Gabrielle Vaughn - Pete Droge - Attawalpa - heddlu

Gabrielle Vaughn - Same DNA.

Gabrielle Vaughn has created a distinct sound, weaving and bending through pop, rock, soul, R&B, and alternative genres. She has never let herself be put in a box as an artist. Vaughn has created a sound that will have you begging for more of those heavy riffs, slamming bass, and Vaughn’s electrifying vocals.

Gabrielle Vaughn is not the kind of artist to shy away from vulnerability—and her latest release, “Same DNA,” proves that you can be fierce, emotional, and unflinchingly honest all at once.

The song explores the complex and heartbreaking reality of watching someone you love struggle with addiction, a topic Vaughn knows intimately. Reflecting on its origin, she shares, “It’s the hardest song I’ve ever written—and the hardest to let go of. It’s born from the fractures of my relationship with my dad, who’s battled alcohol addiction for most of my life.”

From the very first notes, a melancholy synth pulls you into the raw emotional landscape of Vaughn’s inner world. She masterfully blends pop and rock, layering haunting instrumentals beneath her soulful, cutting vocals. Every word feels deliberate—nothing is held back. 

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Photo - Rick Dahms

Pete Droge - Song For Barbara Ann.

Seattle-based folk/rock artist Pete Droge just released his new single “Song For Barbara Ann” along with an official video. The track is the latest to release off his forthcoming album Fade Away Blue, a largely autobiographical record that details a remarkable 16-year journey of personal growth and healing, which saw Droge finding his birth family, reckoning with his adoption, battling a mysterious illness, and discovering himself in the process. “Song for Barbara Ann” is a stirring and achingly vulnerable tune named after his late birth mother, who he missed meeting by mere months. Americana Highways featured the single and called it “a song of soul searching.”

“Around the time I turned 40, I began to do some serious soul searching to try to understand myself better,” stated Droge. “Thanks to a flurry of coincidences and a random computer glitch, it dawned on me that my adoption was a major piece of the puzzle I’d never looked into. Searching online, I learned about ambiguous grief and adoption trauma, unlocking an emotional tidal wave that culminated when I learned that my birth mother had died just months before.”

He continued, “Traveling to Appalachian Ohio and meeting the rest of my birth family was incredibly healing. They welcomed me with open arms. My people have lived among the rolling hills near the Ohio River for five generations. I devoured every bit of family history I could get my hands on. I still have no idea who my birth father is. That space was left blank on the Pre-Adoption Birth Record. Perhaps someone who knew Barb at the University of Oregon in Eugene in the late sixties will hear ‘Song for Barbara Ann’ and reach out to provide clues as to who my birth father might be. Heck, maybe ‘Bio Dad’ himself will hear it and make contact.”

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Attawalpa -You Are You. 

Attawalpa (Luis Felber) hasthis week released his new single 'You Are You'. Taken from his second album 'Experience', which came out earlier this month on Attawalpa Records, the single is accompanied by an inspired, animated video directed by Esme Blegvad. 'You Are You' is the follow-up single to 'True Love Trajectory', which serves as the perfect season finale closing track for 'Too Much', the Netflix series that Luis has co-created and co-written alongside his soulmate in art and life, the writer and filmmaker Lena Dunham. 

"I originally wrote this song about my hairless dog Ingrid," explains Luis. "I always walk around the house lovingly saying 'what are you?', 'who are you?'. Just as surprised every time. Like most songs, the original idea stretches and becomes wider. It ended up being a song about humanity as a whole. A positive whisper to carry on. Ingrid features in the Esme Blegvad hand-drawn animated video".

Reflecting on the animation, director Esme Blegvad recalls, "I was struck by the track’s reference to the rolling, cyclical nature of time, and how rather than being terrifying or morbid, Luis was able to translate this into something that felt serene and peaceful, even celebratory - so the continuous looping of the video was my visual interpretation of that. Each of the 3400+ frames was drawn and coloured by hand: a physical manifestation of the beautiful refrain “carry on, carry on, carry on!”

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heddlu - Cut The Rope.

Welsh Electronic, Indie Artist 'heddlu' has a fabulous new single 'Cut The Rope' which has just been released by Zawn Records. Heddlu is the new musical project by Rhodri Daniel. The Ceredigion native was a founding member of renowned Welsh band Estrons who had a major impact on the industry having gained rave reviews from the likes of NME, Vice, DIY and Clash to BBC Radio, Radio X, Ultimate Guitar, The Guardian and Independent.

“Cut The Rope”, the 3rd single from heddlu’s 2nd album ‘Tramor’, is a raw, emotional plea by the singer for someone they love to walk away, to save themselves. 

It’s about recognising your own damage and not wanting to drag someone else down with you. Stark, honest, and unfiltered, the song captures the painful truth that sometimes love means stepping away. “Tramor” will be released August 14th 2025. 

heddlu · Cut The Rope

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Birdlord - Wildes - Fishing 4 Compliments - Ian North

Birdlord - I Would Fall.

Grunge and psychedelic Indie Rock are making a return, just the way Birdlord from Bern (Switzerland) play and love it. You can hear it on their upcoming EP Serpents Prayer, whose centerpiece is the playful single "I Would Fall". "I Would Fall" marks the beginning of a handful of new tracks and leads the way toward the band’s debut album, set for release in summer 2026.

The band is new (founded in 2023), young, and hungry. And they’re making waves as metalinside.ch enthusiastically wrote after one of their first concerts. The influential blog praised the band’s sound as a “mix of Grunge and atmospheric rock,” highlighted the “cool vocal presence” of lead singer Lily, and described the music as having “emotional depth.”

One thing is clear - Birdlord are serious about their craft. And they spare no effort when it comes to visuals either. I Would Fall is accompanied by a true piece of art: the cover  as with their debut EP  was created by renowned illustrator Qian-hui Yu (UK), known for designing artwork for Khruangbin, among others. Her work not only gives Birdlord a distinctive visual identity but also underscores the artistic depth of the band.

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Photo - Jessie Morgan

Wildes - All I Get.

London-based singer-songwriter Wildes (Ella Walker) has announced the release of her second album 'All We Do Is Feel' on 12th September. Having recently shared first single 'Wipe Away The Tears' feat. Tonguetied, this week she releases new track 'All I Get'. 
 
She explains: "Writing 'All I Get' really took me on a path I wasn’t expecting, both in its messaging and how the production emerged. It was a liberating song to write - I had spent months musing on how little I had, how so much had been taken from me emotionally, leaving me feeling bereft - but I realised in writing it, that ‘all’ I had left was in fact abundant and rich. Left in the wake of that break-up was evidence that I had really lived and loved, I had received so much support from those around me, and I had made it through a transformative period that pushed me into becoming a better person. This song makes me feel like a living thing".

When moments slip through our fingers and no feeling is final, WILDES’ returning album is a monument to the love which remains. 'All We Do Is Feel' marks Ella’s reinvention: a kind of radiance that can only be earned when everything – your life and your art – is razed to the ground and built again in faith to a new vision. The story that unfolds across All We Do Is Feel is one which we all recognise: one of love, heartbreak and renewal. But when we are lost in the arctic-white of emotion, when everything is at its most bitter and unending, WILDES will take you by the hand and walk you out of the storm.
 
Co-produced with her best friend Elena Garcia (Tonguetied), the album was recorded in Garcia’s childhood home, and the music is completely unguarded and fearless in the face of experimentation.

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Fishing 4 Compliments - Ghosts.

Ghosts is taken from their uplifting catchy 'hook-laden' second album due for release 13th September 2025. Fishing 4 Compliments are a quirky Huddersfield-based female fronted indie-folk-pop band which emerged organically around lead singer Eileen’s emotive & enigmatic songs. The songs began to be steadfastly encouraged and brought to life initially by Ashley (rhythm guitarist) who gradually reeled in Jim (lead guitar & backing vocals) and Steve (bass guitar & backing vocals) with all three being part of a 60s band at the time. 

Jim initially played drums on the songs but made the game changing decision (which was to be pivotal to shaping the band’s unique sound) that he’d like to switch to playing lead guitar. Before joining the band officially Steve had long been in the background supporting the songs and had always been their dream bass player and was also to become the group’s guru of harmonies.

All four have long shared a passion for developing and creating a sound they like to call their own which has developed naturally through the eclectic mix of influences from which they draw which include; The Beatles, XTC, Tom Petty, Mark Knopfler, The Cure, The Smiths, The Sundays and The Cranberries, to name but a few. 

Over the years the four core members of the band have much appreciated times shared with their initial drummer Ben and later David on drums and percussion and his daughter Fenella who has been a brilliant dep drummer/percussionist for the band on many occasions. Beckoning pastures new and changing life circumstances have dictated that for now the Fishing crew continue their journey as a four piece outfit with these three star contributors remaining close to their hearts.

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Ian North - Cliffs of Portugal.

Canadian folk-rock artist Ian North returns with “Cliffs of Portugal,” a moving new single that blends elegant guitar work with vivid storytelling and a profound sense of longing. Anchored by North’s evocative lyrics and delivered in his signature “Fallen-Angel Folk-Rock” style, the track captures the bittersweet beauty of travel, memory, and facing the horizon after profound loss.

The song was sparked by North’s time spent on the southwestern tip of Portugal, where he stood at the same vantage point said to have inspired King Henry the Navigator to send his fleet into the unknown. While personal experiences from that trip shape the imagery, the song also resonates with the grief of losing North’s father only months before writing it. “Cliffs of Portugal” becomes a symbolic journey – sailing out over the western sea, beyond what’s familiar, toward something both hopeful and haunted.

“I had some experiences while traveling that ended up in the lyrics, but in the back of my mind was always the idea of sailing over the edge of the known world,” North shares. “Especially after my dad died, it became about what we leave behind and what we find when we cross into the next part of the journey.”

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The Cords - Alex Fernet - Honey Motel

The Cords - Fabulist.

The Cords are the brightest new indie pop band from Scotland. Comprising sisters Eva and Grace Tedeschi, they started playing drums when they were little kids.  They found that they liked 80s and 90s indie music more than their peers did, and so formed a band, just the two of them, with Grace on drums and Eva on guitar – and the songs started to flow. Skep Wax Records (UK/Europe) & Slumberland Records (US) will release their debut album on 26 September 2025.

First single ‘Fabulist’ is a sweet and catchy pop song that races along, so headlong and hooky that, on first listen, you could miss the fact that it’s a wholehearted take-down of people who lie for a living.  And the album is a rollercoaster from that point onwards.  ‘Just Don’t Know (How To Be You)’ turns the jangle-meter up, quickly giving way to ‘October’, which pushes it higher still.  A lot of the songs are short and sweet, but the album is full of surprises.  ‘Yes It’s True’ comes in with real swagger, then softens you up with Lush-like vocal harmonies.  Closing track ‘When You Said Goodbye’ is a dreamy tearjerker. 

The album was produced by Jonny Scott and Simon Liddel, and it respects the band’s stripped down DIY approach. There is some bass guitar (played by Eva and Grace) and occasionally a keyboard pokes its head above the surface.  But these elements are simply doing their job: the real stars of this record are Eva’s sinuous guitar and silky vocals, and Grace’s clattering, expressive sing-song drums.  It’s the sound of two sisters having an intense musical conversation with each other, pushing each other on to greater heights, exhilarated by the set of perfect pop songs they have magicked up.  

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Photo - Riccardo Michelazzo

Alex Fernet - Hey Lady.

Post-funk artist Alex Fernet has recently announced the release of his new album 'Modern Night' on 26th September via Bronson Recordings. Alex Fernet has already shared two singles from the upcoming record: 'Sunlight Vampires,' which introduces a recurring character of the album and 'The Nightdrive,' described by Alex as the album's manifesto, depicting a night journey through eerie, deserted streets.
 
This week sees the release of the third and final single, 'Hey Lady'. This track is more intimate: a whispered confession in a smoke-filled lounge. There’s romance here, but it’s disillusioned, filtered through VHS fuzz and draped in the kind of synth-pop sadness you might hear from a car stereo in 1983, parked outside a closed-down bowling alley.
 
Self-produced by Alex and mixed and mastered by Maurizio Baggio (Boy Harsher, The Soft Moon), 'Modern Night' musically defies easy categorisation. There are echoes of AOR radio ballads, post-industrial funk, and soul music stripped of optimism. Think of it as future nostalgia with dirt under its fingernails: a deeply contemporary work that rejects digital perfection in favour of analogue imperfection. As Fernet puts it: “In an era of over-edited sound, the most radical act might be to let things breathe.”

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Honey Motel - Milk.

Ahead of their set on the mainstage at Y Not festival, Liverpool's Honey Motel announce the upcoming EP Motel FM and share the radiant new single ‘Milk’. Opening with an illusory opening acapella vocal, ‘Milk’ soon bursts into a buoyant wall of indie through jazzy guitar chords, thick bass and tight offbeat drums. As the track reaches its euphoric chorus, the band's alt-rock side shines through as the vocals soar high above the crunching guitar tones, creating a sound instantly comparable to Nothing But Thieves. 

Produced by Alec Brits (Clean Cut Kid, Michael Aldag, St Catherine’s Child), the new single builds on the acclaim the band have previously gained across national press and radio alike, showcasing the bands evolution as they build towards the release of the new EP. 

Talking about ‘Milk’, guitarist Sam explains: “Milk explores the quiet unraveling that happens when you're unable to open up, especially in moments of emotional low. The song captures the struggle of bottling things up, of feeling detached, numb, and disconnected from the world around you, particularly through the lens of male vulnerability. 

Inspired by Freddie’s own experiences, Milk sits in that tension: the fear of speaking, the pressure to keep going, and the subtle cracks that form when you can’t. The lyric “where are the drums” becomes a cry for distraction, a metaphor for the urge to drown out what’s really going on inside, or a question of why life doesn’t feel as effortless as it seems for others. It's a track about losing grip, quietly, and what it sounds like when no one hears it.”

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Tawny Ellis - Greta Gaines - Gregory Page & Friends - Josienne Clarke

Tawny Ellis - Edge Of The World.

Edge Of The World weaves together cinematic soundscapes with folk, pop, rock, and country inflections. Ellis’s signature tenor guitar and mountain dulcimer are the foundation, layered with lush arrangements and haunting melodies. It’s the title song from her new album, Edge of the World.

The title track features a breathtaking guest appearance from Daniel Lanois, legendary producer for U2, Bob Dylan, and Emmylou Harris. Lanois contributes piano and pedal steel on the track, imbuing it with a haunting, woodwind-like atmosphere. “It was a dream come true,” Ellis says. “Listening to him talk about music is a master class.”

Born in Savannah, Georgia, currently living in Los Angeles. Tawny is known for her thought provoking lyrics and musical compositions. Her work has a distinctive elegance and dimension indicative of an artist who has created an identity of her own. Mastering diverse instruments such as lap steel and mountain dulcimer creating layers in her magical compositions. Her work has a distinctive quality rooted in sweet Southern folk indicative of Patsy Cline and Emmylou Harris but most noteworthy, Ellis' voice.

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Greta Gaines - What Do You Want.

Greta Gaines is excited to announce the August 29th release of her new album. Bird Before Light. To get the party started, she has released the first single, “What Do You Want.” About the single Greta stated, “This song is about this time of life, transition time: into being the youngest of the old people ;) When the kids leave, it’s a huge time of reckoning that begs the questions” what do I want now?  What’s still possible for me? Am I too old to keep putting out records? Is it too late to start over?”  I DO want a second shot and the last laugh. The song is sung to myself as a reminder just to keep writing and recording.”

According to Gaines, the new album, Bird Before Light, is about getting out of one's comfort zone as a songwriter, one who typically writes alone and in solitude." She explains, “It explores certain themes that I find myself wrestling with in midlife — empty nesting, newfound anxiety, resistance to change, grief, and betrayal — while also pursuing faith, finding the simple joy that comes with sharing time with old friends, and immersing myself in the beauty of nature and the natural world.” 

The album, produced by Jim Reilley, mixed by Eric Fritsch and Mill Logan, and was recorded at Ken Coomer’s Cartoon Moon and Eastwood Studios in East Nashville. In addition to Greta playing guitar, the album features drummer Ken Coomer (Wilco), Jim Reilley on bass, Eric Fritsch (Marty Stuart) on electric guitar, piano, keyboards, Grammy winner Tim O’Brien on fiddle and harmony vocals, Adam Ollendorff  (Kasey Musgraves) on pedal steel, Kevin Roentgen (Buckcherry) on electric guitar, and Raul Malo (The Mavericks), and Dan Bern (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.)

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Gregory Page & Friends - Right Now Not Tomorrow (Live).

Singer-songwriter Gregory Page’s positively charged album ‘One Hell Of A Memory’, which features his good friend & co-producer on the album Jason Mraz singing on several tracks, has just had a UK & Ireland release. A highlight from ‘One Hell Of A Memory’ is ‘Right Now Not Tomorrow’, a rousing anthem, combining both Americana and traditional folk elements, for getting up, seizing the day and letting the good times roll. Alongside the album release, Gregory has also now dropped a beautiful live performance video of ‘Right Now Not Tomorrow’.

‘One Hell Of A Memory’ imparts a message of optimism and urgency, complete with catchy melodies, beautiful harmonies and an array of special arrangements performed on Banjo, Fiddle, Mandolin and Irish Uilleann pipes by the likes of Dennis Caplinger (Eric Clapton) and Eric Rigler (Braveheart, The Titanic). While the sounds are reminiscent of yesteryear, the lyrics get us on our feet and dancing toward a brighter tomorrow. Page's wordplay and compositions weave tradition with change, blending yesterday with the future and delivering us an uplifting album with all the feels, right now.

You hear it more and more, the phrase “these are strange times.” We wonder what lies ahead and what shape “normality” might take if and when life begins to sink back into a more relaxed pace, free from all of the anxiety. They say good can always come from adversity, of the anxiety. They say good can always come from adversity, and that’s how it’s been for Gregory Page, with time to pause, reflect and reassess much of what went before and hopefully look forward to brighter, less angst-filled days ahead.

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Josienne Clarke - What Do I Do.

Today, critically acclaimed singer, songwriter and guitarist Josienne Clarke has announced she will release her new album, Far From Nowhere, on October 17th via her own label, Corduroy Punk. Alongside the announcement of the album's release date, she is sharing new single 'What Do I Do?'. 

The album will be accompanied by a short film titled Deluded, directed by Alec Bowman_Clarke, offering a candid, behind-the-scenes portrait of the album’s creation. Currently screening at festivals, the film will be shown throughout Clarke’s UK tour this October - full dates now announced - before its general release on November 30th.

Following the release of the haunting ‘Tiny Bird’s Lament’, new single 'What Do I Do?' asks the question: if anything is possible, where do you even contemplate beginning? With a chugging chord progression and puttering drum machine, the track channels a twitchy, conflicted restlessness. It could be about creativity, motherhood, partnership, relationships — and all of these at once. The beauty of Clarke’s writing is in its openness: there’s an assurance in letting ambiguity sit and trusting the listener to meet it on their own terms.

There’s an irony that cuts to the bone on Far From Nowhere, the new album from the critically acclaimed singer, songwriter and guitarist Josienne Clarke. Long admired for her crystalline voice and unflinching lyrical gaze, Clarke has always had an ability to evoke a communal melancholy. But with this LP, recorded at a remote Scottish cabin, she’s achieved the feat of stripping away the barriers between artist and listener. What emerges is a record of remarkable intimacy and integrity as Clarke embraces stillness and vulnerability. She sought total isolation but ended up creating something even more profoundly connective.

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