Despite their busy gig schedule and multiple releases under their belt, lead singer Sidney Flanigan has been releasing quality solo acoustic folk-punk material on the low. You can find these on Bandcamp under the name, Siddo., as well as a couple other previous monikers which she references there. Her latest release Romantic Rehab is comprised of four excellently written songs about hopeless romanticism, learning to move on from those who hurt us and trusting loved ones who care.

The first song, “Smoking Cessation” compares quitting a cigarette addiction to leaving behind a broken relationship in the most heartbreaking manner. The song basks in understated indie-folk sadness before building to an emotional outburst with Flanigan’s raspy punk vocals on full display. The short yet satisfying song quickly burns out just like the final cigs and unsavable relationship that the songwriter craves.

The recording for this EP is stripped back and much of the project sounds like first takes, perfectly capturing the genuine energy and emotions within each song. At times, you can even hear Flanigan’s voice crack on the more personal lyrics.

“Walk It Off” ties together Romantic Rehab’s folk and punk influences effectively in its tasteful combination of a quiet fiddle part and her usual alternative-style songwriting.

The following, “Untied Shoes,” is the folkiest tune and the project’s standout. The adorably specific lyrics strike the song’s soft beginning like a first kiss.

“You’re the one that I wanna tell when I’ve got good news / And I’m the tattoo pointed out when you’ve got untied shoes”

It’s a sweet song about someone who makes you feel like you’re in a teenage fantasy even after you’ve known each other for years.

The final song “Count On It,” is one for both lovers and friends. It’s an acoustic loyalty anthem about sticking with someone through thick and thin. This song makes for the perfect heartwarming closer to this short but incredibly sweet release.

Check out Romantic Rehab on Bandcamp below.

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The group’s guitarist, Luke Wheeler said “We’ve always had a really fond fascination with ghost hunting, and Zack Bagans’ style of aggressive paranormal research.” The group actually did an hour-long live stream titled “Hinsdale Investigation,” in which they did some of this paranormal work. They said “Practical ghost hunting applications are crucial for songwriting.” In addition, the two remaining members, Kody Fintak and Nick Benstead, expressed their love for an indie horror video game called Phasmophobia.

Funnily enough, the first track, “Ghosts in my Attic,” is actually written about their experience playing that game. Musically, it catches the listener’s attention with a big hook as well as the first mention of the project’s spectral themes. Fintak, the group’s lead vocalist for three out of the five songs here, sings an interesting line “I saw you, could you see me too / I saw you, I could see right through you.” It compares seeing through someone’s facade to the transparency of a ghost, or as Fintak explained “I ran into someone that I never wanted to think about again.”

The following song, “Zack Bagans Has Found Me And Burned A Hole In My Pocket,” is the EP’s strongest offering. A deft emo guitar line grabs your attention before it evolves into more of a punk jam. This one laments about life being lame with the project’s best lyrics and catchiest vocal melody. Fintak sings “I spent a couple months with my head against the glass / Watching life alone, knowing it’ll pass / Swept up like a pile of leaves, I’m still stuck forever under the sheets / I see your face in everything.” 

A tasteful glockenspiel part emphasizes the final line as well as harkens in the intriguing chorus: “I’m just trying to sleep in / But the creaks in the floor keep me up all night / And I can’t take it.” The songs’ lyics often have dual meaning, touching on emotional struggles as well as hiding at least one ghost reference in each of the EP’s five tracks.

The closer, “Tongue,” is a weighty final exploration of the EP’s themes, as it lyrically sees the band finally doing everything they can to best the ghosts that plague them. The song finds strength in the EP’s successful formula, raw punky melodies and an emo-rock lucidity.

Stream Midnight Naps In Cemeteries on Spotify or Apple Music.

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The group met at and are based out of Eastman School of Music, but hail from a variety of places, Las Vegas, Boston, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and the list goes on. The, lets just say, this American seven-piece cultivate an impressive fully-fledged soulful jazz-pop sound despite only forming in fall of 2022.

Their first release and prior single, “I Still Want You,” excels in dazzling listeners with luscious R&B melodies and a subtle funk groove. The group perfectly meshes behind lead singer, Lily Bogas while a jazzy sax solo rounds out the track’s second half.

Seldon explores an even more emotive sound on their new one, “The Truth,” an appropriately named slowburner about honesty within heartbreak. It starts with a contemplative solo acoustic guitar part before Bogas comes in with poignant lead vocals. Strings creep in as the feelings intensify and Bogas admits “I almost called you up today / I almost asked you to book a flight across the country to kiss me one more time / Because this shit isn’t easy for me.” It’s an emotionally investing song that develops at just the right pace musically to make you want to rewind and hear it all again.

The group recently celebrated this release with a free, open to the public recording session. Seldon, an ever-expanding troupe of talented musicians, performed with a string quartet, full horn section and second vocalist. 

“The Truth,” a beautifully produced and well-written song, not only gives you a glimpse into the minds of Seldon but also captures their talented performances and what it’s like to see them live. Be sure to check it out on Spotify or Apple Music.

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The group’s three man weave of artists is composed of WizzleDaWzRd, puh-GEEZ, and Be_Daylight. To get to know an individual member’s catalog, check out our review for puh-GEEZ’s project LEVELS.

Rodagues’ latest release “Made Men” is a collaboration between WizzleDaWzRd and Be_Daylight. The beat, crafted by Wizzle, combines a vaporwave-like, cloud rap aesthetic with a smooth-as-butter west coast bounce.

He said of the track: 

“I guess for the hook part the inspiration was the Jermaine Dupri and Jay Z song, ‘Money Ain’t a Thang.’ I always say I’m the modern version [of] JD with how my beats [are] sounding.”

Wizzle’s gravely voice floats over the song effortlessly, sounding blase in the cool talk-singing chorus.

“We could really get paid, top down, screaming out money aint a thing”

His laidback delivery is euphoric in its offhandedness, making for an gratifyingly easy listen. He drifts between verses and choruses with little flow change, like one extended hook of stoned-out confidence and free-spirited liberation. At the song’s midpoint, Be_Daylight comes in with a more animated and very punchy flow which breaks up the song well. He fits more words into each phrase yet his part features an instinctively melodic delivery that keeps with the song’s woozy, swagged out sound. The two MCs compliment each other perfectly, as each rapper pulls something different out of the psychedelic beat.

“Made Men’s” streaming version also includes a slowed-down remix of the song which makes the already lumbering track sound glacial. In this second track, Wizzle’s voice turns to a sublime molasses while Be_Daylight’s galvanizing delivery sounds more croony and melodic when slowed down.

Check out “Made Men” on Spotify or Apple Music and be sure to look out for more tracks coming from Rodagues, as well as the group’s individual members.

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Early on in his music career, while he was going under the name Nolo, he randomly decided to change his Instagram handle to “@nolotheslayer.” On his first official feature, the artist who he had worked with saw his Instagram, assumed that was his artist name and released the feature as just that, “Nolo the Slayer.”

At first Nolo was a bit upset about the situation, as it wasn’t his chosen name, but before he knew it, the moniker had already stuck with those around him. He ended up continuting to use it and the word “Slayer” has even become a common adlib for him. 

The addition of “The Slayer” gives the name and interesting and unique edge, sounding like the title of some ancient exalted medieval knight. Furthermore, after he’s released and promoted 2023 projects like I Love Slayer and QUICKFIX, his fans are known for dropping dueling swords emojis in his now valiant comment sections.

His latest release, “Bottega,” follows up with a rowdy and ignorant rage sound, as the beat is flooded with repetitive synth work that makes it addicting to listen to. It’s a punky rap song full of dissonance and vigor within its minute and a half runtime. Nolo raps with a fiery finesse, hitting a quick flow and fitting many syllables into the pocket. His raspy voice is perfect for this hard hitting style as he excels with understated, repetitive hooks that will leave listeners buzzing with energy.

Be sure to listen to “Bottega” on Apple Music or Spotify, as well as check out the song’s music video done by Nolo’s routine collaborator, 98 murr.

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The song features a bustling, noisy instrumental influenced by both old-school Memphis rap and modern southern hip hop. A spiny phonk-inspired cowbell melody gives the hard-hitting song a dark edge.

On SPACEBOUND’s louder songs like this one, Turnup often plays the slugger role out of the group taking their tracks to the next level with his hyperaggressive delivery. He draws first blood on “Racin,” yelling his brains out in the tense and repetitive chorus.

His following verse introduces the song’s topic, as “Racin” is a risktaker’s ode to living fast or dying young:

Jump outta the whip
Got the bag on me I ain’t bring no bread
If he gotta clip he aint getting all I got
Gotta use your head
Walking up to the house I was thinking like dame some sh*t up
So I turned back hop in the whip b*tch you can’t set me up

After another grating punk rap chorus from Turnup, GRXZZ is next up. He comes in yelling just as heavily for the first few bars, before speeding things up in the next section with a machine-gun barrage of syllables delivered with a sneer. Flashy adlibs, creative production choices and vehicle sound effects make the song all the more fun to listen to. Despite all the aggression and darkness in this track, it remains accessible with a catchy structure and relatable wave of anger.

Be on the lookout for an upcoming music video for this song directed by Erin Gaddi. The action movie-like storyline coincides with the lyrics as the video follows a drag race turned high-speed chase scene where things get messy quickly.

You can get to know the story SPACEBOUND is telling by listening carefully to the song’s lyrics. Stream “Racin” on Spotify or Apple Music.

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A dramatic synth part builds while a speaker says things like “This war was never about good and evil,” “Public places are now a shooting range and artificial intelligence is the new age.” They question “Have we really evolved into complex beings or are we still primitive beasts based on instinct?” He concludes with something he’s sure of: “We all have the Mark of Fatality.”

It’s a bit ecclesiastic in the way it describes primeval problems and how relative they are to our current decaying world, you know, in a real metal, hardcore type of way. Anthony Hudock, the band’s guitarist, mentions how early 90s metalcore bands like Undying and Prayer for Cleansing, often included synth intros similar to this one.

The spoken-word intro done by Hudock, appropriately titled “This Is…” matches up with lead singer Bailey Ryan’s mantra-like lyrics. Mark of Fatality lyrics often have raw, emotional reactions to universal problems. Primal instincts, basic emotions and universal human experiences like grief or wondering what happens when we die are a common thread throughout this EP.

The opener “Lifeline” is a damn near perfect metallic hardcore song. The song is under four minutes, yet through all the different sections, musical variety and intentional dynamics, it has the feeling of a long epic intro song. A standout feature from the band’s longtime friend and collaborator, Chris Neal, effectively sends off the final breakdown. 

“Disregard” comes on strong with a fast-moving thrashy metal riff before it gradually slows down into the sludge-metal influenced chorus. The lyrics hit hard: “There’s a hole in my heart that makes me / Disregard / The fire is burning deep inside / To move on to what’s next.” Hudock mentions how it’s a meaningful song, and that the lyrics were written by Ryan as a reaction to something he saw that was traumatic for him.

“…Last Breath” is as ominous as the name suggests and it might be the most dismal and tortured of the bunch. It recalls the eerie themes of survival and the close line between life and death that was discussed in “This Is…” 

This song also gets to the heart of the project’s meaning as it mentions the title with the lyric “And if we’re looking for our purpose / I guess we won’t find out / Until our last breath / Under a thousand stars.” Hudock said of the EP’s title, “I think it’s a beautiful image that I get in my head of a person’s last breath under 1000 stars and what they could be thinking of at that point.”

The song ends with an acoustic guitar part and the sound of rain pattering in the background. Hearing this section and thinking of the EP’s meaning, it’s easy to imagine the primordial nature of rain, and how instinctive we are as we look for cover from it.

Be sure to check our Last Breath Under A Thousand Stars on Spotify and Apple Music. Keep up with their latest news by giving Mark of Fatality a follow on Instagram as they begin to record their next project within the coming weeks.

Check out their latest release as well, As Above So Below.

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Wife and Kids’ tender yet poppy strain of indie-folk and strong singer-songwriter chops are on full display in their first two singles, “Possible” and “Way Back When.” Even still, the duo’s latest, “Magnesium,” might be their best yet.

The lyrics on “Magnesium” have a real, personal, and weighty quality to them. The singer touches on brief yet sentimental ideas throughout the track, giving the feeling of flipping through a scrapbook of related but separate memories. Despite the lyrical ideas feeling somewhat disparate at times, them being together feels quite important to the songwriter’s greater sense of self.

“Magnesium” has a great pace to it musically that goes in tandem with the words. There’s never a dull moment and the track is full of feeling and sonic variety. The catchy lead vocals are a chief part of this but also don’t sleep on the creative drum parts by Rob Brennan and crafty production decisions by Jay Zubricky.

Wife and Kids are only just starting to release, but they’re already one of the groups you should be most excited about as they peel back the layers and impress with a fresh acoustic sound.

Stream their latest single “Magnesium” on Spotify and Apple Music. Consider checking out the music video for another song they recently dropped, “Possible.” For all other ways to support Wife and Kids, check out this helpful Linktree link.

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Their Bandcamp bio breaks down Jesse & the Spirit’s sound well:

With collaboration from an unexplainable presence known simply as “The Spirit,” Jesse James creates emotional soundscapes in a maelstrom of electronic and acoustic drums, ambient synths, classical guitar, and otherworldly samples, touching on a variety of genres from trip hop, cold wave, and witch house to folk, noise, and raw atmospheric metal.”

It’s a true melting pot of cross-genre collusion.

If you’re looking to get a good idea of James’ chaotic musical combinations, compare their 2018 gothic avant-folk project, Clairvoyance to the grating experimental noise and dark electronic psychedelia on their project, also from 2018, When the Spirit caught up, I laid face down in the crossroad, clutching the ground with every ounce of strength I could find.

If you’re looking for something in between those two, among other experimental and apathetic sounds, as the perfect Jesse & the Spirit listener would be, try their 2021 release, Peculiar Living. Check out our 2019 review of “Anthropocene,” which would end up becoming the third song on Peculiar Living.

Their newest song, “a” features a skeletal trip-hop beat hollowed out to the point where it sounds ambient and defeated. James’ muffled vocals and thoughtful lyrics find a deep emptiness in solitude, as they sing “Only feet don’t touch the ground, screaming, hanging upside down. Every wave must feel the same, and every evening tends to fall away.

James said “‘a’ as a song aims to capture the feeling of disassociation and brain rot, the 3 am regret of having spent an entire evening absorbed in screens of varying sizes and dimensions. A haunted video game, or an eerie place of nostalgia in one’s mind.”

Ambient white noise is interspersed throughout the dreary soundscape like a depressing wash of radio static. The soulless, mechanical beat plods forward like the doldrum march of society.

James said “I’m inspired lately by confusion, derealization, simulated realities and experiences, internet lore and dreamlike aesthetics, found footage horror, the unexplained. That stuff all bled into ‘a’ and its sister, ‘M.’”

The other track that James references, “M,” is a cosmic instrumental hip-hop song with a strong gothic influence exhibited in James’ despondent vocals. The single-letter sister tracks both sound like long walks through dark cavernous liminal spaces.

Their respective music videos both touch on this in-between feeling, as they explore world-building through an animation program called Blender. James said “I do expect more of these worlds will be discovered in time,” hinting at tracks of a similar nature to follow.

In the meantime, check out “a” on April 26th on either Spotify or Apple Music.

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