Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures - "Lady Bathory"

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Painting by Robert Smith; Design by Derek Smith

We've grown accustomed to the folk and psychedelia leaning sounds of Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures, but on their latest, the Boston band moves into a different sound. "Lady Bathory" is still steeped in psychedelia, and there are elements of Americana in the song, but this is more of an alt-rock track. It's much heavier than we're used to hearing from them while still sounding like a Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures track. This isn't so much a complete left turn into a new sound as it is an expansion on what we love from them. For someone as prolific as Smith is, he keeps releasing fantastic new music.

Derek Smith says of his band's latest single:

“The song is about confusion. We have come to the point on this planet where we don’t know what’s real or fake anymore. We can’t trust anything we see or hear. Everything is a fucking lie.” 

You can listen to "Lady Bathory" below. For more on Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures, check out the band on Instagram and Facebook.

On Repeat...

TORRES - "I got the fear"

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Photo by Ebru Yildiz Somehow TORRES keeps surprising us with her music. The musical project of Mackenzie Scott has released a new single that features her vocals and acoustic guitar that would feel at home in a neo-folk song over a pre-programmed drum beat with sounds that at times are either a light squall of guitar feedback and electronic noises. The song has this haunting and unsettling feeling to it, despite sounding like it's trying to be upbeat. I'd say art doesn't always have to be a pleasant experience, but "I got the fear" can be a pleasant listening experience, except for the times it's not. Mackenzie Scott says of her latest single: “A collective dread has been mounting. Everyone I know is having a brawl with the universe, with themselves…wars, climate catastrophe, a pandemic, the worldwide regression on human rights, the political hellscape — it affects everybody, and I know we’re all feeling it in waves of varying degree all the time. I think it’s...
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Indigo De Souza - "Heartthrob"

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Photo by Hannah Sommer The latest from Indigo De Souza is a glorious mix of rock and pop music, stirred up in such a unique way. "Heartthrob" is an upbeat song that is guaranteed to make listeners want to dance. As dance focused as the song is, it has such a raw and rough element in its instrumentation that makes it rock based. Then there's De Souza's vocals that truly blend both genres. There's something a little extra rough about her singing that keeps the song from being pop, while she also has a slacker pop thing going on, too. "Heartthrob" might be the greatest definition of alt-pop possible. Indigo De Souza feels like one of those artists that is set to explode at any minute. Indigo De Souza says of her latest single: "I wrote ‘Heartthrob’ as a way to help process something that is often hard to talk about—the harmful ways I’ve been taken advantage of in my physical memory. ‘Heartthrob’ is about harnessing anger, and turning it into something ...
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Julien Baker & TORRES - "Tuesday"

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Photo by Ebru Yildiz Julien Baker and TORRES teaming up for a country album is one of the true joys of 2025. The pair's latest single, "Tuesday," is fronted by TORRES, and according to the press release is about "... trying to overcome and heal from the guilt, shame and religious abuse that so many people experience discovering their identity and growing up Queer." The song is a twangy, laid back country track that lands somewhere between classic country and modern pop music (but nowhere near the current country pop sound). I'm not typically a lyrics guy and don't normally pay attention to the lyrics of a song until after multiple listens, but the lyrics of "Tuesday" grabbed me immediately upon the first listen. This is the type of song that is going to demand your focus and attention.  You can watch the visualizer for "Tuesday" below. Send a Prayer My Way is due out April 18 on Matador Records, and is available for pre-order here . F...
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