Today Crooks & Nannies are back with “Sorry.”

It’s the second song we’ve released since announcing the signing of the West Philly duo of Madel Rafter and Sam Huntington. Our first came back in September: “control,” a roller coaster ride of emotion from Rafter. “Sorry” veers into slightly different territory. The fragile-yet-dynamic anthem from Huntington, arrives with the announcement of the January 13th EP No Fun.

Of the song, Huntington says, “Sorry is the first and only song I’ve written entirely in one sitting. I recorded a demo immediately afterward, and the final vocal is still the take from that demo. It came to me in 2018, at an incredibly overwhelming and unstable time in my life – I had recently made the decision to stop ignoring the fact that I was transgender but was struggling to grapple with what that meant for me personally, and was feeling a lot of frustration toward myself for not having figured it out. Simultaneously, I found myself single for the first time in years and without the self-understanding to forge structures and supports i had, until that point, found in other people. I was in over my head, looking for strength in the wrong places and having an increasingly difficult time seeing a future for myself.”

No Fun will be available digitally and on limited-edition cassette, featuring three tape-exclusive tracks. You can pre-order one of 200 available copies now over on Bandcamp. While the digital is coming in January, the cassette will arrive in March.

The announcement comes only a few short days after the band wrapped up a run of dates supporting Lucy Dacus. They’ll hit the road again later this winter alongside our very own Rubblebucket at their release show next month in NYC then a handful of dates throughout the north east. All dates in our tour section.

Today we release Earth Worship, the latest triumph from Brooklyn joy peddlers, Rubblebucket. Up until now you’ve heard  kaleidoscopic pysch-pop and playful rainbow soul singles like “Morning In The Sun,” “Cherry Blossom,” and the title track.Earlier this week, the band gave one final teaser in the form of the gloriously groove-forward “Geometry,” along with its Hayoan of America-helmed music video above. You may have caught the song spinning on your local radio station over the past few weeks, but now it’s available everywhere.

But the album as a whole is a living, breathing celebration of sun-drenched indie pop, party funk, and dumpster diving disco – no, we can’t believe we wrote that sentence either. But, seriously, this album manages to do everything you could imagine with a horn underneath some of the brightest melodies of the year.

In other news, the band recently surprised fans by mailing out exclusive invites to a listening party/green up event taking place in Brooklyn later this month. Fans who RSVP early received event info and guaranteed entry. Fans who plant their invites, get a flower. No really. In keeping with the spirit of Earth Worship, the invites were printed on plantable seed paper. Invites are also available at the site of their NYC release show, Public Records.

Speaking of release shows, the band announced a mini run of dates earlier this year and at the time we promised we’d be back with more soon. Soon is now: a full US headline is going on sale this morning here. Full list of dates, some of which include our very own Crooks & Nannies below.

Off With Our Heads, the new EP from Brooklyn’s Native Sun, is out now. Earlier this week the band’s new single “When She” made a final, compelling case for why you should listen to the Walter Schreifels produced EP. There they trade in the stoner bombast for some crunchy jangle, but match the dialed back sonic with their most vulnerable and deeply personal song to date.

“It was composed during the time of my mother’s declining health and ultimate passing away,” says Native Sun’s Danny Gomez. “I wrote the song from start to finish in about half an hour and post-writing it realized how it encapsulated what my reality was in that moment…seeing somebody you love fade away inside and imagining what that must be like. Always found it interesting how the cheeriest sonically sounding track turned out to be the most somber lyrically, the paradox of reality.”

Both bassist Justin Barry and drummer Nico Espinosa had lost a loved one, so the song took on a shared meaning for the group.

“When Danny showed us that song, it was really emotional,” says bassist Justin Barry. “Everyone in this band has lost a parent. It’s all something we share and have bonded over, music is all we have.”

They’ll bring that music to stages across New York for the rest of the month. Supporting SLIFT on October 18th at Elsewhere. Officially celebrating the release of Off With Our Heads on October 25th at Baby’s All Right. Playing alongside Geese & The Bobby Lees at The Colony in Woodstock, before knocking out an opening slot for FIDLAR at Irving Plaza and a halloween show at Knockdown Center in Queens. Tickets over on their site.

This is “Daisy (Piano Version),” a beautiful reimagining of the stand-out from Charlie Martin’s debut solo album, Imaginary People. Last month Martin announced the deluxe edition of Imaginary People which features 4 alternate piano versions of songs from the 2021 album. The deluxe edition, is available now for purchase on CD & cassette, alongsid standard vinyl versions of the album.

“I started writing ‘Daisy’ years ago. It existed just as a piano melody for the longest time. Around 2020 finally the words came that felt right,” explains Martin. ‘I’m singing about safe travels; how vulnerable traveling can feel and how grateful I am when things go well. This past summer I lost my grandpa; made countless trips down to Gulfport, MS where he was in the hospital (along Hwy 90), and I was working on this piano project in the time between those trips. Needless to say to it was a hard time for me and my family, and I was lucky as always to have music to lean on.”

Hot on the heels of a tour with Teethe, Martin is hitting the road next week with Ichiko Aoba. All dates over in the tour section. Additionally, on October 11th at 9:30 pm ET, Martin will be streaming a live performance exclusively on his Bandcamp page, and Charlie will be present in the chat taking questions from fans. The performance was recorded live in Austin, Texas around his recent hometown debut at Mohawk.

On her new EP, I’m Doing Well, Thanks For Asking, Jordana is getting to know herself again. Or more accurately: getting to know her selves. It’s fair to say the 22-year-old New York songwriter has shifted shape a few times in her short career. She got her start with homespun indie folk on Classical Notions of Happiness before jumping to the spindly bedroom pop of Something To Say To You. A year later, she was veering into the dreamy haze of her TV Girl collaboration Summer’s Over, before eventually giving way to the hi-gloss pop of Face The Wall. It’s the kind of omnivorous output the phrase something for everyone was invented for.

Today she unveils the impossibly massive lead single “SYT,” along with a Graham Epstein music video, which you can watch below.

Along the way she’s managed to make fans of Wallows & Local Natives, who’ve each taken her on the road in 2022, landing her in front of crowds that number in the thousands. Today she adds Remi Wolf to the list, as their run of dates together kicks off. Tickets would be available over in the tour section, but this on is pretty much sold out across the board!

PS: Yesterday was Ducky’s third birthday. Everybody say happy belated birthday to that adorable lil guy in the front page photo.

Honey, the new album from Samia, is coming January 27th, 2023.

Recorded in the woods of North Carolina with her dearest friends, it’s a celebration of community, the dreams that tether us together & the lenses through which we view the world. It’s a more self-assured and bold step beyond the coming of age stories of The Baby & Scout. Downright intimidating in its confidence. And we can’t wait for you to hear it.

The first single was released today. “Kill Her Freak Out” is an instant-add to a canon including tearjerkers like “Milk,” “Pool,” & “Django.” It’s a song from the end of a rope, Samia at her most musically spare and lyrically exasperated. The music video, embedded above, was directed alongside Muriel Margaret and features Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner, Lucas Hedges.

Pre-orders for the album are available now. Honey features two distinct sequences – one for continuous play on digital & CD and one for a side break listening experience on vinyl and cassette. The vinyl features its own unique mix and master tailored to the LP experience, while the album will also be available on Apple Music & other retailers in Dolby Atmos/Spatial Audio.

The first pressing of the standard edition 12″ comes on honey yellow vinyl. Deluxe edition 180g gatefold copies of the record are available on pink & black swirl at Samia’s webstore and Bandcamp — each comes with a limited edition flexi disc of Samia covering “Country” by Porches. Meanwhile, indie record shops are carrying a translucent blue version of the album, and Rough Trade US & UK has a limited edition magenta LP — both including a limited edition flexi disc of Samia covering Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps.” The album is also available on cassette and CD with a 16 page lyric booklet.  

Digital & CD Tracklist:
01 Kill Her Freak Out
02 Charm You
03 Pink Balloon
04 Mad At Me
05 Sea Lions
06 To Me It Was
07 Breathing Song
08 Honey
09 Nanana
10 Amelia
11 Dream Song

Vinyl & Cassette Tracklist:
A1 Kill Her Freak Out
A2 Charm You
A3 Pink Balloon
A4 Mad At Me
A5 Sea Lions
A6 Amelia
B1 Breathing Song
B2 Honey
B3 Nanana
B4 To Me It Was
B5 Dream Song

Last but certainly not least, Samia has announced a massive US tour set to kick off in February of next year. Support across the run comes from Tommy Lefroy. The dates arrive only a few short months after Samia supports Maggie Rogers across Europe & the UK in November, also stopping for a sold-out headline show in London at XOYO and an appearance alongside Courtney Barnett at Roundhouse for Pitchfork London.

How It Ends, the debut record from TOLEDO, is officially out. An album of reflection, self-doubt, perseverance & exasperation. A real *life* record, about how our parents fail us, how we fail ourselves, and how, through that failing, we find a way forward.

Fittingly the release-week saw the drop of a video for the title-track. Don’t let the upbeat folk-rock vibe of “How It Ends” fool you — this song is about to have a nervous breakdown. Or at least get some therapy. Like much of the debut album from TOLEDO, the title track reckons with how our relationships with our parents impact who we are today. It asks the question, are we doomed to repeat their mistakes, or can we be better because of them?

“Watching my mother struggle in love, it planted a seed deep down that keeps me afraid of love and hesitant about marriage,” says Jordan about the song. “Even when things are going so well, there’s a looming tension in the back of my brain that suggests everything is going to fall apart eventually. How do you navigate love and relationships when you don’t have a clear example to follow? Is this the curse your parents leave you with?”

Physical copies available over on our Bandcamp right now.

We came across Crooks & Nannies for the first time earlier this year. The sound we heard was tricky to describe. We found ourselves grasping for reference points that felt incongruous: Tigers Jaw, Big Thief, Amanda Palmer, Andrew Bird, Hop Along. Emotive, theatrical, playful, vulnerable – basically every adjective you could ask for in a new favorite band. All the while, there was a bravery in the songwriting that felt mischievous. Songs started and there was no telling where they’d end up. It’s the kind of musical chemistry that usually only happens when the players are, like this West Philly duo of Madel Rafter and Sam Huntington, friends since childhood. It’s a language all their own.

And today we are honored to say we’re going to have a small part in translating the language for the masses. “control” is our first single with the band – thankfully the first of many, as there’s plenty more to come.

“I wrote “control” in 2017 while struggling with consistent intrusive thoughts,” says Rafter. “I wanted to capture the feeling of walking through an art museum and holding all of your muscles tightly because if you don’t, you might give into some crazy impulse and do something really really bad, like pull a painting off the wall and put your foot through it. The lyrics talk about wearing a mask for the world to conceal internal negative thoughts, and worrying about being ‘bad to the bone’ and ugly inside. On the facade, the song feels humorous, but I often use humor as a way to soften the blow of darker sentiments. Sonically, we took an approach that feels almost sing-songy at the top, but gets progressively more chaotic, fast, and emotionally blown out as the song progresses.”

Later this month the band embarks on a tour with Lucy Dacus. It kicks off in their hometown of Philly at Franklin Music Hall, a venue that’s more than 10x the size of their last hometown show at PhilaMOCA. But something tells us big audiences and big rooms aren’t going to pose much of a problem for Crooks.

Dates below. More soon.

Rubblebucket are back with the latest single from Earth Worship, the new album we announced last month. “Cherry Blossom” splits the difference between the bouncey pomp of “Morning In The Sun” and the locked groove of the title track: think the impossible genre of “country-disco”. Its video works in a similar way, marrying the homespun dance moves of “Morning” with the trippy adventure of “Earth Worship.” But with 100% more killer bugs.

“This bright breezy happy go lucky number is a simple love song that suggests the ineffable union of flowers and sunlight reaching for eachother, challenging each other, making meaning of each other,” says Rubblebucket’s Kalmia Traver. “We are guided to a place where lovers hold hands and run down lanes, pausing to pull out their magnifying lenses and inspect insects on the greenery they pass. In the bridge the repeated phrase “I know what’s underneath” (referring to passers by “with their masks on”) points to an playfulness and vulnerability the main characters share, perhaps aided by the lushness of their environment, but the line also sharpens an edge: what are the ways in which we hide ourselves from the world? And alternately, what are the ways in which we use masks to tell important stories that aid in our survival and evolution.”

This morning, the band also announced a handful of winter dates, “December Soirees,” on sale this Friday. Rest assured, there will be additional live shows on the horizon beyond this list soon.

Stay tuned.

Jordana is only a few months removed from her new album Face The Wall, but the twenty-two year old songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist never sleeps and is, unsurprisingly, already back with more. “Is It Worth It Now” is everywhere today – all fading stars, whirring synths & guitars and relationship scars, the kind of song that borrows a bit of plucky charm from Something To Say To You’s laid back indie rock and marries it with Face The Wall’s heartbreak pop. “It’s a song I wrote about taking control of your life mentally and emotionally,” says Jordana. “About questioning decisions and leaving self-pity and excuses behind.”

The new music also comes amidst a seemingly non-stop slate of live shows. Tours with Local Natives and Wallows are already in the books. Later this month she’ll hit Firefly , before she heads back out on the road with Remi Wolf in October and over to the UK & Europe in November for Pitchfork London and Paris. Tickets for all announced dates over in our tour section.

More soon.