The Lunar Effect were formed in London in 2017 by brothers Jon and Dan Jefford and later completed by vocalist Josh Neuwford, bassist Brett Halsey, and eventually second guitarist Mark Fuller. Since their arrival on the scene, they’ve carved out a reputation for crafting music that feels both familiar and original – a modern echo of grunge-soaked ’70s rock, fuzzed-out blues, and melancholic British soul.
Following the underground success of 2019’s Calm Before the Calm, the band signed with Svart Records and released the critically praised sophomore album Sounds of Green & Blue in 2024. After touring the album across the UK and Europe, they set their sights on album three, their most ambitious work to date. Fortune’s Always Hiding lands in October 2025; a brooding journey through loss, memory, and the weight of time. It marks a new era for the band – deeper, stranger, and more soul-baring than ever.
The first taste from the upcoming album was released today. “’Feed the Hand’ sets the tone for what’s to come, uncomfortable, deliberate, and heavy with implication. It reaches back with one hand, grabbing a handful of early 90’s alternative nostalgia to bring a high energy groove. With the other, it drags the listener through an unravelling; guidance twisted into obedience, time eroding memory from a feeling to a realisation. There’s weight here, but it’s not theatrical. It’s cathartic and satisfyingly powerful. A quiet reckoning fed by the band’s influences, serving up a whole new dish to the table.” the band comments on the new single. Watch the video for ‘Feed the Hand’:
UK industrial metal project, BEAUTIFUL FREAKIN’ WEIRDO recently dropped the video for their single, ‘Psychohead’. The track appears on their latest EP, Zap The Fear.
‘Psychohead’ dives head-first into escapism, away from this world of fear in which we are all manipulated and controlled. “I think most, if not all, people have a little psycho in them,” founding member, Mick Pritchard says. “Your alter ego, your dark side, call it what you will. Take the red pill. Take the blue pill and all placebos. Good luck!”
‘Psychohead’ is a tale of sleepwalking into the abyss of smoke and mirrors – into a world controlled by fear because there isn’t a “Hell”. Hell is here. This is where you take the red pill just to try and kill your savage alter ego – the Psycho in your head.
KEYS return with Acid Communism, their boldest and most expansive record to date – a rich and unfiltered document of collective creativity, sonic exploration, and philosophical curiosity. Released by Libertino Records on Friday 18th July, the album draws inspiration from the late cultural theorist Mark Fisher, whose unfinished work left a lasting impression on the band.
“We were captivated by the poetry of those two words,” Matthew Evans (KEYS – vocalist and songwriter) explains. ACID COMMUNISM isn’t just a title – it’s a guiding principle. ACID symbolises creative play and experimentation, while COMMUNISM speaks to the strength found in (comm)unity. In a time when the internet often amplifies individualism and leans into certain ideologies, the band wanted to celebrate togetherness and collective expression.
While Acid Communism isn’t overtly political, it does pulse with a quiet sense of purpose – to resist isolation, to reconnect with others, and to celebrate the kind of shared, DIY spirit that binds bands, friends, and scenes together. It’s about building something together, rather than standing apart.
The band took a hybrid approach to recording. Much of the album started life on 8-track tape before being moved into Logic, capturing a blend of home-recorded warmth with digital precision. Musically, it draws from the live, freewheeling energy of JERRY GARCIA and the lo-fi intimacy of their lockdown-era album HOMESCHOOLING. The result is a sound that’s raw yet refined, unpolished but deeply intentional.
Across its twelve tracks, Acid Communism flows through a variety of textures – from sun-scorched psych-pop and angular guitar riffs to gentle, piano-led introspection and atmospheric washes. It’s a record that favours connection over perfection, instinct over polish.
The recently released double A-side ‘Your Shoes’ / ‘The Greatest Joke of All’ coincides with the announcement of Acid Communism, offering a glimpse into the album’s contrasting emotional tones’
Alternative pop artist Celeste Corsano has unveiled the video for her latest single ‘Stuck’, the third in a trilogy of singles the Pennsylvania-based artist has released this year, following ‘Nightbird’ and ‘Sunlight Gazing’. With hues of Kate Bush and Tori Amos, Corsano is the latest artist to join the talented roster of blossoming Montclair, NJ-based indie label Magic Door Record Label.
This song features famed guitarist James Mastro (The Bongos, Mott the Hoople, Ian Hunter, Patti Smith, John Cale), drummer Ray Ketchem (Guided by Voices, Elk City, Gramercy Arms, Luna, Crash Harmony) and keyboardist-bassist David Nagler (Nova Social, Joan Baez, Aaron Neville, Rosanne Cash, Yo La Tengo).
A tender composition that explores being caught in the inescapable grip of an emotional impasse, Corsano masterfully conveys the struggle of a mind wrestling with an unyielding heart, creating an intimate space where raw emotion takes center-stage. The animated video reflects this perfectly through the journey of a ball cutting loose from his existing reality and his loss of direction to find a new path.
“I’m really excited to have a video for this song – the first video created for my music. This artist, known as Brother JT, is an incredible musician, artist and animator. So happy to share it with everyone. It’s fantastic and gives me goosebumps. Lots of humor and wisdom here and very well thought-out,” says Celeste Corsano. “’Stuck’ is a “little” song with a big meaning. The lyrics come from a tender place that needed simplicity and not a big vocal sound. Actually, any time I tried to sing it any differently, the vocals still came out simplistic and childlike."
A gentle but potent counterpoint to the noisy world we live in, Corsano forfeits flashy gestures in favor of the quiet sacred space, offering an raw peek into the most fragile parts of our hearts. With a simple unassuming style, there’s a disarming honesty in her work that feels deeply personal, yet speaks to something we all feel. Revealing a vulnerability that is both deeply personal and strikingly relatable, her sparse, almost childlike vocals amplify its impact.
Corsano’s music blends poetic lyricism with adventurous arrangements, unexpected rhythms and a distinct emotional range — from ethereal and moody to playful and bold. With a natural use of mixed meters and layered vocal timbres, her fearless approach to storytelling conveys a deeper truth.
Continuing with their nature-inspired theme, ‘Cwlwm Cariad’ refers to a type of moth, the ‘True Lover’s Knot’ in English. This is the second in a run of singles by singer-songwriters Eve Goodman and SERA from their upcoming collaborative album, Natur, due for release in the Autumn of 2025. It follows their first single ‘Blodyn Gwyllt’ which was released in July.
Where Blodyn Gwyllt was a celebration of freedom and the summer, Cwlwm Cariad is quite different. There are no guitars and percussion here, only one piano and 2 live voices almost until the end. It is delicate and it sings of the peril often tied up in the complexities of love and relationships, the passion, the self-destruction and flying too close to the flame. The delicate moth and the human heart connected in this way.
The track was recorded on an upright piano and the duo’s voices weave together in harmony once again. Recorded at Wild End Studio near Llanrwst, North Wales, with co-producer Colin Bass. (member of Camel and also producer of the Tincian album from 9 Bach which won ‘Best Album’ at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award in 2015)
The single is out on 15th August. Watch the video here.
We haven’t been keeping up. The last time we featured break_fold, the solo musical vehicle of Tim Hann, former front man with Leeds’ finest, i concur, was in the Spring of 2023.
He’s slipped out a couple of releases since then, and is threatening a few more in the near future. This flurry is spearheaded with the release of the single ‘The Bairns’, of wioch he writes, “’The Bairns’ is a song that I wrote about my younger cousins, who are brothers, and were toddlers at the time. I remember them bounding around my parent’s house chasing each other and playing games – the song is supposed to represent the sound of the two boys causing havoc!”
COVENANT announce the release of the new Andreas EP. The EP is dedicated to the memory of Swedish band’s former member Andreas Catjar-Danielsson (March 3, 1973 – July 29, 2024) who sadly passed away from cancer on this day one year ago. All proceeds of Andreas EP will go to charity in benefit of his wife and children.
Dependent Records will waive all proceeds from the vinyl EP in contribution to this important charity.
In further news, COVENANT present the track ‘Winter Kills’, a cover of legendary British synth-pop duo YAZOO, as an advance single taken from the Andreas EP. You can hear it here:
UK mathcore outfit Wolves have announced their long-awaited debut full-length, Self Titled, set to be released on September 5th on Ripcord Records. Alongside the announcement comes the explosive new single ‘Reformed (Try Love)’.
“The ‘Stop The Boats’ narrative was a last gasp effort to hold onto power by fear-mongering to appeal further to the right,” says Mark Howes. “The song is a tirade against what I and my fellow Wolves believe to be an ignorant and vile ideology, foisted upon people by others who are exploiting fear for personal gain. Try having some dignity, or compassion, or courage, or some basic fucking empathy. Or heart, or respect, or honour, or wisdom… or love? Try love.”
Formed in 2016, Wolves is the culmination of over a decade of chaotic riffs, bloodied stages, and shared history. Born from bands like Bludger, Finish Him!, EFK, and Ashes of Maybelle, and featuring members who’ve played with Hundred Year Old Man, Conjurer, The Grey and more, Wolves emerged as a full-force unit shaped by scars, trust, and unfinished business.
Their debut EP, Gone Are The White Flags, captured their raw energy, leading to wild live shows alongside Sectioned, LLNN, Renounced, and others. After pandemic delays, Wolves regrouped in 2021 to create Self Titled, a ten-track blast of Every Time I Die swagger, post-metal atmosphere, and Dillinger-grade chaos.
Recently signed to Peaceville, Scorpion Milk have shared their first new music today, alongside news of the debut album Slime Of The Times (out 19th September). The new single ‘Another Day Another Abyss’ arrives with a brand-new video, revealing Scorpion Milk’s darkly imaginative universe for the first time.
“It is about trying to stay upright under the daily flood of catastrophe, the headlines, the numbness, the helplessness. But there’s a double edge to it: the only way to get through the abyss is to become it. To move through the darkness, you have to carry some of it inside you.” – Mat McNerney
Watch the video here:
“I used AI to create the video because we’re living inside the very dystopia we fear the most. The song deals with the psychological weight of modern catastrophe, and AI as both a tool and a threat, mirrors that perfectly. A mirror can be humorous but also diabolical. It’s an aesthetic artistic choice, but also a commentary: our nightmares are now automated.” – Mat McNerney
Scorpion Milk is the new project from Mat McNerney; the founding creator of Beastmilk’s highly-revered Climax album and the subsequent three Grave Pleasures albums. Infused with elements of Beastmilk’s original DNA, debut album Slime of the Times marks the most direct, raw, and explosive evolution of his self-defined genre: Apocalyptic Post-Punk. An eclectic artist in his own right, McNerney’s roots are also firmly in the black metal underground of Finland and Norway, and continues to work in that genre (having formerly featured as vocalist for Dødheimsgard, among others), plus is also currently active with his band, Hexvessel.
Continuing the lineage of Mat’s cult post-punk and goth-metal hybrid music, Scorpion Milk draws from the decaying spiritual core of UK anarcho-punk and 80s post-punk with an opus ideal for fans of Killing Joke, Godflesh, Crass, Flux Of Pink Indians, Crisis, The Fall, and early Sisters of Mercy, yet also set to resonate with contemporary audiences into Health, Drab Majesty, Soft Kill, High Vis, Molchat Doma, Creeper, and Uniform.
Between the Buried and Me offer fans a second preview of the prog-metal titans’ upcoming album, The Blue Nowhere (Sept. 12, InsideOutMusic) with the release of the new track, ‘Absent Thereafter’.
Tommy Rogers describes how the song captures the spirit of the upcoming album: “To me, ‘Absent Thereafter’ feels like the quintessential BTBAM song – fun, intense, spacy, and still fucking heavy. I like to think it takes the listener on an unexpected journey, with ear candy waiting around every corner. It’s a deeper dive into all of the dynamic places you’re taken within The Blue Nowhere!”
Dan Briggs elaborates on the musicality of the single: “This song moves arrangement-wise in two parts divided by a key change and tonal shift of the chorus, but is ultimately the big fun time bombastic energy of a Van Halen shuffle with Huey Lewis and the News horns going through variations that are sometimes heavily syncopated, sometimes lost in space, and sometimes inspiring you to break out into a do-si-do. Grab your washboard and let’s go!”
AA
Tour dates:
July 30 Istanbul, TR IF Performance Hall
July 31 Râşnov, RO Rockstadt Extreme Fest
August 1 Budapest, HU Monolit Festival 2025
August 2 Wien, AT Szene *
August 3 München, DE Free & Easy Festival
August 4 Berlin, DE Hole44
August 5 Katowice, PL Miçdzynarodowe Centrum Kongresowe
August 6 – 7 Jaroměř, CZ Brutal Assault 2025
August 9 Kortrijk, BE Alcatraz Metal Festival
August 10 Utrecht, NL Pandora
August 11 Tilburg, NL 013 Next Stage
August 12 Köln, DE Luxor
August 14 Dinkelsbühl, DE Summer Breeze
August 15 – 16 Compton Martin, UK ArcTanGent
August 17 Carhaix-Plouguer, FR Festival Motocultor
September 14 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
September 15 Boston, MA Royale
September 16 Ottawa, ON Bronson Centre
September 18 Toronto, ON Danforth Music Hall
September 19 Montreal, QC Théâtre Beanfield
September 20 Portland, ME Aura
September 21 Albany, NY Empire Live
September 22 New York, NY Warsaw
September 23 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
September 25 Raleigh, NC The Ritz
September 26 Charleston, SC Music Farm
September 27 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
September 29 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
September 30 Orlando, FL House of Blues
October 1 New Orleans, LA The Joy Theater
October 2 Houston, TX Warehouse Live
October 3 San Antonio, TX Kill Iconic Fest
October 4 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
October 7 Phoenix, AZ The Nile Theater
October 8 Riverside, CA Riverside Municipal Auditorium
October 9 Las Vegas, NV 24 Oxford
October 10 San Francisco, CA August Hall
October 12 Portland, OR Revolution Hall
October 13 Seattle, WA The Crocodile
October 14 Vancouver, BC The Pearl
October 16 Edmonton, AB Union Hall
October 17 Calgary, AB MacEwan Hall
October 19 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory
October 20 Boise, ID Knitting Factory
October 21 Bozeman, MT The ELM
October 22 Missoula, MT The Wilma
October 24 Denver, CO Summit Music Hall
October 25 Wichita, KS TempleLive
October 26 Des Moines, IA Wooly’s
October 27 Chicago, IL The Vic Theatre
October 28 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
October 29 Nashville, TN Brooklyn Bowl
October 30 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore
July 30 – August 17: Performing Colors in its entirety
September 27-October 30: Co-headlining dates with Hail The Sun
Aural Aggravation 