Belle Tower - Annie Keating - Sunshine & the Blue Moon - Bayleigh Cheek

Belle Tower - Fear.

Belle Tower is the lo-fi indie folk rock project of Isabella Harned, found at the intersection of life experience in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal and Xwilkway/Halfmoon Bay. 

Isolation, solitude, pain, love and healing are key themes at the heart of Belle Tower’s collection; songs that are heavy in their vulnerability, but that simultaneously carry you weightless through the processing of emotions. 

With contributions from main collaborators Ben Robertson (Winona Forever, Schwey), Scott Boudreau (Mauno), and strings from Audreanne Fillion (Lovelet, Crusssh), Belle Tower showcases ethereal vocals, dreamy guitar lines, and varied layered instrumentation resounding a sonic lightness in the new EP ‘tend to’, which was out April 27th, 2021.

Belle Tower · Fear

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Annie Keating - Kindred Spirit.

"Kindred Spirit," the first single from songcrafter Annie Keating's forthcoming album (Bristol County Tides).

The song is about finding commonality in our humanity and brokenness; the narrator is speaking about someone that has become a special part of the narrator's life, acknowledging that life's experiences have shaped the narrator and the narrator's friend, and finding the common threads of hardship that make the bond formed between them even stronger.

Annie's new LP, Bristol County Tides (out on June 4th), pays tribute to relationships forged in difficult times - Annie, who lives in Brooklyn, relocated herself and her children to coastal Massachusetts to wait out the pandemic.

She was treated with kindness and compassion and inclusion by her new neighbors, her city-raised children became country kids, learning to fish and all of that fun stuff, and she was able to write for the first time in a while. This album tells the stories of the love given and friendships forged in the middle of major hardship and pays homage to the people who embraced her and welcomed her family with open arms.

AnnieKeatingNYC · Kindred Spirit

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Sunshine & the Blue Moon - Good Morning Sunshine.

"Good Morning Sunshine" was inspired by dreary hazy mornings, when you wake up and don't want to do the things you’re supposed to do, with your mind more prone to wander.

Recorded live off the floor in Toronto, it's from our rock n roll-inspired sophomore album, Born 2 Boogie, which will be released on June 25 as we try to make sense of the human experience following our collective anxiety in this uneasy state of the world.

It's important to find time to unwind. The Dutch even have a word for it, niksen, the concept of doing nothing. It's supposed to be a stress reliever.

Let's remember that we're all in the same boat. Different lived experiences, but we all share those introspective humdrum days.

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Bayleigh Cheek - Release Me.

Dallas native Bayleigh Cheek began her love affair with music at an early age thanks to her immersive upbringing. Both parents were in the music scene, exposing her to a variety of sounds ranging from psychedelic and folk to progressive rock and new wave. 

Some of her personal music influences include Patti Smith, P.J. Harvey, Radiohead, and Angel Olsen. Those influences led to the creation of her EP, Immortals, that was self-released in early 2020 which brought her DOMA nominations for Best New Artist and Best EP.

In early 2021, she signed with Red Zeppelin Records, which will re-release Immortals as well as her debut album which is set for release in early 2022.

Cheek has frequently performed venues such as The Kessler Theatre, House of Blues, Three Links, opening for acts including Matthew Sweet, and Dallas natives Medicine Man Revival playing consistently for the past five years.

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Climbing Trees - Michael Lane - Bethany Ferrie - Hunter Sheridan

Climbing Trees - Troubling Times.

With two critically-acclaimed albums, one EP and five singles under their collective belts, Welsh Music Prize-nominated Cymrucana pioneers Climbing Trees return this spring after three years of hibernation with brand new single Troubling Times.  Released via Staylittle Music and distributed by The Orchard and PYST.

Recorded in isolation at Mwnci Studios in Hebron, Carmarthenshire – the setting for the band’s critically-acclaimed albums Hebron and Borders – Troubling Times marks the Trees’ first studio material since 2018’s Borders: Acoustic B Sides EP, released at the end of an eventful few years which included shows in the UK, Europe and USA alongside numerous television, radio and festival appearances, a live session at London’s iconic Maida Vale Studios and a performance with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

As the band’s frontman Matthew Frederick remarks; ‘We decided to take a year off in 2018 to spend a little time on our various solo and side projects.  Before we knew it, two years had passed, then three, and a whole lot has happened in the world in that time.  We didn’t want to come back until we had something to say, and, more importantly, a good song to say it with, and Troubling Times certainly feels timely in that sense.  We’ve really enjoyed making music as Climbing Trees again, and we can’t wait to get back out on stage in front of the Trees fans, whenever that may be…’

Climbing Trees · Troubling Times

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Michael Lane - Good Times.

Michael Lane releases the happy upbeat indie folk single "Good Times" on April 30th. Although 'Good Times’ is a very upbeat and happy song, it still has a more serious and deeper meaning. Without getting too much into it, in the song I’m basically saying that, just because you surround yourself with a new house or nice car, doesn’t mean it will give you more happiness in the long run.“ Michael Lane explains. If there is a modern folk-pop artist who has seen the harsh realities in life, it is Michael Lane himself. 

As a US soldier in his twenties, sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, Michael was forced to live at cruelty. And if his previous albums were like a kind of musical diary in which these experiences were reflected, Michael Lane's regained ease and joy can clearly be seen in Good Times“. 

The song is a message of hope and positive certainty that a time of crisis will lead people back to the important things. Successes such as two top 50 songs in the German charts, four albums, international tours and the single "Liberty" as the official song of the 2015/2016 Four Hills Tournament, Europe’s biggest international ski jump event, have made the German-American known to the public. In addition to his work as a musician, Michael Lane is currently also active as a songwriter for production music and as a music producer in his remote "Studio Waldblick“.

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Bethany Ferrie - Bones.

Bethany Ferrie, a 23-year-old singer/songwriter from Glasgow who has recently been shortlisted for the BBC Radio Scotland Singer/Songwriter Award and signed her first publishing contract in 2020, releases her new single, Bones, on the 30th of April 2021.

The track, written in the midst of lockdowns and an upturned world, is about reminiscing, letting go and opening up.

Bethany takes a wide range of influences when it comes to crafting her music: from the likes of Fleetwood Mac to Lewis Capaldi, Kings of Leon to Taylor Swift.

Bethany Ferrie · BETHANY FERRIE - Bones

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Hunter Sheridan - To You, My Friend.

Hunter Sheridan is a Canadian musician whose music delivers soulful songwriting with warm melodies that weave a euphoric atmosphere. Hunter’s writing highlights honest lyrics and dynamic arrangements connecting with listeners across music genres.

Hunter released his debut album, Life is a Dream, in May 2020 and has reached over 100k streams cross-platform. He is now following up with a new single, “To You, My Friend,” which highlights the beauty in the briefness of life, and how important it is to show gratitude, support and appreciation to the ones you love while pursuing your own passions.

Hunter Sheridan Music · HunterSheridan - To You, My Friend

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Samways - Phantom Handshakes - PACKS

Samways - The Wind of Death.

Don’t let the title fool you... The folk music forecast just got brighter and livelier with the release of “The Wind of Death” from Canadian acoustic quartet, Samways.

The second single to drop ahead of the group’s forthcoming debut album, the song juxtaposes   a muscular, driving rhythm and sunny vocal harmonies with the moving poem, “The Wind of Death.” Written by Canadian poet and journalist Ethelwyn Wetherald well over a century ago, the poem touches on the tenuous and reflective last moments of someone’s life.

The wind of death, that softly blows
The last warm petal from the rose
The last dry leaf from off the tree
Tonight, has come to breathe on me

Respectively all known and loved Toronto-based artists in their own rights, lead songwriter, guitarist and composer Nathan Hiltz — and the vocal trio of Shannon Butcher, Jessica Lalonde and Melissa Lauren — have combined their formidable talents to form the creative core of Samways.

As they succinctly put it, they create and perform “acoustic music with lyrics drawn from early Canadian poetry.” What kinds of acoustic music and poetry? Original folk inspired jazz and the 19th and early 20th century works of famed Canadian poets such as Bliss Carman, Susannah Moodie, E.J. Pratt, Agnes Maule Machar and of course, Ethelwyn Wetherald.

The music for “The Wind of Death'' also comes from a mash-up of different worlds… The song answers a question: What would it sound like if Sonny Greenwich joined the Gordon Lightfoot band? Greenwich, an arch top jazz guitarist from Montréal with a psychedelic, Coltrane-influenced style, and Canadian folk legend Lightfoot, are both big inspirations for Hiltz.

While in his twenties, Hiltz was a jazz purist working at Toronto’s Ring Music, and Lightfoot used to come around to the shop. “I absolutely knew who [Lightfoot] was but had no idea what he sounded like,” Hiltz explains. “All I remember is this badass who parked his big, old-man Cadillac in the no parking zone out front of the store. “He came in and said ‘I’m Gordon Lightfoot. I’m here to pick up my guitar’.”

Those moments stuck with Hiltz and years later, as his musical tastes opened up, he devoured Lightfoot’s entire discography, citing his beautiful music as a driving force in the creation of Samways. Unlike the group’s first single “Untrodden Ways,” “The Wind of Death” is more akin to Lightfoot’s “Summer Side of Life” than “Long River.” Now, replace Lightfoot with three powerful female singers and you have Samways’ signature and fully-satisfying sound.

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Phantom Handshakes - Skin.

NYC-based dream-pop duo Phantom Handshakes are sharing their new album, No More Summer Songs, on all DSPs followed by a Bandcamp release on April 30th via Z Tapes.

No More Summer Songs is a collection of songs exploring themes of memory, nostalgia and the visceral feeling of when summer gives way to autumn. If Phantom Handshakes' debut release, Be Estranged was their summer album, this is their end-of-summer album.

The album expands on the lo-fi, DIY approach they took with Be Estranged. The songs on the album are less concerned with following a standard structure and more interested in a mood. For the duo, creating these songs was a cathartic outlet to help us get through these long months in lockdown.

No More Summer Songs was written, recorded and mixed entirely by Phantom Handshakes at their respective homes in New York City and mastered by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering in Chicago.

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PACKS - Two Hands.

PACKS debut LP Take The Cake, is due out on Fire Talk Records (Dehd, Patio, Mamalarky) and Royal Mountain Records (Wild Pink, Alvvays, Mac DeMarco) on May 21st, and significant excitement has been building around the Toronto band since they announced the album in early March. The album has seen two singles so far in "Silvertongue" and "New TV," which have been the subject of some high praise! This week the band are sharing a third single from the LP, the sneakily infectious "Two Hands".

Memorably invoking a "Simpson's sunset" in its opening lyric, the track delivers a hazy jangle that forms the perfect frame for PACKS leader Madeline Link's laid back melodic acrobatics, and the accompanying video, which Link directed herself, reflects the song's springtime feeling.

PACKS was initially a solo songwriting project of Madeline Link that she pursued between gigs as a set dresser for commercials, the band is now a four piece, composed of Shane Hooper (drums), Noah O’Neil (bass), and Dexter Nash (lead guitar). Together they turn Link’s melodically adventurous and introspective songs into the purest and brightest kind of indie rock. Anchored by Link’s voice, which brings such an easy charm to her songs that it’s easy to miss her keen ear for acrobatic vocal lines, the band’s debut is a collection of songs that marry the loose but incisive jangle of early Pavement with the barbed sweetness of Sebadoh and the wide-eyed wonder of the first Shins LP.

Written in two different settings, between the city limits of Toronto where Link was living in 2019, and the Ottawa suburbs where she was quarantined with her parents in the spring 2020, both remain complementary emblems of self-reflection and wry observation of the mundanity of daily life.

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Sleepy Jean - Joe Cardamone - Faiyaz and the Wasted Chances - Jeshua

Sleepy Jean - Smaller.

It’s the sound of a song you half remember. A voice from some faraway radio. A glimpse of a now scratched record. You pause, reaching into that dark recess of memory for a brighter recollection, and return with nothing but the gnawing remembrance of something you’re sure you’ve forgotten. No satisfaction can be found: Sleepy Jean’s blend of American standard songwriting and folk sensibilities are unquestionably her own.

Borne from the bones of forgotten nostalgia, Sleepy Jean spent the better part of a decade frequenting tourist traps and hole-in-the-walls alike whilst sneakily sliding her self-penned songs amongst those of her contemporaries and reveries. Her wistful, smoky voice is equal parts Joni Mitchell and Etta James, and is known for that inimitable quality that evokes salty streams of tears and bloody bar fights alike. Her first recorded offering, Idle Hands, makes its way into the world midsummer 2021.

Idle Hands began as an exercise in self-soothing. The dawning of 2020’s Great Slowdown saw Jean watch her regular hustle and bustle as a working musician (playing over 250 dates a year!) disappear within the wink of an eye. In her effort to avoid the realities of global catastrophe, Sleepy turned inwards and spent the majority of her time dreaming up songs that felt comforting, yet addressed the anxieties and idiosyncrasies that peppered her newly empty days. “Hungry,” a sugary sardonic musing on social cannibalism, was the first to surface while “By the Oceanside,” a tribute to the harmonies of the Everly Brothers soon followed. Idle Hands sees Sleepy exploring her love of 1960’s folk music (“Smaller,” “I Don’t Belong”) while paying homage to the likes of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald (“Moonshine,” “Downer.”) The final track, “How’s it All Gonna End,” is both an ode to the Truman Show and an unnerving waltz that swells with a tension filled current as she ponders that titular, existential question.

Sleepy partnered with long time collaborator Dan Serre (Cat Clyde, Shitbats) to record and mix the majority of the 7 song extended play over the course of 2 months within the confines of a spare bedroom. Russ Donohue (Stonehouse Studios) aided in additional mixing, and mastering was completed by Kristian Montano (Montano Mastering) in Toronto, ON. Drums and vibraphone were provided by Marshall Bureau (Great Lake Swimmers, Jill Barber), with additional playing from Kaelin Murphy (trumpet), Phil Bosley (upright bass) and Al Aguilar (synthesizers). A long-play is expected to follow in early 2022.

Sleepy Jean · Smaller

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Joe Cardamone - Yeshua.

Los Angeles native artist Joe Cardamone has lived a few lifetimes while leaving a wiry dent in the global underground music and film scenes. The band that Joe fronted for 17 years, The Icarus Line, formed in East Los Angeles in 1998. Over the course of six albums the punk agitators became an underground phenomenon and the most dangerous, if not the greatest, punk group of their generation. The cult band the never gave up. 

Performances at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in front of 30,000+ fans, multiple appearances on the legendary John Peel show, criss-crossing the US in a van opening a stadium tour for A Perfect Circle and The Cult and a UK tour with Primal Scream are just some of the “greatest hits” of a legend loaded with nearly mythic live performances and chaos. But it was the death of guitarist/original member Alvin DeGuzman in 2017 following a long battle with cancer, which was the actual end of The Icarus Line (a demise recently depicted in Michael Grodner’s independent film “The Icarus Line Must Die” which is now streaming on Amazon and Hulu).

The following year Joe released his solo debut, the frenzied Holy War album and film on his own imprint American Primitive. Cardamone’s new approach was a modern one man show that forged R&B and crushing electronics with the combative spirit of his formative punk years. While crafting a pair of follow up albums in 2020 the world stopped and the QUARENTINA project emerged in response. Outside of his work as an artrist Joe has produced and collaborated with some of the greatest artists of our time including Mark Lanegan, Ian Astbury, Warren Ellis (Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds) and James Williamson (The Stooges).

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Faiyaz and the Wasted Chances - Glow.

Faiyaz and the Wasted Chances are a POC fronted Toronto punk band that have been described as a raw garage pop band with virtuosic protopunk influences, cheekily modded for today’s listeners. 

Their sound falls somewhere between Warhol pre-punk and the Toronto DIY indie that they flowered in. The band’s raucous, rough-around-the-edges appeal is concisely painted.

Raised in the downtown core, the band cut their teeth as young underaged punks playing the original Silver Dollar Room, The Horseshoe Tavern, Lee’s Palace, and any other willing hole-in-the-wall in Canada. 

Through relentless mini tours and studio EPs in famed studios 6 Nassau, Candle Recording, and Lootbag Studios, the band gained the cult following that have allowed them to play alongside larger more reputable acts. They are currently on Lootbag Records alongside many great artists.

Faiyaz and The Wasted Chances · Glow

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Jeshua - Esther.

Glasgow based Dundonian Jeshua (Joshua Gray) is set to release his effervescent debut album Unreliable Narrator on June 4th with the fourth single from the album, ‘Esther’, an ode to the singer’s Grandmother, due on April 28th.

Unreliable Narrator beguiles with layers of delightfully hazy guitar pop, whisking you off you feet with an assured aloofness and a wistful beauty that is only seen rarely in guitar albums these days.

Jeshua’s introspective dream-pop encapsulates the everyday experiences of a fly-on- the-wall shop assistant, drawing from feelings of disconnection and the need for distraction from programmed living.

Singles so far, ‘Feel-So-Alive’, ‘Waste Away’ and ‘IDK’, have gained both local and national airplay, notably being championed by Vic Galloway (Radio Scotland) and Shell Zenner (BBC Introducing/Amazing Radio) and featured on Spotify editorial playlists.

“Each song has a specified meaning and all of them are connected, I think it sums up a ten year period of my life and how I was feeling about life and death, with the lyrics being an exercise of reflection.

Jeshua · Esther

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Abby K - Dr Fabola

Abby K - Pay Attention.

Abby K is back and defining herself to say it is MY time. I am taking control and you will hear me! "Pay Attention" is a rock anthem delivered to the proverbial board of trustees as if to say- "I know what I want, I know what I am doing, NOW listen because I have the rock and I need to roll. Nothing you say or do is taking me off my drive!" Clearly, Abby K is making her statement and it is time for the music insiders to "Pay Attention"!

Without a doubt, Abby K is a strong female-fronted hard rock/metal band continuing to blaze the trail like Lzzy Hale, Lita Ford, and other great female rockers have! '"Pay Attention" is the ultimate “I’m here, now LISTEN” song! It is catchy while also being a hard-hitting rock song that you can’t help but bang your head to. Powerful hooks and shredding guitar solos belong in rock music and we’re bringing them back! We want to show the world that we’re here to stay and we won’t stop until we reach the top. So you’d better pay attention!"'

Abby K is a bassist, vocalist, and songwriter from Charlotte, North Carolina. She picked up the bass at age 13 after being influenced by Gene Simmons at a KISS Concert. Months into her musical journey, she was 1 of 3 bassists in the United States selected to attend GRAMMY Camp in Los Angeles, CA. Abby was soon later invited by the producers of America’s Got Talent to audition for the show. She claims that her proudest moment was when Nita Strauss joined her onstage to perform Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper”. Since then, she has developed her own style of musicianship which is commonly described as the love child of Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) and Lita Ford.

In the spring of 2021, Abby K became an independent artist and announced that Crispy Borell and Diego Vargas will be joining the band as co-lead guitarists. Recently, the new lineup released the title track of their upcoming album, “Pay Attention” as a single. Join Abby and the band on this incredible journey of theirs by following @abbykrocks on all social media.

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Dr Fabola - No Tomorrow.

Dr. Fabola is a Manchester based singer/songwriter whose upbeat acoustic pop is laced with rootsy folk,world music and jazz. His intricate finger picking and soft,soulful vocals combine effortlessly into a sweet feel good vibe that has drawn comparisons to Jack Johnson, Tracy Chapman and Nina Simone.

"You could say I wrote my latest single 'No Tomorrow' as a reminder - a note to self - to be kind, to love others, to love myself, to laugh and just live life to the fullest. Does this sound basic? Like "Live, Laugh, Love"? 

Well, that's the idea; the good life is meant to be basic, but we over complicate things, and this song is a reminder of just how simple and beautiful life can be. Laugh like there's no one watching, and love like there's no tomorrow."

The Animal Farm Label · Dr Fabola_No Tomorrow

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