FOR FANS OF: The Cure, The Doors, Talking Heads Beaver Sheppard’s latest music video release for “Downtown” looks like a dystopian memory filtered through an acid trip. Hailing from Montreal, this is Sheppard’s title track from his recent album Downtown and is said to be “a distorted memory, a deep-rooted trauma picking up distortion and resonance on its journey from the amygdala to the surface.” Shot in what looks to be an abandoned, worn-down industrial area, the video enters with clips of Sheppard dancing on a stage with a hooded stranger playing a giant spoon as a guitar, fox-eared friends dancing with a masked stranger, and a killer saxophone riff. "Sheppard’s Jim Morrison-esque croons are accompanied by saxophone and an unmistakable classic rock guitar." The song itself plays over visuals of highly filtered faces and red lipstick smeared in a makeout session. Sheppard’s Jim Morrison-esque croons are accompanied by saxophone and an unmistakable classic rock guitar. The video tells a story of betrayal and heartbreak as the woman donning an ear adorned hat in the beginning suddenly at the end of the video is found by her lover or friend now to be a masked stranger. While some of the prismatic effects seemed like overkill and undoubtedly created some disturbing imagery, maybe that was the point. Seeing love change hands so easily can change the way you look at everything else around you. There were no grandiose, extravagant elements to this video, it was pure art and thought. It’s one of those music videos that really make you wonder if you understand what the artist is truly trying to convey in their songs. I know I was questioning the meaning, and changed my mind multiple times throughout the course of viewing. But isn’t that what makes good art? Something capable of providing an experience for listeners, or viewers, to then interpret themselves. One that’s fluid and can change overtime instead of remaining forever stoic. This video is anything but stoic, however blunt the edges were in some of those prismatic effects there is a flow to it, and a movement not only in the filming but in the way it forced me to reconsider what I thought I was seeing. Even now I’m not entirely sure, but I know that I enjoyed it and it left me more curious than when I started. *Quick scene changes create a flashing effect toward the end of the video so be cautious if watching with sensitivities to those kinds of light patterns. Listen to Downtown on Spotify here. | Follow Beaver Sheppard on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

FOR FANS OF: Courtney Barnett, HAIM, Catfish and The Bottlemen Back at the end of February, indie/alternative singer-songwriter Alyssa Joseph released single "sadboy," and honestly, I haven't been able to get it out of my head. Alyssa is a New Jersey native and recent East Nashville transplant. She draws influence from contemporary songwriters like Julia Jacklin, Sharon Van Etten, and Big Thief. "sadboy" is a guitar-driven indie track about falling for a person who's unhealthy for you. "sadboy" is a track about the toxic, needy person many of us have fell for. The person who seems to have requited feelings for us but doesn't. They act so sweet to you, make you feel so special, they confide in you. You tell them your secrets, you let your heart be open to them, you fall for them. They talk to you all the time - telling you their fears and joy, you feel as if you are their only one. You text back as soon as they text you, but they leave you on read for days. It's all meaningless to them - whether it's a deliberate act of using another person for free talk therapy, or they know you have romantic feelings for them and they just don't care. It's an unpleasant situation to be in, bringing feelings of frustration to you, which Alyssa expresses clearly in "sadboy." To get out of it, communication, honesty, and setting boundaries are needed. It's okay to fall for a sadboy, but, remember that you come first. Love is not a game, confusion, or frustration. I really love this track. It's relatable, and extremely well done. Alyssa has a confident voice and is a brilliant songwriter. I'm excited to hear more from her, as she has an EP coming this summer called alive. It's said to bring us a "a dynamic and sometimes depleted young woman, fighting to dig herself out of the ground and reclaim the soil below her feet. At times, her sound is tender and quiet, at others - roaring louder than a freeway." Follow Alyssa Joseph on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter.

Hey, new look! Hello, we're Wild Honey now. Same magazine, different name. I changed the name because...honestly? It was either that or I end the magazine. I've been feeling extremely unhappy with it since October of last year. I created Wild Honey in May last year and launched it the following month, June 28th. I was inspired by my experiences of writing for Buzzkill magazine, a music publication focused on artists from the UK. I loved writing for Buzzkill (and I still do write for them), but I wanted my own space. I wanted to move further into music journalism, and I felt that by creating my own music publication was one way I could achieve it. I've always loved magazines and music; at one point in my preteen years I had a copy of every single preteen music/celebrity magazine that was active, and I've been completely obsessed with bands since I was 9 years old. Give me an age and I can tell you what bands I loved during that time. The first cd that was ever given to me was The All-American Rejects' self-titled, and the first cd that I ever bought myself was Fall Out Boy's Infinity on High. The amount of Jonas Brothers posters ripped out of issues of Tiger Beat and Quizfest that covered my entire bedroom probably was higher than you'd ever imagine (I even had them on the celling! I was 11 years old, how did I do that?!). Being encompassingly into music is nothing new for me. When I was 17 years old, my classmates and I were deciding on our career paths. I wanted to work at a radio station, playing the music that I loved, supporting artists, just helping out, keeping the music alive. I haven't been able to work in radio since I set that goal (I'm 22 years old now, so, quite some time has passed), but, what I have been doing is increasing my writing skills and musical knowledge. I still very much want to work for a radio station, but for right now, I believe this magazine is a good choice for me. I've learned a lot in the year and some months since I've been in music journalism, and this magazine has obviously been through a lot of aesthetic changes. It's been both harder and easier than I expected. I love writing about music, but, the main problem I've been struggling with all these past months is the pressure that I inadvertently put on myself because of a statement I set when I created this magazine. Supporting new artists and other creative people that are around them is what this magazine is about, but, it's not all of it. It's really not. It's a rock magazine, and by rock, I mean everything about rock, from then to now. I'm autistic, and rock music is my special interest - but it's not to any specific niche, unlike my other special interests, like the Beat Generation poets and Scooby Doo. It's just rock music, all of it, and by sticking to a statement I was limiting myself and anyone else who wanted to write for it. And the entire look and name of the magazine just wasn't working out - The Cheetah Press doesn't scream "rock magazine," and to me, sounds a bit narcissistic. Wild Honey is cute, memorable, and rock 'n roll. It's even a reference to The Beach Boys' song (and LP) "Wild Honey." I feel really good about the name Wild Honey. I planned to end this magazine by this summer, because no matter how I changed it, it was making me feel upset and frustrated, but, this past Thursday night I was listening to a podcast that mentioned The Beach Boys. I just had been listening to that band about a week ago before, as I've been a huge fan of them for a couple years. The podcast reminded me of one of their tracks that I tweeted about, "Wild Honey," and it all just...clicked, like that. I felt the same level of excitement I felt last year as I did when The Cheetah Press came into my brain. Wild Honey was the perfect name for a rock magazine, and I knew I had to make it real, so I did, no hesitation, same as the original creation of this magazine. I made the logo, changed the name, and got started remodeling the website this past Thursday night (April 1st). I went to bed at 3am, then on Friday throughout the day, I finished it, and today (Saturday, April 3rd) I changed the socials. I feel so excited, so happy, so proud of what I've created, and I haven't felt like that since the first couple months of this magazine last year. I believe that if something is no longer serving you but it is in your control, then you should change it as you wish, just as if it was your name. Change is good, change is healthy, we should all encourage change and betterment of the self, especially when it comes to your creative outlets. With art, your feelings on the art you create are the only ones that you should actually care about. The rest of it from other people is just noise, noise that at the most, you should have an interest in, but not take to heart, not care what other people think of your art. Yes, this is a magazine that primarily puts out music reviews, so it's a bit ironic, but I mean it 100%. All of my words about other people's art is just noise, what actually matters is how the artist feels about their art and nobody else. Once you care about what other people say and expect of your art, it suffocates you, it destroys you. Just be yourself, as honest as you can be, to yourself first, then secondly the world. Enough of me rambling, my top 10 tracks of March were these, in never any specific order: 1) Stormy Weather - Kings of Leon 2) That Dress - The Pale White 3) Pretty Poison - Quick and Painless 4) THE DRAKE - cleopatrick 5) I Want Noise - LOBSTERBOMB 6) I & I - ZIG MENTALITY 7) Pray - Ready the Prince 8) All Shook Up - Zach Person 9) Tied Up - Dirty Honey 10) let me inside your head - swim school Stay safe & stay loud. with love, Cherri Cheetah. p.s. be sure to sign up for our newsletter - the guest list!

FOR FANS OF: Alice In Chains, Bush, Soundgarden ZIG MENTALITY are back with another new self produced track, and this time, it's experimental. The band consists of members Jig Dube (lead vocals, bass), Quinn Dube (drums), and Liam Dube (guitar), a trio of brothers from Ottawa, Ontario. Their latest track is called "I & I," and it's a step into unknown territory - for both the band themselves and the listener. The track, sonically, is experimental in the way that it differs greatly than ZIG MENTALITY's previous releases. It's noticeably slower, almost stripped back, with gracious amounts of vocal distortion. It ends in true ZIG MENTALITY style, however, with a massive guitar moment - what the band refers to as a BMF. Lyrically, the song digs deeper than ever before - it's a self-experiment into the narrator's own mind, a battle between their self as they perceive it to be and show to others, and what their self "really" is. "You gotta know me / Prove to me why / You’re not the whole me / We’re I & I / I’m alert and present / I push you out / You wanna know me / You’re really blaow." Why do humans seek out knowledge for a higher understanding of ourselves, why are we not at peace without knowing the inner self (which is what many consider as their true self)? It's a spiritual question that many people spend their whole lives searching to find the answers to, and in this first verse, we can hear how frustrating the beginning of that journey can be for our narrator. "We’ve been bathing in these thoughts / The fears coordinate the loss / Drowning in the bold surrection / Of the “I” that comes across / It’s only part of us" Accept fear and emotional and mental turmoil, it's apart of the journey of discovering your true inner self. "The pedigree you’re selling as "the sauce" / Entertain our inner thoughts 'cause sometimes / You love them sometimes." There are so many distractions available to us that can help us evade spiritual and emotional growth, even if you know in your heart you should listen to your thoughts and not avoid them. "Maturing voices / They hold the trial / I’m waging war with / My own denial / Caught up in templates / So good we’re blind / I wanna know me / I am a mind." I wouldn't know if there's a "right" path to discovering your true inner self, but, I do know there's always pressure from others who have a hierarchy over you, and it's up to you if you want to listen to them or go with what YOU feel, to trust yourself and be true to yourself. What path you chose to take, on a spiritual journey or otherwise, at the end of the day, is your choice. You owe it to yourself to let yourself do & think what you want, not let anyone else decide your life for you. You should trust others, but, you should also have the same level of trust with yourself above all. There is only one you. "I’ve been waiting all these years / For you to freely break the lock / Facing our depictions buried / In a sealed repression box / Digging down through what you learnt was real / The more you scurried off / Coming back has made us whole for one time / I love the one time." This is my favorite verse. This is the narrator speaking, but finally from the other side, the second "I," the "I," who is the inner self, the true self. Finally the outer "I" has found the inner "I," and the inner "I" is so proud of them. They're together, they are whole, if only for this moment, as it can't last forever, possibly due to human's mere mortal existence, or something greater. "I’m waging war with / The I in “I” / Caught up in presence / We’re really blind / I wanna know me / I am a mind / I & I." The smoke has cleared, the lights have faded. We're back to almost square one - we're not whole, but, we understand who we are better than before. The hardest beginnings of the journey are over. The truth is, everything we are is captured in our brains - we're really just minds in a flesh vessel. What does that tell us? That's up to you to decide. This track is...fantastic isn't a good enough word for it. It's brilliant, and makes me want to pick up a book or two on existentialism and the inner self. I love it, ZIG MENTALITY are truly in a league of their very own.

FOR FANS OF: Death Cab For Cutie, Radiohead, Matchbox Twenty Birmingham, UK based singer/songwriter brad released a double-sided single consisted of tracks "Out of Time" and "Smile" earlier this month on March 12th, 2021. "Out of Time" is a somber but melodic track that's "...based around the feeling of falling behind or not being where you should be," and "Smile" is sort of the continuation of that track, but full of optimism. "Out of Time" sounds like it came straight out of the 90s. It's a slow, quiet song that is about a feeling young people know all too well - feeling as though you are behind in life and not where you ought to be, which, with the pandemic, has been amplified by a hundred. I love this song because it's sad, because it's full of an emotional state that I feel so often nowadays. There's so much pressure to be on the "right track" in life from society. Speaking as an American, here it's typically "graduate high school, go to college, get a job, get married, have kids," and if you fall behind that schedule...well, you're usually not encouraged to defer from it. Even gap years - when you take a year between graduating high school and starting college, usually going to work first or traveling, then to school - are looked down upon. But, there's no right way to do life, regardless what society says. You don't need to attend college right after high school, you don't need to get married, you don't need to have kids, you can make life what you want it to be. As long as you're happy, stable, safe, and not hurting anyone, you're doing okay in life. And even if you're not all of those things yet, you're still okay, you always will have time to learn, grow, and heal. Life is what you make it, your life is nobody else's say or choice, only yours. You'll never be out of time when you're doing exactly what you want. "Smile" follows "Out of Time," a cup of optimism for the spoonful of heartbreak that's been given to you on "Out of Time." It's a track that's telling you to look on the brighter side of things - life is hard, but you are stronger. It's also telling you not to dwell too much on the things that that hurt, but move through them, heal and forgive yourself. Embrace life, and smile. Music can make us cry and can make us feel joy. It can be both cathartic and healing, and that's what is happening on brad's double-single of "Out of Time" and "Smile." I genuinely love both of these tracks - they are raw and they are real. They teach us lessons, and they make us reflective. They are the kind of music you'd find in a coming-of-age movie, and the kind of music that you'd want to listen to on a cool early autumn's day, sipping a vanilla latte. Follow brad on Twitter and Instagram.

Sting crosses genres with new album, Duets. With his fifteenth solo album, Duets is a fluid journey between other collaborators with touches of inspiration from a plethora of genres, all while boasting that finesse and swagger that’s immortalized in his past work. The collection opens up with a strong three-punch of songs with Melody Gardot, Eric Clapton, and Mylène Farmer. The opener, “Little Something,” with Gardot sets the tone for the project with a quarantine-recorded song that’s fun and beaming. Its bright and uplifting sound is something that is mirrored with the chemistry boasted by the two artists. As the album continues on, Sting moves to sample some of his own work on the fifth track with Craig David. It samples his own fingerpicking from 1993’s “Shape Of My Heart”. Repurposing older works and reliving older songs via covers are what make Duets an album that will speak to fans of Sting’s earliest solo work and fans of The Police. Its merits lay in how these songs are able to explore the collaborative efforts between all sorts of artists from different generations and backgrounds. This idea is echoed on “Desert Rose” with Cheb Mami or “Fragile” with Julio Iglesias. These tracks shine alongside “Don’t Make Me Wait,” a song from his 2018 joint album with Shaggy, 44/876, a record which revitalized both artists’ sales. The songs on Duets cannot easily be categorized as belonging wholly to Sting. Each takes on a life of its own, and infuses the character of its guest performer. This emphasis on channeling charismatic and lionized performers of the past half-century brings real joy to the proceedings. Highlight “None Of Us Are Free” , made famous by the great Solomon Burke, boasts a powerful vocal from the legendary Sam Moore of Sam & Dave fame. The weary but determined blues vibe of the song also provides a reprieve from the collection’s tendency toward driving, modern beats. In the end, Duets portrays Sting as a conduit for passionate performances. On many of the songs, his contribution is quite understated, serving to push the featured artist forward. Yet the fact that each song is of such polished and refined quality speaks to Sting’s talent for engineering holistic, arty pop songs. Though he sacrifices some amount of the spotlight, the songs, the artists and listeners all benefit.

FOR FANS OF: Bob Dylan, Phoebe Bridgers, Hozier Mae Krell, a 21-year old singer/songwriter from Washington, DC, released track "are you sure?" on March 5th, 2021, which follows their 2020 releases of "home," "wash," and "garden." "are you sure?" is a soft, indie track, one full of raw emotion and breathtaking vocals. "are you sure?" was written around the time of Mae's two-year sobriety anniversary, and in the track, they're uncertain about their current reality - "...feeling as though they were stuck in the same place and failing to improve despite being consciously aware that they were, in fact, in a much better place than before." It's a sad, emotional track, one that makes me think of my own struggles with mental illness. I have bipolar disorder, and often feel as though I haven't improved with it over the many years, but I definitely have, and yet, it's still very hard and almost unbearable to handle sometimes. Progress is great, but my mind often doesn't see anything I've accomplished - with my mental well-being or otherwise - as real progress. "Its been three days and I've lost my way again / A weeks gone by and I feel my face again / And I wonder why/ I wonder why / I'm in the same place again." The cycling between depression, mania, and feeling nothing at all is something that I, at 22 years old, still haven't figured out the secret to handling. I'm often finding myself waking up and wondering why I feel so sad, and then a few weeks will have gone by and it's like it never even happened, I feel my face again and everything is fine. "And I ask myself / Was it ever? / Was it ever? / And I ask myself / Are you sure? / Was it ever?" This verse also hits me quite hard - with bipolar disorder, I constantly question my emotions. Are they real, or, are they just a result of some chemical mishap in my brain again? Can I really trust how I feel to be true, can I be sure? I don't know, truthfully. The next verse dips into their struggle with sobriety - "Its been a month / And I miss your touch / And I'm going through my bags / Looking for the crumbs / But there's a reason I haven't found them." I personally can't relate in meaning of sobriety, but if you infer that line as missing self-destructive behaviors, like chopping all my hair off or drinking too many energy drinks, then yeah, I definitely can. Bipolar disorder unfortunately is something that can't be cured, only managed. I've struggled with it since puberty, and over the years it's become harder and harder to handle, the episodes feeling more intense & more constant. But over 2020, as quarantine set in, I decided I would make bigger efforts to manage it better, to feel good more often than not, for myself, and because when live music ever makes its full return, I want to be on the road, touring with a band. But I can't really achieve that if I'm not as mentally healthy, or stable as I should be, so I've been trying to get better. It's been a year since covid came to the US, a year since I decided to formally make mental health recovery my goal, and I believe I've definitely made huge strides toward it - but, much like in sobriety, relapse tends to happen on the path of recovery, which is okay, it happens, but I'm my biggest critic. It's all too easy to slip into self-destructive behaviors over doing the harder thing, which is making good choices & holding onto the positive, and berate yourself for it. It's easy to see what you've accomplished, or all the progress you've made, as nothing or as not enough, despite consciously knowing it's not the truth. "And now it's been six months / And I still miss your touch / But I've found one much kinder / Than I don't have to give to / And I feel / A little bit less alone." In the midst of the introspection, in the confusion and uncertainty, there's hope, there's light, and you can see it in those lines. They've found a better choice in sobriety, in something positive to hold on to when they're feeling alone that helps them. For me, that hope & light I hold on to when I feel I'm in the darkest of places, or when I feel like I'm spinning out of control, is writing. Writing about music, about love, about anything at all helps me. I have this magazine (and I write for two other publications), I have physical journals - I always have at least one notebook with me and one book too, I have a personal writing blog, and I write in the books I read, making little annotations, putting my own feelings & opinions in the margins. I have words anywhere and everywhere, in my head, on the page, in digital spaces. Words from other people have always helped me, and as I've grown up, I've found out that my own words can bring me just as much peace & clarity. I could go on and on about how this song makes me feel, about how I relate to it and why I love it, but I think I've made my point. I love this track, this song came to me at a time when I needed to hear something like this exactly. Mae Krell is a fantastic songwriter and singer, and I am excited to hear their future releases. Follow Mae Krell on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

FOR FANS OF: Alabama Shakes, Kings of Leon, Hippo Campus Hollyy are an alt-soul band from Chicago, a band who's music is smooth and warm, who's music is full of life and real feeling. Last month, they released a double-sided single which consisted of the tracks "Sailing" and "Hesitate." Hollyy's music is pure joy for your ears, a true delight. "Sailing" is a smooth, happy track about sailing out on the sea, going towards the sunset, heading towards peace & paradise, asking the listener to join them. It makes me long for summer, for warm weather and sharing smiles over fun drinks with my friends. "Sailing" is a really beautiful song sonically, Hollyy are obviously very skilled with their instruments and it shows. I adore this track, it's my favorite between the two. "Hesitate" is a track about not wanting to keep wasting time figuring out what to do, who to be, and how to love. It's a very emotionally vulnerable song. It's those feelings of lost and confusion that young people often face. It's a great song, I love it. Hollyy have a way of making even hard topics sound cozy. Overall, I love both of these tracks. Hollyy's music is almost cinematic music, music that inspires a movie scene to play out in your head. They make the kind of music that belongs in beautiful, happy, tear-jerker rom-coms, and I love it. You could write entire fictional romance novels just based off of just one Hollyy track, and I think that's wonderful. Hollyy make lovely music that inspires, that makes you dream, that makes you think. This month, Hollyy released a live session that they recorded with Audiotree, you can listen to it now here on Spotify, or watch it below on YouTube. Hollyy will release more music this year, along with a double-sided vinyl with "Sailing" and "Hesitate" on it that you'll be able to buy. Follow Hollyy on Facebook and Instagram.

FOR FANS OF: Fall Out Boy, Arctic Monkeys, The White Stripes cleopatrick, rock duo from Cobourg, Canada, are back with "THE DRAKE." cleopatrick consist of members Luke Gruntz (vocals, guitar) and Ian Fraser (drums). "THE DRAKE" follows their first single since 2018, "GOOD GRIEF," and is a raw, fuzz filled epic jam. "it’s about assholes from our hometown. it’s about never standing up for yourself. and it’s about looking forward to the day you can leave people like **redacted** behind." I love cleopatrick's music because it's real. It's not filtered, fake, empty words. It's authentic, from their sound to their lyrics. I fell in love with cleopatrick's music the same way preteen me fell in love with Fall Out Boy's - they both have complex, honest lyrics that have a story behind it, lyrics that are personal and unique, ones which give all the power over to the listener. With both Fall Out Boy and cleopatrick, you can sit down and take your own meaning out from their songs, you can take their lyric booklets & your pen and annotate them to your heart's desire, as if it was a poetry book (which - songs are a form of poetry, but you get it). "THE DRAKE" is a track that shows all of this, in fact, it has a story behind it, as Luke Gruntz of cleopatrick explains in depth below: "we wrote this song 3 years ago. this song is about a gig we played at “the drake hotel” in toronto, back in 2017. it was shortly after our band had started to pop on spotify. we were very anxious for this show as it was going to be one of our first performances where we would be in front of a crowd of people that had discovered us through the internet. we felt a lot of pressure, and intended to impress. however, shortly before we went up to play, things ended up taking a very unfortunate turn. as we nervously watched the crowd spill onto the venue floor from outside, a familiar group caught our eye... it was “the boys” i don’t mean the cool independent rock ep “the boys” i mean the smalltown, hockey playing, ballcap wearing, asshole version of the boys. the kind of “the boys” that had made us feel embarrassed about our love of music in highschool. the kind of “the boys” that we tried to escape through this band. the kind of “the boys” we had written an entire ep about. and there was one particular guy in the group that really put me out of my head. it was **redacted** my highschool bully. apparently him and his friends had heard about our bands moderate success and decided to come to the gig and buddy up now that our music was cool. this ruined everything. honestly. it was one of the worst shows we ever played. i have a vivid memory of playing hometown that night. singing the second verse lines “somehow they make it to all of my shows, now where can i go?” and watching this horribly cartoonish scene unfold as some kids decided to start a mosh pit, **redacted** (having never been to a rock show before) thought the playful shoulder bumping was actually 6 individual people all trying to fight him at once in the middle of the dance floor. with a beer in one hand, he used the other to put one of our best friends on the ground in a chokehold. we watched from the stage. we felt powerless. we actually kept playing as more friends rushed in and tried to calm the situation. it fucking sucked. so anyways. this song is about that night at the drake. it’s about assholes from our hometown. it’s about never standing up for yourself. and it’s about looking forward to the day you can leave people like **redacted** behind." On the lyric video, Luke goes on to say: "the lyric video was made by ian using some home video camera footage of a house show we played years later. it was actually filmed by the same friend **redacted** roughed up at the drake that night. we would have liked to make a full music video for this song, but covid has made that far too difficult. it’s all good though. i love this lyric video. the footage is full of some of the best people we know, and it contrasts the origins of the song so poetically. it’s the drake, but this time without any of “the boys” in sight." cleopatrick lyrics give you the inspiration to go forth and tell your own story, to put your own feelings & thoughts out there honestly, and that's what they've continued to do themselves on "THE DRAKE." This song is about being thrown into an powerless, scary situation, as if you were one of the runts among a group of alpha male wolves, and you had to pretend to be bigger than you are to fit in and to fight bullies. "Listen this ain't me...I ain't ever shown my teeth." "THE DRAKE" is a deep song lyrically, one that makes me feel many emotions, ones rooted in retrospect of my own character, and produces many questions up in my head, some like these: Would you go against who you really are to protect your friends in times of danger, and also in times when the pressure to be cool and tough (unlike what you might think you actually are) is just too much? Do you cave to others' expectations and standards, or do you be yourself - and who is that person, who are you really? Are you who you are when you're alone, or are you the person you are when you're with others? Do you build walls, put on a facade for others' approval, or do you be honest and real, regardless of what others say about you? Those questions and other big feelings are what I get from "THE DRAKE," a song like cleopatrick's others, one that is wrapped in musical & lyrical genius, a song that is heavy, in all meaning of the word in relation to music. I love this track so much, it might be my favorite they've released so far in their self-proclaimed "new era" of music that they're in. cleopatrick are one of the best modern rock bands out there right now, and "THE DRAKE" does it's job more than enough in reaffirming that statement. They capture what it's like to be young and lost in ways that make me feel less alone, that make me question myself and my reality as I see it, that make me want to become a better person. I love cleopatrick's music so much, I can't wait for whatever they release next. cleopatrick are set to release their debut LP sometime later this year. Stream "THE DRAKE" on Spotify here. | Follow cleopatrick on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

FOR FANS OF: The Interrupters, Biniki Kill, The Vines LOBSTERBOMB, a garage rock band straight from Berlin's underground scene, released their second single, "I Want Noise" earlier this week on March 8th, 2021, following their January release of their debut single, "Yes Yes Yeah." LOBSTERBOMB consists of members Nico Rosch, Vik Chi and Crayon Jones. "I Want Noise" is a energetic, danceable tune, reminiscent of early 2000's indie rock bands. It's a fantastic, vibrant track that I love. LOBSTERBOMB make the kind of guitar-driven rock music that makes you feel alive and new. They have a fresh, bright sound, and it shows off in their new track, "I Want Noise." It's about being sick of silence, sick of doing nothing at home, waiting for things to start again - a feeling I'm sure a lot of us can relate to because of the pandemic. We still have quite a bit of time to wait for live music to be back again. We have to patiently wait to hear loud music blaring from amps on a stage, to feel the venue floor vibrate because of passionate jumping of the crowd, to have sleepless nights outside & inside venues, to wait for fun, for excitement, for all of the adventure and noise that live music brings to those on & behind the stage, and in the crowd. "I Want Noise" speaks of that frustration those of us who love live music and miss it so much feel right now perfectly, I'm obsessed with it. LOBSTERBOMB have had a very promising start to 2021, and I'm beyond excited to hear their upcoming releases. They've stated that they're "...currently working on their forthcoming EP, expected later this year," and I can't wait to hear it. Follow LOBSTERBOMB on Instagram and Twitter.

FOR FANS OF: ACDC, Royal Blood, Dead Poet Society Aimless, a hard rock band from Monza, Italy, released single "weirdo" today. It's their 3rd single, following their releases last year of "no roof" and "let me live." "weirdo" is a riff-heavy, hard rock song about mental illness and what it's like for one man. This track tells the story of a man haunted by his dark, inner thoughts that are hurting him, and these thoughts lead him to run away from everyone and everything, even himself. But he's left alone at the end, and it's tragic. "weirdo" is one track about mental illness and the stigma surrounding them. It also shows us that running away instead of asking for help when you're struggling with your mental health/illness is never a good idea. I love this track. It lets those who are struggling with their mental health know that they're not the only ones who deal with heavy thoughts - it's saying "it's okay to not be okay." Aimless are a very promising young rock band. I've loved their previous two singles, and this one as well, in fact, I love "weirdo" the most. They've showed much growth even in the short time between their releases, and I'm so excited to hear more from them. Aimless are a band you should keep your eye on; they're skilled and passionate about their music, and it definitely shows in "weirdo." Follow Aimless on Facebook and Instagram.

FOR FANS OF: Panic! At The Disco, Mayday Parade, Fall Out Boy Quick and Painless are a modern rock band from Madison, Wisconsin, and today, they've released a single called "Pretty Poison." Quick and Painless consist of Everett Hwang Karlen (lead vocals, lead guitar), Ryan Badger (keyboards, rhythm guitar, vocals), Gray Frandy (bass), and Max Beardsley (drums, production). Quick and Painless' sound is self-described as "...a blend of post-punk revival, pop-punk, and garage rock," and to me, it's just brilliant. "Pretty Poison" tells the story of a manipulative relationship, as lead singer Everett Hwang Karlen comes to realize his innocence and recognize the trauma he's sustained from the relationship. It was self-written and self-produced, in true DIY-style. "Pretty Poison" channels early Arctic Monkeys, the first song that comes to mind is AM's "Brianstorm," and early 2000's pop punk bands. It's catchy, it's addictive, it's a mosh-pit ready song. "Pretty Poison" is fantastic - I've been missing rock music that sounded like this, it's nostalgic and fresh in an time where edgy lyrics & biting guitar riffs have been gone for too long. Quick and Painless have what emo punk rock bands like Panic! At The Disco and Fall At Boy had at the start of their career, but better. Quick and Painless are among the many young bands that are bringing rock back to meaning guitars and meaningful, real lyrics - and I'm 100% here for it. Quick and Painless strive to share their life experiences with the world in an attempt to "...open up productive conversations on mental health and growing up as a young adult," and that's just what they've done with this single. They plan to continue to do so with their upcoming EP, Living/Loving The Lie, which is set to come out on March 26th, 2021. It'll have a limited CD run and you can pre-order it here. Tracklist for Living/Loving The Lie 1) Pretty Poison 2) Apologies 3) Message Of A Teenage Martyr 4) Conformity Culture 5) Broken (CD exclusive) Stream "Pretty Poison" on Spotify here. | Follow Quick and Painless on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.