Johnny Marr:
Johnny Marr started his career with The Smiths, beginning an amazing history as one of the most influential songwriters and guitarists in British independent music. His subsequent creative journey has seen him at the heart of The The, Electronic, Modest Mouse and The Cribs, as well as working with such names as The Pretenders, Talking Heads, The Avalanches, and the musician and composer Hans Zimmer - with whom he recorded the score and soundtrack for the most recent James Bond film, No Time To Die, including the Oscar-nominated title track created with Billie Eilish. 

Since launching in 2013, Marr’s solo career has given rise to four UK Top Ten studio albums - The Messenger (2013), Playland (2014), Call The Comet (2018), Fever Dreams Pts 1-4 (2022) and a career-spanning book, Marr’s Guitars (via Thames & Hudson). 

The full measure of this extraordinarily fertile creative period is captured on his latest offering, Spirit Power: The Best Of Johnny Marr, a major new collection curated by Johnny encompassing songs from his first ten years as a solo artist, a scattering of stand alone singles and two incendiary new cuts, Somewhere and The Answer. It’s a body of work that mirrors Marr’s unquenchable life force, breadth of musicality, and above all, his love of melody. 

Trace Mountains:
Pitchfork calls the lyric-forward, New York-based indie rock band Trace Mountains, "a decisive step forward" for its lead singer-songwriter, Dave Benton (formerly of LVL UP). Benton’s sprawling and introspective tunes borrow flavor from a host of contemporary indie giants—the sad laments of Phil Elverum, the antic invention of Dinosaur Jr., the delicate jangle of Sufjan Stevens—while still managing to maintain his own original and innovative voice. Trace Mountains’ latest record, Into the Burning Blue, is a testament to moving forward and keeping your eyes on the burning horizon line—capturing heartache, joy, and growth in equal measure.