new music – Page 2

June 15, 2026

June 15, 2026June 15, 2026 amy771937

THE ILLUSTRATED MAN Unveils Debut Album The Skin Of Time

Image credit: Georgii

THE ILLUSTRATED MAN has released his debut album, The Skin Of Time, on ILINX Records, building on the momentum of recent singles ‘Dance of Shadows‘ with Aquarius Heaven and ‘The Heart of Fire‘ featuring Robert Owens. Originally from Yerevan and now based in Dubai, he stands out as a compelling new presence in electronic music, drawing support from Adriatique, Bedouin, Township Rebellion, Richie Hawtin, and Joris Voorn, alongside airplay on BBC Radio 1 and Ibiza Global Radio. His productions are layered sonic narratives, balancing tension and emotion while maintaining a sense of intrigue. Each track is meticulously constructed to resonate physically and emotionally. In live performance, this energy translates into sets that pulse with movement and atmosphere.

The Skin Of Time reveals itself over eleven tracks, blending indie dance, melodic techno, and house into a vivid, immersive soundscape. The album forges its own path, pairing surging dancefloor energy with moments of quiet introspection. On ‘When Everything is Said’, THE ILLUSTRATED MAN and Sasha Carassi craft a hypnotic melodic house journey, where Carassi’s lush pads float beneath sharp, driving percussion. Swedish artist Jonatan Bäckelie steps in with a powerful vocal, elevating the track from a detailed instrumental to a song that truly comes alive.

THE ILLUSTRATED MAN had this to say: “Rather than following a traditional narrative, the album moves through emotional and existential states: from an initial condition of absence to the gradual emergence of rhythm and tension, ultimately leading to fragmentation and dissolution. Each track unfolds as a chapter in this evolving process, leaving the listener suspended in a space of reflection.”

The Skin Of Time Album Tracklist

1. A Body Without Marks

2. The Eye of the Abyss

3. Dance of Shadows with Sasha Carassi feat. Aquarius Heaven

4. The Ashes of King with Sasha Carassi feat. Mønölitio

5. The Heart of Fire feat. Robert Owens

6. The Last Drop of Memory

7. Broken Mechanism feat. Nat James

8. Hunters of the Dawn

9. The Hour of Wolve

10. The Roar of Silence

11. When Everything Is Said with Sasha Carassi feat. Jonatan Bäckelie

Stream The Skin Of Time:

Follow THE ILLUSTRATED MAN:
Instagram – Soundcloud – Spotify

June 8, 2026

June 8, 2026June 8, 2026 amy771937

Weezer Launches The Gold Album with a Duet-Driven Lead Single

Weezer / Image Credit: Brendan Walter

Weezer extends their reverse-chronological color album series with the release of ‘We Might as Well Be Strangers ft. Wednesday,’ the lead single from their forthcoming self-titled The Gold Album, out August 21 via Reprise/Warner. Marking their first full-length since 2021’s Van Weezer and OK Human, as well as the Sznz EPs, The Gold Album also sees Rivers Cuomo and drummer Pat Wilson collaborating as co-writers for the first time since the band’s seminal debut.

In terms of the track, ”We Might as Well Be Strangers ft. Wednesday” presents itself as a duet that pairs Rivers Cuomo with Karly Hartzman of Wednesday; the Jasper Graham video for it is out now, giving an instant visual tie-in to the song that has landed as the album’s lead offering.

Produced by Klas Åhlund and Kenneth Blume (known as Kenny Beats), The Gold Album arrives as Weezer finds renewed momentum. The inclusion of ‘Buddy Holly‘ as a playable jam track in Fortnite has introduced the band’s foundational sound to a vast new audience, many of whom are encountering Weezer for the first time. Since 2020, when Travis Scott’s Astronomical concert drew millions and generated significant in-game revenue, Fortnite has evolved into a continuous music ecosystem, positioning songs as interactive experiences rather than passive background music. By 2026, Epic Games had woven music into every facet of Fortnite, transforming the platform into a hybrid rhythm game, social space, and promotional engine that connects with tens of millions daily.

Stream ‘We Might as Well Be Strangers ft. Wednesday‘:

June 3, 2026

June 3, 2026June 3, 2026 amy771937

Threads Rewoven: Virak’s Final Album Shines in the Wake of Loss

Virak’s debut album Threads was reissued on May 29 via Forward Backwards Recordings, available digitally and on vinyl. The release is now posthumous for frontman, guitarist, and songwriter Martin Ejlertsen, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2022 and died on May 23, 2026, at 49. Threads was his final musical project. Ejlertsen lived in Lund, Sweden, and is survived by his wife and two children.

He founded Black Light White Light in 2009 and released four studio albums between 2011 and 2022. The band toured the UK and US, received coverage in CLASH Magazine, Louder Than War, Drowned in Sound, Guitar World, and Artrocker, and had airplay on BBC Radio 6 Music with Lauren Laverne, Absolute Radio, and DR.DK. On their latest album The Admirer, the track ‘Epilepsy’ stands out as Ejlertsen wrote it for his daughter, who has the condition, and it is supported by a powerful music video. The album was mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Kennie Takahashi (The Black Keys, Gnarls Barkley, Broken Bells), mastered by Matt Colton (Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode, Thom Yorke), and features composer Davide Rossi (Coldplay, The Verve).

Between 2002 and 2009, Virak’s original lineup featured Martin Ejlertsen on vocals, guitar, and keys, Christian Kühne on bass and keys, and Peter Dyring Olsen on drums. Influenced by Mogwai, Spiritualized, Low, Elbow, and Sophia, the trio developed a sound that merged instrumental post-rock, slowcore, progressive rock, and seventies acid rock.

Beneath the surface, ‘Where It All Begins,’ pulses with a quiet, hard-won resilience, channeling a profound personal intensity that turns every jagged guitar line and soaring vocal into a testament to creativity forged in the midst of overwhelming darkness. The music carries an undercurrent of finality and catharsis, as if each note is an act of defiance and reclamation, making the most of fleeting time by pouring light into what could easily have remained unresolved. Those unconventional guitars twist and fracture like fragmented memories, while the haunting vocals rise with a fragile beauty that speaks to the ache of confronting life’s limits, transforming private struggles into something universally moving and luminous.

Critics have praised how Threads (and its companion EP) captures Virak at their most emotionally naked, blending alt-rock introspection with cinematic swells that feel both nostalgic and urgently alive. The result is a stirring, deeply human message: music that doesn’t just echo influences but transcends them, offering listeners a shared sense of solace.

Martin Ejlertsen had this to say: “I have been very private about my illness… it has been like a long waking nightmare. But now I probably only have a few months left to live, so it’s about making the best of the last. Having this album project has given me some light in an otherwise completely dark and very depressing time.”

Stream Threads:

Threads Album Tracklist:

1. Little Creeps
2. Souls
3. Who I Am = You
4. Something Strange Happened As We Stood By The Lake
5. Arms Raised
6. Desert Storm
7. Butterfly
8. Violence
9. Melancholia
10. Song Of Everything
11. Where It All Begins

Follow Virak:

Bandcamp – Facebook – Soundcloud

May 29, 2026

May 29, 2026May 29, 2026 amy771937

Chloe Star Releases ‘fairytale,’ a Captivating New Single Reflecting on Love’s Realities

(Chloe Star / Image credit: Kai Dickson)

Today, May 29 2026, Chloe Star released her new single ‘fairytale‘ via Chloe Star Records. The 28-year-old Persian and Indigenous singer-songwriter, visual artist and tribal advocate grew up moving between her family’s reservation in San Bernardino and Los Angeles. She began writing and making art as a pre-teen to process her emotions, drawing heavily from the musical traditions of her Persian and Indigenous roots. Just three years after breaking through in 2023, the artist has built a fast-growing career rooted in raw honesty and emotional directness. Tastemakers have taken notice: Rolling Stone placed her track ‘Bad Habit‘ in its 2025 Best New Music feature, while CLASH Magazine, 1883 Magazine, EUPHORIA and EARMILK have all championed her work. On stage she has already commanded main-stage headliners at London Pride, New York Pride Festival, Back Lot Bash in Chicago, Out & Abt in New York and The Dinah in California.

On ‘fairytale‘ her voice carries the song’s emotional range, moving from quiet, velvety verses into a full-throated, impassioned peak without forcing the drama. The production keeps the alternative spirit alive through its arrangements, anchored by warm distorted guitars and a strong piano melody that gives the track its distinct sound

Chloe Star had this to say: “My song ‘fairytale‘ is about longing for a kind of love that feels whimsical and almost unreal. But it also reflects the realization that, in chasing that kind of love, I sometimes become the monster—sabotaging the very things I care about most. It raises questions too: does fairytale love really last the way movies say it does? Do stories like Beauty and the Beast actually end in lasting happiness, or do we just stop watching before things get complicated? I guess we’ll never really know.”

Chloe Star’s Upcoming Shows:

May 30 – London, UK @ The Grace
June 5 – Viper Room LA (headlining)
June 6 – LA Pride, She Ent @ the Andaz Hotel on Sunset (Key live performance)
June 18 -Toronto @ The Horseshoe Tavern

Stream ‘fairytale’: