Mulligan Stew With Terry David Mulligan

Americana singer-songwriter Mariel Buckley announces her just-released album – Strange Trip Ahead, out Friday, October 17, 2025, via Birthday Cake Records. It finds Mariel venturing into new sonic ground for her, embracing an indie-rock song box that leans away from her country and Americana roots. The album reveals a deep dive into themes of adolescent shame, secrecy, and queer longing. With complex songs that take the listener through the emotional turbulence of youth, crafting a listening experience that feels like floating in uncertainty, suspended one moment, crashing the next. Mariel begins a bold new direction with this Strange Trip Ahead.  "I was itching to try something a little heavier than my previous stuff," she shares. "I wanted to move away from synths and keys in general, citing references from indie rock, pop music, and alt-country."  The album offers an honest portrait of empty hotel rooms, long stretches of highway, and the quiet loneliness found in mundane rituals like pumping gas and loite