Reviews

Minneapolis indie rocker Mary Strand comes storming back with her second full-length, I Don’t Need Your Permission, out August 1 on Hygh Tension Records/Virgin Music. Written after two near-death experiences that forced her to hit pause and reexamine life, the album carries the weight of survival but also the fire…

London-based singer and songwriter Shy Puma has been carving out her own lane in the alternative R&B and dream-psychedelia space, and her new single “Gambler,” released digitally on September 17, 2025, shows just how far she has pushed her sound. Following the critical attention of her debut EP Don’t Rush…

Murder Sermon crashes back into the scene with their blistering new single “Through the Eyes of the Mirror,” released on September 5, 2025. Hailing from Rouen, France, the band has carved a name in extreme metal for their explosive blend of lightning-fast riffs and punishing breakdowns, and this track is…

With “The Concession Stand Blitz,” Lexington’s noise-rock mischief makers Tojo Yamamoto take the glittery chaos of The Sweet’s 1973 glam-rock classic “Ballroom Blitz” and fling it straight into the mayhem of a wrestling concession stand. Released as a limited 7” vinyl, this track is a witty spectacle drenched in fuzz,…

Yo returns with a striking new single, “Volver al aire,” featuring the soaring soprano presence of Carmina Alegría, a piece that sits at the very heart of the album’s narrative. Carved in the spirit of new age resonance but infused with neoclassical grandeur and ambient pop lushness, the song transforms…

Frygian steps into uncharted yet soulful territory with his new single “Weltschmerz,” a piece that drapes listeners in a cinematic haze of longing and melancholy. Released independently and born from a sleepless night, the track takes its name from the German word that infers to the yearning for something out…

Chaotic Silence has stepped boldly into the spotlight with their debut album Dissonance, released on September 27, 2025. The Indian alternative rock duo has been building anticipation for this 10-track odyssey, and the payoff is striking. Drawing on influences as wide-ranging as Linkin Park, Deftones, Nirvana, and Radiohead, they’ve created…

HalfCutLemon are back with a vengeance, and their new album This Ain’t Real, released September 25, 2025, via Aenaos Records, stretches this Copenhagen four-piece’s palette to its peak. Recorded at the legendary Sweet Silence Studio with Flemming Rasmussen, the same producer who shaped Metallica’s early sound, the nine-track record runs…

Jayli’s new single “Do You Come With Me?” released on September 19, 2025, is a deep house reimagining of Nora En Pure’s 2013 classic “Come With Me,” but with a sharper, club-ready twist. Hailing from London, Jayli has carved out a niche with a passion for stutter house, and here…

Purbeck Temple’s The Agoraphobia Files, released on August 18, 2025, is a personal manifesto wrapped in grit, sorrow, and flashes of redemption. Hailing from Hornsea, England, Temple channels years of trauma, health battles, and the isolating weight of agoraphobia into 13 tracks that blur the line between confession and catharsis.…