Twilark - Tubby Love - Moving Into Tucson - Velocity Made Good - Sean Morrell

Photo - Layde Jane Vickers

Twilark - No Cowboy Song.

Inspired by modern classics "Faraway Skies" by Dean Johnson and "Cowpoke" by Colter Wall, this song began as an attempted Twilark-style cowboy song, ultimately crashing out over inauthenticity. Rising from the ashes, No Cowboy Song uses wry humor to reflect on the life of a cowboy, and whether you can still enjoy some of it from the comforts of home. Graceful, evocative, and approachable, Never Learned The Tide is the second full-length from Raleigh, North Carolina’s Twilark, the fledgling project of songwriter Canon Pence, whose articulate and wry but tender approach to Americana-inflected indie folk places him securely in a long list of similar artists. But this music is too personal, too full of Pence’s personality, to be anything but his own work, totally unique in its vivid character. Past work has been called “enchanting” by The Big Takeover and “an absolute delight” by Tonic Grain. And Never Learned The Tide is another, even more surefooted step forward.

The light touch of Pence’s voice establishes the spirit of this music, his meticulous storytelling and fine-tuned sense of the melancholic and ruminative. And it’s all shot through with a sense of gallows humor and a commitment to spontaneity and authenticity rather than perfection or self-seriousness. These values are even reflected in the album art which was created using a printing press and real book cloth; tactile and playful, touched by human hands.

While the song arrangements were largely formed intuitively in the studio, Never Learned The Tide doesn’t feel rough around the edges. The album’s ease may have as much to do with Pence’s collaborators as his own thoughtful composition. Gorgeous pedal steel guitar glides across the length of the record thanks to the incomparable Spencer Cullum, while Maya De Vitry’s banjo and fiddle pulls songs together with poignant grace. And Erin Rae’s generous vocal harmonies provide swells of color to Pence’s melodies. With production helmed by Dominic Billett (Andrew Combs) these twelve songs were recorded over the course of just six days, live-in-the-studio, the band all within arms reach.

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Tubby Love - Life's A Beach (Soak It Up).

Sometimes we just need a cheerful "pick me up" and this song does all of that as it spreads good vibes! Tubby Love’s new single, "Life's A Beach (Soak It Up) a sunny, high-energy pop anthem built for summer radio.

Tubby wrote the song while living in Atlanta, GA, paying too much for a studio apartment, and dreaming daily about escaping to the beaches of Hawaii. The result is a playful reminder to take a vacation from the matrix, laugh a little more, and not take life so seriously.

With catchy pop melodies, uplifting vocals, and a feel-good energy reminiscent of Pharrell’s “Happy,” “Life's A Beach (Soak It Up)” is made for long drives, beach days, and those moments when you finally exhale.

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Moving Into Tucson - Again And Again.

Just when we thought we could not feature this band again unless it's something very special, Moving Into Tucson makes an unmistakable return to their roots with the release of their vibrant, hyper-infectious new indie pop-rock anthem: "Again And Again."

The track is a brilliant sonic time-capsule, seamlessly blending the melodic, sunny pop sensibilities of the 1960s with the driving, high-energy indie energy of the early 2000s. Characterized by the evocative, atmospheric unison vocals that have already garnered praise from indie radio tastemakers, "Again And Again" immediately gets under your skin. Yet, beneath its instantly catchy surface lies a sophisticated, deeper layer of contemporary songwriting that elevates the track beyond a simple feel-good tune.

This perfect crossroads of eras is also visually captured in the single’s striking artwork, a fiercely contemporary portrayal of the band wrapped in a bold, retro 1960s graphic aesthetic.

As the latest high-octane taste of their highly anticipated 2026 album All Dressed Up, "Again And Again" delivers punchy production, soaring arrangements, and an undeniable groove. It’s a powerful reminder of why indie pop-rock will never die, proving that some tracks are simply destined to be played on repeat.

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Photo - Lennard Fopma

Velocity Made Good - Coming Up Threes.

Emerging electronic rock duo Velocity Made Good return with "Coming Up Threes," over the weekend. Built around a punishing four-on-the-floor pulse and synths pushed into the red, the track channels the quiet resentment of being an afterthought, framed by a sailor's myth of men disappearing beneath the waves. It's claustrophobic, sweaty, and mean, and it sounds like it.

Produced by Josh Baxter of PVA inside a derelict school, the track is the second single from their forthcoming EP Big Breakers, due October 16th - a record that proves VMG are no longer an electronic live act with rock influences. They're a rock band. Already picking up early support from Radio X, these are ones to watch.

Velocity Made Good cranks synthesizers to earthquake inducing levels. Raised on the rumble of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, shaped by the electronic precision of LCD Soundsystem and Chemical Brothers. The duo delivers a sound that is raw yet refined, intimate yet overwhelming, with the no-nonsense efficiency of Northern pragmatism. Live, the distance between stage and floor disappears. VMG and audience dissolve into one heaving mass. Every show is an inevitable escalation that leaves no one standing still.

Since their debut EP in 2023, VMG have built a reputation as one of the more intense live acts to emerge from the Netherlands. They've opened for the likes of Deki Alem and Mandy Indiana, clocked over 100 shows and toured Germany, Portugal, Scandinavia and the Balkans. Now VMG are ready for the next step. Their forthcoming EP, produced by Josh Baxter of PVA, was forged in an abandoned school in their hometown of Groningen and features loud amps and intimate vocals which hit harder, rawer, and are more personal than anything before.

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Sean Morrell - Tinted Eyes (EP).

Sean Morrell is an emerging 25-year-old indie-rock singer-songwriter based in Manchester, UK. Born in Hull, he spent six years DJing at Spiders Nightclub before moving to Manchester in late 2024. Known for his "indie hippie music", he blends noughties post-punk with synth-pop, and performs regularly at local grassroots venues. 

Morrell’s sound acts as a nostalgic nod to UK indie bands like the Arctic Monkeys and The Wombats. He characterizes his sound as "indie hippie music," drawing heavily from his northern roots. His dynamic tracks combine danceable synths with reflective, straightforward lyricism.

In 2025 he released his debut EP, Intoxicated. The release was celebrated in and around the Northern Quarter. Going on into 2026 he kicked off the year with the single My Dealer (Loves Me) and has just released his second EP, Tinted Eyes (July 2026). Sean Morrell performs his material live with a five-piece backing band. He has become a familiar face in the Manchester live scene, regularly performing at iconic venues such as: Aatma (where he played his debut headline show), Gullivers and The Peer Ha.

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Asara - Twilark - Murkage Dave & Ryan Yard Act - Kate Waters - The Bankes Brothers

Asara - With Love.

Following "Cute" and "Thank You, Thank You," Asara unveils a third track from her debut album "028 Crises" today June 11th: the minimalist "With Love." Set against a minimalist drum machine and a clean piano line, Asara's delicate vocals captivate. Asara is the solo project of Paris-based French-Moroccan artist Sarah Pitet, a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, and video director whose debut album 028 Crises will be released on July 3rd via French label Géographie. After spending four years as a member of Dog Park, moving fluidly between guitar, bass, keyboards, and vocals, she now steps into a more intimate and personal space with her first solo work.

Having played music since childhood, Asara grew up through various band projects before joining Dog Park, alongside Erica Ashleson, Isabella Green Catani, and Jean Duffour. Together, they released the album Festina Lente in 2024 on the same label, Géographie. That collective experience now feeds a more introspective form of songwriting and a deeply personal approach to creation.

Written throughout 2025, 028 Crises unfolds like a near-documentary sonic diary, tracing the emotional landscape of her twenty-eighth year. Voice takes center stage throughout the record, balancing raw vulnerability with sharper rhythmic momentum. Her debut single Cute draws from the textures and pulse of hip-hop drum machines, while Thank You, Thank You stays rooted in a melodic, stripped-back bedroom pop aesthetic. On With Love, Asara blends upright piano with French touch-inspired electronic elements, while the rest of the album leans toward a darker, denser, and more organic form of rock. From her apartment studio in the Paris suburbs, she writes, produces, and shapes the entire visual and sonic identity of the project. 

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Photo - Layde Jane Vickers

Twilark - The Deeper I Fall.

Released today we have "The Deeper I Fall," from Twilark's forthcoming album Never Learned the Tide, arriving September 11. Framed as a love song to the night, "The Deeper I Fall" drifts along like a gentle lullaby waltz for fellow late-night wanderers—those quiet hours when inspiration, reflection, and possibility seem to feel a little closer at hand. For longtime listeners, the track also serves as a beautiful bridge between Twilark's earlier work and the richer Americana textures that define Never Learned the Tide. It feels both familiar and forward-looking, offering a glimpse of where the project is headed while retaining the dreamy intimacy that first drew so many of us in.

Quote from Canon Pence (Twilark): The sentiments of this song should resonate with night owls everywhere. There can be a rich creative beauty in the quiet hours of the night, in spite of - or perhaps because of - the knowledge that you're borrowing happiness from tomorrow.

Graceful, evocative, and approachable, Never Learned The Tide is the second full-length from Raleigh, North Carolina’s Twilark, the fledgling project of songwriter Canon Pence, whose articulate and wry but tender approach to Americana-inflected indie folk places him securely in a long list of similar artists. But this music is too personal, too full of Pence’s personality, to be anything but his own work, totally unique in its vivid character. Past work has been called “enchanting” by The Big Takeover and “an absolute delight” by Tonic Grain. And Never Learned The Tide is another, even more surefooted step forward.

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Murkage Dave & Ryan Yard Act - Gabriel.

Thirty years after Roy Davis Jr. and Peven Everett, two titans of Chicago house music, created one of dance music's most beloved and enduring records, Murkage Dave and Yard Act's Ryan Needham have joined forces to reimagine 'Gabriel'.

Born from countless hours spent sharing music on tour buses, in dressing rooms and after-show hangouts while Murkage Dave toured Europe with Yard Act, the new version transforms the original's euphoric house pulse into something more intimate and reflective. Led by Dave's unmistakable vocal and Needham's guitar-driven production, it is less a straightforward cover than a conversation with a song that is woven into the fabric of both artists' lives.

The single arrives following the release of Dave's acclaimed third album Brut Thoughts in March (6Music playlist, Radio X playlist, #11 Independent Album Breakers Chart, #14 Album Downloads Chart, #38 Independent Albums Chart, #2 Apple Music All Genres) and will feature on a deluxe edition of the album set for release on October 30th alongside a brand new original track, '10 Pints For The Culture'.

Originally released on Chicago's Large Records in 1996, 'Gabriel' became a defining record for UK dancefloors after the aptly named ‘Live Garage Mix’ was embraced by the emerging garage scene and later reissued by XL Recordings. Over the past three decades its influence has stretched far beyond any one genre, finding its way into jungle, speed garage, dubstep and grime, while remaining one of the most cherished songs in British sound system culture.

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Photo - Samantha Wiley

Kate Waters - Words.

Kate Waters has announced her sophomore album ‘Some Comfort,’ self-produced and recorded at Red Tree Recording Studio in Magnolia, Texas, is to be released August 21 independently. 
 
Opening of her soulful Americana collection, “Words” examines the complicated dissonance of self-expression—a desperate ache to share one’s self, and the feeling that it’s impossible. Her honeyed vocals spill through wailing guitars, urgency sizzling from a  frenetic mandolin. It’s an angsty entrance into the album, tight and gripping like humidity before a storm, tension before release. 
 
Waters wrote her first album ‘Near’ in response to her mother’s death. Released in 2024, it’s as much a loving daughter’s ode as it is a practice in processing grief, a touching display of Waters’ bold willingness to be vulnerable. Whereas ‘Near’ dealt with the agony of endings, Waters’ follow-up and first studio release ‘Some Comfort’ celebrates the inspiration they can provide. “Just before my mother died, she published her very first book of poetry,” Water says. “Seeing it in her hands, the culmination of her life’s dream, propelled me to finally pursue my own.”

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The Bankes Brothers - Aaliyah.

Victoria, BC indie rock outfit The Bankes Brothers share “Aaliyah,” a warm and melodic new single that transforms personal devotion into something universally resonant. Built around fingerpicked acoustic guitars, soaring melodies, and heartfelt lyricism, the track captures the feeling of holding onto hope while navigating distance, uncertainty, and the passage of time. Equal parts intimate and uplifting, “Aaliyah” finds the band leaning into one of their most emotionally sincere recordings to date.

The song began long before its title arrived. Written initially around a series of chords and evolving song sections, “Aaliyah” existed without a clear centrepiece for quite some time. A temporary lyric, “farewell Maria,” occupied the space where the hook would eventually land, but never felt quite right. “It wasn’t until my girlfriend was saying how she wished she had been named Aaliyah because it’s such a beautiful name that it clicked and it all came together,” Nelson Bankes explains. “In the end, the song is dedicated to her.”

At its core, “Aaliyah” reflects the optimism that has long guided The Bankes Brothers’ songwriting. While many of their songs grapple with uncertainty, growth, and change, they often arrive at a place of resilience rather than defeat. “Writing music has always been a very therapeutic thing for me,” Nelson shares. “I hope that people listen to most of the songs and get the sense that they're optimistic. There's enough bad emotions in the world. We try not to put more out there.”

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