featuring @Kennyhoopla @calebleemusic @underoathband @AndyGruhin @presleyandtaylor @captainsofentropy @wntrbrk_ @jony.me @cleanbandit @maris.wav @emilyroman @soniaelisheva @alais.music @otta.ottie
singer-songwriter KennyHoopla released a new music video for his latest track “NEW AMERICA//” featuring The Strokes’ guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. Following the music video, there will be an Orseno Remix of the track coming out next Friday, September 25th.
Directed by Liam Walsh, the music video sees Kenny in a muted, stripped-back visual wandering the grounds of a house, singing the track as he moves through its spaces. “The ‘NEW AMERICA//‘ music video was a bit of a run-and-gun visual that captured spontaneous moments without overthinking it. Getting to shoot in the house from ‘Obsession’ was a bonus and let us create something extra to experience alongside the track,” shares Kennyhoopla.
Originally released on streaming Juneteenth, this track examines themes of cyclical inequality, generational trauma, and the illusion of progress, examining how America repackages its past rather than reckoning with it.
“At its core ‘New America’ is a cynical play on words. Modern society sells us a vision of ‘newness,’ but underneath the fresh paint, America is just making the bed but hiding the mess underneath it. History is being rebuilt with the exact same old bricks; the house is just a different color, and the foundation is still stained by yesterday’s blood. We are still fighting the same battles for equality that our elders fought, but the conflict has moved from the streets to the screen,” shares Kennyhoopla.
songwriter/guitarist Caleb Lee Hutchinson is thrilled to announce his forthcoming album, Long Line of Losers, due out on October 30, 2026 via Broke Records.
The album was influenced by the Classic Country vibes of the seventies — easygoing twang, barroom rhythms, and self-mythologizing lyrics — form the basis of Hutchinson’s new album Long Line of Losers. Reuniting with producer Titanic Sinclair, who oversaw Hutchinson’s 2023 debut, Southern Galactic, the singer-guitarist celebrates mistakes, mess-ups, and near misses over 12 stone-cold-country tracks.
Out today, “Sadder Days” (say it out loud…) finds Hutchinson lamenting lonely weekends. “Sadder Days” follows the releases of “Famous” and “Fast One.” With “Famous,” Hutchinson pokes fun at the idea of being both famous and an outlaw. “I used to be on the screen, clean shaved and eyebrows tweezed/Now I’m starting to feel my age, trying to make it on the For You page,” he sings. It’s a sharp look at Internet notoriety and streaming culture, told by a guy who’s actually been there.
“I’m proud of what I’ve done before, when I was just 18 years old,” says Hutchinson, now wiser and more experienced at 27. “But I also know that’s not all I have to contribute to the world. With that song, I wanted to take ownership of my story and also tell some very funny, very true tales.”
Indie folk-pop producer/songwriter Brayden Bell shares “Biggest Fan,” a wistful and tender new single shaped by wanderlust, the passage of time, and the unexpected places a loving relationship can lead. Pairing intimate, upfront vocals with warm folk instrumentation and subtle cinematic flourishes, the track considers what it means to truly champion the people we love while there is still time to do so.
Inspired by travel, wanderlust, and a relationship that hasn’t always unfolded exactly as imagined, “Biggest Fan” finds Brayden looking at love through the lens of life’s impermanence. Rather than shy away from the uncomfortable reality of mortality, he uses it as an invitation to live more boldly, compassionately, and presently.
“No one gets out alive,” Brayden states. “I think chewing on that bit of information more often can only help us live bolder, more loving and compassionate lives.”
Underoath wrapped up their final appearance at the 2026 Vans Warped Tour in Mexico City this past weekend, and is celebrating with one final performance video from the festival’s Long Beach date. Today the band has debuted “Damn Excuses” from their 2022 album Voyeurist. Watch now, here: https://youtu.be/F-fda7DGnHA.
Underoath’s Chris Dudley shares: “‘Damn Excuses’ is just one of the heaviest songs we’ve ever written, period. When we include it in the set it’s always because we want to get gnar.”
Underoath stormed the main stage of this year’s Vans Warped Tour in Washington, DC, Long Beach, CA, and Mexico City. Around the festival’s summer dates, the band also played some of their most intimate shows in decades on the Van Tour To Vans Warped Tour, presented by Vans. The historic run hit independent venues around the country with support from special guests Held.
Fans can catch Underoath this weekend at Louder Than Life Festival, followed by performances at Four Chord Music Festival, Furnace Festival, Aftershock Festival, and Sick New World Festival before they kick off their celebratory Define The Great Line 20th Anniversary Tour.
For this commemorative run, Underoath recruited long-time friends August Burns Red, Atreyu, As Cities Burn, and Emery – bands who have been there since the beginning. They look forward to celebrating not just decades of comradery, but also how far they have all come as August Burns Red, As Cities Burn, and Emery prepare to release new music.
Tickets are going fast, with several dates already sold out and more expected to sell out soon. For more information on tickets and VIP packages for all upcoming dates, please visit: https://underoath777.com/
the indie singer-songwriter and storyteller, Andy Gruhin, releases his deeply personal debut album Hannah. It’s available to stream now on all listening platforms.
Following the aftermath of losing his wife six months after they had their first child, Gruhin wrote Hannah to process his grief. There’s a version of this album that could have been a eulogy, but rather than write songs about who she was, he wrote songs about what happened after her passing.
“Finishing this record feels liberating. I poured all my grief and pain and sorrow and rage into it, then carried the whole thing around like I owed it something. Now I can put it down. I want to be a dad, a husband, be there for the life I have, and feel more love than pain. Everything else can wait,” shares Andy Gruhin.
Sitting at the intersection of classic songwriting and modern emo, the new record boasts a total of ten tracks, including features with Alejandro Aranda, Underoath’s Aaron Gillespie, Arnie Woods, and Elijah Gibb.
Standout tracks on the record include “Fear of Flying,” which touches on the guilt of feeling joy again after loss, and the fear of losing everything a second time. “When you have nothing to lose, it’s easy to get on an airplane. When you have everything to lose, it’s a metal tube with no fucking business being in the sky. Fear of Flying was my way of writing about the recurring nightmares I experienced for months without actually describing anything about them. I’d gotten so used to the pain that I felt guilty about experiencing joy and afraid of feeling it again.”
Country duo Presley & Taylor release new emotionally raw track “SO BADLY” from their forthcoming new album ACT MY AGE, set for release October 16. An angsty, charged take on Country that leans into an almost emo sensibility, “SO BADLY” captures what happens when you give everything you have to a relationship that was never giving the same back—and you finally reach the breaking point. It’s a cautionary tale of overlooking the warning signs because eventually you’re forced to reckon with the fact that loving someone harder was never going to make them love you better.
Written by Presley & Taylor, Andrew Beason, Emma Place and Kate Zickler, the song’s title carries a double meaning that becomes increasingly cutting with every listen. In the chorus, Presley & Taylor lament, “All I ever wanted was for you to love me so badly / You never knew what you had when you had me,” before turning the phrase back around: “All you ever did was love me so badly,”…as if she should have chosen her words a little more carefully when making her wish. Its darker, atmospheric production and raw vocal delivery give the track an emo-Country edge, while the sisters’ signature harmonies make the heartbreak feel intimate and immediate.
West LA based instrumental trio Captains Of Entropy (keyboardist Mike Kanon, bassist Reilly Wareham, drummer Jason Young) released their latest EP, Beatrice Comes Home, a body of work that further elaborates on the band’s psychedelic inspired sound. Loosely following the narrative arc of a space travel frenzy, produced and mixed by 2x Grammy-winning engineer Bill Mims (Ben Harper, Jimmy Cliff), Beatrice Comes Home finds the perfect balance between a newfound sense of control built from the band’s free-flowing spirit as well as a feeling of lightheartedness often absent from the band’s pandemic-era work.
The pandemic musical project of three neighbors, an indie rocker, a DJ and a psychotherapist, Captains Of Entropy strives to push the limits of rhythm and harmony by crafting richly textured, enchanting soundscapes as eccentric and sun-soaked as their West LA stomping grounds. Beatrice Comes Home sees the instrumental trio take on a more narrative-based approach by fine-dialing their sound at the legendary EastWest Studios in Hollywood.
EP opener “On Juno” sets the scene with a steady pace and an almost deceiving meditative groove. “Infection” switches up with a sense of lingering unease carefully curated through cascading synth and a literally-infectious guitar build. “Rosetta” feels like the EP’s catalyst, filled with metamorphosizing moments perfected with a glitchy, digitized production. “Travelin’” takes on a more psychedelic, jazzy approach, making “Van Knees” an even more satisfying emotional closer to the project. While this project still echoes the rogue spirit of influences Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, the Headhunters, Medeski Martin & Wood, Phish, and more, Beatrice Comes Home found the band experimenting with more intricate production and cohesive sonic and narrative throughlines.
477 Records announced the signing of the alternative artist WNTRBRK. With the news comes the release of his first song with the label “On The Block” available to stream now across all platforms.
The Paterson, New Jersey-born artist is steadily building a devoted following online — now pulling in over 74,000 monthly Spotify listeners, 48,000 Instagram followers, and 43,000 TikTok followers with 622,000+ likes — marking the next step in his breakout to a wider audience.
“Across the myriad of artists we come across every week, WNTRBRK’s talent stood out above the rest and we would have done anything to work with him,” said Zachary W. Dess, CEO of 477 Records.
WNTRBRK is building a cinematic world of his own with every new release he puts out. To stay up to date on all of WNTRBRK’s latest news, please follow him at @wntrbrk_.
Russian singer-songwriter JONY and Italian actor, composer, and singer Michele Morrone unite on a new single, “Illusion,” a heavy alternative rock track about love and the illusions it creates. The song is officially out now on all major streaming platforms.
“Illusion” came together during a session at Two Feet’s studio in New York City. Morrone and JONY, visiting the studio together, decided on the spot to write a song — the result is a raw, guitar-driven track that marks a bold departure for both artists and a first-time collaboration between the two.
The song was produced by Roman Bestseller, Geoffrey Hufford, and Zachary William Dess “Two Feet,” and will be released on Two Feet’s independent label, 477 Records.
Clean Bandit close out a busy summer with the release of “Company” from Clean Bandit x Chlöe x Omah Lay. Featuring a star-studded line-up, the track is the first taste of the yet-to-be announced new studio album from Clean Bandit, due for release next year via their own label, CB X. The video for “Company” is written and directed by Clean Bandit.
drag legend Ginger Minj announces her new EP, The Broad’s Way, out on November 6 via PEG Records, distributed by ADA/Warner Music Group. The release includes a collection of iconic Broadway songs from Sister Act, Man of La Mancha, Wicked, Annie Get Your Gun, and more. Today she also releases her new single, “The Ladies Who Lunch” from Company, written by Stephen Sondheim and originally introduced by Elaine Stritch.
Ginger Minj on “The Ladies Who Lunch:” “There are certain things every gay man is issued at birth: a sense of irony, an opinion about Judy Garland, and a questionable amount of confidence performing ‘The Ladies Who Lunch’ three martinis deep. I’m just doing my part to keep the tradition alive.”
MARIS
MOSH★PIT
• Deemed “Pop’s next mega-star” by the LA Times, MARIS releases her new EP MOSH★PIT. The project is accompanied by an official music video for focus track “Nothing To Do (nananananana).”
• Co-produced with Dylan Bauld, MOSH★PIT captures MARIS at her most unfiltered, blending high-energy pop hooks with diaristic songwriting rooted in community, catharsis, and self-expression.
• MARIS is hitting the road this fall on her MOSH★PIT: THE TOUR. The North American headline run kicks off on October 1st in Portland, OR, and closes November 14th in Los Angeles, CA. Get tickets HERE while they last!
EMILY ROMAN
“Death Wish”
• Emily Roman releases “Death Wish,” a dreamy pop track embodying living in the present moment.
• “’Death Wish’ represents the beauty of mortality, a Romeo & Juliet way of living, where endings can be beautiful and not feared. The track’s dream-like flow embodies reckless abandon, and living for the present moment, because that’s all that is certain.” – Emily Roman
• Produced by Dylan Harrison (Adéla, Adam Lambert) and Slush Puppy (Nessa Barrett, KATSEYE, Katy Perry), the single arrives with an official video directed by Emmy-winning Grace Stromatt and edited by Max Wright (NOTD, Steve Aoki).
London-based Sonia Elisheva marks an enticing new chapter with ‘Playground’
Arriving as an eclectic dose of electro-leaning alt-pop, Sonia Elisheva’s distinctive vocals bring out the soul in Playground. Catchy and cathartic, the track finds solace in the realisation that no one truly knows what they are doing. Playground is your reminder to look beyond the polished facades. Sharing more, Sonia explained: ‘I’ve often found in my own life that I’ll reach these places I’ve dreamed about getting to, only to realise that the people around me don’t necessarily have it any more figured out than I do. Some people are just better at pretending than others. . I’m not the first to write about this of course, imposter syndrome is such a common feeling. Playground is ultimately about letting go of some of that pressure to present as though you have everything figured out and to detach from the constant need for external validation.’
Playground is Sonia’s first solo single to arrive in 2026 and signals a new direction for her sound. With an established background in Jazz and electro swing, she’s built up a diverse and impressive discography since launching in 2021, accumulating well over a million streams thanks to an impressive run of support at DSP’s including New Music Friday and Jazz UK. Having toured extensively in the UK and Europe, some of which with her 7-piece band including a run of sold-out London Jazz venues, this is definitely a project to keep a close eye on.
Whilst her sound is exquisitely dynamic and genre bending, Sonia’s music is united by a distinct songwriting voice and undeniable London charm. Pulling from influences such as Amber Mark, Charli xcx, Caravan Palace, Lilly Allen, L’imperatrice and additionally her Eastern European heritage , her sound is, in her words own words ‘Jazz Bar meets London nightbus banter after a sweaty nightclub’
The truly wonderful Italian-born, rising London-based indie-pop artist Alaïs has shared her latest single ‘the payoff’. An intimate reflection on wanting closeness while instinctively keeping it at arm’s length, the track finds Alaïs caught between the person she has worked to become and the coping mechanisms she still struggles to leave behind.
which is now available on your streaming service of choice via APOLLO Distribution.
Listen to ‘the payoff’ below:
“This song is about wanting love and connection so badly, while simultaneously being terrified of what they might cost me. It’s about becoming so good at protecting myself, pleasing everyone else, and carrying other people’s pain that I end up being the person standing between myself and the things I actually want. At its heart, it’s about the exhausting gap between doing all the work to heal and grow, and still waiting to finally feel like I’m allowed to receive something good in return” shares Alaïs.
Sonically, Alaïs’ voice takes centre stage with delicate guitars and percussive touches in the beginning, before shimmering synths arrive as her voice swells into the chorus. Ultimately, ‘the payoff’ is a quintessentially indie-pop confessional-style song about the imperfect process of growing and healing, coming from a very sensitive soul who repeatedly falls into people pleasing and depending on external validation. It’s about all the things that seem just out of reach because of unhealthy coping mechanisms and the work that it takes to not fall back into them.
Drawing influence from artists such as Lizzy McAlpine, Alaïs uses her voice to create songs that feel personal without ever feeling overworked. Her writing is rooted in her own experiences, often picking apart the less flattering sides of growing up and the things we carry with us as we do.
Portugal-born artist, producer, and DJ ØTTA has released her debut album PELE DE MAR, out now via her own label and global party brand HOTTIES.
Spanning eight tracks, PELE DE MAR brings together the sounds, places, and relationships that have shaped ØTTA throughout her life. Moving between Lisbon, London, and South America, the album channels more than a decade of musical evolution into a borderless, club-driven body of work rooted in techno, UK garage, Brazilian funk, Latin rhythms, and high-energy rave music.
The album’s title has no exact English translation, but it can be understood as the surface, or skin, of the sea. For ØTTA, it imagines the oceans themselves becoming her skin, connecting the countries and cultures that have formed her identity as both an artist and a person.
PELE DE MAR opens with “RIO,” a fitting introduction to an album forged entirely in Rio de Janeiro. The percussive track serves as a love letter to the city and its culture, opening with Brazilian vocalist Clara Ribeiro re-delivering Elza Soares’ legendary verse, “Rio de Janeiro gosto de você.” Elsewhere, “GATA FINA” pairs a fast, high-energy club sound with Argentine artist Fiah Miau’s unmistakable attitude, Lua de Santana brings Portuguese lyrics and Brazilian funk to “REBOLA DE SALTO,” and Bibi Babydoll’s phonk energy collides with ØTTA’s rave-centric production on “4X4.”
Coming from Spain’s new underground, Andaluza artist sélpide shares her new single ‘Blancaflor’, the title track and first glimpse into her forthcoming album. Drawing on a folktale from southern Spain, the track introduces a richly conceptual world where hunger becomes both a physical and existential force, exploring the pressures placed on women’s bodies and the exhaustion of a generation struggling to hold onto hope.
‘Blancaflor’ is now available on your streaming service of choice via APOLLO Distribution.
Bring Your Own Hammer (BYOH), in partnership with Dimple Discs, presents ‘The Black Maria, O’, a remarkable new collaboration between acclaimed British music legend Luke Haines (The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof, Black Box Recorder) and Irish musician, songwriter and producer Mike Smalle(Cane141, Augustus & John, B-Movie Lightning).
Accompanied by a superb animated video by visual artist and filmmaker Jules Hackett, the song reaches back to New York in 1887, where an original song of the same name by Irish-American lyricist Edward Harrigan and composer David Braham was performed as part of the musical comedy ‘McNooney’s Visit‘. Haines and Smalle take this long-forgotten piece of Irish-American musical history and transform it into a striking 21st-century re-interpretation of long-forgotten but superb lyrics, retaining the extraordinary language and atmosphere of Harrigan’s lyric while placing it within a radically contemporary musical setting.
‘The Black Maria, O’ evokes the criminal underworld of late 19th-century America, with references to the slang term “Black Maria”, used for police wagons, and to the prison on Blackwell Island near to Manhattan. This is a vivid example of the approach at the heart of Bring Your Own Hammer: taking historical sources, forgotten stories and voices from Ireland and the Irish diaspora and reinterpreting them through contemporary music.
A musician, songwriter and author, Luke Haines has recorded music under various names and with various bands.. His books include the bestselling “Bad Vibes – Britpop” and “My Part in Its Downfall”. His latest solo album, ‘Izzy Wizzy Let’s Get Busy’, is out now on Cherry Red Records.
Ahead of their forthcoming album, Illumination, legendary English synth-pop duo When In Rome share “Don’t Stare at the Sun,” a confident and uplifting new single built around determination, resilience and the impulse to keep moving forward. Blending the band’s unmistakable synth-pop foundations with elements of new wave, art rock, dance rock and the theatrical sweep of the New Romantic era, the track transforms the uncertainty of its origins into something passionate and resolute.
Written during the lockdown period, “Don’t Stare at the Sun” emerged from the strange atmosphere surrounding everyday life at the time. While much of Illumination was shaped by that period of uncertainty and isolation, the song pushes against those feelings, turning frustration into a determined reminder to question what you hear and hold onto your own sense of optimism.
“‘Don’t Stare at the Sun’ was written, as was most of Illumination, during the lockdown period, so it reflects a lot of people’s actions and thoughts at the time,” explains Andrew Mann. “I can remember hearing a man from the World Health Organization warning the public about the sun and not to look at it. It all seemed pretty scary and ridiculous to us at the time, and that triggered us into writing the song.”
“Get What We Deserve” sees Garrett Barbuto back with his unique style of rock music. The laid back single reflects the nature of the track with its focus on love in all its reality. With a cool vibe and great playfulness, it also features Barbuto’s unique falsetto in a summery atmosphere. Instead of searching for euphoria in love, Barbuto focuses on what can happen when two people start realizing what love is really about and how it is built.
“Get What We Deserve” musically captures the easygoing approachability that is becoming a hallmark of Barbuto’s music style. There is an easy, laid-back feel to the rhythm of the song, combining classic rock vibes with an element of the spontaneous. There is yet another dimension to the uniqueness of the song, provided by Barbuto’s characteristic vocals, which create an interesting interplay with the reflective themes in the song.
Athens-based songwriter and vocalist STRAiNGER returns with “Repaired,” a
bouncy, driving track that blends electronic, pop and rock influences into an energetic
and unconventional sound. Built around a four-to-the-floor groove, the track explores
repetition, movement and texture whilst maintaining a playful, physical energy.
“Repaired” represents STRAiNGER’s post-genre approach to songwriting, following his
years as vocalist and principal songwriter of symphonic metal band Strain Of Chaos
before launching his solo project in 2023.
With classical studies in piano and music theory, plus years of live performance
experience behind him, STRAiNGER is now developing a sound that deliberately
moves beyond traditional genre boundaries.
- Email: neill@outloudculture.com
- Socials: @neill.frazer
- @neill.outloud
