There's something wonderfully unfashionable about the message at the centre of ‘Here We Go’: close the laptop, leave the house and spend some time with actual people. Stephen Webber’s latest Ukelately single turns that simple idea into an exuberant acoustic rush, pairing humour about post-pandemic habits with a broader reminder that community still matters. The result is bright, playful and knowingly ridiculous in places, but never frivolous. The artist has always understood

There's a noticeable shift in Shannon Darcy’s new single ‘Treasures and Gold’. Where previous releases have often leaned into attitude and defiance, this one pulls the noise back and lets the wound sit closer to the surface. Written during a difficult period, the track centres on the complicated pain of being let down by someone whose role in your life should suggest the opposite. But instead of dressing that experience up in broad metaphors, she approaches it like an unsent

There's an easy charm to ‘Cheryl Cole’ that comes from knowing exactly what it wants to celebrate. Instead of treating attraction as something superficial or exaggerated, London's March Fry uses the debut single to explore admiration in all its more interesting forms; such as confidence, warmth, wit, vulnerability and the small details that make someone sit in the imagination. Taken from her forthcoming debut album 'In No Time', ‘Cheryl Cole’ blends neo-soul, indie-pop, bedro

The most interesting thing about 'The Vault 4 Cinematic' may not be where Stephen H. Cumberbatch is going, but the distance he has travelled to get there. C’batch’s musical history reaches deep into New York’s dance culture. His songwriting and production credits include material connected to records that became fixtures of club life and later sampling culture, placing him within a musical lineage built around groove, repetition and the transformative possibilities of studio

The luminous single I Just Want To Soar, from UK based singer-songwriter JK Jerome is a transformative single, delving into old dreams and new beginnings. Written in the aftermath of band experiences, I Just Want To Soar finds renewed purpose in the stubborn act of creating, over gentle guitar lines and hazy synth pads, and as ever, JK Jerome's glorious vocal performance. JK Jerome says “This song is about aspiration, the journey of being in a band and dreaming big and having

‘OutLands’ arrives with the unmistakable feeling of lift-off. As the first single from Disco Dreams’ forthcoming second studio album, the track introduces a broader, brighter and more immersive version of his electronic world, bringing together psychedelic melody, sleek modern production and a sense of emotional release that feels immediately infectious. Disco Dreams has spent the past eighteen months refining his sound, and ‘OutLands’ feels like the full payoff. The producti

Brazilian-born composer and multidisciplinary artist Ana Schurmann has released her new single “Peacemakers”, a cinematic piece centred on unity, compassion and social responsibility. The release was entirely self-produced and features ten instruments, including piano, guitars, flutes, percussion, layered vocals and Schurmann’s own Neck Lyre, a wearable instrument that also functions as fine jewellery. The song also supports a wider humanitarian aim, with the project drawing

There's a suspended quality to ‘Dream’ that suits its title perfectly. As it plays, MILYAM lets the track hover, pulse and gradually draw us into a space where certainty starts to blur at the edges. Built around a restrained rhythmic foundation, the single sits somewhere between art rap, dark R&B and cinematic alternative music, and its appeal lies in how little it needs to force. The production is spacious, the cadence controlled, and the atmosphere deliberately nocturnal, g

Airports are strange places for heartbreak. They're too public for collapse, too regulated for confrontation, and too transient to offer the kind of closure people often want from an ending. But on ‘l'aéroport’, Budapest-based artist særa turns that tension into the emotional centre of one of the strongest moments on her EP 'Embarquement Nécessaire'. The song is built around a breakup that happens almost in motion. One person moves through security, the other stays behind, an

RISE have never sounded like a band interested in leaving good ideas half-finished. And on ‘Hard To Leave You’, the Liverpool four-piece return to a song first heard on 2024’s 'Memories and Possibilities' EP and give it a harder, more immediate second life. The new Barbarian mix is more about correction than anything else. The band clearly felt the earlier version never quite captured the force the song carried on stage, and this reworking brings that missing urgency to the s

There's a certain sadness in returning somewhere that once felt instinctively yours and realising that the place has remained familiar while your relationship to it hasn't. Allan Jamisen sits inside that feeling on ‘Milk & Honey’, turning nostalgia, distance and identity into a wonderfully affecting piece of dream-pop. The Phoenix-based composer and painter has spent much of his creative life moving between different cities, scenes and disciplines, and that sense of displacem

With 'Bric-a-Brac attack', Plain Mister Smith continues to carve out a distinctive space where indie-folk, alternative songwriting and richly textured musicianship intersect. Released via Amelia Records, the sophomore album reflects the Vancouver- and London-based artist’s eclectic background, bringing together an instinct for melody and storytelling with the kind of considered musicianship that comes naturally to a multi-instrumentalist. A former guitarist for Canadian darkw

There's a rush that comes with discovering an artist who suddenly makes the whole world of songwriting feel wider. For Reetoxa’s Jason McKee, that artist was Lou Reed, and ‘Dancing With Lou’ turns that teenage revelation into a gloriously loose, energetic piece of rock ’n’ roll. Taken from Reetoxa’s second album 'Soliloquy', the single looks back to 1995, when a fifteen-year-old McKee was introduced to Reed’s solo work through 'The Blue Mask'. Already familiar with The Velvet

Following the release of his latest single, "Karma", Flex caught up with Daniel Leckerman to find out what inspires his emotionally charged electro-pop sound. Blending atmospheric production, honest lyricism and themes of identity, belonging and personal growth, the Scottish singer-songwriter creates music that explores the connections that shape who we are. If you enjoy Daniel's picks, be sure to check out "Karma" at the end of the article. Icona Pop - Fall In Love Icona Pop

Richmond, Virginia’s The Sugar Hollows embrace the freedom of not fitting neatly into one genre. Across 'Resonance', the five-piece blend southern rock, Americana, folk, blues, indie and jam influences into a sound that feels both deeply rooted and refreshingly open-ended. Acoustic warmth, electric grit and lap steel textures give the record plenty of character, while its ten tracks draw on themes of love, loss, triumph, uncertainty and personal growth. More than simply a sho

There's a restless quality running through ‘Open Mic’, the new single from Arizona alt-rock band Gunshots or Fireworks. Taken from their second EP 'DÉSORDRE', the track sits comfortably within the band’s broader fascination with uncertainty, disconnection and the strange emotional weight of trying to find clarity in a world that rarely offers much of it. Throughout this new offering, Gunshots or Fireworks build their sound through contrast. Atmospheric guitars create a sense

Photo Credit: Cristina Fisher Ava Renn turns emotional devastation into something fiercely cinematic on ‘You Want Love’, a dark and uncompromising rock single that confronts the psychological fallout of toxic relationships head-on. Rather than romanticising pain, Renn dissects the confusion, grief and manipulation that can linger after the illusion of a relationship finally collapses. The track immediately establishes a sense of unease, building its atmosphere around thundero

Starry Venus has always approached electronic music as something broader than pure club functionality. Her work to date folds sound into visual art, performance and cinematic storytelling, and the new Eric Kupper remix of ‘Do You Feel It’ extends that instinct perfectly. The original track was already built around a sense of awakening and connection. But in Eric Kupper’s hands, that emotional centre remains intact, but the surrounding architecture shifts towards melodic tranc

There's a refreshing lack of cynicism at the centre of ‘All of Me’. Throughout his new release, Grant Harvey Dudson presents commitment as an active choice that requires presence, trust and the willingness to stop keeping part of yourself in reserve. Following up his previous offering 'Without You', the Hove-based artist’s latest single is built for open roads and warm evenings, but its emotional reach extends far beyond the season. His writing focuses on the idea that the st

Photo Credit: Respective Collective Following the release of their latest single 'Devórame', Flex caught up with multicultural Latin collective Vale! ULB to discover what influences their eclectic sound, which sees the collective balance the likes of Latin pop, Cuban rhythms, hip-hop soul and New Orleans bounce in their music. If you enjoy Vale! ULB's picks, be sure to check out 'Devórame' at the end of the article. 1. Lil Wayne Lollipop (Deezle) "This song is special to me b