We love finding new music.  More so, we love sharing the new music we find with you!  That's why we've launched The Breakers - a new music feature highlighting songs and artists we think you'll love! Check out who we've been checking out below! 

For the first time since 2019 - we have new music from our fine friends from the north - The Strumbellas. 

But the band's leave of absence is warranted -  lead singer Simon Ward came to the realization that the depression he had been battling was no longer something he could deal with on his ownsought professional help.  The rest of the band gave him the time and space to get right with himself - and reunited in late 2020.  

Ward explains the new track - 

“Greatest Enemy is about how sometimes the toughest battle is the one you have with yourself. The Strumbellas had a rough start to 2020 with canceled tours and mental health struggles, and then the pandemic happened. This is a song about facing the one fight you can’t run from.” 

The band isn't just writning songs about these major issues - they are determined to help bring the conversation about mental health to the forefront because of how the topic impacted them and so many of us. They have teamed up with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) for the single’s release.  Good on you Strumbellas!   

Stumbellas - Greatest Enemy  

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This post was sponsored by Glassnote Records - but the opinions are those of the WRNR music staff 

 Michigander aka Jason Singer explains that the title for his new EP 'Everything Will Be OK Eventually' comes from his mindset after the pandemic hit in 2020.  He had just begun to get his music out there and was on the road playing shows when he had to return home.  

Jason recalls: 

At first I wasn’t very concerned, but as the weeks, then months went on, all my plans started to fall apart. It was very hard to not be discouraged everyday. But I just kept telling myself (and my friends) that “everything will be ok eventually”. That phrase kept me going then and still does now. Working on these songs for the entire year has been the highlight of a very dark time for me. I’ve never been more proud of something that I’ve made and I am extremely excited (and impatient) to share this new collection of songs that mean so much to me. Things still might not be great right now, but everything will be ok eventually

And now we get to relish in the fruits of this labors ... with some indie bops that can really get you moving - and some lyrical juxtaposition that make you reflect - like the track we are currently obsessed with - Let Down.  While the song is upbeat and catchy - the lyrics are a contrast -  'I got high hopes ... But they let me down '

We have high hopes that we can get to a state of everything being OK and that we see more of Michiganer in 2021. 

Michigander - Let Down

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This post was sponsored by C3 Records - but the opinions are those of the WRNR music staff 

When asked about the inspiration for her song  Hurt - British singer songwriter Arlo Parks references a quote by Caribbean American poet Audre Lorde: ‘Pain will either change or end’  ... that and wanting to create something that felt triumphant, and that you could dance to.  

While the quote certainly makes sense when you dig deep into the lyrics - we think Arlo Parks certainly achieved her goal of a triumphant dancable jam with Hurt.  At just 20 years old - we can't wait to hear what she comes up with next! 

Arlo Parks - Hurt (Official Video)

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This post was sponsored by 13/8 Marketing - but the opinions are those of the WRNR music staff 

Rock Royalty is a term we don't throw around lightly ... but Mike Campbell is one rocker who we feel confident applying that tag to ... when you were a member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and co-wrote songs like "Refugee", "Here Comes My Girl", "You Got Lucky", and "Runnin' Down a Dream" - oh - and when Fleetwood Mac calls you up to tour with them and your song writing resume is about 24 pages long - yeah, you get to wear the crown.  

Well Mike's new project - The Dirty Knobs -  who are a bit rougher-edged than his previous works ...or as Mike says -  "It's slightly over-driven, less polished, lots of Sixties influence: The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, The Animals. It's something I probably should have done a long time ago, but I didn't 'cause I was wrapped up in the Heartbreakers

The band's latest single -  the gorgeous and timeless ballad, “Irish Girl"  is one of the stand out tracks from the band's debut album . 

“Irish Girl is my favorite lyric on the record,” says Campbell. “It’s whimsical and more poetic than most of the Knobs’ songs. I was inspired to write it driving home late one night listening to Van Morrison on the radio. When I got home, the song just came to me. It’s very simple musically and I love the sound of the record. It reminds me of Ireland.”

The Dirty Knobs - Irish Girl (Official Music Video)

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This post was sponsored by BMG  - but the opinions are those of the WRNR music staff 

In a year where we all had a little extra time on our hands - a lot of people decided to rekindle some things from their past, like baking, solving puzzles, and reading.  For Nick Murphy - it was bringing back his alter ego / music side project- Chet Faker.  

The Australian had just put out a record under his birth name in early 2020 - so the release of the Chet Faker project comes as a most welcome surprise.  

Low, the first song released under the Faker moniker since 2015,  has a bluesy groove to it but Chet isn't singing the blues - he's got a more positive tune in his voice - with lines like "Just because I feel low right now/ It doesn’t mean all that I’ve got has run out” and  “I think you got purpose/ I think you got song/ You know that I think you should/ Do whatever is worth it/ Just to get to that place there.”

Murphy has promised more Chet Faker music in 2021  - so here's to hoping an album is on the way 

Chet Faker - Low (Official Music Video)

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This post was sponsored by BMG  - but the opinions are those of the WRNR music staff 

There probably aren't too many musicians who would turn down a collaboration from Bruce Springsteen - especially those from New Jersey.  

So it makes sense that Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff called working on his new song, chinatown, with the Boss an 'honor of a lifetime' and that Bruce is an 'artist who showed me that the sound of the place i am from has value and that there is a spirit here that needs to be taken all over the world'   ...  pretty sure performing the song live  with him on the roof of Electric Lady Studios was icing on the cake :) 

chinatown (along with the track '45') will appear on the new Bleachers' record due out in later this year- so until we get the rest of the album - relish in New Jersey's sons collab: 

Bleachers - chinatown ft. Bruce Springsteen

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This post was sponsored by RCA RECORDS  - but the opinions are those of the WRNR music staff 

Dispatch and WRNR have had a pretty great relationship over the years - they played one of our Private Artisit Showcases,  invited us backstage for a Meals with Musicians at Merriweather, and they even made a special stop in Baltimore to play our Holiday Snowball! 

So when we got word that they had a new album on the way - we couldn't wait to get our hands on the whole thing - so we started playing the first song they sent - May We All - as soon as we got it! 

The song is an uptempo jaunt - but the lyrics are pretty deep ... having being written in the middle of a pandemic, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and a period which saw the band experience highs and lows personally ... Chawick Stokes says the track  'led with this idea of what it means to be forsaken and what that might look like to different demographics in our country' 

The band is releasing a handful of songs at time (you can hear some other new material here) before the full album drop ... 

Dispatch - May We All

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This post was sponsored by Bomber Records / AWAL. - but the opinions are those of the WRNR music staff