Listening to the new EP from Mahto & The Loose Balloons, “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue,” is like opening a wooden box found in an attic. The contents aren't keepsakes, but vows—four jagged promises made to oneself in the quiet aftermath of a great uncoupling. https://open.spotify.com/album/3tCZ38eK4scP2ncv8ga7WM?si=RJGgjZhlQSWNOxxaRbKPZg This is music that breathes the air of the room it was born in. Mahto Addison-Browder’s voice...

Norwegian band GISKE shared their new single "August Came" today, and the music instantly triggers that highly specific, slightly panicked realization that summer is already decaying even as you stand in the afternoon sun. https://open.spotify.com/track/6kH1Q940HqJU58unxSTO04?si=78c697a4b2cd40b1 The group consisting of former Margarets members Alex Rinde, Rune Berg, and Ronnie MAG Larsen draws heavy inspiration from their namesake, a small island where isolation is an unavoidable geographic reality....