DJ Artin continues to prove that emotional storytelling and dancefloor appeal are far from mutually exclusive on his latest single, 'Free Summers'. Featuring the radiant vocals of Clarsy Mae, the track lands as an uplifting slice of melodic dance-pop, balancing festival-sized energy with a refreshing sense of sincerity that gives it lasting impact beyond its immediate hooks. Built around shimmering synth work, warm piano flourishes and crisp house-inspired percussion, 'Free S

With 'Lovergirl', Cybèle delivers a polished blend of contemporary pop and R&B, pairing atmospheric production with emotionally nuanced songwriting. The single explores themes of self-worth, vulnerability and personal growth, allowing her expressive vocal performance to shine against a backdrop of lush harmonies and understated, cinematic instrumentation. The collaboration with Grammy Award-winning songwriter Tristan Rice results in a composition that feels both intimate and

A song title like ‘You Can’t Bring That In Here, Our Drummer Has A Peanut Allergy’ immediately tells you something important about Tiebreak. This is a band unwilling to sand away its personality for the sake of appearing overly serious, polished or market-ready. The Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire five-piece approach their latest single with a sense of humour, but the joke never becomes a substitute for the music. Beneath its brilliantly unwieldy title is a young indie b

Some songs seem designed to interrupt routine. They arrive with open skies, warm air and the suggestion that somewhere beyond the ordinary, another adventure is already beginning. And ‘Sunset Dreams’, the latest release from award-winning saxophonist and composer Suzanne Grzanna, captures that spirit with an easy confidence, transforming a medium-tempo samba into a bright celebration of movement, romance and possibility. The track is built around a rhythmic foundation that fe

Following the release of his latest album 'Chapters', Flex caught up with British singer-songwriter Tom Moriarty to discover what influences his folk-rock style. If you enjoy Tom's picks, be sure to check out 'Chapters' at the end of the article. 1. Bruce Springsteen, Meeting Across the River I was 17 when I first listened to Springsteen’s album Born To Run. I had to be one of the best albums ever made. People will know the track “Born To Run” however this was from a time w

Morphide have never sounded like a band content to play it safe, and with Mental, the Latvian modern metal force deliver their most ambitious and emotionally charged statement yet. Blending crushing heaviness with atmospheric depth and progressive ambition, the album captures a band pushing beyond genre boundaries while keeping its intensity firmly intact. Built around themes of grief, healing and transformation, Mental turns personal struggle into a powerful sonic journey. T

There's something refreshingly unhurried about Mandu Soul's debut album, Entelechy. Rather than trying to cram every idea into one record, the Virginia artist lets each of these 12 tracks breathe, blending classic soul influences with contemporary R&B in a way that feels effortless. The result is an album that puts emotion first, exploring love, growth and self-discovery with warmth and sincerity. That sense of honesty runs through every performance. Mandu Soul's vocals are s

HINDOWA continues to carve out a distinctive lane with Warchief 2: The Cure, a 17-track mixtape that favours emotional truth over pristine production. The Portland artist embraces an intentionally rough-hewn aesthetic throughout, weaving lo-fi textures, ambient studio sounds and unfiltered vocal takes into a body of work that feels strikingly immediate. Every imperfection serves a purpose, drawing listeners closer into HINDOWA's world rather than distancing them behind layers

Photo credit: Enrique Levya Rodrigo y Gabriela have released 'OurHome', the title track from their forthcoming studio album due to arrive on September 18 via ATO Records. Serving as the opening piece on the record, the instrumental composition centres around the idea that home can exist beyond geography, instead being found through purpose, connection and personal balance. The track pairs Rodrigo Sánchez's intricate lead work with Gabriela Quintero's unmistakable rhythmic pla

Following the release of their latest single 'please', Flex caught up with London shoegaze band sadplanet to discover what influences their alternative blend of shoegaze, dream-pop, and indie rock. If you enjoy sadplaent's picks, be sure to check out 'please' at the end of the article. 1. Dinosaur Jr - Little Furry Things - AIDEN KNOWLES (GUITAR) My favourite song by one of my favourite albums of all time, and I feel like this record is the perfect portrayal of their iconic s

Photo credit: Alex Carre Born and raised in rural Ontario, Fraser Wayne has spent the last decade carving out a distinctive voice within Canada's independent music scene. After making their mark in Montreal with garage rock outfit The Fuzzy Undertones, Wayne returned to Ontario, working on a farm while assembling a collective of Toronto rock veterans known as The Desert Eagles. The result is Follow The Darkness Into The Light, an evocative debut album via Good Gourd Records.

Written and produced by Michael A. Levine, ‘Rita’s Song’ is inspired by the extraordinary journey of Rafaela “Rita” Crevoshay, someone who endured decades of suppressed identity before arriving at a moment of profound self-recognition. Tender rather than theatrical, it transforms one woman’s deeply personal transition into a wider statement about courage, liberation and the possibility of beginning again at any age. Rita transitioned at 76, after spending most of her life una

Grief rarely arrives in a straight line. It disorientates, interrupts and transforms ordinary journeys into something dreamlike, where landscapes pass by without fully registering and time seems to move at the wrong speed. And on ‘Confusion Inland’, The Beatroot Road captures that unsettled state with remarkable imagination by creating a deeply atmospheric piece that feels like a passage through memory, absence and gradual acceptance. The fifth release from the forthcoming te

On their debut full-length 'The Long Highway', Michael Landgarten and The Converts bring together decades of friendship, hard-earned musical instinct and a restless fascination with life’s biggest questions. It's an album with dust on its boots and philosophy in its bloodstream, moving confidently between heartland rock, country soul, folk storytelling and the rawer edges of alternative music. Although The Converts are new in name, the chemistry is anything but. Landgarten is

Photo credit Michael Biddinger Following the release of his latest single “Still Goin’”, Flex caught up with New Jersey singer-songwriter Steven Lemonto explore the influences behind his heartfelt blend of indie pop, rock and folk. If you enjoy Steven’s picks, be sure to check out “Still Goin’” at the end of the article. The Luckiest - Ben Folds I was a huge fan of Ben Folds Five when they were putting out records. Ben released his first solo album and this was the closing tr

Canadian musician Cliff Stevens has released his latest single 'Try' as the first release from his upcoming seventh studio album. Known for a catalogue built across six records and years of international touring, Stevens uses the new track to explore territory beyond the style that first established his reputation. While his guitar-led songwriting remains central, 'Try' introduces broader influences and a more expansive arrangement built around layers of keys, acoustic and el

A well-chosen cover can reveal as much about the interpreter as it does about the original writer. And with ‘Alchemist’, Rusty Reid takes a relatively recent composition by Zack Kibodeaux of Blue Water Highway and places it inside a broader, more atmospheric setting, finding fresh emotional space without losing sight of the songwriting beneath it. The track appears on Reid’s fifth album 'Lone Stardust (Masterworks of Texas Songwriters)', a nineteen-song survey of writers conn

There is something thrilling about hearing an artist unlock the doors to their own history and discover that the music inside still feels alive. And on 'The Vault 3', New York's C’batch transforms unreleased recordings into a vibrant, full-bodied celebration of club culture, soul and electronic possibility. But rather than sounding like a collection of rescued demos, the album arrives with real purpose. House rhythms, techno pressure, funk basslines, alt-pop melodies and smoo

On his second full-length release 'Solip', Irish singer-songwriter Kilkelly delivers a bold, unsettling and richly imagined record that expands folk music far beyond its familiar boundaries. Rooted in storytelling but alive with theatrical tension, strange detail and flashes of genuine beauty, 'Solip' feels like the work of an artist refusing to make grief polite, predictable or easy to consume. Its instrumental world is extraordinary, as sweeping strings and choral voices ap

West Coast hip-hop collides with nightlife energy as Reese Weil and Nef The Pharaoh deliver a confident, club-ready single about tuning out the noise and living in the moment. CHICO, CA (July 4, 2026) - There is a particular freedom that comes with cruising the city after dark, windows down, music rattling the speakers, the weight of everything that does not matter falling further behind with every mile. It is a feeling less explained than lived - and on a good night, with th