Existential Magazine’s June Music Roundup
With the month coming to a close, we’re sharing just a handful of our favourite new releases we’ve discovered this June! Sit back, put on our New Music Friday playlist and spend a few minutes enjoying fresh new tunes hand-picked by us.
Leo Walrus - Old Words, New Mess
Set to support Ratboy and The Boo Radleys this summer, the upcomer Leo Walrus has slowly but surely been finding his own place to slot in on the music scene. Since 2022, Leo’s weaved between sounds finding his little niche, and his most refined single yet ‘Old Words, New Mess’ shows off just how spectacular this talent’s sophomore album is set to be. Opened by warm piano notes, loose guitar strums and dainty vocals, everything about it feels achingly personal, sung right in front of your eyes like a campfire serenade. It picks up a little with soft thudding drums, electric guitar strums and quirky instrumental reaches, climbing into a hauntingly atmospheric journey that transcends being just a song, defining itself as more of an experience to take. With piano riffs and trailing instruments that dare to branch outside of their norm, ‘Old Words, New Mess’ feels living and breathing as it pulls you in to its devastatingly real sonic journey, born out of drowsy musings on public transport: ‘I hear announcements, as I start to rise.’ With Leo setting the scene of this mundane experience on the train before leading into the courage it takes to start again, it’s impossible not to place yourself in his shoes, connoting this everyday act to our own routines and thus feeling his words that bit more personally as he beams: ‘make a new man, start again.’ As a mix of hopeful reflection and yearning, ‘Old Words, New Mess’ is the perfect tune to add to your introspective playlists for when you just want to ponder that little bit deeper.
Up From Here - Under Your Spell
The pop-punk trio Up From Here are eager to break into the music scene with a sound that’s instantly familiar but defiantly their own. Through brilliantly catchy riffs, old-school flair and modern presence, they’ve nailed everything they’re doing - and their newest single ‘Under Your Spell’ certainly only proves that. Opened with a stripped-back soundscape that slowly builds into the action, the group know how to build momentum and grip new listeners instantly, blaring half muted electric guitar strums and a steady rising beat your way while vocals take the lead. Everything about it is infectious, urging you to listen deeply to every single word while the sound slowly finds itself in an assured chorus that’s raw and addictively loud. Blasting with vigorous strums, thunderous drums and forceful vocals, ‘Under Your Spell’ really gets under your skin with a whirlwind of noise that the verses had cautiously built their way towards. From here onwards, things progressively keep growing, constantly teetering on the edge of an eruption that the chorus provides the climax for. The track itself feels intimate and warm, singing of a new love and first-time experience: ‘I’ve never felt the way I do, it’s all brand new.’ Despite the pop-punk grit, the message is actually totally wholesome even with some nerves, admitting ‘I can’t tell if I’m in too deep, I’m under your spell.’ As they embrace their feelings and figure it out, it’s well worth jumping along for the ride as Up From Here are a band that are sure to be going places just like their name suggests.
El Sam - Death In Disguise
Since he debuted in 2016, El Sam has found his works becoming a chapter of his life written in sound, pinning down pivotal moments and connecting with his audiences in that honesty. Through defiance and boldness, every one of his tracks stands out as something utterly refreshing, and his newest memorable piece ‘Death In Disguise’ is just another song that’s lined up to be looped in your head for weeks on end. From pressing play it’s instantly dark and alluring, a palette of dark pulsating beats and synthetic backing strobes. El Sam’s vocals take the lead atop it, a light vocal effect seeping through his words for a more electronic energy to pulse throughout, soothing and smooth while equally sultry. Blending underground club energy with cinematic production, there’s something about it that just manages to paint a picture right in front of your eyes, pushing the power of his storytelling tied into a sound that complements every line. Lyrically, El Sam explores the beauty found in destruction, the power of reinvention, the seduction of danger, and the masks we wear to survive. In some ways, it’s tempting and broody, like a bad romance that you can’t turn away from. In other ways, it’s a reminder that you can always rise from the ashes of anything, coming out a survivor with the strength to do anything. The chorus hook is a reminder of that, singing ‘dance for me in the night’ as the darkness hides everything about who we are, a moment we can simply let loose and be unapologetically ourselves. ‘Death In Disguise’ is just one of those songs you don’t realise you’ll have stuck in your head for months until it’s too late, crafting something so Lady Gaga-esque within a niche of his own that you just want so much more of.
Mary Middlefield - Summer Affair
The rising indie-rocker Mary Middlefield has quickly found herself standing out with music that dares to be a little bold, blending genres and styles for something that’s abstract in the most brilliant of ways. Recently recognised as one of Spotify’s 2025 Artists to Watch, this new name on the scene is one you’ll be hearing much more of, especially with her upcoming sophomore album. For now though, Mary’s newest effervescent single ‘Summer Affair’ is here to set the tone, channeling everything utterly euphoric about being young and experiencing fleeting love, freedom and the chaos of feeling everything at once. With gritty guitar strums meshed with a warm palette, steady drums, and haunting backing vocal layers, the opening is instantly a refreshing mix of tones. It doesn’t stop there either, quickly bounding into a verse that sees Mary spilling out her words in the most personable spoken-sung delivery, allowing listeners to feel a part of her confessions as though they were a friend listening to her pour her heart out: ‘my heart is racing, forehead sweating, from all the good things I’ve been feeling.’ As the chorus beams with guitar strums, thumping drums, bass twangs and a radiant vocal performance that dances through properly sung lines with dreamy backing harmonised layers, ‘Summer Affair’ feels just as whimsical and carefree as its message.
Caleb L'Etoile - Kerosene
Virginia-based upcomer Caleb L’Etoile just dropped his new album ‘American Death’, an exploration of folk-forward introspection and ardent rock heights. With anti-fascist themes, Caleb isn’t afraid to delve into the past and find inspiration from some of humanity’s worst deeds, while still leaving it open to be built upon by recent events as they come. The album’s finale ‘Kerosene’ is one song you definitely won’t be forgetting in the project, blending moments of poignance and intimacy with raw, in-your-face instruments. Opened by gentle guitar strums but rushed, breathy vocals, Caleb instantly gets across the urgency in the track, desperate to spew out his words as though he may be silenced at any moment. That urgency soon finds itself in the instrumental mix too, pressing along with metallic drum kicks, blaring guitar and more as it continues to fluidly build. Everything about it is constantly escalating until it finally reaches its peak with Caleb’s vocals harshly screaming ‘we didn’t have a way to lessen the spill’ mid-way through. Just as a quiet moment of piano follows, you think that may be the end of it all, but instead instruments collectively peak the microphone with a crashing wall of noise. Between thundering drums and brazen guitar you feel wholly consumed, like you’re watching an explosion from afar or witnessing a crashing plane fall from the sky. It doesn’t even stop there, completely switching up half-way to what feels like a new song entirely, beaming with just acoustic guitar and hauntingly resonant vocals. If you’re looking to find a musician unafraid to break boundaries and mesh his lyricism and instruments into one cohesive story, look no further than Caleb L’Etoile.
Give a listen to these songs and more in our New Music Friday playlist this week, or see our Roundup Recap playlist for every song previously featured in one of our monthly roundups that you might have missed!
Written by: Tatiana Whybrow
// Some of this coverage was supported and created via Musosoup, Groover and Submithub, #SustainableCurator.