The Burning North - Kugger - The Jack Rubies - Anja Churchill - Frank Popp Ensemble feat. Paul Weller

The Burning North - The Burning North (Album).

The Burning North is a collaboration between songwriter Thomas Siering and drummer prodcuer, Marco Giovino. The two have worked together on multiple projects in the past, but The Burning North, both the band and the album could very well be their finest. An album anchored by the impeccable vocals of Wendy Drown, Marco’s production and Thomas‘s heartfelt lyrics. The record explores a wide swath of styles and subject matter.

Siering says of the band and the album: I met Marco (Giovino) a dozen years ago through the great Nashville singer Elizabeth Cook. Marco was playing the drums for her, but then again, Marco has played the drums for just about everyone; Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Kris Kristofferson, and Sir Tom Jones to name a few. We worked together on four records with Rebecca De La Torre, a couple for The 81s with Tim Carroll and the After the News album with my friend Addi McDaniel.

In 2018, we also released an Elmore James tribute collection, Strange Angels ~ In Flight with Elmore James, with tracks by Jamey Johnson, Sir Tom, Warren Haynes, Billy Gibbons, Bettye LaVette, Rodney Crowell, Keb’ Mo’ and others. It garnered significant praise for its artistry, authenticity and assemble of players. Also, Marco’s mono production received particularly glowing notice.

The material for The Burning North was originally conceived as a bit of a concept album. When we brought Wendy (Drown) on board, you could hear her instant emotional attachment to the material. She really owned it. You felt like she had lived it. The record shines because of that. This album has diverse musical styles and it explores the expanse of human emotion but hopefully it ultimately feels like a coherent story, held together with gripping urgency and Marco’s impeccable production. 

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Photo - Guðmundur Óli Pálmason

Kugger - Interglacial (Album).

Kugger's third album with Bark At Your Owner, is a Interglacial theme album, that runs through the singles and stand alone ep. Featured artist are Svart Tulpan and Red Cell from Stockholm, Sweden. Bark At Your Owner Manifest - We want to bite the hand that feeds us, albeit gently. We bark and laugh in the face of conservatism! Bark At Your Owner (BAYO) advocates an inclusive and equal music industry where zero tolerance towards harassment and discrimination is the basis. We live in interglacial times. Interglacial times are unstable times of great change.

Change is the only constant in nature, without it, things stagnate and freeze. After a great freeze comes a thaw, but when things heat up too much, we seek colder climates. The great change is upon us, like a glacier it has been advancing slowly towards us, but now it's calving in front of us, it comes crashing down upon us, sending shockwaves not just through the muddy glacial waters of the music industry, but through every corner of human intuition and artistic creation. We're heading to an AI glacier maximum, where the machine will replace the human mind. But the machine is dead, the machine is cold, the machine is frozen. If we are to survive as artists and as humans, we'll need to learn to live side by side with the machine, carving out warm, creative valleys between the machine's frozen outlet glaciers.

This is the first time I've had to state this, but it won't be the last; no AI was used in the creation of this album. Every note was placed where it is by the human hand, guided by the human ear, dictated by the human mind. Enhancing the humanness of the album is a Swedish legend, Anders Ericsson, known from Lustans Lakejer and a former member of Ubangi. Anders now operates under the moniker Svart Tulpan, and as far as I know, he's not AI, but I've never met him, so I can't say for sure.

Anders did an amazing job, bringing warmth and emotional depth to three of the songs; There's no reason to be afraid, Doesn't mean you can't dance, and the title track. As usual, my human friend and longtime collaborator, Henry Barboza from Henryaudiouk.com mixed and mastered the album, and as per usual, he did an outstanding job.

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The Jack Rubies - Greedy.

The latest single from UK post punk heroes The Jack Rubies is “Greedy” and is on all digital platforms worldwide. It's an energized and timely slice of  noir-tinged rock that show the band continuing its 21st Century resurgence after the acclaimed 2023 comeback album Clocks Are Out Of Time… and sets the stage for their fourth full-length LP, due on Vinyl and CD from BSR in January. 

Stand by for more news on the forthcoming album Visions In The Bowling Alley. From a declamatory intro quote that tags the mysterious power of Parmesan cheese, the band launches in with up tempo glee, peppering the riff with globs of call and response vocals before hitting the sing-along chorus, where a melodious kalimba and the guest vocal harmonies of Annabel Wright join the mix. A somewhat feral synth solo grabs the tune by the scruff of the neck before the group barrels on to the finishing line with hand claps and monkish “aah”s to the fore.

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Anja Churchill  - La Boheme.

Anja Churchill invokes the laid back elegance of Gabi Hartmann, and soft strength of Arooj Aftab, while reshaping a classic song of the French cannon into a nostalgic requiem for the past. Sung in hushed French, this version of a classic French chanson walks the line between folk intimacy and jazz minimalism, quiet, cinematic and disarming. Anja's vocals are delicate and unwavering, floating over sparse jazz-inflected piano chords, and an anchoring bass line. 
 
Inspired by alt pop French artists of the moment, Zaho de Zagasan and November Ultra, with Swedish co producers Micke Lyander (Cardigans, The Ark) and Erik Ronström (Lena Jonson Trio), helping to bring her vision to life, Anja bends genres and creates  an emotive dreamscape which transcends language.
 
Anja Churchill is an American-Swedish singer-songwriter who weaves raw storytelling with an ethereal, transportive voice. Shaped by a lifetime of chronic illness and multiple near-death experiences, her music carries a rare depth that's attuned to introspection and the unspoken. With a background in world music and sound healing, Churchill has spent over a decade crafting sonic landscapes that draw listeners into dreamlike spaces. 

In 2022, she relocated with her family from Los Angeles to Gotland, a remote island in the Baltic Sea, where she wrote her debut EP, Children of the North. Her sound is intimate and expansive, drawing inspiration from 1960's folk, jazz, and world music. Anja splits her time between the island of Gotland and the south of France.

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Frank Popp Ensemble feat. Paul Weller  - Right Before My Eyes.

In a groundbreaking musical partnership that has been decades in the making, Frank Popp Ensemble announces the release of "Right Before My Eyes," featuring the Modfather himself, Paul Weller. This historic collaboration marks Frank Popp as the first German artist to work with the legendary British musician on an original track, uniting two distinctive voices across generations and musical traditions.

The track is nothing short of sensational. Weller's unmistakable voice cuts through with raw emotion, delivering lyrics that confront the uncomfortable truths of our time, while his signature guitar work weaves through Frank Popp's lush, sophisticated production. Popp's approach here showcases his evolution as a producer – layers of vintage soul instrumentation, carefully crafted arrangements that recall the golden era of Northern Soul and Funk, yet polished with a contemporary sheen that makes every element shine. It’s an electric meeting of minds, uniting Weller’s socially charged, genre-defining artistry with Popp’s cinematic production, timeless grooves, and uncanny ear for the perfect hook that has established him as a fixture of Berlin’s music scene.

Lyrically, Weller tackles the escalating injustices unfolding across the world – people forced to flee their homes, systematic exploitation, endless wars waged in the names of governments and religious leaders who have lost all touch with reality. The song's title captures the unbearable irony: all of this horror is happening right before the eyes of the world, in plain sight, yet continues unabated. It's the kind of unflinching commentary that has defined his entire career, from The Jam's working-class anthems to his ongoing commitment to speaking truth through music, bringing the weight of fifty years of experience and conviction to every line.

For Frank Popp, this collaboration represents the fulfillment of a lifelong musical obsession. As a teenager in 1980s Germany, he discovered The Jam's explosive energy through tracks like "That's Entertainment" and "Town Called Malice." Soon after, he was dancing wildly to The Style Council's "Shout To The Top" in Hilden's small-town disco JWD, attempting to impress girls with the smooth sophistication of "My Ever Changing Moods." Weller's solo work continued to haunt his imagination, with "You Do Something To Me" serving as a direct inspiration for this collaborative masterpiece. "It is an incredible honor for me to be able to work with this icon of music history, the 'Modfather'," Popp explains.

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Would-be-goods - White Birches - Posturing - Alex Little - Mind the Moon - Stephen Wilson Jr. - Winterpills

Would-be-goods - The Gallopers.

Danger lurks amid the lights of the funfair in the 1950s carousel whirl of 'The Gallopers', Would-be-goods brand new single out this week. The album 'Tears Before Bedtime' is out on 13 February 2026.

Tears Before Bedtime is the sparkling new album by the Would-be-goods, Jessica Griffin’s band of pop adventurers. Since The Camera Loves Me, their cult classic 1988 debut for the legendary él Records, they have blazed a musical trail through indie guitar pop, with a garage band edge and forays into other territories - glam rock, tango, French chanson… The result is unique and timeless. 

The songs on Tears Before Bedtime balance delicacy and power. Perfect pop melodies are delivered in Jessica’s gorgeous and idiosyncratic voice. Her lyrics are intelligent and wry, wistful and witty. Every song tells a story, taking us on a journey through space and time, from belle époque Paris to a 1960s London biker café, from a riverbank in ancient Greece to a 1970s teenage bedroom.

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White Birches - A New Reign (Album).

”A New Reign”, White Birches third album, is out now. Available on all music platforms as well as on CD and as a special edition white vinyl. We are so pleased to be able to feature this creative new album in full, having already shared two tracks in the last couple of months, in our opinion anyone remotely interested in the dark wave genre or seeking an introduction should give this duo a good listen, we are mightily impressed. 

White Birches tell us ”It has been a long journey since When the Street Calls, but we have been working on new music the whole time. Now that we feel ready to release an album again, I want to believe that we have developed an even stronger expression. An identity that is unmistakably White Birches and that resonates and moves,” says Fredrik Jonasson.

Some background on White Birches who are described as "mixing alarming guitars and dissonant synthesizers with haunting pop melodies". The dark wave consists of Jenny Gabrielsson Mare, who handles vocals, guitar, and piano, and Fredrik Jonasson, who works with synths, drum machines, and keys. Known for their evocative songs and uncompromising live performances, the duo continues to push the boundaries of the genre, where alarming guitars and dissonant synths meet haunting pop melodies.

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Photo - Katie Scott

Posturing - Ephemera (Album).

Laura Durdey is an exceptionally talented songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who began Posturing as a “bedroom project”. With “ephemera” she shows us that she’s also a magician. Just wait until the trumpet kicks in - it’ll give you chills. With “ephemera” she has created a joyous collection of songs, each composed with the care and skill of a master.  

She describes the EP as "Despondent ballads from an optimist with themes of loss, nostalgia and forward motion.  Posturing combines traditional songwriting inspired by the likes of Carole King with a droned soundscape that cushions the record and emulates the noise of a busy brain." 

Though some of the themes are darker in nature the musicianship and poetry keep even the saddest of the songs buoyant and uplifting. Each side of the five track EP has been curated for the listener to experience from start to finish with beautifully crafted interludes that carry one song into the next.

As a band, Posturing, offer a captivating live show, not least because of Laura’s stage presence. Oozing with musicality she harbours a deep, soulful voice with impeccable pitch and then there’s razor sharp wit wrapped up in a dazzling smile. 

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Alex Little - Spider in the Sink (EP).

Vancouver’s purveyor of melodic grit and garage-pop heart, Alex Little, releases her new EP Spider in the Sink on Light Organ Records, the indie-focused imprint of 604 Records launched by Jonathan Simkin. Fans of Wolf Alice, Sharon Van Etten, Blondie, The Preatures, and Amy Winehouse will find plenty to love in Little’s mix of raw emotion, soul, and fearless honesty. Written and performed with guitarist and partner Adam Sabla and produced by James Younger of Yukon Blonde, the five-song collection sharpens her sound into something rawer, leaner, and more self-possessed. It’s a record that drags fear into the light and finds melody in the mess, full of songs that pulse with defiance, reflection, and soul in equal measure.

Across Spider in the Sink, Little writes like someone who’s fought her way back to solid ground. “My brain is not a friend, it is a bad enemy,” she sings on the title track, confronting her own anxious cycles with clarity and dark humor. “Forever” glows with self-realization — “I finally figured out that there’s actually nothing wrong with me” — while “Finally Safe in the World” offers the record’s quiet triumph, its chorus lifting like a breath finally exhaled. Every track moves with emotional muscle, the kind that comes from living through it and putting soul before polish.

“Spider in the Sink is about so many things,” Little explains. “I think most importantly it’s about taking back your own power, a power that you always had but didn’t use. It’s also about gaining strength through motherhood, and the importance of surrounding yourself with people who evoke the most genuine and positive version of yourself. Although I’m in a good place, I still struggle with anxiety every day, which I also speak about on the EP. It’s about acceptance of your true self as a whole, the past and all the horrible and good things that happened to get you to where you are now.”

Alex Little · Spider in the Sink

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Mind the Moon - Side by Side.

Mind the Moon is a singer-songwriter known for her honest, emotional songs that live between indie folk and alt-rock. “Side by Side” captures the feeling of standing still while everything around you moves. 

The lyrics reach for connection in the face of time passing, touching on love, memory, and the quiet ache of holding on to a moment frozen in time. It’s a song that holds space for the things we can’t keep, but never really lose. 

Mind The Moon's emotional single was recorded live at RAK Studios in collaboration with Jung Kim and Dom Borzestowski (Gang of Youths).

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Photo - Acacia Evans

Stephen Wilson Jr. - Gary.

Indiana-born, Nashville-based rising star Stephen Wilson Jr. releases his new single “Gary” via Big Loud Records, kicking off the beginning of a new era following his massively successful 2023 debut double album søn of dad. The slow burning rocker builds to a propulsive peak, combining Wilson Jr.’s grunge influences with his signature lyricism that touches upon modern life in Middle America. 

About the song, Wilson Jr. explains: “Gary, a dying breed, perhaps I pray not, we are going to need our Garys, y'all. Our Garys are going extinct, much like the polar gare. I believe we need to save them. It's gonna be a Gary, scary world without them. Where I come from, the Garys get it done. And when your septic tank blows, I do not believe AI will show, but I believe a guy will. And there's a good chance his name's gonna be Gary.”

It’s been a busy year for Wilson Jr. who released both a deluxe edition of his widely lauded debut double album søn of dad, as well as his recent Blankets EP, which included covers of songs by Nirvana, Temple of the Dog, The Postal Service and The Smashing Pumpkins. 

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Photo - Lindsey Topham

Winterpills - This Is How We Dance (Album).

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. 

Boston music blog, If It's Too Loud praised, "Lean in the Wind," is a perfect reintroduction to the band. It's gorgeous chamber pop that also reaches into the world of dream pop, and is slightly folk adjacent. As with virtually any song from Winterpills, the true magic comes from the vocal harmonies between Flora Reed and Phillip Price. Those combined with the jangly guitars leads to an almost dreamlike state felt while listening to "Lean in the Wind." Welcome back, Winterpills. We're thrilled to have you."

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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Skinny Lister - Romanie - Alice Costelloe - Adam Goldberg (The Goldberg Sisters) - Bino Bames

Skinny Lister - Tumbling Into Something.

Whetting appetites for their upcoming shows, the Folk Punk legends have prepared a brand new video for ‘Tumbling Into Something' Taken from their invigorating 2025 release ‘Songs From The Yonder’, amidst an album full of mostly up-tempo madness, “Tumbling Into Something” is the moment of calm that allows its listeners to catch their breath. 

Of the track, Dan Heptinstall shares: “I always feel Lorna’s voice shines on our ballad style tracks, and this track lends itself particularly well to her voice. It’s an optimistic song about tumbling fearlessly forward into life while acknowledging its beauty. It’s about surrendering to the uncertainties of life, and embracing the excitement of the ride. It’s also about new beginnings and second chances.”

Offering a more ambient and atmospheric arrangement than fans might usually expect from a Skinny Lister staple, the hallmark instruments are still all present and correct, albeit in soothing form. “The drums are played with bare hands rather than sticks, and the accordion in this case is used more to add mood than melody, played almost like a synth pad – it leans towards something that sounds a little more ‘Vangelis’ than traditional folk” adds Dan.  

‘Tumbling Into Something’ follows the seafaring ‘Yorkshire Belle’, the fervent ‘Plough On’, and swaggering drinking song ‘Set Us Straight’ among the singles plucked from their acclaimed 2025 album. Teeming with themes of seafaring, travelling and drinking, ‘Song From The Yonder’ is a riotous, feel-good listen that already feels right at home in the Skinny cannon.  

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Photo - Young Ha Kim

Romanie - I Won’t Yell.

Romanie shares her triumphant new single ‘I Won’t Yell’ along with news of her upcoming album It’s Not That Funny, set for release on Feb 20 via Community Music. New single ‘I Won’t Yell’ arrives as a declaration of defiance. Originally stemming from a folk song Romanie had written years earlier, ‘I Won’t Yell’ was co-produced with Adam Hyde (Peking Duk, Keli Holiday) and Tom Stell (Golden Features), reworked during a 3 day co-writing session in Sydney. Speaking to the process, Romanie shares, “We turned this small acoustic song upside down into this powerful statement, keeping basically all the lyrics and giving them a new meaning. 

The song is about not being heard as a woman: oftentimes we get called ‘too much’ or ‘too loud’ with the result of keeping our emotions to ourselves, or not speaking up about the things that we want to. ‘I Won’t Yell’ was a fun song to make: letting go of my constant self judgement with the nudge of Tom and Adam, who let me yell in the vocal booth.”

Multi-award-winning Naarm/Melbourne-based artist Romanie returned earlier this year with acclaimed singles ‘Uh Oh’ and ‘When Will We Lose Hope?’. In addition she signed off the summer by making her mark on Europe, supporting grentperez in Brussels and Gordi in Antwerp before joining pals Olivia Jane Bolmat and SHERÓSY  on their ‘Girls Tour’ stopping in London,, Manchester and Scotland.

‘I Won’t Yell’ is the third single lifted from Romanie’s forthcoming album, It’s Not That Funny. It marks a significant progression from her Australian Music Prize-nominated debut album Are We There Yet? As the new record showcases a transformation in Romanie’s worldview and artistry through embracing contradiction: finding light in the moments of darkness, hope in the face of adversity.

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Photo - Bex Aston

Alice Costelloe - Damned If You Do.

London singer-songwriter Alice Costelloe has unveiled new single 'Damned If You Do' - the latest preview of her highly anticipated debut album 'Move On With The Year', out 6th February 2026 via Moshi Moshi Records. 

Interrogating the crossroads between art and adulthood, 'Damned If You Do' reflects on the looming rituals of marriage, motherhood, and the idea of giving oneself away. Unfolding through warm organ tones, plaintive guitar lines and rumbling synths, Costelloe's crystalline vocals let the questions sit open rather than solved: "Would I do it for love / Do it for you / Give my body up / For something new."

On the release of her new single, Alice said: “I was thinking a lot about the next phase of life as I wrote this album. Cocooned away and focused purely on making music, I felt more creatively fulfilled than I had in a long time. It made me question how this freedom could exist if I followed a more conventional path. To prioritise domesticity and stability or to prioritise creative ambition – either choice felt like sacrificing something essential.

“I was also coming out of a period of keeping my head above water while navigating life with an addict parent, and I realised that whatever decisions I made next, I needed to be careful not to lose myself. ‘I don’t see myself all dressed in white / standing in the shadows’ is as much about my claustrophobia around the altar and its traditions as it is about resisting the pressure to embody some ideal of feminine virtue – to be expected to sacrifice your own life in service of another.”

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Adam Goldberg (The Goldberg Sisters) - Our Kind of Love.

Today, NY-based actor/director/musician Adam Goldberg announces When the Ships of My Dreams Return, the upcoming album from his moniker The Goldberg Sisters that will be released on February 20, 2026. This is the fifth album from The Goldberg Sisters, the current musical project from the multi-hyphenate who has starred in films like Saving Private Ryan, Dazed and Confused and 2 Days in Paris and appeared in TV shows like Friends, Entourage, Fargo and The Equalizer. The LP marks the first time where Goldberg has performed, recorded and mixed the entirety of the album on his own. Also today, he released the album’s first single “Our Kind of Love,” a track about the complexities of how to present love in an increasingly digital age. 

On the new single, Goldberg shares: “‘Our Kind of Love’ was the first song I began recording for the album, before I realized that I was recording another album. It had been several years, and between two kids and my day job, I had neither the time nor frankly the inspiration to make another record or even another song really. But I had begun making some guitar loops, a practice which has often led to songs, and this track was born out of one of those sessions. It began simply with the looped phrase ‘Our kind of love’ — ostensibly a love song — but as I fleshed it out became a song about some people’s presentation of love, especially in the context of social media. This theme ended up recurring throughout the process of writing what in fact became a full album.” 

His first LP since 2018’s Home: A Nice Place to Visit, When the Ships of My Dreams Return is his most expansive album yet in terms of style and lyrical themes, showcasing his ability to channel his energy into exploring unfamiliar terrain and re-emerging with a musical map that charts thrilling new paths for himself. And while Goldberg had played most everything on his last couple of records as well as self-recording several demos, he had never done it all entirely alone until now.

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Photo - Jorge Foley

Bino Bames - Gathers No Moss (EP).

20-year-old multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and creative visionary Bino Bames releases the 'Gathers No Moss' EP, alongside emotive visuals for new single ‘'Let You Go’' today.
 
With a string of standout singles already released from the EP; including 'Cocktail Princess’', 'Isolated' and 'Nothing's Real'; Bino Bames has earned tastemaker support from Clash, DIY, Wonderland, Cosmopolitan and The Line of Best Fit to name a few, and built a growing cult following in the process. Honing his craft across the collection of 8 tracks, Bino reveals his unique voice as an artist stepping into his own, instilled in the narrative arc of his songs with a cinematic edge.
 
Serving as both a closing chapter and a new beginning, 'Let You Go' is a euphoric collision of emotion and relentless energy, an anthem of heartbreak and self-discovery. Shot over two sessions between London & Spain, the 'Let You Go' music video is art directed by Bino himself, and directed by Bino's long term collaborator and creative director Jorge Foley, bringing a raw grunge inspired aesthetic channelling the track's emotional chaos.
 
'I'd just come off the Punchbag University Tour when Jorge flew in from Spain,' Bino recalls. 'We'd shot half the video a month earlier, but those last few days together were when everything finally clicked. I wrote this song five years ago, back in Vegas. Since then, I've lived through more relationships, more heartbreaks, more growing up, and all of that changed what the song means to me. After performing it so many times on tour, it’s taken on a new life. The video feels like the moment it finally caught up.'

binobames · Gathers No Moss

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Nick & June - PARTICLS - VERA - Serious Child

Photo - Luka Popp

Nick & June - 2017 (feat. The Antlers).

Berlin duo Nick & June (aka Nick Wolf and Suzie-Lou Kraft) have recently announced the release of their new album 'New Year's Face' on 5th December. Produced by Grammy-winning producer Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Sharon Van Etten,) and recorded in Bridgeport, Connecticut, 'New Year's Face', which includes collaborations with Owen Pallett, The National’s Kyle Resnick and Ben Lanz, The Antlers and others, will be released on CD, vinyl and digitally. 'New Year's Face' is the duo's first release since 2023's 'Beach Baby, Baby EP', which enjoyed over 30 million streams, widespread critical praise and led to sold-out shows across Europe.

This week, they share their mesmerising new single '2017', featuring The Antlers’ frontman Peter Silberman. The single arrives with a heartfelt video that compiles clips from the studio and live performance footage filmed with an old camcorder, offering a vintage and charming glimpse behind the scenes. 

Of the introspective, ethereal stunner, Kraft notes: “It’s good to occasionally ask yourself why your mind keeps wandering back to the past. Who’s still living in 2017?” Wolf adds: “Ever since I discovered The Antlers’ album ‘Hospice’ back in 2009, I’ve been a huge fan of Peter and the band. To me, he’s one of the best songwriters of his generation. That we’d end up recording songs together…it still feels kind of crazy". 

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PARTICLS - Every Now & Then (EP).

London-based psych-disco sextet PARTICLS release the anticipated debut EP, Every Now & Then. The EP captures the band’s dynamic chemistry, blending 1970s progressive textures with contemporary psych and disco rhythms. Featuring tight full-band instrumentation, folk undertones, bright violin, and evocative vocal melodies, the EP offers a nuanced and refreshingly hard-to-categorize sonic experience.

Exploring themes of presence, authenticity, and vibrancy, it weaves together folk influences, 70s rock, and subtle touches of glitchy, psychedelic effects. Recording sessions began aboard the boat studio Lightship 95, engineered by David Holmes, before tracks were deconstructed and reconstructed at Mashrooms Studios with Ben and Zahara of Strange Pill. The result is a playful, danceable, yet musically sophisticated collection of tracks that celebrates the joy of making music together.

Speaking about the EP, the band explain: “The sound of this EP emerged from a beautiful, frustratingly simple revelation… Disco is where it’s at. The songs reflect who the six of us are alone, the winding paths that led us here, and the pulse of our shared ecstasy, found often, though not always, on the dance floor. It’s the sound of our individual stories meeting, and becoming something collective.”

Formed in a haze at a Kerri Chandler DJ set in the woods where they decided they wanted to make people dance, whilst keeping some of the 1970s progressive vibe from a previous project, PARTICLS have built a reputation for their unique sonic approach - an invitation to experience rhythm, melody, and spontaneity in equal measure. 

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VERA - Ketchup.

Creating a buzz across Belfast’s alt scene, VERA are the band everyone’s whispering about. Born when singer-songwriter Sarah Toner’s solo studio sessions with Darragh, Dave, and Matt caught fire, the chemistry quickly became too strong to stay behind the glass. Their sound fuses indie grit, pop hooks, R&B grooves, and sharp alt-rock edges — a mix built for sweat, noise, and emotion. Lyrically raw and unfiltered, they turn heartbreak and sarcasm into cathartic anthems made for the stage.

VERA's latest single Ketchup is a fiery, confessional reflection of breakup chaos. Driven by punchy keys, swaggering bass lines, and VERA’s signature blend of wit, sarcasm and vulnerability, Ketchup captures that moment you finally stop crying over someone and start laughing about it instead. It’s equal parts breakup song and bucket-list manifesto… a reminder that even when life gets messy, you can still groove your way through it.

The Story of the Song - Ketchup isn’t a song about a real experience. The visual image of having Ketchup stains all down my shirt is sort of a character thing… I imagine someone sat eating a burger alone in some sleazy diner despairing about their relationship and what to do to get out of it, but knowing deep down they’re not going anywhere. I think the image of a mess you’ve made yourself stuck in my head. Not to say I haven’t been in that situation myself… but I think we all get Ketchup stains down our shirts now and again. - Sarah Toner

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Serious Child - What Lies Beneath (Album).

Serious Child, aka Alan Young, has just released his fourth album ‘What Lies Beneath’. The album is a collection of musical stories about what’s underneath the surface of our everyday lives and the third single to come from it is ‘Veneer’, a story of social camouflage, of a figure who had behaved normally for so long, everyone had forgotten who they were.

Co-written with Neil Connor, ‘Veneer’ is a lush, almost Floydian piece, where a change in tempo, David Grubb’s sliding violin and My Girl The River’s backing vocals take us to a beautiful place of realising who we are. An ode for the outcasts of society, ‘Veneer’ celebrates finding your own individuality and being proud of it with its layers of comforting and sumptuous introspection.

The new single is another look into West Sussex based Alan Young’s intriguing world, which he explores with a poet’s ear for emotion and a comedian’s eye for everyday detail. For the new record, Young has drawn from a wide range of sources of inspiration- from Tony Harrison’s sonnet “Book Ends”, to Rob McFarlane’s brilliant book “Underland” and Georgian traditional lullaby “Iavnana”.

Young’s previous albums have consistently attracted four and five star reviews, and his last full album, 2021’s ‘Talk About The Weather’ (with Andy Ruddy) was shortlisted for Fatea Album of the Year. His most recent project was a charity EP for Save Ukraine, with whom his brother Dave worked as an emergency relief driver. His most ambitious and varied offering to date, the new record, ‘What Lies Beneath’ is the bold sound of an indie-pop artist exploring and confidently fulfilling their potential.

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Charm of Finches - Konradsen Feat. Gia Margaret - Anna of the North - Older Now

Charm of Finches - Meteor.

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.” 

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Photo - Marthe Thu

Konradsen Feat. Gia Margaret - Nick of Time.

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."

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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.

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Older Now - Tide.

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.

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