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We have to admit it--we went to the Whisky to check out The Rockett Mafia with no small amount of trepidation. This writer is a big fan of Sunset Strip hair metal (we don't believe in guilty pleasures, just pleasures), Poison included. But a band performing Poison's classic Look What the Cat Dragged In debut album, led by Poison drummer Rikki Rockett? Let's face it--musical history tells us that…
Rum Bar RecordsProducers: The Hollywood Stars, Loren Molinare, Paul Roessler Not all veterans are destined to stay the course and, conversely, sticking around doesn’t guarantee legendary status. That said, The Hollywood Stars is one of those bands that you can’t help but feel got a raw deal. The Los Angeles glitter stompers’ best known song, “King of the Night Time World,” was covered by Kiss for…
Instant Replay MusicProducer: Richard Cooper Ottawa-based vocalist Sherri Harding is a soulful singer that is cut from the cloth of like-minded artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Mavis Staples, and Susan Tedeschi. In addition, she is assisted on this album by members of the Muscle Shoals Horns and rhythm section. And she delivers with all the passion and fire one would expect from that kind of…
Devilspit MusicProducers: CJ Wildheart, Dave Draper British band The Wildhearts is, as far as this scribe is concerned, the best to have emerged in the past four decades. Criminally underrated, The Wildhearts simply don’t do bad songs. The main ingredient is frontman Ginger, but it’s also a fact that he has a gift for surrounding himself with brilliant musicians and songwriters. CJ is one such…
Summit RecordsProducers: Paul Wickcliffe and Chuck Bergeron Chuck Bergeron is a first-call jazz bassist and composer that has been the engine behind small combos and big bands, such as his South Florida Jazz Orchestra. Self-admittedly, he’s always been somewhat jealous of the intimacy guitarists and pianists have shared in duet with a singer. So, why not bass? Here he teams with some of the best…
Republic Records, Babydoll MusicProducers: Ariana Grande, Ilya, Max Martin If you are expecting a grandiose pop album from Ariana Grande, then Petal is not the album for you. Grande takes a step back with her eighth studio album—it’s more experimental with a strong focus on its pop synth arrangements. The production is airy and haunting especially on tracks like “freak” and “like i do.” Grande’s…
Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs Spirit Music Spirit Music has hired Elizabeth Lombardi as Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs. Lombardi specializes in negotiating publishing deals, catalog acquisitions, brand and endorsement deals and other business matters for the entire Spirit Music roster. “I’m thrilled to join Spirit Music and work alongside a team that is passionate about…
Moonjune RecordsProducer: Anthony Garone Garone is a guitarist’s guitarist who runs a successful YouTube channel called “Make Weird Music.” This is a collection of select odds and ends he’s been cultivating in his audio lab since 2007. While “weird” might be the optimal word here this 14-track document is an adventurous listener's wet dream. From angular King Crimson-inspired fare to reflective…
AtlanticProducers: A.G. Cook, Finn Keane Thirteen years after the release of her debut True Romance album, British pop artist Charli xcx has dropped her seventh full-lengther and, while not the year’s best album by any means, it offers further proof that her musical journey is a rewarding one, both for her fans and herself. It’s gratifying to see Charli xcx having a Gaga-esque period of her career…
Penning his first original at seven years old, live performances began at nine. Now with 10 years of touring behind him (including the United States, Canada, and England), Jack Barksdale is shifting the landscape of Americana. At barely 19, his prodigal guitar playing and old-soul lyrics deliver a rare, authentic style that defies his years. Playing guitar, slide, harmonica, mandolin, piano, and…
Date Signed: June 2026Publisher: ERN’s Cadillac MusicType of Music: Country, Pop, RockManagement: Lauren LieuPublicity: Corey Brewer, Rachel Heatherly, Big Loud - corey@bigloud.comA&R: Mike Giangreco, Dane Schmidt Born and raised in California, Kyle Fishman has been making music most of his life. He started out playing in death metal bands and touring throughout his teens, but he always liked…
Date Signed: May 2026Label: MCAType of Music: CountryManagement: River House ArtistsBooking: The Neal AgencyLegal: Hunter Cottingham PLLCPublicity: LEDEA&R: MCAWeb: kennywhitmire.com Hailing from Woodstock, GA, Kenny Whitmire came to Nashville in 2022. The blossoming country star’s music draws on ‘90s-flavored hits every bit as much as the genre’s most famous traditionalists. He started putting…
Date Signed: March 2026Label: Polyvinyl Record Co.Band Members: Alex Ewell, drums, synths; Emma Maatman, vocals, synths, organ; Nathan O’Dell, vocals, guitar, organ; Joe Trainor, guitar, synths; Lance Umble, bassType of Music: Ambient RockManagement: Eric Mayers, Red Light Management - eric.mayers@redlightmanagement.comBooking: Geoff McGovern - Ground Control Touring,…
Date Signed: June 2026Label: VHS RecordsType of Music: Singer-SongwriterManagement: mauricemusicmanagement@gmail.com Booking: mauricemusicmanagement@gmail.com Publicity: Kenzie Davis, Big Hassle - kenzie@bighassle.com A&R: Reed Black, VHS Records - reedblacksound@gmail.com Web: instagram.com/cocosmith__ New York singer and songwriter Coco Smith comes from a family of musicians and, as a child, she…
Sony Music has sued A.I. startup Udio for copyright infringement for a second time. Sony asserts Udio used over 30,000 recordings it copied without permission in order to train it’s A.I. models. The lawsuit was filed by Sony on July 20, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Sony had tried to add this belated claim to its first copyright case against Udio, but the…
MC wrote in a recent New Music Critique review (an 8.4/10 review, by the way) that alt-rocker Halo Kitsch describes herself as “underrated,” but that won’t be the case for much longer if there’s any justice. Of course, justice isn’t always readily available in the music industry, but we can hope. For her part, the artist known as Halo Kitsch is a born performer. “I loved singing in the shower,…
Robert Burden fuses a labor-intensive Renaissance-level figurative technique with the obsessive-collector deep end of the pop culture canon in large-scale oil paintings whose Gen X-coded hyper-decorative motifs have only become more complex and dense with contemporary and historical references over the past 20 years. Often incorporating toys—which he considers as talismans from the liminal space…
Years with Company: 8Address: Los Angeles, CAWeb: chordal.comEmail: hello@chordal.com BACKGROUND Chordal is helping make it easier than ever for music makers and rights holders to clear their catalogs for synchronization. A graduate of NYU, Grayson Sanders helped build the company after experiencing success as a classical composer. Syncing Up I thought I was heading towards a film music career, so…
Composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Wynne Bennett discovered her affinity for piano at about the same time as she learned to read. Around age seven, noted jazz pianist and family friend Barry Harris took her on as a student and soon recommended her for a place at New York’s famed Harlem School of the Arts. Following graduation, she majored in composition at the Mannes College of Music at…
