Stephen Wilson Jr. - Jackie Venson - Poster Club

Photo - Jessica Hood

Stephen Wilson Jr. - Cuckoo.

Indiana-born, Nashville-based rising star Stephen Wilson Jr. releases the official music video for “Cuckoo” from his critically-acclaimed debut double album søn of dad (Big Loud Records). Directed by Tim Cofield, the clip paints a psychedelic picture of life in an Indiana holler featuring a frenetic dive bar performance from Joey Breaux, a Midwestern Gothic family scene and HARDY + Wilson Jr. playing catch with a ball of fire.

Wilson Jr. is currently in the midst of the entirely sold-out 2025 U.S. run of his søn of dad tour with stops in Detroit, Toronto and more. Earlier this month, it was announced that he will join HARDY on his Jim Bob World Tour on select dates from May through September, including the final show at Madison Square Garden.

“‘If one don’t drive ya then the other one will…’ running on cognitive American fumes at times,” shares Wilson Jr. “we’re all afraid of something. this video is a fiery glance at the ones whom haven’t given up but have given up on the game. these are not actors. a kaleidoscope of humans living and being. unashamed of their shame. ‘cuckoo…’”

“‘Cuckoo’ is the eighth video SWJ and I have made together,” shares Director Tim Cofield. “While ‘Holler from the Holler’ was the most ambitious concept we've co-directed, ‘Cuckoo’ is a planet in its own solar system. All these ideas come from Stephen's brain. For example, the character driving backwards in the truck. Stephen actually knows a guy who has to drive to work backwards ‘cause his truck only drives in reverse. My favorite thing about the ‘Cuckoo’ video is that all these characters you see are real people, not actors. There's also some easter eggs hidden in there for diehard fans (look for wolf heads and aliens).”

============================================================================

Jackie Venson - Young.

Jackie Venson returns with “Young,” the latest single from her new album, The Love Anthology! Following the momentum of her previous single “Alone”, “Young” showcases Jackie’s signature blend of blues, rock, and soul with her unmistakable guitar work and dynamic energy.

Jackie is also hitting the road this Spring around the Midwest and Southeast in support of The Love Anthology, and she’s available for interviews, in-studio performances, or call-ins while on tour.



============================================================================

Photo - Sarah Connor

Poster Club - Circuits.

Glasgow’s genre-spanning post-punk outfit Poster Club are back with new single ‘Circuits’, via Electric Honey Records. Following the success of their recent singles ‘Tradeston’ and ‘Goth Parade’, which leaned into dance and synth influences, ‘Circuits’ takes listeners on a journey back to the band’s raw, punk-inspired origins.

With its thumping pace, dissonant guitars, and a high-octane climax, ‘Circuits’ showcases Poster Club’s ability to merge punk swagger with their signature blend of post-punk and new wave sounds. Introduced with apprehensive guitar chords, the song quickly launches into a driving rhythm, reflecting themes of vulnerability and emotional honesty.

After signing with Electric Honey Records—the label responsible for launching icons like Biffy Clyro, Belle & Sebastian, and Snow Patrol—Poster Club’s profile has only grown. Their first single with the label, ‘Goth Parade’, earned a feature on Billy Sloan’s BBC Radio Scotland show, and their genre-blurring style continues to capture the attention of national and international audiences.

‘Circuits’ marks another chapter in Poster Club’s musical evolution. With its heartfelt lyricism, pacey riffs, and dramatic tempo shifts, the single exemplifies the band’s ability to blend authenticity and innovation. This isn’t a band tied to one sound—Poster Club uses a sonic palette of punk, techno and synth, and everything in between.

“‘Circuits’ is about opening up and letting someone truly see what’s inside you—both emotionally and literally,” explains vocalist Konrad. “The lyrics, ‘“rip me open, look at my circuits,” are raw and unfiltered, inspired by artists like Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit and Brian Sella of The Front Bottoms, who have this incredible knack for honesty in their writing. It’s a concept that felt personal and urgent to explore.”

Poster Club · Circuits

============================================================================

Mookie and The Bab - Mercury's Antennae - Juanita Stein

Mookie and The Bab - The Tide.

Mookie and The Bab all-acoustic indie-folk new single 'The Tide' has just been released on Kycker. Fuelled by long drives across desert landscapes taking inCalifornia, Nevada, and Texas, Bradford’s own Mookie + The Bab are an all-acoustic indie-folk group whose acoustic guitar, mandolin, fiddle, layered vocals, and occasional trumpet capture the sound of the American Southwest – yet remainstrue to British working class roots.

Moved by climate emergency, Floods, fires, desertification, and exploring organic sounds with rousing harmonies, multi-instrumentalists Abi Otway, Marc Otway and Conor Magi’s Americana-Yorkshire folk blend is steeped in nature, emerging from their unique bond after many years making music together and travels playing festivals internationally and across the UK.

============================================================================

Mercury's Antennae - The Reflecting Skin (William Faith Remix).

Currently based between Switzerland and the US, the trio comprises Dru Allen and Cindy Coulter of This Ascension, and Erick r. Scheid of The Palace of Tears. Their sound incorporates influences from shoegaze pop, ethereal darkwave, and unadorned acoustic beauty, while also drawing inspiration from ambient and modern electronica. Through the iconic Projekt label, Mercury’s Antennae released their debut album, A Waking Ghost Inside (2014); followed by The Guides EP (2015); and sophomore album, Beneath the Serene (2016).Their debut for Sett Records was 2018’s The Moon Viewing Garden EP, followed by appearances at prestigious festivals Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig, Germany; and Tomorrow’s Ghosts Festival in Whitby, England. ‘The Reflecting Skin’ is the lead single from their long-waited third album, Among the Black Trees, forthcoming from Sett Records in Spring 2025.

With its driving chorus bass, serpentine swirl 12-string guitar, spacious ambient electronics and Dru Allen’s siren voice, the single release of ‘The Reflecting Skin’ is graced with a remix by the goth “all father” William Faith. His remix showcases a haunting, driving, hypnotic and atmospheric interpretation of the song: a sonic alchemy that seems to emanate from another time, another place. William says:

“Getting to remix ‘The Reflecting Skin’ was very much like going home for me. Having worked closely with Dru and my sister Cindy in This Ascension beginning some 32 years ago, this was very comfortable and familiar territory, though Erick’s sensibilities brought something new and different to work with, making for a dynamic and exciting creative endeavor. Overall, I feel like I managed to bridge the time gap with an interesting take on the song that is at once nostalgic and classic in feel, while updating the sonic depth and breadth in a way that suits the moment. It was a blast for me -- love it!”

============================================================================

Juanita Stein - The Old World.

Juanita Stein warms up for her imminent solo headline tour with the release of an Orlando-Cubitt-directed video for ‘Old World’, taken from her critically acclaimed fourth solo album ‘The Weightless Hour’ (out now, Agricultural Audio). Following recent UK tours with Evan Dando and Travis, the Howling Bells frontwoman will embark on her own UK solo headline dates, which include a performance at London's Lower Third on 25th March.
 
Stein says of ‘Old World’: “This was a song that was written in one long breath, in a room, in a house, in a village in the South of France. After having taken a long walk through the woods, the light streaming through the pine trees, I found myself reflecting on what it means for me, to have ended up living and travelling in Europe, like so many of my family before me.
 
This song recalls the first time I travelled to Europe, which was with my family when I was 16. Having lived a life in Australia, a country in its infancy by comparison, I was confronted with a rich and bloodied history whose roots ran centuries underground. The generational trauma that came with learning about my own family history there, was a reckoning. We brought along my grandmother, who hadn’t returned to Czechoslovakia since she was 14, when she was forced to flee the Nazis. We visited the crumbling house she grew up in. I stood in the streets of many Jewish ghettos and burnt out synagogues that were forced to become churches. I visited Holocaust Memorial museums, I learned of the slow rise of right-wing fascism reawakening in a new Europe, all of this coupled with the acknowledgement that I had relocated to Europe myself to start a family and the conflict that causes within the body. I learned what it felt like to be the “other”, to be hated for the religion you were born into, and simultaneously, to also be hated for being perceived as a Westerner, as when someone yelled at me, “bloody American” when they looked down at my ripped jeans, or when me and my brothers were hauled into a police station in Prague for potentially spying when using our disposable cameras outside a cemetery. This was not Australia. This was The Old World.”

============================================================================

IDER - Dream Cycle Inc - Lily Monaghan

IDER - Killing The Game (new video) / Late To The World (Album).

After teasing their next full-length project over the last few months with the singles ‘Know How It Hurts’, ‘Unlearn’, ‘Girl’, ‘You Don’t Know How To Drive’ and ‘Attachment Theory’, leftfield alt-pop duo IDER have just shared their third album ‘Late To The World’ alongside focus track ‘Killing The Game’ out now via Nettwerk.
 
Produced by Dann Hume (Laura Mvula, Troye Sivan, Tkay Maidza) and recorded on residency in his church-cum-studio between summer and autumn 2023, ‘Late To The World’ pushes IDER’s tender sound in a tougher direction. It is both bigger in scale and deliberately restrained, honing its contrasting textures of lush electronics and blistering indie rock. The result, they say, is the album they’ve “always wanted to make”.
 
Drawing on a mix of dejected British new wave, euphoric electro-pop and swooning alt rock in the vein of Mazzy Star, the resulting sound is as cinematic as their storytelling – with an added dash of grit and the introduction of live drums (while they’ve always used a live drummer on tour, this is the first time they’ve been laid to record) that reflect the album’s real world footing.

As liberated in subject matter as it is in sound, ‘Late To The World’ represents IDER’s long and continuous journey of self-discovery both as individuals and as a band. It’s an album borne from weathering the confusion of your twenties and stepping into the clarity of your thirties; its 12 tracks acting as rallying cries for rejecting societal pressures and turning up to life at your own pace.
 
Focus track ‘Killing The Game’ is the penultimate song on ‘Late To The World’ and wholly embodies the central theme of the album; being a late bloomer. A calm yet powerful electro-pop track, lyrically it looks at how the world can sometimes feel it moves on without you, unable to keep up and unsure if you want to. The band say; “Killing The Game is for the socially anxious. Set at a party, watching people enjoy themselves whilst you feel like you’re on the outside - the perception that everyone is ‘killing the game’ whilst you are being left behind”.

IDER · Late to the World

============================================================================

Dream Cycle Inc - Good Boy / Sea Shel (l) ter (feat. Amalia).

The ambient-infused dub of Dream Cycle Inc. is atmospheric, hypnotic, and immersive—blending deep, pulsating basslines with ethereal atmospheres and intricate rhythmic textures. Sonically, it draws from ambient, dub techno, and progressive house, creating a world where synthetic textures and organic elements merge seamlessly. There's an underlying sense of movement—like drifting through a futuristic metropolis at twilight, caught between euphoria and introspection. The sound of dissolving, and rediscovering reality through a hazy, melodic lens.

To truly grasp Jan's diverse musical preferences, we must delve into his teenage years, a time when he unearthed his second profound passion amidst the haunting melodies of gothic rock and the pulsating beats of dark electro: the realm of adventurous dance music. The 90s unfurled an exhilarating tapestry of sonic exploration, birthing a myriad of dance music genres. Jan found himself captivated by the pioneering spirit of labels like Planet Dog, which wielded immense influence over his musical odyssey. Acts such as Eat Static, Banco De Gaia, Children of the Bong and Future Loop Foundation, all stalwarts of the Planet Dog roster, expertly fused elements of dance, trance, dub, ambient, and drum & bass into spellbinding compositions.

Jan found solace in the label's seminal compilations, like the transcendent ‘Feed Your Head’ series, which whisked listeners away on psychedelic voyages through ambient-infused dance realms. Another gem in his musical trove was the legendary ‘Dubnology’ compilation, which further enriched his sonic landscape. It was through these sonic escapades that Jan encountered bands like Dreadzone, opening the door to the mesmerizing world of techno-infused dub, leaving an indelible mark on his musical psyche. With Dream Cycle Inc., Jan endeavours to revisit and reanimate the very essence of these transformative sounds that have left an indelible imprint on his musical soul.


============================================================================

Photo - Tanjeryne Hoffman

Lily Monaghan - Willing To Wait.

Following her autumn 2024 single “Mona Lisa” – heard everywhere in Canada on CBC, in the U.K. on Alternative Roots, and in the U.S. on stations such as KTAL in Las Cruces, New Mexico – Lily Monaghan is back with “Willing To Wait,” a song that sees her expanding her sound beyond its traditional singer/songwriter origins.

Made in collaboration with producer and multi-instrumentalist Kurtis Schultz in Lily’s hometown, Edmonton, Alberta, “Willing To Wait” places her within a full-band context for the first time, with stunning results. With Lily’s enchanting voice at the forefront, the song demonstrates that she’s more than ready to take the next natural step in her musical evolution.

She says, “‘Willing To Wait’ is meant to encapsulate that feeling of stagnation that accompanies existing in your mid-Twenties. When I wrote the song, I was hyper aware of the different life stages my longtime friends and I are all at, despite being the same age. Some have careers, apartments, pets and relationships, while others are full-time students or unemployed.

“Life takes us in different directions and there is nothing we’re able to do about it. With age comes an inevitable distance within some relationships; ‘Willing to Wait’ acknowledges this and is a love letter to these people in my life. Declaring that no matter how far away life pulls us, I will always be here and waiting for the day we come back together again.”

============================================================================

Mountaintop Junkshop - Oswald Slain - Phoebe Green

Mountaintop Junkshop - I'm Still Looking For The Light.

Leicester UK-based alternative folk unit Mountaintop Junkshop are thrilled to share their latest single "I'm Still Looking For The Light", available now across music platforms courtesy of Electric Blanket Records.

"I'm Still Looking For The Light" acts as the latest sample from the group's upcoming album Misadventureland, due to be released on March 20th. A heartfelt blend of love, hope, and redemption, "I'm Still Looking for the Light" is a retro-inspired folk track that weaves together elements of Americana, country, and indie folk. With gentle guitars and soaring violins, the song evokes themes of resilience and desire, creating a rich, emotive sound that feels both timeless and deeply personal.

Hailing from Leicester UK, Mountaintop Junkshop could easily be mistaken for alt/country misfits from some lost California scene. The band make country-tinged minimal torch songs leaving space to hear pins drop and hearts breaking. Since forming they have shared stages with Jolie Holland, Herman Dune, Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance, Nina Nastasia and many more. File in your record collection somewhere between Low, Mazzy Star, Songs Ohia and next to an old, yellowing, red-wine-stained copy of Frank Stanford poems.

============================================================================

Oswald Slain - Ugly.

Bristol rock group Oswald Slain return with their new single ‘UGLY’, out now, taken from their debut EP ‘Kiss Me On The Mouth’ due for release April 2025.

Formerly known as Little Thief, Oswald Swain’s sound is a rich tapestry woven from the threads of classic Americana, echoing the timeless vibes of Neil Young and The Band, whilst infusing it with the gritty, energetic rock essence familiar from their previous works. Anchored by the driving rhythms and fuzzy guitars, their music offers both reflective depth and an irresistible groove, promising music that resonates with both heart and soul.

Under their previous moniker, the band toured the UK multiple times, playing slots at esteemed festivals such as Glastonbury, Shambala, Liverpool Sound City, Isle of Wight, Kendal Calling and Greenman Festival, receiving support from the likes of Far Out Magazine, RTE, BBC Radio 6’s Steve Lamacq and BBC Radio 1. Co-founding members Charlie Fitzgerald and Rhii Williams, who have been writing music together for over 10 years, made the difficult decision to change the band name and move forward in a new direction.

Born from the creative cocoon of their home studio, Oswald Slain is a testament to both personal growth and musical evolution. Recorded over the miserable January of 2024, Oswald Slain’s music reflects a period of introspection and growth. Having reconciled with the chaos of youth and the trials of aging, lyricist Fitz channels these experiences into sincere, humorous, evocative songwriting alongside the timeless swagger of old retro rock records.

============================================================================

Photo - Sara Carpentieri

Phoebe Green - Rage Of A Kid.

Manchester's Phoebe Green releases new single 'Rage Of A Kid' - the final taste of new five-track EP 'The Container' out 21st March via The Green Dream Machine. Phoebe will launch the EP with a run of headline dates this April, with stops in Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, Brighton and London.

Marking a significant evolution in her artistry, new EP 'The Container' was written and produced by Phoebe within the intimate settings of her flat in Manchester and her parents' house in the coastal town of Lytham St Annes, lyrically delving into the complexities of intense emotional connections, exploring themes of longing, obsession, and the delicate balance between self-love and self-sacrifice.

'Rage Of A Kid,' the opening track on 'The Container', is a powerful, electronically-tinged ballad about healing from past trauma. Sparse soundscapes evoke loneliness as the lyrics explore suppressed emotions - particularly anger. The song builds to a cathartic release with lush synths and atmospheric textures, culminating in Phoebe's visceral message: "Kicking and crying and taking a bite" - reclaiming the right to feel.

Speaking more on the inspiration behind new song 'Rage Of A Kid', Phoebe said: "‘Rage Of A Kid’ follows the discomfort of growing into myself and healing from past trauma. I spent a long time suppressing anger and any other difficult emotion in order to keep my head above water, but looking back I feel as though I wasted valuable years of my life doing anything in my power to avoid being consumed by it. It got to the point where I found it almost impossible to access, and when I did it was directed towards myself, because I felt so guilty for experiencing an emotion I had perceived for so long as “violent”. I learned eventually that anger is healthy and necessary and it serves a purpose when trying to process negative experiences, and especially in our current political climate, anger towards injustice is vital."

============================================================================