Based in the Texan city of San Antonio, darkwave/synth-punk artist Night Ritualz (aka Vincent Guerrero IV) weaves Latin influences into his songs, often blending English and Spanish lyrics with music that combines atmospheric soundscapes suffused with pulse-pounding beats to tell stories that are deeply personal and universally relatable.
New single ‘Un Tiro’ (One Shot) is the third and final track to be lifted from an upcoming album entitled Time Is A Thief, out on 20th February. With its early ‘80s indie-pop vibe, the song stands in stark contrast to its immediate predecessor, ‘Whoreish’, which mixed hard industrial and EBM sounds. The album’s first single, ‘Brown Skin’ was an unapologetic expression of identity, struggle and survival, that blended personal storytelling with social commentary.
Portland alt-rock / post-punk outfit Rayon present their latest single ‘Running, a propulsive exploration of the anxiety that comes with watching loved ones struggle with cycles of addiction that they can’t shake – and the sound of a tape echo that’s about to stop working. Intentionally preserving the noise of pausing, rewinding, and fast-forwarding to heighten the song’s frantic pace, its sound can be considered a study in tension and tape, the video conveying a sense of lo-fi capers involving a Citroen Wagon.
Found on the flip side of the single ‘Shopping / Running’ (also available on 7” vinyl via Little Cloud Records), ‘Running’ is perhaps even more stunning than the whacky A-side ‘Shopping’, a tongue-in-cheek ode to consumerism and travel, written by someone who happens to travel and consume a bit.
Founded by long-time North Portland resident and Detroit-area native Eric Sabatino, Rayon now also involves members of other notable Portland bands – Sun Atoms, Yuvees, Pastilla and Martha Stax – namely Anna Sabatino, Riley McLaughlin, Eric Rubalcava and Derek Longoria-Gomez.
‘Running’ is based on a relentless bass and drum groove that lived in Sabatino’s head for months before finally taking shape in the studio. To capture the song’s unsettled emotional landscape, the band leaned into the mechanical unpredictability of a dying Dynacord tape echo. By funneling guitars and vocals through the aging machine, they achieved a haunting, warped soundscape where the pitch and speed constantly bend and shift. Feeling as though it is physically straining under its own weight, this song mirrors the very themes of instability it describes.
“’Running’ was built around a bass and drum groove I was kicking around in my head for months. The guitars and vocals are the sound of a tape echo called ‘dynacord’ that’s barely working, bending and moving the speed and pitch of everything we run through it. Those parts wouldn’t have come out like that if I wasn’t trying to write a guitar part while plugged into that machine.” says Eric Sabatino.
The video for ‘Running’ offers a gritty, nostalgic look at the band’s world, captured entirely on a vintage Handycam, following the band in their meticulously restored Citroen wagon. Embracing the track’s jerky energy, their journey concludes with a grainy, evocative sequence of freeway signs leading into Seattle—a slow-burn outro that grounds the video’s high-energy antics in a sense of place and movement.
“The video was shot on an old handycam camcorder we found in the back of a closet. The battery miraculously held a charge. It came with a tape of someone’s school play, which we taped over (sorry to whoever’s family that was). It features the Citroen wagon from the ‘Shopping’ video. I worked on that car for months. So glad it didn’t break down during these two long video shoots,” says Eric Sabatino.
“We drove around all day picking everyone up at their home, work, local bar, favorite little shop, and went to band practice. We filmed the antics and capers along the way. Sometimes we let friends and strangers hold the camera and film us. I transferred and edited it over 2 late nights, trying to capture as much pause, rewind, and fast-forward noise as I could, timing the cuts to capture the jerky energy of the song. I love the outro and the slow noisy shots of the freeway signs leading to Seattle.”
BLACK LUNG present ‘Follow’ as their next advance single. The subtle yet also dramatic track full of twists and turns is taken from the American heavy psych rockers’ forthcoming new full-length Forever Beyond and presented in the form of a beautiful visualiser. The fifth album from the Baltimore, Maryland outfit is slated for release on March 6, 2026.
BLACK LUNG comment: "I wrote the lyrics for ‘Follow’ after getting out of a job that was bringing me zero joy”, vocalist and guitarist David Cavalier writes. “This song is meant to feel like you are a cog in a machine, and you are breaking the fuck out of it. The verses are tighter, more precise. The bridges and choruses are heavy, wide open, and much more free.”
RESURRECTED unleash the music video ‘Sanity Is Lost’ as the first advance single taken from their forthcoming new album Perpetual. The eighth full-length of the German death metal veterans has been scheduled for release on April 10, 2026.
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RESURRECTED comment: “The first single track, ‘Sanity Is Lost’, delivers a crushing mid-tempo assault rooted deep in the old school death metal tradition”, drummer Dennis Thiele writes. “It is driven by filthy grooves, dense riffing, and relentless heaviness. We are channelling the raw brutality of classic Cannibal Corpse–era death metal. At this song’s midpoint, the pace accelerates into a violent outburst that pushes intensity to breaking point. It is a merciless reminder that once the momentum hits, sanity is truly lost.”
The video is inspired by Germany’s most catastrophic mining disaster: On February 20, 1946, shortly after noon, a methane explosion ignited an even bigger coal dust detonation in the mine Zeche Monopol Schacht Grimberg 3/4. 405 miners, personnel, and three British officers of the North German Coal Control perished in the massive detonation underground. While the reason for the initial gas ignition remains unknown, lax post-war security standards are generally blamed. The so-called Myth of Grimberg remains as a deep scar in the collective memory of the Ruhr Area.
On Friday, April 3rd, 2026, sunn O))) will release their eponymously titled first full-length album for Sub Pop.
sunn O))) was co-produced & mixed by the band and Brad Wood (Hum, Tar, Sunny Day Real Estate, Liz Phair), and was recorded at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington, January 2025. You can now listen to the album’s closing track, ‘Glory Black.’
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Framing the album visually are two paintings by the late American artist Mark Rothko – one on the front cover and one on the back cover, with the art reversed for UK & European pressings. And, within the CD and LP package are expansive liner notes by author Robert Macfarlane, whose 2025 novel Is a River Alive? is one of many sources of inspiration for the album. And, illustrations by French artist Elodie Lesourd are also featured on the inner LP sleeves and accompanying album merch.
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sunn O)) will tour in support of the album. Tickets for the below shows will go on sale to the general public on Friday, January 16th at 10am (local).
Wed. Apr. 01 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren 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 Sat. Apr. 11 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer 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
The original Look, Stranger!, who hailed from York called it a day in 2012, followed by silence…
The emergence of a new act called Look, Stranger! is not a continuation or a resurrection, but the debut release from a new act which sees Ian J Cole (who not so long ago departed Yorkshire to reside down south) pair up with Louisa Rose (who hails from York but also lives down south), with the name referencing the poem of the same title by WH Auden (also born in York)
‘The Last Thing’ is taken from the Broken EP out on Bandcamp via Sinners Music on 14th February.
The song brings hints of Depeche Mode but equally more vintage electronica, merged with some post-punk vibes, while the video offers dashes of James Bond and some retro-futuristic vibes. In all, it’s simple, but effective.
Sky Valley Mistress continue the countdown to the release of their second album Luna Mausoleum, that is due to land on Friday 23rd January 2026 (New Heavy Sounds).
Intended to be the soundtrack of their Hearsecraft ride to the moon, Pilot Kayley “Hell Kitten” Davies and Commander Max “Leather Messiah” Newsome launch you into the Sonic Stratosphere with an audio journey fuelled by 70’s hard rock, driven off the road to a fresh new destination.
Today sees the release of the official video for previous single ’Too Many Ghosts’, a song which, according to the band, “is meant for the open highway. Somewhere you have the freedom to put your foot down and still feel like you’re cruising”.
Watch the video now, which stars the band and the hearse they drive around in on tour known as ’Thundertaker’:
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In a brief glimpse behind the curtain, the band have also shared the details and dangers behind the making of ’Too Many Ghosts’.
"The story behind making the music video for Too Many Ghosts is that it took five separate weekends to shoot with us only managing to actually record any footage during the last day. The reasons for the failed recording days were:
– A car full of drugs dealers moving us on from location and ‘politely’ requesting that we don’t return
– The power generator for the lights being faulty followed by torrential rain
– Our videographer realising he had forgot his memory card after driving 90 mins to location followed by the hearse breaking down due to a broken fan belt
– Kayley’s astrosuit zip breaking after shooting one take
The hearse battery also died moments after we finished filming, which meant I (Max) was left alone in the middle of Slaidburn Moors at the dead of night in a hearse with no power or heating (it was fucking COLD) for a few hours whilst I waited for a recovery vehicle and Kayley to return from driving our videographer home in the other car.
This video started the band’s catch phrase of ‘the curse of the hearse’ that we use any time something goes wrong, which it does. A lot."
New album Luna Mausoleum takes you through desert rock grooves and mountainous riffs, you are guided by Kayley’s soulfully smoked voice and her range of soaring, delicate, yearning and understated melodies as the band ride peaks and valleys of dynamics and pace with an eclectic selection of instrumentation of fuzz guitars, organs, real orchestras and a children’s choir.
Twisting influences of Queens of the Stone Age with Portishead and turning from Spiritualised-sized gospel choruses to the gallow heavy swing of Black Sabbath, with sound as fast as light they move between their influential orbit to create a modern classic that is entirely their own. There isn’t space in this genre the band haven’t explored. This is a demonstration of their refusal to wait for permission to create a record that stands in scale with some of the most monumental albums in rock.
The band’s statement on their intent behind creating Luna Mausoleum was that it should be “greater and beyond all reason”.
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Sky Valley Mistress live:
The band who has one member play every instrument so that they sound like a four piece in the studio, defy logic with aspiration with their iconic live show as a Duel-Drumming Duo. Vocalist Kayley “Hell Kitten” Davies takes the sticks and one half of a drum kit whilst original drummer Max “Leather Messiah” Newsome battles the electric guitar with the kick drum under his foot. No samples. No backing tracks. No click tracks. No one is playing rock and roll the ways these two do.
Sky Valley Mistress will be performing at a number of live in-store shows this month.
As their highly anticipated fifth album DAGGER rears into view, IST IST have shared its final pre-emptive single ‘Obligations’.
With its pulsating bassline, driving beats, and synth throbs, ‘Obligations’ is the enlivening new track from Manchester’s finest. Embodying the metamorphosis of IST IST as they gear-up for the next stage in their evolution, this latest cut is fittingly all about transformation and sacrifices that can come with it.
As vocalist Adam Houghton says:
“With ‘Obligations’, I wanted to capture the feeling of being bound to someone who represents both your salvation and your undoing. It’s about how love can feel like duty — something you can’t walk away from even when it hurts. I wanted to explore memory as something that both comforts and strangles, showing how the past can shape who we become. By the end, the narrator isn’t whole anymore, but they’ve accepted that pain and change are part of survival. It’s about transformation through loss — the quiet resilience of being altered by love.”
The new single arrives with a thought provoking official video featuring artist and longtime friend of the band Oliver Marson. Tuning into the track’s integral lyric “What is left is a different version of me”, we find Marson portraying an alternate version of the IST IST frontman.
Watch the video here:
Following a short stretch of European and UK shows this Autumn, IST IST will be hitting the road again in April this year, with upcoming shows in Norwich, Exeter, Oxford, Newcastle, Sheffield, Nottingham, Bristol, Brighton, PLUS recently added dates in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London. These shows will pave the way towards their biggest hometown show to date, at Manchester’s Albert Hall in May. All dates are listed below, with all tickets on sale now.
In addition, IST IST are delighted to confirm a short series of intimate in-store/out-store shows as they launch their new album DAGGER. Catch them at these dates and venues:
IST IST – 2026 UK & IRELAND TOUR DATES
UK IN-STORE ALBUM LAUNCH SHOWS
Leeds – Headroom House – 07.02.26
Bury – The Met – 08.02.26
Edinburgh – The Caves – 09.02.26
Nottingham – Rough Trade – 10.02.26
London – Rough Trade East – 11.02.26
EUROPEAN SHOWS
Antwerp – Kafka Oudaan – 11.03.26
Cologne – Luxor – 12.03.26
Amsterdam – Paradiso – 14.03.26
Frankfurt – Das Bett – 15.03.26
Zurich – Werk 21 – 16.03.26
Milan – Santeria Toscana 31 – 17.03.26
Budapest – Durer Kert – 19.03.26
Bratislava – Pink Whale – 20.03.26
Krakow – Klub Zascianek – 22.03.26
Warsaw – Hydrozadka – 23.03.26
Berlin – Hole 44 – 24.03.26
Esbjerg – Tobakken – 26.03.26
Oslo – Parkteatret – 27.03.26
Stockholm – Kollektivet – 29.03.26
Hamburg – Logo – 31.03.26
UK HEADLINE SHOWS
Norwich – Waterfront – 09.04.26
London – The Garage – 10.04.26
Exeter – Phoenix – 11.04.26
Oxford – O2 Academy 2 – 12.04.26
Newcastle – The Grove – 16.04.26
Glasgow – Oran Mor – 17.04.26
Sheffield – Network – 18.04.26
Nottingham – Rescue Rooms – 23.04.26
Bristol – Thekla – 24.04.26
Brighton – Quarters – 25.04.26
Dublin – The grand Social – 28.04.26
Belfast – Ulster Sports Club – 29.04.26
Manchester – Albert Hall – 01.05.26
(w/ Support from DESPERATE JOURNALIST + THE YOUTH PLAY)
The Twilight Sad seem to be one of those bands that remain niche and somewhat divisive. But those who are into them are really into them, and with good reason. They’ve been long championed by Robert Smith and have access to a huge, huge audience following epic tours supporting The Cure, but they obstinately refuse to tone down their overt Scottishness, and they stubbornly refuse to bend to any kind of commercial leanings, or to cheer the fuck up. They’re also one of the most emotionally intense bands around: their live shows are quite simply something else.
‘Designed to Lose’ is the second single from their next album, and simultaneously harks back to the blistering welter of noise that was their second album No One Can Ever Know, while pushing forward on the trajectory of their last album, It Won/t Be Like This All The Time, which was both glorious and harrowing as fuck.
It Won/t Be Like This All The Time was released in 2019, so it’s been a long wait for new material. Oh, but this is worth it. The Twilight Sad aren’t a band to rush-release something sub-par, and ‘Designed to Lose’ is classic Sad on first listen, and just gives more with each play.
French progressive rock collective HamaSaari today unveil a brand-new lyric video for ‘Lost in Nights,’ another evocative chapter taken from their forthcoming album Pictures, out January 23rd via Klonosphere.
Following the recent release of lead single ‘Frames’ (featuring guest vocals from Christelle Ratri), ‘Lost in Nights’ dives even deeper into the album’s introspective essence. The track unfolds slowly and deliberately, guided by HamaSaari’s signature balance of cinematic build-up, emotional restraint, and expansive release, a nocturnal journey through doubt, memory, and inner landscapes.
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Rooted in modern progressive rock and drawing inspiration from the likes of Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, and Karnivool, HamaSaari craft music that is rich in atmosphere, emotional depth, and cinematic movement. Born from the ashes of their former project Shuffle, the band embraced a more serene and melancholic identity, allowing their sound to unfold like a stormy ritual, dark clouds, falling rain, and slowly emerging light.
Their 2023 debut album Ineffable introduced this balance with striking clarity: delicate yet powerful compositions flowing through shifting shades of darkness and color, built on organic interplay between polyrhythmic bass and drums, reverb-soaked guitars, and a clear, expressive vocal presence.
Now, nearly three years later, Pictures picks up where that journey left off and expands it into a fully realized conceptual statement. The album explores images, paintings, and dimensions, what we choose to frame, conceal, or confront. Inspired by myths, ancient civilizations, dreams, reality, and fiction, Pictures reflects on belief systems, fears, desires, and the fundamental questions that shape the human experience.
Following the release of Pictures, HamaSaari will take the album to the stage with an extensive European tour throughout spring and summer 2026. The tour will see the band bringing their captivating, emotionally charged live show to clubs and festivals across France, Germany, Spain, and the UK, culminating in major festival appearances later in the year.
HamaSaari – Pictures EU Tour 2026 (selected dates):
• March 12 – Le Mans (FR) – Le Bar’ouf • March 19 – Lyon (FR) – Rock ’n Eat • March 21 – Stuttgart (DE) – Club Zentral • March 22 – Munich (DE) – Substanz • March 24 – Kronach (DE) – Kulturclub Kronach • March 27 – Kleve (DE) – Radhaus • April 10 – Perpignan (FR) – L’Anthropo • April 11 – Zaragoza (ES) – Sala Creedence • April 12 – Badalona (ES) – Estraperlo – Club del Ritme • April 17 – Murcia (ES) – Sala Revólver • April 18 – Málaga (ES) – ZZ Pub • April 21 – Coslada (ES) – The RockLab • April 22 – Ponferrada (ES) – Sala La Vaca • April 24 – Tolosa (ES) – Bonberenea
Festival appearances:
• July 4 – Woodbunge Festival (DE) • July 18 – Prog For Peart – Abingdon (UK) • July 25 – Rhine Entertainment Festival – Xanten (DE)
Aural Aggravation 