Buzz Osborne didn’t need another band. JD Pinkus didn’t need another band. Coady Willis didn’t need another band. Together with Clinton Jacob, they started one anyway. Meet Gatta Morta.
The quartet makes its debut today with Burn Witch Burn, a 4-song EP, available now via Amphetamine Reptile Records. Listen to the single ‘Black Hall’, which accompanies the release, here:
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“It’s always a good time for the world to embrace a new heavy/weird band,” Osborne says. “I had the idea for Gatta Morta while touring last fall. I realized I needed to start a band with these three. Seemed like a no brainer. Solidly weird rock music that needs to happen.”
Butthole Surfers bassist Pinkus agrees: “It’s been way too long since I got to write a heavy album from scratch with such high caliber players with such complimentary styles… and we’re just cat scratching the surface of what we got goin’ on!”
Rounding out Gatta Morta is Clinton Jacob, the creative force behind Chicago’s weirdo, pop-noise rock duo Mr. Phylzzz. “I just had this feeling that one day we would work together. I became friends with Buzz over the past few years doing shows together and having him play guitar on a Mr. Phylzzz song. When I was asked to be a part of Gatta Morta, I was speechless, but I was 100% ready for it.”
Burn Witch Burn lurches between thick, riff-driven heaviness and warped, psychedelic passages, with Osborne, Pinkus, Willis, and Jacob creating music that’s simultaneously reminiscent of their previous work and entirely new.
Alternative Pop / Electro-Rock firebrand THE NOISE WHO RUNS returns with ‘The Summer Talking’, a catchy sonic respite that disguises devastating social critique beneath shimmering indie-pop hooks. Sneaker Pimps legend Ian Pickering spins a tale of romance and nostalgia before spiralling into an indictment of climate denial, political inaction and humanity’s addiction to comforting lies. The striking video contrasts postcard-perfect holiday escapes with the growing environmental crisis, this song asks an uncomfortable question – are we sleepwalking through catastrophe while convincing ourselves everything will somehow work out?
This track is lifted from PIckering’s new (and now acclaimed) Re: GenX album, a fearless uncompromising record that puts an entire generation (and society itself) on trial. Addressing war, consumerism, inequality, media outrage and the collapse of collective responsibility, he sounds a warning siren for a world in freefall. Blending dark electronic textures with anthemic alternative rock, The Noise Who Runs is one of alternative music’’ most fearless voices, offering a brutally honest examination of the choices that have brought us to the brink.
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Built around the repeated refrain, “It’s just the summer talking”, the song explores the promises we make when sunshine, nostalgia and hope temporarily blur our view of reality. Balancing melancholic indie-pop with widescreen alternative rock, it follows dreams of escape, new beginnings and forever as they gradually reveal themselves to be fragile seasonal illusions. Beneath the relationship story lies a wider reflection on the comforting stories we tell ourselves—about love, our lives and the future itself.
Martin Virgo is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer who worked with musical luminaries such as Björk and Massive Attack in the early 1990s before going on to enjoy global success with his own band, Mono, later in that decade.
Almost three decades on, Virgo is releasing his debut solo album. Entitled Ghost Piano, it can be seen as a prequel to his hit-making years. Classically trained in composition and piano at the Guildhall School of Music, he had developed a taste for Chopin, French Impressionism, the austere strangeness of Erik Satie and the minimalism of Philip Glass and Brian Eno. However, he then hooked up with Nellee Hooper and began a career in pop music that also led to work composing for cinema and TV commercials. These included an award-winning ad for Help The Aged.
“I came to the point a couple of years ago when I wanted to create something that was completely stripped of all the frippery and distractions of modern production techniques,” explains Virgo. “I wanted to write music that had a sense of lineage, but within a very distilled style. I also wanted to take a break from the world of digital audio production, so all the tracks on Ghost Piano were recorded live by myself on a Steinway model B acoustic grand piano, with the cello on the title track played by Nick Cooper (The Michael Nyman Band).”
Hear the title track here:
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Ghost Piano contains eleven evocative pieces in which the listener can hear the ‘ghosts’ of Chopin, Debussy and Satie playing in the absinthe soaked atmosphere of late 19th century Paris. “You can hear those influences on this album, although I think there are also traces of my time working with Björk on Debut, Massive Attack and Nellee Hooper on ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ and ‘Safe From Harm’, Shara Nelson on ‘Friendly Fire’ and Alanis Morissette on ‘Still’ (from the film Dogma),” Virgo adds. “These were all formative creative experiences for me. By the time I came to write and produce Mono songs like ‘Life In Mono’ and our album Formica Blues, I had embarked on a quest for a more European sounding harmonic and melodic palette.”
UK industrial glam maverick Raymond Watts aka PIG has released a brand new single, ‘An American Ideal Of Beauty’, on Metropolis Records. Co-written with old friend Marc Heal (Cubanate, C-Tec), who provides a co-vocal and synth work, the song also features Günter Schulz (ex-KMFDM) sharing guitar duties with Watts’ regular songwriting partner Jim Davies (ex-The Prodigy and Pitchshifter).
“I wanted to distil and hone the sound of the current PIG album, ‘Hurt People Hurt’, so inviting my old partners in swine Marc and Günter to join Jim and myself in the studio seemed the perfect blend of brutality and beauty to feed, fertilise and transmogrify the hog into Hogzilla,” Watts explains. "This new single was the first result of our work as a quartet, hammered in the heat of the anvil of hurt.”
A stunning video for ‘An American Ideal Of Beauty’ directed by E Gabriel Edvy for Blackswitch Labs can be seen here:
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The recording sessions produced three more new songs, each of which has been remixed by contemporaries that include Stabbing Westward’s Chris Hall and Combichrist. All eight tracks are collected on Dirt Box, an EP that will be issued on 4th September, a week after the commencement of PIG’s ‘Hurt People Tour’ of North America. The 44 dates are to promote Hurt People Hurt, which received stellar reviews upon release in late May, and include performances in Chicago, Los Angeles and Austin as part of the Cold Waves XIV festival.
Most artists begin with a single. Eilir Pierce waited until his 40th album.
Released on July 10th, 2026, ‘Do-List’ is the first official standalone single from the Welsh artist and filmmaker after more than 30 years of music-making, 39 self-released albums and over 500 songs.
Having spent much of his career operating outside conventional music-industry structures, Pierce recently moved from Wales to Glasgow to begin his most ambitious project yet.
His forthcoming 40th album, Half-Time, is a synth-pop musical about moving to a new city and attempting to become a pop star in middle age. Featuring guest appearances from Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap and Mercury Prize-nominated Welsh artist Gwenno, the project will also become a live stage show and film, with Pierce performing a full run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.
‘Do-List’ captures the overloaded mind behind those plans.
The song races through tasks, ambitions and unfinished ideas as Pierce tries to impose order on everything he believes he needs to achieve. Each completed tick provides a smaller reward. Meanwhile, the jobs continue to multiply.
“I make lists because I’m overwhelmed,” says Pierce. “Then the list becomes another thing overwhelming me. I tick something off, feel satisfied for about three seconds and immediately notice the other 27 things I haven’t done.”
He adds: “I also refuse to call it a ‘to-do list’. The ‘to’ is completely unnecessary. That kind of inefficiency is exactly how lists get out of control.”
Built around tense piano and an increasingly agitated vocal, Do-List developed with Glasgow producer Gavin Thomson into a darker arrangement of drum machines, synth textures and strings.
Its clipped, spoken verses carry the blunt repetition of The Fall and the deadpan detachment of Dry Cleaning. The chorus opens into something more exposed, with echoes of early Daniel Johnston and the eerie consolation of the Lady in the Radiator from David Lynch’s Eraserhead.
At the centre of the song is Pierce’s hope for an afterlife free from unfinished admin: “Heaven is a place with no list.” For a moment, the song escapes the pressure of constant productivity. Then another task arrives.
‘Do-List’ is Pierce’s attempt to write a direct pop song after three decades of working largely on his own terms. It is also the first item in an increasingly unreasonable plan involving an album, musical, film, Fringe run and bid for middle-aged pop stardom.
Perhaps Pierce was born in the wrong era.
Or perhaps releasing a debut single after 39 albums is exactly the point.
Fun, funky and fabulously 80s-influenced, Argonauthave just released their latest video single, ‘Hats Off’, filmed and produced by Dave Meyer.
The single is taken from their new album, Interrupted, that despite the upbeat single in contrast plunges into the past year’s abyss, documenting breakdown, burnout, dementia and depression, alongside nostalgia, hope and healing.
The extended mix single of ‘Hats Off’ is out today.
Here’s Lorna to tell you all about it: “’Hats Off’ is the sound of the summer past and present, memories bought back by looking at old photos from when I was younger. I found a hat in a charity shop which reminded me of one I wore in a picture from when I was 15. Around this time I also took a photography course so I incorporated the camera and darkroom imagery into the lyrics. The synth sounds and bass are influenced by 80s bands such as Japan, Duran Duran, INXS, Human League – which worked well with the words.”
EYE, the band formed by Jessica Ball (Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard) return with a reworked heavy-psych bliss-out of a unreleased track and taster of new things to come from the Welsh heavy dark-wavers who gave us Dark Light, an acclaimed debut album in 2024 on New Heavy Sounds (Cwfen, Shooting Daggers, Death Pill).
An ethereal dark-folk intro of clean finger-picking and Carpenter synth lulls us into a sense of false calm before Ball unleashes one of her most crushing MWWB-esque fuzz riffs. By revisiting the track Ball has now delivered one of her most memorable melodies with a huge chorus recalling Mammoth Weed in full flow – Blackwater Holylight, Faetooth eat-your-heart-out.
A stand-alone track for the time being but Jessica explains where things are going…
“The release of ‘Open Sea’ was quite unexpected in a way! We had initially recorded it in Foel Studios with the intention of it being on our first album Dark Light. For whatever reason, it didn’t make it on the album. It’s a song I had written a very long time ago, and it’s funny how you can favour your new material over the old stuff. I also wasn’t keen on the vocal melody anymore.
Well we recently came across it again, and I decided to have a go at some new vocals with fresh ears as enough time had passed. I liked what I did, so we sent it to Chris Fielding to work his magic… What came back was a fierce track that we absolutely loved. So I’m glad it is seeing the light of day.
Since the release of Dark Light, we’ve been playing a few select shows and working on our live sound a lot more. I’ve also been writing and working towards our second album. This single (Open Sea) has inspired me to make next album a lot heavier, and bring back the riffs!”
NYC art-rockers Ecce Shnak present ‘Eddie, Legalistic Homeslice’, the second single from their full-length album Dandy Variances, anticipated later this year via Records, Man Records. Recorded and produced by Jeff Lucci, this single was mixed by Grammy award-winning producer Mario McNulty (David Bowie, Prince, Nine Inch Nails, Julian Lennon).
Formed in the mid-1990s and forged in NYC’s experimental scene, Ecce Shnak (pronounced Eh-kay sh-knock) is made up of David Roush (composer, bassist and baritone vocalist), Bella Komodromos (vocals), Chris Krasnow (guitar), Gannon Ferrell (guitar), and Henry Buchanan-Vaughn (drums).
An ode to camaraderie, ‘Eddie’ reaches its lyrical denouement with what may be the “oldest prayer of friendship", but sounds like a throwaway Rivers Cuomo line: “I pray you don’t be a rat in a rat-suit! Pray you don’t be a rat in a rat-costume!”
“Like ‘Larry, Sleepover Friend’ from our 2019 Joke Oso EP, our new song is a garage-rock homage to a beloved friend of mine. Like ‘Larry’, ‘Eddie’ explores big themes in great friendships: their gnarly ambivalences, their absurd misunderstandings, their inside-jokes, and their contradictory mix of irreverence with utmost care,” says David Roush.
“We are also overjoyed to feature two great friends as the co-stars of the music video, the preposterously funny and talented comedic duo Syd and Olivia! I was lucky to have met these two pugnaciously podcasting, thoughtfully Thespian, joke-slinging YouTube yokels on a fantastic journey to the Greek island of Crete two years ago, and the rest was thirst’ory.”
Bella Komodromos adds, “They absolutely kicked butt at their roles in this Wes-Anderson-hued buddy-comedy music video, directed and produced by DJay Brawner. It is our ardent hope that all fans of Ecce Shnak and Syd and Olivia alike can shart out with their hearts out to this badass collaboration!”
Apart from directing and editing the new video with Brooks Jones, Beth Narducci and David Roush, Brawner also worked on the video for the album’s lead track ‘Vincent’, an homage to superb music videos of yesteryear – for Meshuggah’s ‘Bleed’ and 311’s ‘Down’. Here, operatic trills collide with frantic rock energy in a high-decibel takedown of a formulaic antagonist through the power of one’s own voice.
Irish synthwave outfit Tiny Magnetic Pets return with ‘Lost My Guiding Light (Again)’, a stellar single that reflects the search for hope and direction in an increasingly uncertain world, inviting listeners to consider what their own guiding light might be.
A compelling preview of their coming three-track ‘Astralux’ EP, slated for release on July 21, this is a bold reinvention of one of their most-loved tracks and Blending cinematic synth textures, soaring melodies and an irresistible electronic pulse, they transform the original into a vibrant new anthem.
Based between Dublin and Belfast, Tiny Magnetic Pets has become one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary electronic music since emerging in 2015. Here, vocalist Paula Gilmer, keyboardist-guitarist Sean Quinn and drummer Eugene Somers are joined by Seamus Quinn on bass.
Mixed and mastered by Tim Dorney, whose music career includes time as keyboardist of Republica, in addition to Flowered Up and Tin Gun, this release combines classic synth-pop songwriting with contemporary electronic production, bringing together melodic depth and club-ready energy.
“When we play live we like to do different versions from the records. Last year, we were asked to play a dance music festival in Dublin, so we re-arranged the opening track from our second album ‘Deluxe/Debris’ for an EDM audience, and it has now become the opening tune to our live shows,” explains Sean Quinn.
“We re-recorded this new version in 2026 and we feel it is significantly different from the original to warrant its own release and slight re-title: Lost My Guiding Light (Again) – a wee nod to Bowie’s John I’m Only Dancing (Again)…”
Paula Gilmer adds, “A re-imagining of two of our most popular live tracks for the 21st century dancefloor, this song is about how everyone at some point loses their way – in life, in work, in relationships, in faith but the theme carries more weight in 2026 with the whole world seemingly losing its way! What is your “guiding light” in 2026? Morality? Truth? Honesty? Love? Empathy? Compassion? Fill in the blank, post it on TikTok and hope it goes viral.”
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The Astralux EP also features two remixes of ‘Low Places’ by pioneering producer and DJ Paul Dakeyne, whose innovative work has helped shape electronic dance music for over three decades. A Ministry of Sound resident DJ, he has played sets for U2 and Kraftwerk. Endorsed by Paul Oakenfold and Fatboy Slim, he has created 250+ remixes, including for George Michael, The Cure, Tori Amos, New Order, Enya, Soft Cell, Erasure, Nancy Sinatra, Yello, and The Housemartins.
Combining the melodic songwriting and electronic textures that have defined Tiny Magnetic Pets’ sound, infused with adventurous new energy, ‘Lost My Guiding Light (Again)’ is a confident statement of where they are heading next, towards what promises to be the band’s most ambitious chapter yet.
A glimpse of the next phase in Tiny Magnetic Pets’ musical evolution, its rhythms and emotional core point towards the darker, more cinematic sound of their coming fourth studio album, A Black Frame. Out later this year, it is produced by Gareth Jones, whose work with Depeche Mode, Wire, Interpol and Nick Cave has made him one of alternative music’s most respected producers.
Sacramento outfit Soft Science presents ‘Understand’, the second offering from their fifth album Sand, released via Shelflife Records in North America and Spinout Nuggets in the UK. A reflection on time, memory, and emotional patience, the song drifts through the feeling of carrying someone close even as years pass, holding onto their words like echoes that refuse to fade.
A buoyant track with a glimmer of hope and Lush-infused vibes, at its heart, ‘Understand’ offers reassurance: when life becomes difficult, return to what is simple and true. Darkness may come, but so will another day—bringing space, breath, and the possibility that one day, everything will make sense.
Soft Sciencepairs shimmery atmosphere with a sense of restless momentum via their signature blend of dream pop, shoegaze and indie rock. Made up of longtime collaborators Katie Haley (lead vocals, percussion), Matt Levine (lead guitar), Ross Levine (guitar, backing vocals), Tony Cale (drums), Becky Cale (bass, backing vocals), and Hans Munz (atmospheric electronics), they craft immersive music defined by layered guitars, ethereal vocals, synth textures, and postpunk-influenced propulsion.
“As we were writing this song, Ross came up with the chorus ‘and I know one day you’ll understand’. It made me think about my kids, who are teens now. Your teens can be hard and the things you go through often feel very raw. I like to think that this is a song of encouragement to anyone who is going through something hard, but my teenagers were an inspiration,” says Katie Haley.
“The first verse is about how much I treasure them and the second verse is words of encouragement and reminders that you can get through hard things and sometimes we just need time to let things pass. It’s good to learn how to give yourself a break. It can take time to "understand" some of the things we go through in life and find a deeper meaning or pivot to find a better way to go. I hope the song brings that kind of comfort to those who hear it”.
Ross Levine adds, “Writing ‘Understand’ started with the verse melody and figuring out the chords to go with it, but we tried not to always go with the obvious change, which I think gives a little more freshness and a sense of exploration while still being solidly pop”.
‘Understand’ arrives on the trail of the lead track, ‘Spinning’, a propulsive and emotionally charged track with accompanying video by Matthew Maxwell, capturing the dizzying frustration of being caught in an emotional loop—repeating the same conversations, hoping to be heard, and wondering if anything is getting through. Here, they turn relationship fatigue into something hypnotic, melodic and relatable.
Aural Aggravation 