Jess Williamson - Hum Of The City

Texas-born singer-songwriter Jess Williamson released the new single “Hum Of The City” from her forthcoming sixth studio album, A Mile South of Heaven, which is also out this week. With plucked acoustic guitars and haunting fiddle, the track conjures the feeling of being lost in the in-between, in a place that feels familiar but not quite like “home.” “I'm kind of a wanderer by nature, and this song is about my complicated relationship with the idea of home. I've spent years feeling pulled between the excitement of life in the city and the peace of a more rural life, never quite sure where I belong.” stated Williamson. “There’s a romance to being in hotels alone,” she continued. “I love checking into my room, going down to the hotel bar, and talking with the bartender. I once checked into a hotel and realized I was staying in the very same room I'd been in years earlier (room 12, from the song), during a completely different season of my life, right before a major life change. There's something uncanny about the anonymity of a hotel room holding such a personal memory.”

Ruby Waters - Pay As You Go

Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Ruby Waters released “PAY AS YOU GO,” the new single from her recently announced sophomore album, SUPPREIONS. Written mostly from her home in the BC mountains, the smokey-voiced singer dives into the dark waters of how her vices and the pressures of the world began to overwhelm her. SUPPRE$$IONS is out January 15, 2027 on Wet Records. Also out today is the accompanying video for “PAY AS YOU GO,” a bouncy indie rock tune about the relatable financial limitations that can keep a person feeling stuck. “It’s about the struggle everyone is f***ing feeling in this economy,” says Waters, who spent her early adult life couch-surfing while making money as a busker on the streets of Toronto. “I’ve been dealing with addiction and mental health issues for a very long time,” admits Waters. “This album stems from wanting to change or being in limbo between wanting to change and building up the courage to do so. It’s an acceptance album. Accepting all of these feelings, wants, and needs instead of suppressing them.”

Ledisi - For Dinah

GRAMMY Award-winning vocalist Ledisi releases the new album For Dinah (Deluxe Edition) on Candid Records, an expanded edition of last year’s acclaimed salute to Ledisi’s personal hero, the legendary “Queen of Blues” singer Dinah Washington. Produced alongside longtime collaborator Rex Rideout and bassist Christian McBride, the tribute bridges Washington’s brazen spirit with Ledisi’s signature soulfulness, reaffirming Washington’s vital legacy and giving one of music's greatest trailblazers her flowers once again. Like every triumphantly gifted female singer who has transcended barriers, Ledisi is a child of Dinah Washington. “She gave me permission to move freely, create freely, be a woman in leadership, wear and say what I want,” explains Ledisi, who studied jazz and went on to make her name as one of the generation’s best R&B singers and interpreters of great Black American music. Ledisi adds, “Before there was Aretha, there was Dinah. She deserves to be recognized in today’s music as well. So instead of asking me ‘Why Dinah?,’ you should be asking ‘Why not Dinah?’”

Teens in Trouble - I Do

Raleigh’s Teens in Trouble, the project of Asian-American singer, guitarist, and songwriter Lizzie Killian, today shared their punchy, candid new single “I Do” as a co-release via their new label home Lauren Records and their own Sneak Dog Records. The song, drenched in catharsis and melodic hooks, marks a confident return following their debut album What’s Mine, released in 2024 to praise and support from Consequence, Paste, UPROXX, Stereogum, Alternative Press, and many more. The Dave Schiffman (Blondshell, Olivia Rodrigo, PUP)-produced “hooky power-pop” track arrives with an Aja Pop-directed video. “This is a friendship breakup song,” Killian explains. “I'd convinced myself I was over it until a mutual friend asked me about the situation over brunch. As I started to explain what happened, I found myself getting heated and realizing that maybe I wasn’t actually over it after all.” Of the video, which finds Killian working through it in the boxing ring, she adds: “We brought in trained boxer Holly Lawson to play my opponent, and she was able to quickly teach me some moves on set. I’m probably not going to be kicking asses anytime soon, but I’m really proud of how the video turned out!”

Cult of Luna - The Rift

Sweden’s Cult of Luna have shared “The Rift,” their epic eight-minute single previewing their anticipated new LP, In The Shadow Of Your Shadow, due out on November 6. Even with all their signature ferocity on display, their tenth album also finds Cult of Luna broadening their horizons: “The Rift” pushes the band to both their quietest and fastest terrain to date, where passages of loose strums and subtle keyboards are interrupted by shockingly quick metal breakdowns, calling back to their hardcore roots. The band’s Johannes Persson explains: “‘The Rift’ is about the loneliness of the human experience and the urgent need to belong, to seek refuge in the collective. There’s a kind of euphoria in knowing your peers’ mantras, in feeling chosen for a greater cause. Those shared beliefs tell you who you belong to. More importantly, they tell you who is excluded.”

Jonah Kagen - Do Better

Acclaimed singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Jonah Kagen released his new single “Do Better.” The latest offering from his forthcoming sophomore album, Eternity of Anything, out October 30, “Do Better” captures the moment when devotion gives way to clarity, as Kagen realizes that loving someone cannot mean continuously losing himself in the process. The track also underscores the level of creative ownership Kagen has taken across this new chapter of his music. As with the rest of the record, Kagen wrote, produced, recorded, engineered, and mixed “Do Better” himself, mirroring the deeply hands-on approach he took across Eternity of Anything. The new track opens with Kagen admitting he has given too much of himself to someone who holds too much control over his heart, tracing the realization that effort alone cannot save a relationship. At its core, “Do Better” is less a traditional breakup song than a line in the sand. Kagen is willing to give everything to a relationship that is equally returned, but refuses to keep carrying one that is not, capturing the point where wanting something to work is no longer enough. “Do Better” arrives less than a month before Eternity of Anything, an album that finds Kagen turning sharply inward after the outward-looking journey of his debut, Sunflowers and Leather. That record was born during a year spent traveling the country in an Airstream that doubled as a mobile studio, gathering songs from landscapes, strangers, and life on the road. This time, Kagen stopped moving.

Art d’Ecco - How Real Is Real?

Vancouver’s Art d’Ecco has shared his new single “How Real Is Real?” from his fifth album Scheele’s Green, due out October 23. Over a churning garage-rock riff, the anti-war protest song grapples with ICE raids, the genocide in Gaza, and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Art reflects: “We’ve been mediated by images. Our entire reality is no longer shared, but rather it is perceived individually via social media and a life spent being terminally online. This new society experiences a simulacrum of reality, one that is shaped with bias and that is force-fed into us from an outside world that is owned and operated by tech oligarchs and governments competing in zero-sum battles for global hegemony. ‘How Real Is Real’ serves as a clarion call–our new realities have desensitized us to the real life atrocities and injustices that are actually being experienced by people in our communities around the world. The idea that we’ve never been more connected to fast, unlimited, free information but are still completely separated from reality and truth is a paradox of our own making.”

Lady Of Mars - Let It Burn

Picture Patti Smith's poetic snarl rewired through Wolf Alice's widescreen dynamics, then dropped into a rehearsal room in South London; that's the sonic territory Lady Of Mars occupy. The female-fronted indie rock four-piece take the raw nerve and romance of late '70s new wave and rebuild it for right now: shimmering guitar hooks and cutting solos, soaring vocals, and lyrics that don't flinch away. It's a sound built on lineage but owned entirely by them. Now, the band is thrilled to announce their signing to FLG, the rock and alternative imprint of Frontiers Label Group, and, to coincide with the announcement, they’ve released the new single “Let It Burn,” with new music planned in the forthcoming months. Vocalist Neve Bowen commented: “Let It Burn” came out of watching someone I love fight the same battle over and over, inside their head, from the consequences of personal trauma that just won't loosen its grip, no matter how much you show up for them”. About signing to FLG, she added: “We’re delighted to be joining the FLG Roster. They understood what Lady Of Mars was about immediately and genuinely loved our music. We’re looking forward to being on this journey with them”.

Niia - Wonderful Christmastime

Also this Friday, LA-based vocalist Niia announces her jazzy new holiday album, Christmas with Niia, set for a digital-only release on October 30, followed by the physical release on December 4 via Candid Records. Released alongside the announcement is the first single, “Wonderful Christmastime.” By trading heavy synths for a sophisticated, swingin’ jazz arrangement layered with Niia’s breezy vocals, she and producer Spencer Zahn transformed Paul McCartney’s classic pop holiday hit into a cozy jazz gem that feels both timeless and brand new. A delightful collection of jazz renditions of timeless holiday hits, Niia’s silky smooth vocals offer the perfect soundtrack for festive gatherings all season long. Fans can see Niia live at the Blue Note LA for one night only on December 22.

David Benoit - Christmas Time Is Here

Jazz pianist and famed Peanuts composer David Benoit is releasing the first single from his forthcoming album, David Benoit Conducts A Vince Guaraldi Holiday Symphony, this Friday. The album is set for a digital-only release on October 30, followed by the physical release on November 20 via Candid Records. First written for the 1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas, “Christmas Time Is Here” receives a breathtaking, full-orchestral rendition conducted by David Benoit and performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.