With "Island Poetry", Boston outfit Mad Painter throw themselves headlong into the sprawling, theatrical spirit of 1970s rock. Led by songwriter, vocalist, and keyboardist Alex Gitlin alongside Al Hendry, Kenne Highland, Al Naha, Sharon Crumrine, and Julie Gee the band pushes roaring Hammond organ runs, layered vocal harmonies, and warm analog punch to the forefront, treating classic-era rock as a playground with no speed...

Rebecca Helen's new single, "Patterns In The Sky," landed in my inbox, and honestly, I wasn't expecting... this. This rising star from Cape Town – indie-pop, they say – has bottled something raw, something that spills out of the speakers and pools around your feet. https://open.spotify.com/track/2kIeEcxZK3GDPsuNXH4k70?si=vPJievz0R-u2_DumdjfUsA The theme? Grief. But not the movie version, with artfully placed single tears. This is the messy, inconvenient, "why did...