By Indi Tejeda – July 14th, 2026 The Backfires have always approached music as something larger than a collection of individual songs. With their upcoming second album, Stardust, the NYC-based rock band, consisting of frontman Alex Gomez, lead guitarist Harry Ruprecht, bassist Matt Walter, and drummer Dylan Spiro, expands that idea into a full world built around storytelling, atmosphere, andContinue reading “The Backfires on Stardust, Storytelling, and Building a World Beyond the Song”
Category Archives: Music
Don’t worry, Moon Darling is Releasing an Album – INTERVIEW
Moon Darling isn’t just a cool name. When I look up Moon Darling, I get links to the font or type face, and various Moon Festivals around the world. But it is also the name for a Los-Angeles based band, birthed in Seattle and led by vocalist-guitarist Michael Julian and bassist Eliza Karpel. Their newContinue reading “Don’t worry, Moon Darling is Releasing an Album – INTERVIEW”
The Upsides on Musical Brotherhood and Creative Trust
By Indi Tejeda — July 14, 2026 For The Upsides, the past two years have been about learning how to trust the creative process. The New York alt-rock/indie band has shifted from individual songwriting toward a more collective creative process, allowing each member to contribute ideas, influences, and personal experiences to the music they createContinue reading “The Upsides on Musical Brotherhood and Creative Trust”
BODEGA at Central Park SummerStage – GALLERY
Photos by Liadain O’Toole. New York photographer Liadain O’Toole captured Brooklyn’s very own BODEGA delivering an electrifying set at Central Park SummerStage along with SPOON and Ratboys. Despite the sweltering afternoon heat, BODEGA’s signature blend of post-punk energy and razor-sharp riffs kept the crowd moving. As the sun dipped behind the trees of Central ParkContinue reading “BODEGA at Central Park SummerStage – GALLERY”
Dance Music Isn’t Dead, But Music Criticism Might Be: Halsey, Anthony Fantano, and the Responsibility of Critics
In the discourse surrounding art and criticism, tensions arise when artists respond to critics. This dynamic, exemplified in Halsey and Fantano’s exchange, highlights the need for considerate criticism, particularly towards female artists, while addressing underlying misogyny in reviews.
Don’t Date a Musician Unless it’s Devon Bostick: 10 Things I Didn’t Hate While Watching Mile End Kicks (2025)
This zine is famously called Almost Famous Zine after the 2000 movie by the same name. It is about a music journalist, and among other things, love and coming-of-age. Since the early 2000s we haven’t seen journalism girlies repped since possibly the last true beacon, Ugly Betty (2006-2010). Enter Mile End Kicks, directed by ChandlerContinue reading “Don’t Date a Musician Unless it’s Devon Bostick: 10 Things I Didn’t Hate While Watching Mile End Kicks (2025)”
Alani Is Somewhere Between Saying It and Releasing Her New EP
Meet Alani, a singer-songwriter born in London with French, Lebanese, and Brazilian roots. She is an overthinker, older sister, and John Mayer fan since she was seven and the next alternative pop artist to watch. We love to talk about liminal spaces. There’s nothing like the liminal space between friend and (potential) lover. It locksContinue reading “Alani Is Somewhere Between Saying It and Releasing Her New EP”
The First Piper Connolly
By Indi Tejeda – June 20th, 2026 Piper Connolly has a theory about identity: you don’t find it, you build it. Song by song, collaborator by collaborator, visual by visual, until one day you look back and realize the whole thing has a shape. “Beautiful Life” is where that shape starts coming into focus. Bright,Continue reading “The First Piper Connolly”
Saint Levant in Sydney: Sacred is the Set Ft. the Saxophone and DJ Deck
Love Letters ft. “Loverboy Levant” I must begin with a disclaimer. I have been a fan of Saint Levant since 2022 when his then-biggest viral hit was “Very Few Friends”. Back then, the music videos and visualizers were understated: Saint Levant — his real name Marwan Abdelhamid — sat in a chair in front ofContinue reading “Saint Levant in Sydney: Sacred is the Set Ft. the Saxophone and DJ Deck”
Billie Rude, I Loved You: Sean Gunner Lee Reflects on Nostalgia & Authenticity
By Indi Tejeda – June 13th, 2026 Sean Gunner Lee’s music lives in the space between emotions. His debut solo album, Billie Rude, I Loved You, embraces melancholy and hope, nostalgia and growth, and certainty and ambiguity. Rather than chasing perfection, Lee focuses on the moments that exist between extremes – the feelings that areContinue reading “Billie Rude, I Loved You: Sean Gunner Lee Reflects on Nostalgia & Authenticity”