chloe Foy and Rachel Rimmer, capturing the record in its entirety live in Hoop’s Manchester home.

Of the new single, Hoop says: "In Simon Says I am speaking from my Gen X perspective. Oh how times have changed. I thank the heavens that my childhood was feral and free and that I knew every climbing tree."

Opening the door to an intimate performance space, Selective Memory shines a new light on one of Hoop’s most beloved albums. Raw and immediate in its delivery, the record brims with luminous harmonies, lyrical richness and unguarded emotion. It is sweet and bitter, fresh and raw, and very much of the moment.

Though a return to songs first written over a decade ago, Hoop notes their continued urgency: “Though I wrote these songs 12 years ago, strangely they feel so very relevant to me today. And the album ends in one hell of a protest song… if I do say so myself.”

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Salarymen - If You Want Me.

After strategically drip-feeding singles throughout 2025 to build anticipation for their debut album Take It Or Leave It (October 31st) Sydney’s indie duo Salarymen are ready to deliver the final piece of the puzzle with "If You Want Me" released this weekend. 

Four years in the making, this devastating duet captures the raw ache of lost love with cinematic beauty. As the oldest song on the album, “If You Want Me” has been mesmerising live audiences nationwide, becoming the track fans most desperately wanted to see released. Now, Renee de la Motte and Thomas Eagleton finally deliver this highly anticipated gem – a vintage-laced psych pop ballad that channels the dreamy melancholia of Beach House, Mac DeMarco, and Arcade Fire. With male/female harmonies taking center stage, the track captures a similar nostalgic romanticism to Stephen Sanchez's "Until I Found You," though "If You Want Me" was written years before that breakout hit.

"If You Want Me is the most emotional track we've ever written. It's about two people who can never really let go of their past, and how your world can be flipped upside down after parting ways. Thom and I are essentially playing the guy/girl who are admitting that they've wronged each other, and lamenting the fact that it's over “ explains de la Motte.

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Photo - Ryan Usher

Lydia Luce - Ephemeral (Ft: Luke Sital-Singh).

Lydia Luce shares "Ephemeral," a moving duet with celebrated British singer-songwriter Luke Sital-Singh. An important and sober declaration of self-love, this is the latest single from the Nashville singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist's forthcoming album Mammoth, which releases on October 30.

Lydia Luce on the new single: "This song is a love song to self. When I had to go back on tour after my injuries, I made a promise to myself to take care of myself no matter what. I had to learn how to trust myself again. I hadn’t earned my body's trust, and if I was going back into this environment I had to do it in a way that would honor my body. The moment I decided to ask my friend Paul Hammer to play guitar for me on that tour I felt the stress fall off of my body. I cried to my husband. I didn’t realize how terrified I was to be back in pain playing that much. I made more and more decisions like that on that tour. I brought my own pillow, I booked aisle seats on planes so I could stretch, and I asked for help constantly. I wasn’t in pain on that tour, and now I completely trust myself to make the right choices for my body." 

Recorded in just one week at Peter Gabriel’s celebrated Real World Studios, Mammoth was produced with longtime creative collaborator Jordan Lehning (Kacey Musgraves, Joy Oladokun, Caitlin Rose), with whom Luce runs the Nashville-based string collective Lockeland Strings. 

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Photo - Natalia Via

Drift City - The Seeds.

Kentucky bred and based Drift City proudly present the lead single from their latest EP, “The Seeds”. A serendipitous taste of what’s to come, the single is the first offering from the upcoming EP, Spectral Heart Mosaics, coming in late October.

Available via SU Records, “The Seeds” is an offering that took twelve to thirteen years in the making. Produced mainly by lead vocalist Jason Rivers, additional touches were provided by the renowned Kevin Ratterman and were recorded in the summer of 2025. A melancholic tune analyzing the pain and heartbreak of a slowly dissolving long term relationship, “The Seeds” sonically mirrors these nostalgic feelings.

Described as coming to lead singer Jason Rivers as a "vehicle of my own needed new beginning",  “The Seeds” offers a refreshing listening experience. Rivers’ powerful voice calls back to greats such as The Blue Nile or Cass McCombs, clearly demonstrating the pain and emotional agony he’s experienced. Drift City's ethereal harmonies and twangy pedal steel allow the track to lie in a comforting bed of folk rock. A track about self-growth, releasing inhibitions, and achieving peace and freedom, “The Seeds” is all yours to enjoy now.

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Meghan Clarisse - Shadows of a Ghost Town (Album).

Shadows of a Ghost Town is a deeply personal and poetic exploration of place, memory, and mortality, told through the lens of the American West. Rooted in the traditions of Americana and brushed with shades of country and bluegrass, this album is both a love letter to the land and a reckoning with the ghosts we carry.

Set against the backdrop of wide-open skies, dusty trails, and abandoned towns, each track captures a moment suspended between the living and the lost. There are stories of a quiet ache that follows when something-or someone-disappears. The mountains aren't just scenery here; they're characters. So are the shadows, the silence, and the wind.

With raw instrumentation, vivid storytelling, and melodies that rise like cann winds and fall like dusk over the plains, Shadows of a Ghost Town weaves together the grit of bluegrass with the soul of country and the heart of folk. These songs don't shy away from sorrow, but they don't dwell in it either. Instead, they honor it. They ride through it.

At its core, this album is about transience-how everything we know and love eventually fades, and yet somehow, that makes it all the more beautiful. Whether it's a home, a way of life, or a person you thought you'd never lose, Shadows of a Ghost Town reminds us that some things linger even after they're gone. You can still hear the music if you know where to listen.

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Photo - Luke Rogers

Clover County - Finer Things (Album).

Emerging Georgia singer/songwriter Clover County releases her debut album Finer Things via her own label Undercover Lover Records in partnership with Thirty Tigers. Produced by Carrie K (Noah Kahan, Maggie Antone, Koe Wetzel), the album is a coming-of-age soundtrack that explores romantic, familial and platonic love with a winking charm and an observing eye. Clover shares: “Finer Things is the shoebox I keep under my bed full of old love letters and trinkets I can’t quite let go of. It's polaroids, bottle caps, and plane tickets. It’s a memorial for all the ways I’ve loved and been loved.” Along with the album she has shared the single 'Sweeter'.

Clover continues: “These songs began when I was 18 – scrawled in notebooks, half-sung into voice memos, carried with me through the years. I started recording them at 23, and at 24, they’ll start to find their place in the world. Unintentionally, they trace a timeline: from naive to knowing. Finer Things is about all the ways I’ve shown up in love and how it’s shown up for me, the fleeting and the forever. Romantic, familial, platonic. The sweetness, the sting, and the spaces in between.

This record lives naturally within the lines of country with its own indie/alternative twists – as a songwriter from the South with a love for the classics, I wanted to nod to legacy artists like Dolly Parton, Shania Twain and Sheryl Crow, while also drawing from the modern textures and tones of Hovvdy, Adrianne Lenker, Waxahatchee, Courtney Barnett and MJ Lenderman.”


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The Grahams - Worst Parts Of Me.

As they prepare to release their fourth studio album, The Bridge, on October 10th, acclaimed Americana-pop duo The Grahams – married couple Alyssa and Doug Graham – have released one more glimpse into the collection with their new single “Worst Parts Of Me.” The playful love song recalls early ‘70s melodic movement and offers a throwback to Carole King’s Tapestry era, an album that has served as an important influence for Alyssa.

“After three decades of a love affair and partnership, people always ask us our ‘secret’,” shares The Grahams. “For years we claimed our rare success was attributed to having no children. ‘Don’t have kids’ we would joke. Upon further reflection and having our daughter, we now understand our secret is deeper than that. To truly love someone in this life and beyond, you need to love not only the best but the worst parts of them.”

About the music video, Alyssa and Doug add, “Although ‘Worst Parts Of Me’ is a song we wrote in order to highlight the depth and strength of our love for one another by acknowledging our lifelong flaws with a bit of humor, we wanted the video to speak to people in a more individualized fashion. We all struggle with what we believe to be our worst parts. The video focuses on accepting our imperfections, fully embracing them and learning to enjoy the balance of the best and the worst in ourselves and how it all makes us unique.” 

The Bridge, available via Nashville’s 3Sirens label, marks the first time The Grahams are giving listeners a look into their personal lives. The deeply personal album, named after the George Washington Bridge, which transported the New Jersey natives to New York City during their formative years, was co-written with GRAMMY-nominated producer Dex Green, singer-songwriter Kate York, and GRAMMY-nominated songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan, finding The Grahams embracing the collaborative Nashville co-write. Alyssa (vocals) and Doug (guitars/vocals) credit these three creative ambassadors with helping them write about their lives honestly and vulnerably, diving deep into their childhood love affair that has lasted over 37 years.

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Gal Musette - Serious Child - Tamar Berk - The Grahams - Rob Smith (a.k.a. RSD) & Ammoye

Gal Musette -Broken Clock. 

Gal Musette is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles whose upcoming third album, Our Day in the Sun, marks a quiet rebellion and a coming-into-self. Known for her delicate, introspective sound, Gal steps into new power with this record, an intimate ode to loss, endings, and the unraveling of old ideals. Vulnerability becomes a strength here, as she sheds the need to please and embraces a raw, unfiltered voice. The album also features a collaboration with Aaron Marsh (of Copeland), who composed the lush string and woodwind arrangement for one of its most poignant tracks.

Her latest single "Broken Clock" is a stunning folk embrace featuring blissful harmonies and delicate acoustic rhythms. She shares, "‘Even a broken clock is right twice a day’ is an old saying that caught my attention when an old boyfriend called me ‘blind.’ I thought then—even with my blind spots, I knew my gut was right in leaving that relationship behind."

In recent years, she’s toured and recorded with artists like Vacations, Jazzie Young, and Georgia Gets By (of Broods), released music with her trio Tin Angel, and opened for Rufus Wainwright and Gaby Moreno.

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Serious Child - First Tattoo.

Serious Child, aka Alan Young, is pleased to announce the release of his fourth album ‘What Lies Beneath’ for 7th November 2025. Hailing from an old wood in West Sussex (England), Young draws from a wide range of influences to explore the world around us with a poet’s ear for emotion and a comedian’s eye for everyday detail.

For the new record, Young has drawn from a wide range of sources of inspiration- from Tony Harrison’s sonnet “Book Ends”, to Rob McFarlane’s brilliant book “Underland” and Georgian traditional lullaby “Iavnana”. The album sees him joined by classical composer and violinist, David Grubb, bass clarinettist, Anna Perry, vocalist and touring partner My Girl The River, and long-time collaborator and producer Chris Pepper.

‘What Lies Beneath’ is a collection of musical stories about what’s underneath the surface of our everyday lives, from a woman quietly riding the bus all day to keep warm, to the prickle of fear exploring an ancient burial chamber and to the joy of a midlife tattoo on the album’s first single ‘First Tattoo’.

In finest pop tradition, ‘First Tattoo’ is literally a three-chord song, centred around a nursery rhyme riff, but played on a kalimba (thumb piano), with loads of lovely texture and interplay from Annie Perry on bass clarinet and David Grubb on violin. “I wanted to write something simple and joyful, without a care in the world”, explains Young. “On vocals, it was a family affair, with daughter Rosa providing backing a-has in addition to My Girl The River, and partner Kate donating her laugh at the whole silliness of it all. And yes, I am getting a tattoo”, he further adds.

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Tamar Berk - ocd (Album).

Tamar Berk released her fifth album ocd across music platforms last Friday, unveiling her most personal and sonically ambitious work yet. The record is a fuzzed-out, reverb-soaked exploration of looping thoughts, emotional spirals, and the strange beauty of overthinking.

Following wide indie acclaim for the first single “stay close by,” Tamar turns the spotlight to the album’s title track and focus single, "ocd", whose music video arrives alongside the full release. A groovy and dizzying layering of Wurlitzer, trumpet, and lyrical repetition, the song is both beautiful and claustrophobic. Teasing synths drift like sirens over an ocd-like refrain: “over and over and over.”

“It’s about the chaos I live with internally, the constant loop of anxiety, memory, control, regrets, and perfectionism,” Tamar says. “But it’s also about trying to find the humor and beauty in it, too.”

Across ocd, Tamar blends fuzzed-out guitars, dreamlike synths, warm piano, and intimate vocals into songs that examine identity, anxiety, memory, and the patterns we cannot escape. The album’s 12 tracks move between loud catharsis and quiet confession, capturing the absurd, messy, and sometimes hopeful loops of the mind. Each song connects like a fragment of a larger story, both personal and cinematic. With distorted guitars, dreamy piano lines, and diary-level confession, ocd is as melodic as it is mentally spiraled. It is Tamar’s most vulnerable and self-aware work, while also being her catchiest.


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Photo - Julian Gross

The Grahams - The One Who Remembers.

Acclaimed Americana-pop duo The Grahams have released their new single “The One Who Remembers.” The deeply personal piano ballad from married couple Alyssa and Doug Graham is a heartbreaking tale about a loved one struggling with Alzheimer’s and the impact it has on an entire family. “The One Who Remembers” is the latest offering from the group’s fourth studio album, The Bridge, out October 10th via 3Sirens, following the releases of their singles “Only New York” and “Found It In Us.”

“This song is the most personal song we’ve ever written,” shares Alyssa. “It is an authentic, unfathomable, and devastating look into a life story and struggle. Ultimately, I think it is a song about acceptance and remembrance.” - “‘The One Who Remembers’ is a small glimpse into a long and arduous battle,” adds Doug. “The unimaginable reality of memory loss and the realization that love is never forgotten.”

The Bridge marks the first time The Grahams are giving listeners an honest glimpse into their personal lives within their music. The 11-track collection, named after the George Washington Bridge, which transported the New Jersey natives to New York City during their formative years, is inspired by their everyday lives. For the album, The Grahams found themselves embracing the collaborative Nashville co-write by collaborating with GRAMMY-nominated producer Dex Green, singer-songwriter Kate York, and GRAMMY-nominated songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan. Alyssa (vocals) and Doug (guitars/vocals) credit these three creative ambassadors with helping them write about their lives honestly and vulnerably, diving deep into their childhood love affair that has lasted over 37 years.

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Rob Smith (a.k.a. RSD) & Ammoye - Walking In The Rain.

Rob Smith is a true producer legend, he produced the first Massive Attack single Any Love in 1988 together with Ray Mighty. They had the project “Smith & Mighty” going on which was huge and successful on K7! Records. 

They formed and created the melting pot of Bristol Sound with trip hop, breakbeat, dub, jungle, drum and bass, soul and jazz unfluenced vibes. ROB SMITH and Smith & Mighty remixed Neneh Cherry, M People, Beats International, Fine Young Cannibals and many more.

Ammoye – is a Jamaican-Canadian reggae musician, most noted as a seven-time Juno Award nominee for Reggae Recording of the year - on lovely vocals appearance and Rob Smith on production, they both bring us back to the time as Flash & The Pan and later on Grace Jones were doing 'Walking In The Rain' as their big and huge hits in the 80ties.

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Midnight Sky - The Grahams - Ashley Monroe

Midnight Sky - Just Before Dawn (Album).

Americana rockers Midnight Sky have officially released their highly-anticipated full-length album, Just Before Dawn, on all major streaming platforms via MTS Records. Anchored by the evocative new single “Hearts Are Wild,” the 13-track collection is a cinematic and soul-stirring exploration of love’s complexity, highway solitude, and the quiet moments that linger just before dawn.

Led by veteran songwriter Tim Tye, Midnight Sky weaves threads of country, folk, and roots rock into a cohesive and emotionally resonant album that showcases Tye’s evolution as a storyteller and sonic craftsman. From the haunting melancholy of “Only the Moon is Blue” to the rollicking redemption in “Dockside Jump,” the LP traverses backroads of memory and emotion with unflinching honesty.

“This album is about moments—ones you regret, ones you fight for, and ones you never forget,” says Tye. “Just Before Dawn is where all those moments live. That quiet hour when the world holds its breath and your heart does too.”

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Photo - Julian Gross

The Grahams - Only New York.

Acclaimed Americana-pop duo The Grahams have announced their fourth studio album, The Bridge, will be out this fall and have released their new single “Only New York.” The powerful track pays homage to a city The Grahams, lifelong lovers Alyssa and Doug Graham call part of their heartbeat and one of the main characters in their life. Their personal and unique tribute to the Big Apple. Set for release on October 10th via the East Nashville label 3Sirens, The Bridge, referring to the George Washington Bridge which transported the New Jersey natives to New York City during their formative years, is the group’s most deeply personal album to date.

“New York City was, is, and will always be a defining piece of who we are,” shares Alyssa. “As kids, we lived across the bridge. NYC was the backdrop for all our minor indiscretions, all our not so minor rebellions. She taught us how to be smart, creative, open-minded, and sometimes devious. As adults, we lived deep within her pulsing heart. We performed music over and over again within her underground. We learned to love her and to loathe her as New York is at once the best and the worst of everything.”

“Our daughter was born a New Yorker,” Doug adds. “When we were writing this song, we realized every bridge in our life, both literally and metaphorically, leads back to New York City. Our forever home. This track is without a doubt the defining song of our life, our love affair, and our legacy, because only New York.”

For perhaps the first time since the inception of The Grahams over a decade ago, Alyssa and Doug give listeners an honest glimpse into their personal lives within their music on The Bridge. The 11-track collection, which finds the couple embracing the collaborative Nashville co-write, is inspired by their everyday lives. The Grahams wrote much of The Bridge with GRAMMY-nominated producer Dex Green, singer-songwriter Kate York, and GRAMMY-nominated songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan. Alyssa (vocals) and Doug (guitars/vocals) credit these three creative ambassadors with helping them write about their lives honestly and vulnerably, diving deep into their childhood love affair that has lasted over 37 years.

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Photo - Erika Rock

Ashley Monroe - Tennessee Lightning (Album).

On Friday, 3x GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Ashley Monroe released her sixth studio album Tennessee Lightning. Co-produced with GRAMMY-winning producer/engineer Gena Johnson (John Prine, Jason Isbell), the 17-song collection was recorded in the wake of Monroe’s transformative bout with cancer and recounts her remarkable journey as a celebration of life, love and the healing power of music. The album features contributions from T Bone Burnett, Marty Stuart, Brittney Spencer, Waylon Payne, Brendan Benson, Butch Walker, Karen Fairchild and Armand Hutton. 

Tennessee Lightning has received acclaim from The Nashville Scene, People, Stereogum, NPR Music, Music Row, The Observer, Americana UK and many more. No Depression proclaimed its “an electrifying new album that traverses a variety of musical landscapes, from swampy blues to gospel to pop and country.” 

The album is rich, multifaceted meditation on identity, purpose, and meaning from an artist who’s learned to see herself — and the world around her — in a whole new light following a life-altering diagnosis. “When I got diagnosed with lymphoma and started my treatment, I stopped writing, I stopped hearing melodies, I stopped thinking about songs at all,” Monroe recalls. 

“When I finally went into remission, I could feel the life and the music start flowing in my veins again,” she explains. “It was like a flood, just this rush of inspiration.” Along with that inspiration came a newfound clarity and gratitude, as well as a vision for this new album.

Ashley Monroe · Tennessee Lightning

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Tamar Berk - The Grahams - Stephen Wilson Jr - Jacob Weil

Photo - Brandon Mosquera

Tamar Berk - tiny injuries (Album).

Noted indie darling Tamar Berk is excited to unveil tiny injuries, her third solo album. The album itself follows singles “drop in the bucket” and “if u know, u know”. To celebrate the album’s release, Tamar Berk is also elated to share the music video for “cash out”, the album’s latest single. An array of emotions are explored throughout tiny injuries courtesy of songs that incorporate elements of indie pop, alternative rock, and singer-songwriter slow burns.

Lead single "drop in the bucket" shows the evolution of emotions over time in a relationship. Alternative rock and indie pop are cleverly blended to create a fun and energetic sound. With its engrossing guitar and assertive vocals, this song evokes Liz Phair and Snail Mail with its wistful synth and pulsing guitar. The second single "If you know, you know" uses Tamar Berk's passion to explore existential crisis caused by loss, reminiscent of Soccer Mommy and Aimee Mann. With latest single "cash out" Tamar Berk blends cinematic, guitar-driven alternative pop with indie folk flavor on a track that is captivating and soothing.

When discussing her new single, Tamar Berk writes: “In the middle of moving my mother from her house to an apartment, I wrote the two sentences for "cash out" on one of those small airplane napkins. It had been a year since my father died, so I knew this would happen, but I wasn't prepared for the emotional devastation I would undergo during those two weeks. After packing up the house and going through all of my dad's belongings, I was absolutely crushed. With each passing day, I became more and more depressed and numb. The shock was still fresh in my mother's mind, but she was mostly angry and scared, and I was dealing with my own private hell. My next stop was to get home, so I took the little napkin they give you with your drink and I wrote "I've got no promises left in me, I'm getting ready to cash out." When I got home, I sat down at the piano and wrote it. As I had written it that day, I pretty much kept it the same.

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The Grahams - A Good Man.

The Grahams have shared their new single “A Good Man,” which appears on the duo’s upcoming self-titled album, out September 8 via 3Sirens Music Group. Accompanied by a playful music video, “A Good Man” is a vulnerable reflection on the indelible impact of experiencing true love. The new single is one of ten reimaginings from The Grahams, which finds the duo revisiting fan favorites to reflect their artistic growth over the last decade.

“‘A Good Man’ was never a question for this project,” shares Alyssa Graham, who is one half of The Grahams with Doug Graham. “I think people love it because it’s so honest. The reimagining plays up that naked honesty with a fresh layer of tenderness and playfulness — and less of its old twang.”

“A Good Man” follows the anthemic “Glory Bound” and the serotonin-boosting “The Wild One,” which have been praised by Magnet Magazine, RIFF Magazine, The Alternate Root, Americana UK, Americana Music Association and more. The Grahams’ new self-titled album takes 10 songs from their catalog and pours them through a new filter – what they’ve learned, how they’ve changed, and perhaps most centrally, how they sound today. While these songs bear some resemblance to their Americana roots, they lean harder in a new direction, weaving threads of the duo’s other influences: the bands they grew up with, the input of collaborators, and the ever-evolving love affair that now includes their child. Track by track, the changes are transformative, stripping the songs down in some cases and dressing them up in others.

The Grahams credit much of their newfound ease to the record’s team who are seasoned all-stars in their own right. Recorded at their own Nashville label and studio 3Sirens, the new album was engineered by their longtime friend and producer Dex Green, and produced by Dan Molad (Lucius, Coco) who they first worked with alongside the late Richard Swift on Kids Like Us. In addition, these recording sessions feature Ray Jacildo (The Black Keys) on keys, Jack Lawrence (Jack White) on bass, and Lucius, who lend mesmerizing backing vocals to several tracks and feature on “Lay Me Down.”

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Stephen Wilson Jr - patches.

Southern Indiana-born, Nashville-based artist Stephen Wilson Jr. has released new single “patches” from his upcoming debut double album søn of dad, out September 15 via Big Loud Records. With its deceptively breezy melody and easygoing chorus underscored by melancholic slide guitars, the song touches upon the importance of learning to live with the scars, scratches and holes in our lives. Today, Wilson also announced that he will join The Lone Bellow on tour for another string of dates this winter.

Of the song, Wilson shares: “My scars got scars. Graffiti on graffiti on graffiti. ‘patches’ is a playful song with a serious message. A life lived not avoided. øne packaged with consequences and fibrosis. A built-in collagen-based repair system showing the world the road map to where we’ve been. Wearing scars we’ve earned like we’ve earned ‘em.”

Informed by Wilson’s wildly diverse background as a boxer, a scientist (he has a degree in microbiology and chemistry from Middle Tennessee State University) and a songwriter, søn of dad is a 22-song tribute to his late father, to be released exactly five years to the day of his death. Album centerpiece “Father’s Son” and its stirring music video received praise from CMT, Whiskey Riff and Rolling Stone who named it one of the “Best Country Songs of 2023 So Far.”

“Writing and making this album has been very therapeutic for me to learn who I am and what my existence looks like after my father. Because life has to go on,” Wilson says. “I'm living my own life, but it's like his death bookended what life he should have had onto mine and I'm carrying it around like a train car.”

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Jacob Weil - Lived In (Album).

After years of crisscrossing North America, Europe, and the U.K., playing in bands such as Sam Weber and Luca Fogale, Jacob Weil found himself with a collection of his own songs that he was ready to share. The indie-folk debut record, Lived In, was produced by Sam Weber. The album’s production is fast, innovative, and intelligent, and the songs are filled with strength, grit, tenderness, courage, and nostalgia. And, like a string of images, Weil leads us through observations and experiences that have led him to where he is now.

Co-written with Luca Fogale, the focus track “9999” is about multiple realities – more specifically it represents the nine-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-nine ways out of ten thousand that your life could have gone, had you made one specific decision, as opposed to another. It’s a reflection on a life, a relationship, whatever, where you made a decision, and things ended up one way instead of another.

In this situation, the song is about a relationship that felt so right, where everything was so perfect, and yet it didn’t work out. It’s about imagining a multitude of realities, in which, if you lived the same life 10,000 times, you just happened to be living in the one where things didn’t work out.

“The album started off as a collection of songs from different periods of my life – periods of significant growth and change,” explains Weil. “I didn’t begin with a set throughline between them, but it became apparent later on as I was looking back at them that they all shared a commonality - a reflection on what it feels like to be part way through one’s life and have a mind, body, spirit and even home that feel ‘lived in.’”

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The Hello Darlins - Clementine Valentine - Georgia Mooney - The Grahams - Shadwick Wilde

The Hello Darlins - Don't You Fall.

After making one of the biggest breakthroughs on the international Americana scene with their debut album Go By Feel, Canadian country/roots collective The Hello Darlins is gearing up to return with an even more ambitious collection of material for its official sophomore release, The Alders & The Ashes, due early in 2024.

The group, led by Romani-Canadian musician Candace Lacina and world-renowned Hammond B3 player Mike Little, The Hello Darlins consist of some of Canada’s most in-demand session musicians who came together to forge a distinct hybrid of country, gospel and blues. After three European Tours that included an Americanafest-UK showcase and a support slot with Lucinda Williams at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, as well as a 36-date cross-Canadian tour with blues-roots icon Matt Andersen with sold-out stops at Massey Hall and National Arts Centre along the way, The Hello Darlins are just getting started.

The latest taste of their new music is the single “Don’t You Fall,” an upbeat, radio-friendly track that showcases Candace’s unmistakable vocals. The song delivers a message to persevere through hard times by enjoying the wonder of life, and the love and support of those closest to us. “I wrote it after a dream,” Candace says. “I was watching someone have a conversation with an old tree and they were both saying the same thing to each another: ‘Hold on, friend. You’ve seen so much, but don’t resign, because there is still so much more.’”

The video for “Don’t You Fall” is a playful variation on the same theme. “As a society, we’re so obsessed with preserving our youth, but age is just a relative concept,” says Candace, who conceptualized and created the video based on animation techniques often used in children’s television programs from the 1960s and ‘70s. “Who didn’t love Romper Room, Mr. Dressup, Mr. Rogers, or Sesame Street,” she says. “Kindergarten is the age of innocence and imagination—you never think about getting old when you’re five.”

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Clementine Valentine - The Rope.

Clementine Valentine, the Coromandel-based art-pop duo formerly known as Purple Pilgrims, share a new single ‘The Rope’ off their upcoming album, The Coin that Broke the Fountain Floor, out August 25th via Flying Nun Records. To celebrate the album's release, the duo will perform four intimate shows around the country this September as well as a show in August alongside Roy Montgomery for the Christchurch WORD festival.

Following their previous album singles ‘Endless Night’ and ‘Time and Tide’, the new single ‘The Rope’ is a captivating siren song, that entices the listener, inviting them into a world of both safety and potential darkness. Produced by Randall Dunn — known for his work with acclaimed artists like Björk, Oneohtrix Point Never and Jim Jarmusch —the track features expressive percussion by Matt Chamberlain, who’s worked with the likes of Lana Del Rey, David Bowie, Fiona Apple to name a few

The accompanying visuals, directed by the Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland-based duo PICTVRE (Veronica Crockford-Pound and Joseph Griffen) and made with the support of NZ on Air, draw inspiration from 1960s films such as Jean-Luc Godard's sci-fi/noir classic 'Alphaville' and Ingmar Bergman's psychological drama 'Persona'. Styled by Tom So, the duo wears all local designers including Emma Jing, Wynn Hamlyn, and Shannen Young. Makeup and hair styling by Kiekie Stanners and Vanessa Mitchell.

 

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Photo - Cybele Malinowski

Georgia Mooney - Nothing Is Forever.

‘Nothing Is Forever’ takes off like a train in both sound and spirit; an anthemic slice of triumphant alt-folk that will resonate with fans of First Aid Kit and Courtney Marie Andrews with its tumbling drums, potent trumpets, and lush, swelling open chords in a widescreen arrangement featuring dulcimer, mandolin, harmonium, trombone, guitars and bass.

Penned at a high point of the #MeToo movement, the track remains startlingly relevant with its shots at the kind of misogynist that poses as enlightened; “arguably the most damaging type of sexist… the wolf in sheep’s clothing” affirms Mooney, and is ultimately an aspirational call-to-arms that she says promises “Nothing is forever, not even the patriarchy.”

This evocative tone is shared by the track’s cinematic visuals, directed by Nick Mckk (Kate Miller-Heidke, Jen Cloher, Alice Skye) on the land of the Dharug and Gundungurra people in the so-called Blue Mountains. Characterized by sweeping cinematography and long, slow zooms, the video finds Mooney and her dulcimer in an ethereal, serene state against a backdrop of majestic ancient trees, rocks, and waterfalls - a perfect visual complement to the inherent drama of the single. 

Of the video, Mooney says “With dulcimer in tow, Nick and I scrambled through bush and fell (literally) into creeks, finding captivating and evocative places for me to perch, strum and sing into the trees. We started at noon and by nightfall had explored waterfalls, valleys, and watched the sunset over the treetops. I enjoyed the contrast of singing ‘Nothing Is Forever’ in an environment so ancient. One wonders how many people and birds have sung to those trees. The video became a love letter to that part of the world, which of course I hope is forever.”

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The Grahams - Glory Bound.

The Grahams have shared their uplifting anthem “Glory Bound,” the next offering from the duo’s upcoming self-titled album, out September 8 via 3Sirens Music Group. Arriving with a golden-hued music video showcasing the importance of family and love, this meditative song finds The Grahams reflecting on life’s journey, regrets and all, with bright eyes toward a hopeful future. “Glory Bound” was recently featured by Magnet Magazine and is one of ten reimaginings slated to appear on The Grahams, which sees the duo revisiting fan favorites to reflect their artistic growth over the last decade. The Grahams is now available for pre-order.

“On ‘Glory Bound,’ what was once a bold, from-the-chest manifesto becomes a shimmering reflection on hope and regret, building around a subtle, hypnotizing riff,” shares Alyssa Graham, who is one half of The Grahams with Doug Graham. “Listening back to my approach, originally and now, I'm a different person. You can hear it in my voice.”

“Glory Bound” follows the serotonin-boosting “The Wild One,” which was praised by the The Alternate Root, Americana UK, Americana Music Association and more upon its release. On The Grahams, the duo pays homage to a fulfilled commitment they made a decade ago: three concept albums over 10 years, which found them exploring America and its rich tapestry of music. The new self-titled album takes 10 songs from The Grahams’ catalog and pours them through a new filter – what they’ve learned, how they’ve changed, and perhaps most centrally, how they sound today. While these songs bear some resemblance to their Americana roots, they lean harder in a new direction, weaving threads of the duo’s other influences: the bands they grew up with, the input of collaborators, and the ever-evolving love affair that now includes their child. Track by track, the changes are transformative, stripping the songs down in some cases and dressing them up in others.

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Shadwick Wilde - Without You.

Shadwick Wilde has released "Without You," the second single from his upcoming solo record Forever Home, produced by renowned Nashville drummer Ken Coomer (Billy Bragg, Will Hoge, Margo Price, Vance Joy, Al Green, Wilco and Uncle Tupelo), available everywhere September 22nd.

“Without You” is an existentialist love ballad… examining the frailty of memory, the truth of impermanence, and our clinging to one another. Wilde, who lives with major depressive disorder, is a self-described Buddhist-Nihilist, but credits meditation, therapy and a focus on compassion and presence to saving his life. The recording of this album was a practice in surrender for Shadwick… Coomer pushed for live recording and minimal takes to preserve the spontaneity of the creative process, and to let the songs unfold on their own.

“Without You” was the first song recorded live as a group with Shadwick on guitar, Coomer on Drums, and Ted Pecchio on Bass. Sam Wilson was brought in to add some beautifully tasteful guitar work, and Shadwick overdubbed piano and synthesizer parts, resulting in a beautiful rich orchestration to juxtapose the song’s darker subject matter.

 

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Surprise Baby - Enjoyable Listens - Simesky+Fritch - The Grahams

Surprise Baby - Poison the Well.

Surprise Baby is the Los Angeles based project of musician and songwriter Sarsten Noice and producer Claire Morison. Described as rock and roll cowboy meets indie pop, the two, who are originally from Northwest Montana, use their long-standing relationship as friends and creative partners to craft a sound which is both authentic and captivating.

The upcoming EP is a result of Surprise Baby refusing to be pigeon-holed and see’s the two exploring a realm of different genres and sounds. The first single to be released from the EP is “Poison the Well.” The track narrates facing the consequences of your own actions and the desire to change the reality of a situation but ultimately having the resignation that you can’t. Noice confides, “At the time, I was involved with someone who was in another relationship and we were both a part of a tight knit community (“the well”). At a certain point, it appeared to me that the toxicity of the relationship had permeated our ability to operate in our social scene without causing disruption to our lives and those around us.  I was faced with confronting the morality of my own actions as well as some heartbreak because I knew I was never going to be able to fully be with this person.”

Sonically, “Poison the Well” enters with a throbbing beat, echoing harmonies and a minimalist, eerie atmosphere. Steadily building in intensity, we hear the addition of layered textures and instruments, as Noice sings about the misguided actions that led her down the wrong path. She questions, “If I had never said goodnight, if I had been older when this had started,” as she ponders about what could have been.

Not afraid to speak her truth, Noice shares how she uses songwriting as a way to process her internal world and give intense emotions a way out of her body. She shares, “I try to create imagery that accurately captures a specific feeling and then allow myself to build lyrics in an abstract way, opposed to straightforward storytelling. This I hope leaves the songs open to the listeners’ interpretation.”

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Enjoyable Listens - Summer Hit.

Enjoyable Listens is a man, a machine and an enigma wrapped in a ball of mysterious dark wool. Having built an indie-rock-solid foundation using only melody, mayhem and an admirable ability to croon a series of pop smashes whilst teetering on a bar stool, new single “Summer Hit” sees the infallible actor continuing to warm to the task.

Funnelling inebriated ‘80s theatricality through luxurious layers of molten melodies and sun-dappled dreamhouse-ery, Enjoyable Listens aka Luke Duffett explains: “The original “Summer Hit” demo was the first thing I ever self-recorded. I wrote it during lockdown, and its name comes from a to-do list I had in April 2020.

While his attempts at gymnastics, baking and gaming may not have been quite so fruitful, “Summer Hit” certainly ticks the box. Re-recorded with Joseph Futák and Elanor Moss on backing vocals, the new track features a heady amalgam of mellotron, seagull noises and an aromatic indie-swooning that feels just as mellow as it does melodramatic.

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Simesky+Fritch - Back and Down Again.

Following on from ‘Colour Running Away’, the last release from Simesky+Fritch that graced indie charts, national and international airwaves across UK and Belgium, Australia, US, across the EU and South Africa, this is the new single ‘Back and Down Again’.

‘Colour Running Away’ changed everything for the duo. Its high shine pop and neon gloss took on a life of its own and blasted the track to success. But right here and right now they get darker.

With their cool 80’s retro wrapped in original new wave, they produce something gut-felt and lush. The Cure, Roxy Music, M83, they all leave their imprints like always. And as New Order and Berlin era Bowie atmospherics infect, each decade’s nuance of synthpop collides.

Back this up with the extended family of Thomas Wagner (creator of the perfect Back and Down Again video, Andy Wright (mastering; The Fall, Rag’n’Bone Man) and support from CJC Promotions… Simesky+Fritch become something unstoppable.

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The Grahams - The Wild One.

The Grahams have announced their new album The Grahams, due out September 8 via 3Sirens Music Group. The upcoming self-titled album finds the singer-songwriter duo – made up of Alyssa and Doug Graham – reimagining 10 hand-picked songs from their extensive catalog to reflect their sonic and artistic growth over the last decade. Along with the announcement, The Grahams have shared a revamped rendition of their 2015 staple “The Wild One,” a serotonin-boosting reworking that now features shimmering backing vocals from acclaimed indie pop group Lucius.

“‘The Wild One’ is part biographical, part fiction and part mantra,” shares Alyssa Graham. “The original version served its purpose and was often our opening song at concerts to remind ourselves of what we’ve lived and what’s important. When reimagining this song, we wanted to focus on the lessons in a more light-hearted and fun sonic arrangement and steer clear of the overdramatized story. After all, it’s just music and if we’ve learned anything over the past three decades together it’s to never let our hearts grow old and never let our love grow cold.”

On The Grahams, the duo pays homage to a fulfilled commitment they made a decade ago: three concept albums over 10 years, which found them exploring America and its rich tapestry of music. This trilogy began with their swampy 2013 debut Riverman’s Daughter, followed by 2015’s railroad-inspired Glory Bound and concluding in 2020 with the genre-defying Kids Like Us. The new self-titled album takes ten songs from The Grahams’ catalog and pours them through a new filter – what they’ve learned, how they’ve changed, and perhaps most centrally, how they sound today. While these songs bear some resemblance to their Americana roots, they lean harder in a new direction, weaving threads of the duo’s other influences: the bands they grew up with, the input of collaborators, and the ever-evolving love affair that now includes their child. Track by track, the changes are transformative, stripping the songs down in some cases and dressing them up in others.

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The Grahams - Suzanne Santo - Film School

The Grahams - Beyond The Palisades

The Grahams’ Alyssa and Doug Graham are New Jersey raised, New York bred, but Nashville based — a cross-section of regional influences that allows them to slip in and out of genres like they’re changing clothes. Their unique sound landed them at the top of the Americana charts when their first album, Riverman’s Daughter, was released in 2013, led to the critically acclaimed Glory Bound in 2016, and their affair with a more alt-pop sound on 2020’s Kids Like Us (co-produced by the late Richard Swift and Lucious’ Dan Molad).  

Their music has landed them in every major music publication and grown them a legion of dedicated fans around the world. In 2021 their music has evolved again into a nostalgia-inducing mellow gold sound with a nod to mid-century soul and classic UK pop. If that sounds like a mouthful, it’s by design. Consider their upcoming three song EP Sha La La (October 15th) a moment of bliss before the duo’s next full album, due in 2022.

A tongue-in-cheek reference to a laissez-faire approach to life, Sha La La is The Grahams’ attempt to exorcise the pains and disappointments of the last 14 months. Rather than writhing in self pity and judgement, or aspirations driven by narcissism, they decided to simply let go of trying to control or overcome the situation, liberating themselves of their anger and who they thought they were, while embracing who they may become.

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Suzanne Santo - Mercy.

Suzanne Santo shares powerful new song “Mercy” Sophomore album Yard Sale out August 27 via Soundly Music; on tour this summer and fall with Gary Clark Jr, Jade Bird, Arlo McKinley, Murder By Death

Austin, TX-based indie-rock and neo-soul artist Suzanne Santo has shared “Mercy,” the newest single from her forthcoming sophomore album Yard Sale, due out on Aug 27 via Soundly Music and follows the release of “Bad Beast,” “Common Sense,” and “Save For Love.”

“Mercy” is a powerful song that seemingly touches on specific situations, but the moral of the story is that mercy requires compassion, empathy, and forgiveness, for others and for ourselves.

The new album, Yard Sale, delves into the ideas of discarding wants, sentimental treasures, largely in the form of people and places that have lost meaning or no longer serve you. Letting things fall away to make space for better things to come.

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Film School - Said Your Name.

 "Said Your Name" is out now. Greg has this to say about the track “This is probably my favorite track on the album. I love the way Noël’s vocals glide over the top of the instruments and gently lead the listener through this breakup song.

So many breakup songs are about fucking over, or getting fucked over. The ensuing anger can almost make that type of breakup easier;  it’s black and white. This isn’t that. 

This is about a couple that still loves one another, but are changing as individuals and unable to align. I love the way Noël’s vocals glide over the top and gently lead the listener through this breakup, she really captures the situation.”

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