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KENTON – Sweetmouth (Sugar Free)
KENTON Finds Clarity In The Quiet On Sweetmouth (Sugar Free)
KENTON pares everything back on Sweetmouth (Sugar Free), trading polish for proximity. These acoustic reworks feel deliberately exposed, placing his voice and writing at the centre without distraction. What emerges is a body of work that leans into contradiction—soft in tone, but unflinching in what it holds. “These songs are my way of reconciling my past and present,” he notes, and that sense of active processing runs through every track.
“Wannabe American” sharpens the EP’s edge, using wit as a delivery system for something more cutting. The humour lands, but it carries weight, unpacking cultural dissonance with a precision that feels lived-in rather than observational. Elsewhere, “I’m Breaking My Father’s Heart” settles into a quieter register, tracing the emotional fault lines of expectation, identity, and distance with restraint.
Rooted in KENTON’s experience as a queer Asian American raised in California, Sweetmouth (Sugar Free) resists overstatement. It doesn’t reach for resolution. Instead, it offers something more intimate: a document of tension, held gently, and voiced with clarity.
Paris Pick – Third Time’s A Charm
Paris Pick Sets Sail With a Smooth, Sun-Dappled Spin on Indie Pop
Paris Pick leans fully into her yacht-pop world on Third Time’s a Charm, steering it with confidence and a sharper sense of identity. The record glows with the hallmarks of the genre—layered vocals, sun-warmed melodies—but there’s a deliberate edge beneath the polish. Co-produced with Jordy Walker, the arrangements balance breezy harmonies with textured guitar work, giving the album both lift and structure without tipping into pastiche.
What holds it together is Pick’s instinct for emotional clarity. The title track lands as a statement of renewal, light on its feet but grounded in hard-earned perspective. “Same Page” slows the tempo just enough to let the tension of growing apart settle in, tracing the quiet realization that love doesn’t always evolve in tandem. On “Get My Baby Back (Extended),” she pivots toward resolve, turning chaos into something forward-facing, carried by a performance that feels both playful and assured.
Pressed on limited graffiti-coloured vinyl through Neon Moon Records, Third Time’s a Charm captures a specific kind of atmosphere—bright, open, and just a little bittersweet. Paris Pick doesn’t simply reference the past here; she reframes it, building a world that feels lived-in, self-aware, and entirely her own.
Graham Price Gift Shop – Love is Whys
Graham Price Gift Shop Explores Love In Layers On Love Is Whys
Graham Price Gift Shop unveils Love Is Whys, a record that positions itself as a sonic beacon for listeners drawn to nuanced storytelling and richly layered melodies. The album dives into the human psyche, tracing the emotional terrain shaped by love in its many forms.
Recorded at Marcata Studios under the guidance of Kevin McMahon, the project leans into lush instrumentation and intricate vocal harmonies. Influences as varied as Foxygen and The Beach Boys echo throughout, surfacing in a sound that blends contemporary textures with a sense of vintage collage.
At the centre is Graham Price, working alongside collaborators Steve Tarkington and Alexx Becker to shape an introspective, detail-rich landscape. The studio’s distinctive drum sound anchors the record, giving weight to its more exploratory moments. Across the album, storytelling remains the driving force—balancing personal reflection with broader social observation—while Shawn Cook’s visual artwork completes the world-building with a complementary sense of tone and texture.
Less – Instead of Making Love (Say Hello)
Less Leaps Beyond with A Brave New Sound
Less emerges from the analog glow of Kapow Vintage Studio in Florence with “Instead of Making Love (Say Hello),” a track that feels both intimate and self-assured. Rooted in early-2000s pop sensibilities, the song carries a quiet irony, balancing emotional candour with a conversational ease that draws the listener in rather than pushing outward.
There’s a sense of lived experience behind the delivery. Shaped by a nomadic upbringing between Naples and beyond, Less approaches songwriting as a form of orientation—mapping identity through movement, memory, and change. That perspective gives the track its centre of gravity, grounding its lighter tonal moments in something more reflective.
Working alongside producers Lorenzo Santi and Federico Maremmi, she builds a sound that leans warm and tactile, allowing her voice to sit forward without excess. The result is understated but deliberate, a piece that unfolds gradually and lingers in its afterglow. With “Instead of Making Love (Say Hello),” Less positions herself not through volume, but through clarity—an artist tracing meaning in real time.
Dirty Utility – Left This Way
Dirty Utility Deliver Rock With Teeth And Scale
Dirty Utility arrive with “Left This Way” carrying the kind of conviction that can’t be manufactured. Forged on Australia’s Central Coast, the trio of Mat Jackson, Andy Moyle, and Tim Matthews lean into the lineage of arena rock without slipping into imitation. There are echoes of classic excess and theatricality, but the delivery feels hard-earned, rooted in years of playing, refining, and pushing toward something that lands with impact. This is rock music that values scale, grit, and immediacy in equal measure.
The accompanying video extends that ambition. Shot across Tasmania and Sydney, it moves with a cinematic sweep, pairing rugged natural landscapes with striking architectural backdrops. Aerial Film Australia’s footage gives the visuals a sense of lift and velocity, while director Lawrence Lim anchors it with a clear eye for contrast and mood. The result mirrors the track’s core tension, balancing rawness with precision. “Left This Way” doesn’t posture as revivalism; it asserts itself as proof that the form still has weight when it’s delivered with intent.
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