Brooklyn band Bedridden are excited to share their debut album Moths Strapped To Eachother’s Backs, out today via Philadelphia-based tastemaker label Julia’s War Recordings. Featuring singles “Etch,” “Chainsaw,” and “Philadelphia Get Me Through,” the album pushes boundaries with heavy, distorted guitars complimented by the scrappy yet languid vocals of frontman/guitarist Jack Riley. Each track brings the noise, lifting the soundscape into a hover before crashing down, pulling listeners along for the ride.
“‘Moths’ is by far the most fleshed out project any of us have been a part of,” bandleader Jack Riley explains. “We truly took our time from the conception of an idea or riff to the final reconstruction of the song. Although the songs sound meticulous and formulaic, they came about more as a stream of consciousness from myself, Nick, and Sebi. The melodies just made sense to us, and the performances stood out as a result. I want to thank Aron for producing, Wesley for joining the band, and everyone else who inspired me, for better or worse. I feel like this album sums up my failure to trust myself and others over the last two years, and now that it’s out, I can finally leave some of the negativity behind.”
Following a breakout year that saw them named one of Hot Press magazine’s “Hot for 2025” and their acclaimed single The Mountain featured among District Magazine’s Best Songs of 2024, Cushla return with the hauntingly powerful new single 7 Years, out April 25. The track serves as the lead offering from their upcoming debut album Tech Duinn, also released this April 25th via Foehn Records.
7 Years sees Cushla rework a classic broken-token folk ballad, infusing it with their signature blend of sean-nós vocals, analog synths, and layered electronic textures. Driven by the ethereal voice of celebrated sean-nós singer Nell Ní Chróinín, the track merges traditional Irish instrumentation—pipes, fiddles, and drones—with pulsing drum machines and haunting ambient soundscapes. The result is a deeply atmospheric and emotionally rich interpretation that speaks to both ancient longing and contemporary resonance.
The song’s dark, cinematic tone highlights Cushla’s dedication to honoring Ireland’s rich cultural heritage while pushing its sonic boundaries into new, genre-defying territory.
The upcoming album Tech Duinn builds on the sonic world Cushla introduced in previous singles Ar Casa and The Mountain, both of which received widespread acclaim for their innovative fusion of old-world Irish tradition with modern production techniques. The album promises to delve further into the mythic, linguistic, and emotional themes that have defined Cushla’s sound to date.
With a name referencing the Celtic otherworld—a place between life and death, myth and memory—Tech Duinn is a conceptual journey that invites listeners to cross musical thresholds and explore the liminal spaces between tradition and futurism.
Amira Jazeera, a queer Palestinian-American artist and producer based in the vibrant city of Chicago, emerges as a distinctive voice in the contemporary music scene. Raised on a fervent love for pop music, Amira’s artistry is a harmonious blend of 80s and 2000’s influences, featuring powerful vocals, catchy melodies, and contemporary R&B/pop production, characterized by emotional depth, sultry undertones, 00’s arabic samples and empowering anthems.
Beyond the intricacies of her music, Amira is a trailblazer. Her journey extends beyond the realm of sound, as she fearlessly challenges societal norms, breaking barriers and fostering inclusivity within the industry.
Fuelled by exceptional musicianship and a desire to create an authentic and intoxicating listening experience, Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange have secured their status as one of the most enthralling live acts on the club circuit, having performed at Church Of Sound, We Out Here Festival & Melt Festival (to mention a few).
At the heart of this double album, and amid the intense internal struggle between creative instinct and artistic reasoning, Ziggy has identified two key themes: Inspire and Radicalise. It is within this duality that the 15 tracks of this new work, recorded between Berlin and London throughout January 2024, take shape. Throughout its creation, the crew enlisted a familiar pallet of materials, seeking those obscure and vintage music-making machines, meeting a myriad of percussion and drums with the new addition of electric guitar as the band ventures into disco / highlife inspired territories. To bring this ambitious project to life, Ziggy enlisted a team of forward thinking musicians across Europe and the UK alongside old friends and collaborators from the grassroots in Melbourne, Australia: Lewis Moody (Energy Exchange Records), Szabolcs Bognar (Abase), Eric Owusu (Jemba Groove), and Tom Varrall (Jamie Cullum) form the core rhythm section alongside a hefty list of guest appearances (from the likes of Oscar Jerome & Tom Driessler) making this truly the most ambitious and diverse incarnation of ZFEX to date.
Through fire and flames, Lilith Czar found herself reborn. Now she prepares to emerge from the shadows with a spellbinding new single. “POPSICLE” is set to be released on April 25th and marks Lilith’s first ever independent release. It’s a song of rage and reclamation, of resilience and resolve.
“‘POPSICLE’ is the breaking point – the moment you stop shrinking, softening, and reshaping yourself into something that isn’t you just to fit someone else’s agenda,” shares Lilith. “It’s a song for every person who has been told their worth is dependent on anything other than their own force. At its core, it’s about obliterating the box you’re told to fit inside and rejecting the expectation to conform.”
She finishes: “It’s a fuck-you song, and above all, it’s about refusing to compromise your integrity.”
For more than half a century, Norman Greenbaum’s 1969 anthem “Spirit in the Sky” has captivated listeners of all generations with its euphoric energy and bold, genre-bending sound. Now, Craft Recordings celebrates the song’s era-defying legacy with two special releases: a brand-new Dolby Atmos® mix of the single available to stream/download today, and a vinyl reissue of Greenbaum’s kaleidoscopic debut album, Spirit in the Sky, arriving June 13.
Long out-of-print, Greenbaum’s 1969 debut returns to vinyl in a replica tip-on jacket with lacquers cut from the original tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. Anchored by its beloved, iconic title track, “Spirit in the Sky,” the album fuses rock, gospel, and psychedelia, featuring hidden gems like “Marcy,” “Tars Of India” and “Skyline” that highlight Greenbaum’s distinctive songwriting style. Meanwhile, the Dolby Atmos single gives fans an opportunity to experience “Spirit in the Sky” in transcendent spatial audio. Click here to pre-order and stream now.
At this point in history, it can sometimes feel as though anyone can make anything, anywhere. One might argue that the ubiquity of computer programs, digital workstations, plug-ins, sample banks, and software synths threaten to erase any particular sense of place in music –– and in electronic music in particular. This is precisely why Gryphon Rue cuts such a remarkable figure in contemporary music.
Rue’s latest full-length,I Keep My Diamond Necklace in a Pond of Sparkling Water –– a title which paraphrases poet James Schuyler –– is brimming with complex and contrasting textures that are staggeringly vivid, evocative of the forests and fields around the former bungalow colony deep in the Catskills where Rue lives and records. The composer and interdisciplinary artist finds inspiration –– and source material –– in the world around him. The yipping of coyotes or a chorus of spring peepers is warped and wound around pulsing rhythms born from bowed chimes, singing saws, bowed electric bass, flutes, synths, gongs, and so on. Rue’s project, at least in part, is one of worldbuilding, something like Nurse With Wound or Ursula K. Le Guin’s writing or herMusic and Poetry of the Keshwith Todd Barton. To call this music any one thing in particular is to sell it short, for it is an ecosystem of sound.
Many artists claim to make art that is dreamlike, but Gryphon Rue seems to have harnessed something essential about the oneiric: dreaming is a psychic activity, sure, but it is also fundamentally physical. The dreamer remains enmeshed with their senses, indisputably in the physical world. Rue’s music is created in a way that parallels this and, indeed, feels like it. On I Keep My Diamond Necklace …,Rue pays great attention to each object with which he works, whether flute, xylophone, or Casiotone. These objects are used to produce sounds, which rise and fall, so that they may induce in the listener a trance. This is essential for Rue, who says he hopes for the music “to absorb small details that become magnified and precise, once one slows down and crosses over into this trance state.” I Keep My Necklace … overflows with these sorts of details.
https://gryphonrue.bandcamp.com
Shunkan, the LA-based rock project of Marina Sakimoto, is excited to share “Prettier,” the third single off Kamikaze Girl, her new album out May 6, 2025 via Houston’s Rite Field Records. “Prettier” is packed with meaning, featuring heartfelt lyrics that grapple with self-identity while navigating the complexity of relationships. The song moves from melancholy to anger, communicated by initial slow-pulsing beats that transform into gritty, emotional guitar.
“Originally, Prettier didn’t have a chorus like it does now, and Alex (Newport) really encouraged me to find a melody that would complement the rest of the song,” Sakimoto explains. “I naturally gravitate toward writing bubblegum hooks, and I was worried it might become limiting—but I’ve learned to lean into my strengths while still feeling free to explore. Prettier feels like an exposed nerve, but I hope it resonates with anyone else who feels like they don’t fit into conventions.”
https://www.youtube.com/@Shunkan/featured
Alt-folk visionary George Houston has officially announced the release of his highly anticipated fourth studio album, ‘TODC (The Original Death Card)’, set to drop Friday, June 13th, 2025. Recorded at Paul Weller’s Black Barn Studios, following a whirlwind year touring with the legendary musician across North America and Ireland, TODC is Houston’s boldest, most personal project to date.
To mark the announcement, Houston will release the album’s lead single ‘Hey Arnold’ on Friday, April 18th, taken from his upcoming summer EP DragQueen. Inspired by 60s heartbreak anthems and tinged with his signature vintage pop flair, Hey Arnold echoes the bittersweet soul of Dionne Warwick’s Do You Know the Way to San Jose, reimagined through Houston’s uniquely queer, Irish lens.
“I grew up listening to 60s/70s pop,” says Houston. “I’ve always wanted to hear a good old-fashioned heartbreak anthem in that classic style that represents the queer community.”
There’s a resilience in Blonde Maze’s music – the kind of strength that speaks in whispers and lingers on long after the final note. It doesn’t clamor for attention or follow fleeting trends. Instead, it pulls listeners inward with a soft magnetism, offering emotional clarity in a world full of noise. In her latest release, “To Love Again,” Blonde Maze teams up with Lizzy Land for a track that breathes a gentle exhale—an exploration of emotional renewal after loss. It harnesses the strength it takes to open yourself to connection, even when it feels impossible.
From the first beat, “To Love Again” envelops the listener in warmth. Blonde Maze constructs a soundscape where memory and possibility intertwine, with each synth swell and measured beat carrying the weight of something both remembered and not yet lived. The melodies bloom from beneath the surface, layering emotion with a painter’s restraint. Lizzy Land’s vocal floats through the track with an effortless sincerity, like a voice suspended between hope and hesitation. Together, the two artists create a kind of sonic safe space where emotional vulnerability isn’t just accepted, it’s the sole purpose.
This single follows “Never Dream” featuring Attom and “If I Stayed” with Modera, both of which earned praise for their textured, emotionally intelligent production. However, “To Love Again” feels like a deepening of Blonde Maze’s artistic voice. There’s an unmistakable sense of maturity here—not in the absence of emotion, but in the way it’s been distilled. Each release from her upcoming album peels back another layer, and with every song she shares, the picture becomes clearer: this is music for people who feel things deeply, who need songs that understand them.
In the last year, Blonde Maze has quietly become one of the most compelling emerging voices in electronic and indie-pop. Her ability to blend cinematic storytelling with emotionally resonant production caught the attention of major players. She was tapped to score Demi Lovato’s Child Star documentary, earned sync placements across Netflix, Hulu, and Disney, and was spun over a thousand times on SiriusXM Chill. Support from artists like Above & Beyond, Elderbrook, and Louis The Child has continued to build momentum around her, while platforms like This Song Is Sick have spotlighted her as one to watch for her ability to craft songs that are “lush, dreamy, and emotionally powerful.”
Email:neill@outloudculture.com
