Megan Wheeler’s new single, "Now That I'm Gone," arrived. Not via carrier pigeon, thankfully, though wouldn't that be a marketing strategy? No, it arrived in the usual, utterly un-magical digital way, yet somehow, managed to feel like a little explosion of confetti made of pure, defiant self-respect. https://open.spotify.com/track/2m3tz4bSNELxdIbTjRWc92?si=546c28793c4443bc This isn't your typical "woe-is-me" breakup ballad. Wheeler, often drawing favorable comparisons to the songwriting queens, that Holy...

Melbourne's TJ Howlett throws a shovel full of coal-dusted reality into the guitar-driven blues-rock furnace with his "Not Mine" EP. Two songs. Just two. But, my word, they carry the weight of generations. Suddenly, I'm thinking about Dorothea Lange's photographs, only... louder. https://open.spotify.com/album/6lCrWQGWQo9LsVDL94CR4k?si=97afEOrjR1WPe9AVG2pfgw "Not Mine," the title track, and then "Drinking Man" – they're not just following each other; they're wrestling in the dirt. This EP...