Liverpool based indie rock quartet DBA! turned up the bass for their new single Little Rivers and threw in a Pixies-esque guitar for good measure. The boredom of going through the motions in converations they could not care less about - "How's the wife, how's the kids" - is almost palpable. They are on the way up, while the other hopefuls in the music scene they dedicate this song to got proper jobs and maybe already mortgaged up their lifes. video was directed by Dylan Cubbin.
May 26, 2026
Leah Callahan: Our Lady of the Sad Adventure
Boston indie singer Leah Callahan hits the ground running on her new album Our Lady of the Sad Adventure with the sprawling opener Fall in Love with your Mind, mixing shoegaze and psychedelic rock, a musical love baby conceived by the 60s and 80s. Callahan shuns the sign-posted main roads. As a long serving member of the Boston underground in bands like Turkish Delight and Betwixt before flying solo, she does not have to prove anything.
Her legacy is intact, but by adding more albums on a regular basis, she is still growing and challenging herself. The hirsute main riff of New Punk almost drowns out her vocals, but she raises to the occasion. Title track Our Lady of the Sad Adventure is smooth, but not schmaltzy, making yacht rock cool for a change by adding gnarly sounding synths as a counterpoint for the tight rhythm section./p>
May 25, 2026
Vacance: "Satellite" video
French synth New Wave trio Vacance made a video for Satellite, a track from their new album Après la pluie: "A colourful band-aid for dealing with the undeniable fact that they are getting older. Ideals have taken a beating from disillusions, and every day hassles have gotten in the way. Yes, they are looking back at times when life seemed less complicated, with the upbeat 17 ans as the prime example, but they also have an open mind about what lies ahead at this stage of their lifes."
HCTF review of Après la pluie
Gabriel Vicéns: scores available on Stradivarius & Wandelweiser
Composer and guitarist Gabriel Vicéns has made some of his music available on sheet music seller's sites Stradivarius and Wandelweiser. This will helpful for students who wrecked their brains to get a handle on his modus operandi, creating modern jazz with a classical twist.
HCTF review of Niebla
May 24, 2026
DOPPLeR: Pourquoi Ce Disque?
photo: Antonin Borie
When French progressive noise rock trio DOPPLeR announced a show in their hometown Lyon in 2020 after a 10-year hiatus a ripple of excitement went through the underground scene that grew into a wave. It convinced the band to reform and hit the road again on a regular basis. Releasing new music however, took a bit longer, but with the self-deprecatingly titled Pourquoi Ce Disque? they have physical evidence that they are here to stay.
It is an album that will have mainstream lovers running to the emergency exits, with their ears covered - they must have missed the warning tag line "Ils font une musique que personne ne danse", but people with a working knowledge of bands like Tool and a penchant for shifting time signatures and songs that can incorporate full-on metal and pastoral interludes without missing a beat, are in for a treat.
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