Following up the echoing, lyrically-winking new-wave of “Wasteman”, New York City’s rapidly rising Nautics unveil to radio the “free-wheeling fuzz rock edges” (Under The Radar) of “bum-a-cig.” This latest share comes from the newly released debut album “People Only Like Me When Im Leaving”-out now on Bright Antenna Records!

“It’s an ode to grasping at a relationship that’s a vice in its own right, paired with a fittingly retro, early-2000s-style video of Kenzo [Repola] wandering Times Square in wired earbuds, cut-heavy and glitched-out. There’s something irresistibly catchy in it.” — PASTE

“Bright, reckless, and absurdly fun, ‘bum-a-cig’ is an irresistible indie rock rush – one that makes spiraling out feel, for three glorious minutes, like freedom. Emotional freefall has rarely sounded this exhilarating.” — Atwood Magazine

Born from New York City’s alternative underground scene, Nautics are a Downtown-born indie rock band redefining what it means to make music in the modern era. Comprised of Kenzo Repola (vocals/guitar), Van Cameron (bass), Kitt Flamer-Calder (guitar), and Levitt Yaffe (drums), the four friends first started playing together in high school, and since then have shaped a sound that blends the city’s culture and legacy while pushing the sonic boundaries of what listeners expect from an NYC band.

Nauticsfirst connected over a shared love of artists like The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, and Bloc Party, whose art-rock approach inspired the band’s own mix of sharp guitars, dynamic rhythms, and emotionally charged songwriting. They’ve become a fixture of the city’s live scene, earning a reputation for electrifying performances at legendary venues like Irving Plaza, Mercury Lounge, and Bowery Ballroom.

Recently signed to independent label Bright Antenna Records, and with more new music and tour dates on the way (see our tour page!), Nautics are carrying forward the legacy of NYC rock while amplifying their singular sound to a global audience.

Listen: Nautics – “bum-a-cig”

Nautics – “bum-a-cig”

Listen: Twisted Teens – “When First We Met”

Twisted Teens – “When First We Met”

For their big release week, Protomartyr has unveiled “Exalted Eagles” — the potent final preview  from their new album, “Hotel Usona”. “The track is a menacing meditation on patriotism, culminating in an eerie chant: ‘He approves us!’” (Stereogum).

What is a Protomartyr? A person or persons who want to be part of something beautiful and interesting, with the understanding that you may pay a price for that, and that others who come after will have an easier time. So then there is Protomartyr the band. Four guys who are very, very skilled musicians and creators who I suspect would be totally f*cked without the intervention of their talents, which are considerable. They are, to put it crudely, a kind of rock band out of Detroit. That’s a subject I know something about. — Iggy Pop 

“Protomartyr is back with a new dispatch from the end times.” — SPIN 

On the newly released “Hotel Usona,”, Protomartyr lead vocalist Joe Casey has imagined his country as an aging hotel, each song a room haunted by its own troublesome guest. “Exalted Eagles” comments on warped patriotism. It’s a hard look at a nation in free fall, gripped by fascism.

“Hotel Usona” was recorded with legendary producer Dave Fridmann (Sleater-Kinney, MGMT, The Flaming Lips) at his Tarbox Road Studios in western New York, and finds the Detroit post-punk outfit reckoning with the horrors of our current moment. It is not easy listening. It’s essential.

Over the last two decades, Protomartyr—vocalist Joe Casey, drummer Alex Leonard, bassist Scott Davidson, and multi-instrumentalist and co-producer Greg Ahee—have built one of the most rewarding and often exhilarating bodies of work in recent memory by veering in and out of darkness, grappling with what most frightens us, saddens us, disgusts us, embarrasses and enrages us, and with a gallows humor for the ages, gives a sense of the comedy inherent in so much that we encounter. Essentially, the stuff that makes us human.

Listen: Protomartyr – “Exalted Eagles”

Protomartyr – “Exalted Eagles”

With the New York City trio’s high-energy “BLOOM” EP right around the corner (out 9/18!),  King Falcon air out their frustrations with power imbalances on their fully-charged new single “Hungry Dog Run.” 

“‘Hungry Dog Run’ is about what happens when frustration turns into momentum. It comes from the sense that a lot of ordinary people feel ignored, overworked, and backed into a corner while those in power remain untouched by the consequences. How long can we keep getting the worst end of the deal before something gives?” – Michael Rubin (King Falcon)

“‘Holding Out’ is a bonafide slice of modern alt pop…..I can hear this song everywhere.” – Matt Pinfield/KCSN

The forthcoming “BLOOM” EP from King Falcon pushes the band’s sound to new territory while maintaining their singular sonic identity and foundation over five eclectic tracks. With its anthemic choruses and searing guitar riffs, the NYC band dives head-first into a more refined, self-assured sound. Frontman and primary songwriter Michael Rubin says, “These songs have new sonic elements beyond what we’ve done in the past and we’re really excited about that. This EP is the bridge between our first record and more music we’re currently working on for 2027.”

Listen: King Falcon – “Hungry Dog Run”

King Falcon – “Hungry Dog Run”

Chicago’s Fort Frances have been grinding it out for 15 years creating music about fears that the universe is teetering on the edge of doomsday, and Even if that’s true, the band figures we all may as well just enjoy it all while we can.

Their new habit-former single about life is “Parliament Lights,” which will be pulled from the upcoming EP of the same name this fall (Out 10/23!), and which we’re excited to bring you ever-lovin’ radio forward thinkers First!

“Do you remember smoking cigarettes with the windows down, feeling the rush of air colliding with you on the highway? I do. It was great. And I remember convincing myself that I plenty of years to reverse the damage. This song is about capturing that feeling that everything is still ahead of you, that time is still on your side. It’s about staying out until the bartender tells you it’s time to go home and waking up the next day to go to work to make enough cash to do it all over again.” — David McMillin (Fort Frances)

“All we ever really want to feel is the feeling of beginning,” David McMillin sings at the close of the chorus of “Parliament Lights,” the title track of the forthcoming Fort Frances EP. That’s pretty tough to do for a band that has been around for 15 years, but the grizzled Chicago rock quartet — Aaron Kiser on drums, Jason Ryan on guitar, Tim Konn on bass and McMillin — channels the magic of a band in the in-fancy of its career. From the DIY basement show energy of “At Your Fingertips” to the drunk-by-the-campfire sense of “Go for Broke,” this collection of songs brims with the innocence and invincibility of a band that just wants to go — no matter where it is they’re heading.

Listen: Fort Frances – “Parliament Lights” (radio edit)

Fort Frances – “Parliament Lights” (radio edit)

Sub Pop Records has released “You Say I Romanticize,” the crucial new album from Sweeping Promises. Recorded over an 18-month period, “You Say I Romanticize” is a tribute to the chaos of creation and collaboration under shifting circumstances. Guitarist Caufield Schnug and bassist/vocalist Lira Mondal found and tested themselves in their combination tour house and recording studio in Kansas, annually working on dozens of albums from other bands, hosting tour stops, planning shows, and the like.

After an immersive process of tracking and whittling down demos for the album and carving out an idiosyncratic chamber-recording method for its intentional wall-of-sound, the duo brought in touring drummer Spenser Gralla to play the songs as the band would on stage.

“You Say I Romanticize”‘s frenzied execution, akin to the group’s renowned live show, prevails most of all in Mondal’s exhilarating vocals. Whereas previously, you might have heard a growl here and there on certain Sweeping Promises tracks, the band’s formidable singer shouts, roars, hits all sorts of tricky notes, and shreds her throat all over the record. Hear for yourself on the debut single and pummeling opener “Shooting Shadows.”

Listen: Sweeping Promises – “Shooting Shadows”

Sweeping Promises – “Shooting Shadows”

Weird Nightmare‘s new album “Hoopla,” the engaging and melodic second LP from former METZ frontman Alex Edkins, is out now!

Every band worth its salt has a member who worked in a record store. In METZ, the fearless noise rock trio who released five full-length albums on Sub Pop between 2012 and 2024, it was singer and guitarist Alex Edkins. Slinging indie rock and hardcore records in his hometown record store while attending university, Edkins became an ardent student of rock ‘n’ roll; from the psychedelic 1960s to the DIY 1990s and beyond. The new Weird Nightmare album “Hoopla,” mixes and matches these wide-ranging influences in fun, exhilarating combinations, showcasing his sophisticated musical mind. Bursting to life with hooks and earworms.

Co–produced by Edkins and Spoon’s Jim Eno at Seth Manchester’s Machines With Magnets in Providence, RI. Edkins expands Weird Nightmare’s dimensions to new heights, gilding the direct emotions of his straightforward songwriting with musical textures such as piano, bells, and castanets, giving these well-wrought tunes a shiny luster.

“‘Might See You There’ is about going back to visit my hometown and being flooded with teenage nostalgia. Small-town boredom and isolation almost feel like a gift in today’s highly connected world. I feel fortunate for that time spent idly, down in the basement, learning the entire Rancid ‘Let’s Go’ album on guitar with my friends. I find it easy to romanticise that time in my life, even though I was, without question, a disgruntled kid who badly wanted to escape my surroundings and see the world.” —Alex Edkins

Listen: Weird Nightmare – “Pay No Mind”

Weird Nightmare – “Pay No Mind”