Xperience and Ninjaface, who comprise The Unusuals, have a long history of musical collaboration. The deep end of the Pacific Northwest underground scene is where their 20+ year long careers reside. Oldominion, Grayskul, Step Cousins (XP & Macklemore), Th3rdz and countless collaborations were formed. If you know then you know. If you don’t…well you should.
King In Yellow, started by longtime friends and musical collaborators, Kyle McDonough and Nick Vining, is a musical fusion of timeless melodies and razor sharp rhythms. Drawing inspiration from the golden eras of rock and jangle pop, their music harmoniously blends raw energy and soothing gentleness. With avant-garde influences, King In Yellow crafts a unique sonic experience that transcends boundaries.
Ingolore’s new EP Paris is out now, 4 songs to believe in Love (again). From his distant Irish roots, he kept a happy guilt. Since his first steps and clumsy kisses on the dunes of the French West Coast, he has sprinkled his way with a luminous melancholy.
A mere thirty-four years late, the Veldt’s debut album finally arrives.
Monroe Moon is an experimental indie rock / pop duo, Bunny Monroe and Theo Malkin. Dark, cerebral, & poetic lyrics swim in catchy riffs and ethereal guitar. Centered around experimentation and collaboration.
La Need Machine is a fast-rising Seattle band with a fresh, genre-bending sound. La Need Machine combine the best of Indie Rock, Americana, Indie Pop and Punk-and-Roll for a sound that adds a new dimension to the “Seattle Sound.” Fans and music writers alike refer to La Need Machine songs as “ear-worms” that you want to listen to again and again.
As far as pure listening pleasure goes, Invisible Hits hits every mark Datura4’s albums do, and more.
Ithaca, NY-based indiepop artist Rose Alaimo has released A Place To Go When You Need To Hide her third full-length album. Honest, hopeful and emotive, this record follows Alaimo’s internal struggles as she finds her way through darkness to exercise her own will-power, freedom of choice and self-empowerment. It is no coincidence that this album entails an element of contrast between light and darkness.
Tanya Goltz left her small Australian hometown at 15 with a longing to explore the world. Now armed with insights after giving in to a serious case of wanderlust, suffering heartbreak, falling hard in love and experiencing the triumphs and heartaches of working as a social worker, Goltz unapologetically addresses love, loss and empowerment in her upcoming debut EP, Pieces of Me.
Bassist/songwriter Tony Marsico’s long and varied career stretches back to his membership in pioneering Chicano punk band the Plugz, eventually encompassing work with Bob Dylan, Matthew Sweet, Neil Young, and tons of others.
The Trudy are an English pop band formed in Kingston upon Thames in 1979 by former Cardiacs members Peter Tagg (drums) and Ralph Cade (vocals and keyboards) along with Derek Tagg (guitar) and Sue Smallwood (bass).
Chicago-based rock and roll artist Leon Frear has released his riveting single ‘Secret Second Moon’, the first offering from his debut album Wild Rice. A seasoned musician, this album represents a new start for him under this moniker.
Recording live in 2006, For Those Who Cross the Seas finds keyboardist and composer Alon Nechushtan assembling a titanic lineup of NYC free and experimental jazz players to perform a pair of longform pieces.
Lighting up stages with their amps-turned-to-11, valve-busting take on drive-time punk rock, Brighton’s Harker has already warmed up stages for the likes of Red City Radio, Creeper, and *Boston Manor and they are only getting started.
Putting their collective irons in the fire for the past three years, Harker is a band full of momentum. Formed by front man Mark Boniface, the project has gone on to include a formidable line-up of musicians touring relentlessly across the UK and Europe and fully embracing a louder-fuzz driven sound.
Over the recent years, the Swedish singer-songwriter and Bob Dylan interpreter, Vargen has carved a reputation for infusing his music with raw emotions. “Mindy Morning”, “The Bitch In Me”, “Toxicon” and “Easter Soul” were the singles preceding Vargen, his eponymous debut album of original work (which is out now. The album presents a diversity of genres, from the singles’ classic rock reminiscent of Dire Straits, Tom Petty and The Rolling Stones to piano ballads and art-rock in the vein of Nick Cave and David Bowie.
London-based alternative-psychedelic rock artist Sabatta presents the new album How To Get Even via Blackfriars Entertainment, arriving after the trail blazed by two memorable funkadelic groove-laden singles – ‘Get Over Yourself’, an ode to the obliviously self-important, and ‘‘Get Your Shit Together’, a wakeup call to the masses. Here, listeners can experience multiple shades of a very particular hue.
Johnny Manchild and the Poor Bastards are a multi-genre ensemble founded by Johnny Manchild (composition, production, vocals, keyboards), since their inception, the band (affectionately known as “Bastards”) has grown into a musical collective with collaborators in regular rotation, and Johnny at the helm. They are releasing a taste of what’s to come with a new song and video for “Oh, Songbird” out on December 8. Their new album Rapture Waltz will be out spring of 2024
Hana Maria, the daughter of a Catholic priest, was born during a hurricane; a prophetic beginning to the diary that’s exposed in her turbulent and often disturbing songwriting. The singer and multi-instrumentalist grew up in Wellington, New Zealand, moving to England at the age of twelve to pursue her dream of becoming a concert violinist. Disillusioned with the world of classical music, she began pushing boundaries both in art and in life – the two becoming so intertwined that it became hard to know where one began and the other ended.
Afterglow is a recording artist from Moscow, Russia who writes sad songs with post rock/post punk-inspired instrumentals. It’s one man, a guitar, a bass, and a laptop…and some occasional guests.
LARCHES is a project of Jacob Cona, a musician raised in Athens, GA, the home of Elephant 6, R.E.M., and the B-52’s. After several productive years beginning at the start of the pandemic, Jacob emerged from a bedroom-turned-home studio with music documenting a hallucinogenic landscape of isolation, loneliness, and hope, inhabited by painted corpses, cowering gods, and friends transformed into telephones.
Rusty Reid is a Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle singer-songwriter writing melodic, guitar-oriented pop-country-rock songs, including many with modern liberal philosophical, political, spiritual content.
On Dreaming of Sleep – their fifth album – Tulipomania immerses themselves fully in electronic means of creation – the exception being a sole accent played on electric guitar. Featuring cover artwork by Michael Speed8, senior designer at *Beggars Group London, this record involves Executive Producer Howard Thompson, renowned for his contributions as a record industry executive (Elektra, Island, Almo Sounds), having discovered and/or worked with such artists as Adam and the Ants, Billy Bragg, MC5, Mötorhead, PiL, Psychedelic Furs, Robyn Hitchcock, The Sugarcubes, Suicide, among others.
Kristopher is musician and singer-songwriter Kristopher Houck based in Orlando, Florida.
With a degree in psychology and over a decade of musical theater and orchestral experience as a performer and multi-instrumentalist, Kristopher blends his skills to create songs about feeling and healing through the cathartic power of music that has been so critical to his own journey.
His upcoming debut album LIAR is a collection of original songs about the need to be emotionally honest with ourselves.
San Francisco-based artist E.G. Phillips presents his Outlaw The Dead EP, released via Ducks With Pants Records. Produced by Chris McGrew, this EP was mixed with the assistance of Billboard-charting producer Jaimeson Durr (Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Hope Sandoval).
Staples of the Twin Cities music scene since 2005, The Rockford Mules have shared the stage with Lucero, Soul Asylum, The Violent Femmes, Fu Manchu, Shooter Jennings and a number of other national acts in some of America’s most iconic venues. They’ve had music featured on Criminal Minds along with several MTV style shows. They have previously released three full length records and The Last Camaro is their first album of new music in 12 years.
Few labels are as adamant at showcasing free improvisation as ESP-Disk’, but Seven pieces/about an hour/saxophone, piano, drums does more than that: it shines a light on an under-recorded talent.
Love clings to you forever whether you’re in it or out of it. Like an apparition you can’t shake, it never leaves. Love Ghost’s music conjures a style equally informed by Seattle tradition and Souncloud-era fearlessness.
Love Ghost is for the misfits and their music mostly deals with personal battles of mental health.
In The Rain Shadow is a testament to the persistence of true positivity in our modern era, and ultimately it’s a truly inspiring musical expression.
Reaching In is not the first album to tackle these themes, but it’s definitely one of the best and it’s executed with delicacy, great care, and a startling amount of talent.
Oxford, UK indie pop-rock darlings Jody and the Jerms have released their final single of 2023. ‘Divine’ is a rich spacious serving of indie pop, enveloped in a song about hope and belief in a world in disarray – a world that seems to exhibit more cruelty than ever.
It’s not only the leader’s own sound that unites the pieces – it’s a shared vision, as clearly every person from whom Pirog asked for tracks got the memo.
Eden Har‑Gil is a New York-based drummer and composer. He has been honing his skills under the tutelage of many jazz legends such as Lenny White, Billy Drummond, Bill Charlap, Horacee Arnold and Anat Fort. Since his move to New York City in 2018, Eden has played and collaborated with international musicians like: Dave Pietro, Martin Wind, Steve LaSpina, Dezron Douglas, Caroline Davis, Lo Wood, and others.
Biscuit Shrine is the solo project for Australian musician Ryder Lush, formed late 2021, the bedroom project gradually found its ground towards the start of 2023, exploring the essence of atmosphere in creating a headspace not dissimilar from other acts in the genre, with a primary focus on energy and melody conversing through reverberating guitars and ambient soundscapes in an art rock tension. ‘That Was Then’ is first single release since 2022, and the new album _Between The Real_is now out.
Phoenix-based synthpunk grindcore pop nerd rap duo Snailmate is flaunting their new album Stress Sandwich by taking it on tour, continuing a solid tradition that has practically become a way of life for the duo.
Newly released via Toronto-based Indiestructable Records, serving up a twisted humorous take on existential anxiety, this album delivers funky, poppy, screamy fun through synth-laced alternative raps. Their music is like a quick-onset panic attack with the right meds to be able to keep calm and enjoy the ride.
Hadar Shechter is a folk-soul singer-songwriter and a vocal coach. She grew up listening to the great R&B artists, and also to the great folk musicians, which echoes in her music and her vocal performance. She has performed with some of the most established Israeli musicians and has released 2 EP’s and a number of singles throughout the years. She is working on her third album which is planned to be released next year.
During World War II, there were 20,000 concentration camp prisoners rescued by the White Buses, an operation coordinated and organized by the Red Cross. Danish saxophonist Benjamin Koppel feels this is a story we should all remember – hence White Buses: Passage to Freedom, a thematic concept album.
JW Paris is a 90’s grunge Britpop-inspired three-piece featuring Gemma Clarke, Danny Collins and Aaron Forde.
They have seen their first four singles ‘Electric Candle Light’, ’Sober’, ‘Favourite Thing’ and ‘Royalty’ gain national and international radio play from Jack Saunders on BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Absolute Radio and Radio X.
New Folk Records, in conjunction with CenterStageNC, has released their new new charity album titled That’s Why We Stand. 100% of proceeds received by them will go directly to Guitars4Vets .
The first single going to radio is “Keep it Up” featuring an all-star cast of incredible musicians and personalities, including Mike Huckabee and John Schneider. Other artists with songs featured on That’s Why We Stand include; The Charlie Daniels Band, Rockie Lynne, Scotty Hasting, Doyle Dykes, Wayne Taylor, The Orphan Brigade, Geoff Elvee and more.
The latest avatar of a recent mini-revival of psych/power/folk pop revival, Eamon Ra shows a great deal of talent and smarts on his second album.
Roman Candles are a rock band from Charlotte, North Carolina.
During the second wave of the emerging Miami music scene, while bands like One Direction were topping the pop charts nationally, E-Rock Proper was sweating it out in local clubs playing guitar for various hardcore bands.
Eventually, one of those tracks from the unreleased record was picked up by multi-platinum recording artist Alex Band of the Calling. Following up with that accomplishment, he co-wrote additional tracks. With his trusted supporters and die-hard fans consistently telling him that they preferred his own version of those songs instead, he finally decided to venture out on his own.
RHEIN is the musical alter-ego of Reinier van den Haak (Krach, Roosbeef). After focusing more on his work as a psychologist in recent years he decided to combine both passions. In a neo-Freudian search for less reason and more feeling, RHEIN started keeping track of the content of his dreams to use as inspiration for music. RHEIN’s first work is in the making, in the form of EP Die Traumdeutung.
Blow My Cover is hands down the artist’s finest collection of songs yet, representing a brilliant milestone for his evolution as a musician.
With a sound that is stretches broadly across different rock genres, Micarelli manages to graft the more exploratory sides of artists like Pink Floyd and even the slow burning epics of Bruce Springsteen.
Benedict Sinister is a French/Australian music and video artist best known for concealing his identity and his combination of gruff spoken word poetry with lounge beats. Gigsoup says Sinister’s music is “like Leonard Cohen warped into EDM in the coolest way possible.” Artistrack says: “His smart, sexy, sharply-observed songs are a fusion of adult alternative and chill house.” Wonderland magazine call Sinister a “boundary-pushing revered musical veteran.”
For his fourth solo album, Hershkovits goes it alone, without even a sheaf of scores for company.
Labasheeda is a noiserock & artpunk trio from Amsterdam. Tying together a decade of adventurous, sound-evolving albums and changing lineups, are penchants for concise, stripped down melodies, and quick switches from spacious bass lines and drums into heavy, chaotic, and sometimes anthemic guitar driven songs, drawing comparisons to genre-pushing bands such as Sonic Youth and Sebadoh.
Annakye is a dynamic and promising band that burst onto the music scene end of 2021. Originally formed that year, the group saw a significant expansion in 2023 with the inclusion of talented singers Lucas and Camron. This addition brought a fresh energy and dimension to the band’s sound. Their breakthrough moment came in 2023 with the release of their single “Too Far South,” which soared to the impressive position of number one on the unsigned pop punk charts in the USA.
Having captured the hearts of fans around the world, d’Lakes extracts the weirdness of forgotten 80’s new wave tracks, the production sensibilities of the kaleidoscopic aughts, and a live show reminiscent of an overblown community theater production. Heaven Is A Silent Disco is their sophomore album.
Understanding the world is a challenging task, though music and song helps. Irish singer-songwriter Sano Hill might be in a retro capsule with what inspired him, but his awareness is of the present. From social issues to the various experiences and emotions that shape life, Hill navigates it all through song. His influences range widely from David Bowie, Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello to Jeff Buckley, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, U2 and Radiohead.
