Today Junior - "Keep On Pushing Me"

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Photo courtesy Today Junior

Today Junior are an indie fuzz-punk band out of Boston. They have a new single out today, and it's the kind of song that makes me wish local modern rock radio still existed. "Keep On Pushing Me" has such great crossover potential. The song is layered in fuzz and perfectly jangly, with vocal melodies that creep right on the mainstream while still having a punk element. This is punk that insists you dance. Not just mosh or pogo, but actual dancing. Considering "Keep On Pushing Me" is about how the entire world seems to be collapsing with government overreach and the constantly ballooning of the cost of living, the song is shockingly upbeat. Of course, a song with that subject matter probably should be the Song of the Summer in 2026...

Today Junior day of their latest single:

“To us, it’s about not giving up when it feels like you are being pushed off the path you’re trying to achieve. It’s about being resilient and having determination while following your passion, or simply just living your life. Sometimes, it feels there’s something getting in the way, especially in the world and country we’re living in today.”

You can listen to "Keep On Pushing Me" below. For more on Today Junior, check out the band's website. They'll be playing Deep Cuts in Medford on June 28 with Weird Nightmare.

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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