New band Littless + more new music from Middle Kids, Curtis Harding, Danielle Nicole, Brian Fallon

From the vibrant Philadelphia indie-music scene comes a new band that includes members of another group we've featured before. Littless is the project of keyboardist Kyle Graham, who also performs with Hemming. The vocalist is Candice Martello, the singer/songwriter/bandleader of Hemming, and others from that band are also in the new outfit. The result shows off the versatility of these musicians, as Littless has a brighter, more expansive sound. As Philadelphia music site The Key wrote, the music "balances Martello’s sharp vocals with heavy, biting electronic bits that take traditional synth-pop to a new level." We're featuring the opening track, "Better Left Unsaid," and will dive deeper in weeks to come.

Sydney's Middle Kids will release their debut full-length in May. Lost Friends will include the single "Edge of Town" that brought worldwide attention to the trio of Hannah Joy, Harry Day and Tim Fitz a year ago. We're happy to report that the latest track to spin out demonstrates they're no one-hit wonder. Clashmusic describes "Mistake" as "Effortless-sounding indie rock with a cool-as-hell chorus" and - despite its theme of regret over a past error - "a gently uplifting, oddly inspiring song."

A lot of new music lately brings new energy to styles of the past, ranging from early rock to prog and grunge, as well as blues, R&B and soul. Here are two fresh examples:

Curtis Harding's "Need Your Love" hearkens back to '60s soul, right down to its brief spoken bridge. Harding, who got his start as a backup singer with CeeLo Green, broke out with his 2014 debut, Soul Power, and his most-recent collection, Face Your Fear, landed on several best-of-2017 lists. AllMusic wrote that the album "ups the ante for Harding, bumping him from promising newcomer to major artist."

Danielle Nicole, bassist and vocalist from Trampled Under Foot, brings a hard-as-nails attitude to classic-sounding blues-rock on her second solo album, Cry No More. We previously featured the single "Save Me," and with the album due in a couple of weeks, we now have the I'm-so-done-with-you title track. "I wanted to open up more about myself, and I think it shows in the songs,” Danielle told American Blues Scene. “I thought really hard about the stories I wanted to tell in these songs."

Former Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon clearly puts a lot of thought into his lyrics, and they can sometimes be a bit overbaked. But "If Your Prayers Don't Get To Heaven," the opening track on his latest album, is a relatively simple stick-with-me-and-let's-run-away-together song with a retro-rock sound. NJ.com calls the New Jersey native's Sleepwalkers LP "an exuberant and sonically expansive project comprising the most exciting music he's written in a long, long time."