the rundown

Get your new music fix with these brand spankin’ new tunes from all over the world – you can also find these songs on our Limited Time Offer Spotify playlist. 

Stephen Waid – “See In Make Believe”

Country: US

Genre: Alt Rock

Words From the Artist/PR: “This song is rooted deeply in loss and the attempt to push past grief and move on.”

Cat Ridgeway – “Sprinter”

Country: US

Genre: Indie Rock

Words From the Artist/PR: “When my friend lost her battle to depression, we were all shocked, and had no idea she was struggling at all” says Ridgeway. “Mental health so often gets treated like a nuisance, something that should be ignored, hidden, or not taken too seriously. Most anyone who’s lost someone to it will tell you they never saw it coming. The best metaphor I could think of, and what I kept coming back to in the lyric, was how there’s never a convenient time to deal with a check engine light on your car. People just ignore it, keep driving, and hope it turns off… but you can’t do that with a car, and you can’t do that with your life. My friend was a runner, a sprinter, which I found poetic because of how much she metaphorically ran from her problems. I felt like I was doing the same thing. But then I realized by writing this song and album, I was running straight into everything I’d been avoiding processing. It may have been in different directions, but we both ran, so it only felt right to call the record Sprinter.”

PHWOAR – “Waiting for The Sun”

Country: UK

Genre: Alt Rock

Words From the Artist/PR: “This is a song about resilience. It explores hope as a form of rebellion. Finding strength in our weakness. In the UK, Jan 20 (this song’s release date) is known as Blue Monday, supposedly the most depressing day of the year (coincidentally in 2025, it is also the day of the US presidential inauguration). Blue Monday was concocted to sell you holidays and to sell you stuff, making light of mental health in the process. This song is a reminder that the lowest ebb is never a constant. There’s always light in the darkness. Flowers through the concrete. Waiting for the sun.”

Thomas Thomas – “One Lone Candle”

Country: Canada

Genre: Indie Rock

Words From the Artist/PR: “The title track of Thomas Thomas’ new release, “One Lone Candle,” is a slow burn love song that highlights a steady, enduring romance. A mo-town meets garage-pop anthem, the song is a departure from the typical fiery, short-lived love songs, instead reflecting a love that glows steadily over time. With urgent guitars, sparkly girl-gang backing vocals that call to mind The Supremes, and a throwback production style, “One Lone Candle” is a love song meant to soar.”

Brock Geiger – “After Later”

Country: Canada

Genre: Indie Rock

Words From the Artist/PR: ““After Later” is about the nonlinear nature of understanding ourselves and our experiences. There’s this sense of seeing the doorway to an ending so clearly but still walking further into the maze—clinging to things that might never have been tangible in the first place. The title itself is this playful, nonsensical combination of words that, for me, evokes a kind of suspension in time—a feeling of being stuck in a vague future that you can’t quite pin down.”

Who On Earth – “Lobotomy”

Country: US

Genre: Rock

Words From the Artist/PR: “”LOBOTOMY” is a hard-hitting and unapologetic song. It pulls no punches as it confronts the grip of shock media, false news, and political agendas that have divided the masses and hypnotized a generation. The track stands as a raw outcry against the endless stream of content that keeps people locked in virtual lives, numbing free thought and fueling a culture of disconnection.”

Starlings – “Feeling Goes Away”

Country: US

Genre: Alt Rock

Words From the Artist/PR: “”Feeling Goes Away,” the closing track of Starlings’ debut Try Hard Town EP, is a lush and emotive blend of 2000s-era indie rock and ’90s shoegaze influences. Based in Detroit, Starlings was formed by vocalist Nick Chevillet (Handgrenades) and lead guitarist Adam Padden (Tart). The EP, recorded and produced by John Smerek at Rust Belt Studios in Royal Oak, MI, features a dynamic lineup, including drummer Donny Blum (The Von Bondies), bassist Ricky Ruggero (Citizen Smile), guitarist Adam Liles (Pia The Band), and synthesist and electronic producer Darren Shelton. “Feeling Goes Away” encapsulates the band’s signature sound—atmospheric, introspective, and deeply rooted in Detroit’s rich musical tapestry.”

Sunset Station – “Decoys”

Country: US

Genre: Alt Rock

Words From the Artist/PR: ““Decoys” is a spacey indie rock track inspired by my surrounding American Western landscapes, blending post-rock atmospheres with themes of identity and longing. Written as a reflection of both the land and myself, it captures the dreamlike isolation of the desert. I’ll be promoting the song through social media and live shows with my new band, bringing this vision to life onstage and online.”

Slung – “Laughter”

Country: UK

Genre: Alt Rock

Words From the Artist/PR: This song is about a face-off that’s been a long time coming, and the difficult relationships we can have with members of our family, especially our parents. When we’re children we’re so desperate for our parents’ attention and approval that their dismissal or rejection can feel agonising. With an emotionally absent parent, trying desperately to earn love or consideration from someone who isn’t capable of giving it can be so destructive. This hurt can often develop into resentment as we age and we may even later villainise this person, wanting to fight, confront, defeat them.”

Must Ruut – “Detached”

Country: Estonia

Genre: Alt Rock

Words From the Artist/PR: “”Detached” was originally written in 2019 as a break-up song. It has evolved through the years alongside with our band as new members joined and added their own flavor to it with their ideas and instruments. Therefore it has been packed up with many additional sounds and emotions before the final full band production.”