Blazing a trail of future music to come, “Meteor” is the first of a series of planned releases from the Australian folk-pop duo due to impact in the coming months that will form their highly anticipated fifth album.
Inspired by the powerful forces of nature that reflect a tumultuous inner world, the track was recorded by the ocean in Victoria, Australia, and mixed in Canada. Of this sensual, string-laden new single, Charm of Finches say: “This song came out of a bit of a turbulent time, and contemplates the sometimes fraught relationship with the self. We’ve visited many dramatic landscapes this year - we hiked up an active volcano in New Zealand and visited the oldest rainforest in the world up in Northern Queensland. We think that witnessing the power and grandeur of nature really influenced the writing of this song.”
Directed and edited by Charm of Finches, the track is accompanied by a bewitching official video featuring elegant choreography and shamanic feathered costumes hand-crafted by the band. Of the visuals, the band add: “We love to create music videos that are sort of like mini short films. We drew aesthetic inspiration from Yellow Jackets with a sprinkle of Narnia. We got out the glue guns and handcrafted elven twig crowns and feathered costume pieces, and even painted an animal skull mask. We collaborated with our incredible friends who helped us design and put together the costumes, source props as well as dance and act in it! We wanted to capture a magical, powerful, natural world and incorporate the beauty of the Australian landscape.”
Northern Norwegian duo Konradsen - the project of Jenny Marie Sabel and Eirik Vildgren - returned Friday with new single 'Nick of Time', a moving collaboration with Chicago songwriter Gia Margaret. Released alongside an animated visual made by Jacob Grönbech Jensen (Kelly Lee Owens, Prins Thomas), the song captures a fragile space between stillness and change. Two acts who have built worlds out of quiet precision and emotional restraint, Konradsen and Gia began exchanging ideas between their studios in Oslo and Chicago after years of mutual admiration.
The resulting collaboration unfolds as a spectral meditation on patience and uncertainty. The song’s delicate keys guide its opening, falling like droplets atop the angelic harmonies of Gia Margaret and Konradsen, with the line “I am able, I am capable / I am worn out, alive” standing as a deft summary of what it feels like to endure transformation.
Speaking on the song's lyrical inspiration, Jenny Marie Sabel of Konradsen said: "I was going through a lot of big changes in my life at the time. Everything felt like it was moving so fast, and every big decision seemed to come down to the very last moment. I’ve always been what you’d call a slow changer — I can happily do the same thing for years, while some people love jumping into new projects all the time. I like routine and process, and I don’t like to rush into things. Over the past couple of years, I’ve asked myself over and over: “Will we find a solution?”, and somehow, things always seem to fall into place in the end."
Gia Margaret added: "When Jenny sent me Nick of Time it blew me right over! I was asked if I could contribute to it while I was in the thick of finishing up a record of my own and I had no business taking it on… but I couldn’t look away. I felt totally immersed in her voice and words and it offered some room for playfulness. It was so easy to sing with Jenny’s beautiful and effortlessly cool voice. I also filled all the spaces I could with synth and piano. I’ve always felt some affinity with Konradsen’s production style so it felt like second nature. I hope this is the beginning of many more collaborations with this wonderful band."
Anna of the North - No One Knows You Better. Norwegian singer-songwriter Anna of the North just announced her long-awaited new album Girl in a Bottle, will be out December 5, alongside the release of brand new single "No One Knows You Better", out now via Play It Again Sam.
Deeply personal yet universal, Girl in a Bottle is Anna of the North’s most vulnerable record yet, as she captures the dopamine rush of new romance, the fleeting fragility of modern love, and lasting heartache when it all dissolves. With production by Starsmith (JADE, Kylie Minogue, Ellie Goulding) and Sebastian Furrer (COBRAH, Avicii) Anna’s melancholic tone is transcendent across the 8 tracks of ‘Girl in a Bottle’, and though the 80s hued sonics point to hope and nostalgia, there is a signature sadness at the core.
The album features the swirling, lovelorn single "No One Knows You Better", with the refrain of the title gently repeated, allowing Anna to bare all. It follows on from the glistening, crystalline pop anthems "Call Me", "Waiting For Love" and "Give Me Your Love Back".
Over the years Anna of the North has received critical acclaim for her albums Lovers (2017), Dream Girl (2019) and Crazy Life (2022), gaining support from the likes of Billboard, Vogue, London Standard, i-D, FADER, NME and so many more. Her sound has transcended all around the world, generating a total of 550M+ streams. Anna’s music has earned her a Norwegian Grammy for single "Dream Girl", alongside co-signs and collaborations with the likes of Tyler The Creator, Frank Ocean, Steve Lacy, Dua Lipa and G-Eazy.
From Basel comes the perfect soundtrack for autumn: Older Now, the singer-songwriter project of Swiss musician Philipp Bäni, releases “Tide” — a delicate, atmospheric single full of depth and warmth. Fans of bands like Calexico or artists such as David Gray, as well as lovers of indie folk in general, will especially appreciate the Basel musician’s sound.
Between earthy folk tones and dreamy melancholy, “Tide” draws listeners into a world where a rough-edged voice, clear songwriting, and a gently pulsing rhythm merge into an evocative sonic landscape.
Philipp Bäni is known as a versatile musician who enjoys carrying his art beyond genre boundaries. After various artistic ventures, Older Now returns with “Tide” to the roots of folk-pop – honest, introspective, and full of expansiveness. An invitation to drift – with the rhythm of the tides and the sound of one’s own thoughts.
'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.
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."
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."
‘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.
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.”
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).
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.
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."
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.”
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!"
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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"
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.
