Don’t let the cartoonish cover fool you, Lorenzo Dada and Leo Benassi‘s Island EP is a solid house record with plenty of bounce and bump in it.
The opening bass of “Midnight Piano” alone will make your head turn and your hips shake. The tapping beats of “Slow Ride” mix with subtle horns and softer bass for a smooth make-out groove.
Apparently, there are “No Flamingos in Salinas,” but there are plenty of smooth, lush beats and grooves on this track. It’s bright and bouncy and something you’ll probably slide into a dozen mixes this summer. The EP ends with the dreamy “Dream On,” bringing in bubbly beats and looping synths to create a groove that I’m sure a lot of hip hop DJs will slow down and sample.
I’m sure you’ll dig this and drop it into many sets of your own, too.
Revered pop/darkwave musician and producer Mareux (Aryan Ashtiani) unites with multifaceted artist/singer Riki on his nostalgic new single “Ébèné Fumé” out today via Revolution/Warner Records. Riki’s charismatic, confessional vocal performance is met with Mareux’s intricately crafted electronics for a compelling dance-pop track. Riki’s standout presence and masterful ability to merge music, movement, and style is followed throughout “Ébèné Fumé” striking video which was created by Muted Widows (Michael E Linn, Nedda Afsari, and Michael R. Zumaya).
Where most artists would double down on the sleek, smooth-as-onyx darkwave and goth-pop that landed them in the spotlight in the first place, Mareux’s sophomore album – Nonstop Romance – is rough and unmannered, completely drunk in love and refusing to walk it off. Like a frilly valentine scuffed on hard pavement, it’s simultaneously gushing and fractured, distorted into illegibility but transparent in its intentions.
Throughout Nonstop Romance, Mareux sets up his songs like Venus fly traps, beaming romance and thumping beats underlit in a sinister red. Maintaining that balance—between the album’s obvious pleasure and the quiet threat that accompanies it—is central to its ethos.
“I’m trying to make something that’s reflective of me getting older,” Mareux says. While that’s usually code for calmer, more intimate material, the top priority of the adult life Mareux both celebrates and questions is having fun. “Could you put it on in your house with people around and not bring the mood down?” was the question that guided him.
“I’ve noticed that as artists get better or more seasoned, they go for a more polished, studio sound and lose their grit,” Mareux says. “I like when music sounds like found footage.” While writing and recording Nonstop Romance in his bedroom in Los Angeles’ Lincoln Heights neighborhood over the span of 2024, he’d set up an old CRT TV and watched films on mute for inspiration—anything from Andrei Tarkovsky and Alejandro Jodorowsky to Hype Williams’ Nas and DMX-starring Belly. If this sounds like an unlikely combination, Mareux fits them together naturally in Nonstop Romance, blending smeared tape-residue synths into readymade club hits.
On Nonstop Romance, Mareux prioritizes feel and vibe over clarity. Still, anyone who fell in love with his music via his viral cover of The Cure’s “The Perfect Girl” (now certified platinum Stateside, and gold in France) or the heartfelt noir of 2023’s Lovers from the Past will find plenty to swoon over here. This is an album that wears its title on its sleeve; an earnest manifestation. Though he brings a meticulous ear to the across this album, it’s all in service to a greater goal. “I only care about one thing,” Mareux says, “and that’s being in love.”
Today Labrador Records introduce Stockholm-based four-piece Dag och Natt,who are set to release their debut album ‘Years And Years’ on August 15th. With today’s announcement they have shared the lusciously dazed new single, “Iron Man“.
Speaking on the track, the band said “‘Iron Man’ could be about staying the course, step by step, keeping a steady pace. A quiet strength that moves you forward. Sometimes, just going with a vague purpose is enough. There is a calm power in simply carrying on.”
Dag och Natt is a band from Stockholm, Sweden, whose music strikes a delicate balance between dense and airy. Their melodies are intricately layered, often weaving together with a sense of fluidity, with vocals split between Elia Mårtensson Almegård, Sara Engström and Maja Zetterberg.
The name Dag och Natt, which translates to Day and Night, was chosen with intention, reflecting the band’s desire to explore both the light and dark aspects of life through their music.
Initially, the band entertained the idea of forming two separate projects – one light and one dark – with the same members. However, they soon abandoned this concept in favour of bringing everything together under the name Dag och Natt. The result is an album that embodies both joy and struggle, brightness and shadows, mirroring the interplay between day and night.
The band’s creative process is both collaborative and intuitive. Writing sessions often take place in a secluded cabin in the woods, where the focus is solely on the music. There is no predetermined structure or rhythm – instead, Sara often begins with a bassline, and Maja and Elia contribute their guitar parts, before Lars Blume Jensen adds percussion. This natural and organic approach allows the music to develop in an effortless and fluid way, rooted in trust and mutual respect among the members.
Lyrically, the band explores themes of duality – the contrasts between love and loneliness, strength and vulnerability, connection and isolation. Their debut album reflects these themes, presenting a sonic landscape where light and darkness coexist. Rather than offering answers, Dag och Natt seeks to create space for listeners to reflect on their own experiences, embracing both the challenges and the beauty of life.
Underworld are one of those bands I wasn’t certain I’d get to see live. Most of their tours are in the UK and Europe, and I didn’t get to see them the last time they were in the Midwest at Detroit’s Movement Music Festival years ago on a Sunday night.
Lo and behold, they announced a brief U.S. spring tour with only five stops, and one was in Chicago at Radius. I snagged tickets from the presale as soon as they were available. To my further delight, they announced it would be an “open to close” show with two full sets and no opening act.
They brought in a big crowd and instantly had us dancing with them. They barely let up during the first set, banging out classics like “Low Burn” and “Techno Shinkansen” while a simple and effective light show played out behind them.
During the twenty-five-minute intermission, I met a family of three who’d flown in from Atlanta, Georgia for the show. The mom and dad had brought their fourteen-year-old son (It was an all-ages show.) there for his first concert ever, and they all had a great time. I’m sure there were many people like them in the crowd, as Underworld was only doing six shows on this U.S. tour: One in Brooklyn, the Chicago show, and then four out west — Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Bakersfield, California. It was a rare opportunity to see them east of the Mississippi River.
The second set was loaded with fan-favorites, including “Pearl’s Girl,” a fun version of “Dark & Long (Dark Train),” “Two Months Off,” a faster, almost jungle version of “Cowgirl,” a hard-hitting version of “King of Snake,” and, of course, “Born Slippy” to close it off.
As we walked back to our car after the show, I could hear behind us a father asking his daughter if she enjoyed it. She did. He explained how “Born Slippy” “was from this movie called Trainspotting. It’s a really good movie that’s from before your time.” Most of Underworld’s music is from before his daughter’s time (They are still making excellent albums.), so it was great to see so many younger people at this show and for Underworld to make it an all-ages performance. We need more of that…and them.
LEVITATION returns with another stacked four-day lineup and new festival grounds, Palmer Events Center, in addition to nightly venue programming across Austin’s Downtown Red River District. The expanded footprint brings larger acts to the weekend, and the festival’s Night Shows continue to offer intimate club experiences downtown, celebrating the independent music scene—from up-and-comers to national headliners. For over a decade, LEVITATION has delivered thoughtfully curated lineups that span psych, dream pop, punk, indie, metal, darkwave, electronic and all genres in between. Passes for LEVITATION 2025 are now on sale, and night show tickets can be purchased separately – all at the ticket link HERE.
Palmer Events Center will serve as the heart and main venue for LEVITATION 2025. Located on the shores of Town Lake overlooking the Austin skyline, the venue features an expansive 75,000 square foot environment for the indoor stage, providing a huge canvas for the artists on stage and 360 degree lighting and visuals, day or night. The indoor experience is accompanied by an outdoor stage set to a backdrop of lush trees and the Austin skyline. The new venue offers amenities like an air-conditioned, indoor experience for the main stage, ample outdoor green space, plenty of room to stretch out and hang, and an immersive setting for the music and visual experience that LEVITATION is known to offer. The new location brings abundant space for interactive art and video installations, a DJ stage, vintage clothing pop-ups, gear and record vendors, a food truck court, an expanded poster show, and much more to explore throughout the weekend.
“We’ve been searching for the right location to bring a multi-stage experience back to LEVITATION for years, and we found it right downtown. The venue offers a huge upgrade in production overall with endless possibilities for the visual experience, and great amenities – air conditioning, nice bathrooms, ample parking, a giant shaded outdoor courtyard, along with the production infrastructure needed for a world-class show. All of that in a beautiful park in the heart of the city,” explains LEVITATION co-founder and festival director Rob Fitzpatrick. “and the proximity to downtown means we’re still able to host shows in our Red River venues; these clubs are the heart and soul of our music scene in Austin and it wouldn’t be LEVITATION without them. We’re very excited to create something remarkable and built to last in this new home for the festival, and we can’t wait to experience this lineup with everyone in September.”
“LEVITATION 2025 brings back a larger multi-stage festival in the spirit of when it was held at the ranch – and just steps from where Fun Fun Fun Fest called home – but this time we’re doing it at a venue that has everything we need – and with a roof over our head,” adds Resound Presents founder Graham Williams. “We couldn’t be more excited about the new venue and the future of LEVITATION in this new space.”
The central festival hub at Palmer Events Center will host some of LEVITATION’s biggest acts with daytime and evening performances. Later each night, attendees can explore the city’s famed Red River and downtown venues with night shows running Thursday through Sunday at Stubb’s, Mohawk, Elysium, Kingdom, 29th St Ballroom, 13th Floor and more.
Friday, September 26 starts off strong and heavy at Palmer Event Center – stacking metal titans MASTODON, the only Texas show from the reunited ACID BATH, progressive death metal phenoms BLOOD INCANTATION and Austin’s own doom metal masters THE SWORD, plus more on the main festival grounds.
Saturday brings a head-spinning bill topped with NYC’s indie greats TV ON THE RADIO, the damaged grooves of UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA, infamous psych outfit THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE, dream rockers BLONDE REDHEAD, along with WEDNESDAY, LA FEMME, MODEL/ACTRIZ and more.
Sunday’s lineup combines a 90s indie dream lineup with a rare performance from PAVEMENT, indie stalwarts BUILT TO SPILL and DESTROYER with heavy dose of psychedelic rock from festival founders THE BLACK ANGELS, psych punks FRANKIE AND THE WITCH FINGERS, A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS and BEING DEAD.
The festival nighttime programming kicks off as early as Wednesday, September 24 and runs through the night of Sunday, September 28, featuring acts like MDOU MOCTAR, BEACH FOSSILS, BOY HARSHER, SUDAN ARCHIVES, THE DANDY WARHOLS, NEAL FRANCIS, DRUG DEALER and many more.
The full LEVITATION 2025 lineup at Palmer Events Center, with all corresponding night show programming, is detailed below.
PALMER EVENTS CENTER LINEUP
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 MASTODON • ACID BATH THE SWORD • BLOOD INCANTATION THE ARMED • SECRET CHIEFS 3 • CASTLE RAT
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 TV ON THE RADIO UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE BLONDE REDHEAD • WEDNESDAY • LA FEMME THE RAVEONETTES • SWERVEDRIVER • MODEL/ACTRIZ GOAT GIRL • YIN YIN • HOOVERiii
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 PAVEMENT THE BLACK ANGELS • BUILT TO SPILL DESTROYER • FRANKIE AND THE WITCH FINGERS A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS • BEING DEAD UPCHUCK • DILES QUE NO ME MATEN • POPULATION II
+ MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED
NIGHT SHOWS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 – KICKOFF NIGHT MDOU MOCTAR + MORE @ RADIO/EAST BEACH FOSSILS + LAUNDER + GIRLPUPPY @ MOHAWK
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 BOY HARSHER + MARTIN REV + KUMO 99 @ STUBBS NEAL FRANCIS + MORE @ MOHAWK WARMSUSCHER + MORE @ 13TH Floor TEEN SUICIDE + MORE @ BALLROOM DESIRE + JOHNNY JEWEL @ ELYSIUM STARJUNK 95 + DR. GABBA @ KINGDOM
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 SUDAN ARCHIVES + JAMILA WOODS + SINKANE @ STUBBS THE DANDY WARHOLS + KULA SHAKER @ MOHAWK PIXEL GRIP + MORE @ ELYSIUM ROSE CITY BAND + MORE @ BALLROOM
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 PUP + JEFF ROSENSTOCK @ RADIO/EAST DRUGDEALER + SKINSHAPE + SONS OF SEVILLA @ MOHAWK PILE + FACS @ BALLROOM LA FEMME (DJ) + MARIE DAVIDSON (LIVE) @ KINGDOM
Durand Jones & The Indications — the trio of DurandJones, AaronFrazer, and BlakeRhein — release “Lovers’ Holiday,” the third single/video from their forthcoming album, Flowers out June27th on DeadOceans. On the heels of last month’s “FlowerMoon,” hailed by Billboard as “one of their most irresistible dancefloor tracks yet,” “Lovers’ Holiday” is a fantasy getaway track fit for cruising and sees the band delighting in the softer side of soul and disco. Of the track, the band says: “We didn’t want to give ourselves any rules with ‘Lover’s Holiday.’ We wanted to make something authentic to our sound, while also giving our fans— the lovers— something to swoon about.”
Accordingly, the song’s video featuring videography by AndyWoodward and KimoKennedy and editing by RenaJohnson depicts The Indications performing on sea-side cliffs and by grass-covered mountains.
For as far as Durand Jones & The Indications have come, Flowers grew from the desire to return to their roots in a Bloomington basement, a space where they first found camaraderie in gritty funk and Southern soul that would inspire their self-titled debut. As on that 2016 release, The Indications prioritized collaboration while creating Flowers. Much of the self-produced album was written together at Rhein’s Chicago studio, and many tracks are based on one-take demos — proof that vibes were particularly high, each member pulling from their refined tool kits with ease.
With Flowers, a strong sense of the band’s maturation and conviction is reflected across its 11 songs. “All of these songs touch on such mature topics, things that we never got to sing about before,” says Jones. “We are all in our 30s, have all been through ups and downs in our personal lives and professional lives, and flowers are a sign of maturity, growth, spring, productivity.” Frazer adds: “We took the spirit of play that started the project, and added in the wisdom and lessons we’ve acquired through the years.”
Following their recent triumphant European headline run which included shows supporting LennyKravitz, the band will kick off an expansive NorthAmericantour in September with some of their largest shows yet. Today, they announce their return overseas with a run of shows in the EU and UK in February2026, with stops in London, Paris, Amsterdam, and more. A full list of dates is available below, and tickets are available here.
Durand Jones & The Indications Tour Dates (New Dates in Bold) Fri. July 4 – East Sussex, UK @ Love Supreme Jazz Festival Sun. July 6 – Ewijk, NL @ Down The Rabbit Hole Sun. July 6 – Werchter, BE @ Werchter Festival Park Wed. Sept. 10 – Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre * Thu. Sept. 11 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren * — SOLDOUT Fri. Sept. 12 – Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theater * Sat. Sept. 13 – Abiquiú, NM @ Blossoms & Bones Mon. Sept. 15 – San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre * Tue. Sept. 16 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater * Thu. Sept. 18 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse * Fri. Sept. 19 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl * Sun. Sept. 21 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club * Tue. Sept. 23 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer * Fri. Sept. 26 – Boston, MA @ Citizens House of Blues * Sat. Sept. 27 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall * Tue. Sept. 30 – Indianapolis, IN @ HI-FI Annex * Wed. Oct. 1 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed * Fri. Oct. 3 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre * Sat. Oct 4 – Fort Collins, CO @ Washington’s * Sun. Oct. 5 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot * Tue. Oct. 7 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater * Fri. Oct 10 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre * — SOLDOUT Sat. Oct. 11 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl * Thu. Oct. 23 – Del Mar, CA @ The Sound * Fri. Oct. 24 – Sacramento, CA @ Channel 24 * Mon. Oct. 27 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom * Tue. Oct. 28 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom * — SOLDOUT Wed. Oct. 29 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo * Fri. Oct. 31 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory * Sat. Nov. 1 – Bozeman, MT @ The ELM * Mon. Nov 3 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue * Tue. Nov 4 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom * Wed. Nov 5 – Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall * Fri. Nov. 7 – Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall * Sat. Nov 8 – Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre * Sun. Nov. 9 – South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Ballroom * Tue. Nov 11 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall * Wed. Nov. 12 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel * Fri. Nov. 14 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s * Sat. Nov. 15 – Houston, TX @ The Heights Theater * Sun. Nov. 16 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues * Tue. Feb. 10 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 Galvanizers Wed. Feb. 11 – Manchester, UK @ New Century Hall Thu. Feb. 12 – London, UK @ Roundhouse Sat. – Feb. 14, Paris FR @ Le Trianon Sun. Feb. 15 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique Tue. Feb. 17 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Main Room
* = w/ The Psycodelics
Keep your mind open.
[I’ll feel like I’m on a lover’s holiday if you subscribe.]
In Gelli Haha’s latest single “Spit” – only S-words are allowed. The track has underground-club grit, with a strong, consistent bass line and strange electronic effects. On “Spit”, participation is encouraged and surrender is required. The accompanying music video, directed by David Gutel, features Gelli strapped to a spiraling operation board as Gelli Kompany scientists conduct a surreal experiment on her.
A shapeshifter, a sonic acrobat, a performer with one foot in the cosmos and the other in arthouse theatrics, Gelli Haha (pronounced Jelly-Haha) is a space for pure creative chaos that exists somewhere between Studio 54 and Area 51. Gelli’s music thrives on duality: playful but profound, tongue-in-cheek but sincere. Her debut album Switcheroo, out next month via Innovative Leisure, is the soundtrack to the Gelliverse, a sensory adventure sphere created by Gelli.
With a shared taste for off-kilter pop and vintage gear, producer Sean Guerin (of De Lux) joined Gelli in turning freshly-formed demos into a high-voltage experiment, abandoning meticulous structure for something freer and more electrifying. Every song on Switcheroo makes use of a myriad of recording toys; wacky analog effects, such as the Eventide Harmonizer, MXR Pitch Transposer, and various Electrix units, fashion an intentionally flawed and strictly silly texture throughout the album. Switcheroo is an exercise in letting go, an inside joke turned theatrical spectacle.
