RiYL

Naming a compilation Death of a Ska Band is a statement. Slow Gherkin's final show and album arrived in 2002, years after their chosen genre had come and gone from mainstream acceptance. But some things in life are deeper than MTV Buzz Bins. The childhood friends played a hometown show in Santa Cruz in 2011, with further reunions in 2014, 2016, and 2018. Last year's live shows arrived with new music and a renewed outlook on the afterlife of a ska band.

Disasters is a fresh start. It's a solo album designed to process recent trauma, while providing an entirely new live set of songs. After playing in bands and supporting some of indie music's top names, Lilah Larson has a new statement entirely their own.

Sometimes you need that extra push – and production help of a legend in the field. Instant Validation is the culmination of a decade of songs, pulled together to form Meg Lui’s debut. The Berklee educated musician was held up to three jobs to make ends meet, as work began in earnest in late 2024.

Note: We're a bit on the short side due to technical difficulties with the recording, but the audio is largely un-impacted.The role the cartoonist laureate is not wholly defined, allowing its representative to make the position their own. Tillie Walden is the fourth person to hold the title, preceded by Rick Veitch, Alison Bechdel, Edward Koren, and James Kochalka. Given the breadth of the work composed by the aforementioned named, it's probably best to let each artist make it their own. For Walden, honoring the title meant long hours in a local history museum, compiling her latest, Charity and Sylvia, a biography honoring the legacy of a pioneering queer couple.

Even in reflection, there's no standing still. To mark the 20th anniversary of her solo debut, "Real Life," Joan Wasser re-recorded all 10 tracks, capturing their evolution of the decades. "Real Life Evolution" is a tacit acknowledgement that there can never be definitive versions of any songs. The mere act of committing them to tape is hasting their continued transformation.

On November 29, 2024, Will Cullen Hart left this world behind. Through some strange cosmic coincide, his passing arrived the same day as two single from the Olivia Tremor Control’s third and final album. Both and Doss – who passed in 2012 – left behind a mostly finished album. But nothing has ever been simple with this band. One could never fully declare an album finished without the band’s two front men, but musicians Jason NeSmith and Ron Kwasman were recruited to join (one of) the band’s multi-instrumentalist, Derek Almstead to complete this final chapter. The Same Place is a warm, bright, and comforting familiar black swan song from a singular and unforgettable group. Welcome back and farewell to the Olivia Tremor Control.

As midwestern emo is having a moment, Nymb found itself unexpectedly TikTok famous. Reissues have followed -- a second act for the group that lived and breathed these songs in the waning days of the 20th century. Frontwoman-turned-Neon Trees drummer, Elaine Bradley, joins us to discuss the journey and what it means for a band to be "back."

Far Out Country I was released to world in June, the second half of double album kept of the streaming until just this week. Fan who purchased the record on vinyl got a three-month head imbibing disc two's more introspective fare -- a secret weapon of sorts, when catching the Athens, GA band on its never-ending tour.

What's the significance of an 18 album milestone? For one thing, says, Laurie Berkner, her songs can vote and be drafted. In some places they can drink. Mostly, however, it's a legacy of enduring music that are now be passed down from children now old enough to have children of their own. The Queen of Kids Music's latest EP, I Got Invited, is available now.