Cap’n Marble – Han Solo

hugger — Tue, 26 May 2026 11:09:10 +0000

Sure does have a knockabout charm about it, the kind we’d expect from LA’s Cap’n Marble, and er the Kinks. Yep, ‘Han Solo’ has the force running through its veins alright and the impression than the duo were enjoying a particularly sunny afternoon when they cooked up this smile inducer. One for those days when the mood has flagged and in need of something determined to turns everything it touches into an exercise in glee. KH

Cap'n Marble · Han Solo

More Info: Official
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Year: 2026

Tone Ranger – Mother Moon

hugger — Tue, 26 May 2026 08:19:53 +0000

A case of the machines and the humans working in harmony and Alex Simon’s ‘Mother Moon’ showcases a slick example of that combination. Simon’s Tone Ranger make it all sound effortless, verging on dancefloor territory as the seconds tick by until that perch would seem the only obvious destination given the hypnotic qualities. The pulse is subtle, the vocal track so melodious it can’t help but draw us into its web of bleeps. KH

Tone Ranger · Mother Moon

More Info: Official
Hear More Songs: Mother Moon
Year: 2026

Steven Cway – Lochlainn’s Song

hugger — Mon, 25 May 2026 11:14:33 +0000

Well there was no doubt about the origins of this one, the emerald isle (recorded in a Sligo shed!) and its unmistakable sound is all over ‘Lochlainn’s Song’ and it had a ring of Planxty about it for me. Steven Cway has more than the traditional going on here though, heard a wispy dream pop character in there so we get a little tug from several sides and it feels like an uplift. Cute as a button, eschewing the usual paths but still arriving at the same sweet smelling garden at the end. KH

STEVEN CWAY · Lochlainn's Song

More Info: Official
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Year: 2026

Vanity Box – Die Natur Macht Ihre Gesetze

hugger — Mon, 25 May 2026 08:58:49 +0000

Does gesture like something from the deepest 90’s, a thicket of guitars but a voice that adds a dreaminess so it never felt like Vanity Box were going to make a play for our tinnitus. Instead they spun out into romantic shoegaze like tones that not only pulled at the heartstrings but dusted off our love for that cherished old genre. The best thing about the whole affair is how fresh it sounds, sure it liberally takes from yore but in their great wisdom this act come up with something new that we’re going to call countrygaze. Wondrous. KH

Sudden Loud Sounds in a Capital City by Vanity Box

More Info: Official
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Year: 2026

Night Swims – Broken Sound

hugger — Sun, 24 May 2026 19:27:25 +0000

Does sound like an act who are literally tripping over themselves under the weight of ideas. For me there are at least enough turns here to fill a really good EP and so in one song we have much to consider. The best thing about what Night Swims (Michael Thomas) have conceived is that each and every one of the moving parts is honey to our ears, slightly offbeat but rolling into a mass of indie gorgeousness. KH

More Info: Official
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Year: 2026

Gejo – Callous

hugger — Sun, 24 May 2026 07:41:25 +0000

He sings in a manner that makes ‘Callous’ a prime option for those alone times, a quiet corner is all that is needed to make good on Gejo folk number. But wait we find out that there is another side to this track and it is a most welcome one, a shuffle with rosy harmonies and a route to happiness when least expected. It is summer and as such we need tracks like this to get the bounce back in our days. A guaranteed glow every time. KH

More Info: Official
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Year: 2026

Local Nomad – Asking For A Friend

hugger — Sat, 23 May 2026 11:41:59 +0000

One thing you are guaranteed when it comes to Michael Desmond’s Local Nomad is the core of a robust song and ‘Asking For A Friend’ is most definitely that. Put simply it has drive and that concerted drive heads inexorably towards a chorus that gives finger clickers of the world a new champion to practice their arts. Beyond that index wielding cohort there is plenty for the rest of us to get excited because the alt pop turns here sound so effortless and immediate – just in time for those long summer days. KH

More Info: Official
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Year: 2026

Emma Miller – Take My Hand

hugger — Sat, 23 May 2026 09:55:49 +0000

There probably won’t be many more organic releases in 2026, the journey that was planned for us becoming evident on ‘Take My Hand’ within milliseconds of Emma Miller’s arrival. For some mindfulness, for some soothing and for general upkeep of our my contended side ‘Take My Hand’ appears to have everything covered. Just what the doctor ordered, voice and orchestral elements working in tandem to leave us in a much better place than it found us in. Perfection from this Scottish bard. KH

Emma Miller · Take My Hand

More Info: Official
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Year: 2026

Crawford Mack – Don’t Play The Victim

hugger — Fri, 22 May 2026 12:54:03 +0000

I could have sworn there was a bit of cowbell in there and so ‘Don’t Play The Victim’ instantly had our attention. More besides too because this is Crawford Mack at the controls after all so we were going to be roused from our lazy bed for a concoction so full of vitality you can feel its rhythm and pulses from the far corner of the room. Couldn’t believe it but I heard something Duran Duran here, touches of Franz Ferdinand so things don’t fall victim to a fulsome 80’s comparison. Vibrancy abounds, a day turned around thanks to the workings of a single moment from this Glasgow act. KH

More Info: Official
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Year: 2026

Skinny Dippers – Wish You Were It

hugger — Thu, 21 May 2026 12:51:21 +0000

The measure, for me personally, of Skinny Dippers (Ryan Gross0 is that the time between their releases always feels longer than I wished it was. So ‘Wish You Were It’ strode into town it felt like a friend had returned, quietly charged with a store of melodies and sombre burden but beautifully rounded like all the best indie pop songs need to be. So while the mood is not quite cheery there is more than enough to have us arms aloft and swaying in time. I’m just going to whistle now. KH

Skinny Dippers · When You Were It

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Year: 2026

The Silversteins – The Greatest Show

hugger — Thu, 21 May 2026 11:45:50 +0000

The one thing you can’t argue with here is that ‘The Greatest Show’ sure sounds like a big arrangement. The kind that when taken to the stage may need a cast of dozens to realise the ambition of the studio version. The Silversteins bring a TV drama soundtrack lushness (they’ve been in the business in one form or another for decades) and also a chorus that puts the seal on the impressive build. We’ve heard this Oz band’s stuff previously but ‘The Greatest Show’ is the best of them, easy listening but nuanced in a way that you know that coming back will be just as rewarding as that bright first listen. KH

The Silversteins · The Greatest Show

More Info: Official
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Year: 2026

Bella Cloud – Spin

hugger — Thu, 21 May 2026 09:32:11 +0000

What a delicate flower of a tune, the kind that will draw the softer side out of most and especially when you hear a singer who has a most tender approach. Open hearted and just needing a friend so that all that melancholy can be mopped up to make way for the good times. But for now we’ll treasure the beauty of the sadness, there is much of it here and I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a fair few tears shed in the process. What a charming rainy day soundtrack. KH

Spin by Bella Cloud

More Info: Official
Hear More Songs: Bella Cloud
Year: 2026

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