Brooklyn Vegan premieres Ruler's "Unhindered Pace" video

Brooklyn Vegan is premiering the video for "Unhindered Pace," the latest track from rising Seattle artist Ruler's forthcoming debut album, Winning Star Champion. Watch the video here.

The video came about as Ruler songwriter and frontman Matt Batey spent months confronting his agoraphobia by forcing himself out of his apartment and onto the vertiginous span of Seattle's Aurora Bridge, where much of the video was shot. The point was to face his fear in order to overcome it, a grueling process he describes in "Unhindered Pace," singing, "I walk an unhindered pace, through the dark and dingy places/All just to see a hopeless sight, and keep a smile on my face."

Ruler is set to perform at the upcoming Upstream Festival in Seattle June 1-3, and at the TIMBER! Summer Music Festival in Carnation, WA July 12-14. Additional tour dates to be announced shortly. 18 Apr 2018

Ruler's "Cars And Houses" premieres at Gold Flake Paint

Ruler — the project of Seattle-based singer and songwriter Matt Batey — is celebrating the upcoming release of their debut full-length album Winning Star Champion with the premiere of the single "Cars and Houses" at Gold Flake Paint. Gold Flake Paint hails the track as "an evocative undertaking, the layered instrumentation sitting as a subtle but intriguing backdrop for Batey's considered vocal take, which itself has the ability to carve out varying atmospheric shapes in spite of the overall playfulness of the composition."

Winning Star Champion is due May 25. Pre-order the album and shirt here. The band is also set to perform at the upcoming Upstream Festival in Seattle June 1-3 — additional tour dates to be announced shortly. 28 Mar 2018

Billboard premieres Ruler single "Petrified"

Winning Star Champion, the debut full-length album from Ruler — the project of Seattle-based musician Matt Batey — is due May 25. In celebration of the forthcoming release, Billboard has premiered the album's first single, "Petrified".

Batey explains to Billboard that "Petrified" is "a song about being afraid of the future... I've struggled with anxiety my whole life, and I was feeling especially afraid and anxious about what the future holds." He goes on, "I don't think I'm super old or anything, but a lot of people around me in my life are kind of quitting music and making families and doing other stuff. So choosing to continue to play music at this point is another level of deliberately choosing to do this." 22 Feb 2018

Ruler's "Not Your Friend" video premieres today

Ruler, the project of Seattle-based musician Matt Batey, is premiering the new single "Not Your Friend" alongside the track's video at Under the Radar. Watch/share the video here. 06 Feb 2018

Maps & Atlases return with first album in six years

Chicago's Maps & Atlases are set to return in 2018, announcing their new album Lightlessness Is Nothing New, out June 1. The record, their first since 2012's Beware And Be Grateful, finds frontman Dave Davison reckoning with the loss of his father and the emotional distances between light and dark.

Lightlessness Is Nothing New is available for pre-order now. 04 Apr 2018

New Hibou track!

Today Hibou shares "Junipero Love", the brand new single from the forthcoming album Something Familiar, out March 2nd. "Junipero Love" was inspired by "San Junipero", the Emmy winning episode of Black Mirror's third season. "The contrast between the two worlds depicted in the episode hit very close to home for me," says Peter Michel, the force behind Hibou. "I often feel torn between a conscious state and losing a hold of my memories and who I am." Michel's ongoing battle with anxiety and depersonalization was a major factor in the songwriting behind Something Familiar as a whole, and as such he also found common ground with the anxieties of the episode's protagonist as she navigated two realities and a burgeoning relationship. With its "breezy and playful guitar lines and cozy synth swells," writes Seattle Weekly, "'Junipero Love' idyllically distills the warm dreaminess of San Junipero's digital beaches."

Stream "Junipero Love" on Spotify here. 02 Feb 2018

New Hibou album and video!

Big thanks to KEXP for premiering "Fall Into" from the upcoming album Something Familiar — out March 2! The band will be hitting the road in March; dates & tickets can be found here. 18 Jan 2018

"Standing At The Gates" out now!

Today is the digital release day for the Nada Surf tribute album "Standing At The Gates: The Songs Of Nada Surf's Let Go"! Available on digital services today, the album features Charly Bliss doing "The Way You Wear Your Head", The Long Winters' version of "Hi-Speed Soul", and much more. Physical versions will be out March 2. Proceeds benefit the ACLU and Pablove Foundation. 02 Feb 2018