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Pop-Rock Newcomer Holly Nicholson Unleashes Angsty New Single “i forget we’re friends”

Eric Alper
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Pop-Rock Newcomer Holly Nicholson Unleashes Angsty New Single “i forget we’re friends”

Holly Nicholson has released “i forget we’re friends,” her most anticipated single to date and a track that has already proven itself a fan favourite across sell-out shows and a UK tour. Channeling the ache of forbidden love through tormented vocals, blistering synths, powerful guitars, and relentless bass, the song pulls from the friends-to-lovers trope with a rawness that feels both deeply personal and immediately universal. Holly describes its creation with striking clarity: “It came out of me in a single, unbroken, thirty-minute rush. I slipped into an uninhibited state where the feelings and lyrics poured out, messy, intense waves of unrequited love and emotional chaos. This song is about falling for someone who feels so right but is, in every practical sense, so wrong. You’re star-crossed lovers who will never make it to the starting line, held back by how much there is to lose.”

Raised on bright eighties melodies and shaped by the bold honesty of today’s unflinching pop storytellers, Holly has built a growing fanbase on the strength of her fearless emotional edge and heartfelt songwriting. She describes her sound as “pop music with a little bit of edge,” a phrase that carries a double meaning: sonically, it’s the guitar tones and rock-leaning attitude she grew up loving, and lyrically, it’s the honesty she leads with. “I was raised on 80s music and that influence blends with today’s artists, like Olivia Rodrigo, who inspire me to be bolder and more vulnerable,” she explains. “The sound of this track feels like a step toward what I want to claim as my own. Something with more grit, more truth, and more emotional bite.”

“i forget we’re friends” arrives as Holly lays the groundwork for her sophomore EP, and it signals something bigger than a single release. The track’s crashing intensity and undeniable emotional pull mark the opening chapter of a bolder creative vision from one of the UK’s most exciting emerging voices, an artist unafraid to confront the messiness of love and turn it into something that hits hard.

Sony Music Nashville Singer-Songwriter Ian Harrison Pours Raw Emotion Into New Single “Games”

Eric Alper
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Sony Music Nashville Singer-Songwriter Ian Harrison Pours Raw Emotion Into New Single “Games”

Ian Harrison has released “Games,” his latest single and one of his most emotionally direct tracks to date. Written alongside Dan Agee and Carson Wallace, the song tackles the toxic reality of modern situationships, loving someone who takes advantage of your feelings without offering real commitment or accountability in return. Harrison is candid about the inspiration: “‘Games’ is a song about loving someone who abuses the feelings you have for them. I think we’ve all been in relationships where someone has taken advantage of the things you would do for them and as much as you want to say no, it’s not always easy to let go of that rope.”

The Delaware, Ohio native now based in Nashville signed to Sony Music Nashville after years of grinding through co-writes and dive bar gigs while working construction and bartending to pay the bills. Inspired by Maroon 5, Noah Kahan, Billy Joel, The Lumineers, Bruce Springsteen, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, Harrison developed a sound that blends Americana, rock, alt-pop, and indie with lyrics brimming with candor and self-awareness. His recent releases “Cheap Shots” and “If You Ever Loved Me” have been building momentum, and “Games” pushes that forward with a track designed to hit both emotionally and viscerally. “I hope they feel the emotion and intention, but I also hope they can scream it at the top of their lungs in the car because it feels so big,” Harrison says. “I hope it gives people a couple minutes to feel heard and not like they are alone in their experiences.”

Harrison has joined the lineup for Extra Innings Festival in Tempe, Arizona, adding another chapter to what is shaping up to be a breakthrough year for one of Nashville’s most compelling new voices.

Metalcore Outfit Capsize Drop Brooding New Single “Under A Hollow Sky” Ahead Of First Physical Release Since 2016

Eric Alper
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Metalcore Outfit Capsize Drop Brooding New Single “Under A Hollow Sky” Ahead Of First Physical Release Since 2016

Capsize have released “Under A Hollow Sky,” their second new track since signing to Roux & Ruin Records, following late 2025’s “The Fracture” and building toward their first physical release since ‘A Reintroduction: The Essence Of All That Surrounds Me’ arrived via Equal Vision Records in 2016. Co-produced by Cody Stewart (Falling In Reverse, nothing, nowhere), the track adds another piece to a picture the band is deliberately revealing slowly. Singer Daniel Wand frames it plainly: “With the release of this new single, we’re opening another window into what we’ve been building without revealing the full picture just yet. Cody Stewart helped bring the production to the finish line on this one, and we’re excited about where things are quietly headed.”

Power Metal Pioneers Iron Savior Transform Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax” Ahead Of Album ‘Awesome Anthems of the Galaxy’

Eric Alper
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Power Metal Pioneers Iron Savior Transform Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax” Ahead Of Album ‘Awesome Anthems of the Galaxy’

Hamburg power metal pioneers Iron Savior have released “Relax,” a crushing metal reinterpretation of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s legendary 1984 hit, and the latest single from their upcoming album ‘Awesome Anthems of the Galaxy,’ due March 27 via PERCEPTION, a division of Reigning Phoenix Music. Following their previous metal makeovers of Irene Cara’s “Fame” and Alphaville’s “Forever Young,” the band once again proves their ability to transform iconic pop songs into uncompromising power metal anthems without losing the spirit of the original. Frontman Piet Sielck is direct about his connection to the source material: “Relax is one of my all time favorite non-metal songs. It’s been on my mind for a very long time to do this and I really think this version serves the original well. We did a good job in transferring the vibe and the energy of the original into the Iron Savior cosmos.”

‘Awesome Anthems of the Galaxy’ transforms some of the most iconic pop hits of the eighties into full-throttle power metal epics, drawing on A-ha’s “Take On Me,” Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds,” Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora’s “When The Rain Begins To Fall,” and Michael Sembello’s “Maniac,” among others. The project has been two decades in the making. “After the huge success of the 2002 ‘Condition Red’ bonus track ‘Crazy’ by Seal, we have been asked by fans and media almost constantly to do a complete cover tracks album,” Sielck explains. “So, two decades later here we are. ‘Awesome Anthems’ continues the transformation from pop-to-metal in Iron Savior style. We are absolutely proud of the outcome. I guarantee a lot of smiles.”

With soaring vocals, massive guitars, and their unmistakable melodic precision, Iron Savior inject each track with the fire that has defined their sound since the late nineties, reforging pop classics into something heavier, brighter, and unmistakably their own.

Gothic Rock Legends The 69 Eyes Release “I Survive” Featuring Billy Idol’s Steve Stevens

Eric Alper
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Gothic Rock Legends The 69 Eyes Release “I Survive” Featuring Billy Idol’s Steve Stevens

The 69 Eyes have released “I Survive,” a brand new single featuring Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens, and the first release under their newly inked deal with BLKIIBLK, the heavy metal imprint of Frontiers Label Group. Formed in Helsinki in 1989 and still operating with the same lineup nearly four decades later, the Helsinki Vampires have built one of the most enduring legacies in gothic rock, releasing thirteen albums and achieving gold and platinum status in their native Finland while touring the world without notable interruption for twenty years.

The band occupies a singular space in rock, one foot in glam and one in goth, keeping the Johnny Thunders flame burning with leather jackets, midnight sunglasses, and low-slung guitars at a time when true believers in that aesthetic are increasingly rare. Their biggest hit, “Lost Boys” from 2005, was immortalized in a music video directed by MTV Jackass star and skater Bam Margera and remains a fixture on Halloween rock playlists to this day. “I Survive” carries that same sleazy, atmospheric charge, now amplified by Stevens’ unmistakable guitar work.

With a classic rock lineup of vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, bass, and drums, The 69 Eyes have always relied on the magic that happens when those elements lock in on stage. That chemistry, combined with a cult following that has grown across generations, makes “I Survive” feel less like a comeback and more like a band that simply never stopped.

Coleman Jennings Releases Dave Cobb-Produced Debut EP ‘Ride On’ Via Big Loud Texas

Eric Alper
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Coleman Jennings Releases Dave Cobb-Produced Debut EP ‘Ride On’ Via Big Loud Texas

Coleman Jennings has released his debut label EP ‘Ride On’ via Big Loud Texas/Mercury Records, a five-track introduction to one of country music’s most authentically distinctive new voices. Produced by Grammy-winning veteran Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson) and recorded in part in a stream of creative consciousness at Cobb’s studio in Savannah, Georgia, the EP showcases Jennings’ hypnotic vibrato and his fearless range across Western, folk, honky tonk, outlaw, Americana, old-time, and bluegrass. All five songs are solo-penned by Jennings, joining already released tracks “Head Spinning” and the seventies-style harmony-rich “Jamie” with three new additions.

Jennings is clear about his approach: “I just love what I love. I don’t care about genre and I have no guardrails on what I do. My favorite artists are open to writing things that challenge, stuff that makes people think, and my dream is to take that all the way.” A student of music who cites Townes Van Zandt, The Eagles, Blaze Foley, John Hartford, and Lynyrd Skynyrd as inspirations, Jennings carries the DNA of the great American troubadour tradition while moving it forward on his own terms.

The Texas native has been building his live presence alongside the release, recently supporting Dwight Yoakam on a run of dates through February and into March, and hosting an ongoing residency at Austin’s Sagebrush every second and fourth Monday of the month.

John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Lukas Nelson, Sierra Ferrell And More Unite On Playing For Change’s “Riders On The Storm”

Eric Alper
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John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Lukas Nelson, Sierra Ferrell And More Unite On Playing For Change’s “Riders On The Storm”

Playing For Change has released a new Song Around The World version of The Doors’ “Riders on the Storm,” honoring the band’s 60th anniversary with a global collaboration featuring original members John Densmore and Robby Krieger alongside the legendary vocals of Jim Morrison and a tribute to Ray Manzarek. Joined by over 20 musicians and dancers from eight countries, the performance reimagines one of rock’s most haunting anthems through the lens of unity and musical connection, opening with the Lakota Drum Group grounding the song in ancestral rhythm before expanding into something genuinely moving.

The collaboration brings together magnetic performances from Lukas and Micah Nelson, Sierra Ferrell, and Rami Jaffee of the Foo Fighters, among many others. “Riders on the Storm” carries particular weight as a starting point. Released in June 1971 on ‘L.A. Woman,’ it was the last song recorded by all four original Doors members and the final single released before Jim Morrison died in Paris just weeks later. Their longtime producer Paul Rothchild famously walked out of the sessions, refusing to produce the album after calling the track “cocktail music.” The band co-produced ‘L.A. Woman’ with engineer Bruce Botnick, resulting in a rawer, bluesier sound that has only deepened the song’s legacy over six decades.

The release also marks a full-circle moment for Playing For Change Foundation, as the collaboration will help support their first music program established in America, developed in partnership with Indigenous-led non-profit First Peoples Fund. The program uplifts Indigenous communities and ensures that the rhythms, stories, and voices that open this performance continue to inspire well beyond it.

Electro-Punk Innovator Debbie Sings Releases New EP ‘Oh My’ And Hyperactive Single “Sucker Punch”

Eric Alper
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Electro-Punk Innovator Debbie Sings Releases New EP ‘Oh My’ And Hyperactive Single “Sucker Punch”

Debbie Sings, the Berlin-via-Copenhagen singer and producer, has released her new EP ‘Oh My’ via BIG OIL Recordings, alongside its second single “Sucker Punch.” A largely self-written, self-produced, and self-recorded project created while moving between Copenhagen and Berlin, the eight-track EP was built primarily from bedrooms, borrowed studios, buses, and coffee shops, with Debbie relying on Logic, Nexus by reFX, distorted drums, and heavily processed vocals to create something raw, immediate, and deliberately imperfect. The exception is “Sucker Punch,” co-produced with her friend The Bird, which dials up the intensity with distorted synths, punchy club drums, and Debbie’s rawest vocal delivery to date. Her own description of the song lands with characteristic directness: “Sucker Punch is a song about being sick of bullshit. It is about feeling like kicking some ass and eating everything on the menu.”

‘Oh My’ follows Debbie’s February 2025 debut album ‘Debbie’s Songs,’ which earned the number one spot on Soundvenue’s Danish Albums of the Year list and introduced her as a genre-hopping force in the Scandinavian underground. Where that record ranged freely across electronic, punk, country, and pop, ‘Oh My’ sharpens the focus into something more uniform, more electronic, more punk, and more unapologetically club-oriented. Inspired by early-2010s electroclash and artists like Peaches and Uffie, the EP leans into escapism, humour, and restless energy. Debbie frames it plainly: “Oh My is a reflection of a lot of internal and external chaos channelled into eight tracks. It’s electro-pop-punk music for the dance floor or the floor of your bedroom, made for getting lost, letting go, and carrying on.” Listeners and critics alike are already responding with the kind of enthusiasm that greeted first single “Sunny Skies,” which earned editorial support from NME, CLASH, and The Line of Best Fit.

An alumna of Copenhagen’s Rhythmic Music Conservatory, Debbie joins a lineage of forward-thinking artists including Clarissa Connelly, ML Buch, Smerz, and Astrid Sonne. High-profile admirer Oklou has already taken notice, and Debbie’s chaotic, high-energy live show has reached eye-watering heights, most notably performing to a packed crowd at Roskilde Festival. With ‘Oh My,’ she positions herself as one of contemporary pop’s most boundary-less DIY forces, making music for fast bikes through the city, late-night clubs, and moments of invincibility that feel slightly delusional but deeply human.

The Twilight SAD Announce First Album In Seven Years ‘It’s The Long Goodbye’ And Share New Single “Designed To Lose”

Eric Alper
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The Twilight SAD Announce First Album In Seven Years ‘It’s The Long Goodbye’ And Share New Single “Designed To Lose”

The Twilight SAD have announced their long-awaited sixth album ‘It’s The Long Goodbye,’ due March 27 via Rock Action Records, and have shared new single “Designed To Lose,” the second track on the record. A beautifully meditative yet muscular reflection on the human condition, the song hinges on how we can seem doomed to lose in so many of our endeavours, including our capacity to cope with loss itself. It follows lead track “Waiting For The Phone Call,” released last October, and together the two singles frame one of the most anticipated post-punk records in years.

The album is the most personal work the band has made. Singer and lyricist James Graham is direct about what drove it: “In the past I’ve used a lot of metaphors within my lyrics. With this, there’s not as much. The record is heavily influenced by my mental health, grief and loss, and the need to be strong in positions where you’re not feeling it. It’s a very human story, I think, this is just my version of it. I feel that everybody goes through something like this. Everybody loses somebody. Everybody questions life.” The record reflects on his mother’s illness, her subsequent death, and his own mental health struggles, developed over seven years with guitarist Andy MacFarlane stockpiling musical ideas during lockdown while exchanging words and sounds with Graham. The Cure’s Robert Smith, a longtime close friend of the band, provided input on the demos and guests on the record, supplying extra guitars on “Waiting For The Phone Call,” guitars and Tron keys on “Dead Flowers,” and six-string bass on “Back To Fourteen.” The album was produced by MacFarlane at London’s Battery Studios, with additional production from Andy Savours (My Bloody Valentine) and mixing by Chris Coady (Slowdive), with David Jeans (Arab Strap) on drums and Alex Mackay (Mogwai live) on bass.

Graham frames the album’s purpose with characteristic openness: “I want to be a relatable person that talks about things that can happen and give an opportunity for people to go, well, you’re not alone. I want people to be able to listen to this record and hear that it comes from a place of raw emotion.” The Twilight SAD head out on an extensive headline tour across Europe and the UK in April and May, including two nights at Glasgow Barrowlands and a performance at the Roundhouse in London, followed by dates as special guests to The Cure in June and July, including festival appearances at Pohoda Festival and Deer Shed Festival.

‘It’s The Long Goodbye’ Track Listing:

  1. Get Away From It All
  2. Designed To Lose
  3. Attempt A Crash Landing – Theme
  4. Waiting For The Phone Call
  5. The Ceiling Underground
  6. Dead Flowers
  7. Inhospitable/Hospital
  8. Chest Wound To The Chest
  9. Back To Fourteen
  10. TV People Still Throwing TVs At People

The Twilight SAD Tour Dates:

April 12 – Milan, Italy – Legend Club

April 14 – Zurich, Switzerland – Bogen F

April 15 – Munich, Germany – Ampere

April 16 – Berlin, Germany – Gretchen

April 18 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Loppen

April 19 – Oslo, Norway – Parkteateret

April 20 – Stockholm, Sweden – Slaktkyrkan

April 22 – Hamburg, Germany – Grünspan

April 23 – Utrecht, Netherlands – Tivolivredenburg Pandora Hall

April 25 – Cologne, Germany – Gebäude 9

April 26 – Brussels, Belgium – Rotonde – Botanique

April 27 – Paris, France – Le Trabendo

April 29 – Bristol, UK – Electric Bristol

April 30 – London, UK – Roundhouse

May 2 – Manchester, UK – New Century Hall

May 3 – Newcastle upon Tyne, UK – Boiler Shop

May 5 – Glasgow, Scotland – Barrowlands

May 6 – Glasgow, Scotland – Barrowlands

May 9 – Dublin, Ireland – Button Factory

With The Cure + Festival Appearances:

June 14 – Firenze, Italy – Visarno Arena

June 24 – Cardiff – Blackweir Fields

June 26 – Dublin – Marley Park

June 28 – Belfast – Belsonic

July 8 – Slovakia – Pohoda Festival

July 10 – Berlin, Germany – Wuhlheide

July 11 – Berlin, Germany – Wuhlheide

July 12 – Berlin, Germany – Wuhlheide

July 24-26 – Topcliffe – Deer Shed Festival

Post-Rockers Shaking Hand Release Eight-Minute Epic “Cable Ties” From Debut Album

Eric Alper
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Post-Rockers Shaking Hand Release Eight-Minute Epic “Cable Ties” From Debut Album

Shaking Hand have shared “Cable Ties,” the final single from their debut album, out now on Melodic. One of the first tracks the band ever wrote, the eight-minute poly-rhythmic post-rock epic rises and falls constantly, pushing against structure with sudden jolts of tempo, polyrhythms that almost fall apart, and riffs that unravel into something fragile or ecstatic. It is the kind of track that rewards full attention and announces a band with a genuinely distinct compositional voice.

The band’s musical DNA runs through experimental guitar outfits like Slint, Sonic Youth, Pavement, and Ulrika Spacek, balanced with the melodic sensibility of Big Thief and the dynamic intimacy of Yo La Tengo. Their compositions sit at the intersection of structure and collapse, never quite settling, always in motion. Listeners already deep into the album are calling it one of the most fully realised debut records in recent post-rock memory.

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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