Alasdair James Dodds has a rare knack for making silence feel alive, and “Disillusionment” is a powerful reminder of just how much emotional weight a single piano can carry. Released on October 11, 2025, this instrumental piece feels like the distilled essence of Dodds’ long, winding creative journey—one shaped by…

Hidden Shores’ Fractal Heart is a revelation unfolding in digital slow motion. The Belgian project, created by an elementary school teacher who trades chalkboards for synths after dark, lives right at the crossroads of vulnerability and electronic wonder. You can feel the deep respect for traditional songwriting here, but also…

Detroit-based project Valaura comes swinging with “Hallowed Ground,” a single that feels like a line drawn in the sand and dared to be crossed. Released on January 31, 2026, the track signals a bolder, heavier turn for the group, blending groove-heavy alt rock with confrontational fire. Built by Valaura alongside…

Leeds-based composer Lostbird steps into the spotlight with “Drift,” an evocative piano piece that feels less like a song and more like a memory gently resurfacing. Released on January 25, 2026, this atmospheric instrumental leans into nostalgia without romanticising it too hard, instead letting small, sensory details do the talking.…

Emerging from Lehi, Utah, Valiancy—helmed by Kyle Harris—drops a heavy emotional weight with “Voices,” a self-written, self-produced single released on January 29, 2026. Drawing from the introspective depths of artists like Peter Gabriel and James Blake, the track leans into vulnerability headfirst, tackling mental health, depression, and the exhausting battle…

Singer Muratti closes his musical chapter with “We Made It,” a bittersweet synthpop farewell, like a time capsule gently cracked open. Released on January 29, 2026, the track reads like a love letter to those who grew up in the 80s and 90s, the last generation to remember a world…

Remon Nakanishi has built a reputation for treating Japanese folk tradition not as a museum piece but as something alive, social, and a little unruly, and “Yattokose” pushes that philosophy smugly. Released on January 30, 2026, the track reimagines a Bon song from Sado Island and flips it into a…

Allie Ascentia’s Crossroads is like one of those late-night conversations with yourself that accidentally turns profound. This is a fully solo project—every lyric, melody, instrument, vocal layer, and production choice comes straight from Ascentia’s own hands—and you can hear that level of control in how personal and intentional the album…

Josh Hicks’ “Talk Too Much” lands confidently, owning the room very casually. The 25-year-old Welsh singer has been quietly sharpening his craft for years, and here it shows, not just in his silky vocal control, but in how comfortably he balances charm, vulnerability, and bite. Raised on a heady mix…

“Memories” finds Chris Bull stepping into a more reflective lane, trading the punchy indie-rock energy of his past for something tender and lived-in. Now releasing music under the name Every Other Weekend, Bull shows that he’s been through the wringer and come out with a clearer sense of what actually…

Marianne Joyce arrives with “Inventing Something” sounding remarkably assured for a debut, like an artist who’s been honing her voice long before hitting record. Rooted in indie folk but stretching toward something anthemic, the song feels intimate and expansive, carrying the weight of history while staying firmly grounded in the…

“LoveRise” is that exact moment when the sun hits your face a little too perfectly and you suddenly believe in fresh starts again. Jimi C & The Waves, the Venice Beach–based project of producer and multi-instrumentalist Jimi Cracovaner, kicks things off with a debut that leans hard into optimism. It’s…

Plans to Sand take a familiar ache and stretch it until it really hurts—in the best way—with their cover of “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.” Based out of Philadelphia, the band had already carved out their own lane through originals, including the well-received So What, before deciding to touch a…

“New Car” finds Vé/Zé—aka Hungarian songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Zoltan Varga—leaning into classic songwriting instincts while keeping his gaze firmly forward. Coming out of Mogyoród, Hungary, Vé/Zé channels the emotional clarity and craft of ’90s AOR. You can hear the honesty coming from writing, playing, and producing everything yourself. Featuring…

Seema Farswani is a singer-songwriter, composer, and producer whose music bridges worlds. Blending the grit of blues, the pulse of pop-rock, and the soul of Middle Eastern melodies, her sound is as emotionally raw as it is globally resonant. Her debut EP Got My Mojo (May 2024) introduced a fearless,…

Teenage prodigies throwing down modern metal that actually hits? Yeah, Black Seraphim are doing exactly that, and they’re doing it loud. Formed in late 2023 across Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Little Rock, this genre-blurring outfit has been turning heads since their earliest shows on the Sunset Strip. Their latest original…

Alice Okada’s debut full-length chapter one: the beach episode, released on January 30, 2026, opens a window to a very specific headspace. This headspace is private, exploratory, and brave. Based in Portland, OR, Okada steps into Jungle and DnB territory with curiosity, pulling inspiration from genre pillars like Shy FX,…

Paul Claxton’s seventh solo album, To Whom It May Concern, out January 30, could be a handwritten letter you slip under the door. It’s that personal, unguarded, and steeped in decades of musical living. Born in Liverpool and shaped by years on stages big and small, Claxton carries experience you…

There’s something disarmingly real about Derby Hill, the self-titled EP from Detroit singer-songwriter Derby Hill, released on January 27, 2026. Rooted in blue-collar neighborhoods, back porch swings, and late-night reckonings, this EP feels like a handful of lived stories passed across a kitchen table. Recorded in Chicago basements and hall…

After nearly a decade of grinding it out across the Midwest, Carrying Torches sounds like a band that knows exactly who they are—and more importantly, what they’re willing to face. Hailing from the Chicagoland heartland, they’ve logged close to 200 shows and built their identity on what they call Electric…

Anthony J. Resta’s “Guitar Man” is like a long-overdue self-portrait. A Laurel Canyon lifer and studio OG with decades of iconic credits behind him, Resta finally steps out from behind the console and into the light, reimagining Bread’s 1972 classic as a cinematic confession about devotion, survival, and the love…

Karen Salicath Jamali begins 2026 with a breath. Her new single, “Angel Sandalphon (The Angel of New Beginnings),” released on January 29, feels like a quiet clearing of the slate—a gentle invitation to step into the year with intention. It’s her first release of the year, and fittingly, it arrives…

New Year’s Eve Jam 2025 comes beautifully unpolished to show us where charm actually lives. J Dulva, a seasoned voice from Eunice, Louisiana, reunites with Chris Segar, separated by a generation but bonded by shared roots, for a cover album that was meant to happen at one point or another. Recorded…

Running through “Bottles” is the familiar tinge of nostalgia that grips you hardest in longing when summer feels impossibly far away, and memory is doing most of the warming. Athens pop-punk trio The Unfamiliars? lean fully into that feeling here, with this nostalgic, bittersweet single that bottles up sun, salt,…