Ben Crum — the mind behind Great Lakes — cut his teeth in the swirling psych-pop of Athens, Georgia in the mid-’90s. Co-founded with Dan Donahue and Jamey Huggins, Great Lakes emerged amid Elephant Six noise and kaleidoscopic musical offer. But Crum’s ambition wasn’t just to make pretty fuzzy pop — he wanted to channel longing, memory, and the ache of rootedness in motion. Over the years, he traded lo-fi 8-track experiments for smoky, pedal-steel-drenched Americana; his voice, once airy, gained a weight that felt like confession. For Crum, each album is a chapter in a quietly epic journey: 2000’s Great Lakes is an earnest debut, scribbled in a home studio, brimming with youthful hope. By 2002’s The Distance Between, he’d sharpened his sense of space and melancholy. Diamond Times (2006) sees him embracing more control and turning inward, while Ways of Escape (2010) marks a turning point — this is Crum alone at the wheel, writing deeply personal folk-rock with support from a loyal band of travelers. Wild Vision (2016) is probably his creative peak: country-noir textures, vintage harmonies, and singing that runs like a slow river. In Dreaming Too Close to the Edge (2018), Crum confronts fear, regret, and the illusion of second chances, blending raw indie rock with the ghosts of classic songwriters. Then came Contenders (2022), a testament to tireless persistence and quiet wisdom. His latest, Don’t Swim Too Close, released via HHBTM Records on November 7th 2025, drifts in bruised but hopeful — a meditation on mental health, the pull of risk, and the poetic gravity of home.

“Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten” (Little Underground Records) is a German indie label from Augsburg, specializing in indie pop releases. Founded in 2015 by Ronny Pinkau, the label releases singles and LPs on vinyl and represents both local Augsburg bands and international artists. In recent years, it has also become known for its handcrafted approach, including cover design and promotion. To celebrate 10 years of Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten, bands and artists from the label, as well as musician friends, were asked to cover their favorite songs released on KUS. The resulting compilation was named Stadtbibliothek (City Library), because all the musicians immersed themselves in KUS song-library, borrowed their favourite songs, and created truly original works with their interpretations. Just like in a public library, where you learn about a particular topic, study it intensively, and then write your own paper about it. Among the band involved there are many TRISTE© favourites, such as: Jetstream Pony, Love,Burns, The BV’s, Zimt, The New Mourning, The Simple Present and Eccentric BlaBla. “As a small label built on community and DIY principles, we believe that a compilation like this, which celebrates togetherness and cooperation, is the best way to mark our 10-year anniversary” says Ronny Pinkau, and today TRISTE© wants to be (a small) part of this well deserved celebration.

The Melody Chamber are from Richmond, Virginia, but they sound like they hail from early 80’s Manchester and/or Athens, Georgia. Little is known about the background of the band other than the songwriting duo of Wallace Dietz and Dan-O Deckelman, partners at Sound Of Music Studios, bonded over a shared appreciation of obscure UK group, The Monochrome Set. The gravitational pull of Dan-O’s guitar riffing makes first impact, but Wallace’s icy vocals, the insistent snap and pop of Blee Child’s drum beats, and Randy Mendicino’s bubbling bass melodies pull listeners in deeper. The lyrics, shrouded in mystery, much like the band, start to saturate the consciousness in a way that allows the listener to build their own world within the album. It’s now too late to turn back, but the tug of the atmospheric synths you hadn’t noticed before weren’t letting you get out of here, anyway. Put on your headphones at your own risk and immerse yourself in The Melody Chamber’s new romantic post-punk and southern gothic jangle-pop world where each song will feel like a lost classic that you wore out on your VHS dub of an old MTV 120 Minutes, watching it over and over. A perfect hybrid of R.E.M., The Smiths, The Psychedelic Furs, and The Church, every song could be a single or the perfect track for that next mixtape. Though The Melody Chamber are reminiscent of some of the great guitar pop bands of the past, they have forged a distinctive, original, and modern sound that promises to appeal to music fans across all age groups.
The Melody Chamber is out now on HHBTM Records (USA) on vinyl and Too Good To Be True (Europe) on vinyl and CD.