Red’s Motel has spent the better part of the last year brewing up their debut album, Chapters End. The band, led by the enigmatic Red Hawes, is a three-piece indie/alternative rock act based in Maryland who have been making plenty of waves in their local scene, including some stints at Ram’s Head and Merriweather Post Pavilion. Their hard work and grinding has paid off; Chapters End is a stunning offering of riff-driven alternative rock with an emphasis on interesting compositions, nimble fingerwork, and endearing melody. The album opens with the epic and cinematic instrumental “The Curse ..read more

From British Columbia on the Canadian west coast, Naomi Kavka brings us her latest single “Landline.” Coming off her latest album, Then and Now, this is a delightful track but a difficult one to pigeonhole! It has an indie folk feel but veers into some light shoegaze (and damn does it have a catchy beat – you can really feel the *thump* of that bass). The guitar that comes in approximately every thirty seconds is that perfect amount of wailing that itches scratches in your ear you didn’t know you had. Kavka’s voice is warm and effortlessly breaks through the instrumentals and really reson ..read more

“Pull Yourself Together” is the latest from Ontario band Basement Revolver – a band we’ve covered a couple times over the years here and here. Coming from what appears to be an expanded “director’s cut” of their 2021 album Embody, “Pull Yourself Together” didn’t appear on the original (although “Skin” did, which we loved if you click on the second “here” link above). Giving a masterclass in shoegaze adjacent and dream pop, you can’t help but be impressed with how well this track builds upon itself. Chrisy Hurn delivers in spades; as the song gets louder and louder (and then shrinks back down ..read more

Jack of all trades SSPM (singer, songwriter, producer, mixer) Massachusetts-based Walter the Producer brings us his latest with “NOW WE’RE GETTING THERE;” the second single from his upcoming project Please Help Me I’m Scared. Providing a heaping dose of indie electronica, “NOW WE’RE GETTING THERE,” has an infectious beat that you can’t help but bop your head along to. Giving off Tame Impala vibes (who, I shit you not, thought was more than one person until like a month ago) and clocking in at just shy of three minutes, this dude never stops. The bass line sticks out the most and carries t ..read more

LIVING LIKE OZZY LOOKING LIKE OWEN [WILSON] is evidently what LLO LLO stands for (duh). What would you think a track entitled “No Response” by a band with that name would sound like? Probably something in your face, blistering electric guitar, balls to the wall? Nope. The absolute chillest track I’ve ever heard – possibly made more chill by the juxtaposition between my expectations and the reality of it. This looks to be a four piece band but I couldn’t find out much about them other than being from Chicago. The track itself features pensive piano and the bass/acoustic guitar/drums all turned ..read more

Dallas based band (formerly Salt Lake City) Sculpture Club brings us their latest with new single “Drive Too Fast.”  Released April 4th, this is a well-balanced post-punk gem – paying homage to bands like the Cure, Soft Kill, and Choir Boy but standing apart enough to have created something unique. The acoustic guitar drives the song forward, having an almost folksy Connor Oberst feel to it. I was impressed with the mournful-yet-happy sounding vocals and how this could either be a road trip or funeral song. This took me down an interesting rabbit hole because until now, I’d never really t ..read more

Mississippi based fem punk band Clitter Critters (lol) brings us their latest with “Sex Magic.” Composed of former Buffalonian Lacy Ellinwood (of Kicking fame, see our coverage of them here), Sarah Grace, and Austin Tingle (who was allegedly duped into playing drums). Starting with a snazzy guitar intro, you’re immediately smacked in the face with “I’m not here to love you/ I’m just here to fuck you” and the tone is set. Unless you missed the first paragraph and the band’s name this shouldn’t be at all surprising. CC doesn’t let up and continues to pound away at your ear drums with some impres ..read more

The latest project from Brooklyn based Jake Brooks is Retail Drugs, and “Take It Back” is their latest (and first). We’ve covered Brooks before with his other project, Laveda (here), and while the direction is a little different, the results are still bangin’. Whereas Laveda’s “Surprise” was an upbeat take on dealing with loneliness, “Take It Back” is a lightly fuzzed and distorted shoegaze romp with Brooks’ voice clashing wonderfully with the cacophony of sound. Fans of My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive would find a lot to enjoy with this track, especially with shoegaze going through somewhat o ..read more

OG Sole’s latest release “DEEP END” starts with a hair-raising string sample. Shortly after, the drums come in heavy, and OG pounces on the instrumental with confidence and style. “DEEP END” has a hard edge and braggish tone as OG raps about grinding on his craft over a self-produced instrumental. This type of musical confidence is more than warranted. OG has been making a name for himself for quite awhile as he’s been an independent artist for ten plus years. Recent releases like Sushi and “Freestyle 2023” are both worth checking out.  OG Sole is a triple threat, artist, produc ..read more

San Antonio’s Soft Mothers (SM) were formed in 2016 by Luis Rocha. Since then, they’ve released a steady stream of alternative-rock flavored music full of angsty guitar energy, heavily inspired by mid/late ’90s and early 2000’s post-hardcore and grunge. Their latest offering is the quasi-full length release, Hysterical Love – an eight-song LP that has plenty in common with all of your favorite throwback acts with enough gritty, basement-show vigor to feel fresh. There’s lots to dive into here – you’ll hear hints of acts of various intensities, ranging all the way from At the Drive In ..read more