SOM SOM • safe space • 2026

welcome to 'safe space', an EP contemplating loss, moss and acceptance. a collection of lo-fi but lush songs about coming to terms with yourself and reclaiming your voice through making peace with your circumstances and submitting yourself to the unknown.

 

THE MALE PATTERN • The Television Watcher • 2026

"We meet our guy doing what he does best: watching TV while thinking about TV. I wanted to write a song that was about watching TV, that was told through TV and movie plots that ultimately reveal things about who the character was. The character does nothing in the story, he’s a kind of cipher. The content of the song is told through stupid TV and movie plots, and ultimately, this storytelling reveals the kind of person this character is. What he wants, dreams of, what he regrets, all told and shown through the episode of law and order he remembers best and his musings on Oscar glory of years past.” – Will Schwartz / The Male Pattern

Josaleigh Pollett • If I Let It Quiet • 2026

"Breathtaking...A boundless collection of folk-tinged electronic pop." – KEXP

"One of the most exciting indie releases of the year so far." – Paste Magazine

"Rich, electronic textures act as sonic diversions to Josaleigh's questions about life. A tender triumph." – NPR Music

 “Josaleigh Pollett’s third album, In The Garden, By The Weeds felt like a breakout moment of sorts for the Salt Lake City based musician. It would seem their musical evolution continues on If I Let It Quiet, a fantastic record that embraces gorgeous art pop (leaning on the pop end to fantastic results) and soft focus synth experimentation. Due out on July 24th via Audio Antihero (Frog, Avery Friedman, Tiberius) and Lavender Vinyl, the avant-pop album is deeply focused despite the production being split between Utah and Japan. Perhaps it’s in that freedom to step into the unknown that lets the album breathe the way it does, moving in plumes of smoke and a dreamy (but never “gazy”) disconnected bliss that’s plucked, strummed, and programmed into being. At the core of it all is Pollett’s beautiful voice which has never sounded better, their words given emotional strength from a dynamic melodic range that’s spellbinding throughout.” – Post-Trash

Graham Hunt • "Getting Older” • 2026

grahamhunt.lnk.to/A-P

American Pyramid finds Hunt pushing himself out of his comfort zones, eschewing the homespun, computer-oriented explorations of his previous work and instead entering Minneapolis’ legendary Pachyderm Studio with a eight-piece band to try and capture a different side of his boundless creativity. "Getting Older" follows "Riverboat Blues," “Waiting For You To Come Home” (which drew attention from the likes of Stereogum, BrooklynVegan, and more) and where those previous singles leaned into Hunt's off-kilter production and intricate arrangements, this latest tune goes right for the hooks. It's an infectious cut of Westerberg-ian guitar pop that's sure to be stuck in your head after one chorus.

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #192 • Monster Rally

For more than a decade, Monster Rally has occupied a curious corner of contemporary music, where faded postcards, forgotten library records, and golden-age hip-hop production dissolve into richly imagined landscapes. On Echoes of the Emerald Sands, Ted Feighan opens that world to other voices for the first time, inviting collaborators including LEISURE, TV Girl, Sessa, Jordana, Mei Semones, and even the timeless presence of Henry Mancini into his meticulously assembled sonic atlas. The result is less a departure than an expansion—a record that blurs collage, memory, and fantasy while asking how place can be conjured from sound alone. We explore the art of sampling, world-building, and the strange beauty of music that seems to exist outside of time.

http://monster-rally.com/

Venturing into uncharted territory, the upcoming record will be Monster Rally’s first that isn’t purely instrumental. He recruited not just one or two guest vocalists, but a whole fleet of artists and industry friends to sing over his recordings. The list of collaborators includes TV Girl, Jordana, Toledo, Mei Semones, X-Cetra, Leisure, Sessa, Nella, Miles Michaud (Allah-Las), Benét, Jordann, Munya and more. Ditching the tropical, sample-based plunderphonics of his past work, he decided to record everything from scratch in his Cleveland home studio — resulting in some of the liveliest, most vivid music in Monster Rally history. kale

Case Oats • Full Session | Paste • 2026

https://www.pastemagazine.com

The Male Pattern • I Was Shot in the Heart! • 2026

“I Was Shot in the Heart! tells the story of an unnamed suburban dad as he navigates his acrimonious divorce, spends too much time watching TV and on the computer, gets addicted to pills, loses his job as a mortgage broker, shoots and kills a small-time drug dealer, finds God, and commits suicide by cop at a 24/7 Stop and Shop in White Plains, NY. The songs are character-driven and satirical. I drew on the work of Terry Allen and Randy Newman, while combining disparate influences like the narrative craft of a Bruce Springsteen ballad and the prurience and silliness of Ween.

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #191 • Mull Historical Society

Some artists write songs. Colin MacIntyre seems to collect entire lives. For more than 25 years, the man behind Mull Historical Society has turned grief, small-town stories, oddball observations, and big melodies into one of Scotland's most distinctive catalogues. Along the way he's become an award-winning novelist, playwright, and the kind of creative who somehow makes writing a musical seem like a perfectly reasonable side project. His latest album, In My Mind There's a Photograph, takes memories shared by some of the world's best writers and transforms them into songs that are funny, moving, and deeply human. We talk about memory, storytelling, growing up on Mull, and why the best songs often begin with someone else's story.

http://mullhistoricalsociety.com/

http://www.colinmacintyre.com/

Building on from the critical success of In My Mind There’s A Room, Mull Historical Society take an interesting approach to this new album; combining lyrical contributions from world-leading authors (including Irvine Welsh, Ali Smith and Louise Welsh) with the lush musical creations of MacIntyre to produce 12 songs of interesting textures and emotional leaps. Standout Charing Cross Canyon is a pop perfect, Prefab Sprout-esque tune for 2026 and Wish We’d Taen Mair, with minimal electro over spoken words, showcase the range of ideas and sounds. With a new book out this year, and a musical in pre-production, MacIntyre really is on a creative high. Excellent. NARC

Teenage Fanclub • Day In The Sun • 2026

Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley have been making music together in Teenage Fanclub for 37 years, and while some parts of being in a band have gotten easier with time, the simplest things can still trip them up. According to Blake, “It’s difficult when it comes to, y’know, coming up with a name for an album. Especially after you’ve made 12 of them.”

The Goods • Summer's Almost Gone • 2026

INSTAGRAM

Oakland, California power pop outfit The Goods return July 22 with “Summer's Almost Gone,” the first single from their upcoming LP Goodbye Summertime, due September 16 on Dandy Boy Records. Less than a year after releasing their debut full-length Don't Spoil the Fun, songwriter Rob Good pushes the project into new territory, folding Beatles-esque psychedelia, jangling folk rock, sunny indie pop, and the melodic punch of classic power pop into something far bigger than what came before. For fans of The Lemon Twigs, Teenage Fanclub, Matthew Sweet, Young Guv, and The Apples In Stereo, “Summer's Almost Gone” is the first glimpse of an album written during a period of dramatic personal change and creative obsession.

Celestial Skies • Today's Malaise • 2026

Celestial Skies · Today's Malaise

Charlie Ivan Band • 'Of Nothing’ • 2026

 

At its core, Of Nothing is an album concerned with beauty found inside bleakness. Throughout the record, Ivan returns to recurring themes of longing, love, desperation and the strange futility that shadows everyday existence. It also represents a continuation of a lifelong relationship with songwriting. Ivan credits his mother, who is a songwriter herself, with introducing him to guitar and piano, and the music of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Sinéad O'Connor, Radiohead and Nick Cave, at an early age.

Nanaco Sato • “A Bullet Hole In My Ear” • 2026

The recording sessions were almost entirely spontaneous. I brought a collection of poems I had written, chose one according to how I felt that day, handed it to the musicians, and we began playing. There was no fixed plan. We simply trusted the moment.

When I showed them A Bullet Hole In My Ear, I said, “Let's do this one next.” Someone would start playing a phrase, and the rest of us would instinctively follow, as though we were pushing a boat out into an open current and letting it find its own direction.

Looking back, I think we captured both the emotional depth and the landscape of that poem with remarkable beauty and power. Even though we had never played together before, it felt like a real band from the very first moment we met. There was an immediate sense of trust, freedom, and shared imagination. Those days at Maison Rouge remain some of the most inspiring recording sessions of my life.”

 Instagram

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #190 • Nina Winder-Lind

There are artists who make records, and then there are artists who seem to build entire worlds. On this episode of If It Be Your Will, Nina Winder-Lind joins us to discuss Wild Love, a debut solo album that feels both intimate and expansive. From growing up in Sweden and discovering music through Led Zeppelin and a teenage gang of misfits, to finding a creative home with The New Eves, Nina reflects on mythology, poetry, collaboration, and why the most personal songs often become the most universal.

https://transgressiverecords.com/artist/nina-winder-lind/

“The kind of base line is that I am alive… I’m so alive and I’m so grateful for that. You get to do all these things and feel all these things and you’re in a body and you get to express yourself and you have to or you’re gonna explode.

They’re all love songs, really. Romantic love, love for my family, my friends, love for the landscape. It’s about intense emotional entanglement with other beings.”

 

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #189 • General Chaos

Montreal has always known how to make great punk bands, and General Chaos are proving the tradition is in very good hands. Formed when they were just twelve years old, the trio has quickly evolved from local curiosity to one of Canada's most exciting young punk acts. On this episode of If It Be Your Will, Constantin Blondy joins me to talk about Can't Please 'Em All, growing up in Montreal's legendary punk scene, DIY culture, songwriting, Pouzza Fest, and why honesty—not nostalgia—is keeping punk alive for a new generation. 

https://stomprecords.com/shop/cant-please-em-all-general-chaos/

General Chaos is a group of 16 year olds from Montreal. They come out of a city that raised The Nils, The Asexuals, Planet Smashers, Banlieue Rouge, and The Sainte Catherines; bands that kept Quebec punk loud and self-sufficient through decades of change. That lineage runs through “Can't Please 'Em All” naturally. It is not retro. It is muscle memory.

Swapmeet • Bonny • 2026

"An uncommonly magnetic indie rock quartet...one of this year’s most impressive new acts." - Rolling Stone

“The four close friends have found themselves entering a future so bright and open-ended that their lofty ambition for Swapmeet will only rise.” - The Line of Best Fit ★★★★

"A sublime debut from soon-to-be indie stars." - Far Out Magazine ★★★★

SORRY MONKS • Grass Is Greener • 2026

Recorded between March & June 2026, Grass Is Greener is a collection of 12 songs that evoke the golden age of guitar-pop without veering into pastiche. Stop Look & Listen captures the poignancy of Summer turning into Autumn, wrapped in a tune you might swear you heard once on the Ed Sullivan show. Bird of Paradise is Mamas and Papas meets Between The Buttons era Stones. Careful attention was paid to the running order to ensure a cohesive listen from start to finish and the mixes hold up well in both stereo and mono.

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #188 • Max Subar

Chicago singer-songwriter Max Subar joins If It Be Your Will to discuss his stunning debut album, Anything Could Be, released on Merge Records. We explore the quiet power of solitude, trusting instinct over perfection, and how a frozen lakeside retreat became the foundation for an intimate, expansive record. Max reflects on collaboration, vulnerability, and embracing uncertainty, revealing how the album became both a personal transformation and the beginning of an exciting new chapter in his career. 

linktr.ee/maxsubar

Anything Could Be was recorded across ten days of solitude, but featured additional sessions with his brother Sam Subar on drums, Case Oats bandmates Spencer Tweedy (additional drums),Jason Ashworth (upright bass), and Scott Daniel (violin), as well as frequent collaborators Chet Zenor (electric guitar), Kelly Hannemann (piano), and Sarah Weddle (vibraphone, organ, and electric piano). thelineofbestfit

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #187 • Jaco Jaco

Jaco Jaco's music exists in that rare space where groove and introspection become inseparable. Formerly of the Oklahoma indie-rock band Sports, Jacob Theriot has steadily carved out a solo identity rooted in warm bass lines, psychedelic textures, and songs that wrestle with uncertainty without ever losing their sense of joy. On the heels of his new album, On the Levee, Jacob joins If It Be Your Will to talk about leaving behind the only band he'd ever known, rebuilding his life in Philadelphia, finding confidence as a vocalist, and why the meaning of his songs often reveals itself only after they're written. It's a conversation about creative reinvention, trusting instinct over certainty, and discovering that the best records aren't built on answers—they're built on curiosity.

jacoja.co

ifitbeyourwill Podcast #186 • Widemouth

Chicago's Widemouth joins the podcast to explore the friendships at the heart of their remarkable debut, No Gasoline. Mak Carnahan and Jamie Eder reflect on finding collaborators through a simple flyer, writing songs rooted in memory and community, recording with trust instead of perfection, and why the quiet moments between people often make the most enduring music. It's a thoughtful conversation about growing up, staying grounded, and building a band that feels like home.

https://bfan.link/no-gasoline-album