New River Music

Song: Afterlife
Artist: Sharon Van Etten

Indie singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten has returned – and this time she has invited her band The Attachment Theory into her creative process. “Afterlife,” an ethereal electronic rock experience, is the second track in Van Etten’s latest album Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory. With just two tracks out now, the rest of the album is set to release on February 7th, 2025. When recounting how the album came to be, Van Etten had this to say: “For the first time in my life I asked the band if we could just jam. Words that have never come out of my mouth – ever! But I loved all the sounds we were getting…In an hour we wrote two songs that ended up becoming “I Can’t Imagine” and “Southern Life.”

Song: Beaches
Artist: beabadoobee

“Beaches,” the eleventh song on beabadoobee’s latest indie pop album This Is How Tomorrow Moves is, as Stay Free Radio puts it, “A 90s-Infused Ode to Self-Discovery and Acceptance”. Recorded at Shangri-La, Malibu, the album weaves together themes of emotional turbulence, finding clarity, and embracing vulnerability. “Beaches”, with its dreamy sound and live band recording, is an honest expression of what it’s like to be a human experiencing the fear of failure. In an interview with the music blog Stereogum, beabadoobee revealed that “‘Beaches’ is by far my favorite. Like, top-tier, my favorite song I’ve ever written literally in my life…It’s about stepping into this opportunity and feeling unsure about it, but then doing it and finally feeling like I’ve made the best decision I’ve ever made. The idea of me kind of going into water, and what’s the point of just dipping your feet in when you could just go in full-force.” “Beaches” is a song that everyone can relate to, and its stunning melody is simply a welcome addition to its pertinent meaning.

Song: Metaverse
Artist: Cage The Elephant

Grammy award winning alternative rock band Cage The Elephant is back and better than ever with their 2024 album Neon Pill. “Metaverse” is the fifth track on the record, and was first released as a single quickly followed by the album release. RCA Records writes that Cage the Elephant is  “forging new musical ground, while maintaining their uncompromising creativity and wildly cathartic performances.” Frontman Matthew Shultz recounted that “Neon Pill is the first record where we were consistently uninfluenced, and I mean that in a positive way…Everything is undoubtedly expressed through having settled into finding our own voice…We weren’t reaching for much outside of the pure experience of self expression, and simultaneously not necessarily settling either. We just found a uniqueness in simply existing.” “Metaverse” is a song about the importance of letting go, allowing life to pull you in the right direction, and enjoying the ride – a reminder that each of us could use from time to time.