Foxy Shazam surprised fans with a dazzling new single “Magic” today. The track perfectly captures the band’s signature blend of timeless rock and roll, infectious pop melodies, and electrifying, high-octane songwriting. “Magic” is available now on all streaming platforms.
Quote from Eric Nally on “Magic”: “Foxy Shazam slowly reaches into the magic hat, and with much drama and anticipation, pulls out a middle finger. From there, that middle finger turns into one of two dancing legs attached to a hand puppet.
“Then, that hand puppet runs across the table and clings onto my shirt. It proceeds to scale my body and make its way upon my shoulder, subsequently whispering in my ear long lost secrets of music, forgotten through the ages. But now, I remember”
This release follows Foxy’s recent splash into the DC Universe, where they performed “The Mighty Crabjoys Theme” for James Gunn’s blockbuster Superman (with frontman Eric Nally even making a cameo appearance in the movie). Their classic anthem “Oh Lord” was also recently announced as the theme song for Season 2 of Peacemaker. At Comic-Con this July, Gunn revealed the choice, calling it “a song from my favorite band in the world, that is objectively the greatest rock and roll band in the world.”
Formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2004, Foxy Shazam quickly rose to prominence on the strength of a string of ambitious albums and their now-legendary, theatrical live shows. Known for his acrobatic stage presence and soaring vocals, Nally has been described as a cross between Freddie Mercury and Noel Fielding, often seen scaling rafters, diving from high places, or riding his bandmates’ shoulders, all while delivering surreal stage banter.
Fans can catch the band’s legendary live energy this fall, with a run of headline dates in September and a performance at Chicago’s Edgewater Music Festival. In December, they’ll join Waterparks for a string of West Coast shows.
UK industrial metal project, BEAUTIFUL FREAKIN’ WEIRDO, recently dropped the video for their single, “Psychohead.” The track appears on their latest EP, Zap The Fear.
“Psychohead” dives head-first into escapism, away from this world of fear in which we are all manipulated and controlled. BEAUTIFUL FREAKIN’ WEIRDO Founding member, Mick Pritchard, says, “I think most, if not all, people have a little psycho in them. Your alter ego, your dark side, call it what you will. Take the red pill. Take the blue pill and all placebos. Good luck!”
“Psychohead” is a tale of sleepwalking into the abyss of smoke and mirrors – into a world controlled by fear because there isn’t a “Hell.” Hell is here. This is where you take the red pill just to try and kill your savage alter ego – the Phsyco in your head.
Global star and award-winning singer-songwriter Tom Odell unveils his new song “Ugly.” The song comes ahead of his new album, A Wonderful Life, out on September 5. In lead up to release, Odell also shared “Don’t Cry, Put Your Head On My Shoulder” and “Don’t Let Me Go.” Recently, Odell appeared on CBS Saturday Morning to perform “Don’t Let Me Go” alongside an interview with Anthony Mason.
“Something I’ve never really talked about is some of my own weird shame around my body, and it feels so uncomfortable to actually say that in a song,” says Odell. “But when you say it, it’s really f***ing powerful. ‘Ugly’ is an exploration of what it feels like to be a human being – of looking out at the world and feeling like everybody seems to glide through life so easily, but the experience of actually living it yourself is so fraught and it’s not pretty.”
He will share songs from the album with fans on his headline European arena tour this fall. Dates include stops at London’s O2 Arena, Paris’ Accor Arena, two nights at Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome, Berlin’s Uber Arena and more. Odell just wrapped up select European arena dates with Billie Eilish on the sold-out Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour and is currently on the road with The Lumineers for select U.S. arena dates of the Automatic World Tour. Ahead of his headline arena dates, Odell will also embark on a special run of intimate shows across the U.S. and Canada. These club performances provide fans a unique chance to see him in the smallest rooms he’s played in years.
A Wonderful Life was written partly as a reaction to the news cycle and “the sense, almost every week, that the world is ending in some capacity-which it is, for some people.” Odell’s lyrics channel the despair, frustration and helplessness in the modern world.
He recorded A Wonderful Life in Church Studios, HOXA and RAK Studios’ legendary Room One, the space that birthed classic albums from Radiohead, The Pogues, Ultravox and more. Odell and his band recorded everything live with the instruments “bleeding in on one another” for a more authentic sound. His emotionally charged songs detailing love, heartbreak and self-reflection continue to receive critical acclaim, winning the prestigious BRIT and Ivor Novello Awards and garnering praise from The Guardian, The Telegraph, Rolling Stone, The Evening Standard, The Observer, among others.
Odell is a renowned British singer and songwriter whose love for music can be traced back to grade school, pivoting from songwriter to singer in his band when they couldn’t hold down a frontman. After studying music in college, he embarked on a decade-long career in which his soul-baring projects have topped charts and won accolades worldwide.
Though Odell first came to prominence as a chart-topping artist, it’s never been mainstream success that fuels him. “I never applied to the role of pop star, and I always felt like I was being perceived in the wrong way,” he reflects. As he’s committed further to his own vision-crafting intensely personal songs dealing with mental health struggles, body image issues and beyond-he’s seen the connections spread across the globe. “It alleviates some of the loneliness of existing,” he suggests of why his music has resonated so strongly, “which is what we’re all going through, together.”
Odell has amassed a rabid following, with multiple headline world tours, 31 million monthly listeners on Spotify and over 14 billion career streams. His sixth album Black Friday reached number five on Spotify’s Top Album Debut Global Chart and the haunting title track has earned over 700 million combined streams since its late-2023 release. Fans also re-discovered his first ever single, 2012’s “Another Love,” which has become an anthem on TikTok to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine and soared to over four billion plays on Spotify alone. With more imminent from Odell, he continues to push boundaries and unite people through his art.
After celebrating 20 years since the inception of Author & Punisher in 2024, founding composer, vocalist and mechanical engineer Tristan Shone embraces the project’s broadest scope to date with Nocturnal Birding.
Today, Author & Punisher shares the official video for Nocturnal Birding’s lead single “Titanis.” The video was filmed this past Summer in Bali, Indonesia, live with Kuntari, who performed on the studio recording of “Titanis.” Directed by Manda Selena and Ican Harem.
Nocturnal Birding is out October 3rd, 2025, on LP/CD/Streaming via Relapse Records.
Removing himself from an artistic comfort zone proved fruitful inspiration. There is literal birdsong all over Nocturnal Birding, and transposing those melodies and rhythms to guitar became the root of the material, representing a rare coming together of the natural world and mechanized sounds.
Nocturnal Birding Track Listing:
Meadowlark
Titanis (ft. Kuntari)
Mute Swan (ft. Megan Oztrosits of Couch Slut)
Black Storm Petrel (ft. Fange)
Titmouse
Titmice
Rook
Thrush
European Tour:
Oct 18 – Lisboa, PT @ Music Station (w/ Blood Incantation) Oct 20 – Madrid, SP @ Sala Mon (w/ Blood Incantation) Oct 21 – Barcelona, SP @ Sala Wolf Oct 22 – Marseille, FR @ Le Molotov Oct 23 – Montpellier, FR @ In Tenebris Lux Oct 24 – Nilvange, FR @ Gueulard Plus (w/ Divide & Dissolve) Oct 25 – Maastricht, NL @ Samhain Fest Oct 26 – Hamburg, DE @ MS Stubnitz (with Bong-Ra) Oct 27 – Aarhus, DK @ Voxhall (with Bong-Ra) Oct 28 – Oslo, NO @ Goldie (with Bong-Ra) Oct 29 – Göteborg, SW @ Monument (with Bong-Ra) Oct 30 – Copenhagen, DK @ Stengade (with Bong-Ra) Oct 31 – Berlin, DE @ Kantine am Berghaim (with Bong-Ra) Nov 01 – Gdansk, PL @ Drizzly Grizzly (with Bong-Ra) Nov 02 – Warsaw, PL @ Voodoo (with Bong-Ra) Nov 03 – Poznan, PL @ 2Progi (with Bong-Ra) Nov 04 – Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz (with Bong-Ra) Nov 05 – Frankfurt / Darmstadt, DE (with Bong-Ra) Nov 06 – Paris, FR @ Backstage (with Bong-Ra) Nov 07 – Bruxelles, BE @ Magasin 4 (with Bong-Ra) Nov 08 – Lille, FR @ La Bulle (with Bong-Ra) Nov 09 – Manchester, UK @ Damnation Festival
West Coast Nocturnal Birding Record Release Shows:
Nov 12 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah w/ King Yosef Nov 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo w/ King Yosef
Melbourne’s fave three-guitar rock n’ roll power poppers The Prize have at long last announced the imminent release of their debut album In The Red on September 19th via Anti Fade Records in Australia and Goner Records in the USA. They have also shared the new single “From The Night” and premiered its video.
The announcement and the new track follow the album’s previous two singles, “First Sight,” which was released in August 2023 ahead of their first European tour (with King Gizzard) and “Had it Made,” which was released last October ahead of the band’s second European tour (with The Chats) in late 2024.
The Prize made their debut for Anti Fade in 2022 with the EP Wrong Side of Town, which prompted global interest in the band. They began recording the album in 2023, but the international tours caused delays, as did the departure of original bass player Jack Kong in early 2024. New bass player Ethan Stahl (formerly of UK band Chubby and the Gang) came on board a year ago after Jack helped the band finish the tracking process.
Initial album sessions took place with Paul Maybury of Rocket Science at his A Secret Location studio, with subsequent tracks recorded with Matt Blach of the Murlocs at Gizz Studios (following The Prize’s European run with King Gizzard late in 2023) and, in January of this year, with Robin Mukerjee of TV Colours.
The band, which features drummer Nadine Muller sharing lead vocals with guitarist Carey Paterson together with guitarists Joseph Imfeld and Austin Haire as well as new bass player Ethan, is known for its powerful three-guitar frontline and melodic twin lead guitar. It combines punk and classic hard rock with power pop and new wave and cites its influences as Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick, Pretenders, Blondie, Rolling Stones, Faces, Flamin’ Groovies, Tom Petty, Dwight Twilley, Phil Seymour, The Toms, The Nerves, and The Motors.
Sweden’s finest purveyors of high-octane rock’n’roll, Royal Republic, are back and turning up the glitter-drenched chaos with their brand new single, “I’m So Excited” — a riotous reimagining of the iconic Pointer Sisters hit.
This dazzling cover is the second chapter in “The Blastbeaters” saga, a four-part musical journey where Royal Republic don corpse paint, spikes, and dubious logic in their transformation into The Blastbeaters — a fictional Black Metal band with a beat-up Volvo 140 and an ambition for world domination… whether the world wants it or not.
“I’m So Excited” follows hot on the heels of the band’s explosive cover of Shocking Blue’s “Venus,” which launched The Blastbeaters series with a bang — and a fair bit of glitter. But if fans thought that was wild, they’d better buckle up: this next instalment promises sparkles, glitter, saxophone solos, and the kind of unhinged energy only Royal Republic could conjure.
UK alt-punks Kid Kapichi dawn a new age with the release of their new single “Stainless Steel,” a deeply personal track for frontman Jack Wilson. The new track arrives alongside an official lyric video, available below.
“I wrote the lyrics during a particularly difficult few months last year. I realized that I’m not invincible or immune from my own mental health issues, hence ‘I’m not made of stainless steel…’ It came about during one of the darkest periods of my life, and a lot of the songs written around that time feel like a blur or like they were written by someone else. Listening back to them now feels like advice given to me from my past self. It’s comforting to know that I got out of that place and am doing better, but it’s also a stark reminder that you aren’t in control of when you may slip again.
“‘Stainless Steel’ also felt like a new direction for us; slowing things down and stripping things back after years of sensing that ‘more is more.’ It finally felt like less could be…”
Meanwhile, KK have confirmed an extensive UK headline tour for October / November 2025. These “up-close & personal” shows will see the new lineup taking to the road for the very first time. A number of UK festival appearances are also in place for August, preceded by a warm-up headline show in Bristol; see the full list of dates below.
Tour Dates:
Aug 15 – Thekla, Bristol Aug 16 – Beautiful Days, Devon Aug 23 – Victorious, Portsmouth Aug 24 – Camper Calling, Alcester
“UK Underplay Tour” Tour Dates:
Oct 16 – The Booking Hall, Dover Oct 17 – The Forum, Tunbridge Wells Oct 18 – Boileroom, Guildford Oct 19 – Concorde 2, Brighton Oct 21 – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff Oct 22 – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham *SOLD OUT Oct 24 – Deaf Institute, Manchester *SOLD OUT Oct 25 – King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow *SOLD OUT Oct 26 – The Cluny, Newcastle Oct 28 – Key Club, Leeds Oct 29 – Mash, Cambridge Oct 31 – The Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes
Rising Afropop sensation Victony shares his new single “Tanko,” featuring legendary Nigerian rapper Terry G. A dancefloor-ready anthem, the song juxtaposes Victony’s soft vocals against Terry’s high-energy tone in a cross-generational link-up. The title “Tanko,” borrowed from street football slang, becomes more than just a game. It’s Victony’s metaphor for duality: of dreams and discipline, temptation and tenacity, the come-up and the constant.
On the track, Victony thumps his chest with unapologetic pride: “Too many nights I’m hustling, too many girls I am shuffling,” a hook that blurs the sacred and the scandalous, before handing the mic to Terry G, whose verse careens with unpredictability, bringing back the frenetic madness that defined an era.
Terry G, dubbed the “Akpako Master” and “Ginjah Master,” is renowned for his high-energy hits like “Free Madness,” “Testing Microphone,” and “Run Mad,” which have become anthems in Nigeria’s vibrant music scene. His 2013 album, Book of Ginjah, further solidified his status as a trailblazer in the industry.
“Tanko” arrives two months after the one-year anniversary of Victony’s acclaimed debut album, Stubborn. The album marked a pivotal moment in his artistic evolution, featuring standout collaborations with the likes of Teezo Touchdown, Asake, Saint Jhn, Shallipoppi, and more. With Stubborn, Victony pushed sonic boundaries, crafting a bold and genre-defying project that celebrates the diversity and richness of African music on a global scale.
The project includes stripped-back takes on Homecoming standouts like “Old Way,” “Sheltered,” and their version of Patty Loveless’s “You Don’t Even Know Who I Am,” as well as new acoustic recordings of previously released “Alabama Stone,” It also features the heartfelt focus track “Red Dirt Girl.” Each song was captured live, offering listeners an up-close look at the heart behind the music.
Originally released on May 30, their debut EP Homecoming introduced the trio’s unique blend of nostalgia and modern Country through vivid storytelling inspired by life on the road, their Georgia farm roots, and the meaning of home. Acoustic Live Sessions gives fans a new way to connect with that same spirit, stripped down to just the voices, lyrics, and instruments that shaped it.
Acoustic Live Sessions Track Listing & Credits: 1. Alabama Stone (Caroline Watkins, Josh Dorr, Eleanor Balkcom, Powell Balkcom, Lily Balkcom) 2. Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold) (Dan Seals, Bob McDill) 3. Sheltered (Eleanor Balkcom, Lily Balkcom, Powell Balkcom and Daniel Tashian) 4. Old Way (Ellie Balkcom, Powell Balkcom, Casey Beathard, and Jimi Bell) 5. You Don’t Even Know Who I Am (Gretchen Peters) 6. Red Dirt Girl (Rodney Crowell)
The Castellows are currently on the road with Thomas Rhett for his Better in Boots Tour and will kick off their headline The Homecoming Tour this fall.
The Homecoming Tour dates: SEP 13 Austin, TX Antone’s OCT 2 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre OCT 3 Charlotte, NC Amos’ Southend OCT 4 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theater OCT 9 Isle of Palms, SC The Windjammer OCT 10 Athens, GA Georgia Theatre OCT 17 Lincoln, NE Bourbon Theatre OCT 18 Kansas City, MO PBR Big Sky Bar OCT 24 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle OCT 30 Nashville, TN Brooklyn Bowl Oct 31 Columbus, OH The Bluestone Nov 1 Bloomington, IN Bluebird Nightclub Nov 6 Baton Rouge, LA Texas Club NOV 7 College Station, TX Stage 12 @ Brookshire Brothers NOV 8 The Woodlands, TX. Dosey Doe NOV 13 Allentown, PA Arrow @ Archer Music Hall NOV 14 New York, NY Mercury Lounge Nov 15 Warrendale, PA Jergels Rhythm Grille NOV 20 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line NOV 21 Milwaukee, WI The Rave II NOV 22 Chicago, IL Joe’s on Weed
Country-rock artist Lauren Freebird releases her new single, “Ceiling Fan,” now available on all digital streaming platforms. Lauren Freebird’s “Ceiling Fan” captures the quiet unraveling that happens when love goes silent. Set against acoustic guitar, soft fiddle, and her signature unforced delivery, the song channels the weight of emotional detachment and the inner voice that surfaces when something isn’t right.
“If I move real fast, my eyes can sometimes catch a single blade / on the bedroom ceiling fan,” she sings. “Helps to numb these thoughts away / a way to run away from the possibility / of falling for you / so I’ll focus on the blades.” It’s a subtle yet striking metaphor – a snapshot of distraction as self-defense, set against the backdrop of late-night stillness.
Reflecting on the song’s inspiration, Freebird shares, “When we wrote ‘Ceiling Fan,’ Todd had brought in a beautiful poem that offered a glimpse into the mind of a woman caught in an empty, transactional relationship.
“Sadly, it’s a feeling many women are all too familiar with. The loneliest I’ve ever felt was when I wasn’t alone. The words moved us so deeply, we finished the song around a campfire in just 30 minutes.”
