Julie Beth Napolin is a songwriter, author, and teacher based in the Hudson Valley, New York. She has played in the bands Citay and Meridians. Her debut solo album “Only the Void Stands Between Us” was released on November 29, 2024 on Silver Current Records.

“Only the Void occupies a place that exists somewhere outside of time & space. It inhabits a musical continuum where the cosmic, earthbound, ancient, & eternal meet.”  – Bandcamp Daily/ Album of the Day

“Julie Beth Napolin weaves the kind of mercurial folk spell that leads to whispered-about reputations. A delightfully saturated seance that draws the listener into its maze.” – Raven Sings the Blues/ Favorites of 2024

“This is cosmic folk of the highest caliber. An absolute treat for all of us temporal adventurers.” – Ben Chasny (6 Organs of Admittance)

“Julie carves a sizable swath of song out of an instrument that sounds as if it’s 16 feet long and weighs 300 pounds…in mantra channeling and triple-tracked solitude storms. The bicoastal bliss of somebody who’s seen something instills this whole record with a peaceful confidence.” – Heathen Disco

The music of Thin Lear comes into focus like a specter in the dark – beckoning, restless, and yearning – an outstretched hand from the dimness of a room. The moniker of NJ songwriter Matt Longo, Thin Lear has taken on many forms since 2020’s debut, Wooden Cave (PopMatters’ Best Albums of 2020), with different collectives of collaborators, producers, and players. 

Thin Lear's new EP, A Shadow Waltzed Itself (out 3/7 via Metropolitan Groove Merchants), illustrates the moment one recognizes that something of great value (a person, a community, a sense of self) has quietly moved away from them. Through dark waltzes, and a late-night sonic palette, the EP unfurls stories of those reckoning with this shuddering realization – either fighting against it or simply letting it go. 

Last year's A Beach of Nightly Glory EP, produced by Matthew E. White (Natalie Prass), received praise from Bandcamp Daily, Under the Radar, the Talkhouse, and PopMatters, with Chris Ingalls declaring it "...a superb showcase for Longo's immense songwriting abilities...a throwback to the timeless compositions of artists like Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison, and David Berman." Thin Lear's previous album, Wooden Cave, arrived on EggHunt Records, receiving glowing reviews from KEXP, The Big Takeover, AllMusic, and NPR's New Music Friday, with Robin Hilton calling the album "amazing."

"[O]n par with the albums that inspired it: Leonard Cohen's dark backroom soliloquies and the more bittersweet moments of Harry Nilsson's drifty pop...a fantastic debut." 

- Fred Thomas on Wooden Cave, AllMusic (★★★★)

Niagara Moon, songwriter Thomas Erwin and others, specializes in mellow, lushly produced baroque indie-pop that combines the intricate melodies of Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper's with the 21st century style of artists like Of Montreal and Belle & Sebastian. Their sound is often whimsical, poignant, sardonic, and mildly psychedelic.