The Latest
On “Reunion”, Mama’s Broke’s third album, Amy Lou Keeler and Lisa Maria touch the darkest aspects of human life with openness and admirable musical originality. The Nova Scotia duo weave Appalachian and Eastern European traditions into songs that touch on economic inequality, violence against women, and stunningly beautiful, lyrically enigmatic ballads in the spirit of Time (The Revelator)-era Gillian Welch. They find something worth saving in the dark.
This week’s Mixtape sweeps from archaic old-time vibes to the more ambient and avant-garde end of the spectrum. It features new music from Angel Autumn, The Powers Ensemble, JP Harris, Laura Veirs, Blake Hornsby, M G Boulter & Jenny Sturgeon, Twilark, J.J. Gregg, Jason Dungan / Johan Carøe, and Duffy x Uhlmann. Plus tracks from John Ondolo, Dyad, and Ayami Suzuki & Rob Noyes.
Golden Samphire Band share a video for “Waking Moment,” from debut album “Dream Is The Driver,” out now via Wayside & Woodland Recordings. Junkboy’s Mik and Rich Hanscomb, joined by Hannah Lewis, trace the song back to wild swims in Seaford Bay, paired with a grainy, VHS-to-NTSC video for a hazy, half-remembered summer feel.
Caleb Nichols has announced “Stone Age Is Now: Poems from Lithic”, his new album out via Royal Oakie Records this October – listen to his latest single “A Feeling of a Feeling of a Feeling”. Across twelve tracks, Nichols interpolates poems from his book “Lithic: A Hyperballad” with songs from “Stone Age Is Back”, tracked in five days with engineer Jay Pellicci.
Los Angeles duo Big Trouble — Justin Kohlberg and Daniel Talamantes — share debut single “Mel” ahead of their first album, “On Elephant Hill”, out September 18th via Royal Oakie Records. Inspired by Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree”, the song explores the cost of committing to a cause, with the album drawing on influences from Kate Bush, Juan Gabriel and Paul McCartney in equal measure.
Jason Dungan and Johan Carøe have shared “Mornings with Rita”, the second single from “Routine”, their first album together. Built over several years, they traded home recordings between Copenhagen and rural Sweden, setting zither, clarinet and cello against tape, drum machine and a Yamaha DX7. Out on Tonal Union on September 25th.
Angela Autumn releases her second album, “Believer”, on September 11th via Gar Hole Records, and shares its opening track, “Heavy Tobacco”, with a video she choreographed herself. The song came from thinking about tobacco as both a purifying spirit and a habit that turns harmful, and about choices that carry consequences both ways.
Lee Ranaldo has reworked “The System”, his score for Joris Postema’s documentary on three climate activists, resequencing it to fifteen tracks and adding two pieces held back from the 2025 release. Out today on Bandcamp via Silver Current Records, with vinyl in October, and featuring Leila Bordreuil, Jim Jarmusch and Brian Chase.
Charlie Parr will release “Rooming House”, a seven-song folk opera, on Smithsonian Folkways on 16th October, and has shared an animated video for the title track. Drawn from Parr’s years in Minneapolis rooming houses, the album follows people facing poverty, illness and unstable housing, and the small generosities that keep them going. Dave King of The Bad Plus is on drums.
Flora Hibberd has shared “Shelley”, the latest track from her second album “Mammoth”, out 16th October via 22TWENTY. Built on lush minor-key chords, pedal steel and close harmonies with J.E. Sunde, it’s a country-leaning turn she describes as a boxing match around the kitchen table. The video was filmed in Paris and elsewhere, in summer with pals.