Opening with warm piano melodies, the track immediately establishes a reflective atmosphere, one that is gradually enriched by stirring strings and understated rock elements. The arrangement unfolds with patience, allowing each musical layer to serve the song’s emotional core rather than overshadow it; and at t the center of it all is a heartfelt vocal performance that carries both vulnerability and sincerity.

Written during the COVID lockdowns, “Love Keeps Burning Still” draws inspiration from songwriter Jason McKee’s personal experiences, yet its message reaches far beyond a single story. Rather than focusing solely on heartbreak, the song explores the complicated emotions that remain after a farewell: the gratitude, the memories, and the lingering care that can survive even after love takes a different form.

The inclusion of the Budapest Strings orchestra adds a distinctly cinematic quality, elevating the track without sacrificing its intimacy. Combined with Jessica McPherson-Riley’s graceful vocal contributions, the result is a rich and emotionally resonant listening experience.

“Love Keeps Burning Still” by Reetoxa transforms personal reflection into something universally relatable. Thoughtful, moving, and beautifully arranged, the song serves as a reminder that sometimes love continues to glow long after the last goodbye..

That world is distinctly her own. It exists somewhere between suburban stillness and dream logic, where rainy afternoons become revelations and ordinary spaces take on an almost mythic quality. Rooted in indie pop, soft rock, alternative pop, synth textures, and echoes of ‘90s and early-2000s pop-rock, the EP moves fluidly between nostalgia and reinvention without losing its identity.

Much of that identity comes from EDWARDS’ background as a poet and her instinct for visual storytelling. The songs feel cinematic, not because they chase grandeur, but because they linger in details: memories that refuse to fade, ghostlike encounters, moments of isolation, flashes of gratitude, and the strange beauty hidden inside everyday life. Mental health, grief, love, self-doubt, and hope run through the project, yet the EP never feels consumed by darkness. Instead, it treats emotions as cycles rather than destinations.

There is also an intentional warmth to the record’s sonic palette. Produced alongside Alan Day of Four Year Strong and mastered by Jay Maas, the EP resists overly polished modern aesthetics in favor of texture and space. Guitars remain present, synths arrive with purpose, and the production preserves an organic character that complements its nostalgic influences.

With The Other Side of Hell Is a Heaven So Delicate, HEDDY EDWARDS arrives with a fully formed artistic language. Industrial yet mystical, intimate yet expansive, grounded yet cosmic, the project introduces an artist less interested in singles than in building a universe.

With The Other Side of Hell Is a Heaven So Delicate, HEDDY EDWARDS does not merely release five songs. She opens the first door into a world that already feels lived in!

Sonically, VHS Panty Riot manages to faithfully recreate that 80s soundscape while adding their own modern EDM melodic sensibilities. Those aforementioned sensibilities are clearly inspired by retro video game soundtracks, but this is definitely a chicken or the egg situation – because both those mediums have a symbiotic relationship with each other. The game soundtracks emerge from the EDM scene and a feedback loop happens, and the soundtracks influence the music back. The most impactful textures of choice here are a huge, chorused-out lead sound that tears through the mix to convey the visceral image of peeling the sun, and an energetic, danceable drum groove that keeps the momentum going.

For fans of Carpenter Brut and that specific intersection of cinematic dread and dancefloor energy, this is squarely in the wheelhouse. “Peel The Sun” is the lighter-toned entry point into a project that can clearly go darker when it wants to, which makes it a smart standalone release – it draws a wider circle without abandoning what the project is built on. The EP arriving in June should give a clearer picture of where VHS Panty Riot are headed, but this is a good reason to pay attention before it lands.

Doing Fine explores the tension between personal identity and collective expectations. Rather than presenting rebellion as something reckless, the track frames it as an act of self-preservation. It becomes a reminder that choosing your own path does not make you an outsider; it can simply mean staying honest with yourself.

The song leans into the spirit of ‘90s grunge and punk. The opening riff immediately establishes a familiar atmosphere filled with grit, distortion, and restless momentum. There is nostalgia woven into the arrangement, yet it never feels like imitation. Instead, OPCRITICAL uses these influences as a foundation for a message rooted firmly in the present.

The rhythmic drive keeps the song moving with urgency. Persistent beats push the composition forward while the guitar passages create moments of tension and release, allowing the track to breathe without losing its intensity. The energy remains consistent, gradually building as the song unfolds.

The track  challenges social and institutional pressures that encourage conformity. Its recurring refusal to “fit into the box” becomes more than a hook; it evolves into the emotional center of the track. The message is direct, unapologetic, and perfectly aligned with the song’s rebellious character.

The accompanying video strengthens this atmosphere through its VHS-inspired aesthetic and chaotic visuals, echoing the alternative culture influences behind the release.

With Doing Fine, OPCRITICAL delivers a statement on authenticity; using riffs, rhythm, and resistance to celebrate the courage it takes to, gain at all odds, remain yourself!

⇒ Have you missed our album review? Check here.

A Striking Architecture of Power and Restraint

Climax moves fluidly across diverse sonic territories, traversing heavy rock, hard rock, blues rock, ambient, and cinematic soundscapes. The record intentionally highlights structural contrast and pacing rather than overplayed flash. The album opens with “The Dragon,” a muscular guitar anthem driven by massive grooves and crashing drums that instantly commands attention. To celebrate the launch, an official cinematic music video for “The Dragon” has been released simultaneously alongside the album.

The heavier, riff-driven force of tracks like “The Dragon” and “Dawn of Fire” stands in beautiful relief against introspective, atmospheric pieces such as “Minutes Away” and “Enter the Mist”. In these spaces, delicate guitar leads, soft piano chords, and ambient synths take center stage, proving that space and melodic restraint can communicate profound human feeling without saying a single word.

Preserving Raw Humanity Over Studio Perfection

What truly sets Decadent Heroes apart in the modern music landscape is a meticulous production philosophy that prioritizes raw, honest human performance over digital correction. Recorded primarily in his home studio in Pescara, Italy, Chiappini spent months perfecting his Helix HX Stomp presets before tracking. Because the guitar tones arrived at the mixing stage close to final, he was able to focus entirely on feel during recording, keeping first and second takes complete with their spontaneous, organic imperfections.

To bring this expansive musical vision to life, Chiappini assembled an elite roster of international session musicians to form a living, breathing rhythm section. The album features world-class performances by legendary drummer Dennis Holt (Kansas, Taylor Swift), bassist Fausto Berardo, and additional standalone contributions from Pino Saracini (Eros Ramazzotti), Rich Gray (Annihilator), Marcin Palider, Darrell Nutt, and Francesco Coppola Bove.

An Artist’s Culmination

“In many ways, this album is the culmination of everything I’ve learned as a guitarist and producer up to this point,” notes Luigi Chiappini. “It’s the first time I feel I’ve been truly honest with myself in the studio. What makes it stand out is the balance between raw power and emotional depth. It’s not just another instrumental guitar album; it feels like a real journey with dynamics, contrast, and storytelling.”

Jason was deep in the creative marathon that would eventually produce the epic double album Soliloquy — six months of near-continuous writing fuelled by coffee, cigarettes, and a ham and cheese croissant each morning, which only ended when he was hospitalised for six weeks. During a rare break, he turned the television on to check for updates on Melbourne’s seemingly endless lockdown.

What he saw stopped him cold.

Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un — walking together. In peace. In solidarity.

For most people, it was a strange news item. For Jason, a man who had spent ten years serving aboard Royal Australian Navy vessels, it was something else entirely. Throughout his service, the captain’s voice had rung out over the ship’s speaker with a clear and consistent message: North Korea was an unstoppable force. Prepare accordingly. The idea that a phone call could resolve what had been framed as one of the world’s most intractable threats hit him like a physical force.

He sat down and started writing.

“War Killer“ is not a political endorsement. Jason is the first to admit he knows very little about politics and understands it even less. What he believes in is peace — and the bewildering, beautiful, almost naive hope that a moment of unity might be worth celebrating, regardless of which side of any line you stand on. He tried to reach a mate — a passionate political supporter on the opposite end of the spectrum — to share the moment, only to find him locked in heated online battles with strangers across the world. Jason’s question was simple: can’t we just celebrate this?

The song that came from that question nearly didn’t make the album. With 1800 songs to choose from for Soliloquy, the odds were against it. But after a beer and tequila break at The Avenue Studio in Cheltenham, the band laid down their first take — and something happened. Producer Simon Moro and Jason looked at each other when the vocals finished. They both knew.

“We have a hit here,” they said. “And we’re both going to get cancelled.”

Without a single moment of promotion, “War Killer“ has already become a fan favourite.

Heavily influenced by punk and recorded with the raw, first-take energy that defines the genre at its best, “War Killer“ channels the communal spirit of Sham 69 into a song about the absurdity and exhaustion of political division. It is Jason’s first heavy track as a lead vocalist — a deliberate step outside his comfort zone as an artist known for emotional, softer performances — and a statement that the world needs to hear right now, even if it takes a lot of convincing to believe it.

“A punk rock take on the current political climate,” Jason says, “may be just the thing to get us all holding hands again.”

Jason is in early discussions regarding a UK and European tour in Autumn 2026. Nothing is confirmed yet, but the momentum behind Reetoxa — from the extraordinary Soliloquy double album to the growing fanbase that found “War Killer“ without any help from the promotional machine — suggests the world stage is the logical next step.

It begins, as the best stories do, with a coincidence and a missed connection.

Jason had two expensive VIP booth tickets to a Spiderbait gig at The Forum Theatre in Melbourne. He had been stood up for a date. He went anyway — if only to collect his VIP merch pack, which contained a limited edition vinyl 7-inch collection of Spiderbait singles he wasn’t about to leave behind.

Across from him sat a girl named Lisa.

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Blonde. Dimpled. Wearing a power suit. Friendly in the way that makes a room feel smaller and warmer at the same time. At some point during the gig, Jason raised his camera to photograph the stage. Lisa stepped in front of the lens as a joke, waving — and the stage lights behind her formed what looked like a halo, or a sun, blazing around her head.

Jason’s imagination ignited. He became obsessed with finishing a song — right there, in the venue, in the middle of the gig. Lisa leaned over and asked what he did for a living. He was embarrassed to admit he was a music arts student and an aspiring musician. She asked to hear a song. All he had were voice notes on his phone.

The embarrassment was clarifying.

They talked. They laughed. The night moved on. Then the last song of the set began — “Old Man Sam” — and Lisa said, “Sorry, I have to dance to this one,” and disappeared into the crowd. After the show, Jason made his way toward the stage to get his vinyl box signed by Kram. By the time he looked up, Lisa was gone.

He walked home to Southbank through the Melbourne night. By the time he arrived, he had made two decisions: he was going to call producer Simon Moro. And he was going to quit university.

His musical journey — properly, seriously, without apology — was beginning.

That was the night “The Lisa Song” was born. And it is the song that made everything else possible.

Reetoxa are a Melbourne band fronted by Jason McKee, who after thirty years of songwriting teamed up with producer Simon Moro to finally bring his vision to life. The duo are responsible for the sweeping double album Soliloquy — a record featuring a European Budapest Orchestra and some of Melbourne’s finest session musicians — and now, with “The Lisa Song,” they return to the very beginning of that story to honour the moment it all started.

As for Lisa — a search has come up empty. But Jason keeps an eye out at every gig. Especially the ones at The Forum.

The backstory goes like this: during Melbourne’s COVID lockdown – the longest and most restrictive in the world – McKee was deep in a creative marathon that eventually put him in hospital for six weeks. During a rare break, he switched on the television and saw Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un walking together in apparent peace. For someone who spent a decade in the Navy being briefed that North Korea was an unstoppable existential threat, the image hit differently.

McKee is open about knowing nothing about politics and not pretending to. What he felt in that moment was simpler – the bewilderment of watching something you were trained to fear apparently dissolve over a phone call, and the frustration of not being able to celebrate it without it becoming another front in the culture war. That tension is what “War Killer” is built from. The track channels the spirit of Sham 69’s “If the Kids Are United” – unity as punk rock aspiration – and it came together in the band’s first take after a beer and tequila break at The Avenue Studio in Cheltenham, with producer Simon Moro and McKee both immediately recognising they had something that would get people talking.

It’s a sharp move for a debut single push: politically charged enough to generate conversation, but grounded in a genuine and somewhat naive sincerity that keeps it from feeling like posturing. McKee isn’t preaching or telling you what to think about Trump or North Korea. He’s describing what he saw and raising some interesting questions. That’s a more interesting punk position than most. With a UK and European tour reportedly in early talks for later this year, “War Killer” is a good foot forward for taking ReeToxA‘s story somewhere new.