S&D Recommends

Featuring Westside Cowboy, The Tubs, Ora Cogan & more....

Hey everyone,

Hope all’s good wherever you are!

Something a little different for you from us today…one of our favorite things here at Static & Distance is discovering new music, and equally putting other people onto new (and old) sounds they might be interesting in hearing.

With than in mind, we recently asked around our S&D community to recommend some music they’ve been listening to lately, and made some new discoveries ourselves in the process!

With thanks for the excellent contributions from Darcie Molina, Mike Brenner, Will Johnson, Ben Swanson, Dan Sullivan, and Dan MacAdam.

S&D x

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Darcie Molina

Westside Cowboy

DM: Westside Cowboy are a great young Manchester-based four-piece who are really making waves in the UK at the moment. There’s definitely a folk-rock and alt-country influence and it’s a sound they’ve previously described as “Britainicana”, but musically they never really stay in one lane, in a good way. They won Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition last year and you can see why - they have a really fun live show.

Butch Bastard

DM: My other recommendation is Seattle-raised, LA-based artist Butch Bastard (a moniker of Ian Murray). Beautifully crafted, timeless songwriting, his latest studio album ‘Death Valley’ came out last year and is a great listen. He’s amazing - I saw him open for Father John Misty at Royal Albert Hall and we all fell for him immediately. Those lyrics and melodies!

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Mike Brenner (MECo)

MB: These three artists are major Jason Molina fans who know how to write and sing a great melody….

Maxwell Stern

MB: Max Stern (Signals Midwest) is a former Cleveland guy who moved to Philly. I’ve collab’d on his last few recordings. This last record, In The Good Light (2024), is super strong and mixes indie and pop influences really well. Stay Close To Me (2025) is Max’s new stand-alone single which I think kicks ass.

Alex Savoth

MB: Alex Savoth is a Philly singer/songwriter with a soulful voice and some smooth folky grooves on his newest release, Midnight Sun (2026). I played steel and dobro on some cuts. The first cut, Wild Sweet Love, is really great.

Forrester Grey

MB: Forrester Grey is a young singer/songwriter with an excellent voice and some truly lovely songs. Originally from central PA, now in Philly, Forrester is hitting the clubs with a band to support his newest release, Torn and Spiralbound (2026).

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Ben Swanson (Secretly Canadian)

The Tubs

BS: The Tubs are are a really great indie-pop band hailing from Cardiff, Wales. Their album ‘Cotton Crown’ from last year is a recommended listen - upbeat songs, jangly guitars, and vocalist Owen has a really unique voice. He’s a big Richard Thompson fan (much like Jason was) and that influence really comes across in his vocal style.

Dutch Interior

BS: My other recommendation is Dutch Interior, an awesome six-piece indie-americana project who released their third studio album (and Fat Possum Records debut) ‘Moneyball’ last year. It’s a lot of fun - if your musical tastes lie somewhere around the intersection of Wilco-esque alt-country and Malkmus/Silver Jews-adjacent 90s indie-rock, I think you’ll probably appreciate this one.

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Will Johnson

Ernie Graham

WJ: One record that I've returned to as the days warm up is Ernie Graham's classic 1971 self-titled LP. There's a loose, solitary, yet clear-eyed nature to it that has made it one of my all time go-to's.

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Dan MacAdam (Songs: Ohia)

Bleak Squad - Strange Love, 2025

DM: Aussie underground veterans supergroup fronted by Adalita, ex of grunge-era Magic Dirt. I knew the Micks (Harvey & Turner) from Dirty Three and Birthday Party etc, and I can hear all that in this, but I didn’t know Adalita whose evident stardom is mostly confined to Australia. Music to imagine smoking cigarettes to.

Ora Cogan - Hard Hearted Woman (2025)

DM: This record immediately grabbed my attention for how essential the psychedelic elements and sonic details are to the songs impact, beyond just ornament.

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Dan Sullivan (Songs: Ohia)

NadNavillus

DS: I suppose I should share my latest release, Here All Along / First Light. These songs were recorded in early 2023 by Brok Mende, part of the "Forgotten Portraits" sessions, but clearly stood apart from that album... a year later I started composing "Upper Constant" and again the timing didn't feel right. So, three years later here we are...

"Here All Long" was born standing up: I think I wrote it one night and we gigged it a week later, sounding very much like this recording...

I had read about Bob Carpenter and "First Light" in an old issue of Mojo, and the song floored me... Hopefully our version does it justice and leads others to his music... Any and all proceeds from this song will be donated to True North Aid.

Erin Osmon - Won’t Back Down

Not music itself as such, but Dan’s other recommendation was this great new book about music from talented friend of S&D and occasional contributor Erin Osmon.

Won’t Back Down tells the story of the origins, chart-topping development, and tangled legacy of heartland rock, the music that ruled the airwaves of the 1980s and remains instantly recognizable to millions.

Find it here

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