When it comes to blending funk, rock, soul and disco, few do the job as effectively as Sugar Bones. Fronted by powerhouse vocalist Corrin Cruz, the US band made a superb noise on their self titled EP, its five songs acting like the perfect primer for the first time listener. For those who enjoyed that short release, the full length ‘Make Me Bad’ – released in June 2025 – should be considered essential listening. The record’s eleven tracks capture Sugar Bones in great form throughout, on a selection of tight, funky and occasionally harder edged tunes that show off the entire band in the best manner possible.
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MURDERESS – Time To Kill EP
Brazilian death metallers Murderess really pack a punch on their debut EP ‘Time To Kill’. In a little over thirteen minutes, the band run the full gamut of extreme metal, ranging from intensive thrash riffs crossed with a melodic death core, all the way through to a purer death sound that celebrates the genre’s less than compromising origins. The female dominated band attack from all fronts, and manage to fit a great breadth of noise into a pleasingly short assault, ensuring this release is a superb introduction to their world of brutality.
AVERY FRIEDMAN – New Thing
Brooklyn’s Avery Friedman only began playing live shows in 2024, and didn’t spend years honing her sound before the recording and release of her 2025 debut ‘New Thing’, so the album’s songs still have an element of freshness and occasional naivete. You couldn’t call the material raw, though, or even suggest its potential has been sold short in any way. The best of the record’s eight songs represent brilliantly crafted indie pop, often sharing a sound that’s much older than Friedman’s years, but everything is presented in a hugely confident manner.
MEGAFAUNA & HOMESICK GHOSTS – Nature Is Healing EP
An array of inaudible voices greets the listener at the beginning of this EP, almost as if eavesdropping on a field recording of train station announcements sourced from a damaged cassette. With the arrival of a repeated three note keyboard riff lurking beneath a world of ambient sounds – ranging from something that sounds like the rhythmic clatter of trains on tracks, to noises that evoke imagery of workmen shifting huge piles of rubble – it’s clear that this listening experience will be more about creating a mood than enjoying any “traditional” music.
MAX RAEL – The Enemy Is Us
Barely three lines into the opening number of his solo debut, experimental musician Max Rael has already embraced differences not being like anyone else and told his audience he feels exhausted. The frankness in which the artist’s neuro divergence is discussed throughout ‘Slightly Less Than Human’ is a signifier of the album’s honest approach as a whole. ‘We Are The Enemy’ isn’t so much a collection of songs; more a world of personal statements, shared with a heart and disarming honesty, but also with the hope that Rael will attract kindred spirits. Obviously, this doesn’t aim for a broad commercial potential, but as albums go, it’s never less than interesting.