BXB LOVE, the nom de plume of Canadian-born, Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter and artist Natasha Pheko released her second single titled, "IGNORANCE SONG."
   Through genre-bending musical production, reflective lyricism, and multidisciplinary creative works, BXB LOVE captures the charm, discomfort, and introspection of being 20-something in the year 20-something. She steps outside the proverbial box, allowing her artistic expression to honestly reflect the world around her. By choosing a purposefully ambiguous and androgynous pseudonym, LOVE is able to explore the fluidity that is the human experience and liberate herself from the unspoken expectations placed on women of color in the music industry. Ready to breakdown personal, projected and perceived barriers, LOVE invites listeners to do the same.
   “IGNORANCE SONG” reflects LOVE’s ability to contain sonic and emotional multitudes within one song. Opening with the irrepressible chorus destined to be sung by future crowds, “IGNORANCE SONG” bursts into a bold, gritty Alt-Rock number that swells with infectious guitar, anthemic percussion, and hazy layered vocals. Lyrically and sonically, it’s an anthem that celebrates self-discovery and self-empowerment in a world that encourages us to define ourselves before fully understanding who we are and who we want to be.
“It’s about letting go of your perceived and projected identities, and realizing that we just ARE,” LOVE explains. “Life is a performance, and we can choose the labels and identities that we use to express our being, without being attached to them. We get to grow, evolve, change, shed. And there's really nothing to prove to anyone once you free yourself of the belief that you need to prove your worth, or validate/justify how you choose to express your being. It’s my anthem to a generation that is rewriting what identity means and the ways in which we choose to express that."

Twitter: @4theloveofbxb
IG: @4theloveofbob

   Alma Grace has been inspired by artist Frida Kahlo since childhood. As a second generation Mexican-American woman, Grace has always felt drawn to the way in which Kahlo redefined beauty standards — “she made me feel beautiful for my bushy eyebrows and dark hair” — and broke down the boundaries placed on gender, race and sexuality. The "Frida" EP is a project inspired by a feminist icon but it’s also an exploration of the ways in which Frida’s legacy has helped shape Grace into the woman and artist she is today. 
   Throughout the EP Grace pays homage to her bi-cultural upbringing by weaving together English and Spanish lyricism and traditional latin sounds with modern Pop melodies. Her narrative-driven lyricism is enchanting, with each song delivering dual stories that tie back to both Kahlo and Grace’s lives. “Aventura” is an ode to adventure and affairs, something that Grace has always admired in Kahlo’s rich life. “Girl Fight” is a queer, feminist anthem that was inspired by Grace’s favorite Kahlo story: after her husband Diego Rivera cheated on her, she had an affair with the same woman. “Aztlan” is about the mythical homeland of the Aztec people and pays homage to both Grace and Kahlo’s ancestors. Lastly, “Relámpago” is all about coping with pain — the physical pain Kahlo suffered due to her near fatal bus accident and the emotional trauma Grace dealt with after being sexually assaulted. 

IG & Twitter: @almagracemusic
facebook.com/almagracemusic
almagracemusic.com

   Klypi’s “Notice Me” music video is framed as a sexy-singles hotline for callers who indeed want to be noticed. Klypi sings, "messaged you on the phone, you didn’t respond, you’re not alone…” and “why won’t you notice me” while looking very ready-to-go-out yet still in their room; were they expecting their crush to call to make plans? To many the question feels inevitable - how do you get your crush’s attention, or rather, an audience? The concept for the video is both aesthetic and functional, as Klypi and fellow artist Rian Archer created the look, feel, and dialogue for Klypi’s Notice You Hotline: yes, you can call (or text) 1-(347) 7NO-TICE and be able to share your story of trying-to-get-that-hottie-to-notice-you, and if it was an epic fail or a sound success. Klypi intends to keep this active line for callers, texters, and anyone else who wants to talk. And last, Klypi dawns a set of custom hair clips, which they are selling a short run of. Get them before they are never made again.

IG & Twitter: @klypi__​
TikTok: @klypi
klypi.bandcamp.com​
facebook.com/klypi

Photo, styling, and makeup by Rian Archer

   Mini Trees is the solo musical project of the Southern California born and Los Angeles based songwriter Lexi Vega. In celebration of the announcement of releasing her debut album under Run For Cover Records later this year, Mini Trees releases her new track titled, "Spring".
   Lexi shares, “Spring' is meant to be somewhat of a lighthearted love song about growing old with someone. It confesses contrasting feelings of both fear and security that come with being vulnerable and fully known by another person. The underlying message is one of hopefulness though, resolving with the choice to believe this person will remain a constant in my life despite the changing nature of everything else."

Twitter & IG: @minitreesband
facebook.com/minitreesband

   Despite being raised by two opera-singing parents, it was Rock and Roll that Negrini found solace in at a young age. She credits her older sister, Gina, for drilling the entire Beatles discography into her brain well before the 4th grade, jump starting an obsessive hunger for nostalgic, Poppy melodies. Negrini taught herself to play guitar at age 12, constantly writing lyrics in the margins of her school work when her teachers weren't looking. As a young teenager, she grew infatuated with 90's DIY culture and the music that surrounded it, attending countless shows at underground Los Angeles venue, The Smell. Negrini began performing as "Janelane" in 2013, quickly garnering attention for her pop hooks and shimmery guitars with profound, melancholic lyrics, landing her first gig at The Smell with the beloved LA noise band, No Age. 
   "Celebrity Crush" is the Pop-Rock anthem and first ever vinyl release by Los Angeles-born artist, Janelane. Described as a "witty songwriter with a gift for earworm melodies" by LA Weekly, Janelane's frontwoman, Sophie Negrini, professes her unrequited love for a man she meets between the pages of a magazine in her newest song. Engineered by Joey Oaxaca (White Reaper, Mamalarky) and featuring guest performances by members of White Reaper (Elektra Records) and No Win (Dangerbird), "Celebrity Crush" is a perfectly Pop whirlwind drenched in harmonies and guitar solos so sweet, you might get a toothache. 

IG: @janelanemusic
janelanemusic.com

   Blending organic instruments with silky vocals and uniquely candid lyricism, Seattle-born and raised artist, songwriter & producer, ALITA, is bringing the honesty back to today’s music scene. Taking influence from artists ranging from India, Arie to LEON, ALITA’s songs share personal stories of navigating young adulthood, feminism, love, and loss through her own unique lens. All of her music has one common thread: it encourages her listeners to be more introspective & honest with themselves, in a day and age when it’s much easier to scroll endlessly and ignore our intuition.
   ALITA’s new single pivots away from her previous “feel good” Pop anthems and catapults her into a new dimension of unabashed honesty. ALITA describes it as, “a song about resistance & self - discovery in the face of modern romance; it explores the implicit & explicit expectations placed on women throughout history. And how empowering it feels to set yourself free from carrying someone else’s emotions on your back”. The story starts with ALITA singing about a specific relationship that opened her eyes to the subconscious role she had stepped into of “mothering” her lover, and evolves into a tongue & cheek anthem for women everywhere. The production & writing go beyond modern genre lines, blending live strings with thick bass lines, Pop synths, and addictive melodies. “I’m Not Your Mother” is co-produced by ALITA & Zach Nicita (VERITE, Anne Marie, MS MR), and co-written by ALITA & Grammy - award-winning songwriter Jesse Saint John (Lizzo - Truth Hurts").

   New Zealand-based Pop duo Foley share their sophomore EP, "Vacation." Full of mesmerizing grooves, blissful Pop melodies, and infectious energy, the 5-track EP is a captivating journey from start to finish.
   As an overall concept, the "Vacation" EP is a mediation on what it means to escape from routine. Whether it’s a physical getaway or just being with someone who makes you feel at your best is up to the listener’s personal interpretation.
   Foley is the late night conversations, not-so-existential crises, and the genuinely unbreakable friendship of 20-somethings Ash Wallace and Gabriel Everett. Honest to a fault, Foley have quickly picked up a fanbase of young like-minded listeners for their confessions of love, loss and learning. With a sibling like closeness at their core, their transparency with each other and their audience makes for a hilarious, emotionally authentic and carefree relationship that will have you laughing and crying in the same breath. 

IG & Twitter: @wearefoley
facebook.com/wearefoley

   Today British songwriter Florence Arman releases a story about a friend that just dropped off the face of her world, appropriately named "Out of The Blue". Available everywhere via AWAL Recordings. The song shares its title with her upcoming EP out this Spring.
   Florence speaks in more detail about today’s release of Out Of The Blue, “Initially when I was writing ‘Out of the Blue’ I had a different singer in mind, but as I was writing the lyrics, they suddenly became quite personal. I told my brother about it and he said ‘You can keep the good songs for yourself too, you know’, so I did, and he then produced the song with filous. I sneakily wrote a lot of the lyrics during another session, where we were writing a different song. At the time I was having a hard time getting over a friendship that had ended in a very mysterious way. And in that session when we took a little break, I went to make myself a cup of tea in the studio kitchen and picked up a mug from the shelf that happened to have this friend’s name on it (not such a coincidence with hindsight, he has a pretty generic name). Then I had a little cry on the loo and wrote down a bunch of stuff I needed to get off my chest, and that became a large part of lyrics.“

IG: @florence.arman
Twitter: @florencearman
facebook.com/florencewastaken

Images provided by Marcella Ruiz Cruz

   "Inconvenient" is a brand new Neo-Soul release from 21 year old Emy Kabore hailing from Ghent, Belgium. EMY's voice carries the song through twinkle-y guitars, mesmerizing synth-breaks and booming bass riffs. Emy's unique voice pairs extremely well alongside her band who back her name. 'Inconvenient' is an impressive piece of contemporary Indie-Soul, produced by guitarist Brian Bogaert and Mathias Stal, and mixed by Tobie Speleman.
  The song was written to express the constant contradicting emotions and thoughts that originate while exploring love and intimacy. Confronted with the inevitable force of desire, EMY finds herself wandering in the never ending maze of the psyche where idealization, desillusion and confusion are repeatedly taking turns. The stunning music video which permeates the vision of the single so well, was directed by the artist herself.

IG: @emy__music
facebook.com/emybelgium

   Olivia Morreale debuts her second single, “PARASOMNIA,” from her forthcoming EP, SPACE DREAMS. “PARASOMNIA”  follows Olivia's previous single release of “NO ANSWER,” which was released in late January.
   “PARASOMNIA” creates incredible soundscapes within her production. Featuring beautiful vocal layering, magical synthesizers and a bubbly bass. They all tie together into a Synth-y Indie-Pop dream land. Inspired by the way in which subconscious thoughts and desires are unlocked through dreams, it was important to Olivia for the song to lyrically and sonically reflect the innermost psyche. “It sounds like a normal pop song until the breakdown/bridge, where it warps into a sort of nightmarish and dark space,” she writes. “We [Olivia and her co-collaborator, Eli Koskoff] let the idea of a nightmare and of the thoughts we can’t control be our guiding force during the production.”

IG: @olivia.morreale
Twitter: @olivia_morreale
oliviamorreale.com
Facebook

   stillblue releases melodious and romantic themed single, "Songs To Say Goodbye To". The song is a perfect one to unwind to, featuring a hypnotic lap-steel and Shoegaze-y vocals and guitar. stillblue is a Miami-based Indie Rock band comprised of Enrique Rosell (vocals & guitar), Sofia Soriano (vocals & guitar), and Daniel Estrada (piano/synth & lap-steel). The band pulls from a multitude of influences spanning from Folk to Indie Rock to Americana. The group found each other in the local Miami music scene after their past projects broke up. Now they share a love for sad songs, cathartic melodies, and a need to make music as honestly as possible.

IG: @stillblueband
Twitter: @stillblue_band
stillbluetheband.bandcamp.com

   Huron John follows up his single and music video release of “Arthur,” with hot off the press track, “Trapped In A Lava Lamp.” The brand new jammy single is reminiscent of the mid-2000's displaying essences of Pop-Rap and follows Indie themes. Huron's music video for the track executes the perfect vibe, alongside bright visuals and nostalgic VHS graphics [directed by Chase Denton and executive producer John Wallace Conradi]. “TIALL” is the 2nd track released off of his sophomore LP, Cartoon Therapy. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled on Huron John this year for more.


​IG: @huronjohnny

Images by Chase Denton

   The New York City-based Bedroom Soul artist Tymie Tuesday releases the beautiful and completely refreshing single, "Golden". Encapsulating and stunning vocals from Tymie, the song features Indie musical outfit Surfliner providing the smooth instrumentals. The song completely sets the tone of your day, and gets us excited for the warmth of Spring on a Sunday morning.
   Tymie has been making music since before she can remember. She started sharing her music at the age of 17. Tymie explains, "Music has always been at the forefront of my life- I'm currently studying Music Business at NYU because of it. I attended an arts magnet before NYU, and grew up in the Dallas art scene, but upon moving to NYC have been heavily inspired by the city and it's creators."
   Her musical influences include artists all over the genre spectrum ranging from Alabama Shakes to Lorde. Right now, Tymie describes her music as a Bedroom/Indie Soul artist, but ultimately, just wants to create music that speaks to people, regardless of genre. 

IG & Twitter: @tymietuesday

   Lindsay Reamer is a Singer and Songwriter from Massachusetts, currently living in Philadelphia. Although Lindsay was raised by two musicians, she didn’t start writing her own music regularly until this past year. Equipped with the skills she taught herself on guitar at age 13 and childhood voice lessons from her grandmother, she steadily began recording the songs that would make up her first EP. 
   Lindsay Reamer's second single "Today" from her debut EP "Lucky" is out...today on Philadelphia-based Dear Life Records. Lucky is a fascinating document of a young musician finding her voice while drawing on the idiosyncratic approaches to pop found in Arthur Russell and R. Stevie Moore.  
   During April 2020 Lindsay began recording the EP. Recording was as new to her as songwriting, but she studied the production of her favorite records and learned as much as she could from Youtube and other musician friends. When the songs started taking shape, she enlisted the help of members of one her favorite bands, STIG. Artie Sadtler (bass), Ryan Stigmon (pedal steel), and Thomson Knoles (keys) helped complete the songs with their intuitive contributions. 

​IG: ​@lindsayreamer

   West Coast Indie Pop meets Gen-Z existential dread in the second output from newcomer Wallice. In a world of highlight reels, hustle culture, and collective burnout, the LA Singer-Songwriter's new single "23" emerges as a tongue-in-cheek contemplation on the urgency to come of age. “23” follows Wallice's debut track "Punching Bag" released in 2020, an instantly relatable Lo-Fi anthem on unrequited friendship. The track gained immediate support from the likes of Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 and Steve Lamacq on BBC6Music and top placement on Spotify’s ‘Lorem’ playlist, with the Sunday Times Culture calling it “An organ-drenched, Lo-fi Indie-Pop delight."
   Through a series of witty, self-effacing refrains, "23" oversees Wallice lament her life’s choices. She’s trapped somewhere between a premature nostalgic mourning for her youth - “tell me what is wrong with me, I miss my Ohio fake ID” - and delusions that turning a year older will bring her stability - “Maybe I’ll get married soon, and buy a house with three bedrooms, and settle down, and get a dog, and make my partner get a job.”  The tracks video encapsulates and reflects this feeling perfectly.

IG: @wallice
Twitter: @wallicew

Streaming now on Spotify and Apple Music!

   Nat Lee (she/they) is a queer, gender non-conforming, Asian-American solo artist that goes by the title of Manley. In true DIY nature, the project is entirely self-recorded and self-produced. Manley says, "My music is defined by soothing vocals, melodic guitar riffs, and heart-wrenching lyrics. I Picked My Scab and Now There’s a Scar is a confession of genuine ruminations and evocative of a friend crying on your shoulder. The somber, emotional Indie Rock sound is inspired by other modern-day queer/female Indie artists,"
For fans of artists such as Soccer Mommy, Snail Mail, beabadoobee, Phoebe Bridgers, and Clairo.

IG: @whereismanley
Apple Music

Images from @jondelreal

​   Huron John is a self-taught songwriter, producer, and visual artist hailing from Chicago, Illinois. Born John Wallace Conradi–the young 21-year-old strives for a direct and personal connection to his audience. This output is accomplished by having hands on every step of the creative process: from all parts of song creation, to being the executive producer on all creative. Fusing a wide range of influence from artists he idolized growing up such as Daft Punk, Mac Miller and The Smashing Pumpkins John’s mix of sonic flavors is definitely something new for the internet age of music listeners. From the constraints of his basement studio John has amassed over 12 million streams worldwide. His last album was a major success -earning him the cover of Spotify’s coveted playlist Lorem, and placements on New Music Friday, Bedroom Pop, and POLLEN to name just a few. Apocalypse Wow also captured the likes of tastemakers such Lyrical Lemonade, EARMILK, Coup De Maine and also a feature on the Spotify For Artists Homepage.

IG: @huronjohnny

Image by Chase Denton

  London four-piece ISLAND return with their new single, Octopus out via Frenchkiss Records. Recorded in semi-locked down London last summer, ISLAND's new single sees the band relinquish their traditional self-production duties to collaborate with producer Mikko Gordon (Thom Yorke). The result is a single that sees the band experimenting with more complex production and introducing new textures, instrumentation and recording techniques to expand and further hone in on a sound that has been theirs since their inception. 
   Speaking about the single the band says, "'Octopus’ describes the feeling of looking back on rebellious teenage years from a time where an impulse to cause trouble has been replaced with new sentiments. It’s about the conflict felt as a musician between wanting to grow older and wiser and wanting to stay young, and it asks if we as a world are only interested in stories, and whether normality is something to be desired. A world in which you might be persuaded to change yourself to fit in, like an octopus changes color to adapt to its surroundings. The song ends by flirting with the idea of reverting back to old ways, and getting back to making trouble."

IG: @islandislandisland
Twitter: @islandbanduk
facebook.com/islandislandisland

Photo by Christian Cargill

   Chelsea Wolfe's fresh release with Emma Ruth Rundle has been teased up until the release, and it's the mystical and ethereal track of your dreams. 
 Chelsea Wolfe always been a conduit for a powerful energy, and while she has demonstrated a capacity to channel that somber beauty into a variety of forms, her gift as a songwriter is never more apparent than when she strips her songs down to a few key elements. Today she has released her gripping and reflective new single Anhedonia, which features guest vocals and guitar from label-mate Emma Ruth Rundle and was mixed by Ben Chisholm. Out everywhere via their label Sargent House.
   Chelsea shared, “I wrote Anhedonia after I experienced it during summer of 2019, then tucked the song away and moved forward with my acoustic album and subsequent North American tour. When COVID-19 hit and stay-at-home orders began in 2020, my European tour was canceled and I had to fly home. Restless, I started listening through my archives of unfinished songs and little unused ideas. When I heard Anhedonia again, it hit me how strangely relevant the lyrics felt to current times. I’d been wanting to work on a song with Emma for a long time, so I recorded it and sent it her way. She graciously added her gorgeous vocals and lead guitar, and then Ben mixed it, adding his signature sound landscape as a fortress around the song. As I listened back to the final version, I was finally able to set free those emotions which I couldn’t feel back in 2019. I had worries around releasing the song, not wanting to romanticize the condition of anhedonia (the inability to feel pleasure), but I also understood that it could possibly be cathartic for others who are struggling, as it was for me, to sing and dance my way out of a depression.”
   Rundle adds, “I was moved to tears when she sent me Anhedonia, which made getting through the tracking very emotional and slow on my end. I love the way the guitars I tracked morphed in Ben's mix. The whole song swirls in a poignant eddy of sorrowful sound and still takes a hard swing at my heart hearing it now.”
 
IG: @cchelseawwolfe
Twitter: @cchelseawwolfe
chelseawolfe.net
facebook.com/cchelseawwolfe

Twitter: @EmmaRuthRundle
IG: @emmaruthrundle

Photo By Kristin Cofer

   Cloe Wilder is an Indie-Pop Singer and Songwriter from Clearwater, Florida. At just 14-years-old, Cloe has a voice way beyond her years, managing to create melancholic, yet incredibly relatable songs. From an early age, her artistic talents started thriving as she started taking piano lessons which consequently helped her to discover her passions for singing, surprising her family and anyone around her. 

IG & Twitter: @cloewilder
facebook.com/CloeWilder
youtube.com/CloeWilder

Images by Nathan Groff and Jesse DeFlorio

​   While the phrase “renaissance individual” gets tossed around freely these days, for Racquel Jones - a professional rapper and singer, a skilled painter, an accomplished model, and a poet, bestowing the term on her is not only authentic but well-earned.
   For the past several years, Jones has been building her career through tireless performances as part of Thievery Corporation’s touring band, which has exposed her to tens of thousands of fans throughout Europe, South America and the US from coast to coast. As the star of the first single and video from their 2017 release, The Temple of I & I,​ the track "Letter to the Editor" introduced her unique singing/rapping style to their legions of fans and brought her a bonafide audience of her own around the world.
   Throughout those years, her individual multi-faceted mediums of art have influenced each other, synergizing to sculpt a sound and vision completely her own. “To apply my visual art concepts to my musical creative process affords freedom and knowledge to an idea that is uniquely me,” says Jones.

IG: @racqueljones
​

"Sacrilege" available on Spotify now

   Crafted with love in a basement studio in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Trauna brings you a Psychedelic dream-like experience combined with the danceable rhythms of 70's R&B and honest lyricism. The duo, consisting of songwriter/instrumentalist couple Liz Freel and Connor Robertson (of indie rock band Leland Blue), released their debut single "Feel A Little" in the Fall of 2020. 
   The single layers airy vocals and dreamy instrumentals to create an effortless blend of funky alternative and evoking Indie-Pop that makes you question what matters in the scheme of life and what doesn't. 

IG & Twitter: @traunatheband

   Formed in 1992, Boris boldly explores their own vision of heavy music, where words like “explosive” and “thunderous” barely do justice. Using overpowering soundscapes embellished with copious amounts of lighting and billow smoke, Boris has shared with audiences across the planet an experience for all five senses in their concerts, earning legions of zealous fans along the way. ​Boris is Takeshi - Vocals, Bass & Guitar, Wata - Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard, Accordion & Echo, Atsuo - Vocals, Drums, Percussion & Electronics. Boris has released more than twenty studio albums on various labels around the world, as well as a wide variety of live albums, compilations, EPs, singles, and collaborative albums. 
  Micaela Rebelo recently spoke with Boris during the anticipation of their latest re-issue releases, Absolutego and Amplifier Worship [out now]. 

IG: @borisdronevil
Twitter: @borisheavyrocks
borisheavyrocks.com
facebook.com/borisheavyrocks

​Micaela: What does this remaster / release mean to you guys and is there anything particular you want your audience to take away from it? 

Takeshi: Absolutego was our first single, Amplifier Worship was our first album, so both works are markers for the beginning of our careers, and hold important meanings. At the time when we made these works, we lacked recording knowledge and skills, and we hadn’t focused as much on the process of mastering. The Absolutego that was previously released as a US version had a lowered pitch and with heavy mastering, so this time, the band was involved, and carefully remastered it based on the original work. It’s a completely new sound image, so we hope you listen to it.
In the past, we were only interested in constantly creating new work, but in recent years, we’ve realized that properly archiving our past work, and showing / having people listen to them is meaningful.
I hope that long-time fans and fans who’ve recently come to know Boris can both enjoy them.


Micaela: How would you describe your sound to someone who had never heard your music before? 

Takeshi: In one word, it could be described as “Heavy.” Within, as some examples, there’s beauty, the ugly, pleasure, pain, life and death… there’s various forms of “Heavy” included. When listening to Boris’ work, it’d be great if the listener themself can share the constantly updated “Heavy” with us by circling the various sensations and emotions that emerge within their minds.


M: When listening to Absolutego, I notice that there are many layers of sound and fury that all come together to create an almost hypnotic listening experience. Is this how you would describe the sound of Absolutego is this the experience you want your audience to have? 

T: Playing or listening to heavy, slow songs at high volumes brings you an extraordinary experience. Your hearing reaches its limits and your eyes and skin quiver. Pleasure is born from the one riff that relentlessly repeats. It could be called paralysis. There's many things that you can also hear by not listening. I want you to enjoy each method of feeling, listening with your entire body and not just your ears.

M: You guys have been challenging the boundaries of heavy music since the 90’s, are there any current bands or trends in the scene that you are impressed / inspired by? 

T: It’s not that we’ve been challenging - it just gets boring if you don’t constantly do new things. I feel inspiration from things that aren’t music. In fact, the situation we’ve been placed in (with the coronavirus) - we’ve been impacted by that as well. The way we continue to be creatively active, express ourselves, and keep updating our music can only be found from what we feel and experience.


M: What are you missing the most about touring? Is there any particular song you can’t wait to perform live again? 

T: The motivation for our creativity comes from inputs we gain through touring. We gained power by sharing musical experiences and interacting with audiences from various countries. Now that we can’t do that, we continue to record, which is fun in other ways than touring is, but I feel like there’s emptiness somewhere in my heart. I want to play the latest work “NO” live. We want to have a show where we mosh along with the audience and get messed up, throw up all the frustration and stress we’ve felt up until this point, and when it’s over, we could laugh together.


M: If at all, how does the updated artwork of the album add to the release and what was the inspiration behind it?
​
T: This updated design was based on the original design. That version’s design leaned more towards the versions that had been distributed overseas.
But rather than keeping the design at the time, we updated it so it strengthened the universality. 
There have been updates aesthetically and with knowledge we lacked, so it felt dishonest towards the listeners to release as is (as the original version).

Translated by Kasumi Billington

​  Absolutego is a trek over a staggering mountain of sound. The tension builds with wave after wave of massive feedback, drums leading into a crushing crescendo of full-band repetition and clarity before descending deeper until finally reaching a surreal divebomb purring drone finale. This song takes notes out of the Melvins playbook and pushes the sound to its absolute logical and visceral extreme. It sets a solid foundation for why Boris is considered to be one of the most important metal bands of the 21st century

​   Amplifier Worship is Boris’s most intense and unrelenting album to date. Not for the faint of heart, the group incorporates mythic Doom-drones, up-tempo Psych-Sludge and even a refreshing ribbit into their signature concoction of celestial and heavy music. Amplifier Worship is a critical chapter in the Boris canon. The album is a testament to the group's bullishness in pushing metal to its uncomfortable and unfamiliar edges. And it is also undoubtedly one of their best.

​  There was a time when it looked like Seahaven might never make music again, but today, the band has released their first full-length album in six years, Halo of Hurt via Pure Noise Records.
   On the new record, lead vocalist Kyle Soto shares, "Halo Of Hurt has been a long time in the making and we feel it accurately reflects a lot of the emotions that were present between Reverie and now. This is the proper next installment in our catalog."
Halo of Hurt is a riveting new chapter for Seahaven in their ongoing evolution. Astral and eerie, moonlit and menacing, it reignites the magic dust that made Seahaven’s early 2010s run so special. It’s an adventurous rock album that urges you to grapple with your self doubt and innermost demons, then cast them into oblivion. “In Halo of Hurt, there’s some underlying anxiety from coming up short after 2014,” lead vocalist Kyle Soto admits. “I wanted to bring it back to the beginning of the band -- a revived version of our younger selves in my garage in 2009. No timelines, no pressure. No need to fit a certain mold.” 
Seahaven completed the self-produced LP at the Omaha, Nebraska studio Another Recording Company in early 2020, mere days before much of the country found itself in indefinite lockdown. While the details of how Seahaven will be ultimately be able to perform Halo of Hurt to fans remain obscured, the band’s intent is anything but. 

IG: @seahavengrams
Twitter: @seahaventweets
facebook.com/welcometoseahaven

   In September, Mamalarky announced their debut full length with the single "Schism Trek," a buoyant first cut from an album of "Indie Rock that summons an easy and pure joy" (NYLON), that Uproxx claimed "is definitely not a record to sleep on as the leaves turn and the fall sets in" in a feature timed to the album's announce. The band, who have recently re-located to Atlanta after stints in Austin and LA, have been the subject of a rare mid-pandemic buzz on the back of two one off singles for their new label Fire Talk (Dehd, Pure X, Corey Flood), "Fury" and May's "How To Say," earning early praise from outlets like NPR, Billboard, Bandcamp, The Grey Estates, Pond Magazine, Refinery29, Alt Citizen, and The Line of Best Fit. Today Mamalarky are sharing the album stand out "You Make Me Smile" following a premiere on Matt Wilkinson's Apple Music 1 show.
   A change of pace from the punky edge of their earlier singles, "You Make Me Smile" brings Mamalarky's inventive and exploratory energies into a dreamier space, establishing a lilting groove before bursting into a kaleidoscope of layered electronics in its euphoric chorus.
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Mamalarky's self-titled debut will be released on Fire Talk on November 20th. It is available for preorder here!

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