Magic Castles • Hey Alright • 2026

 

Magic Castles are back with new album ‘Realized’, a set of lush psych-rock reveries from Minneapolis songwriter Jason Edmonds, blending late-60s folk-rock warmth with shoegaze shimmer. Newly signed to Fuzz Club, ‘Realized’ takes Magic Castles’ music to a newfound level of clarity, whilst still retaining that same, long-harboured analogue warmth only made possible through an array of vintage amps, guitars and transistor organs. Released April 24th 2026, ‘Realized’ consists of nine dreamlike, melody-led trips that unfold in waves. Equal parts hazy nostalgia and widescreen modern psychedelia, centring dreamy, heavily-layered arrangements and floating vocal harmonies.

After Ours • Congratulations • 2025

 

https://www.instagram.com/afteroursxx/

Lowertown • Worst Friend • 2026

“a band on the cusp of greatness.” - NME

“One cannot help but get goosebumps” - The Line Of Best Fit

“Luscious lo-fi indie bops” - DIY

“we are predicting big things for the pair” -The Forty-Five

“The latest in a generation of artists determined not to be defined by genre” 

- Notion

The songwriting partnership of Olivia Osby and Avsha Weinberg, the last few years saw the prolific pair teetering on the brink. From constant touring and a separation from their label to creative frustrations and an unhealthy attachment to one another, their artistic partnership and, more importantly, their friendship were on shaky ground—especially since these experiences were coloured by the disorienting intensity of their late teens and early 20s. It became clear that the two had to revisit their roots.

lowertown.band

Gently Tender (mem. Palma Violets) • "Wild In The Uplands” • 2026

 

South London six-piece Gently Tender today shared their new single "Wild In The Uplands," the second single from their forthcoming EP This Was Once Fields, due out May 22nd via TODO Records. "Wild in the Uplands" captures the unruly spirit of the freedom of being in nature and the thrill of exploring in wild places. The band explains: "'Wild in the Uplands is a song about escape from city to country. It’s about not having respect for fences and private land, roaming free and getting into mischief. Out of all the illegal activities a person can partake in, trespassing is one of the most exhilarating!" "Wild In The Uplands" follows lead single "A Mound A Field," which garnered support from DIY Magazine, CLASH, Dork, and more.

https://www.gentlytender.co.uk/

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #172 • Common Holly

More than a decade into Common Holly, Brigitte Naggar still writes the way she did as a teenager — quietly, in her bedroom, not quite ready to let anyone hear. On this episode, Chris sits down with the Montreal songwriter to talk about Anything Glass (June 2025) and its companion EP They Will Draw Halos Around Our Heads (February), two records that feel like siblings.

Brigitte talks about going back to the piano for the first time since she was a kid, letting poems turn into songs without forcing them, and her long run with producer Devon Bate (Jean-Michel Blais, Jeremy Dutcher) — a collaborator so unshowy you stay with him for ten years because he just gets it. She's warm on Montreal too: friendships that go back fifteen years, monthly jams with Ada Lea and Cedric Noel, and the quiet reset Common Holly and the rest of the city's scene went through after the pandemic.

Also: why the slow songs landed hardest this time, a Left of the Dial date in Rotterdam, and some loose hints at what comes next — maybe an all-vocal record, maybe something built around cello. Nothing rushed. Whatever feels right.

 

https://commonholly.com/

DIRECT LINK MP3

https://ffm.to/commonholly

Harry Jordan • This Beautiful Life • 2026

 

First coming to attention as co-frontman of cult indie band Eades - with whom he has received acclaim from The Guardian, NME, FADER, BBC 6 Music and more - Harry has since made strides as an in demand producer and engineer since founding his residential Bam Bam Studios with acts like The Big Moon, Keo, Sam Tompkins, Brown Horse, Our Girl, Bleech 9:3, Opal Mag and more passing through its doors. Instagram

Sister Ray Davie • Big Ships (Live Guitar Armada Version) • 2026

 

https://linktr.ee/sisterraydavies

Holy Island Baby plays around with the original tracks in fascinating ways. Pye Corner Audio has made new shapes out of both ‘Aidan’ and ‘Morning Bell’; the former with a harder, Suicide-style approach, the latter elevating the almost ambient nature of the original.

“This version of ‘Aidan’ found new space, new depths, new melodies and new rhythms,” enthuses Adam. “While the mix of ‘Morning Bell’ carries the song into a whole new, mythic place.

“The EP adds extra layers to the original album. We’re aware that it’s a short record, so having some additional tracks to dive into feels like a way to extend your stay in that space as a listener. There is more down the rabbit hole. Genre collapses a bit, too, which is great.”

BLACK MARKET HEART • What Happens in the Dark • 2026

 

Taking cues from the feedback haze of The Jesus and Mary Chain and the cold pulse of Joy Division, Black Market Heart thrive in that tight space between distortion and melody. Tina’s basslines grind and move with purpose, Medina’s drums hit with stripped-down force, and Robinson’s guitar cuts sharp and bright through the fog. It’s music designed for low lights, empty overpasses, and that stretch of road where the city opens up and you can almost pretend you’re alone. Recorded in just two days at Kitten Robot Studios with Los Angeles underground mainstay Paul Roessler, known for his work with The Screamers and 45 Grave, What Happens in the Dark captures the band in a live-wire state. Minimal takes. No studio gloss. Just volume, tape, and instinct. The vocals, often submerged in earlier recordings, are more exposed this time. Brugnoletti’s added harmonies bring a heavier presence, giving the songs weight without sanding down their edge.

INSTAGRAM

SOME FEAR • “DIA” • 2026

 

With their sophomore album, Word Eater, Some Fear moves toward a more deliberate and polished production style. While their previous work established their lo fi foundations, this record explores greater sonic density and a shift toward a higher fidelity sound.

MAD HONEY • “MOSHFEGHIAN” • 2026

Mad Honey announced their new record last month with “Reaching” and “Marie’s Song,” permeating the band’s sound with their growth and friendship. Stereogum shared the news, praising the new songs by saying, “‘Reaching’ is a soft and detached chug… 'Marie's Song' is the one that really convinced me to post this one. It's a soft, longing slowcore lullaby with some absolutely shattering vocals from bandleader Tuff Sutcliffe.”

WEBSITE

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #171 • The Leaf Library

The Leaf Library Have Been Right This Whole Time

Six years is a long time to believe in something. Matt, the engine behind The Leaf Library, will tell you it requires a specific kind of delusion — the ability to convince yourself, and eventually everyone around you, that the record you're making is worth the time, the money, and the slow erosion of certainty. After the Rain, Strange Seeds is proof that the delusion held.

The band's fourth album landed on Fika Records this past March, and it sounds like exactly what it is: decades of instinct refined into something weightless. Dream pop that leans pastoral, folk textures dissolving into lo-fi haze, Kate's vocals sitting just above the mix like something half-remembered. It's the kind of record that doesn't announce itself — it accumulates.

In this conversation, Matt traces the long road here: a Stereolab ad in Reading, a John Peel spin, a DIY infrastructure that taught him more about music than any lesson could. He talks about the band's finally-settled lineup, the collaborative friendship with Kate that stretches back to 1996, and a forthcoming project built around drones traded with Japanese artist Teriyuki Kurohara. He's thoughtful, self-deprecating, and quietly certain that this one cut through for a reason.

He's right. Go listen. 

the-leaf-library-the-ivy-house

Sungaze • I'm No Longer Afraid of Heights • 2026

https://www.sungazemusic.com/

Helmed by songwriters Ian Hilvert and Ivory Snow, Sungaze examine nostalgia without rose-colored glasses on their fullest exploration of Midwest emo, shoegaze, and alt-rock to date. "I'm No Longer Afraid of Heights" opens with slide guitar floating atop acoustic guitar and a steady drum beat, immediately invoking those long summer days of childhood when the world felt full of possibility, before the first chorus quietly shifts the emotional weight from comfort toward resigned hopelessness, even as Snow's vocal delivery barely changes. 

A poignant bridge confronts time's indifference head-on, propelling the song away from resignation and toward something more urgent. The music video, shot over three days in the small Ohio town that inspired the song, uses water, movement, and live performance as parallel paths toward release, with a dual ending cutting between Snow floating serenely in a childhood river spot in office attire, and crowd-surfing at a Sungaze show in a white lace dress.

Michael Feuerstack • Big Sails • 2024

michaelfeuerstack.com

Common Holly • They will draw halos around our heads EP • 2026

commonholly.com

Zoh Amba • "Another Time” • 2026

linktr.ee/zohamba

 

On Eyes Full, every song circles the idea of seeing and being seen. The album looks closely at the lives of working-class people in small towns, and its cast of characters — from a kid benumbed by medication to a man who plays hide-and-seek with God — are drawn with an aching, unsentimental tenderness. “I hope these songs touch people’s hearts,” Amba says. “They’re about people who really need to be seen and heard.” klof

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #170 • The New Cut

The New Cut: Grungy, Clunky, and Completely Themselves

Bristol's The New Cut don't fit neatly anywhere — and that's exactly the point. On this week's episode, frontman Henry Gerrard joined us from across the pond to talk about the band's new EP, their reputation as a live act, and the long road from writing embarrassing teenage songs to making music that actually tells the truth.

Henry opened up about growing up with OCD, feeling socially disconnected, and how songwriting became the language he could use when small talk failed him. It's the kind of conversation that reminds you why music matters beyond the noise.

The New Cut are gigging across the UK this April, and if you can get to a show, get there. This is a band best experienced loud.

New episode of If It Be Your Will is out now — listen wherever you get your podcasts.

https://thenewcut.lnk.to/SleepersMourners

They Might Be Giants • Outside Brain • 2026

They Might Be Giants treat the entire history of popular music as a trampoline rather than a rulebook. Like two pinballs pinging off each other through musical murals stretching into a giddy ether, TMBG moves by ricochet. On their upcoming album The World Is to Dig (due April 14th, 2026, from Idlewild Recordings), the multi-Grammy-winning duo carry on bouncing through the pop multiverse, digging into whatever they find with playful zeal. 

John Linnell and John Flansburgh continue to fire ideas off one another like particles in a perpetual motion experiment, each collision producing a new angle, a new melodic left turn, resulting in tracks packed with esoteric references, mischievous details, and left-field detours. Untethered from trends, immune to nostalgia, and equally ready to draw from Tin Pan Alley theatrics and contemporary pop culture references, The World Is to Dig is the sound of a band very much in motion; not chasing relevance but generating it on their own terms. 

 

Website

The Great Emu War Casualties • Public Sweetheart No.1 • 2026

thegreatemuwarcasualties.com

Tom Rosenthal • Uncontrollably • 2022

 

linktr.ee/tomrosenthal

above me • Soften The Blows • 2026

above me is the main songwriting vehicle for SF based artist Rick Altieri, formerly of Blue Ocean and drummer in Aluminum. A project defined by guitar driven pop songs reinforced with drum machines, sampled beats, dreamy synths and strange sound design treats.

Equally rooted in the realms of shoegaze and sample based electronica, above me doesn’t set out to reinvent any particular sound but pays homage to a wide variety of influences from mbv and Chapterhouse to Autechre and OPN.