For the first episode of the year I featured singles from Uni Boys, Mod Lang, Wet Tuna, Tom Henry, Winged Wheel, The Reds, Pinks and Purples, Motorists, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, and more! Guaranteed good times. bit.ly/4qV4xn4

A-Rhythm Absolute does more than leave a taste of Television on the tongue, Sunday Mourners tap into era after era of chafe and chug it through the amplifiers. The band bends & batters their riffs, happy to scrape the sides of the psyche as they unfurl stories of square peg scoundrels bit.ly/3YInOwg

The holidays and year end knocked some other features out of the running for a while, but I'm back with the first Hidden Gems of the year, and it's a good one! Ryan Davis goes deep on Native American jazz-folk treasure Pepper's Pow Wow, Jim Pepper's solo debut. bit.ly/3NngL9R

The Swedish band, Fort Not, cloaks their indie pop in a veneer of haze that burns off slowly over the course of “Stationary.” Tipping towards ‘90s indie, the song swirls around the speakers, dosed and dazed and caught up in a dream. bit.ly/4qiFQRJ

If you're not already tuned in, the January edition of Crawl Out From The Fallout is on the air over at WGXC now until 10pm. A ton of new music and more tonight on the show! wavefarm.org/wf/archive/7...

Hannah Lew balances the line between pop’s embrace and the cold edges of her post-punk past. First single “Another Twilght” is a smeared, hazy bout of sythpop. The song glows with a renewed warmth, a humming humidity that’s works well with Lew’s velveteen delivery. bit.ly/49yWd5H

With the measured intensity of Leonard Cohen’s late-period laments, Direen crafts an album from the perspective of one who’s been embroiled since he was born, a punk who has never settled even when the volume is turned down. If anything, Direen’s calm composure is more unsettling. bit.ly/3ZbjAgI

Abronia dive deep into the psych-folk coffers for “Gemini,” a rumination on ruin, and a beacon of hope. As the song pushes towards peak, the dissonance scratches the surface, bursting through into the last moments filled with strings and brass to add to the band’s usual bouts of flute bit.ly/4qd9JD0

As Mod Lang cues up a debut LP, they return to the arms of classic power pop. Full of strums and sighs, faded jangles, and bittersweet laments, the new single sets up a full length that finds them in welcome company among the ranks of pop purveyors like Billy Tibbals, Uni Boys, and The Lemon Twigs.

“The Perfect Swan” offers an immediately tender moment that tries its best to wrap its wounds in soft strums and McCall’s plaintive vocals. It calls back to a heyday of crossover indie and country voices, playing with the pasts of Pavement, Silver Jews, and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy bit.ly/4sAzdMh

Uni Boys land in a softer place, and there’s a little less sneer n’ smirk at the heart of “I Don’t Wanna Dream Anymore.” The song has a heartsick side to it, slightly bruised, finding the Boys pitched perfect and pining for the rosy glow of The Raspberries this time around. bit.ly/3YxbVsQ

“Frogman” is a softer side of Motorists, sweetened with soft harmonies and the the easy sway of strums. It sands the edges on their brittle grip on pop. The song glows, a sundown sigh that’s complimented by a surreal video. bit.ly/4szkjFV

From the first strains of lead-off single “Auto Poiet,” it’s clear that the band is burning clean as ever on their new album. Infused with Romano’s knack for power pop-stung rock revival, the cut bounces around the room with sweat and swagger. New record in March! bit.ly/455CMQu

There are elements of pop on Desert So Green, but just as often there are hackles, hinges, chafes, and scrapes. It works its wonders in the leaner moments, lurking in shadows, lounging in our collective unease. Winged Wheel won’t be pinned down or penned in as they continue to evolve bit.ly/3Nmknc1

A 2nd single from the upcoming Julian Never album sweeps away the scents of New Wave in favor of country touches. Julian Elorduy’s voice lends itself well to tempered strums, mournful slides, and honeyed keys. It’s a wonderfully melancholic cut, that’s not afraid to try on new clothes bit.ly/3Z75mgJ

New single feels like a turning point for The Reds, Pinks & Purples. The jangles fade into the background, replaced by clouded atmospheres, the pluck of strings, & a soft cascade of keys. The anchor of resignation remains, a melancholy that pools in puddles at the base of the speakers bit.ly/49dxvZy

A fitting farewell for Noguchi, an album that takes time to parse. It’s a maze of pop reflections and pocket-psych picnics. It’s a hallucinatory pop confection that winds through the wires with an intensity like corroded Techinicolor. bit.ly/3NhWQca

A meditative atmosphere hangs over Barry Walker's latest single, stretching through endless vistas that touch Cosmic Americana and Ambient Country in equal measures. “Son, Don’t Brighten The Bear Creek Rhyolite” dips over the horizon like the last rays of an amber autumn sun. bit.ly/4sKYuUf

Every riff, every note is a laceration that seeks a surface to slice. With the same motorcycle fusion that fed Mainliner, Les Rallizes Dénudés, and pre-High Rise rippers Psychedelic Speed Freaks, Vorhex Angel's Heavenly lands like a delightful assault on the senses. bit.ly/450uxoO

Kyle Seely and Justin Jurgens wove through the wilds of Americana, Glam, & '70s AOR on a run of singles last year. They slipped a last pair in before the door closed on the year, full of soft breezes n’ silk threads on one side, crisp denim choruses and coiffed riffs on the other. bit.ly/4ppN0SS

Tom Henry’s debut album was formed and forged in the classic traditions of power pop, nodding deep into the Memphis school & keeping its allegiances close to the jangle-heavy ‘70s. About as deft a debut as you’re going to find, an overlooked gem from last year that deserves your ear bit.ly/4sqXUuv

Excited to crack into 2026 with a new one from Wet Tuna. “Apex of High” drops back into the crystal corral of their sound, feeling like the tunnel vision mirage of doo-wop, dipped in dub. A memory of a memory as seen through the glaze of honey & humidity that only Tuna can serve up. bit.ly/4jsAFfp

we're all drawn towards the void, but each day we continue to exist & try to do good for our friends & culture is worth celebrating. so let's raise a toast to US as well as those who are gone, vowing to continue our fight to bend the arc of society in the direction of ecstasy rather than despair.

Keeping up a yearly tradition of putting together a Cosmic American mixtape to wrap up the singles that stung me over the last 12 months. It’s been a banner year for the genre, coating the speakers with country, folk, and Americana, with just a touch of haze on the horizon. bit.ly/3N8HhmY

The debut single from Detroit’s Mod Lang positions the band well among the new crop of crunch ’n crooners, feeling like a kindred spirit to Uni Boys, Billy Tibbals, and, on the flip side, the garage bite of The Gnomes. The A-side is a wide-eyed strummer with the ‘70s in its hair. bit.ly/4pENTbd

JB's last record left the listener plastered to the walls with volume & a perfect plasticity; a power pop snap that found the band at their most maximalist. Here, they scuff up the veneer, taking a measured step back from the brink to create something that feels cut from classic cloth bit.ly/3KUkURI

Feat the bulk of Pacific Range, Farmer Dave Scher, and Gerard Love (Teenage Fanclub,) Benji Knight's latest is bit more lilting than the country ramble of “Arizona Snowstorm.” A touch of folk, walking through the edges of light before the band heat seals the sendoff with a fried solo. bit.ly/48XQFBo

Feeling a bit of an outlier on Optimo Music, the first single from Portland's Natural Magic leans largely towards the psychedelic burble of ‘70s German Progressives. The track tumbles towards the cosmos, a beautifully bucolic burble that’s tapped into things far from terrestrial. bit.ly/4s16ZK6

The Cowboys let loose a soul-stung garage burner that finds the band as potent as ever. Spread over a wealth of 19 tracks, the band slips through their best guises; dirt-spattered ’n dented, blue-eyed soul swagger, and power pop crunch. bit.ly/3Yu5CWU

Ok for anyone having issues on phones earlier, the list should work now on all platforms.

All right it's that time again. I'm a bit later than most, but I've finally whittled it down. My 100 favorite albums and 15 favorite reissues of 2025. It was a hell of a year for music! Thanks, as always, for reading. bit.ly/44U65VY

Kivel’s draped the album in a kind of faded grandeur. His unbuttoned troubadour sways under the stage lights, circles the smoke rings of 3 AM studio sessions. Among the strings, steel, organs, and fuzz rumbles, Matt wrestles with the ghosts of Los Angeles & the specter of his own past bit.ly/3MBGfQe

Tune in tonight from 8-10 pm for the latest edition of Crawl Out From The Fallout, RSTB’s monthly radio show on WGXC. 90.7 locally or stream on the site. wavefarm.org/wf/archive/q...

"Warmer Than Gold" slips along on the current of it’s beat, warm and inviting. The vocals mist over the top of the burble, filling the song with a heady humidity that pulls this from the radio-ready end of the genre and into territory occupied by Chapterhouse’s psychedelic sway. bit.ly/4rLTez1

Julian Never’s built a new world of pop that weaves through the jangles, jilts, and velour aura of New Wave and synth-pop. “Push” streaks the speakers in steady streams, a bittersweet gem that bodes well for the upcoming new album Everyday Is Purgation. bit.ly/48GNPRb

Sunday Mourners hook into the kind of crushed metal art-scuffed riffs that have reared and retreated in waves since Verlaine and Hell were getting into spats on stage. Their latest pairs insistent, twitching guitars with the sweet sneer and aloof veneer of the early aughts. bit.ly/4iTGy55

Tangled in a web like Wireheads covering Jabobites or New Bums doing their best back room Bunnymen just for kicks, the album started out with a simple goal of being an acoustic record, but evolves into something stranger and more fragrant. bit.ly/48oO2JM

Matthew Dunn proves there’s no time for rest. Today brings his second album of 2025, a more compact, but no less potent collection of cowboy ballads and sweetly-stung Americana. Closer “Foolish Fool” is a tender ode with a heavy heart and a dose of buttered steel from Kevin Neal. bit.ly/3MiCcIB

Sunburned offshoot Franklin's Mint sneaks out a surprise LP this week. featuring a full force of Western Mass' greatest, plus a second side that features Franklin's Aussie enclave. Both crews turn Phillip's gnarled missives into dented classics. Don't miss! bit.ly/4iIFkK3

Jeffrey Alexander + The Heavy Lidders let loose a 3CD collection of live tapes from their recent UK tour. A heady journey into the depths of their catalog and what's to come. bit.ly/3KzrOM2

The record reclines in the prog fog footlights, winking knowingly at prime-era Floyd on mid-album palette cleanser “Post Drugs,” but the shade of ‘70s stalactite psych is draped all over the record, dripping down the cavern walls with nods at Soft Machine, Caravan, Gong, & Göttsching. bit.ly/4iPk2dB

Tulpa's songs break free of jangles with an acid washed itchiness, mixing the bi-coastal barrage of US ‘90s classics from Veruca Salt, Letters To Cleo, and Throwing Muses with an imaginary history where Talulah Gosh picked up and moved to the Pacific Northwest. bit.ly/4oxJbuw

Atrium harnesses its hymns under the canopy of trees, a beacon in the blur of disconnection and disorientation. The record seeps through the groundwater, quivers on the breeze, and hums softly through the wires until it ignites a necessary thrum for those who seek it. bit.ly/49Si9KS

With a rumpled softness and easy sway, “Sure and Steady” draws the listener in on its relaxed strums, crystalline leads, and the gentle coo of background vox. David Tattersall paints pictures of the past on the song, faded memories that curl up like Kodak prints in the August sun. bit.ly/43Z9Hpi

“Out To Pasture” is toasted by the afternoon sun; rolled in twang and tied to a driving rhythm that’s an excellent continuation of what ALU had been harnessing on Yonder. Baked in boogie and broken on the road, the new EP tacks their turbulence into the Crazy Horse winds. bit.ly/3KsBIyR

Wet Tuna open the new album with the wobble wave vision of “Epic View,” a potent distillation of what the band’s been siphoning over the past few years. A liquefied groove gives way to clouds of atmospheric dub, farmhouse funk, and deep forest fusion. @childofmicrotones.bsky.social bit.ly/4aolmBX

Papir's post-rock dips into psych feeling equally at home locking horns with Explosions In The Sky and Mogwai as they would with Garcia Peoples. The record finds them embracing their prime era and promising more to come. bit.ly/48vm8vD

“Feelin’ Fine” finds Jacuzzi Boys as tempered as ever, turning down the crackle of power pop for something a bit more slouched. Recorded in Memphis, there’s still a nice veneer of pop, but this is a more rumpled version of the Jacuzzi and the comfort feels good on ‘em. bit.ly/4otM2ox

The last few years I’ve rounded up some of the best indie pop into bouquets of jangles, in the tradition of Sarah Records comps, and this year proved more packed than most. Here’s just over 90 minutes of the best bittersweet moments from the last year or so. bit.ly/3MeP5Di

“Beautiful Holy Jewel Home,” serves up a nice dose of tension. The track stretches, seethes, simmers against the wall of noise, but doesn’t quite cross the threshold. Winged Wheel's restraint is just as impressive as their ability to deluge the listener in damage. bit.ly/4o5dfNT