Welcome to The V13 Fix our new weekly round-up of some of the best albums, singles and EPs to drop in our laps/inboxes this week. From pop to indie to rock to deathcore, there is something for everyone in this mix of new music. Check out and support all the bands and labels if you like what you hear and if there is a particular album you like, make sure you head over to Spotify and check out one of our specially curated playlists where there is more great new music added daily.

Alternatively, if you’re in a band or want one of your bands considered for inclusion. Get in touch. While we can’t guarantee every album or EP we receive will be included, there are still plenty of other ways we can support you.

So, without further ado, sit back, plug in your headphones and get this week’s V13 Fix of new music…

meth.
‘SHAME’
Prosthetic Records

An exploration into one man’s experience of guilt, mental health issues and addiction, SHAME is the second album from Chicago-based experimental noise outfit Meth. This seven-track affair, the follow-up to their 2020 offering Mother of Red Light, blends industrial metal and noise-rock into a bleak, honest soundtrack. Delving into vocalist Seb Alvarez battles with then-undiagnosed bipolar and unchecked addiction issues, SHAME is a raw, honest insight into a man battling many demons. US live dates are planned around the release of the album with further dates to be revealed imminently.

For more information or to pick up your copy, visit meth. online here

Being As An Ocean
‘Death Can Wait’
Out Of Line Music

Never truer than after the last few years, none of us know what is waiting around the corner. On Death Can Wait, the new album from South California melodic post-hardcore crew Being As An Ocean, the message pulsing through each track is one imploring the listener to live in the moment. Accepting death as the unavoidable conclusion to our time on this rock, Being As An Ocean’s message is as focused and urgent as their music. From the piano-led “…Gave It A Voice So That My Heart Could Speak” or the grittier moments which litter tracks like “Flesh and Bone” or recent single “Swallowed By The Earth”, Death Can Wait finds the Californian melodic hardcore crew hitting home a message to live each day to the max. It’s a message that, after six albums, is more relevant now than ever before.

For more information, visit Being As An Ocean online here

HeavyHex
‘You Can’t Stay Here’
Bridge Nine Records

Hardcore has never shied away from tackling emotional subject matters and HeavyHex is no exception to their rule. Their new single, “You Can’t Stay Here” tackles the plight of New York City’s homeless encampment sites and the city’s failed attempt to resolve the issue by forcing the homeless into shelters. A plight that has had an impact on HeavyHex vocalist David Gastiaburo as he explains: “Out of the 2,300 homeless people present during those sweeps, only 119 agreed to go to a shelter and most of them did not stay. Many were forced out with little time to take any of their belongings with them. These are people too, just like us, trying to get by.” The track is typical of the kind of hardcore wares put out by Bridge Nine and is delivered with the kind of passion and raw emotion you would hope given the subject matter. “You Can’t Stay Here” serves as a taster for the hardcore crew’s upcoming album due in April and, on this evidence, expect an album that wastes no time in hammering home its emotional message.

For more information, visit HeavyHex online here

Same Side
‘Oh No’
Pure Noise Records

Same Side is the solo project of Kevin Geyer, best known as lead guitarist for alt-rock crew The Story So Far. The latest in a raft of projects Geyer has put his name, and wealth of music talents to, Same Side sees Geyer blend gentle, jangly acoustic guitars with lyrics based around the vocalist’s personal stories. It makes for an honest, vulnerable listen with Geyer himself stating of the album themes: “Thematically, there tends to be some sort of playful dread with my lyrics. You sort of feel like, ‘Oh no, here we go again.’ But ultimately, you can’t just sit around and wait for things to get better. You have to get over it and move on with life.”

For more information, visit Same Side online here

Slope
‘Freak Dreams’
Century Media Records

Slope is a German-based hardcore band drawing inspiration from the likes of Beastie Boys, Rage Against The Machine and early Red Hot Chili Peppers. If that’s your bag and you’re looking for an album packed with infectious energy, and massive hooks, Freak Dreams will be right up your street. It’s also the kind of album which steps outside the norm as the band strives to deliver their 360 Funk Vision. Battling the 9-5 grind using thought-provoking lyrics to highlight personal struggles and unsatisfying situations that many face these days, Freak Dreams, is the soundtrack to living outside what is expected of them by society. 11 songs of humungous funk grooves and head-wrecking timings, Freak Dreams will make you realise there is more to life than the 9-5 slog.

For more information, visit Slope online here

Lost Zone
‘Can’t Keep Running’
Drakkar Entertainment

Having already shared a teaser for their upcoming album Ordinary Misery due in April, Italian modern metal outfit Lost Zone is back with their new single “Can’t Keep Running”. Wearing their influences proudly on their sleeves, this latest taster at times tips a nod towards Meteora-era Linkin Park, no shock considering their cover of the rock legends iconic “In The End” racked up over half a million views. There are plenty of other influences on show and while it means that “Can’t Keep Running” doesn’t throw up any surprises, as an example of how this kind of thing can be delivered when done well, hopefully, the rest of the album will follow suit.

For more information, visit Lost Zone online here

The Last Dinner Party
‘Prelude To Ecstasy’
Island Records

Critics and fans alike have gone batshit over The Last Dinner Party and, listening to their debut album, Prelude To Ecstasy, it’s easy to see why. A mesmerizing band, it’s not often the end result lives up to the buzz but, in the case of The Last Dinner Party, they have proved themselves to be an exception to the rule. Describing ecstasy as an emotion which crosses the gamut of human emotion, the London quintet have created an album which does exactly that. A collection of haunting guitar-rock meets indie tales, Prelude To Ecstasy sees the band take the hypnotic aura of their live show and translate it effortlessly to vinyl. An album inspired by their own collective and individual stories, Prelude To Ecstasy taps into every emotion and is a breathtaking listen. Already winning awards from the critics and the hearts of music fans in the UK, it won’t be long before the rest of the world falls under their spell. “Believe the hype”? Absolutely believe it!

For more information, visit The Last Dinner Party online here

L Devine
‘Digital Heartifacts’
AWAL Recordings

L Devine is building up a wealth of praise from artists like Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, Sam Fender and Lewis Capaldi. Digital Heartifacts combines the best elements of those artists wrapped up neatly into one complete package. The songs are moody pop wrapped in emotional themes, self-deprecating and inspired by real-life experiences. Combined it makes for the kind of album which grabs your attention. Tracks like the recent single “If I Don’t Laugh I’ll Cry” epitomize everything wonderful about L Devine and her music. Speaking about the inspiration behind the single, she explains “‘If I Don’t Laugh I’ll Cry’ is about the sweet spot between having a mental breakdown and total liberation. It’s a proper insight into my personality, I usually cope with my struggles and insecurities by finding humour in them.” Digital Heartifacts takes those themes and expands them into an album that music fans will both connect with and find comfort in.

For more information, visit L Devine online here

Kid Kapichi
‘Get Down’
Spinefarm Records

Kid Kapichi drop their highly-anticipated new album There Goes The Neighbourhood on March 15th and “Get Down” provides the perfect taster. A tale of a sketchy night out, the track is exactly what we’ve come to expect from the Hastings band. The soundtrack to life for many in the UK. Drunken nights out to wipe the memory of another shit, skint week, Kid Kapichi is the sound of British culture in 2024. The perfect soundtrack to scrapping, shagging and drinking, “Get Down” provides the soundtrack to help you when Monday morning rolls around again. A dirty, anthemic and tragically honest appraisal of life in many of Britain’s towns, “Get Down” demonstrates yet again why Kid Kapichi are the ONLY band you need in your life right now.

For more information, visit Kid Kapichi online here

Florence Black
‘Bed of Nails’
AWAL Recordings

Sometimes you just need to be slapped in the face by an album full of huge, dirty riffs and big anthemic rock bangers which is right where Welsh rockers Florence Black come swinging in. Originally scheduled for December, the follow-up to their charting debut Weight of the World slaps the moment it leaves the starting gate. For fans of bands like Black Stone Cherry and Seether, the former Planet Rock Award winners are kickstarting 2024 with an album of absolute fist-pumpers. Hulking great riffs scrap with Tristan Thomas’ dirty whiskey and tobacco-laced vocals with the winner ending up being the listener who gets the best of both worlds. Galloping rock anthems like “Taxman” are the order of the day Bed of Nails is jam-packed with them. For a three-piece, Florence Black makes a huge noise, and having laid waste to most of the major rock festivals in 2023, Bed of Nails will do their already solid reputation as one of Britain’s most electrifying rock bands no harm whatsoever.

For more information, visit Florence Black online here

Levels
‘Pulse EP’
Sharptone Records

The diversity on the recent Download Festival announcement (which you can read here) has caused a fair bit of uproar on the t’internet. However, far from being stuck in the past, organisers have pulled together a line-up which reaches all corners of the alternative music spectrum which is exactly what Central Arkansas crew Levels are trying to capture on their latest EP. Throwing elements of metal, rock, pop, and R&B into one big bubbling pot, the end result is an album that you can throw down to as much as you can singalong to. Having performed alongside the likes of Beartooth and Oceano, tracks like “Realign” could as easily see the band fit at home in front of those whose musical palette enjoys electronic music with a bit of grit. Pulse is the sound of a band who are open-minded enough to experiment with their sound so if your Spotify playlist has as much Prodigy in it as it does I Prevail, then make sure you find some space in there for this gem.

For more information, visit Levels online here

Sanjay
‘Ancestral Visions’
Purple Condor Records

Hailing from the Joshua Tree in California, multi-faceted artist, Sanjay is about to take you on a real journey with his debut album. Inspired by a trip to a silent meditation retreat in Peru in 2019, Ancestral Visions consists of stories of heartbreak, transformation and rebirth. Those stories are delivered to a cocktail of live electronica, found sounds of the jungle and a variety of native percussive instruments and acoustic guitars. The kind of album you can put on and before you know it, you’re completely lost in the intricate sounds, Ancestral Visions feels like a very personal album. However, while it might be a journey only this creator has taken, the experiences have been captured effortlessly.

For more information, visit Sanjay online here

Enterprise Earth
‘Death: An Anthology’
MNRK Heavy

On their fifth album, tech death metal troop Enterprise Earth take the opportunity to approach the subject of death from a different angle. Facing the subject matter head-on, the band do so under the weight of jarring techy guitar, stinking guttural vocals and brain-bending soundscapes. They’re joined on this journey by a Who’s Who of heavy music including Trivium vocalist Matt Heafy on album closer “Curse of Flesh.” They’re also joined by Spite’s Darius Tehrani on “The Reapers Servant.” The result is an album that is as savage and gut-pummellingly heavy as it is soothing and intricate. Comparisons to the tech-metal giants like Meshuggah aren’t far off the mark so if you like your death metal to melt your sense while simultaneously pounding you in the guts, Death: An Anthology will be right up your street.

For more information, visit Enterprise Earth online here

Alexisonfire, City and Colour, Dine Alone Records, and Live Nation Canada have announced the return of the beloved Born & Raised Festival. Back for its second year, the two-day event will once again take over Montebello Park in the artists’ cherished hometown of St. Catharines, Ontario, on Friday, July 5th and Saturday, July 6th, 2024. Tickets for this all-ages event go on sale Friday, February 2nd at 10 am ET at ticketmaster.ca.

Alexisonfire and City and Colour have put together a stacked lineup of friends. Joining them are Metric, The Used, Sloan, Counterparts, Dooms Children, and Ekkstacy.

Alexisonfire’s George Pettit states:

“Born & Raised is back! After an overwhelmingly successful first attempt, the gang in AOF and City and Colour are returning to Montebello Park in peak physical form. Bring your friends, bring your sunscreen, strap in for the concert of the summer. Don’t sleep on it!”

Born & Raised Festival 2024 poster

Born & Raised is a celebration and homecoming for Alexisonfire bandmates Dallas Green, George Pettit, Wade MacNeil, Chris Steele, and Jordan Hastings. The festival pays homage to the Alexisonfire track bearing its name, serving as a tribute to the hometown that witnessed the humble origins of Alexisonfire, City and Colour, Dine Alone Records, and Bedlam Management. Alexisonfire rose up out of the St. Catharines, Ontario underground, in late 2001. Green’s City and Colour’s Platinum-certified solo album Sometimes debuted a few short years later in 2005.

2022’s inaugural Born & Raised featured four electric nights of music, food, and drink, attracting tens of thousands of fervent fans to St. Catharines’ Montebello Park. The festival included memorable performances from Sam Roberts Band, Broken Social Scene, Billy Talent, NOBRO, Moneen, PUP, and more. Now back with a vengeance and by immensely popular demand, Alexisonfire, alongside City and Colour, Dine Alone Records, and Live Nation, are once again, bringing the music back to where it all started.

Born & Raised Festival has partnered with PLUS1 so that 1 dollar per ticket goes to supporting Indspire and their work investing in the education of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis students across Canada.

Friday, July 5, 2024:

City and Colour
Metric
Sloan
Dooms Children

Saturday, July 6, 2024:

Alexisonfire
The Used
Counterparts
Ekkstacy

Abandon the Fall, the Houston-based musical project spearheaded by Juan Espinoza, has recently unveiled their latest single, “Matches,” in collaboration with Milwaukee’s female-fronted alternative rock act, Dreamhouse. This dynamic duo sees the fusion of Abandon the Fall’s refined approach to alternative rock and pop elements with Dreamhouse’s inviting and smooth-soaring vocals.

The lyrical concept behind “Matches” likens the human heart to matchboxes, where each match symbolizes various personal or relational struggles. The poignant lyrics convey the delicate nature of handling these metaphorical matches, emphasizing that mishandling any one of them has the potential to set hearts ablaze.

Released in early 2024, “Matches” not only showcases the musical prowess of both Abandon the Fall and Dreamhouse but also highlights the power of collaborative efforts in the realm of alternative rock. With Juan Espinoza’s commitment to transparency and vulnerability, coupled with Dreamhouse’s energetic delivery, the song offers listeners a relatable perspective on the intricate balance between empowerment and weakness within the human experience. This single marks another chapter in Espinoza’s journey, further carving out the band’s place in the alternative music scene.

Listen to the new single below—now streaming everywhere.

“Matches” by Abandon the Fall