Alex Gallacher

Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Josienne Clarke is set to release her new album, Far From Nowhere, on 17 October via her own Corduroy Punk label. Watch the video for her latest single, ‘What Do I Do?’. This is Clarke at her most raw and elegant, spinning vulnerability into a complete and compelling artistic statement.

Listen to the latest Monday Morning Brew Playlist featuring Cyril Cyril, Cicada Rhythm, Strange Pilgrim, Pino Palladino & Blake Mills, Big Thief, Jeff Tweedy, Dean Johnson, Georgia Harmer, Anna St. Louis, James P Honey, Nicolai Dunger, Ishaaq Aarkistra, Floreana, The Innocence Mission, Winter McQuinn, Kyle Morgan, Steve Gunn, Iona Zajac, Carson McHone, Fruit Bats, Whitney, Josh Ritter, Ann Annie & Frankie Cosmos, Rosie Miles, Naima Bock, Spafford Campbell and more.

2025 marks KLOF Mag’s 21st Anniversary. The challenges that face us today have changed significantly since 2004. Meeting them has always required considerable time and effort, but the financial difficulties are now far greater. With your support, we can continue to bring you some musical joy; therefore, starting July 25th, KLOF Mag will transition to a membership model.

We catch up with Grace Stewart-Skinner, a clàrsach player from the Scottish highlands based in Glasgow, who recently released her debut album, Auchies Spikkin’ Auchie. The album not only seeks to preserve the fading Avochie dialect for future generations but also celebrates the spirit, humour, and resilience of the community that shaped it. Grace provides a deep insight into the album’s creation and the cultural history of the Avoch community.

Several years after his last release, folk and blues artist Jason Steel returns with Studies Volume 1. This intimate 6-track collection was recorded live to a single microphone in East London, blending original songs with traditional arrangements. Rooted in folk and country blues, the album explores themes of memory and resistance, drawing inspiration from sources as diverse as Elizabeth Cotten, Cormac McCarthy, and Paul Klee.

Portland’s Strange Pilgrim has released “Through the Branches,” a contemplative new single from their forthcoming album, Too Bright Planet (via Royal Oakie Records). Led by Josh Barnhart and featuring a new lineup with members of Rogue Wave and The Dandy Warhols, the track is a shimmering piece of jangle-pop reflecting on the surreal stillness of the early Covid era with bright, layered guitars.

The new documentary, “IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY,” offers a poignant look into the musician’s life. Directed by Amy Berg, the film draws on unseen archives and intimate interviews with Jeff Buckley’s mother, former partners, and bandmates. It chronicles his meteoric rise and enduring legacy, shaped by his only studio album, “Grace.” The documentary features never-before-seen archival footage, watch the film trailer here.

Acclaimed Aotearoa musician and New Zealand Arts Laureate Ariana Tikao will bring the ancient sounds of taonga puoro (traditional Māori instruments) to London’s Cafe OTO on July 27th. A renowned composer and practitioner, Tikao will collaborate with the Rothko Collective to perform newly commissioned works based on Māori chants, blending composed music with improvisation, spoken word, and video art for what promises to be an immersive experience.

Chicago duo Whitney have announced their much-anticipated fourth album, Small Talk, arriving November 7th. To celebrate, they’ve shared the shimmering new single “Dandelions,” a heartfelt track built on Julien Ehrlich’s signature falsetto and Max Kakacek’s plaintive guitar. The announcement comes as the band wraps up a tour with Caamp and prepares for their own North American headlining tour in summer 2025.

Carson McHone unveils “Downhill,” the latest single from her new album Pentimento, out September 12th on Merge Records. The propulsive track, which recalls early Velvet Underground, is accompanied by a self-directed video filmed in Barcelona. It offers a compelling preview of the new record’s themes of memory and lineage, arriving just as McHone kicks off her European tour with Daniel Romano’s Outfit.

Steve Gunn’s new single, “Sky (debesis),” is the transportive opening track from his upcoming solo instrumental album, Music for Writers, out August 15th. The album offers open, textured soundscapes designed as a companion for thought and reflection. Recorded in various locations from Brooklyn to Latvia, the music uses guitar, synths, and field recordings to create small, immersive environments—a quiet observation of the world, embracing both its anxiety and peace.

From director Athina Rachel Tsangari, Harvest is a spellbinding, folk horror-inflected tale. Over seven hallucinatory days, a remote village’s traditional way of life is upended by the arrival of outsiders and the trauma of modernity. Led by a striking performance from Caleb Landry Jones, this atmospheric and deeply immersive film chronicles a community on the brink of irrevocable change, crushed by forces that masquerade as progress.