RISE dropped their frantic single, "Always," marking an intensely energized, fiercely passionate turn for the Liverpool quartet. Known for splicing high-tempo melodic rock with sharp pop-punk and progressive rock flourishes, the dynamic four-piece construct a heavy, wildly distorted, and relentlessly rhythmic foundation here. https://open.spotify.com/track/70t8yCBz4KZqbAzqW05L2z?si=99c7e3a7e6d94d18 Sam Kinley (aka stayMellow) holds it down on bass and lead vocals, locked in step with Alex Mahoney’s furious drumming. Around them,...

Dan Wilkie’s sixteen-song album, "MelodyBox," arrives not with a neat bow but feeling more like an overstuffed cabinet of curiosities flung open by its Shefford-based creator. Wilkie, working solo as a multi-instrumentalist and producer, wrangles virtual instruments and real vulnerability into something uniquely his own, steeped in the melodic hooks of 60s/70s pop but often taking sharp turns down less-travelled, sometimes shadowed paths. https://open.spotify.com/album/0EX2aW7d7JSQ2xonrFDGvZ?si=XRwACPuoRW2vG_PAITRfyg The album...