Reviews
‘Hard To Leave You (The Barbarian Mix)’- RISE, adding weight to a euphoric anthem
There is always something interesting about hearing a band return to a song because they still believe there is more life inside it. And with the new Barbarian mix of ‘Hard To Leave You’, Liverpool’s RISE revisit a track first released on 2024’s ‘Memories and Possibilities’ EP and push it closer to the force of their live […]
‘OutLands’- Disco Dreams, opening a new chapter with an expansive sound
After eighteen months spent refining his direction and preparing the foundations for a second studio album, Disco Dreams returns with ‘OutLands’, a track that feels like the opening of a wider creative world. The electronic artist has long been drawn to the transportive possibilities of sound, and ‘OutLands’ leans into that instincts often as possible. […]
‘Time To Say Goodbye’- Peppermint Heaven, slowing the pulse and looking inward
Peppermint Heaven have spent much of their recent work leaning into electronic momentum, but ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ finds the LA duo stepping into something softer, warmer and noticeably more reflective. This three-song EP trades much of the dancefloor urgency of recent singles such as ‘AI’ and ‘Nothing More Than Love’ for a retro-leaning easy-listening palette, […]
‘Better Conversation’- George Styles, letting curiosity do the talking
There’s something genuinely infectious about George Styles’ refusal to stop making music. The Boston-based singer-songwriter has spent around 25 years away from the live circuit, but rather than fading into the background, he has kept writing, recording and experimenting on his own terms. ‘Better Conversation’ is the latest result of that compulsion, and it captures […]
‘Dancing With Lou’- Reetoxa, turning a teenage revelation into swaggering rock statement
Some influences stay buried in the background, while others end up shaping the entire way an artist thinks about music. For Jason McKee, the man behind Melbourne project Reetoxa, discovering Lou Reed’s solo work at fifteen was clearly one of those moments. ‘Dancing With Lou’, taken from Reetoxa’s second album ‘Soliloquy’, revisits that moment with equal […]
‘Rust’- Plain Drifter, letting loss settle slowly
Plain Drifter’s ‘Rust’ is not really about the moment something ends. It’s about everything that happens before that point; the slow recognition that a relationship, connection or person is slipping away while you remain powerless to stop it. Written, recorded and produced independently by Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sam Lillicrap, ‘Rust’ builds its sound around […]
‘All of Me’- Grant Harvey Dudson, embracing the present moment
Grant Harvey Dudson’s ‘All of Me’ is built around the simple idea that some of life’s most meaningful experiences begin when we stop holding part of ourselves in reserve. Marking his second new release of 2026, the Hove-based singer-songwriter’s latest single pairs that sentiment with bright, melodic pop production and a strong sense of forward […]
‘Truckers and Trolls’- Sim Simi, turning online outrage into wry defiance
There’s something distinctly modern about the story behind ‘Truckers and Trolls’. A minor disagreement is filmed, uploaded, stripped of context and suddenly opened up to hundreds of strangers, each ready to pass judgement from behind a screen. London-based artist Sim Simi takes that experience and turns it into a song about how quickly ordinary moments […]
‘Sunlight In My Soul’- Noya Sol, turning resilience into radiance
Some songs feel like survival statements, while others feel like the first real breath after surviving. And on her newest outing ‘Sunlight In My Soul’, Noya Sol captures that second feeling beautifully, delivering a vibrant, guitar-led anthem about holding onto hope when life has already done its best to dim it. The first single from her […]
