Since their debut single came out earlier in Spetember, we fell in love with Tulpa. They are a Leeds-based four-piece whose sharp melodic instincts and restless creative energy make them one of the most exciting new names in UK indie music. The band consists of Josie Kirk (vocals, bass), Daniel Hyndman (guitar), Myles Kirk (guitar), and Mike Ainsley (drums). Guitarist Daniel Hyndman was previously the lead guitarist and songwriter in the post-punk outfit Mush, but Tulpa take a very different path. Their songs are driven by melody, invention, and a kind of pop exuberance that transforms their experimental impulses into hook-filled, emotionally direct anthems. The raw energy, ambition, and intelligence of Mush remain—but here they’re channelled into something brighter, more immediate, and gloriously tuneful. Their debut digital single, Let’s Make a Tulpa!, is an upbeat, crunchy pop song that bursts into a colossal chorus, recalling the ecstatic energy of The Breeders. Transfixed Gaze, their second single, out today, is another perfect noise-pop song, demonstrating that their debut album has many great songs in store. It is about a world where everywhere you look people seem to be brainwashed, combining zombie-movie paranoia, fizzing guitar energy and Josie’s hyper-melodic vocal.
Tulpa’s debut album, Monster of the Week, will be released on November 28th via Skep Wax, with a series of headline shows throughout October and November 2025.

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.