The James Hunter Six feat. Van Morrison - Duke and Goldie - Running Out The Clock - White Birches

The James Hunter Six - Ain't That A Trip feat. Van Morrison.

Today, The James Hunter Six shares the high-energy music video for the blues blaster "Ain't That A Trip," a rare duet with legendary Irish singer Van Morrison. Directed by James Slater (Jamie T, Major Lazer, CMAT), the joyful clip features a group of dancers performing an expertly choreographed, eye-catching routine in a desolate UK factory. The track comes from the group’s upcoming LP Off The Fence, their first release with Easy Eye Sound which is out January 16. 

On the music video, Hunter shares: “Nearly all my tunes are written to be danced to and ‘Ain't That A Trip’ is no exception. Anyone who wants to wreck the dance floor (or factory floor) bustin' some moves to it is more than welcome.” 

Slater adds: “We shot the video in a textile mill in my hometown of Bradford, England. In fact, it's where my Dad worked up until his retirement. It's a beautiful space. We just turned up, turned the lights on and started shooting. It was choreographed by my long time collaborator Daisy JT Smith who worked with four incredible dancers Saskia, Kadafi, Nicholas and Charlie to create something really free and playful.” 

British singer, songwriter and GRAMMY-nominated James Hunter was first introduced to Van Morrison in the early '90s, and appeared on two of his albums – 1994’s live set, A Night In San Francisco and ’95’s Days Like This. The following year Morrison returned the favor, guesting on Hunter’s Believe What I Say. Three decades on, Hunter explains what it means to have him return for another collaboration: “I’ve always reckoned Van’s voice, right from the paint-stripping howls of the Them days to the Smokey Robinson-esque ‘Crazy Love.’ It’s a real kick having him sing on something I wrote. Is that a trip or what?”

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Artwork & Photo - Calm Elliott-Armstrong

Duke and Goldie - Romance and Ramblin' (EP).

Vancouver-based country-folk duo Duke & Goldie return with their luminous sophomore EP Romance and Ramblin' – a heartfelt collection exploring love, belonging, and the beauty of being an outsider. Led by the raw and anthemic single "Outsider," the record bridges classic country storytelling with modern reflections on identity and self-discovery.

Produced by acclaimed sonic craftsman Erik P.H. Nielsen (City and Colour, Blue Moon Marquee), Romance and Ramblin' finds Eric "The Duke" Duquette and Jena "Goldie" Gogo distilling the soul of country music through their own lived experiences. Drawing inspiration from icons like Loretta Lynn, Gram Parsons, and Lucinda Williams, the pair reimagine the heartland sound for a new generation – one defined by vulnerability, warmth, and truth.

"I've always been a big fan of classic 70's outlaw country music – folks like Waylon, Willie and Kristofferson," says Eric. "Except I don't live on a ranch, drive a pickup truck, ride horses or have any of the usual country accoutrement. So I felt like a bit of an outsider. When I went back and listened to those old records that I loved so much, I realized that they were singing about being outsiders too. And ultimately, isn't being an outsider what country is really about?"

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Running Out The Clock - No Parking.

Running Out the Clock are making waves in the music scene with sharp guitar hooks, shimmering synth textures, and an unstoppable sense of energy. The band began when childhood friends Aaron (guitar) and Josh (drums) joined forces with Anisa (bass/vocals) and Yaz (lead vocals). Drawing inspiration from indie, math rock, synth-pop, and beyond, they’ve created a sound that’s vibrant, varied, and distinctly their own.

Nimble basslines and explosive drum fills drive adventurous shifts in rhythm and genre, while glistening synths and emotive guitar melodies amplify the blissful vocals and harmonies. Together, they craft songs that are as technically sharp as they are emotionally resonant, with influences ranging from Arctic Monkeys to Olivia Dean.

Running Out the Clock introduced themselves to the synth-pop world with their debut single, ‘Why Wait for Love?’ – an energetic anthem that celebrates self confidence and individuality. ‘Why Wait for Love?’ set the tone for the band’s dynamic style and catchy pop hooks. Building on the momentum of their debut, the band have just released their second single, ‘No Parking’ – an upbeat and fast-paced Indie Rock track that reflects the restless pursuit of purpose and identity. The band are already gearing up for their next single, ‘Without U’, set for release this November.

On stage, Running Out the Clock are equally captivating. Within months of their first live show in spring 2024, they became Rockshore Battle of the Bands finalists, earned airplay on Blast106, and won the Queen’s Battle of the Bands after a standout performance in front of more than 300 people at Mandela Hall.

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White Birches - Salt the Earth. 

White Birches comprise of Jenny Gabrielsson Mare and Fredrik Jonasson who collectively deliver a musical soundscape that is at times expansive and yet feels deep and personal. 

Having featured the previous single last month and looking forward to hopefully sharing the whole album in the near future, one thing is clear, although the following two quotes suggest we should expect darkness as a theme, somehow they still mange to factor in a number of other emotional responses leaving me wanting to here more from them.

Their label state "Salt the Earth proves that White Birches continue on their path where the last single Breathing started. The song is dark, melancholic and will embrace you totally. A perfect soundtrack for the season." The band tells us "Life is not just about grief and darkness. It is also about heartache."

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Iris Caltwait - Dave Helgi Johan - Terry Klein - Bobby Dove - Amy Jay

Photo - Bertine Monsen

Iris Caltwait - Again, for the first time (Album).

Norwegian alt-pop auteur Iris Caltwait just released her extraordinary new album 'Again, for the first time', out now via 777 Music. To celebrate the album release, Iris Caltwait plays a London headline next week (12 November) before playing select EU and Norwegian headline dates in 2026.

A vivid, slow-burning, shape-shifting odyssey through grief, rage and renewal, the album features immersive, spacious production from Askjell (Sigrid, Aurora) and contributions from Vetle Junker, Jimi Somewhere, Milo Orchis, Lauritz Christiansen and more.

Across its sixteen tracks and 46 minute runtime, Iris Caltwait (real name Vilde Iris Hartveit Kolltveit) delivers a masterstroke of nuanced pop and emotional excavation. Written between Bergen, Oslo, Copenhagen and Gothenburg in borrowed living rooms and countryside retreats, the album captures the quiet reckoning that follows rupture, tracing the process of rebuilding herself, piece by piece - drawing influence from artists like Mitski, Adrianne Lenker, and Saya Gray. 

“A lot of the songs are about trying to reconnect to the child I was and to the person I want to be,” Iris says. “When I was little, I wasn’t afraid to get angry. Now I’ve had to relearn getting mad, and reconnect with indignation.”

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Photo - white images

Dave Helgi Johan - Unholy Hours (Album).

“Unholy Hours” was written between the years 2020 and 2023. I write music very sporadically and I only really write when I'm feeling inspired enough to do so. We are now in the year 2025 and we grow as artists though these songs reflect this period in my life. These songs are quite sentimental to me with stories of friendship, heartbreak, addiction and all moments in between.

“Unholy Hours” was recorded between October 2023 - May 2024 in mostly random sessions in my 1993 Mazda e2000 Van, Dusty Headquarters which at the time was a small storage unit, and some vocals and bass guitar at The Diesel Gypsies rehearsal space all in Airlie Beach, Queensland. The Acoustic Drum Kit in all songs was performed by Racso (Oscar Howie) recorded in David Pendragon’s “The Studio” in Canberra, ACT, Australia.

As a DIY artist for many years I can safely say this has been my most ambitious and most difficult project. I went about producing this album quite unconventionally, mostly captured through an old Presonus interface into a 2017 Macbook Air. Thus causing many headaches along the way, I spent easily 100s of hours doing everything forwards, backwards and sideways in my own “unique” way. From tediously bouncing every individual track from garageband to get professionally mixed and mastered. To overdubbing countless unnecessary tracks, to late nights up till 5 am sometimes tracking, or bouncing and uploading files.

"This album could have easily resulted in the breakdown of any relationship. Thank goodness I'm not married, but yeah here it is I hope you like it." - Dave Helgi Johan.

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Photo - Valerie Fremin

Terry Klein - Hill Country Folk Music (Album).

Terry Klein writes songs and sings them for people and makes records and drives around in his 2015 Toyota Venza and plays a lot of shows. The Austin American-Statesman calls him “one of Austin's top singer-songwriters in recent years.”  Terry Klein’s latest record, Hill Country Folk Music starts and finishes with two distinct versions of the song “Try”, in which the narrator, inspired by the beauty around him vows to “do better” or at the very least try, something we can be striving to achieve. Backed by an undeniably cool groove, “I Used to Be Cool”, is an ode to Austin, Texas where Terry lives, that easily becomes any place, person or bygone time that needs a reminder that they are in fact still cool.

Written after hearing that his friend and Illinois cult hero, Dana Anderson, had taken his own life, the song, “If You Go” examines the tragedy of suicide from the perspective of a surviving loved one. Klein sings, “You’re loved, you’re loved, you’re loved, someone’s gonna miss you if you go”, a universal truth that we all need to hear at points in our lives.

Later the mood of much of our country and society as a whole is captured through the story of a veteran and store owner in a small town in “Hopelessness is Going Around”. Other highlights on the album include “The Dirty Third”, a perfect marriage of sonic landscape and lyrical brilliance featuring Mike Compton on mandolin and “My Next Birthday”, a gorgeous and gut-wrenching account of coming to terms with one’s mortality.

Hill Country Folk Music was recorded in a controlled frenzy over just a few days in Nashville, with acclaimed producer Thomm Jutz. It is Klein’s fifth studio album overall and third that he’s made with Jutz.

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Bobby Dove - Trans Canadian Blues.

Since the release of the 2021 album Hopeless Romantic, Canadian alt-country artist Bobby Dove has made a lot of fans around the world. Dove is finally poised to follow up Hopeless Romantic, with the latest preview of the as-yet-untitled new album coming in the form of “Trans Canadian Blues,” an ode to touring the country’s vast expanses, delivered in a hard-charging style that would surely put a smile on Waylon Jennings’s face.

Produced in Toronto by Aaron Goldstein (Cowboy Junkies, Kathleen Edwards, Juliana Riolino) with the help of a crack band featuring guitarist Nichol Robertson, drummer Dani Nash and pedal steel guitarist Burke Carroll, “Trans Canadian Blues” will leave listeners salivating for more of Dove’s new material, which includes a co-write/duet with Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Jim Lauderdale.

Delving into the inspiration behind the song, Dove says, “I was just off the road from an east-to-west Canadian tour and I was feeling ragged but restless. I think I was actually drinking alone when I started writing the verses, and it led to creating a little story about what it's like to push on from either end of this country, alone in a car with hours to lose your mind between great distances. I wanted to express—with a sense of humour—what might have been some of my less dazzling moments as a touring trans-person with a honky tonk mind, and perseverance in the face of it all.”

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Amy Jay - Mnemonics (Album).

New York based indie alt-folk singer songwriter Amy Jay's songs are like plastic knives — pliable, yet cutting. Throughout the 10 songs on her new album, Mnemonics, Jay proves she knows how to wield them tenaciously.
 
Titled to represent the mnemonic devices she birthed while “writing my inner monologue” during and outside of therapy sessions, these little mantras help Jay with the work-in-progress of the human condition. Struggling to find her place in the city's messy music scene (iykyk) over the last few years, she found herself slipping into bad habits and decided to take control of everything she could — herself.

Throughout Mnemonics, Jay explores what makes the vulnerable acceptable, as well as the Joycean concept of what makes the universal specific: How do you love yourself when you don't feel likable? How do you face pieces of your hidden self courageously? How do you hold space for negative thought patterns or feelings of embarrassment, insecurity, loneliness, or anxiety?
 
While such themes are often still stigmatized, through song, they become softer and more palatable. Jay assembled a crew of stellar local musicians with national track records to help take her sketches of folk songs into fully formed indie rock panoramas. With long-time producer/engineer Jon Seale (Mason Jar Music) at the helm and guitarist Sam Skinner (Pinegrove, Fenne Lily), keyboardist Andrew Freedman (Michael Mayo, Ryan Beatty), Jay also enlisted bassists Jeremy McDonald and Margaux (Katy Kirby) and drummers Jason Burger (Big Thief) and Jordan Rose (Maggie Rogers) to round out her sound.

Amy Jay · Mnemonics

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Katy Broder - Adam Harpaz - Leilani Patao - Patchwork Rattlebag - The Clockworks

Katy Broder - Come With Me (Album).

It’s finally here: the album by Katy Broder from Liechtenstein — a woman who juggles many roles. On one hand, Katy Broder is known as the coach of Liechtenstein’s national karate team, with which she participated in the European and World Championships this summer. 

On the other hand, she has made a name for herself as a pop musician: her last two singles earned her comparisons to Roxette, Pink, and Avril Lavigne, and received extensive airplay.

Her most recent single, “Could It Be You,” alone has been played more than 300 times on radio stations around the world. This even led the Landesspiegel to headline a story about Katy Broder.

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Photo - Bella Isakson

Adam Harpaz - You Might Miss Out.

Aussie Indie Singer Songwriter Adam Harpaz released his new single 'You Might Miss Out' yesterday. You Might Miss Out‘ carves a sonic space of self-reflection for the listener; how are we feeling (generally) in our day-to-day? Are we truly connecting with both ourselves and others more often than not? 

Is there a sustainable sense of harmony between the different components of our lives? Do we have enough mental clarity to deal with the inevitable unforeseen challenges that arise in life, or are we in such a constant state of internal/external pressure that we get spun out when things alter from the ‘plan’?

The song offers a somewhat subtle, somewhat blunt commentary on the work-life balance conundrum alluded to above; perhaps the sweet spot is found within that juggling act of keeping the wheels in motion whilst still carving enough space to consistently do the things that bring us joy.

The hope is that by consciously making our overall well-being more of a priority, it enables us to find/maintain a relatively stable level of presence and content. “ - Adam Harpaz.

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Leilani Patao - daisy (EP).

Brooklyn-based (via Los Angeles) artist Leilani Patao issues 'daisy,' their label debut via Audio Antihero. Leilani calls the release a "pure experiment," and through this evolving sound, production, and withholding their work from streaming, the artist seeks to make deeper connections with listeners.

Originally 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 with Jimmy Fallon. 

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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Patchwork Rattlebag - Vertigo Dreams.

Salford based experimental collective, Patchwork Rattlebag have released ‘Vertigo Dreams’, the second single from their forthcoming debut album ‘Fragments 1’. Frequently incorporating other artforms, the group constructs music with a strong vocal presence, featuring instruments, synthesisers, field recordings and beats. Consisting of three core members who value collaboration and curiosity, Patchwork Rattlebag traverse the spaces between the visual, audible, invisible and ineffable.

Following the band’s recent glitchy dystopian electronica single ‘Hook, Line and Riser’, ‘Vertigo Dreams’ shows another side to Patchwork Rattlebag, incorporating breezy acoustic textures, introspective lyrics and bursts of vocal harmony. The track sees the electronic elements of their sound drifting into the background, making way for and complimenting beautifully this haunting and beguiling song- as the band plumb similar melancholic depths to artists like Gravenhurst and Nick Drake.

‘Vertigo Dreams’ searches tensions: between contentment and insecurity, aspiration and wistful acquiescence, dreams and nightmares. Its swirling, psychedelic, folk-inspired atmospheres feature picked acoustic guitar, pulsing vibraphone, and broken electric guitar phrases. ‘Vertigo Dreams’ is the sound of Patchwork Rattlebag stripped back to its singer-songwriter origins and the accompanying video for the single will send you off into a blissful dreamy haze with its hypnotic DIY shot images of starry skies, expansive fields and spacious derelict buildings- illustrating the song’s search through emotions and contemplative moods perfectly.

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The Clockworks - Through The Looking Glass.

Following their return with recent track ‘Best Days’, Galway via London fourpiece The Clockworks share new single ‘Through The Looking Glass’ and announce their second album and first album with V2 Records, ‘The Entertainment’ released on 27th March 2026.
 
With a cinematic and all-encompassing sound, The Clockworks introduced themselves with debut album ‘Exit Strategy’ in 2023 and their self-titled EP ‘The Clockworks’ in 2022, gaining acclaim from the likes of BBC 6Music and BBC Radio 1. With a soundscape that pulls from seemingly disparate regions of the musical landscape, namechecking Daft Punk next to Pixies, next to Ennio Morricone, they are influenced not only by an extensive musical palette, but also through their passion for film and literature. Lyrically, singer and lyricist James McGregor writes with purpose, integrity and emotion, balancing light with darkness and finding poetic intrigue in everyday life. They will release their new album ‘The Entertainment’ in March, which was largely written and recorded independently at home, and is a project that looks at the themes of isolation, loneliness and connection.  
 
New single ‘Through The Looking Glass’ continues to showcase the fresh sound of The Clockworks and is a majestic and atmospheric track that builds in both intensity and emotion. Self-produced, led by Sean Connelly, it drops the listener straight into the middle of the action, building lyrically and musically to a climax that hits crisis point and suddenly unspools. Speaking about ‘Through The Looking Glass’, the band says;
 
“This song centers around that moment of telling someone you love them and not hearing the same thing back. It's the desperation, longing and futility of building yourself up beforehand to pour your heart out and obsessively retracing the moment a thousand times in your head afterwards.”

The Clockworks · Through The Looking Glass

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Nick Barker and the Reptiles - Tommy Keyes - Malena Smith - Great Lakes - At Baron Lane - Winona Oak

Nick Barker and the Reptiles - Blood Nose.

Melbourne rock veterans Nick Barker and the Reptiles are back with a blistering new single, ‘Blood Nose,’ out now via Golden Robot Records. A raw, riff-driven track soaked in 70s-style swagger, 'Blood Nose’ delivers a punch - both musically and thematically. 

Written by Nick Barker, the track was inspired by a story he read about a social media influencer whose carefully curated world came crashing down. “‘Blood Nose’ can mean a lot of things - a real one, a loss in battle, or just a humiliating moment,” Barker explains. “This one’s about the last two. All kinds of ways to take damage.” 

With its stripped-back production and live-to-tape energy, ‘Blood Nose’ captures the band's signature no-frills approach - loud, loose, and loaded with grit. “We had the riff, the idea, and just went for it, live in the room. Not much to it. We love it,” Barker says. 

‘Blood Nose’ is the first new music from the band in over a decade and marks a thunderous return to form. Fans can stream the track now on all major platforms.

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Tommy Keyes - Lucky Day.

The second single to be taken from the new album, Lucky Day is a funky song on the subject of scam phone calls. Tommy Keyes was the keyboard player for Sidewinder, a mainstay of the Dublin rock scene in the late 1970s, and wrote many of their most popular songs.   

Nearly 40 years later, after a career outside music that left no time for gigging, he returned with a repertoire of great songs that defy categorisation.  Rock?  Pop? Blues?  “It’s 1970s singer-songwriter music”, he says, “because that’s what I am.” His biggest chart success to date came in July 2022 when Suzi Quatro (Teenage Discos ’73) hit No 1 in the overall iTunes chart (all genres).  This Is the Song We Were Singing gave him another iTunes No 1 in the pop chart is February 2024.

Recorded with some of Ireland’s greatest session musicians, his albums are very different from anything else that’s being released these days, but sample some of the songs and you are guaranteed to be hooked.

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Malena Smith - 27 in Maine (EP).

The summer of Malena's 27th birthday was a defining one. She left her job to pursue music full-time, took her first solo road trip to commemorate that leap of faith, and made the life-changing decision to stop drinking. Just before the turn of the season, she began writing songs again, and 27 in Maine was born. 

The EP captures that coming of age as an adult moment: the clarity of "18," the internal tug-of-war of "Betray Myself," the yearning of "Maybe," the stillness and uncertainty of "Paralyzed," and the realization of "27 in Maine (The Ride)." "It felt like my puzzle pieces were beginning to find their places," Malena says, but the number of pieces was indefinite."

Produced by Brian Owens, and featuring engineers Jay Newland (Norah Jones' Come Away With Me) and Boo Mitchell (Royal Studios, Memphis), 27 in Maine bridges pop, folk, soul, and jazz. It's a seamless reflection of Malena's own genre-fluid voice.

Beyond its sonic beauty, the EP carries heartfelt stories at every corner. Following singles "18," "Betray Myself," "Maybe," and "Paralyzed," the full EP arrives as Malena's debut declaration as a storytelling artist, a reflection of her growth and her voice. "My hope is that people who need these songs the most will hear them," she says. "And that anyone who connects with them knows they're not alone."

Malena Smith · Maybe

Malena Smith · Paralyzed (feat. Jack Pordea) - Single

Malena Smith · 18

Malena Smith · Betray Myself

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Great Lakes - Don’t Swim Too Close (Album).

Great Lakes’ Ben Crum returns with a fantastic new album, Don’t Swim Too Close. Over 25 years and eight records, Crum has built a reputation for sharp songwriting and interesting stylistic shifts. Don’t Swim Too Close is no exception, as Crum draws from a classic rock tradition, echoing both the Americana spirit of Neil Young and The Band and the proto-indie rock of Television and the Velvet Underground. 

Immediately accessible, its songs land with the ease of lived-in classics. Themes of empathy and regret (“Carry the Message”), mental health struggles (“Don’t Swim Too Close”), disillusionment (“Meant to Fly”), and the lone journey of the writer (“On the Way Back”) weave through the record. But this isn’t a bleak listen. Crum’s dry, gallows humor bubbles up throughout, balancing heaviness with wit. 

He’s the kind of writer who can sing, “the future’s out there, waiting like an open grave,” and leave you smirking instead of sinking—or deadpan, “there’s nothing sexy about Spread Eagle, Wisconsin, or Tight squeeze, Virginia.” The characters in Crum’s songs are soul-searching, making for a compelling and thought-provoking listen. But there’s tenderness too: “Seeing Through Her” is a love song without pretense, while “Song for the Old Man” pays moving tribute to Crum’s late father. The closing track, “Are We Here Accidentally,” takes on existential purpose—or the lack thereof—in the face of life’s mundane demands: “there’s always someone on the phone / always someone we’re supposed to owe / well, I guess, if you say so.”

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At Baron Lane - The Cause (Album).

At Baron Lane is a four-piece indie band based between Zurich and Lachen, Switzerland. Since celebrating the release of their debut album in Paradise in 2019 at Amboss Rampe in Zurich, the band has continuously refined their songwriting and tested it live at countless shows. The quartet has performed at renowned venues such as Schüür Luzern, Exil Club Zurich, and Werk21 at Dynamo Zurich. With their single Future-Men, released in June 2025, the band gained their first airplay on various indie radio stations—both in Switzerland (including Kanal K, Radio Lora, Radio4tng, and Radio15) and internationally (including RTA Music [Italy], Eastcoast FM [USA], and Radiofabrik [Austria]).

Throughout the album, the band explores a wide range of musical influences. The catchy, pop-infused chorus of Right Hand Man is already in rotation on Radio15. The Beatles-inspired ballad Change begins with gentle vocals over warm piano chords, builds into an anthemic saxophone solo, and has already aired on Radio Rocher.

Cult is a rocking crowd favorite, where various characters describe how they were recruited by Lenny, all wrapped in a sea-shanty-inspired chorus. Don’t miss the Swiss-German intro of Chinotto am Meer, which leads into a high-energy saxophone solo.

In the gospel-tinged Sunday Shoes and the indie-pop track Faster (with Bossa Nova influences), it almost feels like Lenny might truly change the world. But the movement soon loses momentum. The jazzy Follow the Hypebeast delivers sharp critique, and in the psychedelic progressive-rock track The Moon is the Answer, even the revolutionary himself loses the strength to pursue his goals.

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Photo - Lamia Karic

Winona Oak - Do You Hate Me Now.

Swedish singer-songwriter Winona Oak embarks on a new era today with her powerful new single ‘Do You Hate Me Now’ out now via Nettwerk. Winona released her EP ‘Salt’ this spring, which was a poignant personal documentation of her physical and emotional states. Throughout this year, she has been working on new music and a progression in her raw and unvarnished sound, whilst still writing about the highs and lows of life; loss and repair, heartbreak and love, resistance and patience. 
 
With her new single ‘Do You Hate Me Now’, she introduces a brand-new era of her music. The song is a cinematic and heartfelt ballad, opening delicately with atmospheric piano before building into an epic chorus that lets her emotive voice shine. 
 
Winona says, “This song lives in that fragile space between love and goodbye – when you’re still holding onto the good memories even as the bad ones start to weigh more. You remember the warmth, the way it once felt safe – but now the air feels heavier, the silence sharper. It’s about realizing love shouldn’t feel like walking on glass, or like losing yourself a little more each day. It’s knowing you’re not walking away to hurt them, but because staying would mean losing the last pieces of yourself you still recognise. So, you take one last look, one last breath, and you leave – not because you stopped loving them, but because something in you finally believes there’s a softer, truer kind of love wating for you somewhere.”


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Paula Kelley - ALEIA - Jont - Winterpills

Paula Kelley - Party Line.

On Blinking as the Starlight Burns Out Paula Kelley explores her reverence for the dark edges of pop music, crafting a deeply personal song cycle informed by her career as a musician, songwriter and arranger. Channelling some of her most treasured pop-noir classics by Big Star, Colin Blunstone and Judee Sill, the songs on her first album in almost 20 years are filled with heart-wrenching melodies and layer-upon-layer of lush, kinetic instrumentation. 

Despite her membership in Drop Nineteens and her career writing and arranging pop music, Blinking as the Starlight Burns Out does not retread past glories, but rather shapes the often psychodramatic tales in Blinking’s songs into a singular and personal vision of indie pop music. Here’s what she has to say about first single “Party Line”:

When the song came to me it presented nearly fully formed—a pedaling bass line, a four part vocal harmony, an expansive soundscape. Sometimes songs sound great in your head but then don’t translate well into reality. I was lucky with this one. As I was recording part upon part, it felt as though the song was writing itself. It’s a dreamy song about dreams—not the kind that come during sleep, but rather wishes, anxieties, projections—as a way to work through and reconcile an unhappy past.

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Photo - Stephanie Senior

ALEIA - Public Humiliation (EP).

Perth/Boorloo songwriter ALEIA unveils her debut EP ‘Public Humiliation’ today Thursday, November 6, a body of work that captures the bittersweet aftermath of love with rare honesty and grace. Layering delicate folk textures with dream-pop ambience, ALEIA reflects on the messiness of heartbreak and the hardening that comes from being so exposed.

It was just this May that ALEIA made her debut, introducing her unmistakable voice through a series of deeply personal singles that have quickly shown the depth of her songwriting. Her first release, ‘Had Your Fun’, arrived as a haunting, indie/alt-pop number led by the piano that peeled back the layers of post-breakup denial and self-deception. It was followed by ‘Pretty When I Cry’, a gut-wrenching ballad built on soft guitar, sparse percussion, flourishes of delicate electric guitar and layers of harmonies, capturing the desperation of loving someone who cannot meet you halfway. 

Then came ‘Public Humiliation’, the title track released in October, exposing the messy and often humiliating side of modern love. Built on a ghostly guitar and layered vocals, the track unfolds like a confession, delicate yet deliberate. These songs form the opening half of the EP, leading into the devastatingly tender ‘Holy Water’ and its raw accompanying live version. Like it was recorded in an empty cathedral, the spacious arrangement features warm piano, softly bowed strings, carefully layered guitars, and a haunting choir that surrounds ALEIA in aching harmony. The choir's body percussion anchors the song’s slow build, giving the track a heartbeat as the lingering lyrics, "Holy Water, Devil's mouth, you could only spit me out", are chanted to close the EP out.     

Across its five tracks, ALEIA lays bare the fragile balance between love and self-worth, confronting the humiliation that lingers beneath heartache and the grief that comes with it all. ALEIA shares: "‘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. I want people to find comfort in this album the next time they find themselves anxiously attached to a situationship who isn’t messaging them, after a breakup with a narcissistic ex, or when single life has turned sour." 

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Jont - Let's Just Be Friends.

From the quiet corners of a Nova Scotia night, Jont's "Let's Just Be Friends" emerges as a tender, nocturnal meditation on love and truth – a song that drifts between dreamy romanticism and grounded self-awareness. Vulnerable and timeless, it’s a story of connection that was perhaps always destined to burn bright and fade, leaving behind the bittersweet beauty of understanding.

"Late at night, sat up in bed with my guitar, is how some of my best songs have come," Jont shares. "Maybe it was always thus for songwriters – Cohen, Dylan – the muse sitting beside them as the world sleeps. And with my cats Oscar and Buttons beside me, I can be found there too, up late, lights low, guitar in my lap, writing something that's sprung out of me without warning and demanding my attention."

"You don't have to be a genius to work out it's a love song," he continues. "And an autobiographical one at that. Sincere too in its message – or maybe not sincere in the desire to stay as just friends. Just true in what it says about what happens when you don't." What follows is a song suspended in that liminal space between longing and surrender. "Right now the world is asleep, it's just you and me counting sheep, we can't afford to miss a beat, or no-one'll know how many there have been…" Jont sings in the chorus – a lyric that captures the fleeting, dizzying joy of new connection, even as the verses quietly predict its impermanence.

"Sometimes it seems the songs know before I do how things are going to go," Jont reflects. "But we haven't learnt the lesson until we've had enough of the pain. And though over the years the pain might have seemed almost too much to bear, it has also led directly to more fruitful evenings — sat up late at night, guitar in lap, as emotions alchemise and dissolve into a subtle and radiant joy."

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Winterpills - Lean In The Wind.

The critically acclaimed Massachusetts quintet Winterpills returns with their first album in nine years. This Is How We Dance deepens their catalog of elegant chamber pop that’s “haunting…downright glorious when the harmonies start, as crisp and shining as crystal” (The Washington Post). 

Consummate masters of the slow burn, Winterpills have nurtured a singular aesthetic over the course of their 20 years together: lush and often gritty instrumentation, poetic and vulnerable lyrics, celestial harmonies, and cinematic arrangements that stealthily pull you in. 

Emerging from the hiatus of the pandemic, Winterpills dove hearts-first into crafting the album's 12 songs, in a string of inspired creative sessions in the band's living rooms and basements. The resulting album feels at once personal and universal, and showcases the evolution of a band still restless and exploring new ways to collaborate. Teaming up with producer Dave Chalfant––who had a production role in the band's first 2 albums––brought the new record full circle. 

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