7th Level Music

Home Front embrace their (and our) mortality on their new single – “Eulogy.”

Photo By Lyle Bell | L-R Clint Frazier, Graeme MacKinnon

Home Front reveal new single and video “Eulogy”. The cathartic punk hymn “is a reflection on what it means to lose the people we care about,” the band tells. “In these turbulent times we recognize death comes for us all, but it’s the recognition of someone’s lasting impact that leaves its imprint on us. We all have scars, but wear ours proudly as we move forward into the haze.” “Eulogy” is the latest preview of Watch It Die, their new full-length coming November 14 via La Vida Es Un Mus

For decades Home Front’s Graeme MacKinnon and Clint Frazier have embedded themselves in grass roots music making, community building, and the overpowering ebbs and flows of diy punk. Formed in 2020, they’ve given their lifetime of experience a chance to distill and then power into this musically omnipotent project which equally conjures textured Tangerine Dream sounds in a film montage, or the pummelling soundtrack to the first steps taken towards winning the fight of your life.

Listen / Share / Playlist “Eulogy” | Official Music Video

Home Front holds on to a particular kind of passion. The sort of thing that guides you – like a climbing vine steadily blanketing your bests and worsts, cutting through changes and impasses; victory and loss. MacKinnon and Frazier’s nod to influences and the themes of their lyrics are direct and detailed while maintaining enough creative distance to feel universal and unique. The production has again been bolstered by a team of long time confidants making a huge and unique record under the humble and hard working circumstances of remote pre-production and choosing to do their recording in home studios in their home town in Edmonton, Alberta.

The architecture of Watch It Die is simple – 12 songs of danceable, hummable, rousing and honest music that only Home Front could make. The emotion of this LP is what solidifies these musical notions into meaningful art. “For us, ultimately, this is music that comes out of loss and heartbreak and failure, but I hope people have a good time listening to us. You can get rowdy, you can get emotional, you can do whatever you want, but maybe with all of that freedom, we all take a second to reflect on all our fallen brothers and sisters and friends who may have slipped away.”

On previous revered recordings Games of Power (2023) and Think of the Lie(2021), Frazier and MacKinnon gave us a snapshot of a cynical and alienating world. A place where hope was tempered by insignificance, exhaustion takes us, and where 2,000,000 voices screaming in unison can still go unheard. Watch It Dieinstead of asking us why and how we got here, struggling to cope with the sadness of a desperate world, brings us their “step forward” moment. A dose of optimism and ownership in the bleakest of times in which maybe it doesn’t have to feel so bad to be alone or desperate. Where the passage of time is not coloured by the nostalgia of a lost youth but more toward the celebration of wisdom earned. Watch it Die owns the ills it describes and catapults us alongside its creators who have the confidence and presence of mind to live beyond their limitations.

Watch It Die is a road map of hope. MacKinnon and Frazier state: “For all of us in Home Front, ‘Watch It Die’ comes at a very transformative time. Geopolitically, musically and in our personal lives. With friends and close family members dying, to massive uncertainty around the world, this album encapsulates what it’s like for us to step into a ‘new world’ where all the old adages of ‘everything is gonna work out fine’ feel like a joke. We watch rich people get richer while the rest of us struggle just to get by. We watch colonizers kill without consequence and in an age of information at our finger tips we watch people choosing to be ignorant to what’s going on around them. ‘Watch It Die’ speaks about our own humanity, a rebirth into a new world and how we can never go back to the way things were. We suffer for their dreams, but in saying that we must recognize the importance of our own community and look to energize them to build a better way of life. We have always been an anti-war, anti-genocide, pro-peace band. We are against crimes to human rights and all of those struggling through the horrors of imperialism. We stand with the people of Palestine and we stand with the Canadian Indigenous communities who struggle to uphold treaty rights as well as basic human rights like clean drinking water and generational trauma. One takeaway from our music is to make a safe space where our community can come together to air out grievances and find a better way to a new future.”

Pre-Order Physical | Pre-Save Watch It Die

Home Front have confirmed a run of West Coast dates including San Francisco, Sacramento and two nights in Los Angeles at The Palladium supporting Cock Sparrer on November 22 and 23. See below for a full list of dates and stay tuned for additional touring announcements. Home Front’s touring members Brandi Strauss on bass, Ian Rowley on guitar, and Warren Oostlander on drums.

Home Front Live Dates:

Nov 20: Sacramento, CA – The Starlet Room
Nov 21: San Francisco, CA – Thee Parkside
Nov 22: Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium #
Nov 23: Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium !
Dec 13: Winnipeg, MB – The Handsome Daughter +
Dec 19: Calgary, AB – Palomino *
Dec 20: Edmonton, AB – Starlite Room ^
Feb 06-08: The Hague, NL – Grauzone Festival

# w/ Cock Sparrer, Dillinger Four, Castillo
! w/ Cock Sparrer, Dillinger Four, Generacion Suicida
+ Record Release Show w/ Imploders, Pure Impact
* Record Release Show w/ CloseTalkers, Puppet Wipes, Poltergeist
^ Record Release Show w/ Languid, Real Sickies

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Bailey at Another Side!]

James Adrian Brown releases first single, “Generator,” from upcoming debut solo album.

Today James Adrian Brown, former Pulled Apart By Horses guitarist, announces his debut solo album ‘Forever Neon Lights‘ out Jan 30th via Castles In Space. After achieving chart success, touring the world, and releasing four critically acclaimed studio albums with PABH, Brown has begun paving a new path in instrumental electronic music and composition. New single “Generator” is online now and Brown will be touring the UK and Ireland throughout November.

Forever Neon Lights is inspired by Brown’s formative memories of visiting the Blackpool Illuminations as a child. Those bright lights by the sea became a personal symbol of hope, possibility, and escapism, shaping the creative vision Brown now brings to his solo work.On the new single, Brown says ” ‘Generator’ is about creating your own momentum and powering through life’s challenges. Just as the illuminations need a generator to shine, we all have to find and build our own energy source to keep moving forward. For me, it’s about resilience, staying true to your dreams, and making them real.”

“Generator” on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-S3w9ILL2I4
“Generator” on other streaming services:: https://ffm.to/generatorjab

Brown’s solo work is heavily electronica-based, utilising analogue synths alongside tape machines, piano, strings, and immersive ambient atmospherics. His focus lies in the analogue process of capturing and creating sound using physical hardware. Taking inspiration from artists such as Boards of Canada, Rival Consoles and Thom Yorke, Brown is exploring, evolving, and pushing his songwriting into bold new sonic territories.

Hot off the heels of producing Benefits’ critically acclaimed album Constant Noise earlier this year, and following a continual flow of live shows, singles, EPs, collaborations and remixes by the likes of Hayden Thorpe, Blood Red Shoes & Benefits.

A deeply personal yet outward-looking debut, Forever Neon Lights is a conceptual record that draws on memory, imagination, and transformation. Across its tracks, Brown reflects on childhood wonder, the excitement of possibility, and the struggles and triumphs of chasing a creative life. The Blackpool Illuminations serve as both literal and metaphorical inspiration: dazzling, unending, and powered by unseen energy.

Sonically, the album finds Brown pushing into new territory with long-time producer James Mottershead, weaving pulsing electronics, immersive textures, and evocative melodies into a dynamic, shifting instrumental landscape. It marks a bold evolution from his guitar-led past into a fully realised electronic vision.

Speaking about making the record, Brown says:

“This album is me laying everything out, the things I’ve carried since being a child, the hopes, dreams, and doubts I’ve felt as an adult, and the stubbornness to see things through. Writing and recording it felt like reconnecting with that wide-eyed version of myself who thought the lights back in Blackpool wrapped right around the entire country every Christmas and went on forever. It’s about taking that feeling and turning it into something lasting and real.”

Forever Neon Lights will be released January 30th, 2026, on one of Britain’s most essential electronic record labels, Castles In Space. The album will be available on limited 12” gatefold vinyl and across all streaming platforms.

See James Adrian Brown live:
20th Nov – Preston – Mad Ferret
21st Nov – Leeds – Headrow House
25th Nov – Manchester – 33 Oldham Street
27th Nov – Belfast – Black Box
28th Nov – Dublin – Crowbar Terrace

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity.]

DITZ really brings your room together with their new single “Don Enzo Magic Carpet Salesman.”

After the release of album Never Exhale at the start of the year, DITZ return with a 9 minute, three-part noise-rock epic new single ‘Don Enzo Magic Carpet Salesman’, and it marks a bold new direction for the band. Fierce, hypnotic and unpredictable, it captures their live energy in full force, and comes with additional track ‘Kalimba Song’.

Both will be also be available on a limited edition 12” on 28th November via City Slang Records, with the first copies sold exclusively on their upcoming tour ahead of this date.

Vocalist C.A. Francis says of the new single, “Don Enzo began as a demo Jack Looker made after our touring wrapped early in the year. It started as one short movement, but after I added lyrics and sent it back, he returned it with five more minutes of music, creating a three-part structure. The song reflects my frustration with AI art – the first part reacting to the issue, the second written from the AI’s perspective, and the final section representing the last gasp of real art before being overwhelmed by artificial output.”

Listen to ‘Don Enzo Carpet Salesman’ / ‘Kalimba Song’ HERE

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[Thanks to Amy at AfterHours PR.]

Dion Lunadon releases new gritty and sizzling single – “Gold Standard Love.”

“Gold Standard Love” is the latest single from Dion Lunadon. It comes out as a limited edition 7″ flexi disc inside the Fall issue of America’s only Rock ‘n’ Roll magazine, CREEM. 100 flexi’s inside 100 copies.

150 copies will be available only at shows while stocks last.

“Gold Standard Love” is a futuristic rocker that crackles and grooves out of a thought crime, foregoing any current trends within the 2025 rock ’n’ roll genre.

“The FBI, The CIA, can’t take my dreams away, will you supply, GOLD STANDARD LOVE”.

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[Thanks to Dion!]

Review: pôt-pot – Warsaw 480km

The debut album from Irish / Portuguese quintet pôt-pot, Warsaw 480km, is an album about feeling adrift during dark hours but also knowing that light eventually will come.

Lead singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Mark Waldron-Hyden wrote most of the album while bouncing around different landscapes and residences…all the while dealing with grief over the death of his father. What emerged was a pretty damn cool post-punk / krautrock / Ennio Morricone (and, believe it or not, James Brown)-inspired album.

“22° Halo” opens the record with a fierce bass lick from Joe Armitage and guitars that you think are going to overwhelm you for a moment but then fade into the shadows. “Sextape” started out as a jam session and became your next favorite song to put on a psych-rock mixtape. The blend of male and female harmonies between Waldron-Hyden and Elaine Malone and Sara Lelsie and near-surf rock guitars from Waldron-Hyden and Mykle Oliver Smith are instantly hypnotizing, and Malone’s harmonium is like incense in your meditation chamber.

“WRSW” was inspired by the road sign mentioned in the album’s title as Waldron-Hyden was riding in a car with his father’s ashes. As the story goes, he saw the sign emerge along the road on a dark night and it gave him the sense that he’d get through both the night and his grief (even in the latter would remain to some degree for a lifetime). The upbeat krautrock rhythm gives you (and Waldron-Hyden) the power to keep moving forward. “Fake Eyes” is a haunting track that seems to just…hover.

The press release I received for Warsaw 480km mentions how “I AM!” is indebted to Lou Reed. That’s correct, as it sounds like a groovy Velvet Underground track you forgot existed. Waldron-Hyden’s swaggering beat on “Can’t Handle It” reminds me of Cramps records – as do the repeated lyrics of “Tell me, baby, do you feel all right? Tell me, baby, would you take my life? Because I just can’t handle it.”

The guitar work on “The Lights Are On” is a great mix of psych-garage and dark country twang. “Hot Scene” continues that Morricone influence and adds a bit of Delta 5 post-punk flair as it builds to a loud buzz in your head. The album ends with “Change Your Life,” which could be a suggestion made by Waldron-Hyden to us, a friend, a lover, or himself. I’m not sure…or if it matters.

What does matter is that you give this album a spin. It’s a great debut and portends more good things to come from them.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Grayson Capps stands up for ladies everywhere on his new single – “My Body.”

Today, Grayson Capps releases “My Body.” It’s the first new song in eight years from the beloved Alabama singer/songwriter. In the interim, Capps has remained active, continuing to play upwards of 150 shows a year and releasing both a retrospective collection, South Front Street, and the album, Heartbreak, Misery & Death, a collection of folk and traditional songs originally performed by Doc Watson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Randy Newman, and others. He stepped back from recording his own material, however, instead devoting his time to raising his two children and caring for his father, who passed away last year after a long decline.

With “My Body,” Capps jumps back into the fray via a snarling, electrified protest song rooted deep in the Southern Gothic where his most enduring work takes shape. Its release is accompanied by a lyric video filmed by Trina Shoemaker and created by Gregory Del Deo.

“The seed of this song began from a young lady’s perspective living in the state of Alabama in 2025,” explains Capps. “More broadly, it speaks for the tolerant and empathetic people of the world who are being pushed into a corner against their will and the collective need to stand up to malevolence.”

In the climactic closing verse, Capps simultaneously reflects and declares: “I was traveling around Ocala, Florida, around two in the morning and saw a sign, and it was confusing. It said, ‘God, guns, guts, and glory are what made this country great,’ and I’m thinking to myself, ‘God, guns, guts, and glory are the very words that make men hate.’”

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[Thanks to Kevin at Royal Potato Family.]

Katzin releases first single, “Anna,” from his upcoming debut album.

Born in Alexandria, Virginia, growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and coming of age in New York City, Zion Battle makes music as Katzin.

Drawn to music from a young age, beginning with the music he witnessed at church (his father is a theologian and priest), he was fascinated with the sound of good records. He wasn’t sure how to go about replicating these sounds, but started early figuring it out: At 13, he began writing and recording his own music, and at around 15, he became a part of a teenage music scene of bands playing New York City basements, rooftops, and wherever they could turn up the volume without (or with) the threat of being shut down.

He went on to study music at both CalArts and the New School, before electing to take a break from his studies when he signed to the Brooklyn independent label Mexican Summer (Jessica Pratt, Cate LeBon, Hayden Pedigo) earlier this year.

Today, Katzin is sharing “Anna,” first taste of his forthcoming, yet-to-be-announced debut album.

Battle wrote “Anna” during his freshman year at CalArts. As he settled into college, he was struck by how the people around him sometimes struggled to adjust to their new lives, and often mourned the adolescence they’d left behind. Weaving together guitar, banjo, and synths beneath Battle’ssearching vocals, “Anna” is a sensitive portrait of young people making room for new realities as their old attachments fall away.

Battle says of the track: “Anna is a song about distant lovers — growth in distance. To be ‘off and on’ can feel like endless torture. But there’s nothing more euphoric than to run back into the arms of something so familiar.”

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[Thanks to Tom at Terrorbird Media.]

Review: LUCKYANDLOVE – Humaura

LUCKYANDLOVE‘s new album, Humaura, has an interesting dichotomy running through it. The band love analog synths, Moog synthesizers, drum machines, and other electronic instruments and deftly use them to create lovely synthwave and dark wave music…

…and yet Humaura opens with “I Am Human” – a song that encourages us to “cut the wire” and back out of all this technology that consumes and does more to separate us than keep us together. Shut off your phone, stop binge-watching shows, get outside and breathe for a bit.

Then come back for the dance party that is “Feelz So Good,” because you do feel good after a break from the cyber-world. You always do. You always remember how good it feels to be present. “Run on Run” is a saucy tale of finding and walking away from love with April Love repeating “Just let me go.” to her former lover, as they’re not “the only one who can have some fun.” Speaking of love, “Name of Love” has some of Love’s best vocals on the record as the song goes from dark wave to electro-disco.

“Lonely at Night” is pure goth-wave as Love relates to all of us feeling isolated in the darkest hours of the evening. “You’re the only one who gets me,” Love sings on “Down to Black” – in which she happily (as happy as you can get in a goth dance tune, that is) sings about finally finding someone who understands her.

Loren Luck ups the percussion on “Secret Is Out,” which is about a vampire who needs to reveal their nature to a lover but is debating the decision. Will it bring relief or misery? “Hawks Do Cry” is another showcase of Love’s excellent vocals. “Melt in Sunshine” might refer to the vampire in “Secret Is Out.” It’s a slick track, with some of Luck’s best beats. It almost becomes dream pop at some points.

Again, it’s an interesting dichotomy – An electro record made with modern and analog technology that encourages you to put away technology, investigate yourself, and find love and human connection. In other words, LUCKYANDLOVE have delivered one of the most important messages of the year.

Keep your mind open.

[Yes, cut the wire, but subscribe first.]

[Thanks to Shauna at Shameless Promotion PR.]

Review: Osees – Abomination Revealed at Last

Osees‘ latest (Their thirty-second?) album, Abomination Revealed at Last, is a rager against the current state of affairs in the U.S.: Trump, religious leaders, tech companies, you name it – all of them are smacked around by John Dwyer and his crew.

The opener, “Abomination,” sounds like early Devo at times and near-thrash metal at others as Dwyer sings / yells about our phones poisoning us and horrible things corrupting us with violence. “Sneaker” has Tim Hellman alternating his bass riffs from funk to fury while Dwyer sings about how insidious everything seems and feels now. “I don’t buy that you have words with God,” Dwyer says on “God’s Guts,” giving televangelists and religious hypocrites a punch in the gut.

“Infected Chrome” might be an Osees tribute to Chrome (whom they’ve covered many times) and a cry for everyone to wake up and maybe take a look around with sober eyes for a change (“Can we not drive around on a dope run?”). Dwyer’s solo on it is short and superb, as it is on “Glue” (A love song! Well, a song about obsession, I suppose.). “Ashes 2” has Osees warning us of “a quiet overthrow” and how people obsessed with politicians can’t see how those they idolize and worship are screwing over all of us.

“Coffin Wax” is a karmic warning to those same politicians and has Paul Quattrone and Dan Rincon going nuts on their drum kits while Tom Dolas creates a freaky synth sound around them. Quattrone and Rincon continue their bonkers assault on “Ashes 1” and “Fight Simulator” (in which Dwyer tells you it’s his – and our – responsibility to tell you what’s wrong with the world). On “Protection,” they call out Mark Zuckerberg, (“Fuck Zuck.” is the first lyric.), Elon Musk, and “Emperor” (You probably can guess.), letting them all know “Revolution’s coming!”

“Glass Window” (which, to my delight, contains a Suspiria reference) is a call-out to folks younger than Dwyer who are too busy being distracted to be enraged at what’s happening around them. For example, the entire subject of “Glitter-Shot,” in which Dwyer reminds us “We are info. We are bait…They own our memories and DNA.” and that “Lies keep the Capitol alive. The tyrant needs attention to survive.” It’s a great closer, with Dwyer’s vocals almost a soapbox rant with a rock-solid groove behind them.

It’s another winner from Osees, and I can’t help but think the title infers it’s a sequel to 2015’s Mutilator Defeated at Last – which had songs named after horrible monsters and references to death. “Mutilator’s” identity might be a few people or institutions from a decade ago, but it’s easy to figure out who and what the “Abomination” is. It’s not Emil Blonsky. It’s someone you see on TV or your phone every day.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Castle Rat – Into the Realm (2024)

An acquaintance once described Castle Rat‘s music as “the feeling of opening my (Dungeons & Dragons) Player’s Handbook for the first time.” He’s correct. Into the Realm feels exactly like that.

The opening riffs of “Dagger Dragger” alone are enough to hook you as you and your party of first-level fighters, clerics, magic-users, and thieves head out on a quest given to you (and the band) by an ancient wizard. The Rat Queen herself, Riley Pinkerton, sings about fighting demons and, thanks to Henry Black‘s massive guitar riffs, you have great confidence about the fight ahead. “Feed the Dream” is great Sabbath-inspired doom. After the brief, bass-led (Ronnie Lanzilotta III) instrumental of “Resurrector,” “Red Sands” creeps up on you like a foreboding wind across a dune and then hammers you like a sandstorm.

“The Mirror” is another short instrumental, perhaps luring you with its bright surface and mysterious sights within it before “Cry for Me” gets hold of you and puts you in a trance. You apparently didn’t make your saving throw versus spells. Pinkerton’s vocals on it are haunting.

After another brief instrumental interlude (“Realm”), Joshua “The Druid” Strmic‘s drums unload on “Fresh Fur” behind Pinkerton’s screams and calls for warriors to charge behind her. The album ends with the massive “Nightblood” – bringing together the band’s love of fantasy, doom, and a bit of prog-rock.

It’s a great first campaign for you, involving magic daggers, cursed mirrors, bloody battles, and cryptic visions. Roll for initiative!

Keep your mind open.

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