Now, Woods moves on with her own solo project, E. Woods, and has teamed up with the Rosebud label. Allday’s Marcus Reese produced her second single, “BUGGIN,” in anticipation for her debut EP, “Late Night.”

Gabrielle Grace, a 24-year-old singer-songwriter from small-town Texas, finally found her voice in her newly released EP, “We’ll Be Alright.” From the truck bed of her dad’s old pickup that blared Johnny Cash to the newer prominence of Maggie Rogers and Kacey Musgraves, Grace created a space for herself that is truly authentic to her roots.

In honor of International Women’s Day, Winona Oak teamed up with fellow female powerhouse ELIO—a Welsh Candadian musician who fuses electronica with bedroom pop—to create a track that tackles the fears of not being seen and rejected for who you are.

The Cincinnati native Darity teamed up with Young Ritual for her newest song, “Six Feet.” If you’re new to Darity, you’re in for a treat. My favorite musicians are always the ones who navigate their craft from a fluid approach.

For lead guitarist Dale Price, “Always” speaks to how he copes with self-comparison; “it takes a lot of vulnerability just to have faith,” Price said. “‘Always’ tells you that you’re what’s holding you back. You’re not doing yourself any favors by constantly comparing.”

Art made in troubling times must strike a delicate balance between relevance and exploitation. Is it gauche to make something that reflects how we all feel during an inescapable strife? Is commentary needed when we are all living the same frustrations?

With her sultry vocals and pianistic prowess, Zoe Berman will never leave my morning playlist. The Colorado-based singer-songwriter combines both musicality and lyricism into a hypnotizing mélange of soul, jazz, and Americana music. The energy of her music gives listeners a serotonin high. And paired with her lyrical poeticism, Zoe creates songs that are tender and utterly human. In this interview, we take a peek into the heart behind the sound as she shares the experiences that have paved the path for her to be the artist that she is right now.

Russian electronic music artist Biicla remixed “Hurting on Purpose” from Los Angeles-based artist and producer Whethan’s 2020 album “Fantasy.” The original track features K.Flay on vocals with Whethan producing, and is a chilled out, heart-filled mix of recognizable instruments like guitar and drums combined with synthesizer beats layered in.

To be loved as more than just a figment of the imagination is what Cool Grl is all about. The indie-pop debut single written by Los Angeles-based indie-pop, rock musician Maisyn is a complex melodicism incited by vulnerability and protection.

“Mind Me” is the latest single from Chicago indie rock band The Foons. The single hints at the new styling the group is moving toward in their upcoming EP, “Breakfast.” Unlike their previous record “Balloon Fruit,” “Breakfast” poses as a fuzzy, synth filled extravaganza

Chicago’s dream-pop band Fauvely’s newest single, “Always,” is filled with hope, self-examination, and pushing back against self-comparison. It’s nearly impossible to not hold yourself accountable to previous actions and who you think you ought to be moving forward.

Lester Rey makes music that makes you want to dance. The rhythms are infectious, as are the melodies. As Rey sways and waltzes across his reggaeton, R&B infused tracks, you get the immediate impression that this guy knows what he’s doing — and he does (see: The Future is Now, And The Future is Lester Rey).

In April, DeGenova and Fresh Paint released his fourth album, “Really Human,” with Ropeadope Records. The theme of New Age is again referenced in the song “New Age Babies,” and the titular song is about being human on the cosmic scale.

Lester Rey’s—a Peurto Rican Neo Latin Soul artist—newest music video “Juketeo” bounces in full of life, color, and creative expression. Unlike most music videos, Rey doesn’t focus on himself as the protagonist, rather it’s the three Black women dancers—Tarajah Echols, Kayla Kurns, and Desiré Jones—that take center stage.

Do you ever think about how much time we lose from blinking? Cause I didn’t until Andrew Christopoulos—lead singer and songwriter of Soul Honey Records—shared his newest song with me. But damn we blink a lot. I don’t think that was an intention of the song but it certainly got me thinking about it.

People are not simply one thing, and neither is their work. Creatives, especially, are unique in their disposition, a quality that’s reflected in their work and the way in which it engages with an audience. That is what was so evident in my conversation with Mallory Hauser, aka MAL. She went through some tangible pieces of work that inspired her and her music, but our dialogue would continually come back to things much less tangible—things like more abstract ideas of self-fulfillment and artistic ethos. It offered a careful reminder that is always needed when talking to artists: expression is intentional, but inspiration might not be.

“I always explain Birthday Boy as a semi-concept album about the milestone of a birthday and the introspection that comes with it,” Taos notes. “For me, birthdays are a day to stop and reflect, to go over the previous year and evaluate if I am headed in the right direction. It’s a very personal day. With that theme in mind, I recorded and produced the album completely myself. I wrote every word. I don’t say that in boast, I just say that to highlight it is very near and dear to my heart. It was a laborious process. It was a learning experience. Above all it was a solitary journey.”

Sitting down for a conversation with Taed Cejtin and Erik Rothlind of The Foons was electrifying. This electricity comes from the dynamic between Taed and Erik. Taed sits calmly with the finer details ready to go while Erik can’t help but pull you down the rabbit hole of music ideation and creation. There’s a confidence and excitement to these two that grew throughout the conversation as they got further into talking about their music.

The Foons first project “Balloon Fruit” came out earlier this year and is a feel good, indie rock album mostly written by lead singer Erik. “Balloon Fruit” is a great foundation for the group before they dabble into more experimental sounds like their upcoming single “Shapes.” The new track comes out on Dec. 4th, and The Foons will be donating all of the streaming proceeds to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Claude sees her past through a looking glass. As an existentialist and a poet, she uses her experiences to write lyrics that touch on life, longing, love, and loss. She questions the paradigms that surround her existence with a guitar in her hand. “It’s easier to do it when you’re writing,” she told me laughing, remembering her days as an English major in college. From that alone, I could already tell that she carries the weight of her words with careful consideration.

This stripped-down interview gives us a glimpse of Claude’s cathartic songwriting process, letting us in on how her vulnerability became her strongest asset. In the honest revelation of her creative process, we see how her beautifully haunting voice performs the intricacies of literature through form and harmony.

For J Lind music is fundamentally a form of medicine. It can brighten your day, soothe anxieties, make you cry or laugh. Through his journey with music, he’s seen dementia patients come alive when they hear an old favorite song, connected with others, and been able to further understand his own experiences. His first EP “I Don’t Know” directly engages with medical narratives he heard while visiting folks in hospice while his second album “For What It’s Worth” also tackles medical narrative but through a more abstract and experimental lens. His music encourages listeners to think about their experiences in another light: as a means of recognizing what others are going through in the hopes of creating a more caring community.