Album Announcement
Shamir Announces New Self-Titled Album, Premieres “I Wonder”: Stream
Despite the pandemic, Shamir is gearing up to release his second album of 2020. Following March’s Cataclysm, the indie artist is readying a self-titled record for October 2nd. According to a statement, Shamir finds the Philly-based musician swapping his R&B and pop palette for something with a little more grit. Shamir specifically looked “toward the post-hardcore ’90s for further inspiration — from Olympia, Washington cult heroes Unwound to bands of the Kill Rock Stars orbit.” The shift in musical direction may be a bit surprising to fans. But for Shamir, it’s a natural evolution and one that places him at his most centered. “I felt like it didn’t need a name [for the album], cuz it’s the record that’s most me,” Shamir says of the LP, which he also considers his most accessib...
Drake and DJ Khaled Reconnect on New Singles “Popstar” and “Greece”: Stream
As someone who likes to shout-out his own name whenever he gets the chance, DJ Khaled has come up with the best title for his next album: Khaled Khaled. The project was announced earlier this week, and today it’s being teased with not one, but two major key collaborations with Drake. Stream the new pair of singles, “Popstar” and “Greece” below. “SOME BOY DEM MAKE POP CHUNE WE MAKE CHUNE THAT GO POP! POP PON THEY HEAD!!” DJ Khaled wrote in an Instagram post about the tracks. He also took the time to thank Drizzy and his longtime OVO label crew, saying, “Great to collaborate wit the team prod @ozmusiqe we work AMAZING together ALSO BIG UP @ovo40 @ovonoel @chubbsview @futuretheprince @oliverelkhatib always great to work wit the OVO team. WE WORK AMAZING TOGETHER! DRAKE LUV FOREVER !” “Popstar...
Cults Announce New Album Host, Share “Trials”: Stream
Beloved indie pop duo Cults have announced their fourth album, Host. The record is due out later this summer on September 18th via Sinderlyn. According to a press statement, the follow-up to 2017’s Offering is said to be about the sinister dynamics of a parasitic relationship, and the catharsis that comes with achieving freedom and self-reliance. For multi-instrumentalist/singer Madeline Follin, in many ways the new album represents a form of liberation, as it’s her first to serve as primary songwriter. “In the past, I’d never brought my own music to the table because I was just too shy,” Follin explains. This time around, Follin did pitch her material, and once her bandmate Brian Oblivion and their producer Shane Stoneback heard what she had written, they were “floored”. Cults’ entire sou...
Aluna of AlunaGeorge Announces Solo Album Renaissance, Shares “Get Paid”: Stream
AlunaGeorge frontwoman Aluna Francis is finally stepping out of her electropop group’s spotlight. Today, the pop star has announced her debut solo album as Aluna. It’s called Renaissance and it’s due out August 28th via Diplo‘s label Mad Decent. Renaissance spans 14 tracks in total, including Aluna’s debut solo single, “Body Pump”. There’s a handful of guest contributors throughout, including Kaytranada, Princess Nokia, and Jada Kingdom — the latter two of whom appear on Aluna’s new song, “Get Paid”. In a press release, Aluna explained why “Get Paid” takes on an especially personal meaning for her. “It’s an aspirational celebration about black women and women of color getting paid, in opposition of the reality that we are consistently undervalued for our work,” she said. “On the other...
Sun Ra Arkestra Announce New Album Swirling, Share “Angels and Demons At Play”: Stream
Sun Ra Arkestra have announced details of their first new album in 20 years: It’s called Swirling and it’s due out October 9th via Strut Records. Swirling sees the legendary jazz group at the top of their game under the direction of maestro Marshall Allen. The album spans 10 tracks — 11 if you include the vinyl-only track “Queer Notions” — and was recorded in its entirety at Rittenhouse Soundworks in Philadelphia. A handful of tracks are updated renditions of longtime gems while others are new songs entirely. To coincide with today’s announcement, Sun Ra Arkestra have shared a new arrangement of “Angels And Demons At Play”, which you can stream below. “We truly hope that this recording brings much joy to a planet which is so deeply in need of a spirit sound and vibration,” says saxoph...
Whitney Cover David Byrne, Brian Eno, John Denver, and More on New Album Candid
Chicago indie rockers Whitney have announced a new covers album. Titled Candid, it’s due out August 14th through Secretly Canadian. Spanning 10 tracks, the album sees Whitney tackling originals by David Byrne and Brian Eno (“Strange Overtones”), Kelela (“Bank Head”), and Damien Jurado (“A.M. A.M.”). The album also includes the group’s previously shared rendition of the John Denver classic “Take Me Home, Country Roads” featuring Waxahatchee and their take on “Rain” by SWV. In a statement about their choice in covers, drummer and singer Julien Ehrlich explains, “This could’ve been as simple as saying we really love these songs and we love our bandmates and making a covers record just felt right but it truly became an exploration into how we can evolve as a band going forward.” Editors&#...
Makaya McCraven Announces New Album Universal Beings E&F Sides, Shares “Mak Attack”: Stream
Makaya McCraven released one of the 2018’s most acclaimed jazz albums in Universal Beings. Now, the Chicago-based drummer and producer is prepping to drop a companion piece called Universal Beings E&F Sides, in addition to a documentary series about the record. E&F Sides promises 14 “new pieces of organic beat music” that were cut from the original sessions for Universal Beings proper. One of those “Mak Attack”, which finds McCraven fiercely “attacking” his kit like the percussion beast that he is. As for the corresponding documentary, the visual will be soundtracked by the music found on E&F Sides. Its footage chronicles the making of breakthrough album Universal Beings, following McCraven in the studio and on the road as he traveled to California, New York, and...
The Front Bottoms Announce New Album In Sickness & In Flames, Share “Montgomery Forever”: Stream
The Front Bottoms have announced a new album called In Sickness & In Flames. It’s due out August 21st via Fueled By Ramen. To celebrate the news, they’ve shared lead single “Montgomery Forever” alongside its own music video. In Sickness & In Flames is the duo’s seventh album overall and follows their 2017 LP Going Grey. Perhaps most notably, it was produced by Mike Sapone. Over the course of 12 songs — one of which is the previously released single “Camouflage” — The Front Bottoms use this new album to celebrate life, purge angst, and push forward with “positive and creative energy,” according to a press release. “Montgomery Forever” sounds like a grown-up version of The Front Bottoms. The acoustic pop-punk sound they found a cult following with is still here, but it sounds more po...
Cloud Nothings Surprise Releasing New Album The Black Hole Understands
Surprise! Cloud Nothings have announced a new album called The Black Hole Understands, and they’re releasing it in full tomorrow via Bandcamp. The Black Hole Understands is a 10-song full-length that was written and recorded remotely while self-isolating during the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, reports Pitchfork. A 25% cut of the proceeds will be donated to Play on Philly in Philadelphia and Rainey Institute in Cleveland, both of which provide music and arts education to communities that don’t have easy access to such in their respective local areas. “It’s a quarantine album, so like… not actually recorded live,” frontperson Dylan Baldi tweeted. “I’m playing instruments and singing, Jayson is playing drums. It’s poppy and also kind of sad, which is more or less my state of mind....
Sadie Dupuis’ Sad13 Announces New Album Haunted Painting, Shares “Ghost (of a Good Time)”: Stream
Sad13, the indie project led by Speedy Ortiz’s Sadie Dupuis, has announced a new album. Haunted Painting is officially due for release on September 25th through Wax Nine, a Carpark Records imprint overseen by Dupuis. The long-awaited Slugger follow-up is comprised of 11 songs and boasts guest contributions from Roberto Lange of Helado Negro, Deerhoof member Satomi Matsuzaki, tUnE-yArDs mastermind Merrill Garbus, and Rick Maguire of Pile. It was written at different studios all over the US, including the Elliott Smith-built New Monkey Studio in Van Nuys, California, and was purposefully recorded with only women engineers. “I worked on Haunted Painting throughout 2019, writing, arranging and recording from home, then finishing the songs in studios around the country in be...
Dent May Announces New Album Late Checkout, Shares “I Could Use A Miracle”: Stream
Los Angeles songwriter Dent May has announced his fifth album, Late Checkout. The project arrives August 21st via Carpark Records, and May is previewing it today with a wonderful new pop-rock song called “I Could Use A Miracle”. Since emerging in the late 2000s as a ukulele-toting psych-pop artist and then pivoting to disco, May has evolved into a much more polished and grandiose songwriter. Fans witnessed flashes of this transformation on 2017’s Across The Multiverse, but this forthcoming follow-up sees May really stepping up to own his new status as a power-pop multi-instrumentalist: not only is the new LP his first to be recorded outside of his home studio, but it’s also his introduction to writing and arranging parts for string players, a horn section, and background vocalist...
Boris Announce New Album NO, Share Blistering “Loveless”: Stream
Last year, Japanese experimental metal band Boris released a double album called LφVE & EVφL. Now, they’re prepping a follow-up project pointedly dubbed NO. The 11-song full-length is due out next month and is being teased with lead single “Loveless”. In a strongly-worded manifesto of sorts, Boris explained that NO is an amalgam of all of their influences and connections as DIY heavy musicians. It was a record that was informed by the current “closing” of international borders, and the pain, anguish, and anxiety we’re all feeling during this chaotic moment in world history. An excerpt from that statement reads, “We hope this latest album can be a mirror that gathers and reflects people’s negative energy at a different angle, one that is positive. That is the power and potenti...
