Tampa-based death rock/goth artist SINISTER SHADOWS is proud to announce that his self-titled debut album will be available as CD and digital release on March 26th via The Doorway To label.
‘Sinister Shadows’ was created out of the love of death rock and goth rock from the Eighties and Nineties – bands like Bauhaus, The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, and Nick Cave.
SINISTER SHADOWS‘ mastermind, Ryan Michalski (Idiot Robot, Ryan Cosmonaught), ran a video magazine called The Gothic Box in Tampa Florida years ago and went to such venues as The Orpheum and The Castle. SINISTER SHADOWS wants to bring back the darkness, romance and flair that has been long missed of this sound and movement.
Today you can have a foretaste of what you might expect from the album with ‘No one home but me,’ here available as a lyric video:
US dream-pop duo Magic Wands have released a brand new single, ‘Wishing Well’. With an insistent rhythm and swirling guitars, plus a vocal that adds to its hazy atmosphere, the song sounds like an immediate post-punk meets shoegaze classic.
“The lyric came to me when I was a guest of a guest at a wedding one summer,” explains vocalist Dexy Valentine. “There was an obvious sense of excitement at the event, but I didn’t really know anyone there so I snuck off outside and sat by a wishing well fountain and started writing on a napkin. When we came up with the music for this song I thought these words would fit perfectly.”
Co-written and produced by Dexy with her partner Chris Valentine, ‘Wishing Well’ is the title song of an EP scheduled for late April. It follows the January release of ‘Sacred Mirrors’, a collaborative single with Psychedelic Furs guitarist John Ashton.
Këkht Aräkh will release Morning Star on March 27th, and the album finds him arriving at a truer, more refined version of himself. Recorded between Berlin and Stockholm, the album emerges from a period of intense personal and artistic growth, blending aggressive black metal passages with textured, immersive soundscapes that feel both intimate and vast. The lo-fi warmth of the tape Portastudio imbues the record with a tangible, analog immediacy, lending grit and character to every note while allowing drifting, melancholic melodies to linger.
Since its origins in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, Dmitry (a.k.a. Crying Orc), the sole mastermind behind the Këkht Aräkh project, has consistently sought to carve a distinctive path within black metal. Tracing back to 2014, his early experiments exposed the gaps he felt in the genre, culminating with his debut under the Këkht Aräkh moniker, Through the Branches to Eternity EP (2018), Night & Love (2018) and Pale Swordsman (2021), later reissued by Sacred Bones Records. Across these releases, Dmitry, now based in Berlin, established a signature contrast between ferocious, visceral black metal and delicate, introspective ballads: a dynamic that reaches new depth on Morning Star.
On the new single ‘Eternal martyr’, Këkht Aräkh partners with Bladee, who added vocals and co-wrote lyrics. The collaboration may seem unlikely at first, yet it reveals an intuitive chemistry. Both artists share a commitment to world-building, emotional directness and carving a singular path outside their respective genres. Despite their different genres, Dmitry has long admired Bladee’s introspective lyrical style and saw how it could translate into black metal without disrupting the genre. Bladee’s own interest in black metal created a natural space for collaboration, and the project grew organically from their shared fascination with bridging their musical worlds.
About the track, Dmitry says, “Despite its simplicity, this song feels like an interesting musical and cultural experiment, a fusion of two worlds, or a bridge between them. On this track, and the record as a whole, I’m hoping to offer a new perspective for black metal: renewed, reframed for the present moment, more integrated in the modern music scene, but strongly faithful to the genre’s roots.
“I’m very grateful to Bladee for exploring this idea with me, bringing his unique vibe and making this beautiful collab happen, that makes perfect sense in the end.”
SUNN O))) share the new track ‘Butch’s Guns,’ another standout from the band’s forthcoming eponymous album. The new song is available today on all streaming services.
Also today, SUNN O))) is announcing new summer headlining shows in the EU and UK beginning Tuesday, June 23rd in Zurich, CH at Rote Fabrik and currently running through Monday, July 6th + Tuesday, July 7th in Berlin, DE for a two-night stand at Silent Green Betonhalle. The tour will include stops in Belgium (Antwerp), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), Germany (Köln), and the UK (Bristol, Brighton, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, and London). Additional live dates to be announced soon.
Tickets for the majority of these June and July shows go on sale Friday, February 20th at 10 am CET. Please find a current list of dates below.
SUNN O))) recently added shows to the band’s upcoming 2026 North American headline tour in support of the album. The tour will now include stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, New York, Denver, Boise, Seattle, and Portland (OR). Tickets for the North American shows below are on sale now.
North America, March/April 2026
Mon. Mar. 30 – San Francisco, CA – Regency Ballroom Tue. Mar. 31 – Los Angeles, CA – The United Theater on Broadway Wed. Apr. 01 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren Fri. Apr. 03 – Dallas, TX – Trees Lounge Sat. Apr. 04 – Austin, TX – Emo’s Sun. Apr. 05 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall Mon. Apr. 06 - New Orleans, LA – Civic Theatre Tue. Apr. 07 – Atlanta, GA – The Goat Farm Thu. Apr. 09 - Columbus, OH – The Bluestone Fri. Apr. 10 – Washington, DC – The Lincoln Theatre Sat. Apr. 11 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer Sun. Apr. 12 – New York, NY – The Town Hall Mon. Apr. 13 – Montreal, QC – Le National Tue. Apr. 14 – Toronto, ON – 131 McCormack Thu. Apr. 16 – Chicago, IL – Salt Shed Sat. Apr. 18 - Iowa City, IA – Englert Theatre Sun. Apr. 19 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room Mon. Apr. 20 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre Wed. Apr. 22 – Boise, ID – Shrine Social Club Fri. Apr. 24 – Seattle, WA – Showbox (So Do) Sat. Apr. 25 – Portland, OR – Roseland
UK/EU, June/July 2026 – Just Announced
Tue. Jun. 23 – Zurich, CH – Rote Fabrik Wed. Jun. 24 – Antwerp, BE – Trix Thu. Jun. 25 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso Fri. Jun. 26 – Koln, DE – Essigfabrik Sun. Jun. 28 – Bristol, UK – Prospect Building Mon. Jun. 29 – Brighton, UK – Corn Exchange Tue. Jun. 30 – Liverpool, UK – The Dome Wed. Jul. 01 – Leeds, UK - Project House Thu. Jul. 02 – Birmingham, UK – 02 Institute Fri. Jul. 03 – London, UK – Troxy Mon. Jul. 06 – Berlin, DE – Silent Green Betonhalle Tue. Jul. 07 – Berlin, DE – Silent Green Betonhalle
Ambient electronic producer break_fold has announced his forthcoming EP Tracker, and shares its lead single ‘Carrying On’. Set for release on 1st May via analog horizons in partnership with Launchpad+ / EMI North, Tracker continues Tim Hann’s deeply personal exploration of family, memory and identity through immersive and innovative sound design.
Built on cyclical synth motifs, undulating low frequencies and delicately splintered percussive elements, new single ‘Carrying On’ captures the emotional push and pull of childhood mischief and reconciliation. Playful and melodic, the track unfolds gradually in movements that range from shimmering calm to distorted tension, before eventually finding resolution once more; mirroring the rhythms of sibling life.
“’Carrying On’ is a reference to what my parents used to say to me and my brother when we were getting a bit hard to handle when we were kids,” explains Tim. “It’s a phrase that has stuck with me from a really formative age. The structure of the song represents the cycle of me and my brother playing together; from playing well, to being told off, to playing well together again. I was thinking about when my brother and I used to play and how it started out fun and invariably sometimes got out of hand. My parents would step in, calm things down, and then it would start all over again.”
Throughout the track, glitchy ambient textures and delicate arpeggiated themes are offset by moments of grit and disruption, reinforcing break_fold’s gift for translating personal history into dynamic electronic compositions.
Listen here:
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Tracker serves as a companion piece to break_fold’s previous EP release Planner. Where Planner reflected Tim’s father’s work-focused alter-ego, Tracker turns to another of his Dad’s self-appointed nicknames: “The Tracker EP is a reference to my Dad, who gave himself nicknames that others in the family then started using,” Tim explains. “‘Tracker’ is a reference to his persona when on holiday or away from work. If we were on holiday and were trying to find a place of interest, he’d be in Tracker mode. Planner is when my Dad was at work.” As with ‘Carrying On’ and previous single ‘Pet’, across the EP break_fold ties together nods to family sayings, misheard phrases, and the small but defining details of growing up in the North East of England in the 1990s.
For Tim, both Planner and Tracker serve as time capsules; deeply personal yet universally resonant snapshots of childhood, family dynamics and regional identity. Operating from his Bradford studio, break_fold has steadily carved out a distinctive space within the UK’s underground electronic landscape since debuting in 2017. With three albums and several EP releases already under his belt, the Hartlepool-raised producer’s work balances what he describes as “pessimism and optimism in equal measure.” Support from BBC 6 Music and tastemaker outlets has marked him as one of the North’s most compelling ambient electronic voices. Tracker is out 1st May 2026 via analog horizons & Launchpad+ / EMI North
Friday 13th may be unlucky for some, but not for JW Paris – or their fans – with the eclectic ‘90s-grunge-meets-Britpop three piece’ dropping new single ‘Crazy’ as an opening salvo ahead of a new EP.
They premiered it at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend– a bold move, which takes some guts, but it’s one heck of a way to build anticipation with a massive audience. The power of mainstream radio may not be what it was back in the 80s and 90s – the fragmentation of the mainstream and the way we come to hear music is very different now, and the ubiquity of R1 has been diluted since the Internet reshaped the cultural landscape from around the turn of the millennium onwards, but it’s still the biggest single channel in the UK, with a weekly audience of almost three-quarters of a million. The Big Weekends feature big names and draw massive audiences, and are a big deal.
‘Crazy’ is a tune that’s right at home in this setting, not because it’s insipid churned-out digital chart-pop fodder, but because it is one of those songs that’s an instant grab, a massive, uptempo, singalong anthem that’s got a clear pop sensibility, but all the appeal for indie fans, too.
For those who are willing to go deeper than the immediacy of a huge chorus, the lyrical content is surely relatable to many, too, articulating ‘the madness that comes from repetition… the feeling of running on a treadmill you can’t get off, of doing the same thing over and over until it starts to warp your sense of reality. Built around the classic definition of insanity, the track digs into what happens when your routine becomes a loop, a trap, and eventually… a spiral.’ Who hasn’t been there, at least at some point? Where you wake up, go to work, eat, perhaps slump on the sofa in front of the TV, then sleep, and feel like life is passing you by as you spend weeks, which become months… etc. running just to stay still, merely existing just to keep paying the bills. It sucks. ‘Crazy’ doesn’t suck, though, and despite its subject matter, it’s uplifting and energetic, and it’ll surely make its way to a TV show or soundtrack of some sort soon.
Experimental Hip-Hop legends dälek offer up another new single from their latest full-length album, Brilliance of a Falling Moon.
Conceived, composed, and produced by Will Brooks (aka MC dälek) and Mike Mare, Brilliance of a Falling Moon is a sprawling, uncompromising record that speaks to the political timbre of the day. Taking its name from a section of Erik Larson’s 2011 novel In The Garden of Beasts, the album paints a fiery portrait of life and resistance in fascist America.
Today the duo share their latest single ‘Knowledge | Understanding | Wisdom’, which feels like a call to arms and reminder of the power that we can have in the face of the oppressor.
“’Knowledge | Understanding | Wisdom’ is righteous defiance in the face of those who attempt to keep us uninformed or misinformed. Nothing strikes fear in the heart of the oppressor like these three interwoven concepts.” – dälek
A little over two years on from the short film, Mill Session, Abrasive Trees have made another leap in pairing with Argonauta Records, a label which specialises in stoner, doom, sludge, and post-metal, and have unveiled ‘Carved Skull’ as a taster for upcoming album Light Remaining.
At first glance, having been variously described as Post-Punk/Post-Rock/Post-Folk, Abrasive Trees are a strange fit for the label, but with this seven-and-a-half-minute epic, it makes sense.
The intro is a slow-build, with echoes of latter-day Swans in the insistent percussion, repetitive jangling guitar and wordless droning vocals which pave the way for a spectacular sustained crescendo which introduces the riff which provides the track’s recurrent motif, and it’s almost two minutes before we arrive at the lyrics, in which Matthew Rochford reflects on the times in which we find ourselves and yearns for something better – a return to, if not necessarily simpler times, then honesty and humanity.
Can we write a eulogy, for this current age?
And leave the lies behind
Our fears are carved upon our skull
Our pain marked on our skin
The undercurrents reach back into dark folk imagery, and this is mirrored in the sound, too. Sonically, it’s rich and layered, simultaneously weighty but uplifting – which is perhaps a foreshadwing of the album’s thematics as alluded to in the title Light Remaining, which implies looming darkness, and yet., still some light – light synonymous with hope. These are dark times. But we must have hope. Without hope, what do we have?
With ‘Carved Skull’, Abrasive Trees have conjured a big sound, as is befitting of a big tune, which is bold and impactful, and likely an indication of what’s to come.
Founded by vocalist/guitarist Finnegan Bell, Love Ghost is an enigmatic Los Angeles-based act known for its distinctive blend of grunge, indie/alt-rock, emo, metal and trap rock coupled with mature, poetic lyrics. Their raw, energetic sound has earned numerous plaudits, while a series of collaborations with a wide variety of other artists have broadened the group’s cross-genre appeal.
Their version of ‘Rock Me Amadeus’, a global smash hit in 1986 for the Austrian musician Falco, is available as a single now. Turning the classic yet fun song into something darker with an industrial rock flair while preserving the pop brilliance of the original version, it is a must hear for any fan of Rammstein or Marilyn Manson.
AA
Founded by vocalist/guitarist Finnegan Bell, Love Ghost is an enigmatic Los Angeles-based act known for its distinctive blend of grunge, indie/alt-rock, emo, metal and trap rock coupled with mature, poetic lyrics. Their raw, energetic sound has earned numerous plaudits, while a series of collaborations with a wide variety of other artists have broadened the group’s cross-genre appeal.
The song is the second to be lifted from ‘Anarchy and Ashes’, a new EP out on 27th March. It follows ‘Vengeance’, an uptempo hard rock track with an anthemic quality released in mid-January, the music video for which has already racked up almost 300,000 YouTube plays.
Nordic experimentalist Fågelle returns with an album whose backdrop is the inland of Halland, a patchwork of forests and abandoned mills in southern Sweden – her most personal album yet. Bränn min jord (‘Burn my soil’) will be self-released on 27th February. Fågelle shares ‘Det blev våra liv’ today.
‘Det blev våra liv’ is a journey into Fågelle’s upbringing on the Swedish countryside. Built from a collage of old recordings from school hallways, samples from computer games, and hissing harmonium tones, the track unfolds as a meditation on growing up and accepting how things turned out.
Liam Amner’s hypnotic drums guide you through fragments of memory and rhythmic electro-pop. Lyrical choirs collide with warped electronic grooves, before resolving into the beating heart of a car driving by into the night.
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After years in Berlin and Gothenburg, Fågelle returned home — not out of nostalgia, but as an act of reclamation. She wanted to reconnect with the soil that shaped her and let something new grow from what had been left behind.
Bränn min jord (“Burn my soil”) grew from this process of renewal. Its title references the tradition of burning the ground to spark new life — a metaphor for the personal upheaval and rebuilding at the heart of the album. The music explores the tension of growing up somewhere you know you’ll have to leave, yet which keeps pulling you back. It speaks about identity, memory, and the hidden emotional landscapes of overlooked places.
Fågelle worked with local musicians, dancers, and communities to bring the region into the recordings. She captured dancer Nathalie Ruiz moving across forest floors and wooden stages; collaborated with Våxtorp and Sennan Brass Orchestra; and recorded Stefan Isebring’s self-built hurdy-gurdy and Lars Bylund’s singing and screaming. She also created a 24-hour “sound time capsule” in the communal hall of her small high school town, inviting locals to drop in and leave sonic traces in the album, and worked with EDM producer Samuel Reitmaier and local teenagers to capture the sounds of passing EPA cars, a uniquely Swedish rural subculture. Instrumental sessions took place at Folkhemmet, a forest studio in Unnaryd, with Petter Eriksson and drummer Liam Amner (Hey Elbow, Alice Boman).
Sonically, Bränn min jord blends organic and industrial textures — distorted guitars, brass, field recordings, and unguarded vocals. Atmospheric yet physical, it shifts between light and shadow, desolation and tenderness.
By integrating local musicians, dancers, and even the ambient life of small towns into the recordings, Bränn min jord reimagines how music can reflect and reshape the landscape it comes from and bridge the gap between folk tradition and contemporary sonic art.
Though rooted in Halland, the album reaches beyond, asking how places shape us, how memory lives in the land, and how returning — even when wrenching — can be a way of fully coming home.
Aural Aggravation 