Portland - Cane Rouge - Levi Robin

Photo - Titus Simoens

Portland - Champain.

Portland, the indie band led by Jente Pironet, announces their new album Champain this week and immediately releases the title track. While the latest single "Lay Me Down" was a grand-sounding pop gem with expansive guitars, "Champain" floats quietly in the opposite direction. Jente sings softly and thoughtfully, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, while producer Tobie Speleman (Blackwave., The Haunted Youth) adds extra color to the song with his vibraphone, and the rhythm section sounds delightfully crisp.

"Champain" is about raising a glass to a happy ending at the end of a dark period. But what if the journey was too intense? What if it was all just too overwhelming? Can you really celebrate with a big smile when the wound heals but leaves a deep scar?

The new album Champain will be released on November 7 through [PIAS] Recordings. It’s an album that wears the scars of recent years on its sleeves, but at the same time expresses an irrepressible zest for life. It reads as an utterly honest travel diary of a wandering soul, from stage to hospital to writing desk and back again. Of falling—hard and deep—and getting back up again. Of a singer and a band who persevere. And the result shows: Portland has never sounded more energetic, mature, and rich than on their new record. 

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Photo - Phil Roberts

Cane Rouge - Lights Out.

Newcastle’s rising alt-rock trio Cane Rouge deliver raw emotion, explosive energy, and bold evolution on their sophomore EP, Lights Out, dropping Friday 10th October. The EP’s title track, Lights Out, has just been released as a single and video.

Formed in 2023, Cane Rouge bring together the formidable talents of Ant Clarke (vocals/guitar), Dale McGee (drums), and Joe Harrison-Brown (bass). Fusing 90s grunge grit, punk urgency, and a touch of indie edge, the band have quickly carved a name for themselves through high-octane live shows and an unapologetically raw sound.

Since their live debut in April 2023, Cane Rouge have been turning heads across the North of England. Known for their intense stage presence and emotional delivery, they’ve earned praise in local tastemaker mags like NARC. and DIRGE, while receiving consistent airplay on SparkFM, Nova Radio, FutureHits, and BishopFM—a testament to their growing buzz in the UK alternative scene.

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Levi Robin - When The Sun Comes Out.

The new single "When The Sun Comes Out" from acclaimed singer-songwriter Levi Robin, has been released today. The new track "is a triumphant farewell to darkness and deceit, embracing truth, peace, and the healing power of kindness." He further confides, "It speaks of a brighter future—a time when the clouds of confusion and contradiction will part, revealing a world where honesty flows freely and our hearts sing openly."  "When The Sun Comes Out" is a beautiful and soul-stirring stripped down indie folk embrace. 

Levi Robin's journey of exploration and curiosity has taken him down many roads. The soul-baring folk artist’s distinctive musical style combines deeply personal and transformative lyrics with emotive stirring vocals, creating a sound that is filled with meaning and connection.

Growing up in Orange County, California, as a teenager Levi became deeply dissatisfied with what he and many describe as “the conveyor belt trajectory of the school system.” With nothing but a shirt on his back and guitar in hand, he took a chance on a different path - a musical one. Levi confides, “From being a runaway to encountering eastern spirituality, from psychedelia to unearthing my own ancient Judaic roots, songwriting has been a uniquely integrating constant.”  Songwriting became a powerful way to translate his deepest feelings into melody and verse. Taking inspiration from an eclectic array of artists including Bach, Stravinski, Mingus, Hendrix, Dylan, Beck, Gaye, D'Angelo and Radiohead, and more, Levi Robin creates his own mindful and genre-defying musical releases. 

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La Nouvelle Musique - Monterey J - Rachel Ruzumna - Cassidy-Rae

La Nouvelle Musique - La Nouvelle Musique (Album).

London based duo, La Nouvelle Musique, mix psyche folk elements with an ethereal vocal style that falls somewhere between Vashti Bunyan, Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) and Nico. Made up of husband-and-wife Joanna Beck and Ian de Silva, the baroque orchestration on some of La Nouvelle Musique’s songs also reflects a big screen aesthetic. Singer/Bass Player - Joanna is also a composer and performance artist who creates electro acoustic music, sonic art, and has scored for theatre and film. 

Production wise La Nouvelle Musique work as a self-contained unit, writing, recording and producing their music at Berwick Street Studios in Soho London, where Ultravox recorded 'Vienna' and The Sex Pistols made their version of 'My Way'.  

Their self-titled debut album, which follows their recent acclaimed ‘Premonitions’ EP, is a sumptuous and haunting collection of deeply effecting tracks that drips with nostalgic mysticism. The album was released on vinyl on 30th June via Fruits de Mer to much acclaim, including a rave 5-star review from Shindig Magazine and is now released digitally, alongside new single ‘Spirit Level’.

‘Spirit Level’ is a hypnotic song about the passing of time and the difficulty many people face day to day just to keep their emotional equilibrium. It’s also about the beauty of nature and how if we sometimes take a moment to focus on it, it can give us a sense of perspective and peace. The track operates in a Velvet Underground style psych-rock territory, with an epic wall of effervescent electric guitars kicking in as it wildly escalates. 

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Photo - Alessandro Favero

Monterey J - Welcome 2 South London (Album).

South London-based jazz and neo-soul songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Monterey J just released his anticipated sophomore album Welcome 2 South London.

An ode to the sprawling creative underbelly of South London, the album features some of the best talent from south of the river, aiming to champion and tell the story of a thriving artistic community. As well as his own saxophone, bass, guitar, piano and synth work across the album, the album features a cast of talented instrumentalists; Joey Robbins (drums), Tay Harvey (bass), Dan McConkey (tenor sax) as well as as guest appearances from Telica (guitar), Marika (vocals), Hillarynx (vocals) and Southsidefinn (rapper). Fronted by Monterey J’s own elegant vocals and brilliant alto sax work, the album captures a series of compelling, groove orientated tracks. 

Recorded across Cable Street Studios and Lightship 95, and produced by Grammy-nominated Teo Marangon (best known for his work on Keyon Harrold’s Foreverland), Welcome 2 South London showcases rich musicality - from its sprawling jazz flavoured instrumentals, to melancholic, melodic and inventive songwriting that capture a true and pure essence of artistic creativity through rich soundscapes which bring together elements of neo-soul jazz and R&B. 

Speaking about the album, Monterey J explains: "This project tells the story of my personal experience in the creative community of South London. After producing and recording my previous album almost exclusively on my own, I decided to experiment with the process of collaboration, treating these songs as if they were a story told by a multitude of different voices. In my experience, South London is a place of great artistic freedom with a touch of healthy competitiveness and I really wanted to share my journey through music showing both the highs and the lows of navigating through an exciting time of my life in the city. 

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Rachel Ruzumna - Sunday Blues.

Indie-soul artist Rachel Ruzumna just unveiled her evocative new single, “Sunday Blues.” The song offers a candid and intimate glimpse into a quiet, soul-searching Sunday morning—marked by solitude, a lingering hangover, and the emotional echoes of the night before.

Written in the aftermath of a night that left her emotionally bare, “Sunday Blues” channels the unvarnished weight—both physical and emotional. “It’s that heavy, hollow feeling,” Ruzumna shares. “Where you just want someone, anyone, to be beside you, even if you don’t know who.”

With unfiltered lyricism and soul-soaked vocals, “Sunday Blues” captures the bittersweet beauty of longing. More than a reflection of a single moment of sadness, the song stems from a lifelong sensitivity to the emotional weight of weekends—when the high of Saturday fades into the quiet ache of a spent, yearning Sunday. “Since childhood, Sundays have always felt hard for me—filled with that creeping dread of the week ahead, of endings and beginnings and quiet loneliness,” says Ruzumna.

“Sunday Blues” blends melancholic melodies with soulful instrumentation, offering a sound that is both soothing and heart-wrenching. It’s a meditation on vulnerability, a soundtrack for anyone who’s ever felt the ache of needing comfort in a world that’s too quiet.

Rachel Ruzumna · sunday blues

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Cassidy-Rae - Good Day.

Good Day is the new single from Cassidy-Rae and it delivers the hit soundtrack to better moods, brighter mornings, and unforgettable sing-alongs. The song you didn’t know you needed! 

Cassidy-Rae is an artist to watch with mesmerising vocals, an electrifying stage presence, and authentic performances on guitar and keyboard. Her talent has earned her accolades like the Australian Country Music People's Choice Awards Best Female Vocal 2022, ICMA New Female Country Artist 2023 and Gympie Muster Talent Finalist 2023.

Described as "one of country's most energetic young talents" by KIX Country, Cassidy-Rae's journey has been marked by success after success. From winning Sutherland's Entertainer of the Year to achieving back-to-back number one iTunes charting singles, she’s a rising star with an unstoppable momentum.

Her singles have graced popular playlists like Spotify's Fresh Country, Apple Music's Today's Country, and Aussie Country, just to name a few. She's been featured on Top 30 charts, premiered on Country Music Television, and gained attention from esteemed publications like CountryTown Australia and Amnplify. Her success went global when USA’s country music singer-songwriter & ACA’s New Artist of the Year Thomas Rhett, raised a glass joining the ‘Cheers Y’all’ movement.

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moonsea - Indigo Syndicate - Cedarsmoke - Yndling

Photo - Barbara-Luyza

moonsea - Power Cut.

moonsea invites you into a flickering world of feeling with her new single 'Power Cut', released yesterday. Born in Manchester, UK, moonsea spent her school years in Auckland before moving to Melbourne in 2013 to study medicine, where she began to experiment with music production and released two EPs under her first artist project Sympholily: Lights (2017) and Baby Blue (2020). Since then, she's blossomed into moonsea and found her signature sound: a blend of classical, electronic and pop rock sounds soaked in nostalgia. 

Her newest single is a tender ballad with an old soul, pulling you into its universe with bird-like synths twittering over lilting keys and guitars. 'Power Cut' is easy to get lost in, with its ephemeral layering, vivid storytelling, and moonsea's angelic vocals. This single feels like a slow dance, an intimate moment between two people who were meant to be.

A love song to the magic built into the mundane, 'Power Cut' pays homage to the romance that can be found in all parts of life with the right person, and makes a wish for it to never fade. 

"As a child I always felt there was something a bit exciting about a power cut… in those hours of darkness, huddled on the living room floor with our half-burned candles, it felt like time had stopped and we’d entered an alternate reality. This was a universe for telling secrets and holding hands, and I had the distinct feeling that anything might happen. I imagined what it might be like to be in such a situation with someone you were secretly in love with… The rest of the song blossomed from there."

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Indigo Syndicate - Wondering Why.

Indigo Syndicate’s “Wondering Why” offers a charming, reflective take on life’s unpredictability - questioning how we end up where we are, why certain things happen, and holding on to the quiet hope that things can still change. Inspired by a true story, the song opens with a jazzy, floating guitar that immediately sets a chill, yet contemplative tone. It’s the kind of track that gently pulls you inward, inviting you to reflect on your own journey, your dreams and your detours, as the lyric, “Hopes higher than the price I paid, to change my tires, bleeding dry, could barely fill my tank,” hits with quiet honesty.

With this release, Indigo Syndicate reminds listeners they’re not alone in the struggle. “We wanted people to hear this song and relate to how hopeless following your dreams can feel sometimes. It's not the happiest topic, but at the same time, it's meant to help others feel less alone when the world is getting them down.”

It’s a message that clearly resonates. With four features on “New in Alternative” this year alone, and their last two singles landing on Live Nation’s “Ones To Watch,” Indigo Syndicate continues to strike a chord with a growing audience that craves substance as much as style.

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Photo - Thomas Oliver

Cedarsmoke - Picasso Blue.

Fall into the melancholic waves of 'Picasso Blue', the newest single from Cedarsmoke, which was released yesterday. The single comes with the announcement of their third full-length album, 'Under The Rainbow', out October 31. Since their 2016 debut, Cedarsmoke has left their impact on the Brisbane/Meanjin folk scene, with radio plays the country and attention from iconic music platforms such as Triple J, Triple J Unearthed, Double J, MTV,  Pilerats, The Music, AU Review, AAA Backstage, Hysteria Mag, Scenestr and more. Most recently, Cedarsmoke had the pleasure of supporting Bernard Fanning and Paul Dempsey at the Gold Coast's Home of the Arts.

With storytelling front-and-centre in their songs and their genre-bending sound that drifts between folk, indie, and country, every single release is an evolution of their sound.  The second taste of their upcoming album is 'Picasso Blue'. Inspired by Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period, it begins with the suicide of Picasso’s friend, Carles Casagemas, and then ripples out into other art forms like the works of James Joyce, Stanley Kubrick and Miles Davis. 

The sombre nature of the blue period is reflected in the song, with its slow country guitar, hazy vocals, with a musical howling in the background that lends the song its lonely feel. This song marches on through the face of adversity, with its muted, slow drumbeat, taking on an almost dreamlike quality. Singer-songwriter Jon Cloumassis shares that, 

"Musically, this song was a chance to experiment. As each verse was set in a different world lyrically, the aim was to pair the new setting with a new arrangement, dramatically shifting the sound from a gentle melancholy to an experimental psychosis. "

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Yndling - Fences.

In anticipation of her upcoming sophomore album Time Time Time (I’m in the Palm of Your Hand), Yndling released the new single “Fences” yesterday August 1st. An insightful reflection on self-isolation and inner struggle, 'Fences' considers how rumination can be a hurdle on the path to recovery. The track strikes a balance between echoing electronic effects and ethereal organic instrumentals, retaining an atmospheric sound in its development. Producing a range of light and swirling vocals, Yndling explores the patterns of introspection that can become self-defeating, as she recognizes that real improvement can be counterintuitive.

In her own words Yndling explains, "Fences is about self-isolation and kind of the patterns your brain works itself into when you're struggling with those kind of emotions, and how your mind works against you sometimes. It's produced with a blend of programmed and live drums, giving the verses a claustrophobic feel whilst the choruses open up."

Clad with ascending chord progressions and eccentric effects, the monotonous, anxiety-riddled verses open up to an airy and more hopeful chorus. Yndling's sweeping voice prevails through a soundscape of shimmering synths and soothing electric guitar riffs. Produced with a blend of programmed beats and live recordings, the track is both emotionally raw and rooted in atmospheric electronica.

Yndling · Fences

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Ben Arnold - Ezra Bell - Pearly* - Larches

Photo - Andy Bilinski

Ben Arnold - Catch The Lightning.

Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter Ben Arnold has announced that his new album XI will come out on September 26 via ALP Recordings. Produced by Shane Smith (Los Lobos, Amos Lee), the roots-rock record finds the longtime musician bridging the gap between personal insights and universal statements. Along with the announcement, he released the first single “Catch The Lightning,” which combines anthemic heartland rock with early ‘90s power pop to reflect on Arnold’s decades-spanning journey so far. He also shared the official music video, which utilizes Artificial Intelligence to portray Arnold’s experience growing up in Center City Philadelphia, falling in love with music and doing whatever it takes to make it work. 

“‘Catch The Lightning’ was the last song sung and mixed for XI, and it obviously came not just from my own nostalgia, but also a sort of self-helpy viewpoint,” shares Arnold. “Slowly acknowledging the possibility that if I allow in all the colors of the rainbow, after all the shit storms, then maybe I can walk the path forward with a little more ease and satisfaction. It's probably the most orchestrated song on the record, and I couldn't be more thankful for my buddies Shane Smith and Barrie Maguire who helped me to get my vision more into focus.”  

Arnold wrote the songs on this record between his hometown of Philadelphia and hotel rooms in upstate New York where he began traveling every month to visit his terminally ill mother. The grief and introspection of this experience found Arnold turning his gaze both inward and outward, penning songs about the personal battles he was facing himself as well as tracks about the current state of our country that live in the same world as the folk protest songs of the 1960s. No matter which category they fall into, they all feel pertinent to this specific time in Arnold’s life. Sonically, the album finds Arnold pulling from folk, blues, soul, rock & roll and classic pop for a distinctly American sound – taking inspiration across musical traditions, genres, time periods and places.  

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 Photo - JCPenney

Ezra Bell - Tommy’s Lullaby (New Video).

Ezra Bell, one of the 21st century’s most organically successful folk/Americana bands, has released the official music video for their single “Tommy’s Lullaby.” The somber track was first released in August 2024 just weeks before the unexpected death of the band’s lead singer and lyricist Ben Wuamett.

Since their inception over a decade ago, Ezra Bell has created its own sound featuring an unusual mix of street-hard lyrics with folk-pop and Americana sounds sprinkled with elements of rock, blues, jazz, and R&B.

“The song is a conversation with God,” shares the band. “Tommy, our bass player, came up with that beautiful bass part and Ben's words just started flowing. The music video captures the loneliness that hides in plain sight. Even in a room full of people, we are often alone. God's message to us: a love like ours is better from a distance.”

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Pearly* - Not So Sweet.

Pearly’s cathartic title-track second single, ‘Not So Sweet’ navigates the feeling of realising a person is not always as good as they appear to be. While lyrics were written by a 17-year-old Phaedra it sat for years until guitarist Joel put it to one of his proudest musical compositions, finally completing the song, giving the song the depth Pearly* felt it deserved.

Early "Dunedin Sound" influences — especially that of The Clean — caught producer Nick Roughan’s (Skeptics) ear, realising that Pearly* were on to something special. Not So Sweet is a moody, magnetic contrast to Superglue, and is accompanied by a music video directed by Kieran J. Dodd with assistance from Cooper Sharplin, with Matilda Macandrew on DOP duties.

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Larches - Tuckered Out.

Larches began as the project of Jacob Cona, a musician from Athens, GA raised on Elephant 6, R.E.M., and the B-52’s. 

What was originally started as a band to perform the debut album, “Attack of the Telephones,” Larches has turned into a collaborative creative endeavor with Adrian Franco and Robby Fox. 

The band are touring this summer to promote their self-titled EP. Their recorded material aims to capture the energy found playing live together up and down the Pacific Northwest.


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