Dream pop – 7th Level Music

You can find a “Holy Grail” with Vacations’ new single.

Vacations—the Australian indie rock band of lead songwriter and vocalist Campbell Burns, bassist Jake Johnson, guitarist Nate Delizzotti, and drummer Joseph Van Lier—announce their new album, Pursuit of Anything, out October 2nd on Nettwerk, and release the lead single/video, “Holy Grail.”

Pursuit of Anything captures Vacations at a turning point as Burns reflects on the disorienting, often contradictory experience of growing up, tracing his path from Newcastle (Australia) to Los Angeles and New York—caught between ambition and the more traditional lives unfolding back home. Written by the band and produced by Burns, the album finds Vacations operating as a fully creative force with Burns drawing constant inspiration from his bandmates’ lives and perspectives: exploring how they’re each living out different lives yet share a common experience, all in their own “pursuits.”

Mixed by Beatriz Artola (Geese, Caamp), the result is a richer, more intricate, and emotionally expansive sound. Pursuit of Anything arrives as the band solidifies their place as one of the most globally resonant indie acts of their generation with sold-out world tours, double-platinum certified hits, and over 3.5 billion streams. The record turns inward, driven by the push and pull of devotion to music, relationships, and self-discovery. It is this tension that fuels an earnest, dreamy pop album that feels instantly classic.

This is on display on today’s single, “Holy Grail,” a diamond of a pop song, the sort of music you want to listen to while lying out in the sun. The track is impressionistic and melancholy: “How can I fool myself,” Burns sings in the song’s opening moment. The synths around him twinkle and the song lilts.

“‘Holy Grail’ was based on a stressful Zoom call we had together as a band last year,” Burns reflects. “We were in this period of wanting to write and record new material, but then also being stuck in a loop of unsustainable touring. So many people I know have devoted their entire lives to music, and yet, at times it can feel as if you’re in pursuit of anything just to make it work for you. This push and pull dynamic of something I love so much is fascinating to me. I may struggle at times, but I will always return to it because it brings so much joy and fulfillment and ultimately outweighs any negative.”

Watch the Video for “Holy Grail”

Pursuit of Anything is a labor of love, the product of a group of friends who have been making music together since they were barely out of their teenage years. On it, there are weddings, families, reflections on the past, and hope about the future. “It’s about happiness as a feedback loop,” says Burns of the record’s title, “How you keep chasing the next thing.” It’s a record that feels classic the first time you listen to it, it feels like chasing that rush, that sense of self discovery and rediscovery. And it shows Vacations at the height of their songwriting powers. It’s a pop record that takes pop music seriously. Lovely, earnest, dreamy and hopeful as they come.

This summer, Vacations will embark on their Holy Grail Tour across the U.S., Asia and Australia. The run of dates also includes the band’s very own MATES Festival with the third installment taking place at Knockdown Center in NYC on Saturday, June 20th. The all-day, full-building, multi-stage event will take over the Main Hall and Ruins at Knockdown Center, and feature Vacations, grentperez, girlpuppy, Mamalarky, Alex Lahey, Horse Jumper of Love, Thelma Plum, and Winter. Tickets for all dates are on sale and available here.

Pre-Order Pursuit of Anything

Vacations Tour Dates:
Thu. July 9 – Jakarta, ID @ M Block Live House
Sat. July 11 – Perth, AUS @ Freo.Social
Sun. July 12 – Adelaide, AUS @ The Gov
Thu. July 16 – Brisbane, AUS @ The Triffid
Fri. July 17 – Melbourne, AUS @ 170 Russell
Sat. July 18 – Sydney, AUS @ Metro Theatre
Sun. July 19 – Newcastle, AUS @ The Act at Earp Distillery

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Live: The Human League, Soft Cell, Alison Moyet – Chicago Theatre – Chicago, IL – June 23, 2026

It was a sold out night at the Chicago Theatre for this triple bill of 1980s music giants. The crowd was full of Gen Xers and Boomers who were buzzing outside the theatre and giddy once they got inside the place. I saw two people in their twenties there. I’m sure there were more, but they were vastly outnumbered…which is a shame because synthwave is hot stuff right now among the younger crowd. Go watch Stranger Things if you don’t believe me.

Alison Moyet started the night sounding and looking fabulous. Her backing band was sharp, especially her guitarist who subtly put down some slick riffs for those paying attention. Moyet was all smiles throughout her set, telling stories and expressing her thanks to the crowd. She played a good mix of stuff from her solo albums and Yazoo (known as Yaz in the U.S. for some weird reason) records. “Changeling” and “Only You” were lovely, and ending your set with “Don’t Go” is always a power move.

The modern version of Soft Cell was up next. Marc Almond is still on lead vocals and personality. David Ball died last year but not before they finished a lot of new material for their upcoming record, Danceteria. The new lineup came out right away with “Memorabilia,” the B-side to their first single, “A Man Could Get Lost,” which they also played. It was a weird new wave switch from Moyet’s sultry disco set, and I loved both. “Nostalgia Machine” (a clever takedown in 2022 and now) and “Out Come the Freaks” were other standouts, and, of course, they ended with “Tainted Love” to get everyone on their feet. They mentioned they’d be back in the spring to do a full show.

The Human League came out in full synthwave force with “The Sound of the Crowd” and “Mirror Man” with lead singer Philip Oakley quieting any curiosity about the strength of his voice right away.

Here comes The Human League…and the Mirror Man.

“The Lebanon” was a good highlight, and even stronger in 2026. An interesting moment was when I spotted a couple slow-dancing to “Human”…a song about infidelity. There’s a story there, I thought.

“Love Action (I Believe in Love)” is already a great song, and it’s even better life. The same goes for their mega-hit “(Keep Feeling) Fascination.” Their encore included “Being Boiled” (their first single) and “Electric Dreams,” a collaboration Oakley did with Giorgio Moroder.

They had a fun energy for the whole show, including multiple costume changes for Oakley, Susan Sulley, and Joanne Catherall, good visual effects, and Oakley prowling around the stage like some mysterious wizard. They’ve said they plan to keep touring as long as people want to see them and they’re healthy enough to do it, so get to a show while you still can.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Brian!]

Vitesse X covers Filter for her latest single.

New York producer, vocalist, and DJ Vitesse X shares her take on Filter’s late-’90s alt-rock classic “Take A Picture,” out today via Music Website. The track follows her recent single “Memori,” her first new music since the release of her acclaimed second album This Infinite.

On her version of “Take A Picture,” Vitesse X pulls the song out of its post-grunge radio-rock context and into something hazier and more suspended. Built around trip-hop-leaning drums, atmospheric production, and the song’s unmistakable melodic center, the cover draws out the melancholy beneath the original’s sense of escape while bringing it into Vitesse X’s own dream-pop world.

Of the track, Vitesse X says, “I was listening to ‘Take a Picture’ in the car in the winter, deep in some heavy emotions. I was feeling really detached from the current state of music and exhausted by the demands of the modern world. When the song came on, I was immediately transported back to a feeling I had completely forgotten existed. A time where life felt tangible and simple and pure. It was honestly transcendental. I opened up my phone notes to remind myself to make a cover, and a month later it came to fruition.”

Vitesse X has spent the last several years shaping a sound that sits between dream pop, breakbeats, club music, and alternative electronic production, becoming a quiet reference point for listeners drawn to shoegaze-adjacent electronic music, soft-club nostalgia, and left-field pop. Her 2024 album This Infinite expanded that world further, with KEXP calling it “a fantastic set of glistening synth-pop” and Pitchfork previously describing her debut Us Ephemeral as “transportive” and “engineered with precision.” She has since continued to connect across indie and electronic audiences through touring, collaborations, and a growing visual world.

Check out “Take A Picture” and stay tuned for more music from Vitesse X coming soon.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Cody at Terrorbird Media.]

No Joy releases title track from upcoming EP – “Big Life, Big Leaf.”

In 2025, No Joy released their 5th LP Bugland. The project of Jasamine White-Gluz, had long been a critical darling, but their 2025 album was a new high water mark. Produced by the heralded Chicago experimental artist Fire-Toolz, the album earned a Best New Music designation from Pitchfork, who called it “a perfect album for our current shoecraze…Bugland is full of more textures, more ambiance, more chunky ’90s guitar. It crushes like a giant box of Gushers,” with further praise coming from Bandcamp, FADER, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, AV Club, Hearing Things, FLOOD, and Exclaim, and last week was nominated for the Polaris Prize.

At the end of May, No Joy appeared at first edition New York’s Total Bummer fest and next month they’ll make an appearance at the legendary Roskilde festival. Ahead of that appearance No Joy is announcing a new EP entitled Big Life, Big Leaf, which is a further collaboration with Fire-Toolz, who just released her first LP on Warp Records. The EP will be released on August 21st on Hand Drawn Dracula, and is being announced with its title track, which was co-written with Japanese Breakfast and Sky Ferreira producer Jorge Elbrecht.

White-Gluz says of the track:

“This was a demo I had that we never got around to during the Bugland sessions. In 2024 I brought it to Jorge Elbrecht (Japanese Breakfast, Sky Ferreira), who I have a long history of writing with. We really love exploring the absurd, combining musical ideas that shouldn’t really make sense together – it felt great picking up where we left off after 2020’s Motherhood LP. Bringing the song back around to Angel Marcloid (Fire-Toolz) more recently (post-Bugland LP sessions) made perfect sense to me; both Angel and Jorge have insane musicality and melodic imagination. Angel is a brilliant pop producer, she has a knack for shaping where a song can take you emotionally. Tara McLeod (Kittie) rips on guitar as usual, continuing to bring this heavy-but-effervescent energy.

“Lyrically, I wrote and recorded these vocals in one take during an emotional time this past spring. I was exploring the boundless pain one feels when it is time to say goodbye to someone or something. It is also during those moments that it is important to remember, ironically, to have joy. To mourn is also to celebrate.”

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Terrorbird Media.]

Billy Azurdia releases a dreamy new single – “Solamente En Mis Sueños.”

South Bay based singer-songwriter Billy Azurdia is releasing “Solamente En Mis Sueños,” on July 7, 2026. The genre bending single will be the 3rd and final release before his upcoming full length album. A danceable and ambitious departure from the straight forward tenderness of “Contigo,” “Solamente En Mis Sueños” showcases
Azurdia’s confident versatility, blending city pop, folk and shoegaze.

Azurdia delivers a distinct 3-act anthem that begins on a sparkling dance floor, followed by a chromatic build that releases into a massive, distorted crescendo. The lyric and emotional component describe a chance meeting, that while beautiful, leaves one with a heart full of longing and bittersweetness. The finale explodes with fuzzy guitars, and dreamy synths, as Azurdia belts “Dejame aquí, puedo verte sonreir” (“Leave me here, I can see you smile”).

Billy Azurdia has been writing, producing and releasing music from his solo projects and as a contributing member of multiple Los Angeles projects, including Mind Monogram and Jane Astronaut, since 2011. His most recent work is an arrival as an indie folk writer, blending earthy grit and shimmering whimsy.

“Solamente En Mis Sueños was an opportunity for me to explore unconventional structure, danceable rhythms and blending it with the singer-songwriter styled indie folk that I’ve been producing these days. I’ve had the desire to explore city pop for a long time and I love songs that don’t ever return to a previous section, like (The Beatles) Day In The Life. I ended up with something I’m really excited about.”

“Solamente En Mis Sueños” will be on streaming platforms July 7th 2026.

Keep your mind open.

[I dream of you subscribing.]

[Thanks to Billy Azurdia!]

atmos bloom beckon us “Closer” with their new single.

Music is what initially brought atmos bloom — Tilda Gratton and Curtis Paterson — together when Tilda auditioned to play bass in Curtis’ band at the University in Manchester.

Seven years on from those rainy nights rehearsing in Trafford, the duo, now life partners living in London, are set to release their most compelling record yet. Everythingness was born out of a series of balancing acts, the journey through youth and young adulthood, chasing adventure while longing for home and falling in love with the city where they found this home, yet still needing to escape it in order to think and create. The record maps the duo’s journey through these themes whilst staying true to what initially brought the two together. It’s set for a July 24th release via Spirit Goth.

Following last month’s release of “Everything,”today they share the new single for “Closer.” It plays into the hazy, half-lucid magic of the band’s formula.

On “Closer,” the band share: “‘Closer’ explores self-love and finding peace with yourself and your inner child, whilst also missing past versions of you that no longer remain.”

Check out the new video via YouTubeandpre-order the album.

atmos bloom’s first musical venture together: a psych-rock-shoegaze outfit inspired by bands such as Sonic Youth, Pavement and julie ignited a love for being in a band and making music. Their debut album Flora was born as the pandemic began to ease and restrictions in the UK were starting to be lifted. The record reflected this new beginning, a shining, shimmering record of hope that felt like an endless summer, with just a glance over the shoulder at the troubles left behind. As a result, Flora was inspired by jangly bedroom and dream pop, such as Alvvays, Beach Fossils and Cleaners From Venus.

On this second album Everythingness, a much different time is represented, a time with more uncertainty, painting a clear picture of the state of flux the duo found themselves in. The flow of the record reflects the endless cycle of feeling up and down and the sudden changes we all experience. From hope, self-realisation and sufficiency to fear, loneliness and unbearable pressures. The most positive and joyous parts of the album are met with the darkest and most lost. Even within individual songs we find ourselves plunged into a landscape that’s unrecognizable from the one where we started, only to be dropped back in and end at the beginning. Neither the ups nor the downs linger for too long and the overall message of the record is left up to the listener.

Do we enjoy the light whilst we’re in it, cut loose in the dark and embrace the unpredictability? Or do we live in fear of the uncertainty that’s around the corner, unable to embrace either the light or dark for fear of a sudden shift. The record ends with a clock-like rhythm, representing the perpetual cycle we find ourselves in, unstoppable and uncontrollable, all encompassing – Everythingness.

Without the restraints of trying to make a particular record, the pair unleash a wide range of influences, all explored through an honest and personal lens on this self recorded and produced work. In particular, bands such as DIIV, Ulrika Spacek, Deerhunter, Broadcast inspired Everythingness, without betraying the duo’s foundation in both psych-rock-shoegaze and jangly bedroom/dream pop.

The album’s artwork and themes reflect the environments in which the album was crafted – a patchwork, a collage, intersecting aspects of life and the world, and the journey to find our place within it.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to George at Terrorbird Media.]

Desire drop your new favorite summer anthem – “Summer Skin.”

For two decades, Desire have been making music for romantics. Created by Megan Louise and Johnny Jewel, the Montreal group emerged from the shadows of underground synth-pop to build a world entirely their own — where beauty lingers, heartbreak glows, and every song feels like the beginning of a love story.

Later this year, Desire return with Physical, their fourth studio album. Led by the euphoric first single “Summer Skin,” out today via Italians Do It Better Physical is a record about attraction, freedom, pleasure, movement, and being completely present while life is happening.

Windows down.

A favorite song playing at exactly the right moment.

The feeling that summer might never end.

“Summer Skin” opens with the sound of light from our nearest star dancing across the water. Yesterday is here to stay…That cyclical motif echoes the past lives we all carry with us, but each day is new & anything is possible. Summer brings us a recurring romantic optimism. Let’s celebrate & live in the moment. If the world feels like it’s ending…Turn the radio on & dance. Drip Drip…” – Johnny Jewel“Summer Skin” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43bfGZEfKTo

Written between continents, airports, hotel rooms, backstage corridors, and late nights at home, Physical captures the moments we spend our lives chasing — and the memories we carry long after they’re gone.

Since “Under Your Spell” became one of the defining musical moments of Drive, Desire have quietly become one of modern synth-pop’s most beloved cult acts, soundtracking fashion runways, bedrooms, films, dance floors, and late-night drives across the globe.

Desire return with their most immediate and intimate work to date.

“Physical is about falling in love with life again. The people around you, the music you’re listening to, the sunlight on your skin, the moments you wish could last forever.” — Desire

Desire are also set to tour Europe later this year with all dates listed below.

Tour dates:
15 Nov — Prague — Bike Jesus
17 Nov — Copenhagen — Hotel Cecil
18 Nov — Berlin — Frannz Club
20 Nov — Groningen — Simplon Poppodium
21 Nov — Rotterdam — Rotown
23 Nov — Brussels — Beursschouwburg
24 Nov — Lille — La Grand Mix
25 Nov — London — Colour Factory
27 Nov — Manchester — White Hotel
28 Nov — Glasgow — Stereo
30 Nov — Paris — Petit Bain
01 Dec — Grenoble — L’Ampérage
02 Dec — Bern — Dachstock
04 Dec — Ravenna — Bronson
05 Dec — Rome — Monk
08 Dec — Zagreb — Mochvara
09 Dec — Belgrade — Zappa Baza

Tickets: https://lnkfi.re/desirelive

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity!]

Top 25 albums of 2021 – 2025: #’s 10 – 6

We’ve reach the top ten albums I reviewed in the last five years. It gets more difficult to make these lists as the numbers grow smaller, but here goes.

#10: Yard Act – The Overload (2022)

These post-punkers seemed to come out of nowhere and hit us with multiple sharp singles from their debut. The whole album was witty, biting, and wicked.

#9: King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard – PostDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation (2023)

Part-thrash metal, part-environmental activism record, all great. The title and cover image alone let you know you’re in for a wild time, and King Gizz pull no punches on it.

#8: DITZ – Never Exhale (2025)

A whole post-punk album about tension – a topic that post-punk does very well, as do these Brits. The cover image conveys the sense of the record and, like the music, puts you on edge and keeps you there.

#7: Aaron Frazer – Introducing… (2021)

Stepping out from his main gig with Durand Jones and The Indications, Frazer dropped one of the best soul records of recent memory and probably got a thousand date offers just from the first couple tracks.

#6: Gum / Kenny Ambrose-Smith – Ill Times (2024)

This dynamic Australian duo created a cool, electro / dance-rock record that tackled grief and uncertainty. It made you want another one from them right away. I still do.

Who made the top five? Come back tomorrow. It was a tough call, but I made it.

Keep your mind open.

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Cornelius unveils long-awaited new music with “Yumenemi.”

Today, Cornelius returns with his first new music in years, opening a long-awaited new chapter on Eat Your Own Ears Recordings. His new single, a cover of “Yumenemi,” was originally released in 1989 by one of Japan’s most iconic singer-songwriters, Yosui Inoue, and remains a cult Balearic classic.

Reimagined through Cornelius’s singular lens, the track marries his signature collage-like production, intricate rhythmic detail and soft-focus electronics with a lilting tropicalia inflection, for a swirling, heady track befitting of it’s title, which roughly translates to “dreaming”.

Watch the video for “Yumenemi” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sqPMEL21PE
Other streaming links:https://cornelius.lnk.to/yumenemi

The new track arrives following a recent resurgence of interest in his work, including a viral TikTok moment and a nod from Rosalía, who featured “Typewrite Lesson”, originally a b-side from Cornelius’s iconic 1997 album ‘Fantasma’, in her Met Gala–themed Vogue playlist of all-time favourites.

Cornelius is the musical project of Japanese multi-instrumentalist Keigo Oyamada, who began his career in his teens and launched the Cornelius name in the early 1990s after his band Flipper’s Guitar. The project takes its name from Planet of the Apes.

He broke internationally with 1997’s Fantasma, a genre-blurring album of cut-and-paste production that drew comparisons to Beck and The Beastie Boys and was released worldwide by Matador Records. Often dubbed a “modern-day Brian Wilson,” Oyamada became a sought-after producer and remixer, a “musician’s musician”, collaborating with artists including Blur, Beck, Sean Ono Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Plastic Ono Band, Haruomi Hosono, James Brown and many others.

With 2002’s Point, Cornelius shifted toward intricate loops of organic sound sources, from water droplets to vocoder-heavy reinterpretations, pushing his meticulous sound design further on 2007’s Sensuous. His live shows are renowned for precision-synced visuals, custom lighting, and immersive, band-led performances that treat the stage as a fully integrated audio-visual system.

The companion release Sensurround + B Sides was nominated for Best Surround Sound Album at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

“Yumenemi” marks the start of a long-awaited new body of work, set to unfold over the coming months.

Cornelius links:
https://www.corneliusjapan.com/
https://www.instagram.com/corneliusofficial/
https://www.facebook.com/corneliusofficial
https://x.com/corneliusjapan
https://www.eatyourownears.com/releases
https://eatyourownearsrecordings.bandcamp.com/

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Top 25 albums of 2021 – 2025: #’s 25 – 21

I’m far behind on this, as it’s already mid-May 2026, but I’ve meant to create a list of my favorite records (and concerts, see other posts) of the last five years. I created such lists for my top stuff from 2020 through 2024, so I’m continuing the trend. Mind you, these are the top twenty-five albums I reviewed, not albums released during those five years. There were many excellent albums that slipped through the cracks. Enough backstory. Let’s get to it before this gets delayed yet again.

#25: Rochelle Jordan – Play with the Changes (2021)

This is a beautiful, funky, and sexy record that introduced me to Ms. Jordan’s music and instantly made me want to find out more about her work that mixes house music with R&B with ease.

#24: Brijean – Feelings (2021)

This lovely dream pop record came out of nowhere (for me at least) and floored me. They’re a fun duo who have yet to make a bad album.

#23: Ty Segall – Harmonizer (2021)

I was a bit surprised to hear Ty Segall embracing synthesizers and going into electronic music somewhat on this record, but then I wasn’t surprised because Segall is always exploring different genres and embracing his many influences. It was a cool surprise from him.

#22: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – The Silver Cord extended version (2023)

Speaking of cool surprises: King Gizzard goes full rave! There was the “regular” version of this all-synth album by the Australian psych giants and then this “extended” version of the album that I preferred. Once again, KGATLW showed they can adapt to anything they decide to play.

#21: Anika – Change (2021)

Haunting and gorgeous. That’s the best way I can describe this synthwave album from Anika. It snuggles / slithers up next to you and doesn’t leave for days.

Who’s in the top twenty? Come back tomorrow to find out!

Keep your mind open.

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