Rising alt-country artist Nico Welsh is set to release his highly anticipated debut EP, Lonesome Stranger, on Thursday, September 18th. With a sound steeped in the raw honesty of classic country and the edge of modern Americana, Welsh introduces himself as a powerful new voice in the Alt-Country, Rock/Americana music genre.
Recorded in Boston, MA with an all star band featuring Luke Black and Drury Anderson of the Mountain Grass Unit and Jake Stevenson of Round Trip, the EP features three (3) original songs that explore themes of heartbreak, resilience, and searching for a place to belong. From its haunting opening track of, “Evergreen”, to the driving rhythms of “Colorado Cowgirl”, Welsh’s music blends dusty-road storytelling with a modern edge that nods to influences like Jason Isbell, Merle Haggard, and Charley Crockett.
“This record is about feeling like an outsider, and turning that loneliness into something that folks can relate and connect to,” says Welsh. “Lonesome Stranger is my first step into sharing these stories and finding a home in the music.”
A longtime fixture in his hometown of Seattle, WA, Welsh honed his craft playing intimate shows and sharing the stage with stalwarts such as award winning flat picker Luke Black, and Progressive Jam-Band guitarist Jake Stevenson. His sharp lyrical style and soulful vocals have already begun to draw attention in the Alt-Country scene. Welsh has also been hosting the weekly Country Night at Boston’s beloved local venue The Bebop.
Lonesome Stranger will be available on all streaming platforms on 9/18/2025, including Spotify, YouTube, and Apple, as well as all other streaming platforms.
Meral Polat is a Turkish psychedelic outfit led by vocalist and performer Meral Polat. Blending Anatolian and Mesopotamian music traditions with the psychedelic rock revolution of 1970s Turkey (and the ancient Kurdish Dengbej storytelling tradition) the band creates a rich and distinctive sonic tapestry. Their debut album ‘Ez Kî Me’ received critical acclaim, garnering support from Jazzwise, MixedWorldMusic, and Songlines Magazine. Now, the band is set to release their second album, ‘Meydan’, on 19th September 2025, via Belgian record label W.E.R.F. Exploring themes of freedom, feminism, and collective strength, ‘Meydan’ is deeply rooted in homegrown musical influences, whilst expanding into psychedelic territory providing Meral Polat’s powerful vocals with the creative freedom to roam free. The album features a
varied palette of sound, utilising mind-bending synthesisers, astounding vocal harmonies, earthy percussion, soulful keys, crunchy guitars, and incredible contributions from an esteemed host of guest musicians, crafting a bold and modern reinterpretation of traditional sounds.
Dark-pop artist Riah unveils her boldest work yet with the release of “The Fourth Wall” today, a full-length album paired with the “Reclamation” visual EP.
Together, these projects shatter the boundary between performer and audience, weaving confessionals, anthems and story-driven visuals into an immersive body of work that is as vulnerable as it is defiant.
Across its tracks, “The Fourth Wall” dives headfirst into themes of mental health, taboo pleasure, grief, and self-discovery. Songs like “Talk to Someone” wrestle with anxiety and the search for connection, while “Skin on Chrome” and “Misb3hav3” embrace sensuality and unapologetic desire.
“Dear Unborn” grieves a life that never came to be, and “Home” anchors the project with a rare moment of tenderness and stability. The record spans intimate alt-pop ballads and sultry, beat-driven dark R&B, with sonic nods to Rihanna, Spelles, Two Feet, and RÜFÜS DU SOL.
Acclaimed guitarist and songwriter Laura-Mary Carter, best known as one half of the UK alternative duo Blood Red Shoes, returns this September with her striking new single and accompanying video “Four Letter Words”, out 17th September 2025. Shot in a farm shop in West Wales, Four Letter Words video shows Laura-Mary waiting for someone who never shows and turning the empty shop into her own private stage.
The track comes ahead of her debut solo album Bye Bye Jackie, due Sept 26th 2025, and an extensive run of headline shows across the UK and Europe this winter.
“Four Letter Words” is a sharp and playful cut, pairing Carter’s dry wit with her signature lyrical bite. With driving rhythms and a restless melodic energy, it captures the contradictions at the heart of love, its beauty, absurdity, and volatility.
“‘Don’t be late’ sets the stage, though in truth I am rarely on time myself,” Carter explains. “What follows is a sharp-eyed tale of affection’s push and pull, where the four-letter word could be anything, you decide what it is, with a knowing eye-roll at the chaos of caring for someone who drives you round the bend. It’s irony wrapped in melody, humour folded into heartbreak, all carried by a beat that refuses to stand still.”
The single follows on from “June Gloom”, Carter’s atmospheric first offering from Bye Bye Jackie, which featured a stormy guitar contribution from Lee Kiernan (IDLES) and earned praise for its raw honesty and emotional immediacy. Together, the two tracks set the tone for an album that balances heartbreak with humour, intimacy with intensity.
Phantom Pink is the hauntingly tender alias of Los Angeles-based artist Brayton Walls, whose dark, cinematic strain of art-rock captures the beauty in emotional chaos. Blending jagged textures with dreamlike melodies, Phantom Pink’s sound is other worldly, yet familiar. Originally from Las Vegas, Walls began writing songs at 10 as a way to navigate his growing pains and identity. After years of shaping his voice in DIY scenes across the West Coast, Phantom Pink has emerged with a sound uniquely bruised and beautiful. His debut EP, A Good Color On You, plays like a series of anxious vignettes delivered byan unreliable narrator, fragmented and teetering on the edge of clarity. The record doubles as a love letter to Portland, OR, where it was written, and the moody soundscapes of the Pacific Northwest. Through sharply confessional lyrics, glitched-outrecordings of crows and midnight parties with friends, A Good Color On You captures a distinct emotional weather: foggy, electric, and just on the verge of breaking wide-open.
Her New Knife is an alternative band based out of Philadelphia, PA. The group’s members include Edgar Atencio (guitar and vocals), Ben Kachler (guitar), Carolina Schooley (bass), and Elijah Ford (drums). The band’s recent EP, chrome is lullaby, captures a raw, vulnerable allure, offering fans of shoegaze and post-punk a profound connection to their unique sound. Their live performances are a mesmerizing experience, where scraping guitars and relentless, machine-like drums create an atmosphere that is both intense and ephemeral. Each show is an oblique journey, drawing the audience into fleeting and intimate moments.
Leap Year are the latest genre-bending sonic phenomena to hail out of Stamford, CT. Officially founded in 2024, Leap Year was less a band coming together than a voice emerging. Aiming to invigorate those who come across their haunting melodies, the trio marks their return with their second single, “Bridges”. Originally known as producers for hip-hop artist Pastor Troy, Leap Year are reinventing their image with bombastic alt-rock tracks in the vein of greats such as Linkin Park, Nirvana, and Limp Bizkit.
Acclaimed singer-songwriter ZZ Ward will release the deluxe edition of her celebrated album Liberation on September 19th via Sun Records. The expanded version builds on her acclaimed return to raw, blues-driven roots with a collection of unreleased songs and live studio recordings, offering fans a deeper and more intimate portrait of the artist at a powerful new chapter in her career.
The deluxe album introduces fresh material including:
- The long-awaited unreleased studio track “Halfway There”
- A brand-new recording of “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out”
- A live performance of “Cadillac Man” captured at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis
- Four intimate EastWest Studios sessions: “Mother,” “Naked in the Jungle,” “My Baby Left Me,” and “Dust My Broom”.
Speaking on the release, ZZ shares:
“This expanded version means a lot to me because it shares songs we purposely held back from the original album, not because they didn’t belong, but because they were so special we wanted to give them their own moment. Recording at Sun Studio was especially powerful for me, it’s a place with so much history, and you can feel the spirits of the artists who came before. Altogether, this deluxe edition feels like a celebration of the music and a personal milestone.”
“While [previous solo album] Manu largely improvised on the story of my Colombian mother, evoking the texture and feel of the Andes, I wanted La Marea to speak to the story of my father and those like him who emigrated from Cuba to the US from 1959-1960, forever inhabiting the memory of a homeland that no longer existed,” Bryan Senti explains.
This is the backdrop for critically acclaimed composer Bryan Senti‘s upcoming album La Marea, out October 10th release via The state51 Conspiracy.
Weaving ambient, electronic, and baroque music influences into the world of his previous album, Manu, Senti’s follow up, La Marea,is a modern and epic string orchestra cycle that takes us on a mediative nautical journey. Out today is the unforgettable second piece and title track “La Marea,”which is plaintive and enveloping. Back collaborating with Senti are Grammy winners Justin Moshkevich (co-producer) and Francesco Donadello (mixer) and the album includes performances from The Czech National Symphony, bassist Spencer Zahn (Quiet in a World Full of Noise) and cellist Noah Hoffeld. La Marea was composed, and meticulously recorded specifically for Dolby Atmos,
beloved punk trio Good Luck shares “Timelapse,” the second single/video from their forthcoming album Big Dreams, Mister, out October 17 via Lauren Records and Specialist Subject in the UK.
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