“Little Gems” feels like a beautifully curated mix of styles and stories. What was the inspiration behind the album’s title, and how did you go about choosing which ‘gems’ made the final cut? Nolen: I had a handful of songs that I had written during the recording sessions for ‘The New Day at Dawn’ album that weren’t finished or didn’t fit on the album when it was finished. At the time I was working on the metaphysical concept album ‘The Shining Ones’ that was a completely dif

There’s something deliciously eerie happening in the world of synth-pop right now, and it’s coming from Fur Trapper , the darkly magnetic alter ego of Lisa Rieffel . Her latest single, “Rot for Spite,” doesn’t just arrive with a music video. It arrives with a whole universe. And not the CGI kind. This one was sculpted. Pressed. Shaped. Lit. Nudged frame by frame. In collaboration with her sister, Carla Rieffel , a lifelong clay artist who’s basically had clay under her finger

Some songs feel like singles.Others feel like someone finally exhaling. Essex-based songwriter and performer Loni Lincoln  is about to release “Asian Girl,” and it lands somewhere between a diary entry, a cultural reckoning, and a quietly defiant pop anthem you didn’t know you needed. At first glance, it’s sleek electronic pop, shimmering, modern, self-produced by Loni herself, with production support from Mario Eddie and Charlie King. But sit with it for more than a minute a

There’s something about a pop song that tells the truth without flinching. Not the polished, PR-approved version. Not the “it’s fine, I’m fine” version. The real one. And with “Sweet Baby,” Giselle leans all the way into that honesty, heels on, chin up, music loud. Originally from Boston and raised in Buffalo before betting on herself and heading to Los Angeles at 21, Giselle isn’t new to the grind. She’s been singing since she was five, writing since she was eight, and somew

You know that weird, quiet moment after a breakup when the anger fades just enough for the sadness to creep in? When you’re not yelling anymore, you’re just sitting there, staring at the ceiling, replaying everything? That’s the space Headlock lives in on “Fallin Apart.” Straight out of Nashville, Tennessee, Headlock isn’t trying to fit neatly into one corner of alternative music. The band pulls from all over the post-hardcore and alt spectrum, and you can hear that blend ins

There’s something about New York in the winter that makes love feel cinematic. Maybe it’s the late nights, maybe it’s the way the city hums like it knows your secrets. Either way, K DANIEL  has bottled that feeling and set it to a groove. Formerly known as KFIR, K DANIEL’s name change isn’t just cosmetic, it signals a shift. A sharpening. A stepping fully into himself. This new era feels fearless and intentional, like he’s peeled back the layers and decided vulnerability is t

There’s a split second in childhood when you realize the game isn’t really about listening, it’s about who gets caught. Abbie Callahan taps straight into that feeling on her latest release, “Simon Says.” What sounds playful on the surface slowly reveals itself as something sharper: a meditation on expectations, obedience, and the quiet rebellion that comes with finding your own voice. The Iowa-born, Nashville-based songwriter has been carving out her self-described “kaleidos

There’s something deliciously frustrating about anticipation, that slow burn where you don’t know who’s going to make the first move. Denver’s own Riah  understands that tension better than most, and she leans all the way into it with the official music video for “Hurry,” premiering February 10, 2026. Originally released on her late-2024 album Trauma Bond , “Hurry” has quietly been gathering steam. Not in an explosive, overnight-viral way, but in that word-of-mouth, late-nigh

There are songs you like. There are songs you stream for a season. And then there are songs that quietly sit beside you during pivotal moments of your life, the kind that feel less like background music and more like a mirror. Ten years ago, David Hernandez  gave the LGBTQ+ community one of those mirrors with “Beautiful.” It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t chasing charts. It was honest. Vulnerable. Soft in the way that bravery often is. Now, a decade later, he’s returning to it, not

If you’ve ever wanted to two-step under a disco ball while contemplating the state of the world… Ross Alan has you covered. Following the career-setting high of their October 2025 single “Cry Again,”  Ross Alan is back with “Loveland (feat. Lisa Gumm)”  - the second single from their upcoming 11-track summer LP. And this one? It doesn’t just raise the stakes. It builds an entirely new world and hands you a VIP pass. Co-produced by Taylor Morrow (of PureGoldBaby), “Loveland” i

Some covers feel like karaoke with better lighting. This one feels like a séance. Daniel Martin & The Infamous are not in the business of playing it safe, and their upcoming B-side release, a cover of Metallica’s 1986 classic “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” - proves exactly that. Dropping on the 40th anniversary of Master of Puppets  (March 3, 1986), the track isn’t just a tribute. It’s a confrontation. If you’ve been following the band’s 2025 album Gone Days of Silence , you alr

Some bands sound like they were assembled in a boardroom. Lofi Legs sounds like they were summoned by accident, somewhere between a basement show, a Bay Area sunset, and a half-remembered conversation you replay on the bus ride home. Conceived in the waters of Arroyo Seco and sharpened in the Bay Area DIY scene, this San Francisco–based rock project revolves around the steady songwriting pulse of Paris Cox-Farr. The lineup may rotate, but the emotional core doesn’t. Lofi Legs