WWDC (DC101)/Washington MD/Afternooner Greg Roche Exits

British singer-songwriter Declan McKenna returns with his new single "Sympathy" via Tomplicated Records/Q Prime. It's the first new music from Declan since 2020, when he dropped his second album, Zeros. On the new single, he said, "Sympathy doesn’t have a complex message, and, in itself, encourages simplicity and directness. It feels like a dream about love and compassion, it wants us to let go of inhibitions and allow ourselves to truly connect with others rather than overthinking and hiding your feelings away. Or put even simpler, it’s about peace and love." 

UK 3-piece HotWax unleash their single "Rip It Out" via Marathon Artists. It's from the band's debut EP A Thousand Times. "'Rip It Out' is the darkest song I have ever written," explains lead singer Tallulah Sim-Savage. "The lyrics came to me so fast, at a time I was feeling psychotic due to the contraceptive implant. I wanted to create a dramatic, theatrical, melancholic sounding piece, which Lola (bassist/vocalist) put together perfectly. I hope it resonates with women who have gone through a similar thing and raises awareness about how contraception needs to be updated." HotWax will play their first-ever U.S. tour this fall opening for Royal Blood.  

L.A.’s Jakobs Castle (Jakob Nowell) -- the son of late Sublime vocalist Bradley Nowell -- lead single is "Time Traveler." He said, "Time Traveler is close to my heart because it’s the song that led me to signing with Epitaph. The song was born from a writing session between myself and Tim Armstrong. He had this hook that to my ears was so irresistibly catchy and inspiring that I added the verses in no time at all (pun intended). The song we came up with had an old school rocksteady vibe and I took it to my producer Jon Joseph to experiment with it. I wanted to merge the vintage feel and songwriting of Tim with the modern mysteriousness of underground bedroom production. The result is something more than the sum of its parts. Both thematically and sonically I want this song to take people on a little journey through time." 

UK 4-piece The Struts are back with "Too Good At Raising Hell" via Big Machine. "Sex so good make the neighbors smoke a cigarette / But I’m still bored to death,” frontman Luke Spiller croons on the first new music since last summer's debut on the label. "'Too Good At Raising Hell' is still a lot of what The Struts are known for," Spiller explains. "We know there are people out there that want us to come back with something raw, excessive, and fun. We knew this was the perfect track. It’s some of my favorite music, hands down, we’ve ever conjured up. It’s the music everyone’s been waiting for."