 |
| Photo - Curtis Perry |
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.”
============================================================================
 |
| Photo - Robert Georgeff |
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.
============================================================================
 |
| Photo - Lewis Vorn |
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."
============================================================================
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.
============================================================================
 |
| Photo - Dominic McKenzie |
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.”
============================================================================
