Lamplight / The Fascinating Chimera Project / Blue Ranger

Lamplight is the texturally dense, homegrown alt-folk project of multi-disciplinary artist Ian Williams.

Born and raised in Virginia, creek-steeped in the foothills of Appalachia, frontman and songwriter Williams grew up taking long walks to make music in bands with his childhood best friends. After moving to the city and back again, and nearly a decade out of the spotlight, he returned to the practice of song, culminating in Lamplight’s 2024 self-titled debut featuring beloved NYC collaborators.

Lamplight is an earnest exploration of the multitudes we all contain, with a habit of wearing the heart on the sleeve. Their sophomore LP, recorded in wintertime Vermont tucked away with chosen family, is expected to be released in October 2026 on Western Vinyl.

He is often in love, is always left-handed, and is picking up painting again.

https://lamplightsongs.bandcamp.com/

The Fascinating Chimera Project is a band from New York.

In 2019, the group released their debut The Fascinating Chimera Project, which combined dream pop and ambient original songs, plus their take on an Irish trad tune recorded on penny whistle in the middle of the woods in Forest Park, Queens.

After a decade of playing in various groups around the city, the trio relocated to the Catskills. This shift toward a quieter life while reckoning with the world’s chaos and suffering shaped their 2025 LP Songs for the Moon.

Musician Liam Singer described Songs for the Moon as “unhurried, dreamy piano folk-pop meets Bossa Nova, Laurel Canyon, Enya, and a hint of whimsical Penguin Cafe Orchestra-esque experimentalism, all built around Alex Daud’s unaffected vocals.”

https://thefascinatingchimeraproject.bandcamp.com/album/little-wooden-boat

The moments when we stop, close our eyes, and strive to process the minutiae that makes up our lives, peripheral images come into sharp focus. The ripple of memory, and the quietude of reflection urges a blossoming of connection––with ourselves and the people around us––that oscillates between who we are and who we hope to be.

Blue Ranger captures these small moments on their new album Close Your Eyes, their first LP in five years and their most collaborative to date. The stomach of Blue Ranger is derived from their live shows, which can be felt in the intentional nature of Close Your Eyes, but also in the band’s sonic curiosity.

Bridging electronica, soft-folk, and ambient rock, Blue Ranger’s details lie in playing with negative space, and of the kismet that brings them together.

• Sammy Maine

https://blueranger.bandcamp.com/album/close-your-eyes-2