LA-based wildcards ALEXSUCKS have kickstarted their next era with the reveal of a new single and music video “The Headache” out now. “The Headache” illustrates the band’s penchant for unprecedented and undeniable alternative rock bangers.
Across the song produced by Andrew Wells [Jason Mraz, Ellie Goulding], eighties-style synths flash and flicker over a head-nodding beat punctuated by sunny whistling. A loose riff brushes up against the call of woozy lyrics like, “I can’t even sleep it off. I’m at it again, yeah,” which is answered by a slick guitar lead. The track culminates on the chantable chorus, “And now the headache won’t go.”
The accompanying visual mirrors this ebb-and-flow by threading together performance footage from a whirlwind of touring and the group’s various adventures across the country. If you missed their seismic set at Lollapalooza or weren’t in one of the packed houses on the Late Night Drive Home Tour, the clip might be the next best thing!
In his series Track Star*, Jack Coyne puts headphones on New Yorkers and even famous musicians, asking them to identify artists for a $5 prize. It’s a playful experiment that reveals just how well people really know their music.
Music vlogger Synthet dives into the story of the whistle-synth, a 90s hip-hop staple that first appeared in Junie Morrison’s solo on The Ohio Players’ “Funky Worm.” What began as funk magic became one of rap’s most sampled sounds.
KEXP, my favorite radio station, hosted They Might Be Giants for an incredible live session on June 16, 2025. The band performed “Moonbeam Rays,” “Anna Ng,” “Doctor Worm,” “Particle Man,” and more. KEXP’s sessions are legendary for blending discovery, nostalgia, and raw energy.
Celebrated by Alternative Press as one of the “40 Artists You Need to Hear,” Don’t Believe In Ghosts continues to make waves in New York City’s indie rock scene with their signature blend of catchy hooks, uplifting energy, and thoughtful lyrics.
Their new album, But On The Bright Side, arrives November 7th, 2025, following the singles “Driver” (August 29th) and “Outta Your Head” (October 10th). To celebrate, the band will host an album release party on November 15th at Soho Live in NYC.
Swiss post-metallers Abraham unveil their new single “I Am the Vessel and the Vessel Is Me,” a complex, gargantuan effort that offers another glimpse into their new masterpiece’s kaleidoscopic chaos.
Their fifth studio album, the mighty idsungwussa, will be released September 26 via Pelagic Records and is the third and final chapter to a series of concept albums of truly epic proportions.
Still staged in the gritty atmosphere and philosophical weight of post-metal, sludge, and ambient noise, idsungwussa sees Abraham march even further into dissonant and defiant territory.
“The three albums are clearly linked together thematically,” the band comment, “although, rather than an additional chapter, idsungwussa is more like a parallel narrative to Debris de mondes perdus. The latter was a jump in time after Look, Here Comes the Dark!, whereas idsungwussa is a jump in space, a journey away from Earth. It should be the final piece of this little jolly ride.”
This album isn’t just heavy – it is absolutely drenched in delicious filth, and yet by embracing even more the melodic interludes and melancholic passages, they create a devastating contrast to the wall of power coming from stacked guitars, catastrophic drums, and raging, sharp vocals delivered in Swiss-German dialect.
“The album was recorded between November 2024 and February 2025, all while handling our day jobs and in a period that was, on a personal level, not the easiest for some of us. It is only in the last two weeks of the recording process, right before sending it out to mixing, that it sort of came together and started to feel like a coherent album, an album that we could be happy and proud about. For an album with change/transformation as an underlying theme, this is sort of performative!”
This urgency and duress bleeds into every song, an hour-long journey that moves from the grim to sublime, from melancholy to raw destruction – evoking ruined civilizations and the last wails of fractured psyches. Yet there is something less bleakly human, more ethereal at moments, as if glimpsing beyond the constraints of the body and its wheel of flesh and death.
Strewn throughout the record are appearances of Farfisa Louvre organ – prominently featuring on an Abraham album for the first time. The band were also joined by Kevin Galland (Coilguns), who added additional Moog and piano parts.
The band continues, “Our approach to recording guitars was different than what we did before. Instead of having one guitar on the left playing a part and one on the right playing another part, we decided that left and right guitars were to play the same part, and the center guitar was to play another part. We just stacked more guitars whenever we needed. And oh did we use a lot of reverb, too!”
The structures and movements of the songs found within idsungwussa are unique and fresh. A balancing of themes and emotions that is both intoxicating and unsettling, it is an immersive journey that rewards deep listening and challenges the boundaries of genre. From the patient grandeur of coming extinction, to the chaos and fevered urgency of the aftermath, in idsungwussa Abraham move forward from prophetic lamentation to an elegiac visceral response. The emotional closure of this expression is felt, something final that will leave you speechless and with only one real option; listen to it again.
Che Noir and acclaimed production duo The Other Guys are proud to release their collaborative project, No Validation, which is now available via HiPNOTT Records. No Validation is produced in its entirety by The Other Guys.
With No Validation, Che Noir continues to solidify her place as one of the most commanding voices in Hip-Hop. Known for her razor-sharp introspection and airtight flows, the project finds her navigating themes of legacy, resilience, and self-worth – all wrapped in the soulful, analog-rich production style The Other Guys are known for.
“No Validation was a really dope experience. Probably one of my most memorable creative experiences this year,” Che Noir confides. “The videos were fun to make, and I’m excited for the world to finally hear this masterpiece.”
No Validation features a curated lineup of elite lyricists and unique voices, including: Skyzoo, Ransom, Smoke DZA, Jae Skeese, Von Pea, Jack Davey, and 38 Spesh, each adding their own signature flavor to Che’s reflective world.
The Other Guys – who’ve previously worked with Skyzoo, Substantial, and Tanya Morgan – bring their signature soul-drenched grit, pairing perfectly with Che Noir’s rich storytelling acumen.
“No Validation isn’t an album built over email chains or beat packs; it’s the result of Che and The Other Guys locking in together, face to face, and building every track from the ground up” The Other Guys comment. “Crafted in person, the record carries that raw energy you can only get when the artist and producers are in the same room, chasing the same vision. Soulful, hard,-hitting, and uncompromising. This project is proof that we don’t need anyone else’s stamp; the music speaks for itself.”
No Validation is not just a title – it’s a mission statement. It’s for those who know what they bring to the table, with or without applause
Stripping the Pistol takes you back to 2001 with “I Think There’s Something Wrong,” which was finally released on August 29, 2025. Let’s go back in time to the original press release…
August 29, 2001 – The music industry is set ablaze as it experiences Stripping the Pistol’s highly anticipated new single, “I Think There’s Something Wrong” – a track that promises to redefine the boundaries of modern rock and capture the hearts of fans and critics alike. Or so the story was supposed to go.
“I Think There’s Something Wrong” is a seismic offering from Stripping the Pistol, a band that came out of nowhere a few months ago to create an industry buzz that appears destined to make the band a household name. With a sound forged in raw emotion and electric energy, the new single showcases the group’s signature fusion of gritty raw guitar riffs, thunderous rhythms, the incredible Matt Walker (The Smashing Pumpkins, Cupcakes) on drums and powerful dual vocal performances.
From the opening notes, “I Think There’s Something Wrong” plunges listeners into a sonic landscape marked by urgency and intensity. The lyrics, penned Kevin Cherello and Kyriakos “Charlie” Tsiolis, examine the invisible divisions that run through relationships, communities, and even our own identities. As the chorus hits, the band’s message comes through with clarity and force: only by confronting our fractures can we truly begin to heal.
“We didn’t realize how appropriate that song title was until after our first major label showcase where everything went wrong.” – Stripping the Pistol 2025
Stripping the Pistol thrives at the intersection of alternative and hard rock, and “I Think There’s Something Wrong” is no exception. The single features an intricate interplay of soaring guitars and driving bass, all anchored by a rhythm section that refuses to be ignored. The production, handled by acclaimed producer Jeff Lane, brings out a depth and clarity that elevates the band’s already formidable style.
Even before its official release, “I Think There’s Something Wrong” has generated considerable excitement within the music community. Listeners have called it “a cathartic triumph that cements Stripping the Pistol’s reputation as one of the most compelling bands of this generation.”
“Until that damn showcase,” adds the band in 2025.
Postscript – August 29, 2025 With “I Think There’s Something Wrong,” Stripping the Pistol staked their claim as innovators on the alternative rock scene. The single was more than just a song; it was an industry-beloved invitation to grapple with the tensions and triumphs of life, rendered in urgent lyrics and unforgettable melodies. As the band looked ahead to being signed to either Dreamworks, Columbia, Elektra, Lava or Roadrunner, and to their tour and future projects, one thing was certain: Stripping the Pistol was a force to be reckoned with, and “I Think There’s Something Wrong” was only the beginning.
Genre bending collective The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown has unveiled their new single, “Ain’t Nowhere to Go” led by vocalist Maiya Sykes (Postmodern Jukebox).
Recorded at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606, the single embodies the Getdown’s signature raw collaboration polished to perfection by blending funk, rock, and jazz into a pulsating anthem, embodying resilience and the power of collective expression.
A DIY triumph in a major label world, the Getdown has spent nearly two decades uniting over 225 musicians from more than 180 bands into one of the most ambitious funk driven projects of the modern era.
This September 19, the Getadown will release their long awaited third studio album, Volume 3, featuring a rotating cast of characters and contributions from members of Parliament Funkadelic, Fishbone, Earth, Wind & Fire, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction, String Cheese Incident, Ozomatli, Jurassic 5, New Power Generation, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The Waterboys today announce Rips From The Cutting Room Floor, a companion disc to their acclaimed Life, Death And Dennis Hopper containing extra tracks and vignettes, and arriving December 5th via Sun Records. The first single, “The Next Time I Saw Elvis,” has been released on all streaming platforms.
“These are tracks that didn’t make the album,” says bandleader Mike Scott. “Not because of quality control reasons, but because they broke the narrative. But we want to share them with people and they make a cool little record on their own.”
Rips From The Cutting Room Floor offers listeners a kaleidoscopic view of the creative universe Mike Scott and his band conjured during the making of their audacious opus released in the spring of 2024. Featuring 16 tracks and pressed on hot pink vinyl exclusively through Sun Records, the album traces tangents of Hopper’s mythos and the strange, wild world he inhabited – a vivid addendum to the story of America’s rebel icon.
The new single, “The Next Time I Saw Elvis,” recounts a legendary 1956 encounter between Hopper and Presley in Hollywood. Brought to life with Henry Dobson Jr.’s charismatic lead vocal, the track features Ralph Salmins on drums, Aongus Ralston on bass and rhythm guitar, Famous James on piano, and a searing lead guitar solo from Scott himself – all channeling the swagger and electricity of that unforgettable moment.
Among the other highlights: “On The Set Of The Last Movie,” a full-length instrumental steeped in transcendental blues; “Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Arrival In Taos,” which imagines the surrealist auteur’s creative clashes with Hopper in New Mexico; and “Flipside Of The American Dream” and “Still Raging On,” two alternate drafts of the main album highlight “Ten Years Gone” – plus audio of two spoof TV adverts.
“Dennis made a lot of TV ads in his later life,” says Scott, “and brought a real artistry and creative sparkle to them. As such they’re ripe for spoofing and having some fun with, and so we did!”
Recorded with longtime Waterboys collaborators and an eclectic cast of contributors, the tracks pull back the curtain on the wild ride of Life, Death And Dennis Hopper while standing as essential, standalone works of musical storytelling.
Many of these songs were recorded in a burst of inspiration after Scott acquired a vintage mellotron, sparking new textures and creative momentum. “The mellotron is like an early sampler – a magic machine,” Scott explains in his notes. “Once it arrived, these songs came to life.”
