Hannah Means-Shannon

Minneapolis-based Psych and Dream Pop artist Rupert Angeleyes released his third album Pillow Talk, on April 20 th and played a special release show with his live band. The songs on the new album have a strongly atmospheric quality and the layering of instrumentation was all devised by Rupert. Thematically, the songs loosely follow ideas of different kinds of relationships and their possible outcomes, hence “pillow talk.” A veteran of several bands such as Sleeping in the Aviary, Joey Joey Michaels, and Hot Freaks via his time spent in LA, Rupert brings all that musical knowledge to bear on his solo compositions and live performances.

Indie Rock band Red Wanting Blue will be releasing their new album Light It Up on June 2 nd, via Blue Elan Records, and even though it’s coming from a band who have many years of experience recording and on the road, there are a number of “firsts” for the band this time around. Light It Up marks the first time that the band has totally self-produced an album, and their summer and autumn coming up mark the first time they’ve scheduled a tour with an intentional gap between the album release and touring to give fans time to get to know the music. It’s also the first time they recorded songs only a few at a time and took extra time with deliberation and shaping of the tracks as they moved towards a full album. For the band members, this meant more time at home honoring family commitments and more time to consider where they wanted the songs to go.

Late Slip is the Retro-Pop project of New York-based artist Chelsea Nenni. Her first full-length record, I Love You, will be arriving on June 7th, via Party Mermaid Records. For the new record, she worked with longtime collaborator and Producer Lewis Pesacov (Best Coast, FIDLAR, Nikki Lane, Poolside), but that didn’t keep them from experimenting with new sound directions.

Guitarist and songwriter Karen Haglof has released her fourth full-length solo album, One Hand Up, which was Produced by Haglof and Mario Viele, and recorded at Cowboy Technical Services and Excello Studios in Brooklyn. While Viele mixed most of the songs, three were also mixed at the Fidelitorium in Kernersville, NC by Mitch Easter. The packed collection, featuring 14 songs, not only ranges widely in genre but ranges widely in combining those elements within songs, taking you for a wild sonic ride.

Cody Dickinson, best known as a founding member and drummer of North Mississippi Allstars, is also involved in the creation of the documentary film series

The Olympia, Washington-born Indie band Oh, Rose, recently celebrated the 10 th anniversary of their debut EP, That Do Now See, by re-releasing a remastered edition on cassette, but also combined that celebration with the release of a new single and video, “The Call”, and with the announcement of the upcoming fall arrival of their new album, Dorothy. Oh, Rose will also be hitting the road on tour with Future Islands in September throughout the Western United States.

Frankie and The Studs are a Burbank-based Rock band who have an energetic performance history as a string of EPs and singles under the belt, but now they are taking the plunge to release an LP this Fall. The first single and video from that album is out now, titled “Bimini,” and sets the stage for where they’ve been and where they are right now. Both the song and the video speak to ideas of identity and personal expression and have a real-life inspiration in the drag queen, Bimini Bon Boulash, who the song’s title references.

When Bernie Worrell, who was a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and spent a lifetime collaborating across genres with an astonishing number of musicians, passed away in 2016, it closed a chapter of music history. Some years later, former Bernie Worrell Orchestra bandleader Evan Taylor was contacted by Bernie’s family about some tapes and drives they had discovered that they hoped someone might be able to work with towards a posthumous release. Taylor, in the meantime, had been working across genres as a Producer with his own label and studio, Loantaka Sound, as well as working on the musical project Purple Witch of Culver, and he couldn’t have been more surprised by that phone call.

Smoker Dad is a Seattle-based indie band that describes their sound as “deep-fried Southern Rock,” and it’s hard to argue with that. The attitude and slightly humorous feel of that description are also part of their identity. Consisting of Trevor Conway on vocals and guitar, Teagen Conway on lead guitar, Chris King on vocals and keys, Derek Luther on bass, Adam Knowles on drums, and Chris Costalupes on pedal steel, the latter has been a decisive factor in shaping the “twang” in their music. It accompanies a steady foundation of Rock ‘n Roll and an enthusiasm for 70s intersections between Roots music and Rock.

The dB’s will be embarking on a rare tour in September, and this coincides with the June reissue of their debut album, Stands for Decibels, its first time on vinyl in the US, and the October reissue of their second album, Repercussion. Both albums arrive courtesy of Propeller Sound Recordings,