by Jane Lambert

“Second Chance” Is Stigma’s Boldest Leap Yet — Raw, Reflective and Roaring with Purpose

There’s a fire in “Second Chance” that doesn’t flicker. It surges.

German hard rock band Stigma, forged in 2021, have made good on the promise of their earlier EPs (Last Order, First Call) and delivered something tougher, deeper and far more personal. This is a record born from global, political and internal unrest, and every note very much feels like a response to it.

Recorded high in the Italian mountains and carved out of both philosophical musings and lived in experiences, “Second Chance” truly stands out.

Listen in here:

Stigma don’t look for the easy answers here. Instead, it’s more about owning the chaos, surviving the night, and daring to keep going. From the opening track “The Signs”, frontman Gerald Zinnegger sets the tone. It’s searching, defiant and anthemic.

“Spinning circles in space and time” he sings, with conviction. That duality of doubt and defiance ripples through the whole of the album. “Glorious Victory” follows with a cinematic sweep. Guitars soar, drums pound and the message lands with a force – that true strength lies in control.

If “Second Chance” has a heartbeat, it is “Blaze of My Heart” where Zinnegger is at full throttle, singing like a man with nothing left to lose. It’s a cathartic outburst and a reminder of why any of us hold on through the noise. The bands sounds really locked in here.

Their lead single, “Faraway” is a rare and tender moment. This song is restrained, melancholic and shot through with longing. Inspired by the prison island Gorgona, it is a study in emotional isolation. Yet even here, Stigma show a flicker of hope, of imagined forgiveness.

Then comes “Monster,” arugably the album’s most vulnerable moment. The lyrics here flirt with self loathing but stop short of collapse. The closer “Corruptor” slinks in with a poisonous groove – hypnotic, lean and devestatingly timely. It’s a warning more than protest that corruption is not always loud. Sometimes, it whispers. And, sometimes, it is you.

Overall sound wise, the album strikes a powerful balance. Guitarist Markus Mantau, bassist René Chlebnitschek and drummer Bernd Paptistella lay down a muscular, dynamic foundation throughout. The production captures the sweat and shadows of a real band in a real room.

Crucially, “Second Chance” is an album that connects everything together. It is an album that reminds the listener that rock doesn’t have to posture to hit hard. That heaviness can come from honesty, not just distortion. That a band still finding its shape can already sound this defined.

If “First Call” introduced Stigma, “Second Chance” certainly cements them as not just a band to watch but a band that sees the world clearly and sings about it honestly.

Find out more about Stigma on their Website

06.30.25

by Jane Lambert

VIDEO VOYAGEUR: 3 Q’s WITH CLEMENTINE MOSS

As a founding member of the all female Led Zeppelin tribute band ZEPPARELLA, and the force behind introspective solo projects like Nothing Will Keep Us Apart and Clem & Clearlight, Clementine Moss has long balanced raw rock power with a spiritual depth.

Her latest work continues this exploration, blending poetic songwriting with personal transformation.

In this exclusive interview, Clementine opens up about the emotional and spiritual shifts that inspired one of her most evocative songs called “Coming to Meet The Blues”.

Created during her journey toward sobriety, the track and its accompanying music video captures the ache of existential questioning and the haunting beauty of roads not taken. Working closely with visual artist Luigi Florente of Blackstars Studio, Clementine brings to life a narrative of romantic memory, longing and awakening. All framed through a vintage lens that echoes the soul of the song.

Here, she walks us through the heart of the piece, the vision behind the visuals and how art continues to help her meet life without the veil:

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?

I wrote the album, and this song in particular, as my life was shifting and I was becoming sober. The songs on the record ended up being a kind of love letter to the life I was leaving behind, the late nights in bars, substance-induced hazy moments where judgment was maybe not present. Those moments could be beautiful and creative, but also illusory and over time I began to be more excited by meeting life without a veil.

This song is about that feeling of longing that is existential, when alcohol takes over and you begin to question all the choices that brought you to this point. The narrator of the song sees someone across the bar and paths not taken come into view and amplify the question… have I made the right choices? Is this where I thought I was going? Is the uncertainty I feel about myself truth or mistake?

2. What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

I work with Luigi Florente of Blackstars Studio in Spain to do the videos for the album. I ask that he work with clips and footage without AI generation, and he has a wonderful way of getting inside the song and telling the story. He chose to tell the story of lost love here, and we loved the romantic visuals.

3. What was the process of making the video?

Luigi finds the clips and puts the story together, and then I bring the video into Wondershare and add some lighting and texture. I love working in that program, as there are so many options to use so easily. I love things to look vintage, and the various options of light leak filters really add to the romance.

06.19.25

by Jane Lambert

The Allure and Honesty of Gun-Shy Butterfly’s Debut Single “Dark Side”

On their debut single, Philadelphia duo Gun-Shy Butterfly – the collaborative force of Julie Exter and Andrea Tarka White – make an unforgettable entrance.

With “Dark Side,” they summon the ghosts of ‘90s alt-rock and grunge not as a nostalgia act, but as a vehicle for urgent and lived truth. It’s gritty, melodic and emotionally unfiltered – a track for anyone who has been dismissed, diminished or erased and decided, finally, to stop apologizing.

Listen here:

From the opening bars, “Dark Side” makes its mission clear. A thick wall of fuzzed out guitar crashes forward, underscored by relentless pounding rhythms. Exter and White keep the structure lean, the parts tight, but the sound feels much bigger. Their vocals cut through the distortion with sharp, melodic urgency, the kind that makes you sit up and pay attention. Harmonies buzz, crackle and scorch and linger like smoke in the wake of a personal firestorm.

But what elevates “Dark Side” beyond a well-executed homage to Veruca Salt, The Breeders, or early Hole is the emotional precision. There is no coyness or artifice. Just clarity. And rage. And the slow burning strength that emerges when you finally accept that sometimes the only way forward is straight through your own wreckage.

At the heart of “Dark Side” is a searing narrative of loss and self-assertion. Andrea Tarka White, who penned the lyrics, pulls no punches in describing the song’s origin. It was a time when she lost everything – friends, community, her social identity – all in the fallout of a betrayal that left her isolated and angry. But rather than shrink from that anger, she leaned into it. She chose the more honest choice:

“Dark Side is about a moment in time when I lost absolutely everything: my friends, my social life, and my sense of self. People had to choose between me and a lying, cheating man, and they chose him. I was so angry, not just that I lost everything, but that he somehow didn’t.

At that moment realizing how bifurcated everything felt, him or me, right or wrong, dark or light, it changed something in me. I realized that love isn’t about being positive all the time. Or being nice. It’s about embracing all of who I am and moving forward. Which sometimes means standing up for myself and leaving people behind.”

In that spirit, “Dark Side” becomes more than a breakup song. It’s kind of like a cultural exorcism. It speaks to a wider exhaustion shared by many women (and others) who’ve been told, explicitly or otherwise, that survival must come with a smile, that pain should be polite, and that rage is somehow unseemly.

Gun-Shy Butterfly torpedoes that notion. Here, darkness is not weakness – it is armor. It’s clarity. It’s the fuel for transformation.

The title alone is a challenge to binary thinking- good/bad, victim/villain, light/dark. A butterfly that flinches but never stops moving. That duality threads through the song’s DNA and defines the band’s ethos.

And the DIY ethic behind the track only deepens its impact. Much of “Dark Side” was recorded in Exter’s basement, where raw takes became the backbone of the song’s visceral sound. Guitar tones were captured on the first try. An impressive feat that speaks to both musicians’ instinctive command of their instruments and their refusal to over-process the realness out of their work. Final vocal tracking was completed at The Daisy Corner and The Gradwell House, with mixing by Dave Downham and mastering by Kim Rosen (Knack Mastering) providing a final sheen that never sacrifices grit.

Gun-Shy Butterfly also offers something refreshingly rare in the current music landscape: a voice of women in midlife who are still making, growing and loudly refusing to disappear. Both Exter and White are mothers in their 40’s, navigating parenthood, work and creative life in tandem.

“Dark Side” is a song for anyone who has been gaslit into silence. For anyone who has walked away from everything they knew in order to reclaim who they are. For anyone who has learned, sometimes too late, that self-respect isn’t always gentle. And that’s okay!

Keep up with everything Gun-Shy Butterfly on the Website

Stream music on Spotify and Apple Music

06.06.25

by Jane Lambert

Stacked with Swagger – Lil’ Red & The Rooster Deal a Winning Hand with “Stack ‘Em Up Baby”

Lil’ Red & The Rooster’s latest single “Stack ‘Em Up Baby” is a whole vibe. A low-slung groove with a wink in its eye and a strut in its step, the track oozes vintage soul and playful cool while bringing something unmistakably fresh to the table.

From the opening piano flourish, you are unmistakably dropped into a smoke-filled jazz lounge where every note has purpose and every phrase is dressed to impress.

This is retro-modern blues at its finest. Jen “Lil’ Red” Milligan’s vocals glide with a feline style finesse – cheeky, sly and drenched in charisma. In this son, Lil Red is not just singing about stacking ’em up, she is the dealer, the mood-setter and the ringleader of this cinematic scene. Her delivery evokes the smoky sophistication of Rickie Lee Jones, with the soul deep phrasing of vintage jazz and blues greats, filtered through her own unique sass.

Pascal Fouquet, the “Rooster” in this bluesy power duo, brings his signature elegance on guitar.

His touch is tasteful and timeless, letting each note breathe and smolder, and skilled application of tone, groove and a deep understanding of the genre’s roots. His playing is the slow burn to Lil’ Red’s flickering flame, and together they create a dynamic that is impossible to fake.

And then there’s the not-so-secret weapon – Grammy-nominated keyboardist Bobby Floyd (Ray Charles, Count Basie Orchestra, Dr. John). His B3 and piano work provide that plush, cinematic backdrop for this slow-burner, anchoring the whole production in something rich and luxurious. His presence is testament to the band’s commitment to real musicianship, deep soul, and that indefinable thing we call “feel.”

“Stack ‘Em Up Baby” leans into a nostalgic groove dripping with class and intention, much like the theme song to a 1960’s detective film that never got made but should have. There’s drama, there’s flirtation and there is an undeniable joy in how the band navigates the space between blues, jazz and retro soul. It’s as much a mood as it is melody.

And this track kicks off off a waterfall release schedule, leading up to the release of the duo’s upcoming album called “7”. If this track is the opening move, consider us all-in.

“7″ promises to explore themes of freedom and rising from adversity – core values that have always quietly pulsed beneath the surface of Lil’ Red & The Rooster’s work. But here, with “Stack ‘Em Up Baby,” those themes get dressed up in velvet, high heels and attitude.

Lil’ Red & The Rooster have never been content to just rehash the blues. They really embody the blues. And with this new era, they are showing that the blues is thriving and ready to seduce a new generation.

So go ahead. Put it on. Stack ’em up, press play and let this tune swagger into your soul.

Listen to “Stack ‘Em Up Baby” here

Find out all about Lil’ Red & The Rooster on their Website.

Stream music on Spotify and Apple Music

05.30.25

by Jane Lambert

“King Jaymes” Is the Folk Punk Manifesto We Didn’t Know We Needed

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There’s something quietly revolutionary about King Jaymes, the debut album from folk punk singer-songwriter Stephen Jaymes.

It doesn’t arrive in a blaze of hype or with the polished pagenatry of a major label rollout. But instead, it feels more like a notebook that someone has carried across a war zone, frayed and tear stained but full of truths that nobody else dared to say out loud.

Across ten tracks, many of them already familiar to fans of Jaymes’ trickle release of singles over the past two years, King Jaymes assembles a world that feels simultaneously mythic and also intimate. The songs are not just here to impress, but they resemble almost journal entries, roadside sermons and voice memos from a man documenting the collapse and his own quiet resurrection.

What is most striking about the album is not just the songwriting, although this is excellent and has always been Jaymes strong point. But it is the depth of self-examination and transformation on display here. There is a sense that Stephen Jaymes has survived these songs more than just written them.

Opening with one of Jaymes’s most personal songs, “Saving Daylight”, we are immediately thrown in to a noirish soundscape of piano and muted guitar lines.

The new mix of previously released “Chief Inspector” is more spacious and less raw than the original single, revealing the intricacies of Zsolt Virág’s production work. It’s a tone-setter that invites deep listening.

Elsewhere, songs like “The Evidence Against Her” maintain their haunting intensity. They feel more fully realized here, nestled among companion tracks and dressed in album wide cohesion. Jaymes’s voice is soft and cracked a times, then suddenly forceful in other moments and becomes the compass that guides us through shifting emotional terrain.

While the early singles gave listeners a glimpse into Jaymes’s artistic evolution, it is the album’s final track, “When I Was Young” that truly delivers the emotional knockout.

This previously unreleased track is a lament disguised as a lullaby. It deals with aging, not in the abstract sense but in the deeply personal way of someone who’s felt the world pull away from them. The line between resilience and resignation is walked so carefully that it becomes a kind of dance. This track alone justifies the format of an album.

Beyond the music itself, the King Jaymes era represents a conceptual shift for Stephen Jaymes as an artist and public thinker. His VISION2025 initiative and the accompanying Particles blog present a worldview rooted in hope, dignity, and practical utopia not just art for art’s sake, but art as taking action.

Meanwhile, King Jaymes may be Stephen Jaymes’s debut album, but it plays like a legacy statement. It’s a defiant and deeply human record that builds a world you want to live in, even if that world hurts.

Keep up with Stephen Jaymes on his Website

Stream music on Spotify and Apple Music

05.16.25

by Jane Lambert

VIDEO VOYAGEUR: 3 Q’s WITH MOLLY THOMAS

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Rooted in Southern soul and shaped by years of touring, collaborating and creating from the heart, Molly Thomas has carved a distinct path as a songwriter, musician and storyteller.

With a voice that carries both grit and grace, Molly’s music brings together an authentic honesty and depth – qualities that shine through in her latest single “Even The Strong” and self-made video.

Following a transformative season of healing and reflection, Thomas brings us a visual companion to a song that speaks to resilience, vulnerability and the quiet strength it takes to lean on others when life demands more than we can carry alone.

In this Exclusive Interview, we talk with Molly about the story behind the song, the creative process behind the video, and how a spontaneous trip to Spain – and a crash course in video editing – helped bring it all to life!

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?

This song is about the idea that even in strength, we all need someone to lean on. Old habits can creep back in, but finding grace, truth and sometimes a shoulder to lean on can help one rise above. I decided to visualize the song in black and white because I wasn’t sure how to allude to the overall feeling any other way. I found a way to add color and added it at the pinnacle moment of the song to heighten the level of visuals to match the song.

2. What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

The song was written in the summer of 2023, just before my car accident.

Ironically, the test of strength was thrown my way and the message of resilience and hope proved to be just what I needed to get through it. A little over a year after the car accident, my husband and I took a celebratory trip from time healing and we went to Spain.

We were both inspired and took lots of video footage in hope to create a video at some point. I wasn’t sure which song the footage would be for, but it presented itself when I started. This song is the first single, to be released May 16, 2025. The footage that we gathered seemed to tell the story I was looking for and so I just went for it.

3. What was the process of making the video?

The process was a bit tedious, considering I was/am fresh at learning Premiere Pro.

In fact, I just got it 3 days ago and have SO much to learn. I initially created the video in imovie. I sent it to my friend, who is a professional filmmaker, and she set me straight, in a loving manner. It took me 2 days to make it once I sat down and loaded all of the footage into my project. I guess because I have experience in imovie and also Pro-tools, the learning curve came a little bit easier.

Thanks to Youtube University (HA), all of my questions were answered as I went along. I’m sure I could have kept going with perfecting it, but decided to let it go, especially because there is a deadline. Also, the realization that I’m a musician just trying to get my song out to the world. I am not a professional videographer. It’s similar to producing and recording a song. At some point along the way, there comes a time when nothing more can be done with the tools at hand, and you have to let it fly.

Stay connected with Molly Thomas on her Website