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ALT FEATURED
Our favorite releases from the ALT RECESS submissions list.
Where Beats Meet Belief: Tjmendoza Turns Introspection into Sound
Crashing in from Toronto with a calm confidence and a head full of questions, Tjmendoza is the kind of artist who makes music for the late hours, the long drives, the quiet rooms, the moments when you finally sit with your thoughts instead of outrunning them. A rapper, producer, director, and editor all in one, he’s been building his world brick by brick since he was 14. This project feels like the moment where all those skills lock into place. What sets this album apart is
Jan 19


A Soundtrack for the In-Between: Power Down’s “Bag in Hand”
That’s the story behind Power Down, a duo that didn’t come together through algorithms or trend-chasing, but through real rooms, real people, and real creative sparks, serenading listeners through the speakers. When Dan Voss Jr. crossed paths with Aaron “Zeus” Zepeda while working alongside legendary electronic pioneer Bob Margouleff, something clicked. Not in a polite, “let’s exchange emails” way, but in that rare, unmistakable sense that says, we should make something toget
Jan 19


“Finding Yourself in the Quiet: Marley Chaney’s Where I Go When I Leave You”
Some albums don’t arrive loudly. They don’t beg for attention or fight for a spot in your rotation. They sit quietly beside you, waiting for the right moment to unfold. Marley Chaney’s Where I Go When I Leave You is one of those records. It feels less like a release and more like a personal space you’re invited into, somewhere between memory and becoming. Marley’s music has always lived in the in-between. Love and longing, certainty and doubt, holding on and letting go. Her
Jan 13


Lost in the Strings: Anthony J. Resta’s Dreamlike Take on “The Guitar Man”
Anthony J. Resta has nothing left to prove, and that’s exactly why The Guitar Man feels so alive. After decades spent shaping other people’s visions from behind studio glass, Resta is stepping forward with a renewed sense of wonder, chasing the feeling that made him fall in love with music in the first place. Known to many as an industry lifer and Laurel Canyon original, his fingerprints are all over modern pop culture. From crafting records with legendary artists to helping
Jan 13


Young Enough to Dream, Old Enough to Mean It: Mane Thompson & The Racing Pulses Rewrite the Past
Many artists ease into their sound over time. Mane Thompson seems to have arrived already. There’s something quietly impressive about the way Thompson carries himself, focused, grounded, and surprisingly self-assured for someone who hasn’t even started high school yet. Long before stages and spotlights, it started with a karaoke machine and a childhood obsession with Michael Jackson. The glove, the moves, the feeling of holding a mic for the first time. But while pop spectacl
Jan 13


Satire in Neon Lights: Inside Blackstate’s Sharpest Release Yet
Some artists pick a lane early and never look back. Others live comfortably in contradiction, thriving in the tension between worlds that aren’t supposed to touch. Blackstate belongs firmly in the second camp. For nearly twenty years, Filip Tasevski-Fitz lived and breathed the DIY hardcore and punk circuit, tearing through stages with North Macedonian punk staple The Beginnings. That chapter never really closed, but it cracked the door open to something stranger, sharper, and
Jan 13


“A Love Story in Motion: Celeste Marie Wilson’s ‘Ever Wanted’ Feels Like a Coming-of-Age Classic”
Sometimes the universe closes one door just to see what you’ll do next. For Celeste Marie Wilson, that moment came at 19, when a promising children’s book deal slipped through her fingers. It stung. It rerouted everything. And it quietly pushed her toward the thing she was always meant to do. Already a published poet, Wilson turned to songwriting almost by accident, searching for another way to tell stories that felt alive. What she found was a new language. One that could br
Jan 10


From Pain to Petals: Nya’s “My Tears Grew Roses” Marks a New Era
Some songs arrive quietly. Others feel like a chapter closing and another one opening at the exact same time. Nya’s new single, “My Tears Grew Roses,” is firmly the latter. The last time many of us checked in with Nya, she was mid-transformation, shedding old skins and learning how to stand in her own light. Since then, she’s been moving with intention, splitting time between Los Angeles and Uruguay, sharpening her voice, her pen, and her presence. What’s emerged is an artis
Jan 10
Heavy Grooves, Real Confidence: Cold Engines Drop a Funk-Fueled Jam
If you’ve ever caught yourself missing the days when funk made its way into rock songs without asking permission, Cold Engines are here to remind you that the groove never actually left. It just needed the right band to dust it off, turn it up, and give it some teeth. Hailing from Boston’s North Shore, Cold Engines are a melody-driven rock outfit with funk in their bloodstream and pop instincts baked into their DNA. Fronted by songwriter David Drouin alongside drummer Aaron Z
Jan 7


NTHN Finds the Quiet Weight of Growing Up on “Lonely Again”
There’s a certain kind of loneliness that doesn’t announce itself. It doesn’t scream or collapse the room. It just sits there, soft, heavy, and familiar - especially when you realize most of the people around you don’t really know you anymore. That’s the feeling NTHN captures with unsettling clarity on his latest release, “Lonely Again.” The UK-based cloud rap artist, producer, and founder of Clouded North , NTHN has been steadily carving out a sound that feels both vast and
Dec 29, 2025


Tears Are Just Glitter Turn Heartbreak Into Neon Pop Fantasy
Somewhere between a pastel sunset, a flickering VHS tape, and a synth line that feels like it’s smiling through tears, Tears are just glitter quietly steps into their own universe, and invites you to stay awhile. The project is the brainchild of Stockholm-based hitmakers Gustav Jonsson and Fredrik Berger , two Swedish songwriters and producers whose fingerprints are already all over modern pop. Between them, they’ve written and produced for names like Charli XCX, Zara Larss
Dec 26, 2025


Beyond the Stream: UNSHUT’s Vinyl-Exclusive Revolution
There’s something quietly rebellious about Moises “MO” Santizo’s latest move. In an era where everything is disposable, scrollable, and algorithm-fed, MO decided to slow things all the way down, to 12 inches, two sides, and a needle drop. His newest release isn’t a song or an album in the traditional sense. It’s a spoken-word interview, pressed exclusively on vinyl, and it feels like the beginning of a whole new lane. MO’s story has never followed a straight line anyway. Born
Dec 23, 2025
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