Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Hot Garbage Returns with Woozy and Noisy “SPUN”

Toronto-based psych outfit Hot Garbage — Alex Carlevaris (lead vocals, guitar), Juliana Carlevaris (bass, vocals), Dylan Gamble (keys, synths) and Mark Henin (drums) — began 2026 with “Wewu,” the first bit of new material since their sophomore album, 2024’s Precious Dream.

The Canadian noise rock outfit’s second single of the year, the Graham Walsh-produced “SPUN.” “SPUN” is a woozy yet furious ear drum shattering assault anchored around a fuzzy bass line, cataclysmic and thunderous drumming, scorching Sonic Youth-like guitar and space age-like keys. Sonically, the song evokes the frenetic, churning tumult of our moment.

Directed by the band’s Dylan Gamble, the accompanying video for “SPUN” features Sook-Yin Lee as “The Bug.” Split between illustrations by Lee and footage shot in Gamble’s dark and trippy psychedelic style, the video follows a day and night in the life of “The Bug.” In the dead of winter, a hibernating bug ventures down a heating vent, only to find itself stuck outside on Toronto’s frozen streets. Crawling across icy cement and flying across a brutalist skyline, Lee’s bug explores a strange city with awe and fear. After a reflective moment in a park, it flies into the night, buzzing through the dark corridors of the Old City before making a startling and deadly encounter. “The buzzing harmonics of the guitar mirror the sketchy inner dialogue of the insect, while the lyrics remind it of the short time it has left.” the band says.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 76th Birthday, Stevie Wonder!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Stevie Wonder’s 76th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: POND Returns with Searching and Yearning “Through The Heather”

Perth-based JOVM mainstays POND — currently, Nicholas Allbrook (lead vocals, guitar, keys, bass, flute, slide guitar and drums); singer/songwriter and producer Jay Watson (vocals, guitar, keys, drums, synths and bass), who’s also the creative mastermind of acclaimed JOVM mainstay outfit GUM and a touring member of acclaimed, Grammy Award-nominated JOVM mainstays Tame Impala; Joe Ryan (vocals, guitar, bass, 12 string guitar, slide guitar); Jamie Terry (keys, bass, synths, organs, guitar); and Jamie Ireland (drums, keys) — will be releasing their 11th album Terrestrials on June 19, 2026 through their newly-minted Mangovision/Secretly Distribution. 

The writing and recording process for Terrestrials was subject to a simple set of rules: No fuzz pedal. No ballads. No “Pink Floyd shit.” Conceived from a place of deep reverence for a particular potent era of Oz rock, the JOVM mainstays’ 11th album reportedly mines the sound of open sky melancholia, heat haze sizzling on the plains and jangly pub backrooms that will hit an eternally poignant nerve for those familiar with the sound, time and place. And from there, the album evolved with the idea of “Goths at the pub” becoming the record’s stylistic north star — with 80s Australiana being acid-washed with the post-punk of Sisters Of Mercy, Magazine and the like. Throughout the album’s creative and recording process, they’d ask themselves “Would Goths like it? Could you have a beer to this?” If the answers were yes, it was thrust into the mix. 

Like much of their catalog, Terrestrials is a record of people and place, of exploring the identity of each, as well as where and how they intersect and interact. Thematically, the album touches upon extractive capitalism, power dynamics., inequality, Indigenous incarceration, eccentric outcasts, fire and water, diesel and dust, unity and division, blood and bauxite, unborn tomorrows and dead yesterdays. And as a result, the album’s material twitches with the desperation of people and their planet on the brink, but while betting on the beauty of both to prevail. 

The album will feature the recently released, album title track “Terrestrials,” he Sisters of Mercy-meets-Diesel and Dust-era Midnight Oil-like “Two Hands,” and the album’s third and latest single “Through The Heather.” Anchored around a chintzy and shimmering Casio keyboard-like synth melody and driving rhythms, Terrestrials‘ third single may arguably be the album’s most searching and achingly yearning tune.

“Through the Heather” was initially conceived while Pond toured Europe last year. Drummer/Keyboardist Gin kept himself entertained by conjuring musical experiments on Ableton; a few a day until something stood out. “Then him and [multi-instrumentalist + founding member] Gum worked on it more in a hotel room while watching Ice Road Truckers or something equally shit,” frontman Nicholas Allbrook explains.

“Sometimes rock and roll is a glamorous game baby, but mainly it isn’t. Funny that such a beautiful, melancholic, searching song was born surrounded by chip packets and track pants in a van full of filthy pigs,” Allbrook continues. “We had so much fun making the spring reverb thunderclaps, giving the spring a cheeky little pinch to make it go BOOM, looking out over the Indian ocean from our porch/studio in Seabird while MasterChef played silently in the corner. Let that be a lesson to all you young rockers ok? Can’t get too inspiring ya know. Gotta keep a lid on it. Chucking on the telly or making a samwich or having a nap should do it.”

Animated by Albert Pritchard, the accompanying video for “Through The Heather” is a mind-bending visual that features heather growing near a medieval-styled castle, a bat flying through a lightning storm, an army of marching red-eyed spiders and more.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Widowspeak Returns with Swooning “Soft Cover”

New York-based indie outfit Widowspeak — Molly Hamilton and Robert Earl Thomas— are one of many bands to crop up in the busy local scene around the time I started this site, almost 16 years ago. They started out shuffling their gear between now, long-shuttered — and deeply beloved — venues like Glasslands, Cake Shop, 285 Kent, Death By Audio and a lengthy list of others, and their practice space at Monster Island Basement, which now is a Trader Joe’s. New York has fucking changed, y’all. Speaking of changes: the duo is now a married couple, working day jobs in their own off-season. Thomas is a carpenter, Hamilton a waitress. 

Recently, the duo announced that their highly-anticipated seventh album, Roses will be released June 5, 2026 through Captured Tracks. Deeply informed by their respective day jobs, Roses isn’t populated with dramatic overtures, but with the backdrop of the minutiae and repetition of daily acts. There’s the small observations before, during and after work: the ritual-like act of pouring water or coffee for customers, the bemusement and frustration of catching a cold on your only day off. Maybe you’re daydreaming about your life if you won the lottery — or maybe realizing that you already won. 

The 10-song Roses was recorded last January at the Old Carpet Factory on the Greek Island of Hydra, a studio located in an old house, tucked into the village’s steep hills. During the winter, without the rush of tourists, it’s quiet. Longtime touring members Willy Muse, John Andrews and Noah Bond were the session backing band. 

The album’s material was then taken home and slowly, lightly tinkered with before being mixed by Alex Farrar at Drop of Sun Studios and mastered by Greg Obis at Chicago Mastering. 

Throughout the album, intimate spaces and stages of love are captured with a nostalgic, almost sepia-toned, vaseline coated lens. As always, the beating heart of their work is the interplay between Hamilton’s languid, dreamy and textured delivery and Hamilton’s bluesy, visceral guitar work. 

Roses‘ will include the previously released “If You Change,” the lush and cinematic “No Driver,” and the album’s third and latest single, “Soft Cover.” “Soft Cover” is a shuffling driving and achingly gorgeous song anchored around featuring what may arguably the album’s most sweeping hooks and Hamilton’s swooning, heartfelt delivery. The song evokes both the sensation of daydreaming about someone, as you’re going about the mundane actions of your day — and the sensation of longing and hoping to see that special someone as soon as possible.

“Soft Cover” is about infatuation: wanting and daydreaming about someone as you’re going about your day… even if, and maybe especially if, you’ve been with them a long time,” says Hamilton. “We brought in a Rhodes for this one, so it came in a car from Athens, then took a boat, then a donkey carried it up to the studio,” Hamilton adds, describing the unique recording conditions they experienced at the Old Carpet Factory on the Greek island Hydra.

Directed by Otium, the accompanying video features the band’s Molly Hamilton as a singing telegram girl, who daydreams of a idealized Shakespearean/Renaissance Faire man (Robert Earl Thomas) courting her with old-timey poetry as she reads from her pulp novel. “The video is the last in the world of the trilogy, where the Singing Telegram Girl is dreaming about an idealized Renaissance Faire Guy while waiting around, reading a pulpy novel,” Hamilton says. “Rob was incredibly enthusiastic about this one because he loves medieval history and we got to pick out some fun costumes from Adele’s of Hollywood. He’s a star!”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Alex Amen Returns with Homesick and Weary “California Blues”

Alex Amen is a rising, 26 year-old Texas-born, Los Angeles-based indie folk/country singer/songwriter. When he was four, he took up piano and studied with the same Houston-based jazz pianist through the end of high school. The rising, young country folk artist started playing guitar in his mid-teens after discovering Nirvana, Neil Young and the like. When he was 18, Amen relocated from Texas to California to study filmmaking — with the intention of making documentaries about rock climbing, one of his lifelong passions.

After one semester, he dropped out to focus on music full-time and moved to the Dittman Family Commune, an Anaheim-based commune with historic ties to the countercultural movements of the mid 1960s, where he started his first band, a psychedelic folk rock outfit named American Slang in 2017.“The commune was a crazy place to live—there were hippies and punks and skaters, all in this beautiful house that used to be on six acres of strawberry fields but now it’s surrounded by strip malls,” the Texan-born singer/songwriter says. ““The house was owned by a professor who’d bought it in the mid-’60s and still lived there with his family, so it had this fascinating history with the anti-war movement and renowned civil-rights/psychedelic activists from that time. We’d have these big communal meals every day and debate art and God and food and politics. It was a pretty amazing place to live for a while.”

The band broke up shortly after its formation. And Amen relocated yet again from Southern California to an island in Washington State’s Puget Sound. Over the course of the next three years, Amen spent n relative isolation, taking up interests in mycology, mountaineering, poetry and wooden boat building. But as the years began to pass, he felt an increasing need to return to California to pursue music. 

In January 2023, Amen self-produced his debut EP, last year’s The Zorthian Tapes in a self-built studio at Altadena, CA’s historic Zorthian Ranch. He now resides in Los Angeles, releasing music among the city’s growing folk/Americana/country scene and playing shows across North America and elsewhere. 

The past 18 months or so have been very busy: Last year he toured with Folk Bitch Trio, a tour that included a stop at Baby’s All Right. He has also made the rounds of the international festival circuit, playing Pitchfork Festival London and Pitchfork Festival Paris, Newport Folk Festival, Iceland Airwaves, Austin City Limits and Outside Lands. And he participated in the Americana Music Association‘s annual Grammy Eve concert at the Troubadour to honor the legendary Neil Young. 

The rising young singer/songwriter recently signed to ATO Records, who will be releasing his highly-anticipated debut Sun of Amen on June 12, 2026. The album will include “Cabin by the Sea,” which features some gorgeous and expressive pedal steel from Tommy de Bourbon and strutting bass from Grammy-nominated Billy Mohler, and the album’s second and latest single “California Blues.”

Subtly channeling a mix of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and the Laurel Canyon sound, “California Blues” features a homesick vagabond and wandering troubadour narrator, who illuminates an uneasy contrast between the quintessential California dream and its lived reality of heartbreaking isolation and desperation. “‘California Blues’ is a song I wrote years before I ever lived in California that somehow expressed the things I felt living there years later,” says Amen. “More than any other song made during my time in California it touched on the balance between excitement and isolation one can face when they chase their dreams out West.”

Amen is currently on tour. And along with the new single, he announces a summer run of tour dates that includes a July 29, 2026 stop at Elsewhere Rooftop. Check out the rest of the tour dates below.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 98th Birthday, Burt Bacharach!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 98th anniversary of the birth of Burt Bacharach.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 78th Birthday, Steve Winwood!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Steve Winwood’s 78th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 64th Birthday, Brett Gurewitz!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Bad Religion co-founder and guitarist, and Epitaph Records founder Brett Gurewitz’s 64th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: London’s The Howlers Share Swaggering, Arena Rock Friendly “Viper”

2024 was a breakthrough year for London-based rock outfit The Howlers. Their self-funded, self-released full-length debut, What You’ve Got To Lose To Win It All received widespread acclaim across Europe. The album exploded into the UK Independent Breakers Charts Top 10 while landing on several other independent, vinyl and physical sales charts. And adding to a growing profile, What You’ve Got To Lose To Win It All received airplay from BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Radio X and Absolute Radio as well as editorial playlisting internationally across Apple Music and Spotify.

The momentum and buzz surrounding the band translated to the stage. A sold-out 18-date UK headlining tour saw the band quickly establishing themselves as one of the country’s newest, most exciting live acts. This was followed by a European Union tour that featured sold-out shows across eight countries, while they road-tested material that would ultimately shape what came next.

As the year came to a close, the band went through a massive lineup shakeup, which led to the band continuing as a duo featuring Adam Young (vocals, guitar) and Toby Richards (drums). The lineup change was a shift that redefined the band’s sound and creative direction, while bringing a renewed sense of focus and identity.

Last year, as a duo, the London-based outfit released two singles “Night Crawling” and “You Can Be So Cruel” before signing with FLG, who will release their highly-anticipated sophomore album, Heavy. Written and produced alongside longtime collaborator, Black Honey‘s Chris Ostler, The Howlers’ sophomore album sees the band deliberately eschewing traditional studio methods. The album was written and recorded remotely — with demos, ideas and reworked arrangements sent back and forth across digital platforms — stripping everything back while pushing each song to its strongest form. Only in the album’s final stages did the duo enter rehearsal spaces to capture live drums, grounding the material’s experimental edges with raw, physical energy,

“This album is those late night experiences, the after dark conversations, late night phone calls, the seductive nature of impulsiveness that seems so alluring and losing yourself in the addictive nature of recklessness — but it’s also the mirror in the morning, the wake up call, and the harsh reality of knowing those feelings won’t always last,” The Howlers’ Adam Young says. “It’s the moment you find yourself again.”

Heavy‘s latest single “Viper” is a swaggering, arena rock friendly ripper, featuring a pulsing and slithering riff and driving rhythms paired with songwriting anchored in inputs, tension, unease, desire and consequence. The song’s narrator talks about being drawn to something or someone, knowing it’s bad for you — and doing it anyway.

“Viper speaks to an experience of being totally drawn towards someone even though you can see the red flags — the desire for all of us to willingly make bad decisions for the thrill of what comes next, regardless of consequences.” says Young “You’re lost in the moment together. But no matter how much you kid yourself into believing the Bonnie & Clyde fantasy, they will always cause you pain in the end.”

The accompanying video features some sleek, stylishly shot footage of the band performing the song in the studio — as though they were in an arena.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Alaska Blue Shares Brooding and Groovy “White Spaces”

Over the past couple of years, I’ve spilled a bit of ink covering the Italian indie duo and JOVM mainstays Alaska Blue — singer/songwriter Elisabeta Giordano and musician Davide Cast. The duo recently released their third full-length album, personal troubles are public issues last week.

personal trouble are public issues’ latest single “White Spaces” is a brooding, deeply introspective tune that sees the band blending elements of synth pop, indie soul and soul, featuring a strutting and sultry groove and shimmering synths paired with Giordano’s soulful delivery and the duo’s uncanny knack for catchy hooks. The result is a song that’s perfect for restless, late night drives and makeout sessions while channeling the likes of Geowulf, Still Corners and Tan Cologne among others.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: lazybed Shares Jangling, Hook-Driven “time”

Macau-based Filipino artist Richard Winstanley can trace the origins of his music career back to high school, when he started writing, producing and mixing demos using GarageBand. His first solo project, a fictional band he called The Yankies saw him writing and recording songs in both English and Filipino. Although he never released those early tracks publicly, this early work wound up laying the foundation for his future musical explorations.

Winstanley stepped away from music while attending college. But after graduation, he found his passion for music re-ignited. He publicly emerged with his second solo recording project Cardz, which saw him release 2024’s mini-album Lok Kuan Express through Bandcamp and YouTube. For the most part, music was a beloved hobby that offered him a creative escape from his full-time job.

Earlier this year, the Macau-based artist emerged with his latest solo project lazybed, which derives it name from “lazy afternoons on [sic] my bedroom making music.” lazybed reflects a shift in sonic direction that sees Winstanley embracing guitar-driven indie rock. jangle pop and psych pop. Drawing from Broken Social Scene, MGMT, Blur, Eraserheaads, Mac DeMarco and more, the Macau-based artist creates songs from his bedroom using his MacBook and Logic Pro X.

The Macau-based artist’s latest single “time” is a remarkably catchy, hook-driven song that seemingly channels 00s jangle pop, slacker pop and New Order while thematically focusing on the inevitable passing of time, getting older and feeling like you’ve wasted both time and your life away. The song is rooted in a timeless theme that would be familiar to someone in their 20s or their 40s — but with a slightly different weight.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 61st Birthday, Greg Dulli!

JOVM’s Wiliam Ruben Helms celebrates Afghan Whigs’, Gutter Twins and Twilight Singers’ co-founder Greg Dulli’s 61st birthday.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Jazen Happy Teams Up with Solara Harris on Euphoric “Las Guardianas”

Jazen Happy is an electronic producer and artist, who has developed a reputation for crafting an upbeat and vibrant fusion of techno and electronic dance music paired with catchy lyrics that’s inspired from both underground rhythms and mainstream trends. His latest single, “Las Guardianas” feat. Solara Harris is an upbeat and summery bit of melodic house, anchored around glistening synth arpeggios and Harris’ soulful delivery that’s simultaneously club and festival friendly — and showcases the producer’s ability to craft a remarkably catchy hook.

Jazen Happy explains that the song is inspired by Tulum sunrises and is specifically designed to create a real emotional lift.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Joey Alexander Tackles a Beloved Jazz Standard

22 year-old, Balinese-born, Grammy Award-nominated composer and pianist Joey Alexander has spent more than a decade establishing himself as one of jazz’s most celebrated young artists, with his career starting in earnest back in 2013 when Wynton Marsalis invited him to play at Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala. Since then, Alexander has played with Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding at the Obama White House, and he has been the subject of profiles on 60 Minutes, The New York Times, and a list of others.

Alexander’s third album, the Jason Olaine-produced Celestial Keeper is slated for a July 17, 2026 through Mack Avenue Records. Celestial Keeper sees the rising, young composer and pianist reflecting on creativity, faith, gratitude and personal transformation. Inspired by what Alexander describes as his “celestial keeper” — a spiritual force akin to a muse or guardian angel — the album explores the challenge of overcoming doubt and artist’s block. “There’s a spiritual force that reminds me of the gift of music that God has bestowed upon me,” Alexander explains. “That voice prompts me to keep the lamp burning or the music playing.”

The album comes during a pivotal chapter in the rising young artist’s life, following his family’s recent move back to his native Bali after spending years in New York and Baltimore. Immersing himself in Indonesia’s nature and rhythms — again — deeply shaped the album’s aura of beauty and wonder, “I live by the mountains, which are a constant reminder of the beauty of nature and the gift of life,” he says.

Celestial Keeper also sees the debut of Alexander’s latest trio: Kris Funn (bass) returns from 2023’s applauded Continuance and Jonathan Barber (drums), recording with the Balinese-born composer and pianist for the first time, after two years of touring. The trio is joined by Philadelphia-born Jaleel Shaw (saxophone) for three tracks. Alexander added vocals to the nix for the first time on the album, collaborating with with rising singer/songwriter Alita Moses on a new original “Whispers of Love” and Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Lisa Fischer on a rendition of the beloved standard “My Funny Valentine.” And in a full circle moment, the album was produced by Jason Olaine, who produced Alexander’s 2015 debut, My Favorite Things.

Celestial Keeper’s first single, sees the Grammy Award-nominated composer and pianist, tackling the beloved standard, “Stella By Starlight.” Channeling Alexander’s lifelong love of Miles Davis and Bill Evans, the young Balinese delivers a vibrant and soulful take that showcases his ability to breathe new, youthful life into an oft-covered standard.