Reviews

There’s something deliciously old-school yet quietly rebellious about J. J. ASH’s return, and “Irish Lover” slips right into that sweet spot between nostalgia and spunk. With roots stretching back to the early ’90s, the band leans into their years, spinning a tale drawn from youthful recklessness and the love that…

The Swamp Stomp String Band kicks up a storm while they’re making music. With “Songs in the Key of Blue,” the band doubles down on their rowdy, foot-stomping identity, bringing ragtime grit, country soul, blues swagger, and folk fire into what we could imagine as a barn dance and back-alley…

Reitse Machiel leans into emotional honesty while keeping one foot firmly on the dancefloor with “Can’t Do Better,” which walks the tightrope between heartfelt emotions and pulsing pop energy. Coming off the momentum of his previous release, he doubles down on contrast, bringing vulnerability in an engaging rhythm. The song…

Denver-based producer and multi-instrumentalist BEOM steps into his own lane with HOME, a debut album that feels like a fully-formed world. Pulling from jazz roots, K-pop sensibilities, and atmospheric electronic production, he crafts an intimate and expansive space, like late-night thoughts set to shimmering soundscapes. It’s all self-written and produced…

Robert Silvester taps straight into retro nostalgia with “Virtual Dream,” where he rewires the past. Hailing from Exeter, the artist brings together 80s-inspired synth textures and a very modern dilemma of building connection in the age of screens. Recorded at Seabrook Studio and carefully shaped through a meticulous production process,…

Lera Shemi is unraveling something with “call you by your namE,” the third chapter of her unfolding concept album You & Me & HER. The Ukrainian-born, LA-based artist zooms in on the simple, intimate, and confrontational act of saying someone’s name out loud. Following the sharper edges of her earlier…

The Marsh Family’s rise from lockdown parody videos to full-fledged recording artists has always felt a bit storybook, and with their debut album Hollow Chapters, they finally turn that narrative inward. This is a shared diary, passed between six voices, shaped by grief, growth, protest, and resilience. Blending folk roots…

Neighbours Sara Perlerup and Peter Anderson bring to you a heartfelt EP, Our Lonely Worlds Collide, via their project, Blue & Bright. All there is here is an easy-going country-pop record with unfeigned blitheness coming through acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies. Through five tracks recorded in Nashville and finalized in…

Minneapolis-based alt-rock band Knife Emoji has debuted with a self-titled release on March 20. You will love the synths, the 12-string guitar, and definitely the drums, and be forced to face the dichotomy of the self. And if you are into Radiohead and Grizzly Bear, hop on. Knife Emoji opens…

There’s experimental, and then there’s Social Treble’s “The Skyline Motherboard… And The Burden of Being Known,” which rewires boundaries. Coming out of Bengaluru, this instrumental piece plays like a dystopian short film you can hear, built on the unnerving idea of a gig economy that no longer rents your time…