March ‘25 Monthly Music Recap
A season of blooming flowers, annual cleaning and later sunsets, spring is the time for new beginnings.
With a handful of debut albums from blossoming indie stars, new records from fan-favorite sad girls like Lucy Dacus and a return to pop roots from Lady Gaga, the music industry is plunging into the season of rejuvenation head first. Though far from comprehensive, here is OTR’s guide to the new releases ushering in the season.
Annie DiRusso writes her own epic in debut album, opening track
Having opened for some of the biggest names in the indie world — from Declan McKenna to Peach Pit to beabadoobee — 25-year-old rockstar Annie DiRusso has certainly made waves. But with the release of her debut album, Super Pedestrian, she has stormed the scene with a career-defining piece of work. The record’s opening track, “Ovid,” is a punchy and provocative song that brings listeners into DiRusso’s world with full force.
“Ovid” opens with DiRusso’s muffled vocals over a muted electric guitar line before a sonic curtain is lifted and listeners are hit in the face with a head-banging melody. Strong drums and layered guitars are present throughout, with different riffs and ornaments popping out at different times, constantly creating tension in the track. The main lyrical refrain, “Always looking for something to change my life / Never wanna hear nothing to change my mind,” is a pure example of DiRusso’s brutally self-aware songwriting. I like to think of the song’s title as having a double meaning. While Ovid is a minuscule town in Colorado where DiRusso mentions she “pulled off the interstate” in the first verse, Ovid is also the name of the ancient Roman poet who wrote Metamorphoses, an epic telling the story of the world’s creation up to the reign of Julius Caesar. The lyrics, “Girl born on a Tuesday, I hear my dad when I hear the train / A C-section baby, my mom cut herself open for me,” hark to the idea of wanting to live up to your origins and, in the broader contexts of the song, feel like DiRusso’s way of saying she wants to be legendary.
The just-under-three-minute banger that “Ovid” is serves as an apt introduction to Super Pedestrian. As OTR contributor Tabita Bernardus writes in her review of the album, “the 11-track project picks DiRusso’s brain to reveal where she’s been, what she’s wrestled with, and how she ultimately doesn’t give a damn anymore.”
Shane T’s “Typical” philosophical songwriting shines in new single
Like DiRusso, Brooklyn-based indie rocker Shane T — short for Toriscelli — is someone I saw as an opening act and immediately fell in love with. His songs are filled with social commentary on the rich and guitar-driven melodies that stick in your head for days. In “Typical,” the third single from his forthcoming debut album, Sweet, Toriscelli further cements his place in the indie rock world.
With its sprawling synths and floaty guitar arpeggios, “Typical” is a satisfyingly shoegaze song. String-sounding synth chords open the track before more and more layers get added, like a “dah dah dah” melody from Toriscelli and an arpeggiating clean guitar line. The elongated chords present throughout and layered, revered vocals in the chorus create a dreamy atmosphere, even as a full band rocks its way through the bridge. Toriscelli’s somewhat playful inflection as he sings matches satirical lyrics like “This lifestyle, high living / Dig deep and bury the meaning.” But at the end of the day, he reminds us that experience is what makes you wealthy: “Got sold a dream and lost control / Nothing will ever teach you like letting go.”
The release of “Typical” has me counting down the days until Shane T finally drops his debut album.
HAIM steps into spring with a romantic bone to pick in new single
Watch the music video for “Relationships” on YouTube.
The return of sunny skies and days over 70º of course means the return of everyone’s favorite singing sisters from Los Angeles. Este, Danielle and Alana Haim consistently deliver fresh, bubbly and dance-worthy tracks with their groove-based sound and their latest single, “Relationships,” is no exception.
The track’s intro perfectly sets up the theme of the three-minute song. A clunky drum beat underscores the monotone speak-singing of the sisters, reflecting the rockiness of — you guessed it — being in a relationship. Emphatic drums, a groovy bass line and a bright piano chord progression carry the track throughout, laying a head-bobbing foundation while Danielle’s silky vocals can’t help but make you sway along. The true carefree anthem it is, “Relationships” features blunt commentary on current romantic norms and conveys a notion many people navigating the dating scene probably feel: “I think I’m in love but I can’t stand f*cking relationships.” HAIM not only laments a modern dating world, but in the song’s bridge asks, “Is it just the sh*t our parents did / And had to live with in their relationship?”
If Danielle’s pinned comment on the song’s music video means anything, it’s that a HAIM “single girl summer” is coming.
Greer proves their debut album was worth the wait in “One in the Same”
“Aeroplane” by Greer was one of my most-played songs of 2021. Until this year, whenever the nostalgic song by the Orange County band came on shuffle, I’d not only be reminded of the oddly comforting days of COVID Spring, but would also be faced with the grim reminder that they had not released any new music since 2021. So when I saw a new title from Greer in my Spotify Release Radar playlist in January, I was filled with relief that the four-year new music drought was over. Eight years in the making, Greer’s debut album, Big Smile, is a showcase of what the four-piece has consistently done best and proves that they are still pushing the limits of their own sound.
Track two from Big Smile, “One and the Same,” is a quintessentially Greer song: it’s pleasantly noisy, harmonically satisfying and full of angst. A minor single-chord strum of an electric guitar opens the track, immediately building tension. When lead singer Josiah enters singing, “You’re so cold now and so far / I still think about the things you’d say,” the smooth and easy quality of his voice paints a deceptive picture of the song. That is, until listeners are quickly hit with a wall of sound in the chorus and Josiah’s signature impassioned vocals come to the forefront. The track is also teeming with lyrical gems. From the wicked metaphor, “Your cruelty collects like the dust in your room,” in the second verse to the twisted yearning of “Please, cut me so deep / Wait till I bleed, make a promise to me,” in the chorus, the band cleverly details the feeling of reluctance in ending a relationship, even if its for the best. Even up until the very end of the track, Greer’s brilliance is displayed; the ultimate lyric, “And the girl that I am and the boy that you are couldn't meet for a day,” preludes an outro of heavy guitar feedback that gets abruptly cut off, as if the song is ending with the subject’s relationship.
A product of a band that has had music to get off their chest for years, Big Smile is a sonic and emotive journey and one hell of a debut.
Staff Picks:
Tabita Bernardus - “Hole In A Frame” by Samia
Jackie Fortis - “My Stoner Girlfriend” by Jason Schmidt
Madison Avery - “Deep End” by Spiritbox
Sullivan Jordan - “Sunday” by Anna Henson
Jack Kolpitcke - “Cheer Me On” by Malcolm Todd
Nico Beauchamp - “Franken” by Greer
Dany Mireles - “Big Deal” by Lucy Dacus
Seay Howell - “Everyday Magic” by My Morning Jacket
Peyton Mott - “I Just Do!” by girlpuppy
Check out some of our March coverage!
New Music Reviews:
“While hey, nothing already demonstrated their potent storytelling on former projects, they’ve taken it to the next level on their newest EP.” - Logan Goettemoeller on hey, nothing’s 33º
“If you’ve never heard of Hannah Wicklund before, you won’t forget her voice. Powerhouse vocals add fire to cutting lyrics backed by bluesy guitar shredding.” - Seay Howell on Hannah Wicklund’s Live at the Troubadour
“Achilles is a love letter to heartbreak, coming-of-age, and queer kids everywhere; the album skillfully depicts the plight of growing up different, and the loneliness and anguish that can come with it.” - Cassidy LaPointe on Kevin Atwater’s Achilles
“With sassy vocals and punchy guitar and drum instrumentals, Henson welcomes you to her world of red lipstick smudged around the edges, and cigarettes on a lunch break. The debut EP from Chicago-based singer-songwriter Anna Henson is a groovy mix of rock and roll and pop elements that feels fresh and nostalgic all at once.” - Sullivan Jordan on Anna Henson’s American Housewife
Show Reviews:
“Not even a rare LA downpour could wash away the excitement buzzing through The Wiltern as mxmtoon took the stage for the biggest LA show of her career. Touring in support of her latest album, Liminal Space, she transformed the theater into something out of a dream.” - Makenna Cordiano on mxmtoon in Los Angeles
“The band isn’t just keeping rock and roll alive—they’re making it their own. The Heroines aren’t afraid to bear it all, and most importantly, will be stopped by nothing in their pursuit to keep us entertained.” - Kay Wolfer on Kelsey Karter & The Heroines in Los Angeles
“LØLØ looks completely at home on stage and the show feels more like a party with close friends than an artist standing back from the audience as LØLØ’s casual confidence and charisma drive the energy in the room.” - Alex Stefan on LØLØ in Toronto
“Arcy Drive didn’t just play their songs; they lived them, dancing around the stage, smiling with fans and making sure everyone in the room felt like part of the experience.” - Abra Richardson on Arcy Drive in Chicago
Interviews:
“And I think that's what makes the music as well, because all of us have different influences going in individually, and I think that's the thing that makes the music more unique and more exciting, the fact that it's not just one person having like, “I have these funk inspirations” or something. It's like, this guy having more beat and then especially our guitarist is a very rock and roll kind of guy.” - Erlend Tredal of ¡Bang Bang Watergun! in an interview with Brooke Shapiro
“When I was around 20 I just felt really, really angry. I was living in my college town in Ohio and everything went to shit. It was my main goal to learn how to scream. And once I learned, I couldn't stop. With “Blue Ribbon” specifically, after I wrote the verses, I felt like there were no words that could properly follow them except for the scream. It's a form of release.” - Sofia Zarzuela of Veronica in an interview with Cece Faulkner
“Wonderland is my coming of age story. So I think it would be like a college coming of age tale. Because that's sort of what it was for me. So I was like, I had just gotten into college, which I dropped out a couple years in — because when Pete Wentz hits you up…” - Vienna Vienna in an interview with Peyton Mott
Music Extras and Playlists:
“A 2025 Indie Girl Spring is in Bloom” by Lily Spanbauer
“Spring is Here With a Strawberry in the Mouth” by Tabita Bernardus
“Ain’t I a Woman” by Athena Galatis