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Lykke Li Enters Her Existential Era With Maximalist New Single “Lucky Again”

Eric Alper
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Lykke Li Enters Her Existential Era With Maximalist New Single “Lucky Again”

Lykke Li has always written from the edge. “Lucky Again,” the first single from her forthcoming album ‘The Afterparty’ on Neon Gold Records/Futures, finds her stepping even further out, trading romantic obsession for something bigger, messier, and more honest than anything she’s attempted before.

“I was twirling around in love addiction for all those albums,” she says plainly. “Now I’m going into my existential era.” That shift is all over “Lucky Again,” a maximalist disco-pop track built on cascading strings, relentless momentum, and a Max Richter Four Seasons sample that pushes the song toward pure euphoria by its final moments. It’s a stunning piece of pop construction.

Li describes the concept with characteristic precision: “To me it’s samsara in a song. The wheel of life; winning, losing, living, dying. Having had something and praying you’ll have it again.” She wanted Vivaldi at her wedding or funeral. Instead she got something closer to a revenge heist soundtrack. Both readings work completely.

‘The Afterparty’ was written in Los Angeles and recorded in Stockholm with a 17-piece string orchestra, apocalyptic bongos, gospel brightness, and a whole lot of flute. At just 24 minutes, it’s a confrontation with mortality, hedonism, shame, and survival, a dance record for the end of the world. Li calls her alter-ego on the album “a Ram Dass for f***boys,” which tells you everything you need to know about where her head is at.

Across ‘Youth Novels’, ‘Wounded Rhymes’, ‘I Never Learn’, ‘So Sad So Sexy’, and ‘EYEEYE’, Li has built one of modern pop’s most singular catalogs. ‘The Afterparty’ sounds like the next essential chapter.

Upcoming live dates are stacked, with headline slots at Pohoda Festival in Slovakia, Finsbury Park in London with Wolf Alice, and a Mexico City date at Palacio de los Deportes alongside Robyn.

Tour Dates:

May 22 – Vivo Rio – Rio de Janeiro

May 24 – Parque Ibirapuera – São Paulo

June 19 – Metronome Festival – Prague

July 5 – Finsbury Park – London (with Wolf Alice)

July 10 – Pohoda Festival – Slovakia (Headline)

September 19 – Palacio de los Deportes – Mexico City (with Robyn)

Pop Icon Willa Ford Makes a Stunning Return With Pet Sounds-Inspired Single “Carousel”

Eric Alper
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Pop Icon Willa Ford Makes a Stunning Return With Pet Sounds-Inspired Single “Carousel”

Willa Ford is back, and she’s brought something genuinely special with her. “Carousel,” the latest single from her first album in over two decades, is out now alongside a music video, and it’s the kind of richly layered pop track that reminds you exactly what this medium is capable of.

Recorded with award-winning arranger, composer, and producer Vincent Ott, “Carousel” draws directly from the symphonic pop of Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys, an influence Ford has carried since childhood. Lavish strings, wildly alternating tempos, and meticulously stacked vocals make the track one of the most ambitious pop productions you’ll hear this year.

Ford describes the process with real candour: “I marched into the studio feeling like it could go well or terribly wrong. I built it part-by-part vocally thinking ‘what would Brian do?’ while also making sure the song showcased my sound.” The result is a gorgeously shapeshifting track about hope, resilience, and the inevitable cycles of a life fully lived.

“Carousel” is the third track unveiled from ‘amanda’, Ford’s forthcoming album, which is out now. It follows “Love4Life,” a euphoric ode to her husband, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Ryan Nece, and “Burn Burn,” a dance anthem of self-salvation. Together, the three singles map out an album that balances pure pop pleasure with genuine self-revelation.

Grammy-Winning Jam-Grass Legends The Infamous Stringdusters Go Deep on Landmark Album ’20/20′

Eric Alper
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Grammy-Winning Jam-Grass Legends The Infamous Stringdusters Go Deep on Landmark Album ’20/20′

Twenty years in, The Infamous Stringdusters aren’t coasting. The Grammy Award-winning quintet’s new album ’20/20′ is out now via Americana Vibes, a twenty-track statement from a band that has spent two decades redefining what bluegrass can be and still isn’t done pushing.

To mark the release, the band has shared the music video for “The Voyageur,” one of twenty tracks on an album that also includes “Working Man Blues,” “Dead Man Walking,” “Up from the Bottom,” “Light at the End of the Day,” and “Dancing on the Moon.” It’s a deep, sprawling record that earns every minute of its runtime.

Banjoist Chris Pandolfi frames the band’s current creative drive with real honesty: “We’ve been around for 20 years, and I feel like we’re putting more into our music, both writing and the live shows, than we ever have.” Bassist Travis Book echoes that: “20 years later, we’re still distilling the best elements of what we all bring to the band.” That kind of self-awareness is rare, and it shows in the music.

The Infamous Stringdusters have always operated at a crossroads, where bluegrass instrumentation and vocal harmony collide with frenzied stage energy and rock and roll attitude. Pandolfi, Book, Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), Andy Hall (dobro), and Andy Falco (guitar) blur the lines between bluegrass, Americana, country, and indie-folk with the ease of a band that has spent twenty years perfecting exactly this.

’20/20′ is the purest distillation of that experimentation yet. Each member brings outside solo work and fresh influences back into the fold, and the results run deep. As Falco puts it simply: “Before we go onstage I like to tell the band ‘remember the joy,’ and we are all still incredibly grateful for the opportunity to make this music with each other.”

Seattle Soul-Rock Favorites The Jaws of Brooklyn Bring Disco Heat to New Single “Where Are You?”

Eric Alper
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Seattle Soul-Rock Favorites The Jaws of Brooklyn Bring Disco Heat to New Single “Where Are You?”

The Jaws of Brooklyn are locked in. The Seattle five-piece have announced their new EP ‘Unstoppable’, due May 15th, and launched it with “Where Are You?”, a shimmering, disco-driven single that captures the all-night energy of romantic pursuit with total confidence.

Co-produced with Grammy-winner and Alabama Shakes keyboardist Ben Tanner, ‘Unstoppable’ blends Motown melody, Muscle Shoals soul, West Coast rock and roll, girl-group glitter, and garage grit into something that sounds completely their own. Guitarist Bryan Cohen breaks down the new single with a grin: “It’s a tale of a couple indulging in the all-day, all-night life together, dancing into the next day. Lust, devotion and the dance floor. What could be better?”

The seven-track EP builds on the momentum of their 2025 album ‘Crush On You’, which arrived alongside a period of real transition for the band, most notably the addition of frontwoman Gretchen Lemon. A former schoolteacher, Lemon brought an electric new presence to the group, and the live show hasn’t been the same since. Festival slots at SXSW and Bumbershoot and packed rooms on both coasts tell that story clearly.

Lemon captures the band’s approach simply and perfectly: “We’ve always focused on our live show, and that’s how we made ‘Unstoppable’: by getting into a room together and playing at the same time. That’s what we’re good at. It’s what we love doing.” That ethos is all over the new single, warm, physical, and built for a room full of people.

Tour Dates:

April 25 – Wenatchee, WA @ Apple Blossom Festival

July 4 – Everett, WA @ 4th of July Everett

July 11 – Spokane, WA @ Blessing In Disguise Festival

‘Unstoppable’ Tracklist:

Where Are You?

Lie to Me

Unstoppable

Up All Night

Summer We Forgot

Done With You

Kiss Me

Texas Synth-Pop Duo MISSIO Tap Into Nostalgia and Apathy on New Single “I Remember When”

Eric Alper
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Texas Synth-Pop Duo MISSIO Tap Into Nostalgia and Apathy on New Single “I Remember When”

MISSIO have something to say. The Texas duo’s new single “I Remember When” is out now via Nettwerk, a shimmering, synth-driven track that hits the feeling of collective exhaustion head-on and doesn’t look away.

Built on layered, nostalgic electronics, the track captures the carefree electricity of youth while sitting firmly in the present. The duo put it plainly: “The world is changing and transitioning at such a rapid pace that it feels impossible to keep up with right now. There’s a general apathy that everyone feels but no one seems to be talking about. We want to talk about it.” That’s exactly the kind of creative instinct that separates good bands from necessary ones.

“I Remember When” is the first taste of MISSIO’s forthcoming album, and it arrives as a confident, emotionally sharp opening statement. The production is warm and expansive, letting the nostalgia breathe without softening the underlying unease. It’s a track that rewards a close listen.

The Hollow Crown Tour has wrapped, with MISSIO headlining alongside WesGhost, ThxSoMch, and support from The Haunt, Oxymorrons, and rosecoloredworld. Keep an eye on upcoming dates as the new album takes shape.

Matchbook Romance Unearth Lost Sessions on 20th Anniversary Deluxe Reissue ‘VOICES | VISIONS’

Eric Alper
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Matchbook Romance Unearth Lost Sessions on 20th Anniversary Deluxe Reissue ‘VOICES | VISIONS’

Matchbook Romance are honoring one of post-emo’s most beloved records the right way. ‘VOICES | VISIONS’, the 20th anniversary deluxe reissue of their landmark 2006 sophomore album ‘Voices’, is out now via Epitaph Records, and it comes with two previously unheard tracks pulled straight from the original sessions. Listen here.

“Something Worse Than the Night” and “A Beautiful Day” were recorded during the 2005 ‘Voices’ sessions, recently revisited and completed by the band for this release. They’re not throwaways. Both tracks carry the riff-heavy post-emo DNA that made ‘Voices’ a touchstone for an entire generation of fans, and they slot into the album’s world with ease.

The band framed the decision with real thoughtfulness: “Completing these songs felt like a great way to do this and also allowed us to close the door on a chapter of our career and potentially open some new doors as a result.” That’s a band approaching their own legacy with honesty and care.

‘Voices’ itself remains a remarkably refined record, Andrew Jordan’s vocals soaring above Ryan DePaolo’s melodic guitar work, Aaron Stern’s pounding drums, and Ryan Kienle’s anchoring bass lines. Twenty years on, it holds up completely.

Both new tracks are available now as part of the digital deluxe reissue. A limited 7″ featuring both songs was available exclusively on Record Store Day, April 18th.

Gogol Bordello Unleash Post-Punk Revenge With Ferocious New Album ‘We Mean It, Man!’

Eric Alper
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Gogol Bordello Unleash Post-Punk Revenge With Ferocious New Album ‘We Mean It, Man!’

Gogol Bordello have never made the same album twice. ‘We Mean It, Man!’ their new full-length on frontman Eugene Hutz’s Casa Gogol Records, is the band’s self-described “post punk revenge,” and it hits with all the force that description promises.

Produced by Nick Launay (Nick Cave, Gang of Four, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, IDLES) and Adam “Atom” Greenspan (Amyl & The Sniffers, IDLES), the album drives forward on relentless techno-like beats, sharp socio-political lyricism, and hyper-futuristic post-punk textures that feel genuinely urgent. It builds directly on the electrifying direction the band explored in their 2023 collaboration with Bernard Sumner of New Order and Joy Division, and pushes it further into uncharted territory.

The latest video, “Life Is Possible Again,” channels sharp optimism against impossible odds. Hutz frames it with characteristic clarity: “The cyclical nature of time is a source of optimism. So, historically, is our ability to heal after catastrophes. We will need all of those sources of optimism combined once the current cycle of atrocities passes.” It’s the kind of statement only Gogol Bordello could make, and mean completely.

The album also features “Ignition,” the previous single starring Liev Schreiber in its music video, another bold, cinematic entry in a record full of them.

Don Broco and Nickelback Collide on Ferocious New Single “Nightmare Tripping”

Eric Alper
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0
Don Broco and Nickelback Collide on Ferocious New Single “Nightmare Tripping”

Don Broco aren’t easing into their new era. “Nightmare Tripping,” the title track from their forthcoming album on Fearless Records, hits hard and fast, featuring Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger in a collaboration nobody saw coming and everybody needed.

The track storms forward on crunchy guitars, hard-hitting drums, and a razor-sharp vocal trade-off between Rob Damiani and Matt Donnelly, with Kroeger adding unmistakable grit to the mix. It swings from fevered screams to a chant-ready melodic chorus without losing a step. The cinematic, film-noir-inspired music video, directed by Gordy De St. Jeor and shot in a burnt-out L.A. haunted house, matches the song’s intensity frame for frame.

The band describes the concept with real precision: “Nightmare Tripping is the uncertainty between dreams and reality. When the paralysis demon holding you down forces you to confront what you’ve tried to escape by going to sleep, blurring the boundaries of consciousness.” Heavy territory, handled with total confidence.

‘Nightmare Tripping’ the album arrives May 27th via Fearless Records, reuniting the band with longtime collaborator Dan Lancaster. Early singles have already mapped out the terrain: “Cellophane” brought nu-metal swagger, “Hype Man” delivered hook-driven adrenaline, “Disappear” exposed raw emotion, and “Euphoria” brought dance-floor grooves and a massive chorus. Together, they point to Don Broco’s most expansive record yet.

Live, the band continues to pull bigger reactions with every tour. 2026 brings a major London date supporting Biffy Clyro, festival sets at ROCK IM RING and Rock For People, and more still to be announced.

Emily Ann Roberts Turns Home Renovation Into a Country Hit With Playful New Single “Whipped”

Eric Alper
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Emily Ann Roberts Turns Home Renovation Into a Country Hit With Playful New Single “Whipped”

Emily Ann Roberts has a gift for finding a great song in an everyday moment. Her new single “Whipped,” out now via Sony Music Nashville, turns the chaos of home renovation into a playful, spunky country track that’s fun from the first second to the last.

Roberts wrote the song with Jeremy Spillman, Trent Willmon, and Ryan Beaver, drawing inspiration from her husband Chris and all the projects he’d taken on renovating their first home together. “This song is playful, dramatic and fun from the first second to the last,” she shares. “I can’t wait to play it live.”

That live energy is coming soon. Roberts joins Cody Johnson for his Live ’26 Tour in the U.K. and Ireland later this year, a high-profile run that puts her in front of some of country music’s most passionate audiences. She’s also actively writing and recording new music alongside select headlining dates across the country.

“Whipped” is a confident, charming single from a rising country voice who knows exactly how to connect with an audience. It lands with warmth, humour, and the kind of effortless relatability that makes country music work at its best.

Meghan Trainor Drops the Empowerment Anthem “Get In Girl” From Her New Album ‘Toy With Me’

Eric Alper
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0
Meghan Trainor Drops the Empowerment Anthem “Get In Girl” From Her New Album ‘Toy With Me’

Meghan Trainor means business. The global pop superstar has dropped “Get In Girl” via Epic Records, a full-throttle empowerment anthem and the second taste of her seventh album ‘Toy With Me’, out now.

The track hits with real emotional punch. “This song is for everyone who finally realized they deserve more,” Trainor shares. “Sometimes you just need a song that reminds you that love shouldn’t feel exhausting, and that leaving is okay and might be the most powerful thing you can do.” That message is direct, honest, and the song delivers it without flinching.

“Get In Girl” follows “Still Don’t Care,” the album’s first single, which pushed listeners to stop seeking validation from others and own exactly who they are. Across both tracks, Trainor is building something cohesive and confident, and ‘Toy With Me’ delivers on that promise front to back.

The music video makes the whole thing feel like a celebration. Trainor dances freely across iconic Los Angeles landmarks including The Grove and Rodeo Drive, even crashing a celebrity sighting shuttle tour. It’s fun, fearless, and completely on brand.

With ‘Toy With Me’ out now, Trainor is taking the music on the road for The Get In Girl Tour, produced by Live Nation, kicking off in June 2026. The run includes stops at Madison Square Garden in New York City and the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. Big rooms for a pop star firing on all cylinders.

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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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