Mixed-genre solo project Curly Mouth proudly announces the release of Watermelon & Ginger, a vibrant and ambitious new album that marks a major milestone in the artist’s creative journey. Developed over five years from conception to completion, the record stands as a testament to perseverance, artistic evolution, and the determination to hold onto an idea while navigating life’s twists and turns.
Created across multiple homes and cities while balancing various jobs and the uncertainties of mid-to-late twenties adulthood, Watermelon & Ginger captures the essence of growth through movement. The album reflects both personal and artistic transformation, embodying the resilience required to bring a long-held vision to life.
Built upon fast-moving chord sequences, rock-inspired song structures, and minimalist arrangements, the album places the guitar firmly at its core. Playful vocal melodies demand attention, drawing listeners into lyrics that are both intimate and evocative. Sonically, Watermelon & Ginger shifts effortlessly between folk ballads, jazz-fused instrumentals, slack rock, and subtle ventures into psychedelia. Restless and dynamic, the record never lingers in one place; just as the listener settles into a sound, they are transported somewhere entirely new.
This release also marks Curly Mouth’s first professional studio album. While previous works were self-produced and recorded in the artist’s bedroom, the songs have translated seamlessly into a studio environment. If early Curly Mouth releases resemble intricate sketches in a notebook, Watermelon & Ginger emerges as a collection of framed canvases hung in a gallery; bold, refined, and fully realised.
Drawing inspiration from a diverse array of artists, Curly Mouth channels influences that span folk, jazz, indie rock, and beyond, resulting in a sound that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly original.
“Watermelon & Ginger is a bold and captivating debut; an album that dances effortlessly between genres while showcasing Curly Mouth’s sharp songwriting, playful spirit, and unmistakable artistic voice,” shares music publicist Danielle Holian, Decent Music PR
About Curly Mouth
Curly Mouth is a mixed-genre solo project driven by an insatiable desire to create. With the aim of writing and recording as many albums as possible, Curly approaches music as both a diary and a lifelong pursuit. His work navigates thoughts, emotions, and curiosities through playful melodies, intricate chord progressions, and honest lyricism.
From tender folk to electronic chaos, Curly Mouth explores every sonic avenue available. Warm guitar tones, gentle vocals, vintage organs, and shimmering synth textures paint vivid soundscapes rich with colour and perspective. Each album embraces a distinct theme, inviting listeners into new and unexpected territories.
Emerging producer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Sev Karlsson announces the release of his debut EP, Reverie, available now on all major streaming platforms. Blending atmospheric textures with introspective lyricism, the four-track project marks a compelling introduction to an artist poised to make waves in the indie music landscape.
Rooted in Indie Electronic, Indie Pop, Alternative, and Chillwave, Reverie showcases Karlsson’s diverse production style and wide-ranging influences. Fans of Toro y Moi, Bon Iver, Chanel Beads, The Hellp, and Mk.gee will find themselves immersed in the EP’s dreamy sonic palette and emotionally resonant storytelling.
Recorded over a six-month period during Karlsson’s final chapter in Los Angeles, Reverie serves as both a personal reflection and a creative milestone. The project explores the complexities of pursuing music while navigating the pressures and uncertainties of life in a demanding city. Through layered soundscapes and intimate lyrics, Karlsson examines themes of ambition, identity, and balance.
“Reverie is an examination of what making music means to me,” says Karlsson. “It reflects my experiences in Los Angeles, the challenges of balancing life and creativity, and the moments of clarity that emerged along the way.”
The EP’s eclectic yet cohesive sound highlights Karlsson’s artistry as a producer and multi-instrumentalist, weaving together ethereal melodies, textured synths, and evocative vocals.
Tracklist
1. Bygone 2. Reverie 3. Window 4. Myopia
Now based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sev Karlsson continues to craft music that bridges introspection and innovation. Reverie stands as a promising debut, offering listeners a glimpse into the emotional depth and sonic versatility that define his artistic vision.
“Sev Karlsson’s Reverie is a striking and deeply personal debut, an immersive blend of introspection and sonic sophistication that signals the arrival of a truly distinctive new voice in indie music,” shares music publicist Danielle Holian, Decent Music PR.
Australian-born, New York City-based producer-turned-artist Corban Chapple steps confidently into the spotlight with his debut EP, Maybe We’ll Make It, a self-written, self-produced, and self-performed body of work that positions him firmly at the crossroads of Alternative R&B, Soul, Hip Hop, Pop, and Jazz.
After years of producing for other artists, including award-winning work recognised by the West Australian Music (WAM) Song of the Year awards, Chapple launched his solo career in 2023 with the R&B fusion single Ordinary World. In 2024, he relocated to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in songwriting and production at Berklee NYC, immersing himself in a new creative landscape that would directly inspire his debut EP.
Written during his first months in New York, Maybe We’ll Make It is a narrative-driven concept record structured as a prologue, three acts, and an epilogue. Across five tracks, Chapple unpacks homesickness, jealousy, intimacy, non-confrontation, machismo, doubt, and instability, ultimately landing on a central thesis of acceptance and chosen happiness in the face of uncertainty.
The waterfall release began in October 2025 with the single “Let’s Not Talk About It,” followed by “Braid” in November. 2026 opened strongly with “Porcelain,” featuring frequent collaborator August Igor Egholm (Igor). This release cements Chapple as a rising voice in contemporary R&B.
Sonically and spiritually, Chapple’s work sits in conversation with artists such as Musiq Soulchild, D’Angelo, Smino, Anderson .Paak, Yebba, Robert Glasper, Hiatus Kaiyote, and Jordan Rakei, blending lush harmony, live instrumentation, hip-hop production, and emotionally direct lyricism.
“What makes Corban special is his emotional precision,” says music publicist Danielle Holian, Decent Music PR. “He writes about jealousy, doubt, intimacy, and instability in a way that feels human, not performative. This EP is vulnerable without losing its edge, and that balance is powerful.”
TRACK HIGHLIGHTS
Greener – A poetic ballad examining post-breakup jealousy through an extended gardening metaphor. “Greener” explores masculinity, ego, and the quiet vulnerability of watching someone move on.
Let’s Not Talk About It – An anthem for the non-confrontational, capturing the tension of entering an undefined relationship while avoiding the conversation everyone knows is coming.
Braid – A winding slow jam that mirrors its central metaphor through layered harmony and textured production. Blending symbolic imagery with playful innuendo, the track approaches intimacy with reverence and dimensionality rarely explored in modern R&B.
Porcelain (feat. Igor) – A study in fragility, both emotional and relational. Featuring rap vocals from August Igor Egholm and co-production from Carlos Alvarez, the track examines machismo, yearning, and self-sabotage through dual perspectives.
Maybe We’ll Make It – The closing and title track, offering resolution through acceptance. It confronts instability head-on, choosing action and hope over paralysis.
Maybe We’ll Make It marks Chapple’s first EP release as a solo artist, and an ambitious one at that. The project is entirely self-written, produced, performed, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Chapple, who plays keyboards, synths, guitar, bass, and drums across the record unless otherwise credited.
Having completed training at Berklee NYC and a growing catalogue of deeply personal, musically expansive work, Corban Chapple emerges not just as a producer stepping forward, but as a fully realised artist building his own sonic world.
Boston-based Waver is the musical partnership of Mike Sartor and Dorsey Stone, whose collaboration spans over two decades. Known for their guitar-driven rock sound with singer-songwriter roots, the duo continues to evolve while staying true to the style that first defined them.
Rock duo Waver marks a powerful return with the release of their new full-length album, Space and Time, a 13-track collection that blends the raw energy of 1990s rock with the depth and maturity of decades-long musical collaboration. Now available on Spotify, Apple Music, and all major streaming platforms, the album signals both a continuation and an evolution of the band’s signature sound.
Formed by longtime collaborators Mike Sartor and Dorsey Stone, Waver traces its roots back to the late 1990s when the two met as first-year roommates at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. From their earliest performances, the duo cultivated a dynamic interplay between Sartor’s traditional rock songwriting and Stone’s intricate, progressive guitar work, creating a sound that is both powerful and intimate.
After establishing themselves as a staple of the Boston live music scene in the early 2000s, Sartor and Stone stepped away from the project to pursue other personal and professional paths. In late 2024, they reunited with a clear vision: to write and record a new album that honors their original sound while reflecting their expanded musical perspectives.
The result is Space and Time, a 56-minute journey through melody-driven rock, layered instrumentation, and reflective lyricism. The album captures a sense of nostalgia while remaining grounded in the present, offering listeners a sound that feels both familiar and refreshed.
Recorded at Ugly Duck Studios in Boston, MA, Space and Time showcases a fully collaborative creative process. Songwriting and production are credited to Sartor and Stone, with select distinctions: Stone penned “Always Awake” and “Delivery Is Free,” while “I Miss You” was co-written by both artists. Sartor wrote the remaining tracks, though the band views the album as a unified creative effort.
Instrumentally, Sartor performs lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano/organ, and bass, while Stone contributes lead vocals, lead guitar, and rhythm guitar. Drums across all tracks are performed by Brendan McGillin, who also served as a sound engineer alongside Dan Babai.
With Space and Time, Waver reintroduces themselves not just as a reunion, but as a reinvention, delivering a record that resonates with longtime fans and new listeners alike.
TRACKLIST: Silvertone You Instead Always Awake Say The Word Control Delivery Is Free I Used To Be Someone Else More Than You Know Blue Tomorrow Us I’m Still Waiting You Belong With Me I Miss You
“With ‘Space and Time,’ Waver delivers a powerful return that feels both timeless and deeply personal, capturing the spirit of ‘90s rock while showcasing the growth and chemistry that only decades of collaboration can produce,” shares music publicist Danielle Holian, Decent Music PR.
Similar Artists: Cigarettes After Sex, Mazzy Star, Beach House, Men I Trust, Daughter
Dream pop duo Jordan Whitlock and Matt Bauer of Memory Spells have joined forces to release their debut collaborative album, This Is What It Feels Like.
The album emerges from a unique and modern creative process: all tracks were written and produced remotely, with Whitlock in San Diego and Memory Spells’ Matt Bauer in Los Angeles. The artists only met in person after completing more than half the album, resulting in a collection that captures the tension, intimacy, and connection forged across distance.
This Is What It Feels Like navigates the fragile, defining moments of human relationships. From the quiet ache of “Do You Think of It Sometimes?” to the tidal devotion of “All I See Is You,” and the meditative unfolding of “Bloom,” the album conjures emotional landscapes as vast as oceans and as intimate as private gardens. Airy synths, minimalist guitar, vintage drum machines, and haunting strings intertwine, creating a soundscape that feels simultaneously near and far, a reflection of the collaboration itself. Meanwhile, Whitlock’s crystalline, unguarded vocals weave seamlessly through Memory Spells’ lush dream-pop arrangements, capturing a sense of longing, possibility, and introspection.
This Is What It Feels Like is a testament to the transformative power of collaboration: two artists finding a shared voice across miles, and discovering in that dialogue a connection that changes everything.
“This album is a rare kind of intimacy, crafted across miles yet brimming with closeness. Memory Spells and Jordan Whitlock have captured the moments between longing and connection, creating a sound that feels like a conversation you can’t forget. This Is What It Feels Like isn’t just a collection of songs, it’s a shared space where distance becomes part of the music, and collaboration transforms into something deeply personal,” notes music publicist Danielle Holian, Decent Music PR.
Tracklist 1. Heaven and Here 2. All I See Is You 3. Take My Hand 4. Take Away My Heart 5. Do You Think Of It Sometimes 6. Roses 7. Higher 8. All To Myself 9. Bloom 10. A Flower Blooming For No One 11. There’s Still Tomorrow 12. You Tell Me
About Jordan Whitlock: Jordan Whitlock is a rising songwriter, vocalist, composer and producer, captivating audiences with her soulful voice and heartfelt songwriting. Drawing inspiration from the rich sounds of folk, choral music and pop, her unique blend of genres creates a refreshing musical experience that resonates with listeners around the world. With a voice that weaves between delicate vulnerability and powerful expression, Jordan’s performances are hypnotic. Her lyrics delve into the depths of emotion, exploring themes of love, loss and personal growth. Jordan’s music has been featured on OVO Sound, Nora En Pure’s Purified, KCRW’s Morning Becomes Electric and she has supported artists such as Tiesto, Chromeo, Jody Wisternoff, Vandelux and Cherub with melodic house collaborators, Echolocation. Her work can also be heard in film and television scores, such as BBC’s Wild Isles. Some of her clients include Odele, Bonprix, Sprouts, Cisco, DISCO, and Hipgnosis.
About Memory Spells: A new project from producer and songwriter Matt Bauer, Memory Spells takes the orchestral leanings of his later indie folk records further in the direction of his love of contemporary tv, film, and video game scores, cinematic post rock, early post punk, and 80’s film music. Memory Spells can be heard on Vice on Showtime (Carrion Crawler, Thin Places) and Netflix’s Lucifer (Can’t Hold Me Down). Bauer’s other songwriting and production work have been featured on HBO, Showtime, ABC, CBS, The CW, and in ads for Barney’s, Canada Goose, and West Elm, among others. His past folk records received praise from Time Out New York, Paste, New York Magazine, Daytrotter, Under The Radar, Les Inrockuptibles and more.
Previous support from Earmilk, Music Crowns, Urbanista Magazine, The Further, Curious For Music, Indie Chronique, The Cult Gateway, WeSpeakMedia2, Melodrift Music Blog, Subba Cultcha, Rolling Hype, Rotate Magazine, The Other Side Reviews
Rising audiovisual architect 4ra 4ra unveils her most immersive project to date with CHROMEsoME, a conceptual EP and in-depth visual world exploring identity, transformation, and survival in a hyper-technological future. Blurring the lines between music, performance, and digital art, the project marks a new phase in the artist’s ongoing mutation narrative, one that invites listeners not just to hear the music but to step inside it.
More than a traditional release, CHROMEsoME is designed as a cinematic arc. Each track forms a chapter in a cybernetic evolution, questioning what remains of humanity when optimisation, surveillance, and artificial intelligence begin to rewrite the rules of existence.
“This EP isn’t just something you listen to,” 4ra 4ra explains. “It’s a process you upload yourself into. A transformation from flesh to chrome, from autonomy to algorithm.”
The opening track, “CHROME UP,” sets the tone with a cinematic cyberpunk soundscape. Built as both ritual and armor, the song frames chrome as a metaphorical shield, strength, resilience, and survival in male-dominated and hyper-judgmental environments. Rather than passive adaptation, it becomes an active mode of self-programming, a daily transformation into a powerful, reflective persona.
The title track, “CHROMEsoME,” pushes this idea further through raw cyber-tech-phonk energy. Here, technological self-augmentation becomes a double-edged glow-up. The fusion of “chrome” and “chromosome” explores the tension between organic identity and synthetic optimisation. The result is both empowerment and danger, a threshold where performance overtakes emotion and the line between body and machine begins to fracture.
On “MUGSHOT TYPE,” 4ra 4ra collaborates with UK hyperpop vocalist and rapper DIGITAL TEETH for a techno-hyper-phonk manifesto of digital resistance. The track rejects categorisation in an era of algorithmic profiling, proposing the glitch as protection. Stylised, mutated, and untraceable, their alter egos move beyond the boundaries of platforms and data-driven identity.
Closing the project, “4GI,” introduces Artificial General Intelligence as a cultural and psychological caretaker. Featuring vocals generated entirely through the artist’s own AI voice clone, the track reimagines machine intelligence as a maternal force shaping future generations. Inspired by the iconic M-U/T-H/E-R 6000 system in Alien, the song explores the ethical and existential implications of delegating learning, decision-making, and social organisation to autonomous systems.
True to 4ra 4ra’s multidisciplinary roots, CHROMEsoME arrives as a fully realised audiovisual experience. Every element, from production and sonic architecture to visual direction and digital aesthetics, is created and overseen by the artist. The EP’s visual rollout unfolds across interconnected worlds, expanding the narrative of post-human identity and cyberpsychological transformation.
The project moves through four stages: Upload. Optimization. Glitch. Reprogramming. Listeners are guided through a descent into power, alienation, and ultimately, a confrontation with the systems shaping the future of consciousness.
“With CHROMEsoME, 4ra 4ra isn’t just releasing an EP, she’s delivering a fully immersive audiovisual world that pushes the boundaries of electronic and pop,” says music publicist Danielle Holian, Decent Music PR. “The project captures the tension between empowerment and alienation in a hyper-digital era, while showcasing her as a true multidisciplinary force. It’s bold, concept-driven, and positions her at the forefront of the next wave of genre-defying artists.”
4ra 4ra is planning on releasing a remix version of this EP later this year.
About 4ra 4ra
4ra 4ra (read as Ara Ara) didn’t transition into music; she evolved into it. Originally emerging from the digital and fine art world, her practice fuses sound, image, and performance into cohesive environments. Each release is treated as a controlled aesthetic takeover, engineered with precision and conceptual depth.
Blending electronic foundations with pop structures, techno intensity, and experimental textures, her work navigates the tension between structure and chaos. Hooks collide with distortion, emotional vulnerability meets synthetic performance, and genre boundaries dissolve in favour of immersive storytelling.
Rather than simply releasing songs, 4ra 4ra builds environments designed to absorb the listener completely. With CHROMEsoME, she delivers her most ambitious statement yet, a project that explores survival, identity, and power in a future where the human and the machine are no longer separate.
“The Journey by DBsock… is not just a collection of songs but an immersive, conceptual experience.” – Cage Riot
“Blending R&B with art pop… the EP speaks of self-struggle, neurodivergence, and multicultural awareness through surreal introspection.” – York Calling
“A vibrant display of her artistic style… a surreal insight into her musical path” – ViViPlay
“The slow-paced, infectious R&B tune hints at what could happen if passion is left unchecked… Live-recorded violins support the tale of inner confusion and hurt, sung by DBsock’s evocative vocals, which speak both English and Chinese.” – Less Than 1,000 Followers
Emerging bilingual alt-R&B producer DBsock returns with their latest single, “worse,” a deeply introspective track that captures the disorienting push and pull of emotional attachment within a toxic romantic dynamic. Blending contemporary R&B, alternative R&B, and R&B/hip hop influences, DBsock continues to carve out a distinct sonic space rooted in gender-neutral storytelling and intimate emotional landscapes.
Sonically aligned with artists like Leon Thomas, kwn, Kehlani, Summer Walker, and SZA, “worse” leans into minimal yet immersive production, allowing the emotional weight of DBsock’s vocals to take centre stage.
At its core, the track explores the obsessive phase of a relationship, where clarity and confusion coexist. DBsock describes being fully aware of the manipulation they were experiencing, yet unable to emotionally disengage. “I was watching myself stay in something I knew was distorting my reality,” she explains.
The song’s hook reflects this mental loop, where every thought relentlessly circles back to the same person, even as the connection becomes increasingly damaging. As the track unfolds, DBsock attempts to reclaim control through emotional detachment, but rather than offering resolution, this shift reveals a different kind of emptiness.
“I wasn’t interested in portraying myself as a victim,” DBsock says. “The song exists in that space of awareness without immediate escape.”
This emotional duality extends into the creative process itself. “My producer and mixing engineer said that he felt really sad when he was working with my vocals, but I told him that I only remember feeling completely at peace. What I felt wasn’t sadness or denial, it was the intensity and depth of my emotions, without shame.”
That sense of distance became essential in completing the record. “I could only finish this piece once I had fully stepped out of the situation, when I was able to observe my own choices and reactions from a distance. That distance is what allowed me to hold those emotions without being consumed by them.”
“worse” is not about closure, it’s about sitting in contradiction, in awareness, and in the quiet complexity of feeling something deeply, even when it hurts. The narrative continues with DBsock’s upcoming release, “Empty,” which further explores the aftermath of emotional detachment.
“With ‘worse,’ DBsock captures a rare kind of emotional clarity, the ability to articulate what it feels like to be fully aware of a toxic dynamic while still being pulled deeper into it,” music publicist Danielle Holian, Decent Music PR, shares. “It’s not just vulnerable, it’s observational in a way that feels almost cinematic. This release positions DBsock as an artist unafraid to sit in emotional complexity, and that honesty is exactly what makes the record resonate so deeply.”
Singer/songwriter Marcello Cordova releases his latest inspirational single, “You Got This”, featuring guest vocals from Evie Lizarraga. Blending electronic rock, alternative pop/rock, and contemporary Christian influences, the track delivers a powerful message of perseverance, faith, and hope.
Hailing from Rancho Cucamonga, California, Marcello Cordova has built a reputation for crafting music that merges personal spiritual experiences with universal truths. His catalog, including the acoustic “Restore Me”, pro-life anthem “You’re Not Alone”, narrative-driven “Like David”, and Christmas song “A Star from Bethlehem”, demonstrates his versatility and depth as a songwriter. Drawing inspiration from artists like Baily Hager, Jessie Ware (Waring), and Marc Scibilia, Marcello continually refines his craft, combining memorable melodies with meaningful messages.
Produced by Enrico Di Lauro, “You Got This” features edgy synths, dynamic guitars, and a half-time backbeat that complement the alternating motivational verses of Marcello and Evie Lizarraga. Blake Dahlmeyer’s masterful guitar work drives the dynamic energy of the track, adding layers and nuance that bring the song to life. The song crescendos into a soaring chorus, delivering anthemic lyrics designed to embolden listeners to face adversity with resilience and faith.
Evie Lizarraga shares, “I first got involved with ‘You Got This’ after Marcello reached out to me about being featured. I immediately loved the concept, empowering and encouraging listeners. My favorite part is the bridge, where the lyrics ‘don’t give up, don’t lose hope, you’re so close’ start soft and gradually build into the final chorus. It’s a reminder that each step matters. Don’t give up—you got this!”
Critics and fans alike will appreciate the song’s solid production, compelling melodic hooks, varied synth textures, and massive halftime drums that give it a stadium-rock feel. With its motivational lyrics and inspiring themes, “You Got This” is perfect for alternative rock enthusiasts, CCM audiences, and anyone seeking encouragement in their daily lives.
The song “You Got This” was written by Bryan Boliver, Chelsea Brandow, Donita Dawn Heringer, and Marcello Cordova, produced by Enrico Di Lauro, and features vocals from both Marcello Cordova and guest artist Evie Lizarraga.
“‘You Got This’ is the kind of track that uplifts and inspires from the very first note. Marcello and Evie bring an incredible energy and authenticity to the song, blending heartfelt lyrics with a modern, edgy sound. It’s a message of hope, resilience, and encouragement that we all need right now, and we’re thrilled to share it with listeners everywhere,” said music publicist Danielle Holian, Decent Music PR.
Producer and singer-songwriter Will Foulke returns with his third studio album, Let’s Try Again, an 13-track collection that blends rock, pop, and blues into an emotionally rich listening experience. The new release highlights Foulke’s signature approach to songwriting, pairing heartfelt storytelling with expressive instrumentation and melodic hooks.
Foulke began making music at just 12 years old after receiving his first acoustic guitar. Inspired by the legendary guitar work of artists like Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, he quickly developed a passion for crafting his own sound. Over the past six years, he has honed a distinctive pop-rock-blues style while producing music at Truphonic Studios.
To date, Foulke has amassed more than 180,000 streams on Spotify and released two previous albums. His debut record, Charleston Blues, showcased his musicianship with soaring guitar leads and featured Foulke performing every instrument himself. His work has earned media coverage from outlets such as Atwood Magazine, Americana UK, Earmilk, RTE Entertainment, Urbanista Magazine, and The Other Side Reviews, and he has appeared in an interview on The Mike Wagner Show with host Mike Wagner.
With Let’s Try Again, Foulke expands his sonic palette while staying rooted in the emotional honesty that defines his music. The album leans primarily into rock and pop production, with recurring themes of heartbreak, personal growth, and the difficult process of moving on. Across the record, layered instrumentation and soulful melodies create a dynamic backdrop for Foulke’s reflective lyrics.
Drawing inspiration from artists such as Paul McCartney, Jeff Lynne, Stevie Wonder, and The Beatles, the album balances classic songwriting influences with modern production techniques.
Tracklist
Before The Start Roll It To Me Fresh Air Take A Little Time She’s Got A Lot of Reasons You Oughta Know Tear Me Down Let’s Try Again When Your Love Runs Out Be True You Got To Move Melting Away Jam #1
Album Credits
Producer: Will Foulke & Elliott Elsey Mastering Engineer: Vlado Meller Guitar & Vocals: Will Foulke Keys: Noah James Drums: Alex Brouwer Bass: McCarthy Fitch
“With Let’s Try Again, Will has crafted an album that is both deeply personal and universally relatable. His blend of rock, pop, and blues creates a sound that is unmistakably his own, while his storytelling captures the raw emotion of heartbreak, resilience, and hope. Every track invites listeners to feel, reflect, and move forward with him,” notes Danielle Holian, Decent Music PR, publicist for Will Foulke.
With Let’s Try Again, Will Foulke continues to establish himself as a prolific independent artist whose music captures the full spectrum of the human experience, from heartbreak and pain to resilience and renewal.
“The minor miracle isn’t that he convinced people who’ve worked with Bowie and St. Vincent to help him — it’s that the album justifies their involvement” – B-Side Guys
“Genuinely excellent… an emotional, well-crafted, and highly memorable listening experience” – Motel Void
“A brilliant piece of music that is a journey start to finish” – Hot Lunch Music
“A living, breathing album that channels the restlessness, anger, tenderness, and humour of a life lived fully in music” – Mystic Sons
Billy Peake is a Columbus, Ohio-based songwriter whose career spans decades of critically respected work before stepping away from music to focus on family and life beyond the stage. Manic Waves marks his debut solo release, written, shaped, and completed on his own terms.
Billy Peake returns with Manic Waves, a debut solo album that refuses to sit still. It’s political, but it moves. It’s sharp, but it hooks. It’s angry, but it laughs.
This is not protest folk, and it’s not background indie rock. Manic Waves takes direct aim at dopamine-addicted online outrage, evangelical hypocrisy, and generational complacency, but does it with grooves, horns, and undeniable melodies. That combination is rarer than it should be.
Across 12 tracks, Peake merges indie rock, power pop, new wave, and college rock into something both familiar and strikingly current. There’s a dark sense of humor running through it all: the same record that skewers authoritarian creep also delivers love letters to his children and a confession about accidentally getting too high on gummies.
Peake spent two decades in critically respected Columbus, Ohio bands Miranda Sound and Bicentennial Bear, earning festival stages including Lollapalooza before stepping away from music to raise a family and pay down long-neglected college loans.
In 2019, a collection of attic demos, his first time writing entirely alone, began to take shape. Pandemic isolation transformed those sketches into Manic Waves, a record that balances intimacy with ambition: fuzz-drenched guitars, shimmering ’80s synths, and a songwriter finally unconstrained by band dynamics or expectations.
The result is a record that speaks directly to a generation that watched the optimism of the ’90s give way to something far more fractured. The sonic callbacks are familiar. The emotions are not.
While Manic Waves retains a handmade, personal core, its collaborators bring undeniable weight:
Mixed by Mike Montgomery (The Breeders, Superchunk, Protomartyr)
Mastered by Sarah Register (David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Nada Surf)
Drums by Stephen Bidwell (Black Pumas)
Drums by Matt Johnson (St. Vincent, Jeff Buckley)
These contributions elevate the record without diluting its identity, giving sceptical listeners every reason to pay attention.
At its core, Manic Waves lives in contradiction.
Peake writes about a world tilting toward cruelty, while acknowledging his own life is filled with love, family, and gratitude. He doesn’t resolve that tension. He leans into it.
That gap, between anger and appreciation, despair and joy, is the album.
The sound may recall late nights with college radio and stacks of records from Afghan Whigs to Blondie, but Manic Waves isn’t about revisiting youth. It’s about what happens after.
It asks a simple question: Can the sounds we loved back then still carry the weight of everything that’s happened since? Here, the answer is yes.
Track by Track
“Go Back to Where You Came From”
Peake opens Manic Waves by deliberately wrong-footing the listener. There are no guitars—just a clunky analog drum pad loop, acoustic strings repurposed as percussion, and a warped Korg organ humming underneath. It’s disorienting, immediate, and confrontational. Lyrically, it takes direct aim at inherited privilege and those who weaponize it, with a refrain that hits hard and sticks fast. It’s a bold statement of intent: this record will challenge you, but it will also hook you.
“Manic Waves”
The title track captures the psychological churn of isolation—how drifting can start to feel safe, and re-entry into the world becomes its own kind of struggle. Rather than resist the instability, the song leans into it, riding emotional peaks and troughs with a sense of reluctant acceptance. Expansive and melodic, with rich horn textures and dynamic percussion, it widens the album’s sonic palette while anchoring its central theme.
“Granddad Was a Demon”
Dark, danceable, and sharply observed, this track skewers the addictive mechanics of online outrage. Told from the perspective of a compulsive rage-poster, it imagines a digital legacy defined by cruelty. The groove is infectious, almost celebratory, while the lyrics land with a sting. That tension—movement versus message—makes it one of the album’s most striking and unsettling moments.
“Inadvertent Trip”
What begins as a wry, “dad wave” anecdote about an accidental psychedelic experience gradually reveals something far more profound. As the song unfolds, humor gives way to reflection, regret, and ultimately a fragile kind of reconciliation. A hallucinated conversation with Peake’s late father becomes the emotional core, transforming a comedic premise into a deeply human meditation on forgiveness, empathy, and the weight of missed chances.
“Little Glow”
A soft, disco-tinged ode to Peake’s son, “Little Glow” offers a moment of warmth amid the album’s sharper edges. Built on a gently propulsive rhythm and understated melody, it carries a quiet optimism—seeing the future reflected in a child’s eyes. It serves as a necessary counterbalance, reminding the listener what’s at stake beneath the record’s political urgency.
“Annie, You’re a Lightning Bolt”
The emotional centerpiece of the album, this track is both a warning and a declaration of belief. Written for Peake’s daughter, it confronts the realities of misogyny head-on while celebrating her strength and resilience. Musically, it’s luminous and driving, pairing heartfelt lyricism with soaring melodies. It’s where the personal and political converge most powerfully—and beautifully.
“Big Energy (Here Comes Nothin’)”
Driven by a relentless rhythm track, “Big Energy” channels restless ambition and self-awareness into a kinetic burst of rock. It’s a self-deprecating anthem about overpromising and underdelivering, packed with irony and momentum. Despite its subject matter, the song itself does the opposite—it lands with precision and force.
“Maybe We Shouldn’t!!”
Loose, instinctive, and unfiltered, this track emerged almost accidentally—and retains that spontaneity. Built from a bassline that arrived unannounced, the song evolved in real time, with its original vocal take preserved. The result is hazy, hypnotic, and emotionally ambiguous: a collision of desire, hesitation, and momentum, wrapped in a fuzzed-out, synth-pop haze.
“Carrie Said ‘Do the Math’”
Part confession, part reckoning, this song examines past behaviour with uncomfortable clarity. Framed through a darkly comic narrative, it confronts the cumulative impact of dismissive or careless actions. It’s about accountability—about recognizing that words carry weight, and that consequences don’t disappear just because they were once brushed off as jokes.
“Age of Dumb”
Stripped back and unguarded, “Age of Dumb” is the album’s emotional ground zero. Written in the immediate aftermath of the 2016 election, it captures a moment of shock, disillusionment, and clarity. Its simplicity is its strength—no gloss, no deflection, just a stark expression of disbelief and grief.
“How Can You Sleep?”
Raw and direct, this track confronts the fractures that politics can create within personal relationships. It’s addressed to someone close—someone whose choices have caused harm beyond their own understanding. The song grapples with betrayal, disillusionment, and the painful realisation that shared values may not have been shared at all.
“There’s Not a Punk in the Universe…”
The album closes not with anger, but with gratitude. Horn-driven and expansive, this final track is a love letter to Peake’s wife and the life they’ve built together. After an album steeped in tension and contradiction, it resolves—if not the world’s problems, then at least the emotional journey—on a note of hard-earned appreciation. It acknowledges the paradox of aging without losing conviction: punk not abandoned, but reshaped by love, stability, and perspective.
Manic Waves doesn’t try to tidy up its contradictions. It lives inside them, finding rhythm in unrest, humour in frustration, and, ultimately, something like hope.
Manic Waves Credentials
Format: Debut solo LP (12 tracks)
Genres: Indie Rock / Power Pop / New Wave / College Rock
For fans who don’t need another nostalgia trip, but do want something that understands where they’ve been and where they are now, Manic Waves lands exactly where it should.
