Isabel Rumble - Janita - ALEIA - Moving Into Tucson - Pilar Victoria

Photo - Elise Ideiens 

Isabel Rumble - Digesting History.

With a quiet strength and unflinching honesty, Isabel Rumble returns with 'Digesting History', out yesterday Friday, October 3. As the final single before her forthcoming album 'Hold Everything Lightly' (October 24), it carries the hushed weight of reflection and the gentle clarity of change, offering a key that unlocks the themes at the heart of the record.

'Hold Everything Lightly' is an assured statement of identity, a clear distillation of who she is and the gentle strength of Isabel's indie-folk style. Across ten tracks, she writes through cycles of change, transition, and self-discovery, moving between internal landscapes and the rhythms of the world around her. The record deepens her understanding of womanhood while reconnecting with the stillness at the centre of it all. As Isabel explains: 

“The songs that make up my second album are the most raw and honest I have written… This record is a return to the stillness at the centre of it all, and to the simplicity of the heart’s voice.”

For this newest track, 'Digesting History', Isabel Rumble reveals a different flavour to anything she has shared before, marking the first time she has released a song written on piano. Tender and heartfelt, the track opens with piano and Isabel’s dulcet voice, before plucked strings join in unison and a grounding double bass steadies the frame. As the song unfolds, the strings shift into smooth, bowed textures, expanding the arrangement like a breath held and released.

Isabel Rumble · Digesting History

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Janita - Let's Go.

The May release of Janita’s tenth studio album Mad Equation has become the most successful of her career—what’s more, it’s become the most successful in ECR Music Group history. Now, the two-time Billboard Top-40 hitmaker, releases a rousing, Beatles-inspired music video for the track “Let’s Go,” directed by acclaimed independent filmmaker Alice Teeple.

“We made a fun, tongue-in-cheek video for the album’s new single ‘Let’s Go,’ and I think it’s just what the doctor ordered,” says Janita. “We filmed this romp in Central Park with director Alice Teeple, and there are homages and Easter Eggs in it to The Beatles’ ‘Paperback Writer’ and ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ videos. How could you not make something fun when you have The Beatles as an inspiration!”

From the outset of her career, Janita has defied convention yet repeatedly enjoyed mainstream success. She’s commanded attention as a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, and artist-rights activist who meets frequently with Congressional lawmakers. Rolling Stone praises Janita’s new album as one “in which echoes of PJ Harvey and St. Vincent resonate.” Billboard Magazine writes, “This woman’s got the goods. Janita has created a timeless, sensuous, musical mosaic that deserves to be heard.” Earmilk adds, “Janita is just getting started. Full of spirit, courage, and a refusal to fit into any box, balancing raw vulnerability with an unshakable sense of independence. It's the kind of music that makes you want to chase your dreams.”

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Photo - Stephanie Senior

ALEIA - Public Humiliation.

Perth/Boorloo indie-pop / alt / folk artist ALEIA has a rare gift for alchemising heartache into something luminous, and that gift finds its fullest form on her debut EP 'Public Humiliation', arriving Thursday, November 6. The title track, out Friday, October 3, spills first like ink across the page. It’s a tender, tear-streaked addition to a collection that traces the bruised outlines of modern love, the ache of almosts, and the quiet humiliation of wanting too much in a world that gives too little.

With just two singles to her name, ALEIA already shimmers as a rare presence in the Australian indie folk pop landscape, with a lyricism that speaks candid truths and lends to tender introspection. Her debut EP builds on that promise, unfolding as a gentle reckoning, a heartfelt unravelling of love’s emotional debris, pieced together with clarity, vulnerability and care. Speaking on the EP, ALEIA states:

“'Public Humiliation’ is an EP I wrote after being jaded with love. I was newly single with my frontal lobe fully developed and realising I had only experienced toxic long-term relationships, painful situationships, and a nightmarish uncommitted life of casual dating. Being in love felt like a humiliation ritual to prove that you can be loved. It was sobering to be so self-aware of how embarrassing it is to be vulnerable in a culture that is used to romanticising casual sex."

On the title track, ALEIA’s instrumentation is delicate yet deliberate, a slow bloom where every element feels exposed. Gentle, slow-strummed guitar sets a mournful tone, soft at first, then growing sharper and more resolute as the pained feeling crests. Layered vocals glide in close, intimate and aching, creating a space that feels like a whispered confession shared in the quiet aftermath of heartbreak. 

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Moving Into Tucson - Please Don’t Go.

The wait is over: Please Don’t Go is here. This first single of their new chapter shows Moving Into Tucson at their most urgent and confident yet. A track that balances raw emotion with sparkling melodies, it’s a heartfelt plea wrapped in the kind of indie rock anthem you’ll want on repeat. With this release, the Amsterdam band kicks off the road toward their upcoming album All Dressed Up (2026). Big hooks, bigger ambition — and a sound that’s ready for the bigger stage.

Moving Into Tucson have never stood still. From the raw immediacy of their debut album Distraction, to the anthemic heights of People Of The World, and the unexpected treasures of Gems Left Behind—each chapter has been a step forward, a sharpening of sound and vision.

Now comes the leap. “All Dressed Up” (release 2026) isn’t just an album title—it’s a statement. A signal flare. The sound of a band ready to claim the bigger stage they’ve always been destined for. First single, "Please Don't Go" sets the tone: bold, urgent, unshakably alive. It’s Moving Into Tucson at their most melodic, their most dynamic, and their most universal—without losing the raw edge that made them impossible to ignore in the first place.

TCBYML · Moving Into Tucson - Please Don't Go

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Photo - Kate Bonin

Pilar Victoria - Mi Vida.

Following a wave of support from national radio and press, Argentine-American solo artist Pilar Victoria returns with the bewitching new single ‘Mi Vida’ - a heartfelt, bilingual single, blending Spanish and English, inspired by late-night calls with a long-distance partner. 

Written and produced alongside Grammy winner Happy Perez (Halsey, Ariana Grande, Kali Uchis, Miguel, Miley Cyrus, Kehlani among others), the single is another radiant example of the unique chillout-pop sound that has seen Pilar gain widespread support, as comparable to Mazzy Star as it is to Billie Eilish and ROSALÍA. 

A Houston-based singer-songwriter, born in Buenos Aires and raised in Texas, Pilar has become known for her dreamy, melancholic sound and her gift for turning personal experiences into songs that feel universally understood. Written late one night in her college dorm room, ‘Mi Vida’ reflects the quiet ache of a long-distance relationship. The song began after a FaceTime call with her partner, when Pilar sat down with her guitar and poured her emotions into music. What started as a way to ease her heartache quickly became one of her most honest compositions.

“I just want people to feel what I was feeling,” Pilar shares. “Even if it’s heavy, I hope it makes them float for a moment and know they’re not alone.”

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Strawberry Alarm Clock - Manuel K and his Family Band - Caswell - iNNUENDO - Louis O'Hara - Leilani Patao

Strawberry Alarm Clock - Monsters / White Light.

As Strawberry Alarm Clock began to approach its sixtieth anniversary, a new album began to take shape: songs about life, everyday fears, and what comes next. With each member of the band writing and singing, just as they had for all these years, a new and powerful collection of songs emerged that deserves to be heard by listeners both old and new. 

Big Stir Records, located near Burbank, CA, where the band first emerged sixty years ago, is proud to present the next chapter in the band's saga. The first single, “Monsters”, coupled with “White Light”, brings the classic SAC sound into the here and now. The new songs, and forthcoming album, are the continuation of those long-ago ideas, shaped and strengthened anew by the times that they, and we, now live in. 

This is not the return of Strawberry Alarm Clock. In truth, they have never even gone away over the last sixty years, as films such as Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls and Austin Powers have continued to share their sounds far beyond that Summer Of Love. Perhaps the moment has arrived again has come for a new, powerful, yet familiar sound. Once again, the time has come for The Strawberry Alarm Clock.

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Manuel K and his Family Band - Like a Flower (Studio Session).

Manuel K from St. Gallen (CH) is reminding us of good old power pop – in a charming way: twanging guitars, straightforward, catchy pop melodies. And of course, the essential dose of power. All those ingredients make a good power pop song.

What makes the whole project special is that Manuel K recorded the track with his Family Band, bringing together several generations. On drums, his son Jayden; on bass, his daughter Allison; and on second electric guitar, his sister Angela. The song was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Marco Jencarelli (Philipp Fankhauser, Dada Ante Portas, among others). The video production was handled by Jonas Ruppen and Manuel Maeder of Ruppen Productions (working with well known Swiss acts such as Anna Kaenzig, Mothers Pride, among others).

“Like a Flower” is now the ninth single by Manuel K, who grew up in Mels (SG) and lives in Azmoos (municipality of Wartau / Werdenberg region of Sankt Gallen/CH), and it comes with a video release. Already with his former rock band Nextmile, Manuel K had the track in his repertoire – but it has never sounded as fresh as in this new recording with his Family Band.

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Photo - Gabby Sep

Caswell - Break/Bleed/Bloom (Album).

Suffolk Alternative-Pop riser Caswell releases the hotly anticipated debut album Break/Bleed/Bloom this week. Blending elements of downtempo electronica, ethereal deampop and indie musicality with pop and EDM sensibilities, Caswell brings a sonic intelligence and melodic clarity which sets her music apart. Lush, immersive and emotive, the album showcases how well formed Caswell’s sonic identity across its 9 tracks. 

Honest lyricism, atmospheric electronics, and driving bass and drums form the backbone of the album, with Caswell’s tender yet commanding vocal pulling each track forward through instantly repeatable melodies. The record moves fluidly between moods—at times intense and danceable, at others melancholic and understated—always retaining a subtle musicality. From the opener Your Type, which swells from ambient beginnings into a driving wall of bass and synth, to the stripped-back emotion of Written To Die, the haunting ambient beauty of Dorko Boda, the moody ‘My Bed’ with Passion Parade, and the floating alt-pop shimmer of Final Call, the album is varied, immaculately produced, and yet affectingly raw and real.

Speaking about the album Caswell explains: "Break/Bleed/Bloom is a collection of nine songs, split into three chapters: Break, Bleed, and Bloom. Break is about friction – those moments when something stops working and you have no choice but to change it. Bleed is the mourning period that follows, but also the release and healing that comes with it. Bloom is the beginning again: hope, optimism, self-exploration, before the cycle inevitably repeats. For me, this album is about leaning into endings instead of rushing past them. We live in a world that tells us to keep producing, achieving and moving forward, but I wanted to show the power in allowing things to die. That’s where the real growth happens.

It was written over three years, giving us the time and space to really live with the songs while living life. Collaborating with my long-time live band and producers kept it super authentic and organic too, and we’re so excited to finally share it with the world, before the next creative cycle begins."

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Photo -  Aidan Dowling

iNNUENDO - Rosemary.

Dublin based art-pop quartet iNNUENDO return with the new single ‘Rosemary’, offering another taste of their theatrical alternative-rock-meets-artistic-pop aesthetic drawing inspiration from the likes of Kate Bush and David Bowie, the band bring together a sound which conjures elements of CMAT, XTC, Florence And The Machine and Marina And The Diamonds. 

The new single distills the band’s aesthetic into technicolour brilliance, weaving together intricate piano lines, driving drums, and theatrical, emotive vocals to create a rich and compelling soundscape. As the track surges into its shout-along chorus, the band’s gift for infectious melody shines through, carried by taut rhythms and choppy guitar that echo the spirit of The Last Dinner Party. The second verse then takes an unexpected turn, erupting into a dazzling wall of arpeggiators that inject a renewed sense of energy and vibrancy, mirroring the electric dynamism of the band’s live performances.

Speaking about the single, the band explain: “‘Rosemary’ was inspired by one of our bandmate’s old piano teachers, who was awful to him. I started noodling around with piano motifs and the song came together almost instantly, expanding once we crafted the cutting synth line after the first chorus - that really cemented the dance-y groove underneath".

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Louis O'Hara - Finally Stick.
 
Louis O'Hara has shared his new 'Finally Stick' single, with the debut album 'A Peaceful Kind of Fun' due out 07.11 via Libertino. Of the single we are told: Opening in the glow of early love, the track captures the joy of losing yourself in someone else’s light. By the final verse, it drifts into a lower key reflecting on the exhaustion and fallout that come with endings. Arranged with piano, bass, clarinet, cello, electric guitar, and even a theremin, the song also features a spoken-word bridge inspired by 1950s vocal groups like The Capris and The Ink Spots. The result is both tender and haunting a love song that lingers long after it fades. 

A Peaceful Kind of Fun is a 14-track collection that distils O’Hara’s poetic lyricism, tender folk roots, and subtle chamber-pop flourishes into a deeply personal yet quietly universal debut. Recorded with his band His Burley Chassis and produced by James Trevascus (Billy Nomates, Young Fathers, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis) in Spain, the album is shaped by themes of memory, loss, joy, and the places and people that anchor a life.

Throughout the record, O’Hara draws from family history, friendships, and rural West Wales landscapes to create songs that are intimate yet resonant. “The Kid In Me” channels recurring dreams of playing football for Wales as an ode to imagination and daydreaming. “Just Grand” (the album’s first single) is a tender farewell to his grandfather. “Sunnyhill Farm” recalls childhood summers spent on his aunt and uncle’s dairy farm. “Munnelly” traces his grandfather’s memories of the corncrake bird in rural Ireland, entwined with the fragility of dementia. Other highlights include “Magpie”, a love song to his closest friend, “Married”, written in celebration of his brother’s wedding, and “Plant a Tree”, which gathers pieces of life advice into a song of gratitude.

New single “Finally Stick” embodies the duality at the heart of O’Hara’s writing - beginning with the joy and lightness of love’s early stages before descending into the exhaustion and fallout of a relationship’s end. Its arrangement layers piano, clarinet, cello, electric guitar, and theremin, with a spoken-word bridge nodding to 1950s vocal groups such as The Ink Spots and The Capris.

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Leilani Patao - Bird Whistle.

Brooklyn-based (via Los Angeles) artist Leilani Patao has released "Bird Whistle," the second single from ‘daisy,’ their label debut EP, which will be released via Audio Antihero on November 7th. Debuting in 2021 at the age of 17, Leilani showcased their rich, aching voice, shaped by a background in theatre and their youthful willingness to show vulnerability through a raw lyrical honesty across a series of DIY self-releases. 2024’s ‘But What If?’ earned them their greatest exposure to date when they were featured on The Tonight Show. 

Taking its title from the name of Leilani’s much-missed childhood dog, ‘daisy’ is described by the artist as “a pure experiment” in both sound and distribution. Leilani’s ambitious production requires the listener to find the emotion within the cracks, as their range, biting words, and ear for melody push through the wash of sound in fragments. Leilani also made the decision to remove themselves from the algorithm by withholding these songs from streaming, taking control of their work, and asking:

“Is it possible to share my music properly, pay everyone who was involved, get paid myself, and not have to interact with the many systems in place that make me dread music?” 

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Sally Phantom - Tom Smith - Amber Hotel - Crystal Shawanda

Sally Phantom - Going Insane.

With a powerhouse voice and an unmistakable presence, Montreal’s Sally Phantom emerges fully formed on her debut single, “Going Insane.” Rooted in alternative pop-rock but stretching into gothic soul, cinematic grunge, and alt-pop balladry, Sally’s sound lands somewhere between the torch-song drama of Amy Winehouse and the theatrical darkness of Evanescence, with flashes of Lana Del Rey, Ethel Cain, and Paramore woven throughout. 

Backed by a team of seasoned industry veterans, this young artist arrives not as a hopeful, but as a headline. Co-written and produced by Canadian music mainstays Hugo Mud and Adrian Popovich, the track is a masterclass in collaboration: raw, addictive, and impossible to ignore.

“Going Insane” began as a spontaneous creative spark and quickly evolved into something far more deliberate. From Houde’s gripping instrumentation to Popovich’s heavy-lidded synth work and precise mix, the production walks a razor’s edge between gritty and cinematic. But it’s Sally’s performance that cuts deepest—her vocal range is wide, expressive, and unflinching, with the same dramatic heft that made legends of Amy Winehouse and Evanescence. Her songwriting, co-crafted with Mudie, dives into addiction, identity, and emotional unraveling, delivered with rare lyrical poise and intensity. 

“It’s a conversation with God,” she says, “a personal letter to my addictions, and a reflection on the pain of loving someone I couldn’t have.” Writing the song meant returning to the moment she realized something had to change. “Addiction had controlled my life since my teens. At 23, my dad sent me to rehab, and it saved me. Sobriety gave me the courage to feel again—and this song was how I admitted that to heal, I had to finally feel.”

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Tom Smith - Leave.

Tom Smith steps forward as a solo artist with his debut album There Is Nothing In The Dark That Isn't There In The Light (out December 5 via Play It Again Sam). New single "Leave" follows "Life Is For Living" and "Lights of New York City". 

Working alongside producer Iain Archer, Tom Smith has completed work on his debut solo album. Stepping out of the world of Editors for the first time, ‘There Is Nothing In The Dark That Isn’t There In The Light’ is eagerly anticipated and today's single release 'Leave' is the third taste of what we are expecting to be a fabulous album with a real distinction from Editors material.

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Amber Hotel - Shadowed Face.

Enter Amber Hotel. Still flickering, still rising, from the darker corners of modern-day Chicago. Amber Hotel is not nostalgia. It’s a gathering point. A sanctuary for those who feel out of step with the speed of the modern world. It’s 2025, and things have never felt stranger, heavier, or more electric.

If previous single Digital Ghost was the phantom of lost connection, Shadowed Face is the mirror you’d rather not face. A track that stares back at you—cold, unblinking—revealing the parts we bury under light and distraction. It’s brooding, cinematic, and drenched in the DNA of post-punk and dark wave, carrying echoes of The Cure, She Wants Revenge, and early Interpol, but warped into something wholly their own.

The guitars don’t shimmer—they slice. The bass doesn’t just drive—it drags you into the undertow. And through it all, the voice: commanding yet distant, both confession and accusation. This is chapter three of Amber Hotel’s descent. Another key, another door unlocked. Behind it lies a shadow, a mask, a self you can’t escape. Welcome back to Amber Hotel. You can hide your face, but the shadows will find you.

TCBYML · Amber Hotel - Shadowed Face

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Crystal Shawanda - Sing Pretty Blues.

Crystal Shawanda's video for the song Sing Pretty Blues launched this yesterday. Known for her JUNO and Maple Blues Award-winning albums, Crystal's latest release covers Stax-sounding soul, rootsy acoustic Americana, and pure Janis Joplin-style power Blues.

Crystal began singing this song in concert when she started her music career, performing as a Country artist at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge in the 1990s. 

A song about the struggle of letting go of the past, confronting pain and seeking forgiveness, Crystal's fans have often requested a recording. Audience members will tell her about how much the song means to them, and about the people who continue to struggle or whom they've lost along the way. 

This song was recorded acoustically on two resonator guitars with the accompaniment of a 150-year old hand drum played by a revered elder from Crystal's home reservation, Wiikwemikoong First Nations on Manitoulin Island in Ontario. 

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The Cords - Terry White - Kate Prendergast - Erica Knox

The Cords - The Cords (Album).

The debut album from The Cords, described previously on Beehive Candy as the brightest new indie pop band from Scotland, has now been released. It's everything the singles promised it would be, vibrant, addictive and oozing charm and energy.

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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Terry White - You Won't Have a Name.

Chicago singer-songwriter Terry White's new album You Won't Have a Name was released a couple of days ago. White, known for his work with Modern Day Saints and the Yellowhammers, released his solo debut, Our Separate Ways, in 2007 and then formed the band Cannonball in 2009. Cannonball was an opportunity to collaborate with other musicians based around long-running venue FitzGerald’s Nightclub in Berwyn, IL, and White's 2012 album Cannonball Fodder, produced by Jon Langford (Mekons, Waco Bros, Skull Orchard), celebrates that spirit of collaboration and being part of a musical community.
 
2020's Still Got Me, credited to Terry White and his backing band The Loaded Dice, continued to shine a light on White's fine songwriting and musicianship and set the stage for his fourth full-length solo album You Won't Have a Home.
 
You Won't Have a Home is a collection of songs written over the last four years. It began in 2021 when White, Paul Bivans (drums), Andon Davis (guitar), Michael Krayniak (bass) and Chris Neville (organ) met at Joyride Studios, owned by engineer Blaise Barton (who sadly passed away on June 12, 2025), in Chicago. 
 
The songs that comprise You Won't Have a Home were recorded one at a time, with as few overdubs as possible, to maintain a "live in-studio" sound. Over the course of many sessions, White enlisted his musician friends, including Brian Leach (who also engineered and mixed tracks on the album), Gerald Dowd, Patrick Brennan, Rob Pierce, John Pirruccello, and Phil Bayer, to lend their voices and assorted instruments to flesh out the desired sounds and textures. He further enlisted Pie Eyed Pete Cimbalo (bass), Sheila Cimbalo (vocals) and Tom Kneesel (pedal steel) to record a version of "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Lost Gatos)," written by Woody Guthrie and Martin Hoffman. 

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Kate Prendergast - Retold Tale / Ignition.

Kate Prendergast is a young, emerging alt-folk musician and singer-songwriter living in County Meath in Ireland. A keen vocalist, Kate also plays piano, guitar, bass and is learning drums and harmonica. She is carefully building a portfolio of original songs which broadly sit within the alt-folk genre but experiments with ideas and influences from country, blues, jazz and a tinge of rock.

Her first single ‘Past Letters’ was recorded in her small home studio and received considerable radio attention in Ireland and the UK. John Dinsmore (formerly lead singer of the Beat Poets) saw promise in her songwriting abilities and introduced her to producer Declan Legge of Analogue Catalogue Studio B and manager of bands such as Jealous of the Birds and Vera. Declan invited Kate to visit his studio in Newry to work on a single and her second song ‘Undergrowth’ was recorded with drums and bass provided by the talented Darragh Tibbs.

Following the success of this second single, Kate and Declan decided to collaborate further and recorded ‘Lavender Country’. This time Kate chose to move away from the drums of ‘Undergrowth’ in favour of a slow build and change in mood during the song from wistful dreaming to cautious hope to upbeat optimism reflecting the challenging roads many of us traverse as we search for peace and balance in our lives.

Kate's next single 'Ignition' was released on 9th May 2025. Ignition explores the uncertainties of starting a new episode in life and the conflicting feelings that often arise for those left behind - between the desire to see loved ones flourish in their new futures and the yearning for them to return home. This was followed by 'Retold Tale' in September which is a commentary on the experiences, doubts and challenges facing countless young artists as they try to make an impact in a noisy and sometimes disdainful world.


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Photo - Calm Elliott Armstrong

Erica Knox - Growing Song.

Toronto-based singer-songwriter Erica Knox continues her Abbey Road Studios story with “Growing Song” a chill, introspective soft-pop track that balances vulnerability with resilience. Written during her time at the legendary London studio – handpicked as one of three artists to record there through DHL’s FastTrack Sessions – the single lays bare Knox’s moments of self-doubt while celebrating the growth that comes with perseverance.

“It’s a very vulnerable song, highlighting every thought of self-doubt that tends to race through my head,” Knox shares. “Among that comes knowing that things will eventually work out as long as I keep trying to build a happy life, and a strong career for myself.”

The track’s inspiration ties directly to Knox’s journey. After being turned down for the same contest in 2023, she almost didn’t apply again in 2024. But a last-minute submission won her a life-changing opportunity. “A few weeks later I was being flown out to London. I was so proud of myself for making it here and I had to write about the mental challenges leading up to that moment.”

Sonically, “Growing Song” carries inspiration from The Staves’ rich harmonies and open guitar tuning, whose live performance Knox attended the night before writing. The subtle production leans into dreamscape vocal effects and spacious instrumentation, highlighting the lyricism at its core.

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Rosa Anschutz - The Bankes Brothers - Drea Lake - Dynamyte - Ezra Bell

Photo - Rosa Anschutz

Rosa Anschutz - Sabbatical (Album).

Berlin-born artist Rosa Anschütz, known for her spellbinding vocal work in the electronic underground, has released her new album Sabbatical via Wesley Eisold's (Cold Cave, American Nightmare) Heartworm Press, her first international release outside of Germany.  Heartworm has previously released books by legendary artists Genesis P'Orridge, Mark Lanegan, Alan Vega and more, and Rosa Anschütz's ambitious 14-track statement compliments the label's catalogue with her haunting minimalism and visionary depth.

Swapping pulsing club beats for a raw, cinematic intimacy, Anschütz channels the spectral beauty of Moon Pix-era Cat Power, the mystique of Nico, and the experimental clarity of Björk and Dead Can Dance. The stripped-back arrangement foregrounds Anschütz’s arresting voice, carrying lyrics that feel both prophetic and personal. 

With Sabbatical, Rosa Anschütz emerges as one of the most compelling avant-garde voices of her generation... an artist unafraid to dismantle genre, geography, or expectation. The album is a bold reinvention and a testament to the patience and precision of a singular creative vision.

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The Bankes Brothers - Where Do We Go From Here? (EP).

The Bankes Brothers return with their most dynamic release to date, the new EP, Where Do We Go From Here? (produced by Gus Van Go), featuring the high-energy focus track “Waited All Night.” Known for their infectious live shows and timeless rock ‘n’ roll spirit, the band continues to carve out their place as one of Canada’s most exciting emerging acts.

The EP also features recent singles “Bedroom Wall,” “Get To Know,” and the title track “Where Do We Go From Here?” – each showcasing a different side of the band’s songwriting. “He was great at opening us up to the mindset of ‘serve the song,’ and the production style and choices were a direct result of that,” Nelson Bankes (lead vocals, guitars) says of working with acclaimed producer Gus Van Go (The Beaches, Arkells, Hollerado).

Following their debut EP In Waves (produced by Steve Bays of Hot Hot Heat/The Zolas), the band is now entering a new era – bigger, bolder, and brighter than ever. With Where Do We Go From Here?, The Bankes Brothers deliver a collection of indie-rock bangers made for the stage, proving themselves not just as a band to watch, but a band built to last.

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Photo -  Jen Squires

Drea Lake - Dream Spinner.

As anticipation builds ahead of the release of her full-length debut album A Call From Somewhere Else on Nov. 7, Canadian singer/songwriter Drea Lake is offering another preview with "Dream Spinner," a song that pays tribute to people in our lives whose unwavering support often goes unacknowledged.

Co-written with James Maltese and built upon an arrangement by Timothy Abraham that incorporates intertwined trumpet and synthesizers lines, the music of "Dream Spinner" lives up to its title and follows the pattern set by previous singles "4U" and "Sturgeon Moon" in demonstrating that Drea Lake is not a typical folk singer.

Drea says, "'Dream Spinner' is about uncovering those loved ones that often do so much for others but may have a hard time taking center stage. The wonderful Dominic Leveille played the first ever trumpet line that I composed and he brought such a great touch to the song. And Timothy Abraham did something so creative and magical in the way he arranged this song. I love the dreamy quality."

Drea co-produced A Call From Somewhere Else with renowned Quebecois acoustic guitarist Antoine Dufour, who also added his instrumental talents to a majority of the songs, along with a host of other contributors drawn from the worlds of Canadian roots, jazz and classical music. Blending genres has always been a major focus of Drea’s compositional style, and the album sessions were carried out in the spirit of collaboration.

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Dynamyte - Probably.

Rising artist Dynamyte released her highly anticipated second single, “Probably,” last Friday across all digital platforms, accompanied by a dynamic visual performance video. The visual showcases Dynamyte behind the drums in a live studio setting, surrounded by her band, delivering vocals straight to the camera with undeniable confidence and energy.

This new track follows the success of her previous single “Checkmate”, which marked the beginning of a bold new musical era for Dynamyte. With “Probably,” she continues to expand her repertoire, combining her signature blend of classic R&B, sultry neo-soul, and sharp hooks with rhythmic intensity and an upbeat groove that highlights her rare ability to sing while drumming.

“This was one of the last songs written on this album, a few months before meeting my girlfriend. We realized I didn’t have a true love-themed song in my catalog yet, so this track filled that gap. During the session, one of my co-writers asked, ‘What would you do if the love of your life walked in right now?’ Without thinking, I said, ‘I’d probably run.’ That one line became the backbone of the whole song,” says Dynamyte. “The song is about the fear of vulnerability and the instinct to run from someone who might actually be ‘the one.’ ‘You’re probably the one, so I’m probably gonna run’ is both funny and heartbreaking. It captures that contradiction perfectly.”

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Photo - JCPenney

Ezra Bell - Cannonball Wingman.

Ezra Bell, one of the 21st century’s most organically successful folk/Americana bands, has released their new single “cannonball wingman,” the latest offering from their forthcoming studio album, Chin Chin. Ezra Bell’s ninth studio album serves as a tribute to the band’s lead singer and lyricist Ben Wuamett, who unexpectedly passed away in October 2024. 

“Cannonball Wingman” captures a day in the life of someone spinning stories that may or may not be true. The gangster tale reflects Ben’s beginnings in the hip-hop world with that genre’s internal rhymes and syncopations finding their way, subversively or not, into his lyrics, while channeling Ezra Bell’s signature mix of raucous Americana, folk, and indie grit.

Set for release October 24th via ONErpm, Chin Chin was fully written and recorded before Wuamett’s unexpected passing last fall. The 11-song collection serves as both a way of honoring Ben’s life and musical legacy while also paving a way forward for Ezra Bell, an eight-piece band that 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.

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