New: Kate Pierson, The Wild Feathers, The War and Treaty, Keeton Coffman, Tessa Rose Jackson

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Kate Pierson: Evil Love

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This member of The B-52s steps out on her own with Radios & Rainbows, an LP due in September. "Channeling the spirit of The Ronettes, The Crystals, The Shangri-Las, and Amy Winehouse, Pierson’s pipes are pure power," writes Post-Punk.com. Pierson says “It’s an eclectic group of songs ... Overall, the album has an upbeat vibe because I wanted to put out something positive in these dark times." She describes this song as “a not-so-true tale of obsessive possessiveness and righteous revenge.” (Photo by John Stapleton)

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The Wild Feathers: Don't Know

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We previously featured "Sanctuary" from the Nashville band's upcoming LP, Sirens. Bassist-singer Joel King says this song "started out as just an up-tempo rock and roll bass riff. Then adding a surf guitar and drums playing the toms, the lyrics had to be something primal and emotional. Leaving an old way of life behind but not sure you really want to."

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The War and Treaty: Tunnel Vision

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This is one of a string of recent singles that we surmise may be leading up to a new album by the duo of Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter. We don't have any further information, but the song is a rousing, joyful rock 'n' roller about focusing on a righteous path: "I've got tunnel vision / I'm on my way to the promised land." (Photo by Austin Hargrave)

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Keeton Coffman: Violet

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We've been spinning "Kathryn," and now want to catch up with another recent single from this Texas singer-songwriter-bandleader. In a message to fans, he said: "Many of you have asked me...'Who is Katryn?'... 'Who is Violet?' Well, these songs are a bit like Rorschach images... they will aim to tell you more about you than about the person who made them." Spoiler: In the lyric, violet is an eye color.

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Tessa Rose Jackson: The Antidote

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A Dutch artist based in London (who previously recorded under the name Someone), Jackson teams with Charles Prest of Noon Garden and keyboardist Darius Timmer on this single from her upcoming EP  A Mirror Sometimes, due in October. This song, Jackson says, "is a hypnotic, psychedelic folk track about the allure of the comfort zone and how scary it can be to step out of it. An ode to my fellow over-thinkers, over-worriers."

New music variety: Dawes, Beachwood Sparks, DBIG, Strand of Oaks, Alyssa Sequoia

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Dawes: House Parties

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The upcoming album Oh Brother is appropriately titled, given that brothers Taylor (guitar, vocals) and Griffin Goldsmith (drums) are now the only regular members. This song leans into dad-rock in a literal way. Its narrator is a father hitting tourist spots with his family, while wishing he was at a laid-back party with fans of Bowie, Joni, and live music. "A nostalgic song," says older brother Taylor. "A song about how true cultural experiences aren’t in the tourist traps but within human connections among specific communities. It’s a goofy lyric but the sentiment is not."

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Beachwood Sparks: Torn In Two

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This LA band's first album in a decade, Across the River of Stars, "embrac(es) the psychedelic '70s country-rock of their early work with an added sonic shimmer," writes AllAccess. Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes produced the LP. The group has been labeled alt-country, and we hear echoes of classic Laurel Canyon (e.g. Byrds) and modern AAA (e.g. Lost Leaders) bands.

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Don't Believe in Ghosts: Drowning

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Here's an upbeat dance track about "the overwhelming sensation of struggling to keep up with daily life amidst constant distractions." Key lyric: "I see you drowning, in and out of it, Climbing higher just to see around it." The New York group is led by singer-songwriter-producer Steven Nathan, with Dan DelVecchio on guitar and Ken Yang on drums.

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Strand of Oaks: Communication

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Since we last heard from Tim Showalter, he's taken time off from his Strand of Oaks project to focus on painting - and try acting, as a biker in the TV drama "Mayans M.C." His new album, Miracle Focus, sheds the melancholy of his previous records and brings us a "love letter to bliss." He says he wanted to make this track "sound like the type of song I called into a radio station and requested in 1990."

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Alyssa Sequoia: And I...

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Described as a neo-folk-soul artist, Sequoia grew up in the suburbs just north of New York and has been signing in the city's cafes and clubs since she was 19. "This song goes back in time to when I rode the subways - When I always needed change to use the pay phone - When life and the city had its own rhythm ... [It also] is about being full of strong powerful emotions and the pain of letting someone I love go."

Phish, Rubblebucket, Aurora, Rise Bailey Rise, plus Don McLean in our New Music Bin

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Phish: Wave Of Hope

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For those of us who have not avidly followed them over the decades, the release of Evolve provides an excellent way to catch up with the veteran jam band. Many of its 12 tracks have been turning up in their live-show playlists in recent years, and a recording of this song previously appeared on Trey Anastasio's 2020 solo release Lonely Trip. Dave Campbell of The Associated Press calls the track "‘70s-style rock with space for Page McConnell to pound on the keys amid racing guitar riffs." The hopeful-ish refrain: "This too shall pass, this too shall pass."

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Rubblebucket: Rattlesnake

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The Brooklyn art-pop project's new single derives from a poem vocalist Kalmia Traver wrote after a bike ride with her mother: "Just off the path we spotted a massive rattlesnake lounging in the dappled forest sunlight. It was my first time ever seeing one and my instinct was to stop and get a good look. My mom’s instinct was to get the hell out of there, and we laughed later about this dynamic." Relix writes the the track "builds to neo-disco pop perfection with a chorus of horns, prowling congas and the first string arrangement featured on an entry from the band since 2014’s 'Carousel Ride.'" 

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Aurora: To Be Alright

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"The world has grown so accustomed to being apathetic," the Norwegian alt-pop artist told NME about the thought-process behind her fifth album, What Happened To The Heart?’ The mag calls the album a "career high" and "a heavy, rave-y call for humanity." It's filled with imagery of the heart and blood representing love and emotions. "What is life worth living / if you don’t bleed for anything?” she sings here.

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Rise Bailey Rise: Never Know

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Coming to us from Buckinghamshire, England, is the latest single by singer-songwriter-producer-remixer Rich Patmore. After playing with various bands, he quit that scene to focus on fatherhood - but soon returned to making music, this time in a home studio. He's released several singles and EPs in recent years, drawing on influences from 80's UK pop and 90's grunge as well as edgy alternative artists like Radiohead and NIN. 

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Don McLean: Thunderstorm Girl

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The title track of the new album American Boys celebrates and name-checks rock'n'roll pioneers. He doesn't list himself, but the LP is filled with 60s-style songs, including this ditty that's landed in our New Music bin. Like much of the album, it's relaxed fun, although not terribly original - a bit like recent Ringo Starr songs. As Spill Magazine says, this and some other tracks "are performed and recorded well, but McLean seems to be playing it safe with the content. One should not go looking for McLean’s poetry and poignant observations of albums past. It is largely absent here."

New indie music by The Rift, Ravenhall, Kasha, Alanna Matty, Washed Out

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The Rift: Just Fine

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This Southern California indie-rock band says the phrase "'Just Fine' has become a humorous motto for us, reflecting our philosophy of resilience and defiance even when things aren't going our way. Drawing inspiration from Monty Python's iconic 'flesh wound' scene, the song embodies a spirit of gallows humor and unwavering determination."

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Ravenhall: A Traveling Story

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The Auckland, New Zealand, duo of Joe Ravenhall and Chris Brebner has been releasing singles since 2015, and brought out its debut LP, Brother, earlier this year. This track has now found its way around the globe and landed in our New Music bin. We hear a hint of Bob Seger in the vocal on the refrain 'The road keeps calling / Freedom come to me now."

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Kasha: Do Me So

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It's a hint of Sade that hits our ear as we listen to this single by an artist born in the Congo and raised in Norway. Her music is a blend of neo-soul, R'n'B, pop, and Afropop. "I wrote this song to deal with the sorrow and joy of emerging stronger from psychological abuse. It's painful, frightening, but most of all, it's satisfying to finally understand more."

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Alanna Matty: Restless

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Originally from Toronto, now living in Halifax, this singer-songwriter-producer (and video-game sound designer) brings am-I-working-hard-enough anxiety to this new single. She explains: "Everyone says ‘you need to take time off’ or ‘you have to recharge’ but how can you? What if that moment you spent sitting on the couch decompressing is the moment where you could have created the thing that was going to catapult you to the next stage of your career?" Such as, perhaps, her upcoming album, Subject to Change.

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Washed Out: The Hardest Part

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Once dubbed "the godfather of chillwave" by Pitchfork, Ernest Greene just released his fifth album (and first in four years), Notes from a Quiet Life. In 2021, he moved from Atlanta to a 20-acre former horse farm in the Georgia countryside, not far from where he grew up, and where he presumably is living quietly. This track's smooth, shiny sound belies its lyric about pining for an ex: "I hope that you've noticed I've tried to move on / Still can't admit that our time is done."