Every week, MAGNET posts a new illustration by David Lester on our website. The @meccanormal.bsky.social guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 43-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith: www.magnetmagazine.com/category/dav...

Five Questions with @hellbendervinyl.bsky.social’s Travis Whitlock. “We’re all music nerds here and know what it means to hold your record in your hands for the first time. We know how much work, time and money goes into being able to place an order for vinyl”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/15/f...

MAGNET Exclusive: Camila Ortiz goes track by track on Otracami’s “Runoff” (Figure & Ground). “The album is about leaving and coming back, and ‘Penny Frog’ is the coming back. I recorded it alone in my apartment. It was the last song I wrote for the album”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/15/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere of Cult Canyon’s “Run Red Lights” video (Rattleback). “The song concerns a descent into a sort of derangement—so with the cabin and other elements, there was a starting point for the visuals.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/15/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: Kevn Kinney goes track by track on Drivin N Cryin’s “Crushing Flowers.” “I’d love to make a cartoon of Iggy destroying the Monkees house, bringing in Marshall stacks and swinging from rafters.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/14/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: Full-EP premiere of the Jaws Of Brooklyn’s “Unstoppable.” “Somewhere along the line, the Rolling Stones’ ‘Miss You’ and ‘Emotional Rescue’ got a bad rap. We love both of those tracks and wanted to put our spin on a stone-cold disco beat”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/14/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere of Pete Fij’s “Don't Bring Me Sunshine” (Tip Top). “I wanted the music to capture the wind-rush of an open-top car. ‘Crash’ by @theprimitives.bsky.social, ‘Drunk Girls’ by LCD Soundsystem ... I love those euphoric songs.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/14/m...

Five Questions with Glenn Donaldson (Reds, Pinks And Purples, Fire, @glenndonaldson.bsky.social). “I’m aware my songs are sad, but I want to let some light in … give myself and the listener a way out of the darkness.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/13/f...

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere of Rodney Crowell’s “If I Could Speak To Leonard” (New West). “I came to believe Leonard Cohen was the most important songwriter of our time. And I say that with all due respect for Bob Dylan and Tom Waits.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/13/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: Matt Koenig goes track by track on the Undercover Dream Lovers’ “Atomic House.” “There’s a line about wondering if life is shaped by fate or by the choices we make—and the feeling of tossing and turning over those thoughts.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/13/m...

Q&A w/ @nickleetmpls.bsky.social (@highonstress.bsky.social, @figureeights.bsky.social). “I hate it when bands phone it in because the crowd is small. Playing live is glorious, & any room can be Madison Square Garden if you’re crazy enough to believe it yourself”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/12/a...

MAGNET Exclusive: Sons Of Town Hall go track by track on “Of Ghosts And Gods.” “We record together, playing and singing at the same time, around one vocal mic with a mic on each of our guitars and some room mics. This creates an old-school magic.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/12/m...

Essential New Music: @nicolasleirtro.bsky.social’s Action Now!’s “Entrance” (Sauajazz). “First impression might appear to be a pledge of allegiance to free jazz, but there’s a canny & catholic compositional mind at work that shows itself over the LP’s four sides”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/11/e...

Every week, MAGNET posts a new illustration by David Lester on our website. The @meccanormal.bsky.social guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 43-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith: www.magnetmagazine.com/category/dav...

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere of Jody Porter’s “Eleanor’s Orbit” (@fountainsofwayne.bsky.social). “Eleanor was a dancer who lived above me. She hit all the parties & often brought the dancing back to her pad. She had many boyfriends. She just wanted to dance & shag”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/08/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: Full-LP premiere of Matthew Stevens’ self-titled fourth album (Candid). “When you have the right people around you and even the simplest idea with a spark, real conversation can happen. Rhythm and momentum are everything.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/08/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: Full-LP premiere of the Loft’s “Badges” (@tapeterecords.bsky.social, @theloftuk.bsky.social). “The concerns and perspectives aren’t those of our 20s—even if, at some level, they still circle the same territory.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/07/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere of Datura4’s “Dirty Laundry” (Alive Naturalsound). “Rumor spreads like wildfire, and in a world of social media, it gets amplified tenfold. That can really mess with lives. Even when it’s unsubstantiated or untrue.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/07/m...

Five Questions with Charlotte Cornfield (@mergerecords.bsky.social, Next Door). “My daughter is 3 & she loves coming along & helping with setup and teardown. Including her in the process is the big thing. It makes me feel like it’s a family business.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/06/f...

MAGNET Exclusive: Thin Lear goes track by track on “Many Disappeared” (First City Artists). “So much of this record is driven by a desire to be more connected and needing to navigate all manner of obstacles—real and imagined, emotional and spiritual—to get there”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/06/m...

Five Questions w/ Alex Edkins (Weird Nightmare, METZ, @subpop.bsky.social @dinealonerecords.bsky.social). “The new @weirdnightmare.bsky.social LP was written & recorded before METZ decided to go on hiatus, so it wasn’t a reaction to that in any way.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/05/f...

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere of Chestnut Grove’s “Xpress Urself” video. “We like to have fun together, so that’s reflected in the general idea of us dancing in the video. Don’t be afraid to let loose and express yourself.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/05/m...

On a perfect spring Sunday in Philadelphia, MAGNET’s Hobart Rowland caught the last day of the Sing Us Home Festival in the city’s Manayunk section. Yesterday afternoon featured standout sets from Augustines, Dave Hause And The Mermaid and the @themountaingoats.bsky.social.

Five Questions with Paula Kelley (@drop-nineteens.bsky.social, @wharfcatrecords.bsky.social). “I ended up in rehab in 2013. The good news is that I’ve been sober ever since. I had to relearn how to live, let alone find a way to express my creativity.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/04/f...

Essential New Music: The Arrivals’ “Payload” (@recessrecords.bsky.social). “Punk rock with undeniably ultra-catchy melodies that expertly balances the personal with the political … The right album at the right time.” Read our review: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/04/e...

Every week, MAGNET posts a new illustration by David Lester on our website. The @meccanormal.bsky.social guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 43-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith: www.magnetmagazine.com/category/dav...

Five Questions with Divorce. “Such a beautiful celebration of the incredible queer history of the Castro. It felt like a real honor to be part of that & experience how much love was centered by those audiences. We saw more pride flags than USA flags on that trip”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/01/f...

MAGNET Exclusive: Big Harp goes track by track on “Runs To Blue” (@saddlecreek.bsky.social). “We can’t know each other completely, and there’s magic in the way we build imperfect bridges across that gap.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/05/01/m...

Five Questions with Voxtrot (Cult Hero, @voxtrot.bandcamp.com). “I am an eternal optimist. Despite having had some psychological battles in the past, I ultimately have faith—in myself, in music, in life. I feel a responsibility to bring that energy to the world”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/30/f...

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere of Hypnolovewheel’s “Secret Star” video. “Found footage, personal videos and band images—that’s me and my kids in ape suits dancing around Times Square. I’ll leave it at that. It’s important to preserve some of the mystery.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/30/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere of Jacob Augustine’s “Halfway To Harlem” (@teamloverecords.bsky.social). “It’s post-apocalyptic survivor studies—car alarms serenading the cities of America to dead-battery silence. The song was inspired by the times we live in”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/29/m...

Five Questions with Department’s Adam Kyriakou. “While the way I write songs may be nontraditional, I still think of songwriting in a very songwriter-esque way. It’s just the way I’m doing it and the tools I’m using that are different.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/29/f...

Five Questions with Son Little (Anti-). “I grew up listening to a lot of different music—soul, blues, hip hop, folk—and those sounds just live together in my head. When I’m writing, I’m not thinking about where it fits. I’m thinking about what the song needs”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/28/f...

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere of Florence Dore’s “Butterflies” (@propellersound.bsky.social). “I realized I could write about other people’s disastrous relationships, deep feelings about other aspects of life and emotional scenarios invented from creating characters”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/28/m...

Five Questions with Maria Taylor (Million Stars). “@orendafink.bsky.social came to me & said, ‘What if we made another Azure Ray record?’ I took time away from my solo work to write & record, then we toured for a year. That record was the closer for Azure Ray”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/27/f...

Essential New Music: Setting’s “Setting” (@thrilljockey.bsky.social). “These elements grab you by the ear and pull you into the ensemble’s groovy, spacey, enveloping sound.” Read our review: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/27/e...

Every week, MAGNET posts a new illustration by David Lester on our website. The @meccanormal.bsky.social guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 43-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith: www.magnetmagazine.com/category/dav...

MAGNET Exclusive: @mikaeladavis.bsky.social’s “bootgaze” playlist that inspired new LP “Graceland Way” (@krsofficial.bsky.social). “Shoegaze for cowboys. Alt-country under a desert sky. Near the intersection of Lee Hazlewood and @cocteauofficial.bsky.social”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/24/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere of Pastel Blank’s “Radiator” (Paper Bag). “I had the bright idea of lying with my head against the heater. The room was quite small. But it did get me thinking about how much our environments shape our behavior & choices.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/24/m...

Five Questions with Doug Gillard and premiere of “My Friends” (@sugarblastmusic.bsky.social). “I’ll be playing solo shows & there are more GBV albums in the works & Bambi Kino projects. I’d love to collab or record with my @nadasurf.bsky.social comrades anytime”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/23/f...

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere of Gooseberry’s “Durak.” “It’s a sneering, sardonic takedown of a particular kind of middle-aged white man that’s a bit too present in today’s world. You’ve seen him, you’ve heard him. He’s confident the world has gone to shit”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/23/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: Full-LP premiere of the Lives Of Famous Men’s “End Times Elevator Music.” “What’s happening in the US & around the world is both overwhelming & profoundly sad. Music has helped me find meaning in a moment that feels completely nonsensical”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/22/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: George Usher goes track by track on “Stevensonville” (@georgeusher.bsky.social). “‘Stevensonville’ works on three levels. As pure entertainment, as a piece describing a particular place in a particular time and as a tribute to my father”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/22/m...

MAGNET Classics Podcast: We take a deep dive into LPs championed by mag, plus new releases from marquee MAGNET artists. For this (Instant) Classic, we get story behind the making of “Cat Out Of Hell,” the third album from “super band” Fantastic Cat (Missing Piece): magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/21/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: Full-LP premiere of A View Of Earth From The Moon’s “Rolled Over Like A Wave.” “My dad picked my mom up every day on their way to their student-teaching assignments. They fell in love on those trips, imagining an entire life in front of them”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/21/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere of International Druglords’ “Slut Crush.” “I’ve been fascinated by the heavy, blurred state between dreaming & waking—the place where you wish you didn’t have to open your eyes, but you’re already half-gone. This exists in that friction”: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/21/m...

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere of Rodeo Mouth’s “Pretty Sweet Deal.” “It’s simply about savoring the small victories in life, because sometimes that’s all we have.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/20/m...

Five Questions with Evil Twin (Werewolf Country). “I definitely got an appreciation for music and all kinds of art from my dad (Stephen Colbert). I learned about classic rock, but we also listened to things like Neutral Milk Hotel when I was a baby.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/20/f...

Every week, MAGNET posts a new illustration by David Lester on our website. The @meccanormal.bsky.social guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 43-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith: www.magnetmagazine.com/category/dav...

Five Questions with Joe Pernice (New West). “I have 40 to 50 songs written and partially demoed. I’m literally working on three albums right now, not counting the one that's out. So there’s a lot more where that came from.” Check it out: magnetmagazine.com/2026/04/17/f...