Laney Jones and the Spirits have released their self-titled debut album, and it sounds like a band that has been waiting a long time to say exactly this. Co-produced by Jones alongside Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Langhorne Slim), the record was born from genuine loss, written in the wake of losing their dog Hap and shaped by the isolation and grief that followed. That emotional weight runs through every track, from the guitar-clamoring grit of “Bitch Year” to the lyrically layered “Knowme,” which captures the specific alienation of pursuing a creative life among people who love you but cannot quite follow where you are going. Jones frames it with characteristic directness: “Anyone who’s pursuing a dream looks crazy from the outside, I guess.”
The band, rounded out by Dowd, Carson Lystad, and Glen Hruska, recorded the album as genuine collaborators for the first time, and that chemistry is audible. “We Belong Together,” inspired in part by Kurt Vonnegut’s Sirens of Titan, is the kind of rock song that feels physical from the first note, about belonging in the deepest sense rather than the romantic one. Jones puts the full picture plainly: “Being an indie artist these days without the help of a big team and money is a test of resilience and scrappiness. This record wrestles with that, and I believe this is our best work yet.”
Still Blank arrived from a chance encounter in Liverpool’s basement music scene in 2022, and their self-titled debut album, out now via National Anthem / Capitol Records, is the fully realized version of everything that meeting promised. Hawaii-born singer and multi-instrumentalist Jordy and Manchester guitarist Ben recorded across London, Los Angeles, and a cabin in Wales with producer Joel Pott (George Ezra, Shura) and later Flood (PJ Harvey, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), building ten tracks that move between shoegaze, psych-folk, and post-punk without settling into any single lane. New single “Dead and Gone,” born from late-night improvisation on analog synths with a fire going and whiskey in hand, is a wistful and sprawling reflection on a relationship’s end. Jordy pulled the lyrics from a poem written years earlier, and the vocals on the final recording came straight from the demo because nothing they tried afterward carried the same feeling. Listen here.
The album’s creation was anything but straightforward, taking in Jordy’s unexpected deportation mid-process, a transatlantic move to Los Angeles, and songs written before the duo even had a name. Jordy describes it simply: “The whole creation of this album felt serendipitous, from a chance meeting between ourselves to magically finding likeminded collaborators who took a chance on 2 kids and allowed us to experiment without any pressure.” Drawing comparisons to Yo La Tengo, Big Thief, and Cat Power, and earning early praise from Stereogum, CLASH, and DIY, Still Blank are one of the more genuinely compelling new acts in alternative music right now.
Longtime collaborators Ben Affleck and Matt Damon prove their bond is as sharp as ever in GQ’s Friendship Quiz, breezing through questions about each other’s early jobs, career ambitions, and creative choices with ease and plenty of humour. From Affleck’s first gig to Damon’s reasons for staying behind the camera less often, the duo trade answers and stories that highlight a partnership built on decades of trust, shared history, and mutual respect, offering fans a candid and entertaining look at one of Hollywood’s most enduring friendships.
ERRA’s new album ‘silence outlives the earth’ is out now via UNFD, and the six-week co-headline North American tour with Currents is already deep into its run. The record explores existence and the human condition across eleven tracks, moving from the atmospheric opener “stelliform” through a closing three-part suite that pushes the band’s compositional range further than anything in their catalog. New single “further eden” marks a deliberate tonal shift. Guitarist Jesse Cash describes it directly: “The pentatonic leaning roots the song into a lighter energy than we typically employ, and the song feels like a fresh form of expression from the band.” That willingness to expand without losing the band’s core intensity is what makes ‘silence outlives the earth’ such a strong record.
The tour is selling fast. Chicago’s House of Blues is already gone, and multiple other dates are running low on tickets. The run continues through April, hitting Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, Anaheim, San Diego, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio before wrapping in Texas. ERRA and Currents co-headlining is one of the stronger metalcore bills of the year, and the remaining dates will not last.
‘silence outlives the earth’ Tracklisting:
stelliform
further eden
gore of being
black cloud
cicada siren
echo sonata
lucid threshold
spiral (of liminal infinity)
i. the many names of god
ii. in the gut of the wolf
iii. twilight in the reflection of dreams
Remaining Tour Dates (w/ Currents):
March 28 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues (SOLD OUT)
March 31 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
April 1 – Minneapolis, MN – Uptown Theater
April 3 – Lawrence, KS – Granada Theater
April 4 – Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall (low tickets)
April 5 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
April 7 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox (low tickets)
April 8 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
April 10 – Sacramento, CA – Channel 24
April 11 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues (low tickets)
April 12 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
April 14 – Tempe, AZ – The Marquee
April 15 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
April 17 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
April 18 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
April 19 – San Antonio, TX – Vibes Event Center
D.O. Gibson has spent 25 years proving that hip-hop can change a room, and “Learned From The Greatest,” featuring O’Sound, out now via Believe Digital, is the clearest distillation of that philosophy he has put to record. The track draws from legendary figures across hip-hop, sports, and culture, honouring the discipline and resilience that define genuine excellence. Gibson holds a Guinness World Record for the longest continuous freestyle, has delivered more than 4,000 school shows across Canada since launching his Stay Driven program in 2001, and brings all of that lived experience directly into the song. It blends classic hip-hop foundations with a modern motivational edge without losing its emotional core.
Gibson frames the track through personal history: “‘Learned From The Greatest’ is about honouring the people and moments that shaped me. One of those people was my Uncle Charlie, someone who taught me work ethic, humility, and how to move with integrity long before I ever touched a mic. This song, the tour, and the book all live under one idea: greatness is learned, and when you respect the lessons, you eventually find your flow.” The single anchors the “Learned From The Greatest Tour,” a Canada-wide run through schools and community venues, combining live performance, storytelling, and interactive discussion around leadership, perseverance, and self-belief. Twenty-five years in, and Gibson is still building something that matters.
Chronyx are a progressive metal band from the Maldives, and “Ruin” is their first song on record. That detail matters because it means this is exactly who they are, no warm-up, no transitional release, just a clean statement of where they stand. Produced, mixed, and mastered by guitarist Shahyd Legacy at Legacy Studios, the track blends symphonic weight with djent-driven rhythms, orchestral layers, and melodic hooks into something that sits confidently in the modern progressive metal space. Lyrically it looks at a world coming apart while keeping its focus on resistance and unity, which gives the heaviness somewhere to go beyond the obvious.
Progressive metal has a global reach, but debut singles this fully formed from an unexpected geography are worth paying attention to. Chronyx have put their first song out and it sounds like a band that has been building toward this for a long time. “Ruin” is out now via Legacy Studios.
Sevendust have released “Is This The Real You,” the latest single from their forthcoming 15th studio album ‘ONE’, due May 1 via Napalm Records. Nearly three decades into their career, the GRAMMY-nominated Atlanta five-piece remain one of the most consistent and compelling forces in hard rock, and this single makes that case without breaking a sweat. Guitarist John Connolly puts it plainly: “It was as honest, natural, and pure as any song can be. If you really want to know what Sevendust sounds like in 2026, ‘Is This The Real You’ gives you a good idea.” The driving, melodically charged track is exactly that, a band operating at full confidence with nothing to prove and everything to deliver.
The accompanying animated video, directed by Paul Ribera, follows a sharply dressed character with the power to compel people into actions they would not normally take, each confronted with a hidden side of themselves. It builds panel by panel toward a dark finale that mirrors the song’s central question. ‘ONE’ spans ten tracks, moving from the driving title track through atmospheric closer “Misdirection,” with standouts like “Unbreakable” and “We Won” sitting confidently in the band’s catalog. A 27-date spring tour kicks off in April and runs through late May, hitting rooms from the Egyptian Room in Indianapolis to Sonic Temple in Columbus to The Pinnacle in Nashville.
‘ONE’ Tracklisting:
One
Unbreakable
Is This The Real You
Threshold
We Won
Construct
Bright Side
The Drop
Blood Price
Misdirection
Tour Dates:
April 16 – Carterville, IL – Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort
April 17 – Riverside, IA – Riverside Casino & Golf Resort
April 18 – Larchwood, IA – Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort
April 20 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
April 21 – Lexington, KY – Manchester Music Hall
April 22 – Birmingham, AL – Iron City
April 24 – Mobile, AL – Soul Kitchen Music Hall
April 25 – Destin, FL – Club LA
April 26 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy
April 28 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
April 29 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom
May 1 – Denver, CO – Summit
May 2 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
May 4 – Wichita, KS – The Cotillion
May 5 – Springfield, MO – The Regency Live
May 6 – Fayetteville, AR – Ozark Music Hall
May 8 – Daytona Beach, FL – Welcome To Rockville
May 9 – North Myrtle Beach, SC – House of Blues
Abnorm are heading out on a UK tour in April, and they are doing it with fresh momentum. Single “Rats” is out now, and the band has already been putting in work on the road with support slots alongside Paige Kennedy and JOOLS. Five dates across Belfast, London, Nottingham, Leeds, and Edinburgh make up the April run, a tight, focused sweep through some of the UK’s best independent venues.
There is not a lot of fat on this announcement, which suits Abnorm fine. The dates speak for themselves, and a band willing to play Billy Bootlegger’s in Nottingham for free knows exactly who they are playing for. Tickets are on sale now for the majority of dates.
April UK Tour Dates:
April 5 – Belfast – Voodoo
April 8 – London – Nambucca
April 9 – Nottingham – Billy Bootlegger’s (free entry)
Home for the Weekend have released “Fast,” and it does exactly what the title suggests. The Milwaukee three-piece, built around Derek Wiedmeyer on vocals, Nick Magestro on guitar, and Emmett Wood on drums, have been sharpening their 90s alternative and early-2000s heavy rock sound since their DIY beginnings, and this single pushes that progression further than anything on their 2025 album ‘Dead Man Walking’. Self-recorded and produced entirely in-house, “Fast” is aggressive, relentless, and emotionally raw, a track about burnout, numbness, and the weight of expectations that grind you down over time.
Emmett Wood speaks to what the track represents for the band: “‘Fast’ pushed the boundaries for us as both musicians and producers, and we feel it showcases our skills more than anything else we’ve done as a band. Each guy has a chance to shine in that song, but it never loses its cohesion.” With live support from Milwaukee bassist Emilio Gutierrez and a growing presence across Milwaukee, Chicago, and Madison, Home for the Weekend are clearly done playing small. “Fast” is out now on all streaming platforms.
