Melbourne/Naarm artist MUKI unveils his debut EP, 'Trampoline', out today Wednesday, June 3, a deeply personal collection exploring the emotional highs, lows and in-between moments of identity, anxiety, heartbreak and growth. Building on his introspective blend of indie acoustic pop-rock, the EP is honest and vulnerable, showcasing MUKI's thoughtful songwriting and understated arrangements.
Since debuting earlier this year with singles 'Gasoline', 'Reflections' and 'Morning Music', MUKI has steadily shaped a sound defined by soft guitars, thoughtful lyricism and a powerful and passionate vocal delivery.
Produced alongside Josh Barber, 'Trampoline' brings together the themes introduced across MUKI’s debut singles, reflecting on the ups and downs of life. Now joined by new track 'My Sweet Anxiety', a deeply personal reflection on the messiness and confusion that often comes with anxiety, the EP’s emotional themes are brought into fuller focus. Speaking on the EP, MUKI shares: “It’s about the strange joy tied to childhood, and the way a memory can hold both innocence and pain. The title came from a notion I couldn’t shake: ‘have you ever seen anyone sad on a trampoline?”
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| Photo - Perri Alexis Keyes |
Arkansas roots outfit Sad Daddy has released “Bootlegger,” the latest from their forthcoming fourth studio album, Ozark Shine, due June 26, distributed by Free Dirt Records. The band will also embark on a regional tour to celebrate the album’s release, with stops planned in Little Rock, Nashville, and more.
Recorded at Nashville’s Bomb Shelter studio, Ozark Shine captures Sad Daddy at full stride. The band, consisting of Joe Sundell (banjo, harmonica), Melissa Carper (upright bass), Rebecca Patek (fiddle), and Brian Martin (guitar, kazoo), each contributed vocals and their songwriting prowess to the album. The songs come from all corners of the band’s multiverse - some were born from writing sessions in Little Rock leading up to recording, some were longtime favorites finally making their way onto an album, and others were deeply personal solo compositions pulled from lives lived just a little outside the mainstream. The result is a collection that blends early blues, jazz, jug band, country, old-time, and bluegrass into something unmistakably Sad Daddy.
“I had a melody and a couple of verses for this song collecting dust in the archives of ideas for over a decade,” Martin, who wrote “Bootlegger,” shares. “After running it with the band, the direction the song needed to go sorta revealed itself and came together pretty quickly from that point.”
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“Miserable” marks the beginning of a new chapter for YYY, whose upcoming album draws on a distinctive constellation of influences — MGMT, Animal Collective, Tame Impala’s Lonerism, and the Mamas and the Papas — each refracted through his characteristically restless creative vision. True to the YYY sound, the single builds melodic hooks around droll lyrics, and an evolving, genre-fluid sonic identity that rewards close listening.
YYY is Austin Carson, a versatile and prolific Minneapolis/St. Paul-based songwriter and composer. He has spent years genre-hopping in the best possible way, scoring and contributing songs to numerous projects across a wide range of genres, work that has earned him three regional Emmy nominations for his contributions to PBS documentaries. Austin channels that creative energy into YYY, his experimental pop outlet defined by a commitment to sounds that haven’t quite been heard before.
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Samuel S.C. continues their monthly single rollout with "Mind Flies," marking the fifth release of the year and paving the way to a full-length release arriving late 2026. A breezy detour after the trio of fast paced bangers "Celestial," "Get Red," and "Push the Needle," "Mind Flies" traverses fuzzy hooks, sun-drenched harmonies and lyrical musings on memory and detachment.
Samuel S.C. (FKA Samuel) continues to bridge the gap between ’90s indie-rock grit and timeless punk. Originally a cornerstone of drummer Eric Astor’s legendary Art Monk Construction label, the band reformed in 2021 with their DIY spirit firmly intact. Five years later, S.C. isn’t just maintaining momentum—They’re accelerating.
The group’s 2026 trajectory is defined by a prolific streak that finds the band continuing to evolve and hone its sound, one that refuses to fall neatly into any punk sub-genre. Their new single “Get Red,” is a shadowy ripper, on the heels of the propulsive “Push the Needle,” and the wistful “Another Good Lie,” all recorded and mixed in 2025 by J. Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines) at his Baltimore studio, Magpie Cage. This follows a landmark year featuring a 10″ split release with Florida’s Pohgoh and standout performances at Fest (Gainesville) and the inaugural Several States Festival in Chicago.
The current lineup features original members Vanessa Downing (vocals), Eric Astor (drums), James Marinelli (guitar/vocals), and Dean Taormina (guitar), with Michael Honch (bass) rounding out the mix. With a new full-length album expected in late 2026 via Expert Work Records and Sweet Cheetah Records, the mission remains clear: Ain't no slowing down.
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| Photo - Michelle Grace Hunder |
Dja Dja Wurrung Country/Castlemaine based multi-award-winning songwriter, musician, advocate and writer Eliza Hull who received an O.A.M. last month for her contribution to music and disability advocacy, further cementing her reputation as one of so-called Australia's most important voices across both culture and accessibility, shares her first official new music in 3 years: 'Hotel Room', her "most unguarded" single yet, an utterly vulnerable and unapologetic-ally sensuous alt-pop self-excavation tracing Hull's emotional journey through womanhood while "feeling completely lost... moving toward midlife [and] becoming undone - questioning everything, wanting more, wanting less, changing shape in real time".
Written during a personal breakdown while Hull was alone in a London hotel room, the song explores womanhood, identity, intimacy and emotional unravelling, landing alongside an equally intimate video directed by Keiran Watson-Bonnice (You Am I, ABC's And Then Something Changed) exploring sensual expression, her most liberating visual work yet. 'Hotel Room' marks a bold and emotionally expansive new era from one of the continent's most compelling artists.
Eliza Hull peels everything back on 'Hotel Room' to capture a private moment of complete unravelling with rawness and sensuality, exploring the "messy in-between place" she - like many women - feels moving toward midlife. Recorded at London's Knight Time Studios with producer James Knight (The Kooks, Feist, Ainslie Wills) and mixed by trusted collaborator ARIA Award-winning Pip Norman (Missy Higgins, Baker Boy), written during "a breakdown" in a London hotel room reflecting that quiet, tense space where there's nowhere left to hide from your thoughts and it all cracks open, the track spirals through self-reckoning through brutally honest lyrics that see Hull searching passionately for connection with a grounded version of herself after "feeling completely lost".
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| Photo - Hannah Murrell |
London duo Sandhouse today share new single 'Pollyanna', a glimpse into a forthcoming project due to be revealed over the coming months. Opening with glassy electronics before rupturing into distorted guitars and blown-out alt-rock catharsis, 'Pollyanna' pairs Anna Sutherland’s feather light vocals with lyrics that feel seductive and darkly playful - romantic fantasy gradually curdling into something more obsessive and difficult to control.
Speaking about the track, the band say: "'Pollyanna is about becoming numbed by the cinema of infatuation, and using the fairytale of romance to blindly ignore any signs of reality." Consisting of Anna Sutherland and Caspar Holloway, Sandhouse carve out a sound that folds together grunge guitars, bleary trip-hop production, warped psychedelia and nocturnal alt-pop.
Their 2025 debut EP 'Circus' - along with the two standalone singles that have followed - have been tipped by key press taste makers including The Line Of Best Fit, DIY Magazine, Dork Magazine, Under The Radar, Rolling Stone UK, The New Cue, and more. Radio support to date includes regular spins across BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music and BBC Introducing (where the band were named Track of the Week). Debut EP 'Circus' is fast approaching 4 million streams on Spotify alone.
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As their name suggests, This Is the Deep is a multi-faceted project in the pursuit of something subterranean, which they achieve by expanding their music into painted sets, animation, and theatrical storytelling to form a cohesive visual and sonic world. Now signing with 5dB (Mould, Martial Arts), the collective announce their forthcoming sophomore album Everything (September 9th).
Led by the vibrant new single ‘Darkness and the Dawn’ (June 3rd), the band give a first taste of the upcoming full project, showcasing elegant avant-pop songcraft. Combining elements of alt-rock, orchestral-folk, chamber-pop, and psychedelic garage-rock, This Is The Deep traverses sprawling and colourful soundscapes, moving from moments of intimate reflection to joyous explosions of colour.
Formed by visual artist and musician Ranny (Ranald) Macdonald as a way to explore the space between music and art, the band’s members hail from across the UK, Brazil, and Japan. Their singular avant-pop sound bucks traditional genres and twins traditional songcraft in the vein of Burt Bacharach and Carole King with the experimental approach of artists like David Lynch and Aldous Harding. Through Phil Spector-like arrangements which blend: guitars, bass and drums with a cascading ensemble of horns, strings, percussion and synth, the 10-piece band create a singular and immersive world of sound and imagery.
The new single ‘Darkness and the Dawn’ offers a first taste of the full upcoming project Everything - a concept album which follows the subconscious journey of Richard (Dick) Herman, who, after dozing off at his desk one morning, is plunged into a series of dreams.
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