Every week, Music News and Liberty Music look at the best new releases from emerging and self-releasing artists.
Steve Stinson - ‘Cocoon’ Singer-songwriter Steve Stinson turns heartbreak, reinvention and a lifetime of unexpected detours into ‘Cocoon’, a nine-track debut that blends blues, folk and Americana into a warm, reflective portrait of personal transformation. From relationships that altered the course of his life to careers, continents and changing ideas of home, Stinson embraces uncertainty as something to move through rather than fear, finding purpose in the experiences that once seemed capable of knocking everything off course.
Lumwest - ‘Companions of Time’ Norwegian songwriter Lumwest wraps existential anxiety in kaleidoscopic psychedelia on ‘Companions of Time’, the first glimpse of his forthcoming second album and a hazy exploration of watching life seemingly move forward without you. Written, performed and produced entirely by Andreas Ringsjø from his bedroom, the track pairs 60s psych-rock colour with a modern Tame Impala-esque glow as fear of wasted time, abandoned ambitions and friends moving on gradually slips into paranoia.
Hazel Gaze - ‘Do As You Please (Live & Unplugged) New York rock outfit Hazel Gaze rediscover the drama and intimacy of the classic unplugged format on ‘Strung Out: Live & Unplugged’ at the Brooklyn Conservatory, reshaping their gritty rock ’n’ roll with sweeping strings, rich vocal harmonies and the electricity of musicians performing together in real time. Lead single ‘Do As You Please’ captures that chemistry perfectly, turning the end of a relationship into a wonderfully sharp piece of “Sophisticated Spite” where independence, humour and orchestral grandeur collide.
Robert Luther Smith - ‘Bluesman’ Robert Luther Smith steps into the shoes of a restless travelling observer on ‘Bluesman’, an earthy blues-rock track that turns years of watching love, loss and everyday human behaviour into the foundation of a new musical character. Blurring autobiography with road-trip mythology, the single reconnects Luther with his earliest blues influences while folding rock, soul and R&B into a wandering storyteller who is always moving, always watching and never quite finding what he is looking for.
Surface Detail - ‘This Lantern’ Scottish progressive metal outfit Surface Detail plunge deeper into theatrical chaos on ‘This Lantern’, twisting jagged 7/8 rhythms, crushing guitars and deliberately abrasive harmonies into one of their most unpredictable releases yet. Told from the perspective of a lantern discarded after providing its light and warmth, the track gives that musical volatility an unexpectedly poignant centre while offering another cryptic glimpse into the dystopian world surrounding the band’s forthcoming album.
