The Fat Angel Sings

Big Stir Records is deeply honoured to bring you the first full album of new music from psychedelic rock pioneers STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK since 1969. The new album “Where’s One?” returns the band to the pinnacle of the genre they helped to invent, with a lineup unmatched for its authenticity including five original members, and decades of performing and songwriting chemistry on display. Previewed in recent months by the hit indie singles “Monsters,” “Blow Your Mind” and “The Sky Isn’t Falling,” “Where’s One? hits record stores in a Deluxe Double LP edition and as a CD, as well as streaming on all digital platforms worldwide, on August 7th, and it’s up for pre-order/pre-save now:

STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK’s forthcoming album “Where’s One?” would be remarkable enough as the first collection of all-new music from the psych-rock legends since their ’60s heyday, but there’s much more to it than nostalgia. The band’s current line-up is almost certainly uniquely bonafide among their ’60s peers, featuring five members from their original run of four albums from 1967-1969: MARK STEPHEN WEITZ (keyboards), RANDY SEOL (drums/percussion), GEORGE BUNNELL (bass), GENE GUNNELS (drums/percussion). and STEVE BARTEK (guitar, flute, sitar and production, also well-known as a founding member of Oingo Boingo) plus guitarist HOWIE ANDERSON who’s been a full member since their 1986 reunion. The decades of musical chemistry are a key part of what keeps the band so compelling to fans of all ages, onstage (as evidenced by the multigenerational crowds attending the band’s live shows, often at the Whisky on LA’s Sunset Strip where it all began) and on this record. But what makes “Where’s One?” so much more than just a trip down memory lane is a sense of adventure, experimentation and ambition that few from their generation can conjure with such thrilling results.

Unquestionably, the ’60s spirit is here. You can hear it immediately in the immaculately sunny a capella harmonies of the opening track “Feel The Love,” as well as in the full record’s sparkling instrumental arrangements featuring period-perfect touches of their signature swirling organ, sunshine pop flute, electric sitar, lacerating acid rock guitar and groovy percussion. But as the needle drifts into the second track, the captivatingly ominous “Monsters” (appropriately released as the album’s first preview single last Halloween), it becomes obvious that STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK are here not to relive former glories but to push the psych-rock form ever forward with new ideas, fresh sounds, and unexpected reinventions. It’s a revelation driven home by the next track, a dramatic deconstruction of “Day Tripper” that lets listener know to expect the unexpected: in a world of power pop bands trying to sound like The Beatles, the Alarm Clock play The Beatles like Devo plays The Stones, here and on a delightfully skewed reading of “Within You Without You”. By the third track, “White Light” – a musically and emotionally raw journey that blends psychedelia and dream rock with intense, near-metal riffing and stunning harmonies – the restless creativity of STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK in 2026 is abundantly evident, aptly summed up in the opening lyrics: “Where am I going? What will I do when I get there?”

Where we’re going is deeper into the dazzling kaleidoscope of musical styles, concepts and sterling melodies that make up “Where’s One?” It’s all rooted in the band’s original brand of ’60s psych – check out the Nuggets-worthy garage bounce of “Blow Your Mind,” already a hit on the global indie airwaves earlier this year – but there are touches of many musical idioms that followed, and drew upon, Strawberry Alarm Clock’s original work. You’ll hear gorgeous chamber pop strings under the direction of in-demand orchestrator Bartek (“Since You Have Gone Away”), angular guitars recalling the postpunk and new wave years, and bright harmonies that evoke the best of ’70s AM Gold (“The Sky Isn’t Falling”). There are intricate prog rock-adjacent time signatures (“I’m Not The One,” “White Light”), Beefheart/Zappa-inflected art rock (“Primordial Soup”) and grooves worthy of ’70s funk and ’90s trip hop (“Live Water,” “Monsters”). There’s even time for a sly take on exotica in “Tahitian Gardens” before the Alarm Clock close the album, saving the trippiest for last with “Galactic Symphony – Persian Skies,” an extended psychedelic workout written by the full band together and featuring a spoken-word performance by Stephen J. Kalinich, the legendary poet laureate of the LA ’60s pop scene.

It’s all breathtakingly fresh for a band nearly sixty years into their career, playful and experimental but shot through with consummate tunefulness. What binds it together is the time-tested chemistry of the players, and a connection greater than the sum of its considerable parts, as GEORGE BUNNELL explains: “Where’s One?” was not intended as a concept album but as it turns out, I guess it is. I think it’s about family, life and love. Howie wrote ‘Since You Have Gone Away’ about his mom coming to him in a dream, and ‘I’m Not The One’ about his kids leaving the nest. Randy wrote the lyrics to ‘White Light’ about his father appearing to him in his car while driving, and ‘Live Water’ about the good fortune of meeting his wife Beverly. Mark wrote ‘Blow Your Mind’ about his girlfriend. David Glück wrote the lyrics to ‘Monsters’ about his ex who is still his best friend, and ‘Primordial Soup,’ which refers to bridging the gap between inorganic matter and biological life, human, plant, animal and otherwise. Every song is like that. The album tells our story, which is a long one, about life long relationships and life in general.”

“As for the title, “Where’s One?” Bunnell continues, “After all this time you’d think the Clock would know. That’s the great thing about music, you’re always searching for that elusive something. I love it when someone brings in an idea and we start exploring and expanding on it. We all have one thing in common, and that’s to find what a song idea can turn into. It keeps us going. We’ve found that if we are open minded, a good song will open itself up to us. This is the album we wanted to make. We’ve poured our hearts into it. As our own Steve Bartek (co-producing with Michael Stern) kept reminding us, we’re not looking for perfection… we just want a great-sounding album, but not at the risk of losing its heart and soul and sense of humour. I think we’ve accomplished that.”

Bartek himself agrees: “This album is a testament to the power of long-lasting creative relationships,  despite interruptions of time and distance. We are always searching to connect to each other as we play… and land together on ‘one,’ occasionally.” On their first new album for this century, the legendary STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK stick that landing like few others of their generation could. Nearly sixty years beyond “Incense And Peppermints,” it’s a true joy to hear them in peak form. 

releases August 7th, 2026

A “Portal to the Past” is a very real thing in the world of Lily Seabird. The Vermont musician began writing the song—the latest single from her upcoming album “Lightspheres on Their Way“—after waking up from a particularly transportive dream on a porch in the dizzying New Orleans swelter. The song extends the initial poem Seabird wrote into a sprawling, seven-minute ballad that almost recalls Jason Molina’s twangy slowcore. “Dwelling too much can sometimes create what feels like a portal and bring you right back to where you once were, that’s the portal to the past,” Seabird explains of the song, where she reminisces on a past relationship she once thought might last forever: “Well I said I’d give you everything, but time took it all away,” she croons before an epic instrumental outro, tailor-made for getting lost in your own past too.

Lily Seabird announced her third full length album on a prolific three year run starting with 2024’s “Alas”, then last year’s “Trash Mountain“, and now solidifying herself as an indie rock staple to be reckoned with on “Lightspheres on Their Way”. The album is out on physical formats on September 4th, , joining the likes of Sturgill Simpson in letting their music exist and breathe on physical media before unleashing it on streaming.

Along with the album announcement, Seabird released the first single off the record, the intense heartland rock ripper, “Election Day.” “What choice is there if there’s nothing left to lose?,” Seabird sings over heavy and furiously grungy riffs and solos. While Seabird says the song isn’t literally about voting, you can still hear the exhaustion and uncertainty in the droning riffs that open the track, recalling Bruce Springsteen’s “Downbound Train,” another song about people trapped by circumstances beyond their control.

“Election Day” finds Seabird at her most righteously angry, wailing through enough fuzz and feedback to make Neil Young’s in his Rust Never Sleeps era jealous. Seabird also announced she’ll be joining Black Country, New Road on a tour of the American South beginning in October.

“Portal to the Past” is from Lily Seabird’s “Lightspheres on Their Way“, out September 04th, 2026 via Lame-O Records

Last week, in the middle of Jack White’s sold-out show at the Brooklyn Paramount, a five-feet-four-inch bass player got onstage. It was his 20-year-old daughter, Scarlett White, grooving along to “Cannon,” from the White Stripes’ self-titled 1999 debut. She stayed with her dad for two more songs The White Stripes’ cover of Blind Willie Johnson’s “John the Revelator” and “Black Math,” from the garage rock duo’s 2003 classic “Elephant” — with White posting a video afterwards like a proud father.

Scarlett’s surprise appearance is just one of the many highlights of White’s current tour, which kicked off in North America in July and extends through the fall. It’s one of the best rock shows of the year, and he’s proving that at 51, he’s just getting started.

He’s Got a Killer New Album Out

White has had a career resurgence in the last couple of years, hanging out with famous fans like Olivia Rodrigo (who performed at the White Stripes’ Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction last fall) and Geese frontman Cameron Winter, plus giving a standout performance earlier this spring on Saturday Night Live (the host, fittingly, was Jack Black).

In 2024, he released the excellent “No Name” without warning or track titles, and he followed that up last week with the equally kick-ass “Frozen Charlotte”. His set list these days usually contains highlights from both records, from “That’s How I’m Feeling” to “Derecho Demonico.” And if that wasn’t enough, a silver dancing Frozen Charlatan usually interrupts the set until White kicks him off, giving the audience a moment of light comedy. 

Just like he did last year, White is selling a limited number of tickets to students for just $20. These are available at all of his North American headlining shows, only to be purchased in-person at the venue on the day of the gig — first come, first serve, in the name of rock.

Like Phoebe Bridgers’ recent shows and upcoming Lost Tour, as well as past shows by Bob Dylan, Madonna, and comedians like Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock, White’s 2026 tour is phone-free. That means that in order to attend, your device needs to be secured in a Yondr pouch, only to be unlocked upon exiting the venue (White was actually the first artist to use Yondr). It might be annoying to not be able to check the time or send some texts out, but it makes for a much more enjoyable concert experience, where you can physically see the stage without a bunch of other people’s blaring screens in your face. 

His Set List Changes Every Night 

White’s sets are anything but predictable. He throws curveballs — take his cover of Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” in Toronto on Tuesday, only his second time playing the Sixties classic since 2012 — and takes unexpected turns through his wide-ranging catalogue. He dips his toes into the music he’s made with the Raconteurs (“Steady As She Goes”) and the Dead Weather (“I Cut Like a Buffalo”). He also digs deep into his solo career, like during his second night in Brooklyn, when he played a semi-rare “Missing Pieces,” the opener of his dynamite 2012 solo debut, “Blunderbuss”. No set is the same, so you never know what you’re going to get. 

White puts a lot of thought into his shows, from his backing band (drummer Patrick Keeler, keyboardist Bobby Emmett, and Dominic Davis on bass) to his opening acts, posting photos with each group afterwards to thank them. New York rock band the Bobby Lees, for instance, played thrilling sets prior to White’s shows in Brooklyn.

He also goes out of his way to support smaller groups like Twin Temple, the L.A. duo who were recently nixed from Charley Crockett’s tour due to their Satanic imagery. As White wrote on Instagram with a playful White Stripes pun, “Twin Temple, Would you like to open my show in L.A. on September 29th at the Hollywood Palladium? Let me know. Get in front of me Satan!” In an interview with Rolling Stone, Twin Temple told us they’re trying to make that happen. “I’ve been a White Stripes fan since I was a kid,” said vocalist Alexandra James. “‘Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground’ was the first song I learned on guitar. But we do have this date and we have to honour our commitment there. So, we’re trying to work it out.” 

Cheersquad Records & Tapes are excited to announce the next double single from multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Grace Mitchell.

Following on from the singles ‘Destroy’ and ‘Head On’, Grace releases two more tracks from her upcoming album ‘Daughter Of The King’, her first on label Cheersquad Records & Tapes.

Grace began writing the first songs for the album 5 years ago in Hollywood. After returning to Australia three years ago, the multi-instrumentalist – who plays keyboards, drums and guitar – recorded and added the final touches to ‘Daughter of the King’ last year at Melbourne’s Lily Street Studios.

Of ‘Baseball Hat’, Grace says “’Baseball Hat’ is about wishing for something more. It’s about reflecting on your life until a particular moment and realizing it isn’t enough of the dream you imagined.”

‘In The Other Room’ “is about feeling like a stranger in your own home. As time passes you become more distant from your lover until one day you wake up and notice you’ve been reduced to housemates.”

released July 17th, 2026

Words & music by Grace Mitchell

‘ LISTEN HERE

Dry Cleaning have announced a new edition of “Secret Love“, which was originally released at the beginning of 2026. Out now, this new expanded edition features three new songs that the band recorded with Cate Le Bon during the sessions: “Grass,” “I Have the Key,” and “Sliced by a Fingernail,” the latter of which was recently released as a single. This deluxe version also features new artwork from Erica Eyres, as well as videos from BULLYACHE, who choreographed visualizers for every Secret Love track at the Mandrake Hotel in London.

Vocalist Florence Shaw goes into detail on each new track, saying: “The three new songs have a lot of tenderness and vulnerability to them. They’re about feelings of love and loss but also humour that comes along with those heavy feelings.”

“‘Sliced by a Fingernail’ is about looking for places to hide; fantasies like packing yourself into the centre of a huge flower bud, but also more everyday ones like being part of the crowd at a karaoke bar.”

“‘Grass’ is about grieving for someone still alive. The lyrics use some metaphors from nature inspired by two trips, one to see the melting Rhône Glacier in Switzerland and the other to Laurissilva, the ‘living fossil’ ancient forest on the island of Madeira. Whilst it has lots of imperfections and was a bit improvised, Cate had a real affinity for the vocal performance we chose for this track.”

“The lyrics to ‘I Have The Key’ came from a feeling of sadness and helplessness at the state of the world. The genocide in Gaza had begun around the time I was writing some of the lyrics. The saxophone part wasimprovised by Bruce Lamont at the Loft studio in Chicago, and the structure and delivery of the vocal, as well as the choice of words came as a response to his playing.”

Regarding the new release, the band’s Lewis Maynard said: “As difficult as it is to choose the final tracklist, we’ve learned with previous records that songs which don’t make the album will see the light of day and sometimes even receive more attention. This is the first time we’ve released a deluxe edition, and we’re especially excited because it includes some of our favorite songs from the session.”

At the beginning of this year, Dry Cleaning released their new album, “Secret Love”. The third album from the London-based group consisting of lyricist Florence Shaw, guitarist Tom Dowse, drummer Nick Buxton,and bassist Lewis Maynard received glowing accolades across the globe.

Dry Cleaning shares an expanded version of the record, “Secret Love” (Deluxe Edition), featuring three brand-new tracks recorded during album sessions with producer Cate Le Bon last year; ‘Grass’, ‘I Have The Key’, and the recently released single, ‘Sliced by a Fingernail’. “Secret Love” (Deluxe Edition) also features alternate Erica Eyres artwork. 

“The band delivers Shaw’s postcards from the edge with music that’s appropriately ironic and mordant, but also varied and at points even kind of rousing, from the Eighties college-pop strum of ‘Blood’ to the street-rock strut of ‘The Cute Things’.” – Rolling Stone, The Best Albums of 2026 So Far

“It’s an album of unusual pleasures—the assured musicality provides the immediate hook, holding you over until you focus on the lyrics. Once that happens, Ms. Shaw’s uncanny magic takes over.”
– Wall Street Journal

“Dry Cleaning is one of those bands with the capacity to change your life.” – Paste

“A surrealist masterpiece.”

beabadoobee takes a louder, more direct route on Pylon, her fourth studio album. Written while touring behind This Is How Tomorrow Moves, the record draws on grunge, midwest emo and ’90s radio rock, pushing her songwriting into more forceful territory.

Created with collaborators including Hayley Williams, Brendan Yates, Chino Moreno and Evan Stephens Hall, Pylon brings a rawer edge to Beatrice Laus’ melodic alternative pop. The Philippines-born, London-raised artist has built a major following through three albums and five EPs, with This Is How Tomorrow Moves reaching number one in the UK.

Beabadoobee has shared “Switchblade,” the second single from her forthcoming LP “Pylon” following last month’s “Sun Has Set.” During the new track’s pre-chorus, the artist born Beatrice Laus sings, “Do you start the fight or take the flight? / Is it wrong or right to try to?”

As for the new album, Laus shared: “Pylon” is about accepting that negative feelings are going to come back, accepting the insecurity and feeling confused. It’s all a necessary part of growing and knowing yourself better. You have to go through all that shit, I have to write about it.”

The songwriter’s fourth album will arrive on September 18th via Dirty Hit/Interscope.

These days, so long as the artist doesn’t despise their record label, it’s close to a contractual obligation to celebrate an album’s 30th anniversary and Edsel have done exactly that with Suede‘s 1996 long-player “Coming Up2, a record that, on the face of it, doesn’t need reissuing.

Suede initially distanced themselves from the Britpop pack before appearing to realize, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Indeed, the group ditched the romanticized squalor and gothic intensity of their first two records and instead aimed straight for the jugular with the kind of super-sized pop hooks that had made their fiercest rivals superstars.

“Coming Up” spawned five consecutive Top 10 hits in the UK, including the David Bowie-esque stompers “Trash,” “Beautiful Ones,” and the beautifully melancholic ballad “Saturday Night,” suggesting the acrimonious departure of founding guitarist Bernard Butler had been a commercial blessing in disguise. 

The great value 2CD+DVD deluxe edition from 2011 seemed definitive, with its collection of demos, B-sides and video content, although the so-so packaging let it down a bit and there was the odd omission, such as the Neil Codling-penned flip-side, ‘Digging A Hole’.

The 30th anniversary 5CD+DVD set offered a better presentation, filled the odd gap, found more demos, but didn’t entirely supersede its predecessor. For example, the band decided to amicably separate “Coming Up” from a few songs that originally bridged the second and third albums and that had been included on the earlier reissue. These include ‘Together’ – the first fruit of the Brett Anderson/Richard Oakes writing partnership –  and B-sides ‘Asda Town’ and ‘Bentswood Boys’.

Despite having been written a few years earlier and being paired with “Dog Man Star” singles, these songs, in theory, have more in common with the 1996 album, since Bernard Butler was not involved in the creation of any of them. But it seems they aren’t considered close enough to “Coming Up“, and therefore reside in a Suede ‘No Man’s Land’ lying betwixt and between the two albums. No recent Suede deluxe edition has been willing to offer them refuge!.

Perhaps wisely, for this new, 30th anniversary treatment of “Coming Up”, Edsel have gone back to basics. Those B-sides are ludicrously strong. In many ways, they tell the full story of the beginnings of the post-Bernard Butler era, in a way that the album, alone, can not.

“Coming Up” was a big commercial success, a self-designed “fizzy, brash, pop record”, in the words of Brett Anderson. It certainly delivered success, with five UK top ten hit singles, but while later singles such as ‘Lazy’ and ‘Filmstar’ did the business , they were arguably a tad one-dimensional and lacked some depth evident in the best of Suede. This is where the B-sides widen the scope and offer a broader picture.

Consider the first single, ‘Trash’. The ‘extra tracks’ for that release across the two UK CD singles were ‘Europe Is Our Playground’, ‘Have You Ever Been This Low?’, ‘Another No One’ and ‘Every Monday Morning Comes’. All superb – I would take any of those above ‘Lazy’. ‘Beautiful Ones’ offered more of the same – four great songs, including ‘Young Men’ with its memorable opening line: “Tony only reads Asian Babes”. Perhaps I’d allow that by the fourth of fifth single the quality was starting to dip somewhat, but nevertheless, delivering this quantity and quality of extra material was a remarkable achievement.

Putting all the studio recordings together and just forgetting about everything else is an astute move on the part of the record company and is a true and concise representation of what Suede were up to at the height of Britpop.

None of this means that any self-respecting Suedehead needs this new edition, but for the more casual fan you might call it the ‘Goldilocks’ edition. Not too big, not too small –  just right.

“Coming Up” is reissued as a 30th anniversary Suede’s era-defining third album celebrates its 30th anniversary this year with a series of special anniversary editions. Released on 25th September.

Originally released in 1996, Coming Up debuted at No. 1 in the UK and spent almost a year in the album charts. It introduced Richard Oakes and Neil Codling to the band and featured five Top 10 singles: Available formats include:

• Deluxe 5CD Edition featuring the remastered original album, Steven Wilson’s new 2026 mix, B-sides, Coming Up At The BBC and new sleeve notes.

•Digital Edition featuring remastered original album, Steven Wilson’s new 2026 mix, B-sides, Coming Up At The BBC, plus Steven Wilson instrumental mixes of the original album. Steven Wilson Atmos mixes will also be available via Apple’s Spatial Audio.

• Limited Edition Blu-ray Super Deluxe Edition featuring the remastered album, Steven Wilson’s 2026 mix, Dolby Atmos and 5.1 mixes, instrumentals, restored music videos and bonus tracks.

• Super Deluxe Edition Vinyl featuring Steven Wilson’s new 2026 mix with exclusive artwork by Paul Khera. 5CD edition, in deluxe 7”X 7” packaging with new master, a Steven Wilson alternate mix, bonus tracks and B-sides and a cover of the Robert Wyatt / Elvis Costello classic ‘Shipbuilding’, plus ‘Coming Up At The BBC’, which recreates the original running order of the album in the form of the corporation’s Radio 1 Sessions and Reading Festival broadcasts from 1996 and 1997.

• Half-Speed Master Vinyl, mastered from the original tapes and cut at half speed.

• Limited Edition Blended Colour Vinyl, mastered from the original tapes.

Original “Coming Up” designer Howard Wakefield has returned to restore Nick Knight and Peter Saville’s iconic artwork across the anniversary editions.

Also available is the 30th Anniversary Edition of “Trash”, a strictly limited 45rpm 12″ EP on lilac vinyl, bringing together the original CD1 and CD2 releases for the first time. Featuring fan favourites including Europe Is Our Playground, Another No One and Every Monday Morning Comes, it is the first in a series of anniversary 12″ EPs, with “Beautiful Ones”, “Saturday Night, Lazy” and “Filmstar” to follow. Released on 14 August.

Beck’s new album “Ride Lonesome” is coming out this fall. The musicians from my original touring and recording band that I recorded “Sea Change,” “Morning Phase” and “Mutations” with — Smokey Hormel, Joey Waronker, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Roger Joseph Manning, and Jason Falkner— reconvened with me at my favorite studio (Room B at United Studios in Hollywood). We had Nigel Godrich, who worked on “Sea Change” and “Mutations” with us mixing all the songs. It had been a decade since we went in the studio and recorded “Morning Phase.” This time It felt like the playing and the chemistry had evolved and deepened— a sound that’s come together over the decades of working together.

While we were revisiting a musical and physical place, it also felt like we were finding new sounds and emotional textures along the way.

I met Sierra five years ago on a dance floor in Nashville. She taught an LA boy how to two step. Then she got on stage with the house band to sing a few tunes. A local leaned in my ear and said you gotta hear this girl, she’s the real deal. And she was. Been a long time coming to sing together. I think it might’ve beat the original version of this tune.

“Ride Lonesome (feat. Sierra Ferrell)” by Beck

Ride Lonesome, Beck’s new album, will be released September 18th via Capitol Records,

The Liverpool indie veterans Echo & The Bunnymen will release what will be their thirteenth studio album via BMG Records on September 18th.

The album, will be the follow-up to 2014’s “Meteorites”, features the late Blondie drummer Clem Burke – who passed away, aged 70, in April 2025 – on 10 of its 11 tracks.

In a statement accompanying the album news, the band say, “The mighty, legendary Clem Burke – longtime friend of Mac [frontman Ian McCulloch] – was integral to the making of the album, and heartbreakingly passed away during its completion… love you Clem X”

As a preview, the release of the record is preceded today, July 16th, by the release of its first single, “Brussels Is Haunted”.

The lyrics to the first verse of the single run:

“Here comes Plastique and Bert Bertrand
We danced at The Classic all night long
Enchanté Belgique et Le Place Grande
We drank Rum and cassis and beer blonde”

Echo & The Bunnymen’s 13th album, “Apples For Isaac”, is set for release in September

Northern California quintet Soft Science returns with “Sand”, their fifth album, due out on Shelflife Records (US) and Spinout Nuggets (UK). Building on the band’s signature blend of dream pop, post-punk, and darkwave, “Sand” feels both intimate and expansive—an album rooted in melody, atmosphere, and emotional depth. Across ten songs, the band balances its established sound with a renewed sense of movement and urgency, creating a record that is immersive, dynamic, and unmistakably Soft Science. Lyrically, “Sand” explores impermanence—how love, memory, and identity shift under pressure—and what it means to keep choosing connection in a world with no guarantees.

Soft Science is comprised of longtime collaborators Katie Haley (lead vocals and percussion), brothers Matt (lead guitar) and Ross Levine (guitar and backing vocals), partners Tony Cale (drums) and Becky Cale (bass and backing vocals), and Hans Munz (atmospheric electronics). With ethereal vocals, twin 12-string guitars, bass, drums, and synthesizers, the band layers luminous melodies, celestial harmonies, and propulsive rhythms into lush, transportive songs. As KEXP has showcased and critics have noted, Soft Science pairs a bright melodic sensibility with a melancholy undertow, creating music that is both immediate and deeply atmospheric.

Earlier Soft Science releases include the LPs “Lines” (2023), Maps (2018), “Detour” (2013), and “Highs and Lows” (2011), along with singles including a split 7” with The Luxembourg Signal (2015), and covers of The House of Love’s ‘I Don’t Know Why I Love You’ and Northern Picture Library’s ‘Paris’ (both 2018). The band’s recordings have earned critical acclaim and led to performances at New York Popfest, Paris Popfest, and The Big Takeover’s 35th Anniversary show, sessions with WFMU, KEXP, and Part-Time Punks, and festivals across the U.S. and the Iberian Peninsula. More recently, the band appeared at Shellraiser and Tremolo Fest in 2024, followed by Dreamgaze PDX in 2025.

With “Sand”, Soft Science continues its sonic evolution, pushing deeper into the noisier edges of dream pop while retaining the band’s gift for hooks, texture, and emotional resonance. As Dagger ‘Zine wrote of the band’s recent work, “Pop hooks bump up against heaving waves of sonic swirl and it all shimmers and shines in all the right places,” a fitting description of a group that keeps expanding its sound without losing its melodic core. 

Soft Science’s track “Spinning” from their LP “Sand”.

releases September 4th, 2026