What happens when a band decides to record not just one album, but a complete 52-song deck of cards? Ryan Walsh of Hallelujah the Hills takes us deep into his most ambitious creative undertaking yet.

"DECK" represents what Walsh calls "revenge creativity" – a defiant response to the pandemic that halted their momentum following their acclaimed 2019 album "I'm You." Rather than producing a standard follow-up, Walsh finally brought to life an idea he'd contemplated for two decades: creating a complete musical deck of cards with four distinct "suits" (albums) each containing thirteen songs.

The concept is brilliantly executed – Diamonds features polished, radio-friendly tracks; Clubs delivers faster, punkier "bangers"; Hearts showcases emotionally vulnerable material; while Spades explores experimental territory. Beyond the musical organization, Walsh designed custom artwork for each song, available as an actual playable card deck that fans can purchase alongside the music.

Most fascinating is how the project reimagines listener engagement in the streaming era. Walsh encourages fans to "shuffle the deck" by randomly selecting 13 songs to create unique playlists that statistically no one else will ever duplicate. This transforms passive consumption into something participatory and personal, giving listeners agency in how they experience this massive body of work.

The album features notable collaborations including Cassie Berman (Silver Jews) and Jeremy Gaudet (Kiwi Jr), reflecting Walsh's collaborative songwriting approach. As Hallelujah the Hills celebrates its 20th anniversary in November 2025, "DECK" stands as both an artistic milestone and a defiant statement against disposable music culture: "You work on something for two years. It gets attention for 48 hours and then everyone's on the next thing... we made this in defiance of that idea."

Listen to "DECK" when it releases this June and catch Hallelujah the Hills on tour across the Northeast as they share this extraordinary musical achievement with the world.

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Nick Bendzsa sits down with us to peel back the layers of his musical metamorphosis from synth-pop architect to folk-trap innovator. The Newfoundland native, now based in Montreal, candidly reveals how his sound has evolved alongside his personal journey.

Growing up with a music professor father who specialized in experimental and improvised compositions, Nick absorbed the spirit of musical freedom from an early age. While his teenage years found him playing bass in a blues band and performing for crowds of 2,000 at just 17, his true artistic voice was still developing. Nick reflects on how these formative experiences shaped his approach to music-making: "I think it was very much like being around him and going to his concerts and picking up this spirit of freedom through music and the joy of creation."

The conversation delves into the fascinating transition from his previous project Hello—characterized by densely layered electronic soundscapes—to his current solo work under his own name. This shift wasn't just stylistic but represented a deeper change in creative philosophy. "I'm not trying to add frivolous stuff," Nick explains. "I want to just communicate a bit more directly." His self-described "trap folk" sound merges fingerpicked guitars with trap beats and ambient textures, creating something uniquely authentic that flows from genuine emotional experiences rather than genre conventions.

Particularly illuminating is Nick's discussion of how producing for other artists has informed his own work, teaching him to consider what elements truly serve the emotional core of a song. This perspective has helped him embrace minimalism and authenticity over the pressure to create attention-grabbing pop songs in today's saturated music landscape. With his album "Very Soft Glow" set to release on May 24th, Nick Bendzsa invites us to witness the next chapter in his evolving musical story—one that promises to continue blurring boundaries while remaining firmly rooted in emotional truth.

Subscribe to hear more conversations with boundary-pushing indie artists who are redefining genres and creating deeply personal music on their own terms.

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When does a musical project truly end? Scott Garred of Super XX Man thought he had written the final chapter when he crafted an obituary for his 30-year-old band. Yet somehow, what began as a nostalgic blog post excavating old flyers and cassettes transformed into an unexpected resurrection.

The creative spark reignited when longtime collaborator Allie Wesley reached out after seeing Scott's posts. "It'd be so fun to do something together again," she wrote, not knowing those words would breathe new life into a project Scott had considered complete. That simple connection opened the floodgates to what Scott describes as "the community that was Super XX Man." Soon, songs that had been sitting in limbo found their way to Portland producer Adam Seltzer, forming the foundation of "Rusted Hues" - the first Super XX Man album in a decade.

Throughout our conversation, Scott shares fascinating insights into his creative process, describing how he immerses himself in music daily as both a music therapist and a perpetual student of the craft. "I play music every day," he explains, detailing how creativity generates more creativity once he begins recording. We journey back to his formative musical moments, from the friend who taught him two simple guitar chords that "changed my musical life right then and there" to his first experiences with home recording on a four-track that made songwriting feel accessible.

Most movingly, Scott reflects on what performing means after three decades of making music. "I don't think it's bravery," he says about sharing deeply personal songs. "It's a privilege to be able to go play a show and stand in front of one person, two people, a thousand people." Whether playing in a church basement in Wisconsin or to hundreds in Japan, the feeling remains the same: "When I'm really singing, and it's resonating in my own heart - there's nothing like it." Join us for this intimate look at musical resurrection, creative persistence, and finding renewed purpose in artistic community.

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