Single Review by William Ruben HelmsSep 28, 202617:30

New Audio: Yari M Shares Breezy “Adicta”

Yari M is a Carolina, Puerto Rico-born singer/songwriter and pop artist, who blends elements of Latin pop, Afrobeats and urban rhythms into a unique sound of her own. Her debut EP, 2020’s Yo Soy introduced her fearless energy, with EP track “Freshy” getting attention through a remix with Randy Nota Loca and Brray. The Puerto Rican artist appeared on Randy Nota Loca’s 2021 effort, Romances de Una Nota, 2021 Vol. 2 as the only female guest artist to appear on the album.

2023’s “Está Lloviendo” was her first Billboard-charting single. And adding to a big year, she launched her label Black Diamond Music and opened one of Miami‘s first Dolby Atmos studios.

Building upon a growing profile, the Puerto Rican-born, Miami-based artist’s highly-anticipated full-length debut Momentos, which will include “Últimta Vez,” a hit in Venezuela and “Sin Ti,”which reached #1 in the Dominican Republic features songs that explore joy, heartbreak, nostalgia and celebration.

Momento‘s latest single “Adicta” is a hook-driven blend of Latin pop, reggaeton and Afrobeats built around an an atmospheric production featuring squiggling bursts of funk guitar, skittering polyrhythmic beats and glistening synths beneath the Puerto Rican-born artist’s yearning delivery. While being a much-needed breezy and summery blast on a dreary and damp fall afternoon, “Adicta” is simultaneously club and lounge friendly — but at its core it captures the wooziness, the desperate longing of a new love.

Single Review by William Ruben HelmsSep 28, 202614:00

New Audio: London’s The Filthy Six Shares Mournful “911 Blue (For George)”

London-based, Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Nick Etwell has worked with an electric and varied list of music legends and superstars including David Axelrod, Beck, Roger Daltrey, Foo Fighters, Noel Gallagher and Tom Jones, as well as a decade-plus long stint touring with Mumford & Sons. Over the years, Etwell has leaned heavily into his deep and abiding passion for Black American music, working with Carla Thomas, Ronnie Spector, Mavis Staples, Cyril Neville, Fred Wesley, Jill Scott, Thee Sacred Souls, Antibalas, Jon Cleary and Adrian Quesada.

Along with his busy schedule as a highly-sought after session player, Etwell is the founder and leader of the soul jazz outfit The Filthy Six, an act that features a collection of highly accomplished members who have worked with Amy Winehouse, Jack White, Dionne Warwick, Mark Ronson, Robbie Williams, Jamie Cullum, Duran Duran and Madness. The London-based sextet has released three albums on UK label Acid Jazz back in the 2010s, while firmly cementing themselves as one most authentic soul jazz acts in the UK — and as one of the most eclectic live acts in the UK scene.

Sonically, the London-based sextet take the blueprint of legendary Blue Note and Prestige Records artists Lou Donaldson, Grant Green, Jack McDuff and others and add a bunch of modern influences to the mix, giving the classic soul jazz sound a bit of a modern sensibility and flair.

Etwell and company’s fourth album Return of The Swagger Junkies: Vol. 1 is slated for a November 27, 2026 release through Color Red. Throughout the album, their unique blend of soul jazz, funk blues and Boogaloo present musical adventures for the mind, body and soul — with a heavy dose of filthy, nasty ass funk. Trust me here, we all need a little bit of that stank in our lives, y’all. The album will also feature guest spots from longtime collaborator Snowboy on percussion.

Return of The Swagger Junkies: Vol. 1‘s first single “911 Blue (For George)” is a hauntingly gorgeous, and mournful composition that seems to channels the despair and anger of Billie Holiday‘s rendition of “Strange Fruit” that reflects on the senseless brutality of that horrible day and of a life snuffed out — on television.

Written as a tribute to George Floyd following his tragic death in Minneapolis, the composition was originally released as a standalone quartet recording featuring Snarky Puppy’s Bill Laurence. But for the subtly reworked rendition, Etwell wanted to capture the greater weight and emotional depth of the full sextet, while reflecting the darkness and pain of the subject matter.

women who kick ass by William Ruben HelmsSep 28, 202609:00

News: La Sécurité Announces December 2026 Stateside Tour

Single Review by William Ruben HelmsSep 27, 202622:00

New Audio: Hamburg’s N/CTRL Shares Punchy and Anthemic “Let It Sleep (Beneath The Ground)”

Hamburg-based duo N/CTRL — Sven Enzelmann (vocals, electronics, production) and Carsten Lienke (guitar, bass, songwriting) — specialize in a sound that moves freely between post-punk, New Wave, synth pop and indie rock paired with atmospheric […]

Single Review by William Ruben HelmsSep 27, 202619:00

New Audio: Rome’s Absorbance Shares Mind-Bending “Step Out”

Created by a mysterious Rome-based multi-instrumentalist and Roman music scene veteran who has played guitar, bass and drums in several different projects that have helped to broaden his tastes, Absorbance is an electronic and math […]

Single Review by William Ruben HelmsSep 27, 202616:00

New Audio: E Lundquist Teams Up with Michael Damani on Breezy “Chasing”

Los Angeles-based producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Eric Borders is the creative mastermind behind E. Lundquist, a project that derives its name from a loving nod to his family lineage, bringing the focus back to his own story. With E. Lundquist, Borders specializes in a warmly cinematic sound rooted in Rhodes-driven soul jazz, funk, R&B, library records and live band groove and analog synth textures, reflecting a shift to an intimate, reflective and composer-led approach.

Borders’ forthcoming album Chasing My Reflections will touch upon themes of identity, resilience and self-reflection while featuring collaborations with Michael Damani, India Blue, Michael Edwards and JOVM mainstay Kendra Morris.

Chasing My Reflections will include “Wishing” feat. Kendra Morris and the album’s latest single “Chasing” feat. Michael Damani. “Chasing” is an upbeat and breezy tune, anchored around a Motown/Daptone/Big Crown/Colemine Records-like arrangement featuring reverb-soaked Rhodes or Wurlitzer, melodic rhythmic guitars and a steady backbeat beneath Damani’s yearning, equally old-school-like falsetto. Lyrically, the song touches upon themes of optimism, self-discovery and acceptance — all while feeling like a warm summer day.

Video by William Ruben HelmsSep 27, 202613:00

New Video: Gurriers Shares Bruising, Arena Rock Friendly and Politically Charged “Waiting For Fisher”

Rising Dublin-based post punk outfit Gurriers — Dan Hoff (vocals), Ben O’Neill (guitar, backing vocals), Mark MacCormack (guitar), Charlie McCarthy (bass) and Pierce O’Callaghan (drums) — formed during the pandemic and they’ve built a reputation […]

Video by William Ruben HelmsSep 27, 202610:00

New Video: Full Flower Moon Band Shares Uneasy, Brooding “Endless Summer”

Led by its creative mastermind, Aussie singer/songwriter and guitarist Kate “Babyshakes” Dillon, rock outfit Full Flower Moon Band initially started out as a bedroom project. Since expanding to a formidable, full-fledged band, Full Flower Moon Band has become one of Oz’s fastest growing bands. Anhocred around Dillon’s songwriting and singular stage presence, the project blends heavy riffle, psych rock/desert rock swagger with sharp, often darkly comic lyricism.

2024’s third album, Megaflower was their breakthrough effort: Megaflower debuted at #1 on the ARIA Australian Album Charts and #6 on the ARIA Vinyl Charts, selling out its initial vinyl pressing in a week. “Roadie” and “Illegal Things” received airplay on Iggy Pop’s BBC radio show. “Man Hands” appeared in Made In Chelsea. “Trainspotting’ was featured in the Netflix series, Heartbreak High. The album also landed at #66 on KEXP‘s album chart. And a collection of performance clips went viral, amassing millions of views while receiving attention from Fred Durst, Jack Black, Cage The Elephant, and Daniel Johns.

Adding to a growing wave of momentum surrounding the Aussie band, they’ll be opening for Foo Fighters on two dates of that band’s Aussie tour — November 5, 2026 at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium and November 7, 2026 at Townsville’s Queensland County Bank Stadium. And hot on the heels of that announcement, “Endless Summer” is their first bit of new music of 2026. Anchored around a snarling dessert rock-meets-doom metal guitar line, “Endless Summer” to my ears sounds a bit like a swaggering, blend of Songs For The Deaf-era Queens of the Stone Age and Stories From the City, Stories from the Sea-era PJ Harvey. But just underneath the sunny and optimist dream of never-ending summer, the song i underpinned by the shaky conviction of a manic episode, giving the song an uneasily desperate undertone.

The new single was written by Dillion during a month-long stint in New York, after receiving the Grant McLennan Fellowship, experience that pushed her outside the familiarity of Brisbane — and into a period of intense writing, isolation and creative uncertainty.

“A much darker anthem than the title suggests — ‘Endless Summer’ is the voice of a manic episode. This hopeless, frantic optimism is summarised in the chorus lyric, ‘you can have an endless summer, anytime the sun comes out’. What began as a simple instrumental track is now an unnerving battle cry,” Dillon explains.

The accompanying video for “Endless Summer” is split between stylishly shot performance footage, homemade footage of Dillon as a child playing air guitar and of brooding and serious Dillon in New York — on the subway and in several different locations in town. The video manages to capture the creeping unease at the core of the song.