15 July 2026 – Jon McKiel Finds A Mirage Called ‘Rosemary’

<a href="/tags/jon-mckiel">Jon McKiel</a> has announced ‘Gold Horatio’, due on 11 September, and shared the lead single ‘Rosemary’. The New Brunswick songwriter again works with composer and multi-instrumentalist Jay Crocker, but this time their collaboration took place more directly across neighbouring home studios.

That closer working relationship appears to have expanded McKiel’s sample-based songwriting into something larger and more immediate. ‘Rosemary’ combines dreamlike synth textures with playful guitar work, creating an indie-pop mirage that feels simultaneously nostalgic and unpredictable. The song carries traces of blog-era experimental pop without sounding preserved inside a browser window from 2009.

‘Gold Horatio’ follows McKiel’s 2024 album ‘Hex’ and includes ten tracks with titles such as ‘Wrong Heaven’, ‘Stinging Reflection’ and ‘Watching the River’. The record promises another strange meeting between manipulated sound, melodic songwriting and guitar that occasionally appears to have wandered in from a much louder rehearsal space. ‘Rosemary’ is inviting, slightly blurry and just unstable enough to make the furniture look interesting.