Maxel Toft has been on a musical mission over the last twenty years and still has a way to go on his journey. His mission is to craft an album of original music based on our nation’s Presidents. He started in 1999 with #42, Bill Clinton, and just released his album, 25, for #25, William McKinley.

Musically, Toft has a soothing, nostalgic, vocal delivery that blends perfectly with traditional folk instrumentation.

Beat Maker Spectacular Diagnostics has dropped a new double single featuring “For Pete’s Sake” b/w “It Takes A…”. Both tracks explore the more Jazz influenced side of Hip Hop and sampling, and perfect for a hazy Spring morning.

Time Thieves have released a second EP called “Light”. This is just a two track EP, but they are both filled with fun, energy, and Pop-tinged Rock.

Time Thieves is the Super Group of Annie Saunders of This Is My Fist, Jonathan Pool of Brickfight, Mike Oberlin of Sass Dragons, and Tim Reynolds of Horrible Things.

You can catch Time Thieves on May 11th at Burlington Bar with The Brokedowns, Bloodsport:TMTB, and Low Forms.

DEHD is preparing to release their latest album, Water, on May 10th via Fire Talk. This week the trio of Jason Balla ( Ne-Hi and Earring), Emily Kempf (Vail and formerly with Lala Lala), and drummer Eric McGrady released the second single, “On My Side”, from the new LP.

The accompanying video is simple, but amazing, and finds Emily confidently and purposefully strutting and dancing along a gravel road.

You can catch DEHD at Empty Bottle on May 10th with The Hecks and Mavis the Dog.

Curious Grace and Black Rabbit recently released a new animated video for their single “Make It Rain”. The video was directed by Swedish artist Mattias Gordon and finds the band traveling through corn fields and taking shots at our newest Supreme Court Justice.

You can catch Curious Grace & Black Rabbit on April 12th at Silvie’s Lounge with Soft Rain Airplane, Halfdog, and The Psychodelics.

Noname has dropped a new single called “Song 32”. The track was produced by Phoelix and is her second single of 2019. Both singles come on the heels of her 2018 debut full-length album, Room 25.

You can catch Noname on June 4th at Huntington Bank Pavilion with Anderson.Paak and Thundercat.

The Dubuque label Personal Archives released a new album, Nothing Stays Buried (la la la la), from the duo of Reid Karris and Alexander Adams this week. This is improvised experimental music that finds Karris on prepared guitars and Adams on drums.

We have shared the music Karris on several occasions, but I don’t believe we have mentioned Adams in the past. He runs the fantastic local cassette label Lurker Bias, and has released several solo albums over the last few years.

Rock trio Big Night In has released the first single, “Truth or Dare”, from their forthcoming album, Super Dualism. This is the “big dumb rock” from Ben Standage (bass/vocals), Dave Mattfield(guitar/vocals), and David Hughes, (drums) and this single marks the first new music from the band since their 2016 self-titled debut.

Woongi has released a second single, “Terry’s Cottage”, from their forthcoming LP, Rip’s Cuts. The album is set to be released on May 10th via Sooper Records. The single is accompanied by a fun, Alex Jensen directed, video.

You can catch Woongi at Schubas on April 24th with Diane Coffee and on May 13th for a free show at Empty Bottle with Liam Kazar and Blush Scars.

Photo by Natalie Escobedo

Angela James has released the first two singles, “Sailing” and “Hattie’s Dream”, from her forthcoming collection of lullabies called “Quiet Night”. On the album James is joined by Charles Rumback (vibraphone), Jason Stein (bass clarinet), and Katherine Young (bassoon), and has managed to create an album that will be just as enjoyable and restful for adults as it should be for children. The album’s tagline is “made for weary parents by weary parents”, but there is more of a lush peacefulness filling these tracks than a tired or weary feeling.

You can help James celebrate the new album on April 20th at Hideout (at 3pm) with Spectralina.

Clever One has teamed up with beat maker B.B.Z Darney to release a new album called Nothin’ New Under The Sun via Seven Oddities Records.

The album has a fantastic nostalgic sound, taking the listener back to an early to Mid 00’s backpacker sound. The project features contributions from uMaNg, Tony Patagonia, DoomsDay, DreamTek, DJ PhiLogic and DJ Grazzhoppa.

Clever One is heading up to Madison, WI to perform on April 12th at The Wisco with Outside Voices, Big Lo, and Dash D.U.B.

Cinematic Rock group Varaha is preparing to release their debut full-length album, A Passage For Lost Years, on April 26th via Prosthetic Records. This is the first new music we have had from the band since their debut EP back 2016.

This is the work of Fabio Brienza (Vocals, Guitars), Joel Hollis (Guitars), David Swanson (Drums), and Bryan Gold (Bass). They recently released the epic, nearly 12 minute, title track that you can stream below.

You can catch Varaha at Reggie’s on April 26th with Dusk, Withering Soul, and Dismalimerence.