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Cupid and the Cowboy’s ‘Beer on My Tramp Stamp’ Is a Shot of Whiskey Spiked with Sarcasm

Posted on 18 March 2025

Evading the clichés of every scene and leaving no room for pretence or posturing, Cupid and the Cowboy delivered a satirically subversive and seductively salacious tour de force of literally and figuratively down-and-dirty Americana with Beer on My Tramp Stamp. With folk and alt-country drippings in the soulfully delivered, foot-stomping hit, they find rugged intersections of euphony while the lyrics prove that they’re so beyond pastiche they’ve reserved a spot for other pioneers in the alt-country pantheon. There’s something delicious in the way they go down old country roads, finding new thematic intersections to explore while taking playful shots at the culture they’re dissecting through sound.

This misfit NYC duo thrive on contradiction. Bronx-born Cupid, a sultry wallflower with songs of unrequited love, collides with Maynard, a Reno Casino Cowboy who delivers his raw energy like an open bar tab on the line. Together, they trade vocals and have a proclivity for pulling in everything from country, Americana, dance-pop, R&B, alt-rock, and folk-punk to craft a sound as unfiltered as their songwriting.

With their first full-length album, Misfit Sessions, set to drop in 2025, they’re proving that country can be taken apart and put back together in a way that pays ode without feeling old.

Beer on My Tramp Stamp is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Katy Rae’s ‘New Girl’ Is a Middle Finger Wrapped in a Power Chord

Posted on 18 March 2025

Katy Rae has become an indomitable force on the alt-rock scene with a vocal presence that could make Courtney Love quake in her babydoll dresses. With a lo-fi, garagey take on pop-punk-pierced alt-rock, she snarls her way to the top of the scene, spitting venom in every note.

‘New Girl’ is a vindicating anthem, fuelled by swathes of rage hurled like a projectile at an ex who’s parading his latest conquest—one who will inevitably feel the same indignation. With a serrated-edge hook and a chorus built for bellowing, the track turns scorn into anthemic resolve. There’s no lamenting the past here, only the sound of someone stepping over the wreckage with an amp dialled up to vengeful. The fallout is all yours to scream along to.

Katy Rae’s songwriting is as sharp as her delivery. Pulling from personal experience, she turns life’s bruises into sonic bruisers, scuffing up the pop edges of her sound with raw production and riot-ready energy.

The single is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BOMiN’s ‘Mirror’ Holds Listeners in a Chokehold of Bittersweet Reverie

Posted on 16 March 2025

BOMiN’s seminal single Mirror from her sophomore EP, Again, by Accident, delivers a filmic piano ballad while commanding attention with an emotive energy rarely found in the genre. The chanteuse vocal lines beguile the seraphic piano keys, creating an intoxicating contrast between fragility and power. The brass section and basslines rise like a tide, lifting the melancholy from the piano and vocals, allowing the composition to wade between sorrow and solace without ever losing its elegance.

BOMiN’s versatility as a jazz pianist, composer, and arranger has led her across some of the world’s most revered stages, from Seoul to New York, where she has performed at Nublu, Williamsburg Music Center, and Silvana Harlem. As a collaborator, she has worked with the UN Symphony Orchestra and played alongside artists like AKMU and Sam Ock.Her academic background, including a Master’s in Jazz Studies from the Manhattan School of Music, has been complemented by prestigious accolades like the ASCAP Foundation AAPI Songwriter Scholarship.

With Mirror, she continues to redefine the intersection of jazz and contemporary pop. The precision in every note ensures that no second of its runtime is wasted—each meticulously placed shift in instrumentation brings a cathartic resolve, making it impossible to pull away.

Stream the Again, by Accident EP on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Why Do I? – Martin Reynolds’ Rock ‘n’ Roll Rebellion with a Side of Swagger

Posted on 14 March 2025

If you thought the golden age of riff-driven, rule-breaking rock ‘n’ roll was dead and buried, Martin Reynolds is here to prove you wrong. With Why Do I?, the Tamworth-based renegade doesn’t just tap into the past—he drags it into the present, kicking and screaming.

The brashy, upbeat momentum never falters as Reynolds plays devil’s advocate with playfully Machiavellian vocals, injecting roguish charm into an earworm built to rattle the rafters. Between the swanky piano licks, double bass lines, and horn stabs courtesy of jazz legend Tom “Bones” Malone, Why Do I? is a full-throttle aural pick-me-up for anyone who prefers to get high on their own terms.

Lyrically, Reynolds lays it all out—questioning self-sacrifice and the cost of putting others before yourself. But there’s no wallowing here; even when he’s grappling with life’s bruises, the defiance stays intact. It’s rock ‘n’ roll at its core—unapologetic, infectious, and utterly unshackled from the mundane.

Recorded at Sinewave Studios, mixed and produced by Reynolds himself, and mastered by Pete Maher (The Pixies, Jack White, The Rolling Stones), Why Do I? makes it clear that Reynolds and his band, The Minor Detours, are here to shake things up. If the past few years saw Reynolds step out from behind the drumkit, 2025 is the year he plants his flag firmly in the ground.

Stream Why Do I? on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nissu Illuminates the Power of Reminiscence with ‘Memories’

Posted on 11 March 2025

The classic emotional wreckage of a pop ballad gets a sleek, modernist refit in Nissu’s single Memories, the title track of his debut EP. With tendrils of progressive house pop coiling around its core, the Dublin-based Brazilian artist doesn’t just aim for impact—he ensures every beat, every note, every carefully curated swell of emotion lands with undeniable sincerity.

There’s a rawness to Memories that refuses to be polished out by its glossy production. Nissu doesn’t sugar-coat the inevitable lows of life, but instead acknowledges them as a necessary passage to the kind of euphoric highs that make it all worth enduring. With an intimately consoling vocal delivery, he takes the fleeting nature of existence and spins it into something meaningful—because, in the end, it’s the moments we collect that define us.

With Trey Vittetoe (Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Selena Gomez) at the production helm, Memories finds itself in expert hands, bridging contemporary and nostalgic pop influences with seamless ease. The track sits among an EP packed with deeply personal reflections, including Connection, a pandemic-era tribute to resilience featuring a music video that celebrates LGBTQ+ unity, and Yourself, an empowerment-driven collaboration with UK rapper Paigey Cakey.

Memories is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Siren of Jazz, Ippi Roy, Hits Every Note with Effortless Elegance in ‘Dat Dere’

Posted on 10 March 2025

Ippi Roy proves she’s a soulfully sublime force to be reckoned with in the jazz scene with her latest single, Dat Dere. Laying her expressively rich vocals atop swanky piano keys, she crafts a soundscape that hypnotises with its effortless grace. The keys are ornate enough to bring a neo-classic touch to the release when they’re not injecting bluesy grooves that underscore the depth of her reverent connection to aural expression.

With an extended piano solo, there’s plenty of opportunity to lose yourself in the instrumental panache before Roy’s vocals return, carrying even more impassioned zeal. Her voice has all the power needed for international stages rather than a smoky jazz bar, and if Dat Dere is anything to go by, it won’t be long before the rest of the world catches up.

From her early days fronting Delhi-based blues outfit Big Bang Blues to making waves across India’s festival circuit, Roy has long been making her mark. With a jazz degree from the prestigious University of North Texas and accolades like the Paris Rutherford Jazz Leadership Award, she’s now navigating the US jazz world with a reputation that’s impossible to ignore. Dat Dere is just another step towards the recognition she deserves.

Dat Dere is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Holly Wilks’ ‘Me (and all the versions I’ve never been)’ Holds a Mirror to the Inescapable

Posted on 9 March 2025

Never one to scratch at the surface of superficiality with her lyricism, Holly Wilks is building a legacy by piecing together the fragments of the human experience, allowing her fans to see the bigger picture. Her latest single, Me (and all the versions I’ve never been), may be ethereal, but its weightlessness doesn’t detract from its impact. The melancholy within the lyrics cascades through the dreamy ambient hues, nodding to contemporary pop trends before drifting beyond the mould.

With razor-sharp confessions that affirm just how much painful introspection was poured into the release, Wilks is guaranteed to ease coming-of-age pains. Any fans of Mitski and Lucy Dacus will instantly feel at home within the bitter-sweet vignette, which explores how our deepest longings aren’t for material possession, idealised romantic dynamics, or status—it’s being the best version of ourselves, with no idea how to get there.

“I’m smaller than I’m meant to be” is a lyric that will haunt me for the rest of time. Amid widescreen indie melodies and smoky, ageless vocals, raw obsessive thoughts oscillate through the release which occupies instrumental spaces other songwriters wouldn’t dare to fill. If you’re tired of songs that skim the surface, Wilks is waiting with a track that cuts deep.

Me is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify, now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Wil Hinkson’s ‘Mystic Cries’ Holds the Stillness of the Cosmos

Posted on 8 March 2025

Wil Hinkson’s latest single, Mystic Cries (The Mystic Cries) isn’t in any rush to prove itself. Instead, it lets the weight of its tranquillity settle, making space for listeners to breathe in its celestial echoes. With classic pop foundations softened by jazz’s fluidity, the soundscape never forces transcendence—it simply allows it. The layers move like shifting constellations, effortless yet intentional, with no trace of ego shaping the composition.

Hinkson, the sole architect of the piece—writing, performing, and producing—delivers something that feels both unshaken and boundless. His vocals don’t overreach; they resonate with the kind of ease that makes every note feel inevitable. The track’s poetry leans towards perception-shifting rather than indulgent introspection, guiding rather than dictating. Fans of Peter Gabriel’s contemplative atmospheres will find comfort in its restraint.

In a world that demands constant movement, Mystic Cries offers stillness without emptiness. It’s a rare thing—a song that doesn’t just accompany reflection but facilitates it, giving the listener permission to detach from the grind and let their soul feel whole.

Mystic Cries is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

To discover more about Wil Hinkson, visit his official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Maria Heivang’s ‘When I Had You’ Hits Like a Wave of Regret

Posted on 7 March 2025

Like a breath of introspectively fresh air, Maria Heivang’s debut single, When I Had You, locks you into its intimacy from the outset, sharing the singer-songwriter’s smoking pains as she paints a vignette of loneliness and regret. This is far more than a standard exhibition of heartbreak—waves of reverberation ripple from the post-production to mimic the blindsiding nature of loss, amplifying the ache in every line. Even with the vocal treatment pulling her voice in line with the electro-pop instrumentals, the emotive sting in her delivery refuses to be dulled.

Born and raised in the Winter Olympic town of Lillehammer, Heivang has recently relocated to Manchester to take her career to the zenith it deserves. With her debut single, which hit the airwaves on the 27th of February, she created plenty of anticipation for her forthcoming EP, ARGH in love, which will unfold throughout the year. She describes the track as a reflection on not appreciating something good until it’s gone, a sentiment delivered with Nordic charm and alt-pop bite.

Her music carries the juxtaposition of emotional restraint and vulnerability, channelled through icy electronic textures and raw lyricism; if you’re unwilling to compromise between style and substance on your alt-pop playlists, When I Had You is a necessary addition.

Stream the single on YouTube now. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Eleftherios’ Hide CS01 (Ambient Rework) is a Portal into Weightless Reverie

Posted on 7 March 2025

As an alchemist of catharsis and sonic spectral beguile, Eleftherios knows exactly how to render sanctuary into rhythmic pulses with his melodic dioramas. Throughout his discography, lines blur between hitting play on an electronica composition and stepping into a portal of etherealism. With GLO’s diaphanous vocal echoes amidst the reverb-softened reverberations that envelop the neo-classical-leaning keys, Hide CS01 (Ambient Rework) leaves nothing to be desired as it ambiently illustrates why Eleftherios is achieving so much success as an architect of reflective soundscapes.

Sydney-based Eleftherios has spent over a decade conjuring immersive textures and nostalgic melodies that strike deep. In 2024, he became a viral phenomenon on TikTok, racking up over 90K video uses and pushing his Spotify monthly listeners past 270K. With over 9 million streams and a growing presence across Amazon Music and other major platforms, his impact on the ambient scene is impossible to ignore.

The artful, zen-like qualities of his sonic signature are beyond compare. Whether you’re seeking introspection or a momentary departure from reality, this is the kind of ambient composition that effortlessly bends time.

Hide CS01 (Ambient Rework) is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast