BABYMETAL released the explosive new single “Kon! Kon!” featuring Bloodywood. This is the fifth single off their upcoming album METAL FORTH out now via Capitol Records.
Chloe Navarre emerges from the backlit static of America. They’re known for collaborations that blur the line between regional cryptid lore and cult legend—most notably with Phil Thomas Katt, Pensacola’s underground pop oracle, and the spectral Southwestern collective THE GRIN LINES. Together, they’ve channeled transmissions that are at once genuine, serious, funny, and deliberate. Navarre never sacrifices atmosphere for affectation, maintaining a playful, open-minded approach to songwriting that favors intuition over pretense.
Phillip Island’s own Mark Howard returns with ‘Heaven Doesn’t Need You Like I Do’, the fourth single from his forthcoming album ‘Deep Dark Blue’. This evocative new release sees Mark at his most vulnerable, exploring the ache of loss, the fight for connection and the bittersweet edge of memory. Inspired by the stories of people close to him fighting to hold onto their children, Mark pours his own experiences of grief and longing into every line. “I tried to imagine what it’s like to fight that hard just to stay connected to someone you love,” Mark shares. “That idea stuck with me and I ended up writing from my own experiences of loss”. Sonically, this is the most orchestral track on the album, weaving lush, cinematic arrangements that evoke
the theatre of the mind. Every sound swells and recedes like waves, each part essential, none clamouring for attention, creating a haunting, immersive listening experience that lingers long after the final note. Produced by Dave Prideaux, who expertly captured the song’s emotional core and mastered by Andy Stewart (Gotye, Paul Kelly, C.W. Stoneking), ‘Heaven Doesn’t Need You Like I Do’ also features the ethereal harmonies of Brooke Taylor. “Brooke’s voice brought a whole new dimension to the track,” Mark says. “I was a fan before I ever asked her to collaborate, so having her on board was a real privilege.” The accompanying music video, filmed around Phillip Island’s windswept beaches and Gippsland’s misty eucalyptus hills, visually amplifies the song’s themes of isolation and resilience. A recurring deep sea diver’s helmet becomes a striking symbol of the emotional weight we carry and the courage it takes to reach the other side of grief. “Even in the most serene places, you can feel completely cut off,” Mark explains. “The video explores that uneasy stillness and the search for connection.”
Toronto, Canada-based punk artist ThxSoMch shares the latest gripping track “Unhinged” out now from his forthcoming raw debut record The Sound of You Laughing out on August 29 via Atlantic Records, available to pre-save now. This September, he’ll hit the road across North America with support from re6ce–see a full list of dates below.
Dark with a touch of suspense, “Unhinged” was born from a 2023 voice recording that the artist couldn’t get out of his head. He continued to put it down and pick it back up for over a year, until October 2024 while making the forthcoming album. ThxSoMch explains, “When I decided to record some older song ideas, I came back to it. Recorded it, didn’t think much of it, and posted it. To my surprise, it became a fan favourite.” Only finished after the album was complete, It ended up being a late addition to The Sound of You Laughing, and finally, it can be streamed everywhere.
Produced by grayskies (d4vd, Wisp) and mixed by legendary producer and engineer Mike Crossey (The 1975, Arctic Monkeys) the album is as much self-expression as it is escapism, where he finds both solace and catharsis for himself and fans alike.
Recorded over seven months in Brazil, isolated from everything and everyone he knows alongside producer grayskies, ThxSoMch poured himself into a body of work that fully captures everything he is today–it’s vulnerable, raw and made with true intention and a clear purpose. Recalling what it felt like to make, the artist shares, “It put me in the best mental place I’ve been in for a long time. No phone, no English, no sense of time—just a flow state that let me escape everything else. Creating this was like a cigarette after a long craving. I hope it can be that for someone else too—a fix, a release, something to hold onto when everything else slips. It’s the sound of acceptance and the sound of burying what’s really going on. It’s mockery and coping, choking and surviving.”
It’s been a productive couple of years for acclaimed pianist and composer Dustin O’Halloran. Late last year he scored two films, including Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut Eleanor the Great, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May ahead of a fall release. His ambitious 2024 LP 1 0 0 1, released by Deutsche Grammophon, was an immersive concept album that asked questions about the place of human consciousness in the age of AI.
The latest single from the A Winged Victory for the Sullen member comes as a subtle reply. An intimate improvised piano composition called simply “Gold,” it was recorded in one take in Dustin’s Reykjavík studio. It’s a track that strips away the layers of production, revealing the essence and resonance of a single creative moment.
East Coast indie rock duo Joyer, the project of brothers Nick and Shane Sullivan, are excited to announce their new album, On The Other End of the Line…, out October 24, 2025, via beloved tastemaker label Julia’s War Recordings. On The Other End of the Line… was recorded at Palisade Studios in Chicago and produced by Slow Pulp’s Henry Stoehr. “Cure” is the first preview of the upcoming LP, which name drops the record’s title across twinkling and twangy guitars, expressing curiosity and compassion for the tiny moments that bind the world together.
“This song is about loneliness and searching for connection in any and every place. I wrote this one from the perspective of a made-up character, but it definitely has some personal feelings mixed in,” Shane Sullivan explains. “I was thinking a lot about how a small or seemingly inconsequential interaction with a stranger at a bar or a customer service worker over the phone can be meaningful or fulfilling.”
A Galaxy Far, Far Away – Galactic Empire, the galaxy’s favorite metal band, continues to expand their cinematic universe as they shred their way through “Pirates of the Caribbean”, out now via Pure Noise Records.
On the new single, Lord Sihk shares: “Behold, our new single ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. We have been playing this arrangement live for some time and now it is finally available on all of your human DSPs. This new devastating sonic assault explores the swashbuckling score by Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt and features laser-powered solos by Galactic allies CJ Masciantonio and Clint Tustin. Enlist in the Empire now by pre-ordering the ultimate planet-destroying new album CINEMETAL, savvy?”
The new single will be featured on the band’s upcoming album Cinemetal, which sees the band journeying to other universes as they put their signature metal twist on songs from popular film franchises including Harry Potter, Back To The Future, Lord Of The Rings, Batman, Avengers, and more. Cinemetal is set to be released on October 24th and is available for pre-order now here.
Galactic Empire will be on tour this summer with NiNi starting on August 1st in Cleveland, with additional stops in Detroit, Dallas, Memphis, St. Louis, and more. This fall they will also set sail to Cozumel, Mexico on the S.S. Neverender with Coheed and Cambria. For a full list of dates, please see below or visit: https://galacticempireband.com/.
Rising hip-hop artist Markas delivers a deeply personal and sonically diverse experience with the release of his new 12-track album, Not Enough Years. The project blends vulnerability, and infectious energy, marking a major creative milestone for the West Coast talent.
From the raw confessions on “Not Enough Years” and “Dependents” to the high-energy tracks made for the dance floor like “Scream,” showcases Markas’s versatility and depth as both a rapper and storyteller. Producers for the album include Gerald “The Sound” Keys, Ulisses and more!
On this album, Markas shows strength in his vulnerability. On the song “Glitch,” Markas raps, “At 16 I was locked in that cage huh / And I ain’t been back since, I been harder to catch since,”offering listeners a glimpse into his life’s turning points and the resilience that shaped his journey.
“Not enough years is the summary of all the projects I did in the ‘years’ series,” shares Markas. “I made projects reflecting on different stages of my life and it made me zoom out and realize that there’s not enough years left regardless of age. So I have to appreciate these more and lean into what matters.”
Two standout tracks—“Blitzkrieg” and “M Series”—serve as anchor points for the project’s range. “Blitzkrieg” shows his storytelling skills ,while “M Series” cruises with swagger and polish, embodying Markas’s signature blend of confidence and wittiness. The tracks were produced by Marc-Easy and Brixxisking, respectively.
Not Enough Years isn’t just an album—it’s a statement. Markas shows his skilled lyricism at his most raw, most refined, and most real.
Stream Not Enough Years is now available on all major platforms now!
Lake Heritage is the solo debut of Zachary Good—clarinetist of acclaimed Chicago chamber ensembles Eighth Blackbird and Ensemble Dal Niente—and marks a bold step forward as soloist, composer, and sonic innovator. Written between 2019 and 2022, this ten-movement, hour-long composition for four clarinets in Bb is a remarkable demonstration of what the clarinet can do with multiphonics harmonically, contrapuntally, and in a multi-movement, long-form work.
At the heart of Lake Heritage is Good’s decade-long fascination with quiet and beautiful multiphonics—chord-like sounds coaxed from the traditionally monophonic clarinet. The piece is built on 60 unique dyad multiphonics, carefully tuned and selected for their tonal and fragile characteristics. This work challenges a listener’s understanding of what a clarinet is and what it can do. Good’s meticulous control of these sounds transforms the instrument into something akin to a small pipe organ at times (best represented in the solo clarinet track “When the old are young”) while other times making it sound like a breathy synthesizer. The album is performed entirely by Good himself. Overdubbing each part, he constructs a clarinet quartet of uncanny sonic unity. The result is both a technical marvel and an intimate sonic memoir.
Inspired by the phases of water—liquid, vapor, ice—the music ripples, suspends, and settles with emotional depth. Some passages feel conventionally beautiful; others provoke ASMR-like tingles. Some tones are so delicate they feel imagined; others brush the skin like a current.
Brit Award winner, Grammy nominee, and lead singer of iconic pop group, FIVE STAR – Deniece Pearson returns this summer with a brand-new single – ‘Like A Child,’ out everywhere from August 11th.
Having spent the past year in the studio completing her forthcoming album Free-Queen-See (due early 2026), ‘Like a Child’ is Deniece’s first release of 2025. With previous singles exploring her love of reggae and big pop, ‘Like A Child’ demonstrates once again just how varied Deniece’s sound is. With nods to 90s R&B and unmistakable echoes of TLC, ‘Like A Child’ takes things down a notch; a smooth and sultry groove with just the right amount of nostalgia, whilst referencing Deniece’s faith with a line from scripture – ‘Whomever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me.’
“Simple but very important words to apply to life!” says Deniece. “I wanted to create a soothing soulful vibe for summer. And I wanted my vocals on the verses to mimic and tribute Lisa Left Eye from TLC, who were one of my favourite groups in the 80s/90s along with other American female rappers like Monie Love & Queen Latifah. I’m excited to put this out to the world!”
Recorded close to where she grew up in Essex, ‘Like A Child’ felt like a full circle moment for Deniece – a return to her roots, but for the start of a brand-new chapter.
The last couple of years have been somewhat of a comeback for Deniece; Celebrating 40 years in music in 2023, she began releasing new music as well as performing two sold out shows at Pizza Express Live in London along with a string of other live performances up and down the country. She has released three singles since then, ‘Forever Young’ – afeel-good infused pop-bop which reached #12 in Music Week’s Pop Chart and went Top Ten in their Black Chart, her firsteverChristmas single, ‘Santa Claus is Coming’ which hit Number 1 in the Reggae chart and most recently, ‘Evolution’ a big pop production out early last year. All will be included on her brand-new solo album ‘Free-Queen-See’ out early 2026 – which will be her first new studio album in over a decade.
During her time with FIVE STAR, Deniece achieved unprecedented success with over 20 top thirty UK singles, including chart-toppers like ‘System Addict’, ‘The Slightest Touch’ and the anthem ‘Rain Or Shine’. The group holds the distinction of being the youngest British act to have a number one album, the first black group to win a BRIT (Best Group 1987) as well as the first group to achieve seven consecutive hit singles from a single album in the UK.
- Email: neill@outloudculture.com
- Socials: @frazer.live
- @neill.outloud
