I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post includes blurbs on The Aces, Neil Diamond, Sean Paul, The Leaving, and Cherry Bomb.
- Like a great night you never want to end, The Aces today release their deluxe album, Gold Star Baby: After Hours, and keep the dance party going. The expanded record includes three new tracks: the previously released diss track “Square One,” joined by the hopeful “Can’t Wait” and a club remix of “The Magic” by the band’s own Katie Henderson. The new set of songs makes an argument against anyone who says nothing good happens after midnight — Stream. On the deluxe album as a whole, the band shared, “We felt like we wanted to keep the ‘Gold Star Baby’ party going. We had so much fun touring this record and the culture we built with the fans and wanted one last hurrah. So, we decided to share some of our unreleased favs from the era. Little bit of heartbreak, a lot of disco. That’s GSB.”
- On May 8, rock ‘n’ roll icon Neil Diamond unveils Wild At Heart, a testament to his mastery and a remarkable third – and final – entry in his universally praised collaboration with producer Rick Rubin. Recorded initially at sessions for Diamond’s chart-topping Home Before Dark, this collection of ten songs features his signature passionate vocals and powerfully incisive lyrics surrounded by urgent yet stripped-down arrangements. Diamond initially teamed up with Rubin for 2005’s 12 Songs, hailed as “one of the most entertaining, satisfying albums Diamond has ever released.” The partnership went so well that Diamond was eager to work with Rubin again. 2008’s Home Before Dark was a tremendous popular success (his first-ever Number One album on the Billboard charts) and garnered widespread critical praise. PopMatters’ James Bassett echoed many of his colleagues’ sentiments when he hailed Home Before Dark as “an album of rare beauty, grace, and eloquence that captures Diamond in all his plain-spoken and big-hearted glory. And it is easily the most intensely personal release of his esteemed career.” WATCH THE OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR “WILD AT HEART” HERE. VIEW THE WILD AT HEART TRAILER HERE.
- Multi-award-winning dancehall icon Sean Paul and Grammy-nominated R&B singer Keyshia Cole are seeing their 2006 collaboration “(When You Gonna) Give It Up to Me” reach a new milestone nearly two decades after its original release. This week, the record climbs to No. 30 on the UK Official Singles Chart with 12,578 sales, marking a new all-time chart peak in the territory. The renewed chart success follows a sustained global resurgence that has accelerated throughout 2026. Since January 1, the track has generated more than 120 million new streams worldwide, reflecting renewed engagement from both longtime fans and younger listeners encountering the record through short-form video platforms.
- The duo The Leaving, comprised of Martin Doherty (CHVRCHES) and Jonny Scott, announce their debut album Ultimate Buzz, set for release on April 24, via Avenue A / Futures ✦ / Virgin Records. Alongside the announcement, they’ve released their single, “Fluoxetine,” written and produced by both members, following earlier tracks “Pray” and “Saved”. “Fluoxetine” finds The Leaving staring straight into grief and coming back changed. Built from existential doubt, love, and the need to be a source of comfort when you feel utterly unqualified, the song wrestles with belief, loss, and the desperate desire to absorb someone else’s pain. Born from insomnia, hallucination, and fleeting euphoria, “Fluoxetine” captures the moment sorrow transforms into strength.
- Cherry Bomb, the Los Angeles-based solo project of MisterWives' Mandy Lee throws a Y2K party with a confessional, pop-drenched tune "Digital Girl" out today via AWAL. Underneath the pulsing beat and crisp vocals, Lee earnestly chronicles the pains of keeping up with an increasingly automated, algorithmic world as an artist. LISTEN: "Digital Girl" With a reference to Madonna's "Material Girl," made for 2026 on the bubbling Y2K earworm, the track details the real struggles of being both a musician and a person today. Speaking on the contrived displays of perfection on social media and pressures of constant self-promotion, Lee explains, "'Digital Girl' asks how far are you willing to go for your dreams and at what cost? In this Information Age where the pressures of perfection and an unsustainable quantity over quality are constantly burning out not just artists but everyone who is plugged in, it’s impossible to not romanticize unplugging entirely."
