Riot Act Media

our artists in the press

"...on Vainglory, his first album in four years — his 2022 debut Heartfall was a critical hit — he achieves peak grandiosity, singing foreboding and apocalyptic songs about the dehumanization of modern life (by A.I., in particular) over spectral folk-rock that evokes the desolate, haunted landscapes depicted on the album’s cover." @steven_hydenwriter chats with @mileshew about his incredible new album 'Vainglory,' out Friday July 24th on @farwestrecords!

'Inward Eye’ is Bandcamp’s Album of the Day !

'Inward Eye’ is Bandcamp’s Album of the Day ! ! ! ! @ssspacemoth

"Pressing play on Spacemoth's new album is like stepping into a ‘90s Magic Eye painting: Everything suddenly becomes 3D, jumping off the page in a blur of motion. Infectiously catchy from the get-go—all Day-Glo synth splodges, fuzzed-out guitar, boxy drum workouts, and strawberry bubblegum basslines..." @bandcamp @aprilclarewelsh
Out now via @greenwayrecords ⚡️⚡️

"The music's haunting, furtive motions — where s

"The music's haunting, furtive motions — where slashing, intense gestures and lines zip over lush, microtonal beds of hovering beauty — was inspired by an imaginary portal between Earth and Mars in the William Gibson story that also provided its title."

@davidbirdtv lands on Bandcamp's best contemporary classical with his @newfocusrecordings album Hinterlands ⚡️

"Styrofoam Winos largely work in the same country-

"Styrofoam Winos largely work in the same country-adjacent vein as splashier artists like Wednesday, Waxahatchee, and Big Thief, but with a lighter touch. Vocals have an offhand nonchalance instead of hogging the spotlight, melodies sneak up on you rather than announce themselves, and the guitars avoid crunchy riffs and overdriven twang in favor of tart rambling and clean supporting chords." @blargeld on @styrofoamwinos' new album Any River, out now on @dearliferecs! Thanks Reed!

https://www.spinmagazine.com/2026/06/styrofoam-winos-get-down-by-the-river/

"Latest single ‘Home’ is the ideal introductio

"Latest single ‘Home’ is the ideal introduction, where layers of modular and analogy synths combine with striking vocals to create a sound expansive enough to do such grand themes justice. “‘Home’ explores the idea of finding belonging within yourself, wherever you are,” Chakrabarti explains. “Written from experiences of moving through unfamiliar spaces, the piece reflects the search for connection amid uncertainty and change. ‘Home’ is both a place of return and an ongoing process of becoming.” @varioussmallflames on the new single from @piusings!
Milao will be released on the 26th June

Head over to @floodmagazine for a great album revi

Head over to @floodmagazine for a great album review by Konstantinos Pappis!

The Nashville group’s country-leaning third album is full of nuance, from the sheer array of instrumentation to its affective emotional dynamics.

Any River is out tomorrow 6/19 via @dearliferecs

New Album Barnstorm from @paulspring arrives Augus

New Album Barnstorm from @paulspring arrives August 21st!
Hear lead single ‘Freeze Tag’ out today
✨✨
Made this one in Ireland with my friends @macofaolain @leon.stax.equation @samfinlayw @aidanduffymusic and @tadhg_or

Album cover by @sophiaheymans
Photo by @bea_lund

Produced by Paul Spring
Recorded at Inchiquin, Oranmore, County Galway, Ireland
Engineered by Aidan Duffy
Mixed by Jens Jungkurth @junkonearth

Vocal and Guitar - Paul Spring
Drums - Ben Duffy
Bass - Sam Wright
Bouzouki - Macdara Ó Faoláin
Uilleann Pipes - Tadhg Ó Raghallaigh

June 26 - Omaha, NE - Pageturners Lounge
June 27 - Denver, CO - Cook Court Sessions
August 15 - Chicago, IL - Big Forever
August 16 - South Bend, IN - Sound Bend Sessions
August 19 - Pittsburgh, PA - Telegraph Tree
August 20 - Philadelphia, PA - Harmonie Hall
August 22 - NYC, NY - Stone Circle Theater (Album Release Show)
August 23 - Catskill, NY - Jaspers Palace
August 24 - North Adams, MA - Tourists Welcome
August 26 - Boston, MA - 39 Chester St
August 27 - Providence, RI - Myrtle
September 6 - Bantry, Ireland - Marino Church
September 11 - Ballydehob, Ireland - Levis
September 12 - Macroom, Ireland - Briery Gap Theater
September 13 - Cork, Ireland - Coughlans
September 14 - Kinsale, Ireland - Prims Bookshop
September 19 - Tralee, Ireland - Non Faction
September 20 - Dublin, Ireland - Cobblestone Pub
September 25 - Kenmare, Ireland - Park Kenmare Hotel
September 26 - Ennistymon, Ireland - Pot Duggans
October 4 - Baltimore, MD - Fadensonnen
October 5 - Fairfax, VA - House Show
October 6 - Alexandria, VA - Paul Spring Retirement Community
October 7 - Asheville, NC - Share House
October 11 - Nashville, TN - Garden of Babylon
October 12 - Davenport, IA - Racoon Motel
October 15 - Minneapolis, MN - Jupiter
October 17 - Saint Joseph, MN - Hometown Release Show
October 18 - Vermillion, SD - Backyard Show
October 21 - Boseman, MT - North Star Brewery
October 23 - Seattle, WA - Conor Byrne’s Pub
October 24 - Quilcene, WA - Quilcene Lantern
October 27 - Portland, OR - Second Story
October 29 - Healdsburg, CA - Little Saint
October 30 - Bolinas, CA - Smileys
November 1 - Los Angeles, CA - Scribble Community Center

@thomasdollbaum "is a songwriter who values atmosp

@thomasdollbaum "is a songwriter who values atmosphere above all else. His voice is loamy and deep, the dissipating smoke in a room right after you’ve blown out a candle..."
Head over to @pitchfork for a fantastic review by Sam Sodomsky of 'Birds of Paradise,' out now on @dearliferecs

Interview with @thomasdollbaum via @pastemagazine!

Interview with @thomasdollbaum via @pastemagazine!
•
“Memory changes all the time. You can try, but I don’t think it ever gets to where you really capture it. The best I can do is make someone feel like they’re there, even if they’ve never been there.”

In March, we met up with Thomas Dollbaum in Hollywood to talk about his new album, Birds of Paradise. Link in bio to read.

💿: @thomasdollbaum
📝: @yogurttowne
📸: @beaupatrick

#ThomasDollbaum #BirdsOfParadise

@theneedledropnews shares the new single from @gem

@theneedledropnews shares the new single from @gemmagroovs "See Me" "...a gathering rush of shoegazey guitars and ratatat, jazz-inspired drumming."
Their new album Be About It arrives May 1st!

"Spacemoth’s “Do We Exist” sounds like someo

"Spacemoth’s “Do We Exist” sounds like someone took a happy pill and sat down with a Fisher-Price orchestra: playful, open, and sunlit. Tinny clangs, spaceship buzzes, and a bass line that bounces like a plush yo-yo give it a toybox charm." @stereogum on the latest from @ssspacemoth!

Yessssss so excited you love this song @willowsmit

Yessssss so excited you love this song @willowsmith!!!

just got hip to this new @ssspacemoth song the other day & it's been tickling my brain sooooo good 🧠🎼✨❤️‍🔥💕 go have a listen!

SONG: DO WE EXIST?
@greenwayrecords

"A guitar solo peals, the drums crash, and for a m

"A guitar solo peals, the drums crash, and for a moment, all of Morris’ lingering doubts and questions—city and country, youth and adulthood, undying dreams and monthly realities—resolve themselves, in a bracing thunderclap." @greenejayson reviews the lovely new album from @sluice.ig! Out now via @mtnlaurelrecordingco

Head over to @bigtakeovermag to read a great inter

Head over to @bigtakeovermag to read a great interview between Chip Midnight and @sluice.ig's Justin Morris, about their new album 'Companion,' out today on @mtnlaurelrecordingco!

https://bigtakeover.com/interviews/interview-justin-morris-sluice

On the new single from @styrofoamwinos "Pearls": I

On the new single from @styrofoamwinos "Pearls": It’s a love song that operates like the poem that inspired it—finding something luminous inside the ordinary, then holding it up to the light just long enough for everyone in the room to see it shimmer. —Casey Epstein-Gross @pastemagazine
Any River arrives June 19th on @dearliferecs 🏞️

@rosyoverdrive reviews the new album from @helicop

@rosyoverdrive reviews the new album from @helicopterleaves! "Sabrina Nickels is a whirlwind; this feeling is greatly enhanced by “It Really Never Did”, a starry-eyed power pop opening track that’s as good as any guitar pop I’ve heard this year." Out tomorrow 3/27 via @noyesrecords

"...lead single "Pearls" boogies at a lackadaisica

"...lead single "Pearls" boogies at a lackadaisical gait that evokes Courtney Barnett, with a wistful earnestness that reminds me of Ratboys." @stereogum shares the album announce and new single from Nashville's @styrofoamwinos!
Any River arrives 6/19 via @dearliferecs

https://stereogum.com/2493415/styrofoam-winos-announce-new-album-any-river-hear-pearls/music

"Sluice seem to have picked up where Radial Gate l

"Sluice seem to have picked up where Radial Gate left-off, searching for meaning and finding it not in material good or reaching the next step on the ladder to fame, but in the journey, with your companions, and your creative spirits, standing by your side." @for_the_rabbits on @sluice.ig!
Their new album 'Companion' arrives March 27th via @mtnlaurelrecordingco ⚡️

Beautiful review by @joshterry of @natalie.jane.hi

Beautiful review by @joshterry of @natalie.jane.hill's 'Hopeful Woman', out now on @dearliferecs!

"Throughout, every note, arrangement flourish, and lyric is intentional and near-flawless. It’s a record that is overwhelmingly gorgeous on first impression and masterful on each subsequent listen."
RIYL: Sandy Denny, Karen Dalton, timeless songwriting

UK fans can catch her live on tour this May + June supporting @raylamontagne ⚡️

https://open.substack.com/pub/joshhterry/p/natalie-jane-hill-dagmar-zuniga-symbol-soup-doll-spirit-vessel?r=4hg93x&utm_medium=ios

@stereogum shares the new video from @thomasdollba

@stereogum shares the new video from @thomasdollbaum "Dozen Roses", off his upcoming new LP 'Birds of Paradise' arriving 5/22 via @dearliferecs!

For his sophomore album Birds Of Paradise, Dollbaum assembled a band that includes Lenderman, multi-instrumentalist Josh Halper, and the Convenience's Nick Corson. They learned and recorded the tracks with producer/engineer Clay Jones over the course of four days at Dial Back Sound in Water Valley, Mississippi.