Born and raised in the Midwest, Max Look can’t seem to shake his Cleveland roots. Even with a full fledged cross-country move, the grit and self-deprecation of the rust belt seep into Look’s songs unapologetically. Taking influence from the likes of Paul Westerberg, Alex Chilton, and Graham Parsons, he fuses powerpop jangle and rhythms with twangy undertones to create a unique cosmic country sound, born out of a beer-soaked garage. Now based in Los Angeles with a seasoned backing band, Max Look continues his blend of country and pop stylings with a new set of tunes, The Cruise EP. Recorded and produced with brother, Jason Look, the duo achieve what the Everly Brother’s called blood harmony, without actually ever singing together.

The observer effect describes the phenomenon in which the act of observing changes that which is being observed. Bay Area artist, eggcorn uses the observer effect as the foundation for her vivid album by the same name. Taking an incisive look at the power that we have over ourselves and those around us, Observer Effect explores the inevitable ways in which we alter our own experience through reflection. The album comes out May 23, 2025 on Spirit House Records. eggcorn is the moniker for songwriter Lara Hoffman who released her first single in 2020 as a conscious step forward into her career in music, which until then had largely been used as a therapeutic tool. With her new album, Hoffman preserves the vulnerability of her self-reflection while crystallizing her insights into infectious hooks that make the most nuanced realizations understandable. Observer Effect pivots from the synth-based, electronic realm of eggcorn’s first album Your Own True Love to pop-tinged chamber folk that deftly cushions the uncomfortable truths laid bare within each song. Observer Effect is not an easy record and Hoffman spares no one, not even herself. A music therapist with experience working in psychiatric facilities, she possesses the ability to hold herself as accountable as she does those around her, to ask herself why she feels the way she feels, and to push the boundaries of songwriting into an uncommon dimension.

Originally from Houston, Texas, Emory Duncan is an independent singer/songwriter known for his raw, melancholy, and emotional ballads. Now living in and writing from a remote log cabin tucked away beneath the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains, he describes his lucid and intimate writing style as his own “personal form of processing and getting in touch with the subconscious”. As introspective as they are infectious, the songs feel lived-in, and bleed themes of love lost, time wasted, yearning, and adventure. A vagabond and free-spirit, Emory is most at home on a sailboat, snowboard, rock climbing, or in a tent under the stars. He draws constant inspiration from his playful connection with the natural world, and feelings of freedom, solitude, catharsis, and nostalgia are reflected in his intimate lyrics and ethereal aural tone. Simply put, his music pairs well with the scent of pine, nowhere to be, and open windows on a mountain road. Raised on the catchy choruses of classic rock, it was later that Emory discovered the unpolished and soulful music of Neil Young, Nick Drake, and Jeff Buckley. While giving homage to his influences, his music is as unique as it is classic, and as classic as it is modern. Recorded over the course of a week in Montreal with producer Tyler Neil Johnson, his debut studio EP has a scheduled release in the fall of 2023.