Country firebrand Margo Price has never pulled a punch, a quality that likely inspired the title of this fifth studio album and follow-up to the two-part *Strays*. Known for her fiery lyrics and even more electric live performances, Price, now nearly a decade out from her groundbreaking debut album *Midwest Farmer’s Daughter*, is a pillar of left-of-center country, paving the way for like-minded artists like Sierra Ferrell and Tyler Childers, the latter of whom appears on this album. Though she’s a longtime Nashville resident, *Hard Headed Woman* marks the first time Price has recorded a project in Music City, setting up shop with Grammy-winning producer Matt Ross-Spang (Old Crow Medicine Show, Jason Isbell) at famed Music Row outpost RCA Studio A. Sonically, the record doesn’t deviate far from Price’s previous output, though there’s a confident ease in these performances that is more palpable here than on older projects. It opens with a prelude, harmony vocals setting the stage for lead single “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down,” a keep-your-head-up anthem Price co-wrote with Rodney Crowell, the late Kris Kristofferson, and her husband/frequent collaborator Jeremy Ivey. Singer-songwriter Jesse Welles joins Price on “Don’t Wake Me Up,” an off-kilter rocker that eschews the chaos of the modern world in favor of dreamy idealism. The Childers collaboration “Love Me Like You Used to Do” is another high point, bringing the pair of beloved artists together for a last-call ballad about keeping the spark alive.
fter a decade of releasing music as Sunbeam Sound Machine, Melbourne multi-instrumentalist and producer Nick Sowersby continues to mine rich seams of soft-focus psych. His fourth album adds saxophone—which he learned to play during lockdown—as well as bird sounds and other field recordings he captured while biking around town. There’s also a new rhythmic component in drummer Lochy Funston and percussionist Rhys Grunden, while the lyrics often take inspiration from both the natural world and Sowersby’s domestic roles as father and partner. Nailing down a vocal line that had been bouncing around his head for years, “Dandelion” draws upon the birth of his daughter. Similarly, the opening “Waterfall (Strange Gravity)” features a guitar loop he recorded a decade prior and forgot all about. With its springy bassline and playful New Age flourishes, that track sets the tone for this meditative yet danceable album. Sowersby includes some specific nods to locations from his past and present too: “Kananook” is a sax-forward instrumental named after the creek that ran behind his childhood home, and the friskier “Tempo Video” borrows its title from an Italian DVD rental shop in suburban Melbourne. Sowersby stretches out most on the nearly nine-minute “Career Year,” mulling over concepts of ambition and quality of life against radiant warmth.
Chaos, beauty, empowerment, and the highs and lows of life are the themes that drive Nova Twins’ third album, *Parasites & Butterflies*—a record that finds duo at their most creative and uplifting. London’s rock disruptors recorded the follow-up to 2022’s *Supernova* in Vermont with producer Rich Costey (Foo Fighters, Muse, LINKIN PARK), but they started writing the bulk of it at home. “We always go into sessions with more ideas than too little,” says bassist Georgia South. “We thought, ‘We don\'t care what people think about it, we’re just going to write how we feel that day and push ourselves in places where we’ve never gone before and not question it.’” Despite two hit albums, plus Mercury, MOBO, and BRIT nominations under their belts, the feeling of not quite belonging hasn’t gone away for Nova Twins. Perhaps it’s a good thing: Georgia South and Amy Love—who met as teenagers and crafted their unique sound that’s unafraid to bounce across genres—bring their own energy and do things their way. “I think it still feels like we’re outsiders, and I wonder if we’ll always feel like we’re the underdog trying to climb to the top,” says South. “When you try and do something different and you look different to the old social norms, you’re always going to feel like that. We try to open the door to as many people as we can and show people a different way. You don’t have to look or sound like what’s trendy, and you can have your own voice, your own sound, and it can work for you with resilience and persistence. We’ve always had this weird sense of thinking anything’s possible.” Read on as Nova Twins take you through the album, track by track. **“Glory”** Georgia South: “This was the last song we wrote. It’s euphoric and ethereal and it sounds quite different from what we’ve done before. We were exploring themes of chaos and beauty, and I feel like it has that juxtaposition where it opens up with this ethereal, glorious chorus and then just smashes with the chaos. It sums up the album really well as an opener.” Amy Love: “*Supernova* was very much a time where we had to fight and be strong. With this one, I think we had time to reflect and then talk about it. We’re exploring a slightly more honest side, and people can hopefully relate to some of it.” **“Piranha”** AL: “The world feels like a scary place, so we wanted a song that reflects on the times and embodies that tension, but also flips it on its head. There’s power in numbers, and if we unify, we have a bigger voice. ‘Piranha’ is a song for strength, but it also touches on the murky waters and what we’re going through right now.” GS: “Violence against women is continuing, especially with trans women at the moment in the UK. We definitely feel proud that this album’s empowering women and that when we step onstage, they can feel our energy and they exchange it right back at us. It’s always beautiful to see women at the front screaming and going for it and feeling their power in that moment.” **“Monsters”** AL: “I feel like at some point or another, your mental health will challenge you, whether something in your life has caused you trauma or you realize something about yourself. Everyone can relate to that. When we write, we’re always looking inwards or at what we’re feeling that day, hoping that it will reach our audience in a meaningful way. We were chatting to Sade’s producer Robin Millar, who’s amazing. He was reflecting on the song and he was like, ‘You can be the strongest person in the world, you can be the fastest person in the world, you can be the smartest person in the world, but this controls everything. It doesn’t matter and you can get in the way of yourself.’ It’s definitely a point of reflection and growth, and there’s something freeing about that song.” **“Soprano”** GS: “I think ‘Soprano’ is part of the beauty on the album. It’s like the light and joy, and we wanted to definitely have moments like that. It’s all about female solidarity, women coming together and having this girl gang. I think in this industry, people love to pit women against each other and make people feel like shit on the red carpet. It’s ridiculous. In life, women love to huddle together and confide in each other, finding friendship and strength. So this song is to celebrate that.” **“Drip”** AL: “We both came up with the tune. G sent this really cool drum-’n’-bass-style music that was so high in energy and so sassy. I got it and I started spitting some lyrics on it and we tweaked it together. The world’s heavy, yes, but we’re still young girls and we like to have fun. We enjoy exploring our sexual nature, understanding our bodies, and we’re definitely growing in that sense as well. When we’re on tour, we’re so disciplined: We don’t drink and we have to stay focused to be able to perform the type of show we do. So when we get home, the odd now and then, we want a blowout and just have one of those ratchet nights.” **“N.O.V.A”** GS: “We really wanted our audience to feel included, so this is for them to sing back with us. Amy’s lyrics are really cool—it’s a testament to both our heritages and exploring who we are. It felt like a celebration, and I think it’s going to be a massive party when we play it live.” AL: “As we grow, we’re understanding balance a lot more. If you have the most euphoric experience, there’s going to be a comedown, and if you feel really, really low, there’s only one way you can go. I feel like we’re both darker people probably by nature, but we love to laugh, so this is about having that balance. The album started off a bit dark ’cause that’s how we were feeling, so we were like, ‘We should pull ourselves out of this. Let’s just inject fun, the stuff that we love to do and the simple things in life that bring us joy.’” **“Sandman”** AL: “Surrealism and escapism are very important. You need to switch off. Sometimes you just want to dip yourself into another world. And sometimes in that world, you deal all the cards. In Nova’s world, we generally like to be the power and the strength.” GS: “I think the theme of the album came from this song. We took the title *Parasites & Butterflies* from the lyrics. We did think of other titles for the album. One was *The Bridge Between Beauty and Chaos*, but we were like, ‘How are you going to abbreviate that?’” **“Hummingbird”** AL: “I find this song quite difficult to talk about. I’ve lost my mum and my nan, and they were the people who raised me, and I wanted a song that paid homage to them. Me and Georgia came up with this beautiful song that explains how you feel after grief. Loads of people suffer with loss, and that can be the loss of a relationship as well. It’s about that point after grief and you’re missing someone, but also accepting it and seeing the beauty in them being at peace. Death is a taboo in the West, and we’re all going to experience it at some point. The more we open up about it, maybe we can find solace in each other’s experiences and not feel so isolated when it happens.” **“Parallel Universe”** GS: “This is about the internet. It’s a dark place and there are corners of it where we think, ‘Don’t look at the comments.’ I’m training myself to not go on Instagram in the morning. It can be really toxic. When you look at young children who have accounts and there’s bullying in schools because of social media, it’s out of control and I don’t know how we can backpedal. Luckily, when we grew up, it wasn’t so massive to be online all the time. We actually got to go to the park after school and hang out. So we want to make people aware of how online bullying can affect anyone. Even if you seem super confident, one negative comment can still come into play and you have to shut them out and drown them out because they’re just being stupid.” **“Hide & Seek”** GS: “This is about one of those relationships where you’re playing cat and mouse with this intense love, but also you have resentment, and you keep flicking between the two. And neither one of you is the enemy at all, you’re kind of equal. At some point you have to just decide whether you have to let each other go or not, because you do love each other, but you’re hurting each other at the same time.” **“Hurricane”** AL: “This is another one about strength. There’s obviously a generation of men who prefer women not to be strong, but we’ve come so far, we want careers, we want more than just what was offered to us. As we start to get into those places and those positions, sometimes you do feel like some men can be intimidated. I guess there must be strong men out there. It’s quite funny ’cause I’ve recently had a breakup. I was like, ‘Am I too strong?’ Georgia’s always like, ‘You need a confident man.’ If someone can’t handle this, then I’d rather be alone. But a stay-at-home husband would be great—he can water the plants while I’m on tour.” **“Black Roses”** GS: “I don’t remember at what point we wrote this song, but we juggled it to put it at the end of the album ’cause we thought it’s a big tune. I think it’s sassy and quite Halloween-y. The ending is very epic, so it’s a good way to wrap up the album as well.” AL: “It definitely has that kind of sass: We’re leaving the black roses everywhere and infiltrating places. I guess in this context it does sound like a relationship when someone messes you over. But I feel when we were writing it, it was probably a bit more than that, like, ‘We’re here whether you like it or not.’ And it’s such a nice little sassy number just to finish off on.”
SE SO NEON went through a few different incarnations in its initial decade as a Korean indie rock band, but its center held steady: vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Hwang So-yoon. For SE SO NEON’s first studio album, and first album release since 2020 EP *Nonadaptation*, Hwang was the band’s solitary member. As a soloist operating under the name So!YoON!, Hwang has collaborated with some of K-pop’s biggest idols (RM for 2023’s “Smoke Sprite,” HOSHI and WOOZI for 2025’s “PINOCCHIO”) and some of the world’s most respected musicians (Ryuichi Sakamoto, John Cale). As the central figure in SE SO NEON, she grounds the group’s musical legacy with a unique combination of androgynous vocals, sincere lyricism, trend-agnostic composition, and electrifying guitar skills. *NOW*, which comes almost a decade after Hwang formed the band, is hyper-aware of its specific moment in time, even while including previously released tracks like 2021’s “Jayu” and 2023’s “Kidd.” Lo-fi rock track “Remember!,” inspired by the loss of Japanese composer Sakamoto, Hwang’s friend and mentor, is an invocation to hold on to the present without letting go of the past, while album opener “Twit Winter” has the Soyoon of today calling out to the Soyoon of tomorrow: “Me and you against time, how has it changed us, are we fine?” The theme is grounded by a romantic-grunge title track that aims for “infinite tenderness” in its slow-burn, introspective ambition.
