Giant Day is the latest musical project by multi-instrumentalist Derek Almstead and singer Emily Growden, bringing together their pop and psychedelic influences from years in the vibrant Athens, Georgia music scene. Almstead (Circulatory System, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Glands, Elf Power, of Montreal), is known for his work with the storied The Elephant 6 Collective, and has established himself as a respected song-writer, producer and recording engineer. Growden (Marshmallow Coast, Faster Circuits, The New Sound of Numbers), with her background in vocal studies at the University of Georgia, has lent her voice to various recordings and live performances in the indie music scene. Giant Day’s debut album, Glass Narcissus,out in 2024 bore a unique weight — it wasn’t just a debut album, it was the debut album by the first official Elephant 6 band in more than 15 years. With the 2023 wide-release of the documentary The Elephant 6 Recording Co. codifying the E6 “sound” for some and introducing it to others, what Giant Day conjured into being on Glass Narcissus was, if not against type, notably darker than the lysergic, sun-drenched pop associated with their former Athens, Georgia home. On October 10, 2025, The Elephant 6 Recording Company will release Alarm, their second full-length album.

Cuddle Magic is a six-piece avant-pop / chamber-pop band formed in 2006 in Boston, Massachusetts. The members — Benjamin Lazar Davis, Alec Spiegelman, Christopher McDonald, Kristin Slipp, Cole Kamen-Green, and Dave Flaherty — met while they were students at the New England Conservatory of Music. Their music blends a variety of styles and influences: indie folk, experimental pop, world music, complex meters and compositional techniques (e.g. 12-tone rows), chamber instrumentation, vocal harmonies, and often a tension between acoustic and electronic sounds. They have released several albums, including Cuddle Magic (2008), Picture (2010), Info Nympho (2012), Ashes/Axis (2017), and Bath (2020), the latter recorded with all six members performing together in a bathroom, with no overdubs. Their work has also incorporated world music elements: Benjamin Lazar Davis has done study in West Africa, and Ashes/Axis reflect Ghanaian musical influences. Their songs move with chamber-like intimacy, weaving acoustic instruments, rich harmonies, and curious electronics into something both fragile and bold.
Underwater, their latest full-length is out now via Egghunt Records.

Glo-worm formed in Washington D.C. in 1993, “or it might have been sometime in ’92, no one can remember“. Previously, singer Pam Berry had been in Black Tambourine. Guitarist Terry Banks played in Tree Fort Angst, with an earlier stint in English indiepop combo St. Christopher, and drummer Dan Searing had been in Whorl. During the course of glo-worm’s two-and-a-half-ish year lifespan, the band released three 7” EPs, issued successively by the Somersault, Slumberland and K Records labels all leading up to the Glimmer album which was released (as a CD) by K in 1996 and includes the songs on Glo-Worm‘s volume in the International Pop Underground series, Travelogue, as well as all the other 7″ releases from Glo-Worm.
“Pam Berry vocalisations are quite unique, pleasing. If the original question is “What kind of heaven do you want?” the obvious answer is “One where the angels can sing like Pam Berry.” (Calvin Johnson- K Records).
Now, almost 30 years later, Glimmer was released on September 19th via K Records as a 12” vinyl LP.