RiYL

"It's such a gift to be queer," Nicole Georges says, putting a bow on our hour-long chat. "It's such a gift to be punk. It's such a gift to be queer and to be in these alternative spaces, and to have so many friends who are also in this community, and also have shared backgrounds, shared therapeutic practices, where we can all connect to each other in a really deep way." The Calling Dr. Laura/Invincible Summer has spent a long time learning to love herself. Now she's sharing those tools in the form of Emotional Support Animals, a combination comic/workbook, designed to deliver a bit of compassion when it's needed most. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Life's good when it's just a couple of guys singing about butts (everyone's got 'em). "The Dreamin' Kind" Langhorne Slim healthy, happier, and more rocking than ever before. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's two decades between releases? Yttling Jazz returned this year, with a new lineup and album, Illegal Hit. Björn Yttling wears his jazz influences on his sleeve, paying tribute to the greats of the form, and enjoying every moment of the process. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No New York picks up where Peter and the Wolves, with young Cleveland transplant Adele Bertei landing in New York amid a burgeoning new scene. No wave -- a an avant-garde musical and visual art moment -- was harder to classify than its contemporaries, punk and new wave. Bertei participated in all aspects of the movement, as a member of the Contortions and the Bloods, starring in Lizzie Borden's Born In Flames, and even serving as Brian Eno's assistant as the legendary musician produced one of the genre's defining documents. The new book is a celebration of a movement, and more so, the women who made it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born during the pandemic, Deary proudly wear their influences on their sleeve. Most immediate is a love of the Cocteau Twins, which first connected guitarist Ben Easton and singer Dottie Cockram. The latter's vocals soar ethereally on "Sea Bird," happily evoking the legendary Liz Fraser. The track marks the first single from Deaty's forthcoming debut LP, Birding, which finds the trio embracing life's challenges. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slow Stories took its time. Author Bette A(driaanse) revisited the work decades after initially committing it to print, this time with a new motivating force. An ambient soundtrack marks the second collaboration between Adriaanse and music pioneer, Brian Eno, following closely on the heels of last year’s delightful What Art Does: An Unfinished Theory. Adriaanse can now add narrator to an expanding list of jobs that already includes novelist, artist, and teacher. She also cofounded the non-profit artist network, TRQSE, through which she and Eno first crossed paths. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Upon reflection, Beatrice Deer suggests that Inuit Legend may ultimately be her least personal record to date. That's not to say the musician doesn't connect deeply with the work, only that she's opted to draw on the stories of others -- both historical and folkloric. Deer has long approached her own life with a thorough candidness, as she discusses family, sobriety, and the struggles of the Inuit people. The latter form the focus of her latest work, as she finds echoes in her own family's story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Rise & The Fall marked The Rural Alberta Advantage's return to a trio. Multi-instrumentalist Amy Cole's return was a homecoming, serving to reinvigorate longtime members, Nils Edenloff and Paul Banwatt. The Toronto band is readying a followup -- its sixth LP, overall -- preceded by a handful of singles. The most recent, “The Hunt In Edson," contemplates life through the near death experience of a mouse that took refuge in Edenloff's home. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pandemic wasn't a creatively fruitful time for Mirah. Life as a new parent no doubt played a major role in any such blockage, coupled, with a loss of the rituals attached to tour dates and album releases. Seven years would ultimately pass between records. When the time came to step outside her life for a moment, however, the deluge of Dedication came pouring out. The musician's seventh album is a celebration of the life that happened in between. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Had he served all 15 years of his sentence, Jason Mills would have re-entered the world last year -- almost exactly half his life to that point. The gravity of that fact hasn't escaped him. As idk, the rapper has seemingly squeezed a few lifetimes in that space, including five albums, seven mixtapes, a lecturing gig at Harvard, and, recently, a Tiny Mix Tapes set. His latest single, "LiFE 4 A LiFE" finds him reflecting on lessons learned along the way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Goldbergs' 2021 move was meant to be temporary, a relocation from Los Angeles to his wife's hometown while the new network television gig did its thing. And then something happened -- The Equalizer stayed on the air for five seasons. There are, of course, far worse fates than a successful TV show, and there are far worse places to see them out than New York's Hudson Valley -- especially when one has a young family to raise. The new home also saw Adam Goldberg revisit his passion for songwriting, channeling the complexities of relocation into tight pop harmonies on When the Ships of My Dreams Return. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few moments into My World is the Sun, there's little doubt Dominique Fils-Aimé is doing what she was put on this earth to do. As an ode to vulnerability, the record shines as it strips away instrumentation, focusing the attention on her voice, where it should be. Her work is a celebration of music's connective tissue and the hopefulness it can bring us together when we need it most. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Surprise, it's all four members of The Happy Fits, beaming in from their Philadelphia practice space. After a rough couple of years -- losing a member, gaining two, moving, breakups, interventions, sobriety -- the band is in remarkable good spirits. Preparing to embark on a tour ahead of their latest at, Lovesick, the group is re-energized and focused on the road ahead. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Few albums warrant their own YouTube explainer direct from the band. It's not exactly necessary for Deck -- particularly in the wake of compilations produced from the project's 54 songs -- but it's part of the fun. The entire four-album set is a testament to Hallelujah the Hill's ability to keep things fresh 20 years on from their debut. The Boston band is producing some of the best work of its career and enjoying every minute of it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It takes light 4.2 years from Proxima Centauri, the nearest non-sun star, to reach Earth. It took the songs of 2025’s Stargazer EP nearly five times that to see the light of day. That’s nothing in cosmic terms, of course. But as musicians go, the 20+ years that have elapsed since the songs were written in preparation for KT Tunstall’s debut, Eye to the Telescope, amounts to several lifetimes. The Edinburgh-born singer-songwriter has showcased remarkable staying power, navigating the landmines of life, health, and the music business. At 50, Tunstall resides in the American Southwest and radiates the contentment and wit of a life lived to its fullest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It takes a unique talent to find one's work thumbtacked above desks at libraries across the world. But Tom Gauld wasn't content to simply rest on the literary laurels that come with his frequently shared Guardian strips. The Scottish cartoonist has carved out yet another uniquely wide niche for himself in the pages of New Scientist. Gauld's latest collection, Physics for Cats, showcases why is work is just as comfortably at home among the laboratory set as the literati. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How often do we truly afford ourselves a fresh start? Sean Mason went all after his first record. The Southern Suite put the pianist on the map, there was a disconnect. Mason left New York, stopped drinking, and cut off most communication with the outside world. A Breath of Fresh Air is, as the name suggests, a portrait of where the celebrated Grammy nominee lives now. It’s clear in speaking with him, however, that the journey of self-discovery will prove a lifelong pursuit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At 17, Michael Hampton blasted off from Earth in the Mothership. More than half a century later, the Funkadelic guitarist has never looked back. He does, however, make the occasional pitstop home for interviews, chatting poolside in between shows during a Southern California stint. Hampton’s latest EP, Into the Public Domain, does what it says on the box. The blistering guitar instrumentals now belong to the world. They can be accessed by way of physical trading cards acquired at one of the guitarist’s live shows. Even royalty-free musicians need a way to feed their anime habits. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happiness wasn’t too far from home. After stints in larger cities, following more traditional music routes, Morgxn settled just outside of Nashville – it doesn’t hurt, of course, when home is Music City USA. When not on tour or in the in the studio, you can generally find him at Fruity Farm, a plot of land he and his husband share. The joy is contagious, and something the songwriter is happy to spread, along with whatever produce made it through the growing season. It’s a message of inclusion, regardless of gender, orientation, or any of the other myriad categories society uses to divide us. Above all, it’s about defiantly being yourself. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few months after celebrating the 30th anniversary of his debut, Ledbetter Heights, Kenny Wayne Shepherd returns to the show to reflect on three decades in music. Upon release, much of the album's coverage focused on the fact that the guitarist was still in his teens. Writing or co-writing every track on the album, Shepherd was quick to silence critics looking to write him off as a novelty. All these years later, the musician still has a deep connection to those tracks, having recently re-recorded the album in full, ahead of a 2026 tour in its honor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.