Dennis

New album: Ryan Hamilton || Haunted By American Dreams

Finding optimism in the echoes of past expectations

By / / Power Pop / Leave a Comment

Texan singer-songwriter Ryan Hamilton has never made a secret of his ambitions to be successful, yet he had every reason to say goodbye to music (just listen to 2023’s Bad Breaks to get an idea of ​​the dark side of the industry). However, a motivating kick in the ass by “Little Steven” Van Zandt (along with the desire to make his daughter proud) led to this welcome comeback with the Haunted By American Dreams LP. Uniting darker moments with flashes of hope, this probably (and understandably) is his most introspective album to date.

Blending heartland rock and power pop with idiosyncratic storytelling, the ten new songs explore determination, identity, and the emotional cost of chasing the life we’re told to want. The musician’s knack for memorable hooks remains intact (just like his distinctive vocals, of course), but this time they’re paired with a deeper sense of reflection, embracing uncertainty and reinvention without losing warmth, humor, or optimism. After 36 honest, melodic, and emotionally resonant minutes, the impossible feels a little closer and the journey a little more worthwhile.

Haunted By American Dreams is available on all digital platforms via Wicked Cool Records.

Add to wantlist: The Orchard

New album: Jason Joshua || Terapia

Warm melodies and timeless grooves for matters of the heart

By / / Funk & Soul / Leave a Comment

Back on the blog after a much-needed break, I notice that Niek has been trying to scare you off with quite a bit of noise over the past three weeks (thanks bro!), so you’ll understand that I try to restore the balance somewhat with more smooth tunes. Also to hold onto my summery road trip feeling, Latin soul genius Jason Joshua is the perfect protagonist. Following 2023’s La Voz De Oro, the Miami-based singer-songwriter returns with Terapia, his third and most emotionally revealing record yet (hence the album title).

Rooted in real-life experiences, the eight songs trace the full arc of love (from infatuation and devotion to jealousy, heartbreak, and the hope of beginning again), presenting vulnerability as both the wound and the cure. That sensitive honesty is matched by the warm blend of soul, funk, and pop, with vibrant horn arrangements and those characteristic golden voice. Central masterpiece is Dedication Hour, written after the passing of Art Laboe, to bring back the spirit of radio to the people and the streets.



Terapia—written, produced, and mixed by Jason Joshua— is out digitally and on vinyl LP through Mango Hill Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: American Aquarium || New Ways To Lose

"A reminder that you are not the only one out there in the dark"

By / / Alternative Rock, Country & Folk / Leave a Comment

Twenty years into their quite prolific career, we know what Raleigh, North Carolina’s American Aquarium has to offer: it’s always solid, always heartfelt. Their latest album, New Ways to Lose, delivers clear-eyed reflections on small-town decline, personal responsibility, and the resilience needed to keep moving forward. The ten new tracks capture the band’s live energy (go see them when they’re in your area again), while adding subtle touches of harmony and horns that broaden their heartland rock sound without diluting its grit, in several ways Springsteen-esque at times.

The honest songwriting and ragged vocals of the sympathetic frontman BJ Barham remain the focal point, pairing vibrant confessionals with vivid snapshots of contemporary America that feel deeply personal yet widely relatable. It gives rise to goosebumps at several moments, such as in Out There In The Dark (“I think everyone of us was born an artist // A painter, a poet with a pen // Some run out of time, never learned to make it rhyme // And some of us refuse to give in”), and even more so in Just Like You (“Her little fingers trace the divots, of her last name carved in stone // When I see her, I see the women that taught me everything they knew”)—a sequel to 2022’s The First Year (anyone who has heard the introduction to that song live will never forget it).

Inspired by the idea that we’re all searching for new ways to lose, this record finds hope in perseverance rather than victory. It’s another powerful chapter from a band that continues to turn hard truths into communal, fist-raising anthems.



New Ways To Lose—produced by Shooter Jennings—is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Losing Side Records/Thirty Tigers.

Add to wantlist: American Aquarium || Bandcamp || Discogs

Dusted || The Best New Cover Songs Of June 2026

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Psych, Punk / Leave a Comment

Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, e.g. as a tribute to such a musical hero for a special reason, or they simply feel that a song deserves to be dusted and polished to reacquaint fans with great songs from the past. Other times, bands cover songs as a parody. Regardless of intent, some of those cover versions are so good or so much fun, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range (only if supported by the artist, so no live videos filmed by the audience or anything like that), here are—in a kind of random order—a bunch of successful covers from last month.

50 Ft (PJ Harvey) by The Bobby Lees — from New Self LP (Epitaph)

Foggy Notion (The Velvet Underground) by Bob Bert — from Beach Bongo Bloodbath (Bar/None Records)

Hotel California (Eagles) by Bandit Voyage — from Daddy Core EP

…

Dusted || The Best New Cover Songs Of June 2026Read More »

New album: Todd Adelman and the Woodsmen || Todd Adelman and the Woodsmen

Ten unhurried songs built on craft, groove, and honest storytelling

By / / Country & Folk / Leave a Comment

Recorded with the kind of easy chemistry that only comes from seasoned players, these ten tracks drift comfortably between country-rock, Americana, and mini-bar blues without sounding nostalgic for nostalgia’s sake. Todd Adelman (vocals, guitar), Danny Blume (guitar), Jeff Hill (bass), and John Valesio (drums) know exactly when to push and when to hold back, where necessary adding a playful twist to their back-to-basics approach.

There is plenty to enjoy in the lyrics (the Slippery When Wet and Too Hot to Handle tattoo references in Hot As The Hinges—the most exuberant track on the record—had me instantly), but that’s just one piece of the puzzle. From the songwriting to the performance, everything clicks into place. These guys aren’t trying to reinvent the decades-old genre; they simply remind you how satisfying well-crafted songs, strong performances, unhurried vocals, and classic storytelling still can be, because they do it damn well.

Todd Adelman and the Woodsmen’s self-titled album is streaming via Vfib Recordings.

New album: The Hobknobs || Helmets Off

"An honest attempt at honesty"

By / / Indie Pop / Leave a Comment

We were familiar with their earlier projects (Lewsberg and The Klittens), we have seen them perform a few times (always intimate and pleasantly uncomfortable), and we wrote about their debut EP (Gather No Moss) last year. Yet, the first full-length album by Arie van Vliet and Yaël Dekker as The Hobknobs is a meaningful surprise that comforts like a bit too hot bath with a layer of foam, set out for you when you come home after a cold, boring day.

Helmets Off strips songwriting back to its essentials, leaving little more than voices, guitars, and an uncanny sense of timing (at live shows, the duo is joined by a bassist and a vintage cassette player). Here you hear no fewer than sixteen indie pop songs (including the three tracks from the aforementioned EP, two interludes, and a closer of just 45 seconds) with sparse arrangements that never taste unfinished; every note and word lands with purpose.

Beneath the record’s disarming simplicity lies an indefinable emotional ambiguity, shifting from reassuring to unsettling in the space of a verse, that rewards repeat listens. Minimal without feeling slight, The Hobknobs occupy a space that feels both immediately familiar and unlike anything else around.



Helmets Off—recorded and mixed by Jaap van der Velde—is out digitally, on cassette, CD, and vinyl LP (self-released; with a special North American release by 12XU).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Satisfactory || The Satisfactory

Classic songwriting instincts meet youthful ambition

By / / Alternative Rock, Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Indie Pop / Leave a Comment

Let’s take a look at The Satisfactory, a genre-defying four-piece from Montreal, led by singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Salvador Vaughan. Despite the appealing band name, they are anything but formulaic, blending a variety of rock ’n’ roll influences with a freshness, warmth, and personality all their own. Their eponymous debut album has ten tracks, starting with the glam rock stomper I’m Jesus (“If Jesus was an astronaut”) and closing with the acoustic folk-pop ballad Setting Sun, while exploring other genres in between.

The songs are both lovingly familiar and upliftingly alive, written with an unmistakable knack for big-hearted melodies and vivid imagery. The lyrics unite wit, vulnerability, and romantic yearning with timeless songwriting craft: “I wonder why the Joneses cut their yellow roses // As I pass their door today // Henry’s left the garden, Sydney’s shut her curtain // And I’ve the feeling somethings changed.” This is the sound of a young band arriving with purpose, armed with the hooks and strut to make an impact far beyond their local scene.



The Satisfactory’s self-titled debut album—produced by Aran Winter and Spencer Smallbridge—is out digitally (self-released). Featuring Salvador Vaughan (vocals, guitar, percussion, harmonica, melodica, keyboard, tabla), Chris George (guitar), Juan Felipe Quintero (bass), and Vaughn Newey (drums), with Henry Sherman (saxophone), Aran Winter (backing vocals), and Ziggy Edwards (horn) on select tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New mini-album: Staring Contest || Staring Contest

Jangler

By / / Indie Rock, Jangle Pop / Leave a Comment

We love all things jangling, so we immediately fell for Staring Contest. It is a new band from Ottawa, featuring Kerri Carisse (vocals, guitar), Sebastian Major (guitar, vocals), Matthew Thompson (guitar, backing vocals), Joel Soucy (bass), and Jon Bennett (drums), names you may have seen pop up before from Ontario’s indie scene.

The quintet makes their debut with this eponymous mini-album, an exciting yet level-headed mix of jangle pop and indie rock. The seven tracks are driven by chiming guitars, confident and powerful vocals, an energetic rhythm section, and relatable storytelling. The record is undeniably bursting with emotion, yet every note feels deliberate, revealing musicians fully in command of their craft.



Staring Contest is out digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Coral Fuzz || Coral Fuzz

Heavy grooves and kaleidoscopic melodies

By / / Garage Rock, Psych / Leave a Comment

After making waves with 2023’s Fata Morgana LP and 45s like 2025’s You’re So High b/w Mystic Eyes, Athens garage-psych outfit Coral Fuzz returns with a self-titled second album that further raises the bar. Rooted in the raw energy of 1960s psychedelia but powered by a modern, speaker-rattling intensity, these twelve new songs surge with fuzz-drenched riffs, hypnotic grooves, and kaleidoscopic textures.

The record captures an unfiltered analog warmth that never sacrifices melody for volume. Moving between shadowy settings, explosive climaxes, and occasional Western-tinged detours, the band takes you to higher spheres: “I can see the break of light // Cause I can travel with my mind” (from standout track Reflections In My Mind). It’s a thrilling, sultry, full-throttle ride.



The eponymous Coral Fuzz album is out digitally and on vinyl LP through Sunnyboy66 Records. Featuring George Papakostas (vocals, guitars, organ, harmonica), Manos K (bass guitar, backing vocals), Argyris Aliprantis (drums, percussion, jaw harp, backing vocals).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Schneckenkönich || Alright

Raising a glass to life's beautiful failures

By / / Alternative Rock, Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

If the band name Schneckenkönich (snail king, translated from German) and the cover art (the musicians as clay figures) don’t yet arouse your interest, the combination of Bandcamp tags will (alternative, garage, indie, noise, punk, and soul). It’s even more: Alright, the sophomore full-length from the Leipzig four-piece, actually blends working-class pub rock, dusty Americana, and psychedelic blues, in a refreshingly unforced way. There’s no posturing here, just honest music that meets life’s disappointments with empathy rather than resignation.

The eight new songs understand struggle but refuse to surrender to it, finding dignity and warmth among society’s overlooked characters. With affectionate instrumentation and potent vocals, this record feels handmade and heartfelt, like a welcome seat at the bar when you need one most.



Alright, recorded by Charlie Paschen, is out digitally and on vinyl LP through Sounds of Subterrania.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Sounds of Subterrania

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