I've been a music fan since my parents gave me a record player for Christmas when I was still in grade school. The first record I remember owning was "Sesame Street Disco." I've been a professional writer since 2004, but writing long before that. My first published work was in a middle school literary magazine and was a story about a zoo in which the animals could talk.
Dion Lunadon has a habit of dropping crazy, wild records on a consistent basis and now he’s about to release Rare Gems Volume One.
The album is comprised of ten rare and unreleased studio tracks recorded between 2016 and 2026 and also features fan favorites, 1976 and When Will I Hold You Again.
The first single is the unreleased track, Dead Or Alive, which is already out for your listening pleasure.
Rare Gems Volume One is now available for pre-order. It will be available on 12” black vinyl and a very limited edition run of 2-tone liquid smoke vinyl, CD and digital download.
These bundle options are available through Dion’s Bandcamp page:
I’m not sure if I knew ambient trance music was a thing until I heard OrangeTone’s newest EP, Breachlight.
The sound and feeling is as bright as the EP’s cover, beginning with the shining title track. It bubbles with synth bass tones and stuff that sounds like the happiest video game you’ve ever played while also relaxing you at the same time.
“Silkloom” is what you’d hear as you land on a vibrant planet where plants grow and flower by soundwaves. “Joie” drifts into your mind like a pleasant wind off a warm beach and makes you feel like you’re about to embark on something big.
“Dream Spiral” features guest vocals from diana starshine to elevate the track into a modern house classic. It has to be blowing up nightclub floors by now. “Solar Daze” ends the EP with sounds that perfectly resemble the title – shining keyboards, trippy beats, and happy bass.
The whole EP is blissful. You’ll want this as the weather gets warmer, and especially when it gets colder.
Eve Maret‘s Diamond Cutter album is a neat blend of electro, house, Italo disco, orchestral, motorik, and probably a couple other genres (Dub? Pyschedelic?) I’m missing.
“Hit U with a Banger” is indeed a banger and combines bumping disco thumps with Mort Garson-like synths. “I Love You Babe” would fit onto any Italo disco compilation of tracks from the early 1980s. Maret’s simple title vocals are looped over and over as groovy bass mixes with sweaty synths. “Break the Chain” is a full-on electro trip, as if Sleigh Bells went weirder instead of louder. “There’s nothing to grasp, just change. Nothing to touch. Rearrange,” she sings / purrs. It’s a Zen lesson hidden in a lava lamp’s flow.
The echoing drums of “Gethsemani” add trip hop (There’s a genre I forgot.) to Diamond Cutter‘s sound as Maret sings about how our perceptions shape our reality. The synths on “Shield” sound a bit like a distant alarm clock while the beats dance along a sidewalk outside an industrial nightclub (Another genre!). Ending with poppy, groovy “Home,” Diamond Cutter calls for the delights of “a place where I can rest my bones” with Maret’s “chosen family.” It’s a dream for a place one can prepare “a meal with five courses” and live one’s life as “a red hot vixen.” We all want the same thing. I recently heard the phrase, “Some people is so poor, all they got is money.” This dream is the opposite of that. It’s the better one.
The rest of the album consists of instrumental versions of all the tracks, showcasing Maret’s skill at layering all these sexy, trippy, and groovy sounds. It’s a whole bonus album for all of us.
The album’s title refers to a Buddhist sutra that focuses on emptiness of the mind and burdens within us, and how one sees clearly through that emptiness (and that’s a massively simple explanation). Maret has said that she made the album to be as pure an expression of herself as she could get in that moment. She cuts through the chatter and focuses on her art. We could all learn from that.
Austin, Texas’ American Sharks have returned after a five-year hiatus with a new rocker of an album titled Not Dead Yet for all of you out there figuring they were finished.
The opening title track takes off like someone stomping the gas pedal of a muscle car outfitted with flame throwers and machine guns. “Flowers for the Dead” (featuring a guitar solo by David Sullivan of Red Fang) has the flame throwers on that car burning down everything along a funeral procession while a dog growls and barks as they pass and toss an empty beer can at it. “Goodbye, my love, goodbye,” Roky Moon sings, preferring to send his dearly departed out on a high note.
“I saw a demon on my left. I saw a lizard on my right,” Moon says in the beginning of the absolutely slamming “Going Insane,” letting us know about weird visions he’s having both in and out of sleep while Aaron Echegaray goes bonkers on lead guitar. “Fuzz War” is suitably fuzzy for its title. “I need blood, I need something real,” Moon sings on “Give Me Blood.” His vocals become echoed and distorted as he tries to find anything concrete in the illusions in which he’s living.
“Bang Yer Head” (with solo Mike Derks of GWAR) is a fun classic metal track that you can imagine was a blast for them to record. Nick Cornetti goes wild with his snare hits, sounding like he went through several of them while playing it. Zach Blair of Rise Against stops in for his own guitar solo duty on “The Machine,” which almost reaches hair metal territory, and The Sword‘s “Kyle Schutt” unleashes a solo of his own on “Sunny Sunday,” an upbeat track with sad lyrics (“It ain’t been the same since you were last around…I’ll be sittin’ here waiting for you.”).
The album ends with “They Want Peace” featuring Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol‘s Leo Lydon not only contributing another guest guitar solo but also backing vocals. “Hey, man. I need water. Could you spare a little please?”, Lydon asks. They’re looking for compassion in a world that’s lacking it. It can also be allusion to the Southwest’s growing and dire water shortage issue.
The world’s not dead yet, and American Sharks are trying to tell us that we can do something about it. We don’t need to just roll over and die. We can keep banging our heads and rocking out and watching out for each other. Someone you know needs a boost. Crank this and wake them up.
The Darts’ frontwoman / keyboardist Nicole Laurenne noted back in 2024 that there weren’t a lot of good, modern Halloween-themed songs, let alone albums. You get “Monster Mash” and a handful of others that get dragged out of their tombs every year, but nothing new has come along in decades. So, she and her bandmates (Rebecca Davidson – guitar, Lindsay Scarey – bass, Rikki Styxx – drums) set out to fill that void and created Halloween Love Songs.
The first side of the album consists of tracks that Laurenne describes as “full of colorful, early-evening energy, the kind of songs you could blast while the neighborhood lights are flicking on.” “Midnight Creep” simultaneously is a fun rock tune, a new dance craze, and a spooky stomper with sizzling keyboard work from Laurenne and a fun solo by Davidson. “Zombies on the Metro” is about both the living dead consuming flesh and the living consumed by the daily grind (“The nine-to-five will steal your soul.”).
Styxx’s beats on “Blood Runs Cold” move from psychobilly to punk to almost jazz at one point. “Vampires in Love” is another fun one destined for your goth romance playlists. Scarey’s bass is a sinister snarl on “Dream Ghost.” “Every Night Is Halloween” is a fun way to end Side A with its promise of the holiday lasting as long as you want.
Side B (“…the soundtrack for after dark, when the bonfire is raging.”) starts with the appropriately fiery “Apocalypse” – a song inspired by the Apocalypse Tapestry in Angers, France. “The Devil Made Me Do It” might be your new favorite makeout / rock out song. “Darkness” gets a bit heaver, and “Up in My Soul” gets way funkier, bringing in surf elements and some of Styxx’s wickedest beats on the record.
“Haunt Me” is the song you’ll want to play after everyone but your lover has left the party and the candles are still lit (in a magic circle or pentacle being optional). “Shadow” has great vocals throughout it, not only from Laurenne but also the rest of the band singing with her. The closer, “Late Drive,” sends us out with a cruise across the desert and all the weird things one sees and imagines on such a trip.
It’s a cool record and The Darts not only understood the mission (“Let’s make a cool new Halloween record.”), they nailed it.
I’m guessing 9 Hours Ahead got their name from the time difference between the two members – Breeze in Amsterdam and Namastrange in San Francisco. Together, they put together their Smooth SailingEP and, despite the time difference, created one of the best house music records of 2026 so far.
The title track uses seagull cries, looped hand percussion beats, and undeniably catchy beats to get you moving. The breakdown and comeback in the middle of the track is so slick you might fall off your boat and into the ocean from it.
“Meridian Space” bumps and thumps with thick bass drum hits and then the even thicker synth bass drops in so thick you could spread it on your pancakes. “Transatlantic Dreams” is probably another reference to the time and space gap between the two DJ pals, and it’s a killer cut suitable for dancing, action sequences, and HIIT workouts. I love the old school synth blasts in it.
The EP ends with the Bliss Inc. remix of “Meridian Space” that makes the beats snappier and the bass a bit menacing while adding what sound like alien transmissions to the track.
Add this to a few of your playlists. You’ll dig it.
Keep your mind open.
[Sail over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
In case you’re not aware, Caron Decoy is an excellent doom / psych-rock band out of Detroit, Michigan whose newest album, Crush the Sun, explores mythological themes while unloading cosmic, colossal riffs. The trio of Jared Jordan (bass), Earl Mudd (guitar), and Casey Rowe (drums and vocals) were kind enough to participate in a short interview with me about their influences, other Detroit bands, and interests outside of music.
7th Level Music: I’m intrigued by your band’s name. Why the play on carbon decay, changing it to decoy?
Carbon Decoy: Honestly, it was just two words that we thought sounded cool when put together. We definitely were thinking of atomic structure and matter using the word carbon (evident with our first single “Atomic #6“), but there wasn’t much else that went into the name.
7LM: Greek mythology themes are prominent on Crush the Sun, with the story of Icarus and the characters of the Sirens being in the forefront on those tracks. Has mythology always been a favorite subject or inspiration, or did all of you gravitate toward it on this record for a particular reason?
CD: Mythology is definitely something that we all have a strong interest in and a subject we likely will continue to draw inspiration from.
7LM: Some riffs on Crush the Sun reminded me of heavy southern rock, and the opening riff on “Forest of Lies” has a great blues sound to it. Are some of those 1970s bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, and Mountain or Delta blues artists influences on all of you?
CD: We are all very influenced by the bands from the 70s. Mountain is a huge inspiration for the entire band. Creedence Clearwater Revival is another. The Delta Blues are at the core of many of our songs and a lot of Earl’s guitar work.
7LM: That being said, are there any influences you all have that some of your fans might find surprising?
CD: A lot of folks might be surprised to find out how influenced the entire band is by classic/outlaw country music. Honestly though, you never know what we are listening to when we’re cruisin’ in Casey’s Safari. Willie Nelson, Herb Alpert + The Tijuana Brass, Electric Wizard, Wu-Tang Clan, CCR. It’s like a box of chocolates in there.
7LM: While we’re on the subject of bands and other musicians, are there any other Detroit scene bands you all love and think more people need to hear?
CD: Detroit is thriving and busting at the seams with great music. We could go on and on and undoubtedly will forget someone, but just a few of our favorites include Glass Chimera, Cherry Drop, Sonic Smut, MRKT, Eck!, The Cult of Spaceskull, The Velvet Snakes, Dunamis, Winds of Neptune, Duende! and so many more.
7LM: Do you have any tour plans soon, or festivals you hope to make it to in 2026?
CD: We are taking it pretty easy in 2026. Jared added a new baby to his family this year. We have a short Midwest tour planned for the fall, and will likely add a few one-off dates through the summer.
7LM: I always like to wrap up with this story and question: I once heard an interview with Ray Charles, and in it he said he sometimes got a bit depressed because most people only wanted to talk to him about music. So, outside of music, are there other things you’re all fascinated with, or interested in, or just enjoy?
CD: Earl is an incredibly talented photographer and has a passion for film. Jared has a small farm and loves working cattle and gardening. Casey is an extremely skilled builder and loves working with his hands.
All thanks to Carbon Decoy and Ksu at Discipline PR!
Francis of Delirium—the project of Luxembourg-based musician Jana Bahrich—announces her second album, Run, Run Pure Beauty, out May 29th via Dalliance Recordings, and releases the single/video, “It’s a Beautiful Life.” The epitome of a modern artist, Jana does most things herself, no matter how painstaking—writing, producing, directing, often handpainting t-shirts the day of shows when the band have run out of merch. This has given her band, Francis of Delirium, a unique identity, with her rock confessionals breathing a new life into the genre and her paintings creating a striking design aesthetic.
Francis of Delirium released their first single, “Quit F**king Around,” in 2020 as Jana was finishing high school. Shortly after its release, she signed to Dalliance Recordings and proceeded to release three EPs: All Change (2020), Wading (2021), and The Funhouse (2022). While the EPs fizzed with promise, the debut Francis of Delirium album,Lighthouse (2024), landed its punches. Seeking a more vulnerable and open sonic palette, Jana wove in pop elements to create anthems that celebrated heartbreak and love. Paste praised the album as “a rewarding experience that captures a talented, young artist at the crossroads between adolescence and adulthood,” and NME raved, “Bahrich’s choruses, almost every one, are lump-in-your-throat gorgeous.”
Produced by Jana and long time collaborator Chris Hewett, and mixed by Nicolas Vernhes (Deerhunter, Dirty Projectors, Silver Jews), Run, Run Pure Beauty continues in this vein, notably on the previously released, “Little Black Dress,” and today’s new single, “It’s a Beautiful Life.” The song immediately hits with an undeniable chorus and euphoric guitars. Lyrically, Jana is searching for beauty within, basing the song on vignettes snatched from moments away: “A coffee I had with a pianist who was about to play a Philip Glass piece at the Philharmonie in Berlin, watching a couple break up on a New York City park bench, walking past a choir rehearsing in a basement, and examining a loneliness that feels ingrained into daily life,” Jana says. “I’m not denying pain but trying to find the beauty alongside it.”
The song’s must-watch video, directed by Kiyan Agadjani, captures the eternal teen movie summer with aplomb. Of Agadjani, Jana says, “He sent me his short film Arman & Elisa and I was incredibly impressed. A year later, I went to him with an idea about gay basketball and he was in. We started referencing movies like Little Miss Sunshine, Space Jam and Juno and wrote a treatment about a rag tag team called ‘The Rats’ going up against a professional team, ‘The Giants’. The video ended up being about perseverance and connection, both on and off screen. We cast a lot of our friends, musicians, artists and filmmakers from Luxembourg and I’m still not totally sure how it happened, but it took us eight months to finish.”
Live, Francis of Delirium are Jana (guitar and vocals), Jeff Hennico (bass), and Denis Schumacher (drums). Together, their brilliant quiet-loud dynamic and tight interplay elevate Jana’s songs. Over the last five years, they’ve headlined shows, played festivals, and toured across Europe and North America with the likes of Blondshell, The Districts, Horsegirl, Briston Maroney, Soccer Mommy, and Bôa, who they will support in Europe this spring.
Run, Run Pure Beauty is an excavation of hope in bleak times; its songs of discovery, despair, and perseverance ultimately serve as a mirror on its creator and is a brilliant next installment in the Francis of Delirium arc.
Way back in the mid-1980s, guitarist Geordie Walker and drummer Martin Atkins linked up with legendary producer Steve Albini in his Chicago studio and there recorded mixes and demos for what became known as the “Black Cassette” and would end up in different variations on KJ’s 1990 album Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions.
Beginning with the demo version of “Money,” (later known as “Money Is Not Our God”) the heavy, fuzzy bass from Paul Raven hits you right away while Walker’s guitars sound like pirate transmissions from a hidden kingdom under the earth. The “Unreleased” demo has a wicked drum beat and guitar riffs that would later inspire scores of shoegaze bands. “Scrape / North of the Border” (The “Scrape” title was later dropped for the album release.) gets you moving with his wonky guitar sounds and undeniably great beat. The “Reflex mix” of “Money” rounds out Side A of the album, turning the song into a warped, wild version and clearly showing how much KJ influenced Nirvana.
Side B is a rare recording of a secret show from Birmingham, England on December 20, 1988 that happened to be Atkins’ first live gig with the band, and it also includes tracks that would appear on Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions two years later. Jaz Coleman‘s vocals and keyboards are bonkers right out of the gate on “Extremities,” installing panic and power into the crowd. Walker’s squealing, seemingly melted, feedback-heavy guitar only adds to the chaos.
“The Fanatic” somehow sounds both distant and in-your-face at the same time. Coleman sometimes mutters and sometimes roars. Walker steps back and then charges forward. Atkins and Raven click together and keep it from becoming too frantic, but just barely managing it. “Wake up!” yells Coleman after introducing “Intravenous.” How anyone could have been sleepy-eyed during this show is beyond me, because KJ were shaking the entire venue by this point. “Intravenous” only gives you a couple moments to catch your breath during its pounding drums, high-pitched guitar feedback moments, and rolling dam waters bass.
“You see, we’re the laughingstocks…” Coleman says as the last track, “Beautiful Dead,” begins with his spooky synths and voice before his bandmates pummel the audience (and us over thirty years later) with pure force. There’s a neat moment when it almost sounds like Coleman is playing his own song on his synthesizers while Walker, Raven, and Atkins are doing their own thing and it still works quite well. The funky groove of the song during the verses is also a neat switch-up around the blast furnace choruses.
Killing Joke proved through songs like these, and many albums still to come, that they weren’t laughingstocks. They were in on the joke, knew the joke, and exposed the joke. These recordings are a great find for fans of not only them, but also post-punk and industrial music.
One month from today, Jesca Hoop will release her new LP Long Wave Home. The seventh solo album from the California-born, Manchester-based songwriter took shape amidst a period of both personal and geopolitical upheaval: a web of schisms that seemed to reflect one another as they unfolded. It is the first album Hoop produced by herself, and it marks both a fresh start and a deepening of her extensive, multifaceted discography.
In the past, Hoop had worked with a roster of seasoned, brilliant producers: John Parish (PJ Harvey, Tracy Chapman); Tony Berg (Taylor Swift, boygenius); and Blake Mills, (Fiona Apple, Alabama Shakes). Hoop learned from all of these partnerships. As she embarked on her seventh album, she was ready to apply that knowledge from the cockpit.
Hoop recorded Long Wave Home in studios around the United Kingdom. She asked her collaborator Jesse D. Vernon to arrange accompaniments for her songs, then set out in a camper van to meet session musicians and begin tracking. Her travels took her to The Shed in London, Empire Sound on the Isle of Wight, and J&J Studios in Bristol. Throughout the process, she worked closely with engineers Tim Thomas (Bright Eyes, British Sea Power) and Leo Abrahams (Belle & Sebastian, Frightened Rabbit) to foster the sound she envisioned for the album. Under her careful hand, a populous, dynamic sound emerged.
So far Hoop has released two singles from her new LP, “Caravan” and “Designer Citizen.” Today Hoop is announcing a new run of tour dates and sharing a third single from the record, a track called “Big Storm.”
Hoop says of the track:
“There was a moment, many years ago, when I was ready to ditch everything—everyone I knew and everything I was doing. I gave away all my possessions, keeping only the essentials. I sold my car. I bought a plane ticket. The plan was to leave without notice. Then the biggest storm in recent history blew my getaway plan to bits. It grounded all planes and halted travel. I was forced to face my life. Myself.
The storm taught me there is no cheat code for life—no easy way out. At the same time, my life—my happiness—is my responsibility. Mine and only mine.”
