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Talkhouse

The five members of Sun June spent their early years spread out across the United States, from the boonies of the Hudson Valley to the sprawling outskirts of LA. Having spent their college years within the gloomy, cold winters of the Northeast, Laura Colwell and Stephen Salisbury found themselves in the vibrant melting-pot of inspiration that is Austin, Texas. Meeting each other while working on Terrence Malick’s Song to Song, the pair were immediately taken by the city’s bustling small clubs and honky-tonk scene, and the fact that there was always an instrument within reach, always someone to play alongside.
Coming alive in this newly discovered landscape, Colwell and Salisbury formed Sun June alongside Michael Bain on lead guitar, Sarah Schultz on drums, and Justin Harris on bass. Their latest album, Somewhere, is out now.
(Photo Credit: Santiago Dietche)

Sun June

Music

Sun June and Bowerbirds Get to Know Each Other

With origins firmly rooted in the revered southern music town of Athens, GA, New Madrid first arrived on the scene with their 2012 debut, Yardboat, and will soon release their fourth full-length on April 30, 2021 via Lemonade Records. The 10-song set is self-titled to mark a renewed focus and finds the four-piece (comprising Phil McGill, Ben Hackett, Alex Woolley, and Graham Powers) revisiting the southern indie rock sounds of their very first recordings while exploring new elements of dreamy psychedelia, jangly pop, and energetic post-punk. Writing and recording the forthcoming album started in the immediate aftermath of 2016’s magnetkingmagnetqueen (New West Records), and didn&#8217;t conclude until early 2019 when the band brought in Drew Vandenberg (Futurebirds, Bambara, Faye Webster) to produce and engineer the project. The time spent has delivered a collection that Hackett describes as &#8220;all the things we liked about our previous albums with new stuff put on top of it,&#8221; adding, &#8220;It feels like a cool re-set. This is the closest to what the band has always sounded like in our heads.&#8221;

New Madrid

A Brief History of Athens, Georgia

Blood Lemon is a post-riot-grrrl rock band from Boise, Idaho. Their debut self-titled album is out April 2021.
(Photo Credit: Matthew Wordell)

Blood Lemon

Doug Martsch and Blood Lemon Appreciate It For What It Is

Floatie is a rock band based in Chicago. Their new album Voyage Out is out now via Exploding In Sound Records.
(Photo Credit: Ash Dye)

Floatie

A Floatie Photo Essay

Sasha and the Valentines is a five-piece band based in Austin, Texas. Their debut record, So You Think You Found Love? — produced by Erik Wofford — is out now via Oof Records.
(Photo Credit: JB Bergin)

Sasha and the Valentines

Sasha and the Valentines and Christelle Bofale Met on Tinder

Jackie McLean, frontwoman of Roan Yellowthorn, the musical project supported by partner and multi-instrumentalist Shawn Strack, delivers confessional indie rock with a singer/songwriter heart. The duo’s forthcoming new album, Another Life, is due out May 14 via Blue Élan Records. McLean wrote much of the set as a reflection on a childhood marked by frequent mental and emotional abuse that continued into young adulthood, oftentimes causing her to question her own reality and sense of self-worth, and the idea of alternate or parallel lives serves as a throughline. She channels her healing process and the rebuilding of her individual identity through laid-back &#8217;80s era synths and airy, often bright, dream-pop sounds helmed with the help of producer John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr, Kurt Vile, Waxahatchee).

Jackie McLean

Jackie McLean and Alex Cameron Are Just Trying to Tell the Truth

Ellen Kempner is the vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for the Boston and New York-based indie rock trio Palehound. Their latest record, Eye on the Bat, is out now Polyvinyl.

El Kempner

Ritt Momney, Palehound, and Claud Roundtable on Their New Collaboration

10 years ago this April, Chicago’s Ratboys put out their first collection of songs. The RATBOY EP, consisting of five indie-folk dorm room recordings, was free to download on Bandcamp and humbly passed around to friends on social media. 
Cut to 2021, and Ratboys would normally be celebrating their 10-year anniversary on the road, playing a mix of songs from their very first release to their most recent, last year’s critically-acclaimed Printer’s Devil. Instead, just two weeks after the album’s February 2020 release and mere days before heading out on their first headline tour, the COVID-19 pandemic forced all touring to a halt. Despite not being able to play in-person shows for the past year, Ratboys has managed to stay busy by performing their music online via their own Virtual Tour series and by finding a different way to celebrate their first decade of being a band.

Ratboys

A Guide to Ratboys’ Happy Birthday, Ratboy

LAPÊCHE is a Brooklyn-based band led by singer/guitarist Krista Holly Diem, whose dark, melodic songs offer a refreshing twist on post-punk inspired indie rock. With bassist Dave Diem (Twelve Hour Turn), guitarist Drew DeMaio (Asshole Parade, Floor, Strikeforce Diablo) and drummer Jeff Gensterblum (Small Brown Bike, Able Baker Fox), the close friends compose together, drawing inspiration from both past and present, light and dark, guiding Krista Holly&rsquo;s provocative melodies and lyrics.
(Photo Credit: Kate Hoos)

LAPÊCHE

LAPÊCHE and J. Robbins on Being the Guy Who Annoys the Engineer

Born-and-bred New Yorkers, MICHELLE is refreshingly comprised of predominately POC + queer members. The collective references equally diverse influences — Noname, Led Zeppelin, Sly and the Family Stone, Orion Sun, My Chemical Romance, SZA — all of which distill to create a cohesively diverse sound. The group’s unique stylings are the result of songwriting from Sofia D’Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee and Jamee Lockard with production from Kaufman and Kilgore.

MICHELLE

In Conversation: MICHELLE and CHAI

John Oates is one half of the best-selling duo of all time, Daryl Hall &amp; John Oates, as well as an accomplished solo artist. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The American Songwriters Hall of Fame, recipient of the prestigious BMI Icon Award as well as numerous American Music, MTV awards, and multiple Grammy nominations.Since embarking on a solo career in 1999, John has recorded seven solo albums: Phunk Shui, 100 Miles of Life, Mississippi Mile, The Bluesville Sessions, Good Road To Follow, Arkansas and most recently Live from Nashville with the Good Road Band. In addition, his 2017 autobiography Change of Season released by St. Martin’s press became an Amazon best seller. John continues to tour the world with Daryl Hall, and perform solo as both a musician and public speaker. He also produces, collaborates and develops new artists and has recently completed a series of songs for the upcoming feature film Gringa to be released soon.
(Photo Credit: David McClister)

John Oates

In Conversation: John Oates and, um, Saxsquatch

Chicago&#8217;s Moontype is Margaret McCarthy, Ben Cruz, and Emerson Hunton. Their debut album, Bodies of Water, is out April 2021 via Born Yesterday Records.
(Photo Credit: Julia Dratel)

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