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1 day ago | 
magnetmagazine.com | Hobart Rowland
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs have never been big on subtlety. The new Death Hilarious (Missing Piece) is yet another bracing testament to their uncompromising approach. Admittedly, the U.K. quintet sounds a bit older, wiser and clearer-headed on their latest LP. But their predatory psych metal hasn’t lost a shred of urgency despite the lifestyle changes lead singer Matt Baty and the rest of the band have set in motion for their self-preservation.
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1 day ago | 
magnetmagazine.com | Hobart Rowland
Full-time jobs don’t come easily for any musician who hopes to get somewhere. “The idea of having something to depend on is so alluring, but it’s also its own prison sentence,” says Pretty Rude’s James Palko.
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2 days ago | 
mainlinetoday.com | Hobart Rowland
Dave Castleman has devoted most of his life to the record industry—selling records, not making them. He started working at vinyl shops in 1976, spending his formative years with Plastic Fantastic and eventually becoming its vice president. For 40 years, countless Main Line music fans filled out their collections with new and used vinyl from the beloved Bryn Mawr retailer, which later went by the name Gold Million Records and finally closed its doors in 2018. By then, Castleman had his own shop.
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2 days ago | 
magnetmagazine.com | Hobart Rowland
“I wanted to create a video that matched the nostalgic, bittersweet undertones of the song,” says Kendra Morris of the homespun clip that accompanies her latest single. “I mixed up the media using layers of analog stop-motion animation for the letters, the lyrics—on notebook paper—and the flitting butterflies.
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2 days ago | 
magnetmagazine.com | Hobart Rowland
A.M. Boys are acutely aware of technology’s primary drawback: It’s pretty much useless without a little imagination. “Most of our equipment is 40 to 50 years old or newer recreations of ’70s and ’80s tech,” says Chris Morris, the production half of the New York City duo. “Without our own creativity and ideas, we’d just be rehashing sounds that existed decades ago.”A seasoned mixer, producer and engineer, Moore has worked with TV On The Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Foals and many others.
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3 days ago | 
magnetmagazine.com | Hobart Rowland
For his first proper solo album in seven years, Peter Holsapple reconvened with an old friend: influential ’80s producer Don Dixon (R.E.M., Smithereens). And from the sounds of it, he’s also rekindled the same passion for lead guitar that informed his early days with longtime foil Chris Stamey in the dB’s, the ultimate cult band for fans of power pop and Southern-tinged new wave.
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6 days ago | 
magnetmagazine.com | Hobart Rowland
MAGNET first came across Strange Neighbors by way of their 2023 single, “Quiet Beat,” a beautifully executed rendition of a lost track written by late Gin Blossoms guitarist/cofounder Doug Hopkins. Strange Neighbors bassist Dana Bennewitz is Hopkins’ niece, and her band has certainly inherited his power-pop sensibilities. There’s also a giddy performance-art vibe that informs the new People Pleasers Pleasing People (Mint 400).
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6 days ago | 
magnetmagazine.com | Hobart Rowland
Ruby Friedman Orchestra’s new single was inspired by a run-in with an ex-Beach Boy’s touring entourage. “I was with Brian Wilson as the supporting act and wrote it after the tour ended,” says Friedman. “I’d developed a crush on the front-of-house sound guy. I had to keep it to myself since my managers also manage Brian Wilson, and I didn’t want them to think this would always be happening.
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6 days ago | 
magnetmagazine.com | Hobart Rowland
Though it may appear to be quite the opposite, “Sister Wave” is meant to be a celebration of life. “It’s a recognition of impermanence,” says its creator, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Adam Lytle. “When we accept our state of impermanence, we become open to wonder. The certainty of an end is what makes life beautiful.”Even when accompanied only by a nylon-string guitar, Lytle’s haunted vocal delivery has an understated capacity for near-theatrical depth.
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1 week ago | 
magnetmagazine.com | Hobart Rowland
Looking to make an immediate first impression, Elijah Johnston swings for the fences with “Ideas,” the leadoff single from his upcoming LP. “It’s based around the big-tent sounds of ’90s pop rock,” says the Atlanta-based singer/songwriter. Indeed, the mammoth singalong choruses of Fountains Of Wayne immediately spring to mind. But peg Stupid Soul as a pre-millennial throwback at your own peril.
