Emily AF, the brains behind Rockstar & Elise—a solo project that sounds like an 80s jukebox exploded and then reassembled itself with bluegrass banjos and industrial-strength glue—has dropped a new single. What do we make of Emily, a veteran sound engineer moonlighting as a nostalgia pop siren? Fascinating, no? https://open.spotify.com/track/0F3jvbRRXTY9pcAaFarsLp?si=NVgBtC4eQ12KlOj6nEkXGw "Cruel Summer - Emily AF Version," explores a sizzling, dangerous liaison. A clandestine connection where the...

Listening to The Gilhoolys’ new single, "Bad Routine," is to feel the pressure of a low, grey sky just before it breaks. There’s a muscular, unapologetic rock energy here, the kind of sound forged in rooms with sticky floors and loud histories. It moves with a bruised swagger, the ghost of Thin Lizzy hanging around the edges of a decidedly modern indie rock angst,...