Staci Gruber - Victoria Akua - VANNGO - Rosin

Staci Gruber - Be Kind With My Heart.

Staci Gruber is a transformative Boston-based artist whose exceptional musical talents, storied songwriting, and emotional depth resonate deeply with her listeners. Her work seamlessly intertwines personal experiences with the emotional stories of others, creating a profound musical connection that explores themes of isolation, loneliness, and hope.

While her musical career flourished as a vocalist, Staci also achieved distinction in a completely separate field as a renowned Harvard Medical School professor and pioneering neuroscientist at McLean Hospital. In her groundbreaking work on cannabis, she focuses on understanding the long term impact of cannabinoids across a wide range of conditions. Staci’s research has been a game-changer, generating real-world data that has influenced clinical trials and provided critical insights into the potential benefits of cannabis for various medical conditions.

Staci Gruber’s new country meets Americana single "Be Kind With My Heart" was recorded in Nashville and produced by Erik Halbig (Ty Herndon, Jamie O'Neal). The emotive and gorgeous ballad tackles the aftermath of betrayal or infidelity and the reletable emotions that ensue. She shares, "Each one of us experiences so much throughout our lives- joy, sorrow, love, loss. They help to define us and allow us to evolve. We’ve all been heartbroken and felt betrayed, wondering if we’ll make it through. Be Kind With My Heart echoes the sentiment that no matter what role we play in lost love, kindness is key". 

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Photo - Camilla Vodstrup Øverup

Victoria Akua - Move with the Wind.

Move with the Wind is the new single by Victoria Akua from Copenhagen, Denmark. Victoria describes her music as a genre mix of indie pop, folky singer-songwriter and meditative music. Victoria Akua on her new single: "While creating this song, I felt like I was singing myself into a very soft and restful state. For me, Move with the Wind has become a song for calming the nervous system and to gently drop from the head into the heart."

Victoria's music is based on her own journey, which began at a young age, searching for more balance and a deeper peace and understanding within herself. In a hectic world where it is so easy to be pulled in many directions, she wants to find ways to stay centered with an open heart in the hope that her music can support others on their own paths. The intention of the music is to have a nourishing, calming and healing effect. 

Music that comes from the heart and that reflects and creates inner peace, trust and self-love - and connects us. Her music is inspired by the rhythms and cycles of nature, healthy and nurturing connections between people and creating spaces for expression, creativity and loving energy. Through the simplicity of the music, the listener is invited directly into a calm cocoon where breathing becomes deeper and the mind can rest.

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VANNGO - Hunger For Love.

After his first two singes that carved out a uniquely raspy voice equal parts cinematic and unapologetic, indie rocker VANNGO returns with his emotionally charged release: “Hunger For Love.” This new single doesn’t beg for attention, it kicks the door in and invites you to feel something. Set against a smoky backdrop of harmonica and Rhodes keys, Hunger For Love opens like a confession and lands like a collision. Gritty guitars, thunderous drums, and VANNGO’s unmistakable vocal worn, raw, and magnetic cut through the noise.

“This isn’t a heartbreak song,” VANNGO says. “It’s about what comes before that gnawing, restless ache to be understood, to be felt, to matter to someone, to be part of a community. That hunger that either wakes you up or wears you down.” There’s nothing overly polished here. Hunger For Love isn’t trying to sound perfect. It’s trying to sound real. It’s a shot of bourbon chased with fire. It’s restrained and explosive all at once.

VANNGO’s voice is entirely his own. The track doesn’t ride genre trends. It builds its own lane equal parts analog heat and emotional weight. A Rhodes keyboard hums in the hook, adding warmth and tension. The harmonica, featured in the opening bars, acts more like a character than a flourish. Every sonic choice points back to the core theme: a deep, human craving for connection.

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Photo - Talia Zanger

Rosin - just a boy.

Rosin reveals her sweet, sonic love letter ‘just a boy’ Gentle and intimate, Rosin returns with a full heart after finding love unexpectedly. Stripped back production brings her vocals to the forefront as she shares her new found connection. Sharing more Rosin explained: ‘I fell in love with someone while I was travelling and shortly after I found myself in a long-distance relationship.

It had been so long since I experienced being in love so strongly and it made me romanticise everything! (which I think is necessary to cope with the distance). I just found it so fascinating that we are in different countries, having different lives, speaking different languages but that we still share this bond with each other, that makes us want to be together, even if we are apart.’

As a self-confessed romantic, Rosin finds much of her musical inspiration through matters of the heart. Taking inspiration from the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and Adrienne Lenker, Rosin has evolved her emotive songwriting to embrace the vulnerable moments that many people spend their lives running from. Last year listeners were treated to ‘Intention’ a delicate track that displayed the beauty found in the more temporary moments of intimacy. More recently saw the release of ‘Nest’ which took shape as a charming, starry-eyed keepsake depicting the joy of instinctive love.

As a daughter of two visual artists, Rosin’s upbringing in Berlin was rich in creativity. In more recent years she relocated to London via Brighton to pursue her music career. This has seen her sound evolve into a style that is authentically her own. Her enchanting sound toes a line between folk, indie and experimental pop moments with flecks of electronica.

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Splitsville - Amanda DeBoer Bartlett - Tooth Gore - Heavenly - At Baron Lane

Splitsville - Beth Steel.

“They're burning down the empire, but the trains still run on time”: that's the brash opening couplet on Splitsville's new single, and it's guaranteed to turn a few heads. Equally arresting is the sound of the new song, with churning guitars joined by a loping, Revolver-esque drumbeat leading up to a lush, yearning chorus (“You can't run away from yourself”) and a bridge to die for. 

It's clear that the band hasn't reunited for the sake of nostalgia, although their legacy would allow for that: formed in 1994 by identical twins Brandt and Matt Huseman of the beloved power pop band The Greenberry Woods along with former GBW guitar tech Paul Krysiak and later adding Tony Waddy, Splitsville was one of the leading lights of the turn-of-the-century guitar pop revival. From their home-recorded debut through 2003, their initial run yielded five critically acclaimed albums including genre classics like Repeater(1998) and the retro-focused concept record The Complete Pet Soul(2001). 

They've been missed, but the audacity of the new single indicates that Splitsville have returned not only with their melodic gifts and powerful sonics intact, but with heady new ambitions. The title “Beth Steel” might suggest a classic power pop “girl's name” song, but there's much more at work here. And while the talk of burning empires evokes the global realities of 2025, there's something much more local –and personal –at the core of the song. 

It's a hint of the thematic concerns the band explore on the forthcoming album, as they explain: “From 1887 to 2012, the Bethlehem Steel mill at Sparrows Point provided steady -if dangerous -work for tens of thousands of men and women. The closing of the mill had a devastating effect on the lives of many residents of Baltimore, including a former supervisor who was Brandt’s Uber driver one evening. She inspired the lyrics to this song.”

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Amanda DeBoer Bartlett - Braided Together (Album).

Braided Together is Amanda DeBoer Bartlett’s second collection of original songs. Blending her roots in country, folk, classical, and experimental music, the album delves into Bartlett’s childhood in Nebraska, her life as a young musician on the road, and the transformations of early motherhood. 

The songs pay tribute to gas stations and cheap motels, embrace the chaotic sweetness of raising babies, and contemplate reckless escapes into the clouds. With powerful and expressive vocals, Bartlett brings these themes to life through intricately crafted songs, recorded with Taylor Hales at the legendary Electrical Audio and performed by some of Chicago’s most admired players in the folk, jazz, and indie rock scenes. Amanda’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Bandcamp Daily, I Care If You Listen, and more.

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Tooth Gore - For Losers, By Losers (Album).

Brit surf punk artist, Tooth Gore, released his explosive sophomore album, For Losers, By Losers, on Friday 6th June. TOOTH GORE (aka Kobi Joe) is a supremely talented and exciting surf punk solo artist hailing from the seaside town of Newquay, Cornwall. Tooth Gore sprung to life in late 2021, but it wasn’t until last year that Kobi started turning heads and making waves.

By meshing gutsy fuzzed up guitars and taking in the emotive raw punk energy of modern acts such as Fidlar, The Frights, PUP and Jeff Rosenstock, Kobi Joe also blends in hooky reverb drenched doo-wop vibes (which are inspired by the music of the 1950s) and has crafted a sound that is unique and absolutely engaging. Kobi’s lyrics channel his uncertainties and anxieties, capturing both the joy and terror that comes with youth. The end result is something deeply alluring, passionate and cathartic.

Tooth Gore dropped his debut album, Halloween, last Spring, and tracks from the record picked up widespread global radio airplay (including support from BBC Introducing), as well as hearty Spotify streaming numbers. The single, Werms, was also featured on a curated playlist by Frank Turner. Kobi is now ready to step up further and is loaded with his best work to date in the shape of his new album, For Losers, By Losers. The record is poised to be a game changer for Tooth Gore. From back to front, the album twists and contorts and is such an accomplished piece of work. Kobi remarks: “For Losers, By Losers, was inevitable, it was necessary for me as a person, it's a step up in every way from everything I’ve ever worked on before. It also taught me so much about myself as a person and has been an expression of all the bad stuff that goes on in my head all the time. I’ve really found myself as an artist and can’t wait for people to hear what I’ve got in store.”

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Heavenly - Portland Town.

It’s been a long time coming – 29 years in fact – but influential indiepop band Heavenly are releasing a new single. (A full album will follow in February 2026.) Portland Town is as effervescent a pop song as any of Heavenly’s past recordings, with duelling vocals from Amelia and Cathy; looping, twanging, ‘how-did-he-do-that’ guitar escapades from Peter, and a super-catchy melody. As so often with Heavenly, though, the lyrics have real bite.  

The song embraces those who find themselves on the margins of a hostile world where maleness, straightness and conformity are in the ascendant.  So why Portland?  It has always been a sanctuary – one of those places where difference is celebrated, a place where, as the song puts it, anyone can fit in.

The B side is a cover version of a much-loved Only Ones song, ‘Someone Who Cares’. Copies of the 7” single will be available with a special signed postcard at Heavenly’s only show of 2025, at Islington Assembly Hall, London on 19th July, as part of the Skep Wax Weekender.

Heavenly formed in 1989 out of the ashes of short-lived punk pop combo Talulah Gosh.  Original members Amelia Fletcher, Peter Momtchiloff, Rob Pursey and Mathew Fletcher were joined later by Cathy Rogers, and the full Heavenly sound - a combination of an energetic punkish rhythm section, sweet, wandering lead guitar lines and full-on girl group harmonies - was consolidated. The band recorded for cult label Sarah Records in the UK and, by the time of their second album, for K Records in the US.  


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At Baron Lane - Future-Men.

Just a few bars of the playful indie-pop song "Future-Men" are enough to bring back fond memories: New Radicals, A-Ha, Tears for Fears, Eurythmics... These bands may have inspired At Baron Lane on this track. And they give a hint as to what makes the new single from the Zurich and Schwyz-based band so special: clever arrangements, airy electro beats, and partly multi-voice vocals, all woven into atmospheric synth sounds.

A track like this isn't just written on a whim. A glance at At Baron Lane’s history helps explain it: Since their debut album in 2019, the band has continuously refined their songwriting with numerous releases – and successfully tested them live at countless concerts. The quartet has already performed at venues such as Schüür in Lucerne, Amboss Rampe, and Werk21 at Dynamo Zurich.

Now, At Baron Lane have set their sights high: "Future-Men" is the first taste of a concept album to be released later this year.

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Penny & The Pits - Electric Litany - Lydia Luce - Ketch Secor - The Happy Fits

Photo - Nicole Cecile Holland

Penny & The Pits - Headcrusher.

Penny & The Pits have just shared "Headcrusher" along with a video, whilst the new LP Liquid Compactor is due June 27.  You might be familiar with Penelope Stevens from their role as bass and keys shredder and sometime vocalist in Canadian avant-rock trio Motherhood (whose 5th LP Thunder Perfect Mind came out recently and was described as "wildly entertaining" on Bandcamp Daily and "a welcome, alien presence in today’s musical landscape" on Post-Trash).

We are told that “Headcrusher is about trying to blame yourself for someone else's bad behaviour. But then it's also about refusing to do that anymore and just sending them out to die at sea." Fans of Motherhood, Amyl & the Sniffers, and other jagged and sometimes mathy rock with blown out guitars will find a lot to love.

Liquid Compactor, the debut statement from Penny & The Pits, is the result of Stevens putting their voice front and center for the first time. It’s a gritty, adventurous punk-rock album that processes feminist joy, rage and revenge. Across the album’s ten tracks, Stevens tears through a series of personal and collective traumas with a pulpy sense of exuberance. “I spent a lot of time making challenging work that would test both myself and the listener,” they reflect. “Now, I’m trying to make music that feels good; music that connects the heart to the body.” 

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Electric Litany - Diamonds.

Gleaming with handmade DIY synth chimes, syncopated drum machine drills,  loping Hooky-like basslines, and the otherworldly resonance of the Persian santoor - an instrument now synonymous with the Electric Litany sound; “Diamonds” is an understated gem from the London four-piece. As complexly faceted as it is sparklingly polished, it finds the band distilling the primordial post-punk thrills of early Cure or New Order, via the modern pop productions of the here-and-now to create something both familiar and enigmatic, nostalgic and contemporary, all at once.

With singer Alexandros Miaris’s haunting refrain, of “it’s not too late…” rippling across its multilayered plateaus, his reflective vocal offers a glimmer of reassurance in a track that grapples with this age of uncertainty.

Reciprocating the archival touchstones at the heart of “Diamonds” the track is accompanied by a retro-shaded official video. Taking an unconventional approach, by using vintage BBC 1970s tube valve cameras (bought on eBay for £10), the video shot by cinematographer Ruth Woodside is both fragile and timeless in its aesthetic. Produced by Electric Litany alongside longtime collaborator George Botis, “Diamonds” was recorded at the revered studio Fish Factory, a former fish-packing warehouse in Neasden, London.

Having already road-tested “Diamonds” in the spectacular setting of the Mayan Warrior stage at Burning Man 2025 (as part of Alexandros Miaris’s collaboration with renowned electronic artist Echonomist), the track was met with an electrifying reception on the festival’s main stage and signals the way towards one of the band’s most ambitious and forward-thinking releases yet…

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Lydia Luce - Wisteria.

Nashville-based singer/songwriter Lydia Luce shares her new single "Wisteria," a dreamy celebration of hope and the space to change. Produced by Jordan Lehning (Joy Oladokun, Caitlin Rose, Kacey Musgraves) and co-written with songwriting duo Jake Finch and Collin Pastore (Lucy Dacus), the track gently wraps around Luce's vocals before building into a swell of strings as she declares "Everything seems possible / Anything is possible." The accompanying music video finds Luce exploring the English countryside after the song was recorded at Real World Studios. 

Lydia Luce on the new single: "Quite often I’m at home and I hear my partner laughing or singing to himself upstairs. It makes me so happy. I sometimes can’t believe we are where we are. Our relationship began with substance abuse and codependency and we have found our way to a safe and loving marriage with the help of therapy and the willingness to grow. This song is about hope and believing that change can happen. I feel that way with our relationship and with my chronic pain/injuries. It’s so beautiful it makes me want to cry. We will continue to face challenges and there will be weeks of physical pain but I know we can get to the other side with time. For now it feels so good to sit on my couch with my dog and listen to Ryan sing to himself upstairs."

She continues, "The music video for 'Wisteria' was filmed in the English countryside with Katie Sylvester. We had just finished recording at Real World Studios in Box and we stayed a few days extra to film in the area. We wandered through fields of cows and sheep and filmed at the beautiful Iford Manor gardens." 

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Photo - Jody Stevens

Ketch Secor - Catch Me If You Can.

Old Crow Medicine Show frontman Ketch Secor shares his new single “Catch Me If You Can,” the next offering from his debut solo album Story The Crow Told Me, out July 11 on Equal Housing Records via Firebird Music. Featuring Old Crow alums Critter Fuqua and Willie Watson on backing vocals, the song grapples with the life of a hard-touring musician and arrives with a music video co-starring singer-songwriter Gowa Gibbs.

About the new song, Secor says: “Twenty-seven years ago when I started Old Crow I couldn’t have imagined how people I loved could ever turn into people I once loved. But so are the highs and lows of life on the road in a band. The conditions are right for a few things to thrive and a few more to falter, and ultimately fail. Friendships, allegiances, marriages, these are often the casualties of a life like the one I chose and yet I can’t go back and make it any different, nor would I.”

He continues, “Ever since I was young, people have inevitably made a pun with my name. From Catcher In The Rye to Heinz vs. Huntz, I tell ya life ain’t easy for a boy named Ketcham. One phrase I always heard was ‘Catch Me if You Can.’ Well, last spring when I was going through this catharsis of playing back the hands of time in the proverbial rearview mirror, I sat down with Jody Stevens and wrote this song in a short bittersweet burst. I wanted to explore the feeling of sacrifice that it takes to love someone like me. Someone who probably is going to miss your birthday party because I’m going to be playing a show in Newfoundland, Newark, New Orleans, or Newport News. I hope it was worth it.” 

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Photo - Anna Koblish

The Happy Fits - Cruel Power.

Indie/rock darlings The Happy Fits announced their new album Lovesick will release on September 19th. Their first full-length album in over three years, Lovesick arrives in the wake of an emotional maelstrom in which the band’s world turned upside down in every way imaginable. Rather than let it break their stride, though, the acclaimed quartet leaned into the turmoil, transforming all the heartbreak and uncertainty they experienced into their most exhilarating, adventurous, and cathartic record yet. The band also shared their new single “Cruel Power” along with an official video featuring world-renowned dancer and choreographer Lucy Vallely. A gritty, chip-on-the-shoulder rocker, “Cruel Power” embodies the push and pull of a toxic breakup, inviting heartbreak, if only for the rush.

“This track lives in the messiest corners of attraction,” stated frontman Calvin Langman. “It’s about knowingly putting yourself in a situation that’s bad for your heart, and doing it anyway. The lines between friend and lover blur, and suddenly you’re watering someone else’s plants and wondering how you got here. There’s humor in it, self-deprecation, and a little lustful chaos. I wanted it to feel like a late-night spiral in song form. It captures that ridiculous, electric moment when you know you’re being played—but part of you kinda loves the drama.”

Of the video, Langman continued, “I love one-take music videos. I love how it breaks down the convention of band and crew and it forces everyone to assume the role of performer. Every movement is carefully planned and the entire set has to move like one giant hive mind. This video was a huge group effort.”

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Gwenno - Wylderness - Lawn Chair - The Bones of J.R. Jones - Sourwood - T. Hardy Morris

Gwenno - Y Gath.

"Ghostly and addictive, "Y Gath" sounds like spectral feline poetry being delivered at a midnight pagan gathering".  Sung in Gwenno's native Welsh, it comes ahead of her English-language release Utopia (out July 11 via Heavenly). We have already featured two tracks from the forthcoming album and have been very impressed by them both and this latest release is equally as gorgeous, these are some real teases ahead of the album. 

As mentioned before... Forty-three years into her life, Saunders has been many people. The disaffected Cardiff schoolgirl; the teenage Las Vegas dancer; the singer in indie pop group The Pipettes. There was a turn in a Bollywood film, a nightclub tour, a stint cleaning floors in an East London pub. Long before she would become an acclaimed solo songwriter in both Welsh and Cornish, a winner of the Welsh Music Prize, a nominee for the Mercury, a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedh, there were the days of Nevada, London, Brighton; of Irish dancing, techno clubs, messiness and chaos.

'Utopia', Saunders’ fourth solo album, is an extraordinary exploration of all of these selves. If the singer regards her first three solo records — 2014’s Y Dydd Olaf, 2018’s Le Kov and 2022’s Tresor as “childhood records”, rooted in her upbringing, her parents, her formative identity, then Utopia captures a time of self-determination and experimentation. These are songs of discovery, of the years between being someone’s daughter and becoming someone’s wife and someone’s mother. They range from floor-fillers to piano ballads, via contributions from Cate Le Bon and H. Hawkline, and encompass William Blake, a favourite Edrica Huws poem, and the Number 73 bus. It is her finest work to date.

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Wylderness - Safe Mode (EP).

Cardiff Indie-gaze band 'Wylderness' release their brand new and highly anticipated EP 'Safe Mode' via digital streaming platforms. The concept for this EP is reimagining the software and tech boom of the 90s. But instead of being centred on the west coast of America, it takes place in the south coast of Wales. Opening track Big Idea is a song about weighing up the pros and cons of different locations –whether that’s looking for a place to live, joining a cultural scene or where to base your dotcom business in the 90s. The message is that sometimes taking a cold logical approach doesn’t work and you have to go with your heart. This is the only song title on the EP that doesn’t reference the weather, but the rain does get a mention in the first verse (“So what’s the big idea / To find a place that’s near / And keep our raincoats on”). 

Is It Summer? This started out as a riff with loads of delay played on an old Vox amp we found where we were practicing. We then jammed about and it developed into a song in two parts. It has a cinematic quality in the first half with hints of Interpol. It reflects the wild west nature of the 90s tech boom. Then it erupts in the second half and outro (“Stand up count everything / If you want to / If you want to”). 

Sun Scream This is our Pavement meets Super Furry Animals song –it’s a bit loose, has some unexpected instrumentation, and a psych-folk middle eight. The opening lines and melody came to Dan in a flash of inspiration (“Maybe she was born with it / Maybe it was Maybelline”) and the song took off from there. To date we have not received a cease and desist letter from a major cosmetics firm. 

What Happens To The Rain This is the closer to the EP and really it’s another two songs in one. The title could be a question or a statement. The first half has a Real Estate vibe and the second half goes in a more trippy Brian Jonestown direction. It’s a song about going back to where you grew up, retracing memories and finding that they don’t quite add up to how you remember them (“Seeing faces you had forgotten / Crying for no-one / Recollections made of concrete / Fade in the sun”).

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Photo - Frederike Wetzels

Lawn Chair - Waste Your Potential!

German-American indie punk outfit Lawn Chair is set to make waves with their highly anticipated debut album, You Want It! You Got It!, slated for release on September 5th, 2025. This week the Berlin-based outfit return with their electrifying new single ‘Waste Your Potential!’, a track that channels the restless energy of confronting a life that didn’t turn out as planned. Fierce, distorted guitars crash into buzzing synthesizers to create a tense, cathartic soundscape that nods to the jagged edge of acts like Shelf Lives - unleashing a track as emotionally charged as it is sonically unrelenting.

The single is accompanied by a striking and surreal music video, featuring a gang of vampires navigating the quiet monotony of farm life while secretly longing for the thrill of the night. It’s a tongue-in-cheek meditation on desire, domesticity, and the wildness we’re taught to repress.

For three years, Lawn Chair has been a vital force in the German indie scene, captivating audiences with their dynamic sound. Their previous two EPs, crafted in collaboration with producers Olaf Opal (The Notwist) and Chris Coady (Beach House, Yeah Yeah Yeahs), solidified their reputation as one of the most exciting acts in Germany. With countless gigs across the country, a successful tour in the UK, and unforgettable performances alongside bands like Sleaford Mods and DeadLetter, as well as at festivals like Reeperbahn and Fusion, the band has proven their staying power.

Written during a time of personal and creative transition, You Want It! You Got It! was crafted between November 2023 and September 2024, with extensive pre-production shaping its unique sound. The album’s title, a lyric drawn from the new single, is a tongue-in-cheek response to the relentless demands of the music industry. Lyrically and sonically, the album draws inspiration from the absurdities of late-stage capitalism, fragile male egos, the never-ending quest for inner peace - and front woman Claudia Schlutius’s own complicated relationship with both her family and her U.S. origins.

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Photo - Christian Harder

The Bones of J.R. Jones - Start Again.

New York-based artist The Bones of J.R. Jones shares “Start Again,” the final single released ahead of his sixth studio album Radio Waves, out June 20 via Tone Tree Music. An ode to breaking old relationship patterns and bettering the way we show up for ourselves and others, the song arrives with a music video that stitches together behind-the-scenes moments from his nearly sold-out European tour. 

About the new song, The Bones of J.R. Jones (a.k.a. Jonathon Linaberry) says: “There's a repetition and restraint to our lives and relationships that I think we all subscribe to to survive.  We fall into patterns of comfort and norm. Healthy or unhealthy, it doesn't really matter. The usual arguments. The usual blowbacks. The mutual attempts to understand the other's side: that's what I was trying to express in ‘Start Again.’”

On the video: “The talented Mike D'Alton (Seba Safe) shot this footage over three weeks of touring Europe. I was lucky enough to spend the better part of every day with Patrick Blaney, Conchur White and Mike as we managed to not get lost, sick or arrested. Only one of us got punched (that's a win). Any touring musician will tell you it takes a special crew to hold it together on tour. I know there are probably thousands of touring videos out there, but when I look at this one, I really do feel the love — the relentlessness, the exhaustion and the pure joy and chaos of a successful show.”

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Sourwood - Wrong Carolina.

Following their debut release "On the Road," progressive bluegrass collective Sourwood returns with "Wrong Carolina," a rhythmically complex and narratively playful second single that blurs the lines between heartbreak and highway maps. The track explores the chaos of mistaken direction – both geographically and emotionally – fueled by one of the band's most memorable musical arrangements to date.

"It started with this story [that bandmate Liam Lewis] told me," says frontman Lucas Last, recalling a tour mix-up where Liam's band mistakenly arrived at a South Carolina venue – only to find out they were booked at a bar of the same name in North Carolina. "He was also going through a rough patch with someone named Caroline, so I just mashed those together: wrong place, wrong time, wrong person."

The song's namesake, "Wrong Carolina," plays with the ambiguity of place and person, letting the title line hit with layered meaning. “We wanted the lyric to feel deliberately unclear – 'I was in the wrong, Carolina' vs. 'I was literally in the wrong Carolina,'" Lucas explains. "It's simple, but the ambiguity is where the real emotional weight is."
 
Produced by Roman Marcone and engineered by Danny Smart, the song also showcases Sourwood's willingness to push sonic boundaries. From phasers on banjo to ambient textures more common in indie rock than bluegrass, the track embraces experimentation. "When I came back to hear the mix, Danny had added all these weird effects. Roman looked nervous, like maybe he'd gone too far," Lucas laughs. "But I loved it. It was the first time I'd ever heard a banjo run through a phaser and just said, 'Let's go with that.'"

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Photo - Daniel Dent

T. Hardy Morris - Juvenile Years.

T. Hardy Morris will release Artificial Tears on August 8, 2025 via the New West Records imprint Normaltown Records. The 12-song set was produced & mixed by Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket and follows Morris’ 2021 album The Digital Age of Rome, met at the time with critical acclaim. The album’s first single, “Juvenile Years.” is a bittersweet song and reaches back for memories of a simpler time and place that hang just out of reach. Morris says, “‘Juvenile Years’ is a song somewhat specific to Athens, GA and the live local music scene as I came up in it. It was often a whirlwind of intense bonds over music and what one another was creating. Some of the relationships survive & carry on and some have passed like a strange song, but all were and are meaningful to who I am now.” 

Artificial Tears is an electrifying work of existential exploration. It is a raw, rock and roll reflection on meaning and identity in a modern world that’s simultaneously more connected and isolated than ever before. The performances are blissed-out and hazy, captured primarily on a four-track machine, and Morris’ delivery is subtle and understated to match, fueled by tumbling, stream-of-consciousness lyrics rooted in a dreamy sense of longing and nostalgia. Despite the weighty ruminations at its core, the result is a remarkably grounded, down to earth album that’s at once honest and abstract, a poignant, clear-eyed look in the mirror from a master craftsman committed to his work for nothing more—and nothing less—than its own intrinsic value. 
 
In typical fashion for Morris, the songs came slowly at first, then all at once in a rush as he reflected on two decades of highs and lows, on the joys and struggles of a life in music. When it came time to record, he called on Broemel, who ended up not only producing, but playing the vast majority of the instruments on the album. “Hardy’s got a really direct and honest approach to music—and to life—which was refreshing,” says Broemel. “He likes to work fast and not get too precious about things.”

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Gilanares - El Tee - Baba Pen & The Bim Bam Band

Photo - Eden Mili

Gilanares - your brain is in the sink (EP).
 
We have already featured a couple of songs from New York-based artist Gilanares superb debut EP and it's a real pleasure to feature the collection in full, along with a fabulous video for 'Mom! The world is ending anyway' a song that should grab our attention by the title alone. Her music has been described as having raw intensity and cinematic emotion,  and yet is as vulnerable as it is electrifying. We have to agree, it's all of that and an exciting debut that should gain considerable attention, it deserves to! 

The 7-track project features standout single “water my own garden” plus “Mom! The world is ending anyway” accompanied by a mesmerizing visualizer in its simplicity. Earlier, she released “if chaos killed the dinosaurs”, "cats out of the bag” and “F33D TH3 B3AST” alongside a visuals directed by her creative collaborator, Eden Mili, in thematic liminal spaces. Gilanares adds: "Water My Own Garden is about my journey of learning to nurture myself after experiencing the cost of letting others drain my energy.”

Be sure to embark on a profound musical journey with Gilanares, an artist who fearlessly explores the intricate landscape of mental health, media's impact on youth culture, and complex, ever-changing relationships. Through a kaleidoscope of genres, Gilanares delves into the raw and often unspoken experiences of the mind, offering solace and understanding to those who have faced the labyrinth of emotions. Gilanares’ introspective lyrics, coupled with evocative instrumentals, create an immersive experience that resonates with the shared struggles and triumphs of the human condition.


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Photo - Nick McKinlay

El Tee - Kind Safe Cool (EP).

After a string of critically-acclaimed singles, indie-folk artist El Tee finally unveils her EP Kind Safe Cool, a searing six-track exploration of identity, autonomy, and emotional reckoning. Building on the success of her 2020 debut Everything Is Fine, this latest release marks a bold evolution in El Tee’s songwriting, dissecting love, self-worth, and survival with unflinching clarity. For fans of Julia Jacklin, Mitski, Angie McMahon.

Throughout Kind Safe Cool, El Tee’s lyrics cut deep: grief and rage simmer beneath the surface of soft vocals. Whether reflecting on a love that lingers in recent singles ‘I Still Sing About You’ or the reckoning with the fear of asking for what you need ‘Too Afraid To Ask For Love’, the EP holds a mirror up to the messy, often contradictory truths of healing. “I wrote these songs while trying to make sense of emotional duality, how anger and love, strength and fragility, can exist in the same breath,” El Tee explains.

In ‘Always, Forever’, she reclaims destruction as agency, wielding heartbreak like a weapon. ‘Helpless’ delves into the tension between the deep need to belong and the hard-won strength of being okay alone. The EP’s most vulnerable track ‘I’m Just A Woman’ is a standout, a Ethen Cain-reminiscent feminist slow-burn that interrogates gender, power, and the illusion of safety in toxic relationships. Repeating the titular refrain like a mantra, El Tee transforms passive language into a powerful act of reclamation. “‘I’m Just A Woman’ is about peeling back the veil on weaponisation of vulnerability,” she shares. “It’s angry. It’s dark. And it’s incredibly vulnerable”.

The track is accompanied by a music video shot by rcstills: a slow, atmospheric portrait that embodies the song’s emotional weight, a confrontation with the struggle to reclaim her voice.


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Baba Pen & The Bim Bam Band - Stuck.

Bastian Pen, lead singer of the band Tricklebolt, steps into new creative territory with a fresh project under the moniker Baba Pen. Collaborating with a group of talented friends, they form Baba Pen & The Bim Bam Band, a collective destined to make waves. Their debut album, set for release on October 10, 2025, blends 60s-inspired psychedelic rock with hints of folk and cosmic country, all wrapped in the lush, intricate production style of Jonathan Wilson.

‘Stuck’ is a three-minute pop gem that wears its 60s psych-rock heart on its sleeve. Kicking off with a gutsy, swaggering guitar riff, it quickly blooms into bright, harmony-soaked choruses straight from the golden era of pop. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, the song sweeps you into a brief, kaleidoscopic synth detour—lifting you off the ground—before dropping you right back into that irresistible final chorus. Lyrically, it reflects on life’s messy crossroads, but musically, it’s anything but heavy—this is an effortlessly catchy track you’ll want to spin on repeat.

Featuring members from Grand East, Money and the Man, Tricklebolt, and Jimmy Diamond, "Stuck" is a captivating taste of what’s to come, offering a glimpse into the diverse sonic landscape of Baba Pen & The Bim Bam Band. It's a brilliant first step into an album that promises to explore the many shades of Baba Pen's musical world.

TCBYML · Baba Pen & The Bim Bam Band - Stuck

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Kid Hyena - Chayne - Bedolina

Kid Hyena - Who's Looking Out For Riley?

The new single from Kid Hyena is more than just a great song which is the initial reason it's appearing on Beehive Candy, however it's also being used to raise funds for a youth music project in Stonehouse, Plymouth that really is quite inspiring. See HERE for more information. 

Kid Hyena are a Musical Culture Clash formed on the back streets of Barcelona now based in the South West of England. Urban Folk Sonics Feat. Fiery Percussion, Uplifting Sing Along Tunes, Rhythm Tap Dance Beats & a Whole Load of Positive Vibes!

Since choosing to take the road from Spain to the UK, the band have been featured at the Isle of Wight, Glastonbury, Tropical Pressure festivals, top venues across the south west (over 80 gigs in the past year) and on BBC Introducing with a hat-trick of songs from their latest album ‘It Takes Courage To Be Happy’.

Kid Hyena put the audience right at the heart of our show and what sets us them apart from other acts is the use of progressive rhythm tap dance & percussion, which makes for a visceral & exciting experience for the gig goers quite unlike anything they would have seen before. 

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Chayne - It’s Gone, He’s Gone.

It would be oh so easy to say that this is a remarkably mature sounding song for someone so young (something we are sure you have heard before about other young artists), but it is, so we will, it's very catchy as well, so that said lets get on with the background... Chayne is a 17-year-old alt-pop artist whose dark and edgy sound is embellished with a hint of indie glam rock — bold, cinematic, and unmistakably original. Chayne moved with her family from England to Southern France at the age of five, settling near the vibrant city of Perpignan. Growing up between two cultures, she is perfectly bilingual in French and English, a richness that subtly shapes her artistic voice.

Since 2020, Chayne has been writing and recording her own music using her family’s home studio equipment. Despite the demands of full-time schooling, her sound already carries a striking emotional depth and raw authenticity that sets her apart.

Working closely with producer Paul Thomson, Chayne has found a creative partnership that perfectly balances their different musical styles, bringing a dynamic energy to her work. “This song came from a two-chord tune we came up with," Chayne shares. "It’s been a bit of a thing for us to write a complete song with only two chords – it’s really hard!”

The result, her latest single “It’s Gone, He’s Gone,” is a bold and sardonic celebration of breaking free from a destructive relationship. The two-chord motif, reminiscent of old French films like Betty Blue and Jean de Florette, sets a cinematic backdrop for lyrics that are both nonchalant and empowering.

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Bedolina - Sun and Flamingos (Album).

Out now, Bedolina returns with its second LP, Sun and Flamingos, reassembling many of the players from its 2023 self-titled release. A new batch of songs from Ken Gould showcases further artistic evolution, resulting in enhanced immediacy and reflecting the volatility and flux of everyday concerns, from family and aging to the juxtaposition of looking forward versus looking backwards. Once again in partnership with the Miner Street Recordings team of Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey (The War on Drugs, Kurt Vile, Sharon Van Etten) providing production and engineering and Joe Lambert (Thievery Corporation, The Black Crowes, Cracker) doing the mastering.

The band draws its name from the Bedolina Map, a rock in the Italian Alps engraved with petroglyphs. The complex topographical map, which includes images of people and animals amidst villages and roads, was produced between 1000 and 200 B.C. Much like the music Bedolina creates, the purpose of the map is subjective but its beauty and complexity are clear. If art is communication across time, it is a commitment and a risk taken without assurance of being either heard or understood. Bedolina is drawing their map—and  Sun and Flamingos is one of the first compelling clues.

Sun and Flamingos starts by looking backwards with the song collage of “Maze of Apathy” directly into “The Castle”. With tracks like “Iron Falls” that encapsulate images of refuge and surrealism to album closer "Interdimensional Parasites” that contemplate the forward looking tension between self-assurance and escape, Sun and Flamingos reinforces Bedolina's place as indie rock stars. Sonically, tracks on the new album borrow lyrical quips adjacent to Radiohead or The National, which are then enhanced by the Peter Gabriel-esque vocals of Ken Gould. Alongside the album’s release are two oddly satisfying music videos for the aforementioned singles, continuing to prove Bedolina’s enigmatic place in the music scene.

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1Type (feat. Duke Al) - Veronica Fusaro - mokina - Blue Foundation (feat. Helena Gao)

1Type (feat. Duke Al) - Rise Up. 

The 1Type Band's debut song, Rise Up, isn't just a song; it's a powerful anthem raising awareness of autoimmune Type 1 Diabetes (aT1D). Rise Up aims to empower young people living with aT1D and help them feel less alone. 1Type is Sanofi’s newly formed girl band comprised of four talented teenage girls living with Type 1 diabetes: Ella, Lola-Belle, Finley, and Olivia. Hailing from across the UK and brought together through Stagecoach Performing Arts, with sponsorship from Sanofi, they are united by their shared experiences of the condition.

aT1D is an autoimmune, complex, and lifelong condition - and it can happen to anyone at any age even without family history. It can be a challenging disease with lifelong clinical, economic, and emotional unmet needs for patients and families. In the UK, there is a growing prevalence where approximately 400,000 people are living with the disease, including about 32,000 people 19 years of age and younger.

Sanofi & Stagecoach have partnered on this project. This unique partnership brings together Sanofi's commitment to the aT1D community and Stagecoach Performing Arts' dedication to empowering young talent, using the transformative power of music to drive awareness and empathy.

This project, the band and all assets associated with this band was initiated, organized, sponsored and funded by Sanofi. The song Rise Up was co-written by the band members, Studio Salamanca, and Duke Al Durham. Sanofi is licensing the song and will not make any profits from the song. By listening to Rise Up, you're directly supporting Digibete, a charity providing vital resources and support to young people, families, and communities managing aT1D as Sanofi will match the profits Studio Salamanca makes from the song with a donation to Digibete.

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Veronica Fusaro - No Rain No Tears.

Following the success of her single “Jealousy” and her recent inclusion in IMPALA’s 100 Artists to Watch 2025, Swiss indie pop artist Veronica Fusaro is back with “No Rain No Tears” a shimmering, soulful pop track that blends emotional depth with summery lightness. The song offers a glimpse into her upcoming album Looking for Connection (out October 24, 2025) and sets the tone for her European summer tour.

Is it just a feeling, or is our longing for summer stronger this year than ever before? With "No Rain No Tears," an indie-pop gem of the highest order, Swiss-Italian singer- songwriter Veronica Fusaro meets us right where the craving for warmth, freedom, and good company becomes almost unbearable. At just the right moment, she delivers the perfect soundtrack for stepping outside, slipping off your shoes, letting your hair down, and dancing across the sun-warmed asphalt into a blissful evening. Whether it happens in reality or only in your imagination makes no difference.

From the first note, the sun-drenched melody sweeps listeners into a dreamlike state where it’s impossible to tell whether the summer of your life is just beginning or reappearing as a vivid memory. Everything melts into a feeling of pure infatuation. While the song speaks of longing for a particular person, it also captures the universal desire to leave the gloom of everyday life behind and fully embrace beauty and connection. "It takes real courage to love — because you have to be willing to be seen, completely," says Veronica Fusaro about the emotional heart of "No Rain No Tears."

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Photo - Denize Eggers

mokina - taila.

Montreal-born mokina radiates joy with her gorgeous new single ‘taila.’ Radiant and playful, talia is a charming tribute to the delightful weirdness of true friendship. Written as a dedication to her friend of the same name, the track is a bouncing dose of indie-pop that blends shimmering synths flawlessly with bright guitar riffs.

Sharing more, the real talia explained: "This song has become the happy backdrop to my life, buoying me unexpectedly in quiet moments. I met mokina at a time when I was seeking some stability after years of living and working in unfamiliar places, but I inadvertently found a slough of new challenges that I navigated as well as I could. This song casts a generous glow over these times that were not always easy or graceful for me. I think the song can be a reminder that it’s important to be generous with ourselves when we reflect back on our learning curves."

Written with Jacopo Martini and produced with Jeremy Lachance near mokina’s home in Ferrel, Portugal, ‘talia’ is the follow up to recent EP release ‘mirage’ which arrived at the start of May.

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Blue Foundation (feat. Helena Gao) - Harsh Love.

Blue Foundation return with ‘Harsh Love’, a haunting, intimate new track added to their latest album ‘Close to the Knife’. Featuring the ethereal vocals of Helena Gao, the song captures the ache of emotional dissonance, the quiet collapse between two people trying to love through damage. Written during the same sessions that birthed ‘Close to the Knife’, ‘Harsh Love’ carries the same emotional weight: minimal yet lush, driven by ambient textures, fractured rhythms, and lyrical honesty. Helena Gao’s voice weaves through the track like a distant memory, fragile, questioning, unresolved.

“I guess I took it out on you,” the song begins, disarmed and direct. It’s a confession, not an apology. The kind of truth you whisper in the dark when everything else has already come undone.In the words of Blue Foundation’s Tobias Wilner: “It’s about the moment where you realize love has turned into something else, something harder, colder. But still, you’re reaching. You’re trying to hold on. Helena understood that from the inside.”

Helena Gao also appears on ‘Ecstasy in Space’ and ‘Voyage to the Stars’, but ‘Harsh Love’ stands apart in its stark emotional clarity. Sparse production, slow-burn synths, and whispered harmonies unfold like smoke. It’s not a song about closure. It’s a song about what happens when there isn’t any. The track features atmospheric guitar textures by Xie Yugang of Wang Wen and Jonas Munk (Manual, Causa Sui), whose layered work expands the sonic space, stretching tension into something strangely beautiful. Together, their guitars give ‘Harsh Love’ its cinematic weight, floating just above the wreckage.

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Rodney Crowell - St Catherine's Child - Soft Bait - Ally Row

Photo - Neilson Hubbard

Rodney Crowell - Taking Flight (Feat. Ashley McBryde).

Rodney Crowell will release Airline Highway on August 29, 2025 via New West Records. The 10-song set was produced by Tyler Bryant and recorded & mixed by Trina Shoemaker in New Orleans, Louisiana. Crackling with live-wire energy, the album follows his 2023 Grammy Award-nominated The Chicago Sessions. The wise and vibrant Airline Highway features contributions from some of the most exciting young blues and country artists working today, all of whom count Crowell as a foundational influence. 

Ashley McBryde co-wrote and sings on “Taking Flight,” Lukas Nelson co-wrote and sings the opener “Rainy Days in California,” Blackberry Smoke guitarist Charlie Starr sings on “Heaven Can You Help,” while Rebecca & Megan Lovell from Larkin Poe add harmonies and slide guitar throughout. With a career spanning more than fifty years, Crowell is still questioning how and why he makes music, still setting new rules and quickly breaking them. “This record is a document of me falling in love with these musicians,” says Crowell. “That’s one of the great perks of this job—falling in love with the people you’re playing with. And we caught that on tape.” 

The album’s first single “Taking Flight,” is a devastating duet with Ashley McBryde about the distance between old lovers. Crowell says, “Ashley came over to the house to take a swing at writing a song together. ‘Flight’ is a fictional account of a discussion we had about stardom and driving at night in the south. With the exception of the Allman Brothers, I can’t say I was ever a fan of ‘Southern Rock.’ Tyler Bryant’s off the cuff solo at the end of the song made me reconsider.” Ashley McBryde says, “Simply sitting across from Rodney is magical. Writing a song with an icon is such an honor and being able to call him my friend is one of the great joys of my life. ‘Taking Flight’ explored heartache on a plane I hadn’t been on before. For Rodney to choose me as a co-writer and a singer is something that only existed in dreams. This record speaks for itself and I am so happy I get to be a part of its journey.” 

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St Catherine's Child - The Other Side of Twenty-Five.

A tender yet powerful conclusion to the album's pre-release offerings, this country-tinged indie ballad serves as a heartfelt letter to her younger self, exploring the shift in perspective that accompanies confronting mortality. The track weaves seamlessly into the album's emotional narrative, which thoughtfully chronicles St Catherine’s Child’s journey through her father's passing. Her distinctively ethereal vocals float effortlessly above vibrant folk instrumentation, creating a captivating juxtaposition between the song's introspective lyrics and its spirited melody. The result is both a reflection on innocence lost and wisdom gained—a musical time capsule that resonates with anyone navigating life's inevitable transitions. 

“This song is a letter to my younger self, wrapped up in the things that are important to someone before they’re faced with life and death” she adds “Everything at that moment felt so important, when all that really mattered was my Dad and how he showed up for me, and the people who had my back.”

‘The Other Side Of Twenty Five’ will be the final offering ahead of the release of St. Catherine’s Child’s debut album This Might Affect You, set for release June 2025. A chronological journey through her experience with her father's illness and subsequent passing, the album's A-side documents the period leading to his death, while the B-side explores the aftermath and her healing process. In a departure from her previous solo writing approach, St. Catherine's Child orchestrated a collective catharsis, collaborating with ten different songwriters who had also experienced recent loss. "I just didn't think I could manage it by myself," she reflects. "It was just too heavy. I feel so much deeper in my community now because we've all made this thing together."

Recorded live with Mercury Nominated Producer David Glover, and mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios the album embraces beautiful imperfection with unflinching honesty. "It's designed to be raw and organic and what it is—not polished," she insists. Shattering genre constraints, This Might Affect You sweeps across musical landscapes, featuring everything from a six-minute gun ballad to a sea shanty, a punk song, and a Springsteen-esque track.

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Photo - Gabrielle Devereux

Soft Bait - New Leaf.

This week Soft Bait, the band share their first single, 'New Leaf' a track that picks apart gossip, group dynamics, and the mess left behind.

As vocalist Josh Hunter puts it: “New Leaf is a song about gossiping, seeking social acceptance and connection among groups. People projecting their own sense of arrogance or insecurity onto others. The lack of self-awareness to understand — or care to understand — the effect of their actions as they move onto the next drama and hysteria. Leaving the subject to pick up the pieces.” 

That tension runs through the whole track. Driven by a locked-in, repetitive bass line, the new single possesses an anxious and relentless energy. Hooky and sharp like it's pacing the room, 'New Leaf' is innately loud, unfiltered and fun. It holds a mirror up to some of the messier sides of social interaction; the messiness, posturing, gossip, and the chaos we leave in our wake.

The video, created by Patrick Hickley and Jolin Lee, takes those ideas and drops them into a dusty VHS wedding from the early-90s. Stitching themselves into the celebration as the unofficial wedding band — filmed lo-fi, green screen, digi-cam style. It’s part nostalgia trip, part fever dream. A weird, funny snapshot of connection, disconnection, and everything in between.

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Ally Row - Middle of The Road.

Fresh off the back of their ABC Country high rotation and Double J/Triple J success, Gippsland based alt-country duo, Ally Row, release their new single, “Middle of The Road”.

This moody, gritty number captures the feeling of being emotionally marooned “between a rock and a hard place”, knowing where you want to be, but seeing others pass you by without asking if you need a helping hand. The upbeat airy arrangement and light-hearted, spirited vocals of “Middle of the Road” provide hopeful contrast as if to say, “if you’re going through tough times, you’ll get through it with or without help”.

Stylistically reminiscent of KT Tunstall’s “Suddenly I See”, it has the moodiness of “Nothing Matters” by The Last Dinner Party with a modern flare along the lines of Chappell Roan’s “The Giver”. The single features chugging acoustic banjo and guitar, warm and silky electric banjo plucking, and sweet, shy harmonies to support a lead vocal that is both emotional and powerful (think Missy Higgins texture and storytelling meeting Avril Lavigne’s intensity).

For the first time ever, Ally Row has featured the drumming talent of Alex Keser. His rocky rhythm gives “Middle of The Road” the beat of a runaway engine. This song will make you want to get in the car, crank up the radio and drive.

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