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Steve Marion, the critically acclaimed-and completelywordless-songwriter and guitarist known as Delicate Steve, has unveiled a new album called Delicate Steve Sings. Is the album title a reference to the instantly recognizable "voice" of his guitar? Does he actually sing this time? Has he not been singing all along? That"s the crux of Sings-Marion is the rare guitarist where you can put on any of his records and know exactly who"s playing. In an indie rock landscape stuffedend-to-end with guitars and amplifiers, nobody else sounds like this. That unique voice has kept Steve busy in an unpredictable variety of settings. The sheer spread of his work outside his own records-collaborating with Miley Cyrus and Paul Simon, playing in Amen Dunes and the Black Keys, and being sampled by Kanye - doesn"t mean Steve"s a chameleon. It means he"s singular.Delicate Steve Sings is a record centered on channeling iconic voices with his guitar. In doing so, Marion is casting himself in the role of iconic singers like Willie who make standards their own. In the process, he reveals just how singular (dare we say iconic) that voice is. The guitar sings these songs-smoothly, sweetly, boldly, and on its own terms. Recorded with JonathanRado on bass, Kosta Galanopolous on drums, Renata Zeiguer providing strings, and co-writer Elliot Bergman, the album features both original songs with titles that suggest they might be new recordings of classics. "I"ll Be There" is smooth like a lost Bill Withers track; "Easy for You" isn"t the Elvis song of the same name, but there"s a hint of the king in there, in addition to Marion"s own takes onclassics such as the Emersons" "Baby,"The Beatles" "Yesterday" and Otis Redding"s "These Arms of Mine." "You"re tapping into something universal and in the consciousness of pop music," Steve says-tacit permission for his guitar to drift into vocal expressions he"s internalized through years of close, repeated listening. Just like all the great singers.

The music of Will Griffith's The Great Dying is a mix he likes to call dark country. He grew up in Cleveland, Mississippi, where D.I.Y. punk house shows hooked him, and his early bands played The Farmhouse and legendary delta juke joint Po' Monkey's. Songs from The Great Dying's new album, A Constant Goodbye, were born from playing hundreds of shows supporting Bloody Noses & Roses (Dial Back Sound 2018), and it continues where the debut left off. The ballads are still sweet and menaced, the rockers are still hair-raisers, but the new record pushes in new directions, infusing sounds of classic country with faint traces of The Replacements and what was once called "alternative rock." The tracks are layered and varied: wall-of-sound arrangements grind against flange-bass and fiddle, with Griffith's barebones acoustic guitar and vocals at the root, and heartbreak all over. Coming from another artist, this blend of influences would tank, but somehow it suits The Great Dying just fine. Pick any number on the new album-it's a winner.

The hardest working band in punk rock, The Fleshtones, return with "Festa di Frankenstein" and "The Dedication Song," two anthemic tunes done in the band's inimitable "Super Rock" style that they've been championing since 1976. The former is a haunted hip-shaker about a party at the Frankenstein residence (sung entirely in Italian!) and the latter is frontman Peter Zaremba saluting all of the bands across the USA who influenced them and continue to play the gin joints and dive bars to this day. "The Dedication Song" was originally a hit by the great Freddy Cannon back in 1966, whereas the Fleshtones' brand new rendition serves as a sequel to their smash hit "American Beat" that put them on the map over four decades ago. "Festa di Frankenstein" is a reworking of the under-appreciated Halloween track "Frankenstein's Party" by the Swinging Phillies from 1967. While the original recording is a soulful horn-filled tune, the Fleshtones' version is a far grittier recording that will be a staple of all garage rock Halloween hootenannies to come. Both songs are pressed on a 45 single that is limited to 500 copies worldwide. This is a one-time only pressing!

Smote's latest album is here and is sounding superb. Drommon is a greatly involving trip through the realms of dark folk, ambient and experimental music with haunting melodies design each and every one of the intricate soundscapes. Smote once again craft an atmospheric experience that transports you to otherworldly landscapes that are rich tapestries of textures and evocative rhythms. They blend traditional instruments with modern production techniques as unique moods and emotions are explored. All in all this is compelling listen for fans of avant-garde and boundary-pushing music, whether experienced in solitude or shared with others in a larger arena.

Across COUNTRY's nine masterful compositions, Skylar Gudasz thrives on the edges of indie rock, folk, and pop, interrogating borders of land and sea, mind and body: the limits of the lines we draw for ourselves. She plays with ideas of power, gender, pride, and perspective, her approach informed by an unearthed turquoise guitar and the pacifist tenets of her Quaker upbringing, her arrangements inspired by the likes of Lucinda Williams, Pink Floyd, Kasey Musgraves, and Kate Bush. A deep, lifelong affection for the ocean comes into focus on COUNTRY amid Gudasz's reckonings with a world in crisis.

Skylar Gudasz is a Durham, North Carolina based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. She has opened tours for Teenage Fanclub and the Mountain Goats, and has played in Hiss Golden Messenger and Eric Bachmann's live bands, as well as Big Star's Third. COUNTRY is her third full-length album, following Cinema (2020) and Oleander (2016).

Across COUNTRY's nine masterful compositions, Skylar Gudasz thrives on the edges of indie rock, folk, and pop, interrogating borders of land and sea, mind and body: the limits of the lines we draw for ourselves. She plays with ideas of power, gender, pride, and perspective, her approach informed by an unearthed turquoise guitar and the pacifist tenets of her Quaker upbringing, her arrangements inspired by the likes of Lucinda Williams, Pink Floyd, Kasey Musgraves, and Kate Bush. A deep, lifelong affection for the ocean comes into focus on COUNTRY amid Gudasz's reckonings with a world in crisis.

Skylar Gudasz is a Durham, North Carolina based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. She has opened tours for Teenage Fanclub and the Mountain Goats, and has played in Hiss Golden Messenger and Eric Bachmann's live bands, as well as Big Star's Third. COUNTRY is her third full-length album, following Cinema (2020) and Oleander (2016).

Tusmørke, arguably the most atavistically trollish, acid-drenched musical act ever to come out of the kingdom of Norway makes yet another eternal return, this time to take the fellow traveller on a subterranean expedition to the kingdom of the Fair Folk! Dawn of Oberon is the band’s 12th album, released 12 years after their debut “Underjordisk Tusmørke” (2012). 12-12-12 - That makes this album twice as occult as 666. The band says: “This record is a testament of a tumultuous time. We had a new drummer, Kusken, and keyboard player, Herjekongen, in 2022 and immediately started working on the epic Dawn of Oberon. This behemoth had been wallowing about since the start of the millenium, never quite finding its shape and form. We thought of this as a trial by fire to galvanize the new members. During jams at rehearsals and concerts, new themes emerged, resulting in a sort of sequel in the form of Dusk of Tawblerawn part 1-5. Kusken decided to quit after just 8 months, but agreed to document the time we had spent together. All the music was recorded in our rehearsal space and studio in 2022-2023. The record is a manifestation of our Peter Pan syndrome; our aesthetics and ideals remain unchanged for the last 25 years. Never grow up, just grow old. This time we go away with the fairies all together, to the far-away land of the far-out mind. 1.Dawn of Oberon2.Born to be mild3.Dwarven Lord4.Midsommernattsdrøm5.People View6.Troll Male

Coke Bottle Green vinyl.Who were the first punks? Do The Damned have more of a shout than The Sex Pistols? The Stooges or Ramones? Gregg Deal, the acclaimed visual and performance artist behind his new project Dead Pioneers, is making a claim that Indigenous Americans were the first real punks.Deal suggests that the overarching theme of the album is "an introduction to the band itself". Created with a DIY disposition and the "love of a scene that saves lives", they reel off a roll call of marginalised groups and protected characteristics: "Indigenous rights, Black rights, Brown rights, Asian rights, Gay rights, Trans rights, Workers rights and beyond_". This is central to their identity and focus, saying that "with a North American Indigenous person as the vocalist, being unapologetically upfront on the social, political and cultural side of things doesn't seem necessary, but paramount to the overall tone of the band."This self-titled debut, coming in at a lithe 22 minutes with only one of the twelve tracks exceeding three minutes, is almost over before it begins, but covers a huge amount of ground in that time. Blistering opener 'Tired' sets out their stall; as with the whole album, it is passionate, but never preaching. Capitalised 'Political Music' can be hard to land without coming across as hectoring or earnest, but Deal's literary, humorous lyrics effortlessly cut through complex issues of marginalisation and colonialism.

Glow White/Black Dot Vinyl.The year 2020 sure wasn't the most ideal time to form a band, especially for a group of musicians who never played together before. But for New York rock quintet GIFT, this strangest of periods was the auspicious backdrop for a bold new sound - a dizzying blend of early shoegaze, classic `90s alternative rock and even modern pop.Indeed, that GIFT emerged somewhat fully formed on their 2022 debut album Momentary Presence was a testament to the creative possibilities laying deep within. Now, Illuminator, their Aug. 23 debut album for revered New York independent label Captured Tracks, is the long-awaited payoff of GIFT's ever-growing musical and human chemistry. And while nods are apparent to label forerunners such as Beach Fossils, DIIV and Wild Nothing, GIFT are shepherding those elements into wondrous new vessels for the present moment - sleek, often danceable and frequently mesmerizing.GIFT - vocalist/guitarist TJ Freda, multi-instrumentalists Jessica Gurewitz and Justin Hrabovsky, drummer Gabe Camarano and bassist Kallan Campbell - are firmly enmeshed in the New York scene as talent buyers, photographers, DJs, audio engineers, art directors and, in the case of Campbell, an owner of the beloved Brooklyn DIY venue Alphaville.GIFT introduced Illuminator with "Wish Me Away," their first new song in the 18 months since the debut. With its earworm guitar lines, propulsive rhythms, riveting vocals and mind-expanding aural flourishes, "Wish Me Away" is the perfect sonic springboard from Momentary Presence to where GIFT are going next. It's also a potent reminder that you can still preserve that twinkle in your eye even when you feel like everything's slipping away.On songs such as "Light Runner", "Going In Circles" and "Destination Illumination," Freda demonstrates a newfound confidence and versatility, embracing pop music as a vehicle. The relentless, often painful dance of love has never sounded as exhilarating as on "Going in Circles," while the strident tone poem "Water in...