Spectral Nights – alternative music, indie music, music reviews, new music, music blog

‘I Built You a Tower’, Death Cab for Cutie’s eleventh studio album (and first on the independent ANTI- Records) found the band going back to basics and working together on the songs – in person – in the studio. The album finds Ben Gibbard trying to find a way forward following the breakdown of his marriage: ‘There’s this need to find a place in ourselves to put loss and g...

”Tell Me It’s A Dream’ is about being ambitious and seeing enhanced beauty in the world’ Rosa Walton (one half of Let’s Eat Grandma) says of her debut solo album. ‘It’s about striving for ultimate freedom. A lot of the attitude in these songs is about following your dreams – and that’s exactly what I intend to do.’ This escapism shines throughout the technicolour songs th...

Jack Kaye, formerly of The Magic Gang, has shared his debut solo single ‘Dora’ via Fascination Street Records. His first new material in the six years since the band broke up, it combines zesty Lemon Twigs melodies surrounding something far more sinister as Jack takes aim at a toxic relationship that leaves a loved one at a loss: ‘He’s an actual p...

Australian indie-poppers Sesame Girl have shared new single ‘Wings of Butterfly’, a song about ‘asking for proof instead of promises’ according to vocalise Heather Duncan. Very much in the Beabadoobee or Soccer Mommy mould, it’s a fresh slice of dreamy pop with gently lilting melodies and melancholic elements: ‘If you’re here to stay, can’t you pr...

Stoke-on-Trent’s art punks Formal Sppeedwear have shared ‘Who Needs Spain Ball?’ ahead of the release of their debut album ‘Punch Card’ via Melodic on 11 September, 2026. Wonderfully wiry and angular, the song sounds somewhat akin to David Byrne jamming with Dutch Uncles – while XTC grapple for overall creative control from the other side of th...