Widowspeak are one of the most productive, hard-working bands out there, always simmering just beneath the surface. Molly Hamilton and Robert Earl Thomas are the core of the group and its songwriters — over sixteen years and an impressively consistent body of work, they’ve honed their sound. A lot has happened in that time: for them, for everyone. As one of many bands to emerge from a fertile music scene in New York City, they started hauling their gear between now-closed venues (Glasslands, Cake Shop, 285 Kent, Death By Audio, to name just a few) and their rehearsal space in the Monster Island Basement (now a Trader Joe’s). The highs and lows of a long career mean chaotic stretches as road dogs across North America, flown-in gigs in São Paulo or Guadalajara, seven-week European tours… and then years of downtime in between, when they’ve had to reckon with how powerful it is to build a body of work slowly. Widowspeak are now a married couple with day jobs in the off-season. Robert is a carpenter, Molly a waitress.

The album "Roses" was recorded last January at Old Carpet Factory on the Greek island of Hydra — a studio in an old house tucked into the village’s steep hillsides. "Roses" shows Widowspeak at their best, drawing on timeless influences. There’s dream pop and power pop, a bit of Stones, maybe some Petty, open and dreamlike ballads with the twang of a Lynch-like roadhouse band. Maybe you hear R.E.M., Yo La Tengo or Cat Power. A little Neil Young.

John Andrews lives in Red Hook, Brooklyn, whose quiet, remote atmosphere shapes his album Streetsweeper . The songs were written there and partly recorded in Los Angeles with Luke Temple and other musicians, then finished at home.

The album combines quiet, intimate pieces with rougher guitar songs and lyrics that are strongly rooted in everyday life, marked by empathy. Andrews still works in the DIY scene, tours small venues, and partly funds his art through sales. The cover is by Kyle Field.

Streetsweeper reflects Red Hook: slow, detailed, and focused on the small moments of life.