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| Photo - Shirin Bartel |
We have to say this is one wonderful album that delivers all the band promises in their press release, talking of which, we include in full for a clear and concise background. Since the early 2010s, 'Love' has as part of the alliterative phrase 'Live, Laugh, Love' degenerated into a cheesy cliché that acts as a set of self-deceptive blinkers to the actual absence of that capitalistically corrupted trinity.
The noise-pop formation Mystery Art Orchestra (MAO) explores this theme on their second studio album, which has just been released including on vinyl April 3 2026.
Wrapped in soundscapes that, with a touch of self-irony, evoke the over-the-top cheesiness of early shoegaze escapism, repetitive post-punk rhythms, and pathos-laden new-wave anthems, the voices in the eight tracks inquire after emotional belonging, the value of trust, and hedonistic escapes from one’s own reality.
These are by no means excursions into romanticism, but rather an illustration of cracks in a frigid present that looks back on a romanticized past. In no way is the motif of ‘Love’ self-indulgent; it focuses instead on the vacuum left in the wake of its absence. MAO consists of singer and guitarist Tino Bogedaly, André Wlodarski on synthesizers and Bastian Müller on drums. The members live in Berlin and Brandenburg. The tension between urban and rural spaces influences both the band’s cool soundscape and a sense of a lack of belonging and persistent disorientation.
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| Photo - Pete Coombs |
South Coast England alt-rock outfit The Surge return with their sharpest statement yet in new single “You’re In Love With Yourself”, released today 4 April 2026 as the lead track from their upcoming four-track EP.
Built around the band’s trademark tight, heavy sound and cutting lyricism, “You’re In Love With Yourself” taps into a familiar modern trait — the tendency for some people to put themselves front and centre above everything else. Rather than pointing fingers, the track leans into a tongue-in-cheek tone, playfully calling out those whose closest relationship might just be with their own reflection. It’s a knowing, self-aware take that admits none of us are perfect… but some definitely think they are.
The single sets the tone for the forthcoming EP, which sees The Surge expanding on their signature blend of driving riffs and incisive storytelling. Across its four tracks, the record moves through themes of social commentary, relationships, and political observation, all delivered with the energy and precision the band have become known for.
Hailing from across the Hampshire/Dorset border, The Surge have spent the past year writing and recording new material, building momentum ahead of a busy 2026 that will also see the release of their second full-length album — the follow-up to their 2023 debut Amped. Their rise hasn’t gone unnoticed, earning them a nomination for Best Breakthrough Artist at the 2024 Original Music Awards and cementing their place as one of the UK’s most exciting independent acts.
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Nashville-based Eleese and Matthew Meschery (Brand New Heartache) are launching their new single, "Raise the Shade" a song that fuses authentic Americana with anthemic indie-pop and dreamy harmonies. It's off the upcoming album, A New Alchemy (July 24, 2026).
The track releases on April 3rd on Mule Kick Records, and features a stellar cast of players; Matthew Szlachetka, Grammy nominated keyboard artist, Jimmy Wallace, Darren King (Mutemath, Earthsuit), and Sarah Aili. It's the first single off of the upcoming album, A New Alchemy (spring 2026) and was produced and mixed by Michael Patterson (Beck, B.R.M.C., She Wants Revenge).
In Eleese's own words: '“Raise the Shade” is about reconciliation — written in the wake of our own dark stretch, when we weren’t connecting and weren’t sure how to find our way back. The song picks up just after a fight, in that fragile space between bitterness and breakthrough. In that moment, it felt like the only way forward was to let a little light and air into the room — and to reconnect with the things that brought us together in the first place.
For us, that meant music, humor, and time in nature. It’s a love song for the aftermath — when connection doesn’t come easy, but you choose it anyway. With lyrical nods to Chaka Khan and The Jayhawks, and a wink toward the hard-earned wisdom of therapy, “Raise the Shade” turns vulnerability into something triumphant."
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On April 17th, New York’s Frog will release their eighth studio album, Frog for Sale. A continuation of the series that began with 2025’s ‘1000 Variations on the Same Song’ and was followed six months later with ‘The Count’ (which found fans in Wednesday, Friendship, Dry Cleaning, and MJ Lenderman). These twelve songs see the brothers take inspiration from songwriters like Paul McCartney and Buddy Holly.
Since Daniel Bateman returned from a four-year Frog absence (with the addition of his younger brother Steve on drums) to release the highly acclaimed ‘Grog,’ the band has been incredibly prolific. Frog for Sale is their third album in just 14 months, while the band have been on the road for multiple tours of North America with numerous sell-out shows, in addition to sessions for the likes of KEXP, WFMU, and WFUV.
“This is an album about how money sometimes gets in the way of love,” says Daniel. Aptly, while Frog continues to barrel ahead with a growing audience in tow, the album’s cover, a childhood image of Daniel holding Steve as a baby, allows the brothers a chance to look back.
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| Photo - Daniel Lincoln |
South UK art-rock 5-piece Divorce Attorney release the striking debut EP Always Something (April 3rd). Showcasing the band’s brooding, alternative-rock meets shoegaze and post-punk flavoured sound, the EP captures the essence of the band’s live sound with its raw edge whilst highlighting the depth of their musicality with inventive song structures, psychedelic flourishes and vibrant dynamics.
Produced by Spencer Withey (Back/Burden, Man/Woman/Chainsaw; Cowboy, Alien Chicks) and mastered by Felix Davis (Geese, CQ Wrestling, Westside Cowboy), the EP brings together dark, bubbling live instrumentation with affecting melodies, cathartic, emotive delivery and poetic lyricism to create a sound unique to Divorce Attorney.
Speaking about the EP, frontman and rhythm guitarist Nathan Key explains: “A lot of the influences into the EP were 80’s to Noughties goth and post-punk and from that one of the principles going into the project was to make something still in line with the gothic aesthetic, but also danceable so people at our shows can engage in a way they want to receive the music.”
Making a name for themselves as a live band touring across the UK, Divorce Attorney have opened for the likes of SANAM (Beirut), Alien Chicks, University, Lunar Vacation, Lifeguard among other bands, played sold out shows at The Windmill, Green Door Store, and have played on Homegrown Festival & Wanderlust Stages. With growing support across tastemaker press and national radio, the band are building a driving momentum into the release of the new EP.
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“I wanted to start recording every song with the smallest musical unit appropriate to the song,” says singer-songwriter, producer, guitarist, and composer Thomm Jutz of the process behind recording his new album, Ring-A-Bellin’. “And only add what felt necessary and relevant.” That’s what Jutz’s carefully crafted songs deserve, and through a series of thoughtful recording sessions, that’s exactly what they received. “Some songs started and ended with just me singing and playing, others with me and bass player extraordinaire, Mark Fain, or as a trio with Tim O’Brien and Michael Rinne.”
All of Ring-A-Bellin’s main ingredients were played live, in the room, especially Jutz’s at once soothing and haunting vocals. “It was extremely liberating to record like this, in the moment, with almost no premeditation, no direction to the players, not even much, or any, direction to myself. It felt immensely freeing to my guitar playing and reconnected me with an energy I wasn’t sure I still had.”
With Ring-A-Bellin’, the German-born, Nashville-based Jutz shows off his alchemy-like songwriting talents for which he has been tapped by the likes of John Prine, Nanci Griffith, Todd Snider, and Billy Strings, to name a few. These tunes are modern creations, steeped in history, but crafted by a man with his finger on a much deeper pulse, influenced by the analytical psychology of Carl Jung as much as he was by the Stanley Brothers or John Hartford.
The result of Jutz’s involved and thoughtful process is an album that feels old but not nostalgic, and whatever the opposite of gimmicky might be. Ring-A-Bellin’ is a shining example of what it looks like to respectfully carry the torch of traditional music into the modern era.
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