Poster Girl - A.S. Fanning - Sia Shells - Michele Ducci - Gabby Rivers - Mosaics

Photo - Joanna L. Uruchima IG

Poster Girl - Figure It Out.

'Figure It Out' softly unfolds into a beautiful song where the vocals draw the listener in, at times embedded within the music and then energizing and taking the lead. The musicianship is really good, and the overall production notable. As a personal introduction to the band Beehive Candy have no hesitation in encouraging checking these folk out further, something we have to do!     

Poster Girl is an Alternative Rock band formed in 2023 in Chicago, IL. The band blends gritty 2000s indie rock with the raw pulse of ’90s alternative — all wrapped in dreamy, emotive vocals and warped nostalgia. Airy melodies float above distorted layers, weaving together something honest, haunting, and a little hopeful. 

It’s music for late-night drives, existential spirals, and chasing something just out of reach. Poster Girl has been compared to artists like: The Cranberries, Beabadoobee, Beach Bunny, Rilo Kiley, Snail Mail, and Mazzy Star. Poster Girl has opened for National and Regional acts including: Macy Gray, The Rubens, Tom Sandoval, Aly & Aj, and others.

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A.S. Fanning - Today is for Forgetting.

Irish songwriter A.S. Fanning released 'Today Is For Forgetting' yesterday November 14th, the second single from his forthcoming fourth studio album Take Me Back To Nowhere (February 6th, K&F Records).

Where the first single 'Romance' explored emotional desolation through stark landscapes, 'Today Is For Forgetting' ventures into stranger territory—a psychedelic meditation on consciousness, time, and the spaces between realities. Propelled by bouncy synths and Fanning's resonant baritone, the track creates a disorienting atmosphere that mirrors its subject matter: the experience of existing outside linear time.

"This song is about the psychedelic experience, and the feeling of entering some kind of no-man's-land between this life and the next—or another dimension of existence, not black or white, but grey," Fanning explains.

Central to the song is what Fanning calls "an explosion of instants"—a vision of time not as a straight line but as fragments swirling simultaneously around a bewildered observer. "There's no consecutive sequence in the way time runs. There's just a central character with various moments and timelines swirling all around him, and it somehow falls upon him to make things make sense."

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Sia Shells - Riding The Wave.

Baja, California-based artist Sia Shells invites listeners to dive deep into their strength and surrender with "Riding The Wave" – an ethereal, ocean-inspired pop anthem that captures the power of resilience, transformation, and trust in the tides of life. Blending her signature mermaid pop aesthetic with dreamlike production and soulful vocals, Sia Shells conjures a sonic spell for anyone struggling to stay afloat.

"'Riding The Wave' is all about keeping your head above water throughout the current of life, especially when it pulls you down and it's hard to see the surface," she explains. "It's about resilience, change, and finding the strength to overcome it all while evoking the mysterious and beautiful imagery of the ocean."

Crafted to mirror the ocean's ebb and flow, the song's composition moves between whispering vocals – representing the wind – and a swelling, powerful crescendo that embodies the sea itself. Produced with a touch of nostalgic warmth, the track feels like a safe, familiar space for reflection and renewal. "I wanted a nostalgic feel to the song, so it feels like a familiar, safe space for people to hold onto when they're feeling like they're drowning or carried away by the tides of their life," Sia Shells shares.

"Riding The Wave" continues Sia Shells' exploration of the mystical and the mindful – a reminder that, like the sea, we are vast, deep, and ever-changing. "Open your arms as wide as the horizon meets the sea," she says. "You are strong enough to ride the wave."

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Michele Ducci - Follow the Sun.

‘Follow the Sun’ is the first instalment from the album and animated film ‘Snail in the Clouds’ by Michele Ducci and Letizia Mandolesi. The album and film tell the story of a planet called Snail, inhabited by hybrids – primarily a mixture between scorpions, snails and humans – who lead a life according to the style of Pythagoras, devoted to music. There is also a cloud man named Agostos, a writer of musical operettas, who together with a talking smoke machine called Doctor Subtilis, begins to kill all hybrids, targeting in particular the hybrid musician Diodoros and his band, in an effort to steal the ark of melodies, an ancient ship that allows the whole planet to survive with music and joy.

‘Follow the Sun’ is a psychedelic-tinged pop song that evokes a ramble in the sunshine. Joining Michele and Letizia in the studio are Simon Milner (Is Tropical, Ysing), who performs and also recorded and produced the song at his 4am Studios, along with Shane Kennedy (Girl in the Year Above), Lou Jenkins and Bill Morris (Yowl, Ysing). GregoryBeBad also contributed to the lyrics.

The accompanying video focusses on the childhood of Diodoros and his band, with whom Diodoros is rehearsing for the festival called Holy Wood, where they will offer their melodies to immense space. Diodorus was born to a goddess who resembles the Greek mythological character Thetis, the mother of Achilles. In the video we see Diodoros trying to go beyond the curve in which experience flexes to become the experience of something and someone, in search of the source of life, the place where the sun has a home.


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Photo - Ellen B

Gabby Rivers - What is the problem?

East Anglian (England) based grunge-pop riser Gabby Rivers shares the title track from her anticipated upcoming EP What is the problem?, due 5th Feb 2026. 

Crunching, distorted bass, fuzzy guitar lines, and gritty production create a driving blend of garage-rock and grunge under Gabby’s catchy melodies and angsty, honest lyricism. Displaying the alt-rock meets indie-pop approach which stylises her upcoming 7-track EP, the new single builds tension through its verses before delivering an anthemic, earworm chorus. At the midpoint, an explosive breakdown gives way to a dense, swelling guitar section, culminating in a triumphant chant that closes the track with full-force energy.

Speaking about the single Gabby explains: “What is the problem?’ is about the emotional weight of being close to someone who always seems to have an issue with everything, and makes those issues everyone else’s responsibility. It’s about the frustration of constantly picking up the pieces they leave behind, feeling like you’re expected to fix things that were never yours to begin with, and realizing how impossible that can be.

We wrote this track in the middle of the recording process for the EP, and it felt like the EP came together as a whole afterwards. It started out as a slow sad song on the acoustic guitar, but I told the band I wanted it to be angsty and angry. My guitarist came up with the lead part you hear in the middle, and we instantly connected with it. From there, the song took on a new life and I felt like our alternative rock sound really developed. We had so much fun in the recording process, lots of experimenting and recording so many group vocals.”

gabby rivers · What is the problem?

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Photo - Jacques Feeney

Mosaics - Sing Me To Sleep.

Mosaics have just shared their heartfelt new single ‘Sing Me To Sleep’ and announced their debut EP A Guiding Lie, is due in 2026. Having built a reputation for their blend of 90's rock revival with the shimmer of contemporary indie, observational lyricism and biting guitar work, the band continue to showcase anthemic vocal melodies and giant, stadium worthy indie-rock soundscapes. 

Produced by Engineer & Producer - George Lloyd-Owen (asst. Nick Cave, The Last Dinner Party, Yungblud), Mixed by Luie Stylianou (Judas Priest) and mastered by Grammy award winning engineer Matt Colton (The Cure, Arctic Monkeys, Fontaines D.C.), the new single leans into a more emotive side of the band's writing, comparable to The Goo Goo Dolls’ ‘Iris’.

Speaking about the single, Owen Castillo (lead vocalist) explains: “'Sing Me To Sleep" was written earlier this year with an overwhelming feeling of disillusionment with life. The lyrics capture a desperate need for escape in the face of an increasing apathy towards the trappings of modernity. When Stu and I sat down to write after a couple months away, this song pretty much fell out of the sky, almost as if it was everything we'd been holding in during that time but couldn’t express through any other medium. It's about reaching desperately for the comfort from some unarmed third person, whilst processing (or struggling to process) a deeply held sense that something is not right, and probably hasn’t been for a while.” 

Guitarist and fellow songwriter Stu adds: “In late June we piled into my car and set off from the city to record our debut EP with our close friend and talented engineer/producer George Lloyd-Owen. We truly had the best time, opting to turn our phones off and shut the world out for the duration of our time in the countryside (aside from watching Glastonbury coverage after finishing our takes, of course).

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The Best Around - Wyldest - The Lovely Basement - Mollie Elizabeth - The Gold Needles - Pam Ross - Julian Taylor - Greenness

The Best Around - Call of The Void.

The Best Around have today released their latest single, “Call of The Void.” In the song, The Best Around juxtapose upbeat music with somber lyrics, dancing with the notion that death is always inviting us.

Opening with a synth string orchestra and an almost playful, childlike rhythm, lead vocalist Camron Rushin recalls a moment standing too close to the edge. “I was with an ex-girlfriend at the Pennybacker Bridge Overlook, and she assumed I was afraid of heights because I wouldn’t stand with her near the ledge. I said I wasn’t afraid of heights; I was afraid I would jump.” These intrusive thoughts are what psychologists call “the call of the void.”

The idea for the song came to Rushin during a School of Song class led by Phil Elverum, frontman of The Microphones and Mount Eerie. In the workshop, Elverum explored hidden messages in art—from poetry to painting—that reward those willing to look deeper. The assignment was to write a song referencing another work of art to create a shared point of meaning for listeners while leaving room for personal interpretation. In the third verse, Rushin references Edvard Munch’s The Scream, reflecting on how its frozen anguish mirrored the decorticate state of his cousin Margaret, who died in 2020. The reference quietly echoes the band’s debut single “Margaret” and closes a meaningful chapter in Rushin’s life.

The single features The Best Around’s signature blend of acoustic instruments and synth textures, with Todd Pruner on acoustic guitar, banjo, and bass. It builds toward an electric guitar solo by Jon Merz that feels like staring death in the face. Kevin Hoetger played drums. The track was recorded and mixed by Kyle Crusham and mastered by Erik Wofford at Cacophony Recorders in Austin.

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Photo - Tom Gaiger

Wyldest - The Universe Is Loading (Album).

There aren’t many records you can honestly describe as life-changing, but Wyldest’s fourth album 'The Universe Is Loading' feels precisely that. Out today (14 November) via UK tastemaker label Hand In Hive, the album is her most expansive body of work yet. 

An album of rare scope and intensity, 'The Universe Is Loading' is the product of a period of momentous personal upheaval, examining the world on both a macro and micro level. Grappling with grief, illness ('After The Ending'), estrangement ('All It Would Take Is A Phone Call') and resilience ('Wax Museum', 'Old Flame'), it pairs sci-fi dreamworlds and gothic atmospherics with shimmering, dystopian indie-rock, drawing as much from Angela Carter, Brontë and surrealist cinema as it does from Zoë’s love of gaming (The Last of Us, Zelda, Skyrim).

Across its 11 tracks, Zoë Mead (aka Wyldest) pours herself into her music more fully than ever before. It’s a universe built from contradictions, spiralling into space-theory rabbit holes - parallel universes, AI, simulation theory - before grounding itself in something far more human, as she explains: "It's ultimately an intense realisation that life and love doesn’t always go as planned and sometimes we need to take time to make sense and peace within the chaos."

Leading the release is focus single 'Foolish World', accompanied by a striking new video filmed at the nature reserve Cliff Pools in Kent. Zoë explains: "I wrote Foolish World whilst re-reading Wuthering Heights last summer whilst I walked around a place called Cliff Pools in Kent (where I ended up shooting the video). It’s now an industrial wasteland, surrounded in beautiful blue water, that is now too toxic to swim in. This means humans have now left it alone and nature is now claiming it back and thriving there. Being within this toxic natural wonderland whilst reading gothic romance novels resulted in this breakup song – two people parting in hopes they may thrive elsewhere - like Cathy and Heathcliff. This is a bittersweet love song about moving on and leaving one foolish world for another - we all live through a series of chapters and worlds, so I hope it's relatable to many."


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The Lovely Basement - Lowlands (Album).

This is a superb new album where once again I am left scratching my head and wondering why I have never heard this band before. Still never mind it's always good to have a back catalogue of songs to discover, and we will let the band tell us the rest. Post-cool or too old to care? The Lovely Basement say they set out to mix alt-country with the Velvet Underground. They also say they failed, but quite like the result. So, what do you find in The Lovely Basement? A beautiful slice of alt country-style. Americana, infused with the sensibilities of the aforementioned Velvet Underground – and a chopping guitar that wouldn’t sound out of place on an album by the VU’s British counterpart, Fairport Convention.

Since the release in 2019 of their first album, Just Because You Can, The Lovely Basement have drawn admiring glances from all over the place: “the sweetness of Yo La Tengo and the raggedness of The Pastels”; “not dissimilar to Paisley Underground veterans the Dream Syndicate”; “tossing off songs with the looseness of early Faces”.

The single Cornstalk Girl was the first offering from Lowlands and was picked up by Radio 6’s Gideon Coe, a long-time supporter of the band’s output. Mention was also given to the “excellent” B-side cover of Beat Happening’s Angel Gone. Vocals for the album were recorded by John Parish (PJ Harvey, Howe Gelb, Eels) who stumbled across the band playing live locally and stayed!

Like all Lovely Basement records, Lowlands eloquently covers a range of subjects. From musings on sentience, inequality, globalisation, even theology, to the deep need to hunker down with good friends when the world outside gets too much, all find an often wry voice in this shimmering collection of lovingly crafted songs.

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Mollie Elizabeth - The Disappearing Girl.

Following her debut EP Dirty Blonde, Mollie Elizabeth shares a first glimpse into her next phase, “The Disappearing Girl”. Written by Mollie Elizabeth, Madison Love and Christopher J Baran, it was produced by CJ Baran, and recorded at VAMP studios in Los Angeles. Towards the end of the month, on November 25th, she’ll play Seattle’s Cloudbreak Festival.

Mollie Elizabeth adds: “This song came from a very personal place, where in my life I found my struggles to be turned into a spectacle by friends and family rather than acknowledged as a strain. It’s always easier to put someone in a pretty box than to come face to face with the reality of what they are going through.”

Gearing up to deliver more subtly penned story songs, the 21-year-old Washington State-based artist Mollie Elizabeth only introduced herself last January, and has already delivered a stunning debut EP Dirty Blonde via Neon Gold / Virgin Music. Known for her whimsical, melancholic, and empowering songs, the Pacific Northwest artist describes her music as “tiny worlds”, a refuge shaped by her upbringing in the Washington woods, suffused with old-Hollywood elegance and emotional depth. Mollie co-produced her newest song, including music video for “Doe Eyed” (dir. Maya Sassoon).

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The Gold Needles - Crescent Moon.

Big Stir Records is very proud to announce the December 12 release of a new album from England's own The Gold Needles on CD and Streaming worldwide. Mood Elevator, the fourth full-length release from the Kingston-Upon-Hull-based indie rockers and their first for BSR, features no fewer than four indie hit singles released across the past year including last month's “Turns To Gold” and their 2024 label bow “I Don't Know About That.” 

With Mood Elevator, The Gold Needles (Simon Dowson, lead vocals, guitar; Dave Burbage, lead guitar; Mark English, keyboards; Carl Slaughter, bass; Will Jones, drums) have taken a definitive leap forward in an already acclaimed career. There's a new polish to the production that retains all the band's energy, and the tunes are the catchiest the Needles have ever crafted. 

The strength of the singles –the pure power pop of “I Don't Know About That,” the lush textures of “Supernature,” the hooks of the acerbic “Turns To Gold” and the sheer beauty of the current “Crescent Moon” (already taking the global indie rock airwaves by storm) are evidence enough that an already exciting group has leveled up, but the depth of the album is still a revelation.

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Pam Ross - Reading Your Text.

Award-winning Americana and country-rock artist Pam Ross releases her powerful new single, “Reading Your Text,” today November 14th, 2025. The song fuses the emotional wreckage of heartbreak with the all-too-real dangers of distraction behind the wheel—proving once again that Ross is one of the most fearless storytellers in modern Americana music.

The inspiration struck, as so many of Ross’s songs do, in an everyday moment that became something more. “I was driving down the road when the person in front of me started swerving all over,” Ross recalls. “I thought she was drunk. When I passed her, I saw she wasn’t—she was texting. I drove away thinking, what makes someone act so stupid? Being a songwriter, I went home and wrote about what would make a person text and drive.”

That spark became “Reading Your Text,” a hauntingly cinematic song that turns a literal danger into an emotional metaphor. Behind its catchy hook and rock-infused Americana groove lies a deeper message about grief, distraction, and the way love can cloud our judgment long after the goodbye.

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Julian Taylor - Don’t Let ’Em (Get Inside of Your Head).

Fresh off a string of acclaimed releases, 5x JUNO-Award and Polaris Music Prize–nominated artist Julian Taylor returns with “Don’t Let ’Em (Get Inside of Your Head),” a soulful new single that brings together alt-country grit and blues rock urgency with one of modern music’s most distinctive voices: Jim James of My Morning Jacket.

Recorded at Gold Standard alongside Aaron Goldstein, David Engle, Tony Rabalo and Anna Ruddick, the track carries both raw spontaneity and emotional weight. What began years ago as an electronic-leaning demo that Taylor and Engle wrote for film/TV sync has evolved into a fully organic, groove-driven anthem that feels as natural as it is powerful. “This song came together in such a special, innovative, and exciting way,” Taylor recalls. “It just seemed to flow out of everyone in the room.”

The connection with James came about in true serendipitous fashion. A chance encounter at the LA Forum, where Taylor was performing at the Robbie Robertson Tribute (directed by Martin Scorsese) at the invitation of longtime friend Allison Russell, sparked a friendship between the two artists. Years later, Taylor decided to send James the track.

“When this song was almost done, I thought to send it to Jim and see what he thought of it. He loved it, so I asked if he’d be down to sing on it, and he said yes,” Taylor shares. “I love how our voices blend together – it’s effortless and natural. Jim brings a tender urgency to the track, and it’s an honour and real gift to have him singing on it. He’s a true gem of a human and one of the world’s great unique talents.”

juliantaylorband · Don’t Let ‘Em (Get Inside of Your Head)

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Greenness - Honeymoons (Album).

Three years in the making, this new collection of songs playfully intertwines the theatrical energy of art-rock with orchestral, folk, jazz, retro pop, electronic and ambient influences. The result is a lavish cornucopia of sounds led by driving beats, layered guitars and powerful vocals, with lyrical themes ranging from love to loneliness, gratitude to greed and desire to death.

In stark contrast with the duo's debut Sunrooms (an intimate and ethereal affair, recorded as a two-piece in isolation), Honeymoons ushers in an eclectic troupe of creative collaborators, including multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Glasson (Nick Cave, Graham Coxon...), double bassist Tom Bailey (Buffo’s Wake, Nine Dead Mice...), harpist Fíor Anderson (Sekinue, Ultimate Tigerfrog...), cellist Robin Squirrell (Night House, Bee & Jackrabbit...) and classically-trained clarinettist, Emily Lamb. On stage, the band is joined by drummer Jeremy Noble (Lunatic Calm) and bassist Dom Hall (Code South).

Lead singer and songwriter Cess Greenness explains: "I think of this record as the final episode of a trilogy that started with Florilège - a compilation of our earliest recordings - and continued with Sunrooms, which explored ideas of growth, unfolding and blossoming. Honeymoons incarnates the next natural stage, the harvest season, so it is full of ripe fruit imagery and symbolism around temptation, abundance and decadence... we're bringing all the drama with this one!"

The 12 songs of Honeymoons were written, arranged, recorded and produced by Greenness in their home studio, including singles Hilltop, Meltdown and Psychopomps. "This hands-on approach allows us to enjoy complete creative freedom", says Graham Greenness, who mixed and mastered the record as well as playing most instrumental parts, including guitars, electric bass, mandolin, synth, organ, flute, piano and percussion. "It's a DIY mindset that also extends to the visual narrative of our work, such as the music videos, which we co-directed and edited. It's been amazing to craft this project together and see our vision flourish!"

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Portland - Home Front - Ava Franks - School Disco - Alpha Pet - Begging Dog

Photo - Titus Simoens

Portland - Champain (Album) 

We have featured Portland a few times and it's a pleasure to share the full album along with it's background and comments regarding some of the tracks, this really is an exceptional collection of songs. 2023 was supposed to be Portland’s year. The Belgian indie band led by Jente Pironet was set to release its second album ‘Departures’, took part in a popular prime time TV show and was set to conquer Rock Werchter that summer. And they did—but just days after Pironet delivered the performance of a lifetime there, the dream briefly came crashing down: the doctor marked a big black C on his forehead. Brain cancer. Suddenly, summer turned ice cold.

But the singer and his band pushed through, and the result speaks for itself: Portland has never sounded more energetic, mature, and richly layered than on the new record ‘Champain’. It’s an unflinchingly honest travelogue of a wandering soul, moving from the stage to the hospital bed to the writing desk and back again.

“I heard you calling me / and you still know my name,” Pironet sings on ‘Time Is Now’, the album’s opener. The lyrics exude a newly regained self-confidence from a man ready to seize life with both hands: “Something’s in the air / I’d like to face it all alone.” It’s Portland’s key message today: there’s no time to waste—and he should know.

On ‘Lay Me Down’, Pironet shows the other side of the coin. Catch me when I fall, he asks his loved ones and lay me to rest when I once again push myself too far. Musically, ‘Time Is Now’ and ‘Lay Me Down’ form a diptych that reveals where Portland stands today: energetic indie rock built for festivals and big stages, with a frontman who feels increasingly at home there. Yet the melancholic, introverted pop of predecessor ‘Departures’ hasn’t disappeared entirely. The acoustic title track ‘Champain’ nods to the best of Bright Eyes, while ‘Aurora’ is a hushed piano piece in true Portland tradition. It reflects how the promise of safety still unsettles Pironet, even after years of turmoil. He wants to explore, to experiment, to meet extraordinary people—nesting instincts are foreign to him. Or as he sings himself: “Her home ain’t where I’ll be.”

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Photo - Kate Suter

Home Front - Between The Waves.

Home Front share their final single "Between The Waves" from their new album Watch It Die, due this Friday via La Vida Es Un Mus. The band tell, “'Between The Waves' is about that lonely journey we all take at some point in our lives. Where we wander away from the numbers to seek meaning. A solitary space between connecting with people. Call it growing up or growing apart, but this is the place we all visit from time to time to remember who we are. In all this confusion the space between the waves is where we discover things will never be the same again, yet we move forward in this new skin." 

For decades Home Front’s Graeme MacKinnon and Clint Frazier have embedded themselves in grass roots music making, community building, and the overpowering ebbs and flows of diy punk. Formed in 2020, they’ve given their lifetime of experience a chance to distill and then power into this musically omnipotent project which equally conjures textured Tangerine Dream sounds in a film montage, or the pummelling soundtrack to the first steps taken towards winning the fight of your life.

Home Front holds on to a particular kind of passion. The sort of thing that guides you - like a climbing vine steadily blanketing your bests and worsts, cutting through changes and impasses; victory and loss. MacKinnon and Frazier’s nod to influences and the themes of their lyrics are direct and detailed while maintaining enough creative distance to feel universal and unique. The production has again been bolstered by a team of long time confidants making a huge and unique record under the humble and hard working circumstances of remote pre-production and choosing to do their recording in home studios in their home town in Edmonton, Alberta.

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Ava Franks  - Every Day.

Ava Franks is an indie pop singer-songwriter based in New York City. She’s obsessed with all things writing, and developed a love for songwriting from an early age. Singing in school musicals and local talent shows, she slowly and surely honed her vocal craft, a staple of her unique sound. The storytelling she’s inspired by stems anywhere from Taylor Swift’s pop hits to Hamilton’s soundtrack, and from James Baldwin novels to animated movies like Soul. In short, she’s motivated to create tangible worlds through her music for the sake of sweet escape.

Her discography began in 2021, when she released “3 Pines,” a ballad about falling in love in the desert. Subsequently, she released “Silhouette,” “Wait For You To Apologize,” “Golden Child,” “Do Or Die,” and, most recently, “I’ve Been Waiting.” She leans towards both classic and contemporary pop production references, like timeless synths and novel vocal layering. 

Her latest single, “Every Day” is a lush acoustic guitar-driven embrace featuring Ava Franks' warm vocals singing luminous melodies. The relatable song narrates that first taste of love. She shares, "It explores the beginning stages of a relationship when you’re feeling all of the uncertainty, hope and mystery that goes along with falling in love. It’s about wanting to see that person all the time and hoping they can read your mind." 

Born and raised in suburban New York, Ava was a competitive swimmer throughout high school and college. She attended Yale, where she was a four-year member of the varsity swim team and majored in English. She’s close to her two younger brothers, Finn and Kelly, and often visits her mom and dad in Irvington, NY, where they live with their two dogs. When she’s not writing songs or performing, she’s usually finding some way to discover her next favorite food. Currently on the hunt for the best burrito in New York, she’s accepting any and all recommendations.

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School Disco - Simulation III.

Brighton quartet School Disco announce their fourth studio album School Disco SDIV and share the hypnotic new single ‘Simulation III.’ A distinctive fusion of prog and jazz flavours ‘Simulation III’ showcases the distinct musicality of the upcoming album. Infused with the band’s signature psychedelic sensibilities, the track unfolds through a shuffling 6/8 groove, distant vocals, and intricate guitar work to create a haunting yet buoyant offering. Midway, it transitions into a downtempo swell of fuzzy synths before building toward a sporadic yet climactic guitar solo. Balancing a vivid 1970s character with a sharp modern edge, at 3:33 the single stands as one of the band’s most concise and direct offerings.

Talking about the track, Laurence Underwood shares: “Simulation III came out real quick. I was meant to put a different song forward, then this one sort of just presented itself. It sounded menacing to me, so I thought I’d have to match that with the lyrics. At the time, I was seeing a lot of people online talking about ‘the simulation’ and thought that the idea of actually believing that is pretty funny. Pair that with rewatching the Matrix movies and there you go, a song about living in a simulation.”

Building their reputation for their live high-octane live shows which have seen the band open for Wolf Alice, Lime Garden and Froth, the band's textural, experimental and musically rich sound shines bright on ‘Happen’. Recorded at Farm Road Studios with engineering from Jake Smallwood alongside Rory Lethbridge himself, and mastered by Harry Hayes (School Disco, Roebucks), the upcoming EP showcases some of School Disco’s most inventive and complete work to date. 

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Alpha Pet - Time.

Alpha Pet are back with their new single "Time", the first of two releases arriving in November and the start of an intense run that will culminate in the band’s debut EP in early 2026. Musically, "Time" pushes forward the band’s irresistible blend of 80s-infused post-punk and new wave. Lyrically, the track explores our strange, ever-present relationship with time itself, constantly there yet always slipping away. The counting woven into the lyrics stems from singer Rocky Åberg’s lifelong habit of mentally counting to ten to get things done, almost like an internal timer that may or may not be entirely reliable.

When Swedish new wave outfit Cat Princess dissolved in 2020, founder, songwriter and guitarist Rocky Åberg suddenly found himself a free agent on Stockholm’s music market. To stay sharp during the transfer window, he began playing with friends Joakim Almén, Patrik Eklund and Markus Ljungholm, who back in 2019 mostly jammed IDLES and Broncho covers for fun.

With Rocky joining, the covers soon shifted toward the band’s shared all-time favorite: The Clash. But as fun as it is to unleash your inner Joe Strummer, it’s always more exciting to write your own material. And when Alpha Pet’s first track "Concept of Power" practically wrote itself during a rehearsal, the covers were quickly dropped in favor of a sound that initially leaned toward Manchester’s 1977-era post-punk.

By the time the band entered the studio in late 2021, Patrik Eklund had taken over drums from Markus Ljungholm and Tom Cehlin Magnusson had joined as rhythm guitarist. The result was the singles "Concept of Power", "Too Fast" and "TV Personality", three dystopian, adrenaline-tipped tracks touching on everything from deserters to the emperor’s new clothes. In 2024 the band signed to Rama Lama Records and put out the two singles "Numbers Wrong" and "Snake Eyes"

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Photo - Kat Nijmeddin

Begging Dog - Common Place.

Begging Dog’s Jeff Kleinman's latest single “‘Common Place’ was written about my 5 years living in Salt Lake City,” he tells. “One of the most thrilling times of my life full of community and art and an overwhelming feeling of love from everyone around me. It was also an incredibly difficult time in my life, and a kind of turning point in my descent into alcohol addiction. I knew true love, I witnessed a suicide, I joined my favorite band, and I drank far too much. ‘Common Place’ is a song looking back at all of the beauty and heartbreak from that time, a reflection on everything I have learned and come to cherish from Salt Lake, and a thank you to everyone that I know there. Missing something more than you expected can be a very humbling experience.”

Begging Dog, Kleinman’s new indie punk project has become an outlet for his work outside of the band Choir Boy. The now LA based multi-instrumentalist and artist embraces the mundane with a raw, homespun sound that nods to classic punk and plain language lyricism. Word of his debut DEMO 1 spread quickly across the underground, catching the ear of Dais Records who signed Kleinman and will be giving the original album a wider vinyl release.

DEMO 1 is 26 minutes packed with rolling bass and synth lines, charismatic riffs, and motorik drum beats. Lyrically, the songs feature a range of lived-in observations, scenes, and characters: a pushy union rep; a mailman with a steady federal job; a compulsive gambler; a beloved neighborhood homeless man. Ex-loves become collaged together, haunting several tracks, out of context, with blunt, sharp-witted free verse. Kleinman cites Bruce Springsteen as an inspiration in how his songs are penned with plain ink, opting for direct simplicity over flowery prose. 

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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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