This summer, a special version of Advance Base went on tour with Pedro the Lion, Owen Ashworth joined by Moontype to give his songs a rare full band treatment. Thanks to the technical wizardry of front of house engineer Milwaukee Mark Sullivan, the Milwaukee show was recorded well enough that Ashworth decided to release an impromtu live album, hence In Milwaukee is available to download for free today. The set includes tracks from Horrible Occurrances, Animal Companionship, Nephew in the Wild and A Shut-In’s Prayer, as well as recent single ‘Movie Theater Manager‘ and even a few Casiotone For The Painfully Alone numbers too, though it is perhaps the newer tracks which stand out the most in this arrangement. Take ‘Brian’s Golden Hour’, a fitting closer that is charged with extra intensity with a full band behind it, which in our opinion serves as an encapsulation of Ashworth’s stellar career thus far. As we concluded in our review of Horrible Occurrences:

“You’ll be fine,” a paramedic tells the titular character in ‘Brian’s Golden Hour’, a teen skater and would-be Days of Heaven-era Malick who plans to film himself dropping in on a homemade ramp from the roof of his parents house only to bail and shatter his spine. “You’re 15 & paralyzed / & lucky to be alive,” as the refrain goes. But Brian doesn’t actually commit to the trick. His only paralysis is a hesitation at the top of the ramp. This horrible occurrence takes place entirely in his head. Yet the paramedic’s words echo all the same. Kind, if slightly hollow. What they want to be true, or need to be true. Or rather what might as well be true inside that moment, until the opposite is confirmed. You’ll be fine. Words so brittle and tender and heartfelt. Somehow the epitome of both security and vulnerability. The essence of not only Horrible Occurrences but perhaps Ashworth’s entire body of work. Voices heard from beneath the weight of all that has happened, and all that possibly could. You might be dying. The darkness might all be in your head. You’ll be fine.

In Milwaukee is out now and available as a free download from Bandcamp. Moontype are also on Bandcamp, as are Pedro the Lion. Advance Base will play a few solo shows soon: Sept 6th in Chicago, IL (@ Sound & Gravity Festival), Sept 9th in Ann Arbor, MI (@ Funhouse) and Sept 10th in Toronto, ON (@ St Stephen’s). More tickets and information can be found here.

Caleb Elliott – Without Warning

With 2019 debut Forever to Fade and 2023 follow-up Weed, Wine & Time, songwriter, guitarist and cellist Caleb Elliott established vivid, widescreen style of folk rock, his work incorporating sleek grooves and rich string arrangements to elevate the sound. Fast forward a few years and the Florence, Alabama artist is returning with new singles. The latest ‘Without Warning’ suggests he has further honed this style in the intervening period. Moving with an understated grace and blooming gradually in something almost cinematic, the track sits comfortably next to later-era Damien Jurado. Able to offer genuine emotional intimacy while transporting the listener into its own hyperreal world.

‘Without Warning’ is out now and available from the usual places.

Eric Angelo Bessel – Pathways

Fresh off the back of 2025 LP Mirror At Night and its b-side sister release earlier this year, Eric Angelo Bessel is already preparing a brand new full-length, and the quick turnaround has done nothing to dampen the record’s ambition or scope. Consisting of eighteen interlinked compositions, Illusion of an Inland Ocean plays like an exercise in cartography, mapping the contours of a mysterious location which exists just beyond the ordinary confines of the world, inviting the listener along for the expedition so that we too might wander in our own act of discovery. The songs of Mirror At Night sounded like “dispatches from some strange otherworld” as we wrote, Bessel probing the line between the real and unreal, organic and digital, dreams, memory and waking life, and Illusion… pushes this style further than ever. An effort to conjure a sense of place which goes beyond traditional world-building, working to not merely create something new but evoke the sense of revealing something which has always been present, waiting for someone with the patience and attention to bring them to light. Listen to lead track ‘Pathways’ now.

Lamplight – Clover

We last featured Lamplight back in February with the release of ‘Year 2083‘, a stand alone single featuring hemlock which marked the crossover from the project’s 2024 self-titled album and whatever was to come next. What was to come, it now turns out, was Lick The Spoon, Let It Soften, a brand new full-length with Western Vinyl which sees Ian Williams paint a picture of life in all of its uncertainty and with both the love and the grief left intact. Single ‘Clover’ introduces the themes of the record, a track which seems suspended between the retrospection of mourning and a look towards future dreams, turning to the small certainties of the present as a kind of balm against the otherwise debilitating doubt which might set in when asking life’s big questions. “Lick the spoon and let it soften, it’ll melt,” as Williams sings in the verse which give the album its title, “you don’t need another mouthful, draw it out / all you need you’ve already gotten.”

Rayland Baxter – Better Man

After losing his father Bucky Baxter back in 2020, Rayland Baxter found his attempts at songwriting falling flat no matter how much effort he put it, only for a conversation with his sister to change his perspective. “We talked about life and family and love and heartache, and our individual experiences with all of that,” he explains. “She simply encouraged me to write about what I was feeling, something I was avoiding in the early stages of writing.” Baxter’s new full-length True Violet emerged from this inflection point, an album “personal and bloody” attuned to both the immediate pain of suffering and the enlightenment which slowly seeps in. Lead single and opening track ‘Better Man’ functions as a prologue for this story, the first step in a journey through grief from one stage of life to another.

Watch the video directed by Joshua Shoemaker below:

True Violet will be released on the 23rd October via ATO Records and you can pre-order it now.

Spring Colours – Femur In The Dust (Who Told You There’s A Better Life!?)

After putting in the hard yards on tour and building up a fanbase the old-fashioned way, Toronto “digital-punk” outfit Spring Colours finally released their anticipated debut full-length The Courage Cloak this year, a bold, cathartic album which rails against the masks and armour society demands we wear in order to stand out. “The ‘Courage Cloak’ we put on is red and angry, a symbol of the patriarchal need to perform and to be seen,” Lukas Lyjak explains, “and hides the simple need for genuine connection we all have. It is that cloak that we explore across the album, and more than anything, are striving to shake off.” There’s no better place to dive into the record than the snappily titled focus track ‘Femur In The Dust (Who Told You There’s A Better Life!?)’, a song which channels everything from Tokyo Police Club and Foxing to the hyperactive indie rock of Johnny Foreigner to create a sound that’s simultaneously fatalistic and defiant (As Lyjak puts it: “It’s that Slavic state of mind I grew up with—life’s unfair and tiring, get over it”).

Watch the video directed by Riley Campbell with director of photography Spencer Campbell below:

The Courage Cloak is out now and available from Bandcamp.

Stephen Steinbrink – Magic Mirror

“The spirit [of the record] is captured in the conjurer’s trick of the title, where reality is ruptured by a brief spark of magic. Buoyed by the experience and wisdom gleaned from outside activities, Steinbrink returns to music as a kind of magician himself. A figure who, guided by invention and playfulness, looks to use mastery of a physical craft in order to open the door to small, intangible miracles.” So we wrote of Stephen Steinbrink‘s 2023 LP Disappearing Coin, an album which made the list of our favourites released that year in no small part thanks to its willingness to look for freshness and curiosity so far into a career. In a Split Mirror, Steinbrink’s latest full-length coming via Mansions and Millions this autumn, functions as a direct continuation of this mission, not because if its stylistic similarities to its predecessor, but because of its differences. There’s a newfound openness to these songs, a colour and clarity which might at first appear at odds with the imagery of mirrors, doubles and distortions, but which ultimately makes perfect sense. Because, as lead single ‘Magic Mirror’ displays, this is an album about the ever-changing nature of identity which embraces instability not as some exercises in postmodern slipperiness but rather a firm, confident grasp of human truth.

Watch the video directed, shot and edited by Steinbrink himself below:

In a Split Mirror will be released on the 30th October via Mansions and Millions and you can pre-order it now.

Tasha – Quick!

“Finds an artist embracing the pace and breadth of their new life. Confronting each day with a sense of defiance rather than looking for somewhere to hide.” So we wrote of Tasha‘s 2024 full-length All This and So Much More, the New York-based songwriter emerging from a whirlwind period of experiences both thrilling and painful with a freshly honed appreciation of the possibilities of life. Released this June via Bayonet Records, follow-up You Are Spring! carried this spirit to new heights, channelling the season of its title to offer a warm and colourful sound pregnant with the promise of new growth. Undeterred by the present tip towards autumn, Tasha is preparing to head out on tour and has released a brand new video for single and closer ‘Quick!’ in celebration, along with a roundtable discussion with Taja Cheek (AKA L’Rain) and Jamila Woods (who both feature on the record) for Talkhouse. But listen to ‘Quick!’ and the rest of the record and it becomes clear autumn might in fact be a perfect time to dive into You Are Spring!, because more than a celebration of the season, it is an ode to all that we endure in order to enjoy the fruitful periods when they finally arrive. “Quick! See how this beauty rushes by?” as Tasha asks on the track. Let this be a reminder for us to concentrate on what we have in front of us before the wheel turns again.

Watch the video by V.E. Haddad (along with Annie Klebano) below:

You Are Spring! is out now via Bayonet Records and available from Bandcamp.

Tough Old Bird – Come Back, Come Back

The Buffalo, New York outfit Tough Old Bird have released a steady stream of singles across this summer, with tracks like ‘Wednesday’s Child‘, ‘Shape Of Our Love‘ and ‘I Was a Giant‘ highlighting how evocative and versatile the project has become. “Tough Old Bird have not pivoted to a new sound so much as expanded their armoury,” as we wrote, “and are now equipped to tackle whatever emotional palette any given song demands.” Latest track ‘Come Back, Come Back’ provides yet further evidence of the promise of this new era, its sound electrified but lacking none of the patience as a result, telling a poetic narrative that’s at once brooding and compassionate and little world weary too. “Well, it was such a long way to go / To come back, come back alone,” as Corrigan sings around halfway through, two lines which embody the solitude which marks the track, though from that point things tilt towards something more intense, allowing for a final sense of catharsis with the reflection.

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All that said, latest single ‘summer’s scorch’ shows My sunny oath! is far from a one-dimensional release. More restrained and tender than the EP’s other tracks, the song utilises additional instrumentation from Farrar (drums, bass, guitar, keyboards) and Libby Rodenbough (strings) to reveal the record’s contrasting spirit. A blend of soft and heavy, dark and light tones to create something gritty yet still in possession of real heart.

Get induced with rolling sickness
When I feel my heart get bigger
Don’t watch movies but I’ll try
Feel the earth rest in my thighs

Watch the video by Harrison Shook below:

My sunny oath! is out on the 13th June via Winspear and you can pre-order it now from the Jahnah Camille Bandcamp page.

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With the album out now via Earth Libraries, it is clear this mood persists across the breadth of the songs. Eternity In The Lake Of Fire is a record set against the volatile rains peculiar to Birmingham. Shrouded in the shadow of an oncoming downpour, beset by a strange atmospheric pressure, always anticipating the next deluge. But also having learnt that such ferocious storms tend to burn themselves out quickly, leaving nothing but a dripping quiet. The Bitter Calm sound mirrors this climate, not only matching intensity and placidity, but capturing those interstitial periods—be they foreboding build-ups or shocked aftermaths. Take a song like ‘Sinner’, which blends the confessional weight of Greet Death or Pedro the Lion with almost orchestral detail, like a storm cloud leavened by a transcendent ray of light.

hey man,
i can take it
it’s my pain that keeps this world turning
how’ve you not considered?
i’m a sinner,
i should die for you

But it’s impossible to talk about Eternity In The Lake of Fire without considering the imagery of its title. Not just a descent into the underworld but a one-way ticket. In many ways, the album plays as an attempt by lead Michael Harp to accept the underworld as the default scenery. An effort to perhaps hurdle the worst of despair by coming to understand their lot. See how ‘Surrender’ emerges from the bleak ‘Convenient’, no more reassured against the oncoming black, but finding some solace in embracing it and relinquishing the fight to stay above ground. And if the album charts such a process, then opener ‘Nothin’ is something of a mission statement. There are no joyous epiphanies or arcs towards salvation. There is only the fact of life.

Eternity In The Lake of Fire is out now via Earth Libraries and available from the Bitter Calm Bandcamp page.

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With the release fast approaching on Winspear, Jahnah Camille has returned with new single, ‘roadkill’. Showing off yet another string to Camille’s bow, the song possesses near country sensibilities with its building rhythm, and boasts no small amount of rock swagger too. But again it is the lyrics which really see the artist stand apart. Because Camille has a knack for combining emotion and self-awareness, offering songs entirely committed to the feelings being explored but never lacking a wry wrinkle to add that extra layer of personality.

And now I can’t pretend
Like roadkill, untouched, out of it
We cried because we can’t forget

I’m marrying a florist
I’ll fall in love so slowly
I’ll make them more than boy of the year

Photo by Disney Bagwell

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Now Bitter Calm have returned with ‘Salt’, their first single since the release of Good Grief, which ushers in something of a sea change from the outfit. Because though the song is still concerned with the weighty themes of love and death, the shadowy slowcore sensibilities are replaced with something altogether brighter and more melodic. “When I grow into the light / could I be your little furnace?” Harp asks in the opening lines, hinting at the darkness behind the vibrant strings and guitar. “And if I go out in the night / would I see you in the morning?” Because make no mistake, the themes underpinning the track cut to the bone of human experience. “This song is about the pain of knowing who could be hurt by the irreversible decision to leave this world,” as Harp explains, “let alone who is already hurt by my current expressed desire to want to leave it in the first place.”

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This summer sees Rae Fitzgerald return with a brand new EP, and her first with the ever-impressive Keeled Scales. The Lonely Listener builds on what came before, again incorporating synth and drum machine into what are ostensibly folk songs, but the release also represents a real evolution of the Rae Fitzgerald sound. Together with Will Reeves (drum loop, bass) and Ian Vardell (electric guitar), Fitzgerald has honed her style and achieved a newfound confidence, the songs’ various elements pulling in harmony to conjure something intuitive.

Lead single ‘Smileland’ is the perfect example. Where Popular Songs… crafted transportive soundscapes, the mellotron pads and drum loops serve the opposite purpose, grounding the listener in the immediate experience, and moreover finding beauty there. The result is a track of reconnection, with one’s self and the world all around, and in doing so lifting what might at first appear ordinary into something ecstatic.

When the dawn breaks through it shakes you
like a messenger of light
but the flower beds still greet you
and the water eats the sky

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You can listen to some demos from the album on their Soundcloud page (my favourite is below), and their older material is available on Bandcamp. If you are a fan of alt-folk/Americana then you should gives these guys a listen.

You can back the album (and get yourself some rather cool prizes in return) via this Pledge page. I think this kind of project is where the funding schemes work best – this isn’t some fanciful attempt at getting some cash but rather an advanced pre-order that helps the band cover the costs via sales. It’s a win-win.

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The band plan to record a full-length this winter with the award-winning songwriter Arthur Alligood producing. If the accomplished EP is anything to go by, this record is definitely one to keep an eye on.

<a href=“http://firemountainband.bandcamp.com/track/no-ones-help” data-mce-href=“http://firemountainband.bandcamp.com/track/no-ones-help”>No One’s Help by Fire Mountain</a>

Of The Dust is available on a pay-what-you-want basis here, along with some lovely looking CDs. If the EP isn’t enough and you can’t wait for the album, a live recording is available free of charge here.

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