featuring @solareyesmusic @belikemilomusic @faouzia @herculesandloveaffair @noahkesey @babyjanelives
SOLAR EYES is the cosmic creation of Midlands duo Glenn Smyth and Sebastian Maynard Francis. Formed in 2021, Solar Eyes have steadily been amassing a devoted fanbase at tastemaker events like SXSW and The Great Escape. Releasing a slew of warmly received singles and three EP releases including ‘Dreaming Of The Moon’, ‘Alcatraz’ and ‘Naked Monkey On A Spaceship’, the band quickly earned praise from the likes of Steve Lamacq (BBC6 Music) and John Kennedy (Radio X) at radio, plus support from The Observer, Q Magazine, God Is In The TV, Louder Than War and more at press. The band have also seen their music featured on renowned TV programmes including Match of the Day and Football Focus.
In 2024, the band released their acid-dipped debut album, ‘Solar Eyes’ (via the Fierce Panda label). Produced by Tom Ford alongside Solar Eyes, the album was mastered by Streaky, with additional mixing and mastering by Jeff Knowler. It was praised by Louder Than War for its “Swooping and captivating soundscapes and haunting vocals that pull you in with twanging guitars and haunting strings that pulls the big sky of the wild west into the mystery of the Midlands.”
Solar Eyes hit straight back with their 12-track sophomore effort, “Live Freaky! Die Freaky!” in 2025. Also released on the Fierce Panda label, it saw the band continue to plough their singular psych-rock and electronic dance furrow, featuring singles “Murdering Hippies” and “Set The Night On Fire”, with the Arts Desk hailing the record’s “wild-eyed exuberance that echoes the 1990s’ marrying of electronic dance music and floppy-haired indie tunes.”
Marking their next chapter with “Be Under No Illusion”; the new single lands as a clear statement of intent from a band truly coming into their own. The band will also play a one-off hometown date at Birmingham Hare & Hounds on Saturday 27 June for Music Venues Trust Week. Tickets on sale now.
Rising queer alt-pop artist BE LIKE MILO hits hard with his brand new single ‘Appetite’. This bold, addictive electro alt-pop fusion track is about relentlessly chasing intimacy to feed a never ending hunger for affection, and realising by the end of the night that it only leaves you feeling more lost and alone.
‘Appetite’ is available now on your streaming service of choice via APOLLO Distribution.
internationally renowned vocalist, songwriter, and global breakout artist Faouzia announces FILM NOIR (fin), the deluxe edition of her debut album, releasing June 12. FILM NOIR (fin) will feature 3 brand-new tracks and includes Faouzia’s latest single “BIRTHDAY,” released this past Friday.
Pre-save FILM NOIR (fin) here.
Listen to “BIRTHDAY” here.
Watch the official music video for “BIRTHDAY” here.
Says Faouzia on the announcement of FILM NOIR (fin), “three new songs bridging us out of the world of FILM NOIR . these songs are my afterthoughts ~ an epilogue , of sorts . we’re off to a foreign place . ♡ a place you’re dragged to by the hands of hope only to find acceptance patiently waiting on the other side . this is so bittersweet . i don’t want this story to ever end … so let’s carry it with us into the next chapter & the next one & the one after that . don’t you worry , we’ll be happy ~ ◡̈”
Modern queer dance luminary Andy Butler returns in celebration of Pride with the announcement of a new, dancefloor-centric Hercules & Love Affair EP titled Danseur. The announcement arrives alongside the release of its lead single “I Get High,” kicking off a two-part, seven-track rollout that continues with Danseur PT 1 on July 14, and Danseur PT 2 on September 10 — all out via Stratasonic Records
The entire EP comprises a handful of miniaturized tales from the LGBT community. There is a special nod to the New York scene, with a cover of Book of Love’s song “Boy” that pays tribute to New York’s iconic BoyBar. The stories range from the earth-shaking coming-out depicted in “My Journey” to the tragic but hopeful narrative of “The Eyes of Love,” in which two men find each other only to have their honeymoon interrupted by the looming clouds of HIV—a story inspired by Butler’s own life. The EP continues with the tale of two women in love in the ’60s, living proudly in “Night On the Town.” Perhaps most poignantly, “Pirouette” is dedicated to both SOPHIE, a longtime friend of returning collaborator Faris Badwan of The Horrors, and Butler’s lovingly remembered collaborator Aerea Negrot, who passed within months of one another.
Vermont’s Noah Kesey is excited to share “Moth,” a new single that arrived the way the best songs do: fully formed, uninvited, and impossible to ignore. A stream-of-consciousness snapshot of a situationship in all its ambiguous glory, the song blurs the line between character, narrator, and listener; cycling through catharsis, arrogance, and unexpected tenderness in the space of a few minutes. On the surface, it’s driving and upbeat, but the melody and chords underneath carry a real melancholy when you sit with them. “Moth” is sharp, hooky, and emotionally loaded in the way only a well-built pop song can be.
“This song blew in through the window during a moment of frustration, fully formed and rejuvenating, without deliberation or contemplation. In that classic stream-of-consciousness way, these lyrics are sourced from thoughts based in specific moments, but the narrative is fantasy,” Noah explains. “These are unfettered suppositions, cathartic, honest, and subject to interpretation, lyrical vignettes that say something about the dance between two people who inhabit that grey ‘situationship’ zone. Musically, adoration for the pop-rock structure is my guiding light here.”
Captured during a cold Vermont winter, the official music video features moments on the road and in a gun shop. Referencing the refrain, “You hold me like a gun,” Kesey harnesses a weapon that feels as delicate as entering into a relationship without intention.
Queer|Art, the national organization connecting and uplifting generations of LGBTQ+ artists, is pleased to partner with RuPaul’s Drag Race icon Megami to present a limited edition, artist designed shirt.
Megami’s custom shirt is available in exchange for a donation to Queer|Art beginning at $50, with increased contributions warmly encouraged. All proceeds will directly benefit Queer|Art’s mission of cultivating a dynamic community of LGBTQ+ artists across generations and disciplines.
The shirt is inspired by Megami’s viral talent show performance from Season 16 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, in which she lip synced to 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up” before holding up a series of protest signs. The final sign, reading, “PROTECT QUEER ART,” became an iconic meme, but it was always something more: a precise and necessary act, delivered at the exact moment mainstream support for queer people was quietly folding. With a few boards and glitter letter stickers, Megami said what needed to be said.
This tee is built from Megami’s iconic image and the conviction behind it. Río Sofia, Executive Director of Queer|Art, says of the shirt, “I’ve dreamt of this collaboration between Queer|Art and Megami since I saw her performance on Drag Race live at a local bar in Brooklyn back in 2024. She was the real winner of that challenge, and the lasting impression of her performance is proof of it. Megami held up that sign at the exact moment mainstream support for queer people and LGBTQ organizations was collapsing. Corporations were abandoning Pride, and with that, gigs were disappearing—not just for nonprofits like Queer|Art, but for artists, for drag performers, the people who make queer culture visible.”
Sofia continues, “Megami’s image became an immediate meme, much to her credit, as a divisive gag with a message deeper than most understood. And in an era of censorship and defunding, she transcended the noise with virality (not to mention, a lip sync smackdown with a vengeance). Queer artists are sacred—especially in times like these, when speaking truth to power is brave and necessary.”
This tee is crafted from 100% ring-spun cotton and garment-dyed for an easy, lived-in softness. It is digitally printed with water-based ink and fits true to size with a relaxed silhouette and minimal shrink. The fabric is sturdy and perfect for everyday wear–not too heavy, not too light. The shirt is available in a black/white and a white/pink colorway.
Megami’s design is the third drop of THE QUEER|ART TEE SHOP, a new initiative directed by Willie Norris featuring unique artist-designed t-shirts, released as open editions for a limited time. The inaugural design was created by artist & activist Avram Finkelstein, and the second by Queer|Art Executive Director Río Sofia.
You can purchase the shirt and learn more about it here.
Compandas, led by Short Fictions vocalist/guitarist Sam Treber, announce their debut album, Tropical Finasteride, out July 10 via Lauren Records. To mark the announcement, the band shares lead single “I Just Quit My Job at the Liquor Store,” out now.
Portland, Oregon, garage rockers Gondos today release their third album, Anatomy Of A Hornet’s Nest.
Anatomy Of A Hornet’s Nest is the result of extensive recent sessions recorded live to ½ inch tape by Gondos lead guitarist (and member of local heroes The Macks) Ben Windheim and is the band’s first full-length outing with new bassist Elisabeth Zarnick joining singer Aidan Trueheart Case, Windheim and drummer Grant Anderson. The source material, scoured from Aidan Case’s notebooks and demos, stretches as far back as 2022 and right up until the month leading into the album recording sessions in spring of 2025. It’s eclectic, and frantic, while focused and direct. From recalling terrifying and thrilling acid trips at Oregon Country Fair, surrendering to the void to find purpose, channeling anger into a healthy outlet, stream-of-consciousness diss tracks at cheaters, reclamations of power, to evil-noise-krautrock drum machine jams.
Says Case, “This is an album intended to explode in your face, trash your car speakers, fill you with adrenaline, terrify and confuse you”. He continues “Gondos want as much of the world as we can bite off, and this album is the pure source of motivation for that goal. Anatomy Of A Hornet’s Nest is Gondos driving as fast as we can, and we need you to get in the car.”
Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Liam Horne unveils the official music video for his latest single, “Everywhere.”
Directed by videographer Pat Clark, the video brings the song’s themes of connection, chemistry, and love to life through a cinematic journey across Los Angeles. From sunlit streets to neon-lit corners, the video embraces the color, movement, and energy of LA before culminating in a dynamic live performance that showcases Horne’s magnetic stage presence and the track’s infectious groove.
Originally from Scotland, Horne moved to Los Angeles at a young age to pursue music, a transition that shaped both his identity and artistic perspective. Navigating a new country while chasing a dream forced him to grow up quickly, and that sense of independence and ambition continues to inform his songwriting today. Rooted in emotional honesty and soulful storytelling, his music often explores connection, belonging, love, and the realities of building a life from nothing.
Horne’s breakout moment came early in his career when he co-wrote “Out of Town Girl” for Justin Bieber’s 2012 album Believe. He continued building a following through releases like “Tragedy” and “The Truth Is,” alongside inventive YouTube covers that showcased both his vocal ability and natural charisma.
Following on the heels of the vulnerable single, “Sorry,” Scarlett Macfarlane returns with “Fireflys,” a warm and nostalgic pop single that captures the fleeting magic of youth, memory, and the quiet moments that stay with us long after they’ve passed. Rooted in feelings of ease, joy, and reflection, the track leans into a softer, more sentimental side of Scarlett’s songwriting, offering a moment of lightness grounded in emotional depth.
The song was sparked by a simple, intimate setting. “I have a string of lights that I like to sit out under on my balcony that mimic the randomness of fireflies,” Scarlett explains. “I was sitting out there one night and the rest is history.” That quiet moment of inspiration expanded into something more universal; a reflection on the small, meaningful experiences that shape how we remember our lives.
Winter Forever traces a spirit navigating nihilism and emotional desolation, only to find freedom through surrender to rhythm, to movement, to the body dissolving inside sound. Drawing from Russian pop classics and the raw micro scenes of internet born bedroom hardstyle, Baby Jane continues carving a lane entirely her own.
Reimagining alternative music on an EDM scale while reshaping EDM through the lens of deep artist lore and Tumblr era romanticism, Baby Jane collapses the boundary between artist mythology and festival catharsis.
This album is the flickering apartment light in the blue hour of a brutalist city, a quiet signal of life against concrete vastness. Visually, it inhabits cold surrealism and ethereal horror, mirroring the glimmering melancholy at its core.
With Winter Forever, Baby Jane does not escape the cold. She makes it sacred.
Toronto’s Victoria Staff unveils her debut album Pink Magnolia alongside its lead single “Take Me Home,” arriving together as a fully realized introduction to her world. Equal parts playful and reflective, the record captures both the thrill of being young and untethered and the quieter, more complex process of figuring out who you are.
Written and recorded alongside producer Will Crann, Pink Magnolia embraces collaboration and imperfection. From spontaneous studio moments to trying ideas with no clear outcome, the process was guided by curiosity rather than precision. “It reminded me why I fell in love with music,” Victoria notes. That sense of freedom runs through the record, giving it a loose, lived-in quality that mirrors its themes of growth and self-acceptance.
Prolific pop artist and virtuoso pianist, Saint Micah, is kicking off a brand-new era with the release of his high-intensity dance pop single “The Grind” via Case Doce Music. Produced by Fernando Garibay (Lady Gaga) and co-written with Simon Wilcox (Carly Rae Jepsen) and Ramiro Padilla (Poppy), “The Grind” works hard and plays harder, pulling you straight into the rush of the club where you can leave the work week behind and shed your public persona. “The Grind” explores the transformative friction between who society says you need to be and who you are at your core, and mirrors much of Saint Micah’s own journey. Equal parts ascension and reclamation, the Saint Micah moniker represents Micah McLaurin becoming the artist he wants to be and building on his lived truth, not being controlled by it.
Los Angeles-born singer, songwriter, and producer Sheva Elliot makes music that lives where roots rock, soul, Americana, gospel, and classic rock collide. A lifelong vocalist who began singing at age four, Elliot has built a reputation for music that is both emotionally raw and stylistically fearless, songs rooted in lived experience, instinct, and a refusal to flatten the complexity of being human.
Her work often explores what she calls “the truth of the human experience”: freedom, vulnerability, sensuality, playfulness, heartbreak, humor, and the courage to become who you really are. Whether delivering a slow-burning torch song or a swaggering rock anthem, Elliot writes with an autobiographical honesty that feels timeless and lived-in.
Elliot’s recent releases have begun to cut through with both audiences and tastemakers, earning editorial support and growing press attention while helping her carve out a distinct space in the modern roots and Americana landscape. Her previous single, “Ruler of My Heart,” marked a creative breakthrough, a cinematic, soul-infused release that showcased her vocal power and emotional depth, and further established her as an artist to watch in the next wave of genre-blending singer-songwriters.
Following that momentum, Elliot returns with “Birds of a Feather,” a twangy, upbeat roots-rock single that reveals another side of her artistry, bolder, freer, and more mischievous. Driven by the tension between doing what’s expected and doing what feels right, the song captures the thrill of choosing desire over approval and instinct over image.
“Birds of a Feather” offers an early glimpse into Elliot’s forthcoming full-length album, a roots-driven body of work tracing the arc of her becoming, a collection of songs that chart growth, self-discovery, and the many selves we move through on the way to ourselves. Across the record, Americana twang, gospel warmth, and rock and roll muscle come together in a sound that feels both classic and distinctly her own.
Alternative artist Em Armstrong returns with “Unapologetic,” an edgy, powerful and campy new single that refuses to shrink, soften or explain itself. Honest, upfront and full of attitude, the track is a rallying cry for anyone tired of apologizing for who they are.
At its core, “Unapologetic” is about self-acceptance in a world that often rewards conformity. “It’s for anyone who’s sick of having to apologize for being themself,” Em explains. “People are so caught up in trying to be something they are not, which in turn makes them frown upon people who are comfortable in their own skin and being themselves unapologetically.”
- Email: neill@outloudculture.com
- Socials: @frazer.live
- @neill.outloud
