Alternative Rock
Courtney Barnett Performs “Write a List of Things to Look Forward To” on Ellen: Watch
Courtney Barnett stopped by The Ellen Degeneres Show on Monday (November 15th) to promote her masterful new album, Things Take Time, Take Time. During her performance, the Australian singer-songwriter played the album cut, “Write a List of Things to Look Forward To.” While joined on stage by Things Take Time co-producer Stella Mozgawa on drums, Cate Le Bon on bass, and Zach Dawes on keys, Barnett delivered an excellent rendition of the track, which covers themes of gratitude and the progression of life toward death. “A baby is born/ As a man lay dying,” she sings on the second verse. “As a man lay dying/ And so on it goes.” Watch Courtney Barnett’s Ellen performance of “Write a List of Things to Look Forward To” below. Advertisement Related Video In her review of Things Take Time, con...
Damon Albarn Brings “Darkness to Light” on Fallon: Watch
Damon Albarn celebrated this week’s release of his new album, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, by stopping by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Friday night (November 12th). As the evening’s musical guest, the musician delivered a stunning rendition of his song “Darkness to Light.” While most of us are more used to Albarn rocking out as the frontman of Blur or taking on an animated persona with Gorillaz, his solo work positions him as a soft-rock crooner. With a full backing band, Albarn was able to stick to vocals alone; with a black-and-white filter placed over the footage, it makes for one arresting performance. (Notably, his mullet is still in full force.) Watch him sing “Darkness to Light” on Fallon below. Albarn first conceptualized The Nearer th...
NHC (Members of Foo Fighters, Jane’s Addiction) Share New Songs “Devil That You Know” and “Lazy Eyes”: Stream
NHC, the new supergroup featuring Foo Fighters‘ Taylor Hawkins and Jane’s Addiction members Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney, have released two new songs: “Devil That You Know” and “Lazy Eyes.” Back in September, we first reported on the new trio, who shared two song shared their first two songs — “Feed the Cruel” and “Better Move On” — at that time. Now, they’re unveiling have another pair of tunes. Fans of Hawkins’ drumming and Navarro’s guitar playing will immediately recognize the musical familiarities between NHC and the full-time projects of each member. “Devil That You Know” touts psych rock flourishes and lush melodies while “Lazy Eyes” is a more active, power-pop jammer. The former is Jane’s-y, the latter more Foo-like. Advertisement Related Video The songs, which both feature Hawkin...
Speedy Ortiz Drop The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever: Stream
Speedy Ortiz have shared The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever, a reissue in honor of the band’s 10th anniversary, via Carpark. Stream it below. The 22-track compilation combines two self-released 2011 EPs — The Death of Speedy Ortiz and Cop Kicker — by the indie rock project of Sadie Dupuis with a number of bonus and previously unreleased tracks in one place for the first time. “I can’t claim Speedy as a solo project anymore — I love working with the friends and bandmates who have played and recorded with me over the years — and I’m glad I now have Sad13 as an outlet for my home-produced concoctions,” Dupuis said in a statement. Advertisement Related Video She continued: “But I’m so proud of these 22 solo songs, which I put a lot of heart and time and sweat into in both 2011 ...
Damon Albarn Shares New Album The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows: Stream
The latest album from Damon Albarn is here. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, the sophomore solo record from the Gorillaz and Blur frontman, is out today via Transgressive. Originally conceptualized as an orchestral piece, Albarn revisited the material during the pandemic, fleshing it out into a full-blown project. At 11 tracks, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows explores themes of fragility, loss, emergence, and rebirth. “I have been on my own dark journey while making this record and it led me to believe that a pure source might still exist,” Albarn said in a press release. Unlike the straightforward Britpop he makes with Blur or the trip-hop-meets-rock groove of Gorillaz, The Nearer the Fountain sees Albarn adopt more orchestral and cla...
Failure Announce New Album Wild Type Droid, Share “Headstand”: Stream
Failure have announced their fifth studio album, Wild Type Droid, arriving December 3rd. The band also shared the lead single, “Headstand.” Considering the full album drops in less than a month, the LP’s announcement comes as a pleasant surprise to Failure’s tight-knit, dedicated fanbase. Failure albums are few and far between: They’ve only released five in 31 years. The cult alt-rock trio are known for their immense “space rock” sound design and mastery of melody, and the new song “Headstand” delivers on both fronts. Singer-bassist Ken Andrews’ controlled coos and smokey vocals are backed by washes of Greg Edwards’ shoegazey guitars and Kelli Scott’s deliberate, pocketed beat. “Headstand” is audio bliss. Advertisement Related Video “The lyrics come from my earliest memory of spacing-out i...
Jonny Greenwood Releases Spencer Soundtrack: Stream
Jonny Greenwood’s original soundtrack to Spencer, the Kristen Stewart-starring biopic about Princess Diana and the dissolution of her marriage to Prince Charles, is here. The Radiohead guitarist’s latest soundtrack endeavor is out now via Mercury KX, and can be streamed in full below via Apple Music or Spotify. The Spencer soundtrack includes the previously-released single “Crucifix.” As that song title implies, this isn’t exactly the feel-good score of the year, especially considering the film’s premise: It follows a Christmas holiday in 1991, during which Diana contemplates leaving Charles amid rumors of his infidelity and the pressure of being married into England’s most famous family. It’s one of the earliest films to garner a good amount of Oscar buzz this season, and Greenwood c...
Let’s Eat Grandma Announces New Album Two Ribbons, Shares Title Track: Stream
Let’s Eat Grandma have announced their upcoming album, Two Ribbons, via Transgressive. The album is set to be released April 8th and will serve as a follow-up to the duo’s 2018 LP I’m All Ears. In conjunction with the announcement, the band has unveiled the LP’s sparse title track as its second single. The Two Ribbons of the album’s title could be taken to represent the perspectives and life experiences of both Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth over the three years since their last studio effort, but the title track is actually about other people. “‘Two Ribbons’ is a song I wrote to, and about, two of the closest people in my life, and how my relationships with them shifted over time through loss and life changes,” said Hollingworth in a statement. “It touches on the isolating experience ...
Courtney Barnett on “Finding Joy Amongst the Mess” with Her New Album Things Take Time, Take Time
When Courtney Barnett turns on her Zoom camera, she’s squinting from the sun. The singer-songwriter, whose new album Things Take Time, Take Time arrives this Friday (November 12th) via Mom+Pop, is calling from outside the house she’s staying at in Joshua Tree, where she’s been rehearsing for her upcoming tour and, deservedly, taking some time to relax. “I’ve just woke up,” she tells Consequence with a laugh. Barnett began writing her follow-up to 2018’s Tell Me How You Really Feel in late 2019 and early 2020, before the you-know-what put most people’s plans on an indefinite pause. Strict COVID safety protocols in her native Australia meant that Barnett had an abundance of free time on her hands: “I was living by myself in Melbourne, and we were in lockdown, and I was writing...
Gang of Youths Announce New Album angel in realtime., Share “tend the garden”: Stream
Gang of Youths have a new album on the way. angel in realtime. is due out February 25th via Warner, and along with the announcement, the rock quintet have shared the new single “tend the garden.” Gang of Youths have also outlined a North American tour in support of the record. angel in realtime. was heavily influenced by the passing of frontman Dave Le’aupepe’s father, whose life was largely a mystery to his son. “My dad was a gifted and passionate gardener,” he said in a statement. “Despite our humble surroundings, we were always surrounded by beauty. The journey he made from Samoa to NZ to Australia was a difficult and inspiring one, but also fraught with mistakes, regret and terrible choices.” Le’aupepe added, “I like to think he was building something beautiful, and pond...
Moses Sumney Announces New Album Live from Blackalachia, Shares “Bystanders (in space)”: Stream
18 months after releasing the second installment of his double album græ, Moses Sumney has returned with a new record titled Live from Blackalachia, due out December 10th. As a preview, the musician has shared the video for “Bystanders (in space).” Accompanied by the self-directed film Blackalachia, the album consists of reimagined arrangements of highlights from Sumney’s catalog, recorded on a 72-acre ranch in the Blue Ridge Mountains during summer 2020. “In early 2020, my band and I gathered in my home in Western North Carolina, living and breathing together, re-arranging songs from my first 2 albums into a live odyssey,” Sumney said in a press release. “As the year unfurled and the international tour was wiped off the cosmic schedule, I realized there should be some kind of record, a co...
Placebo Announce New Album Never Let Me Go, Share “Surrounded by Spies”: Stream
Placebo have announced their new album, Never Let Me Go, out March 25th via Rise Records. The band has also shared the record’s second single, “Surrounded by Spies.” Stream the track below. Never Let Me Go follows 2013’s Loud Like Love, marking the English rockers’ first album in nine years. Whereas the previous single “Beautiful James” buzzed with lighthearted synths, “Surrounded by Spies” offers a look at the darker side of the album. Ominous piano chimes over glitchy percussion as singer Brian Molko buckles under our modern surveillance state. “I gave my heart, now I want it back,” he repeats. “I began writing the lyrics when I discovered my neighbors were spying on me on behalf of parties with a nefarious agenda,” Molko explained in a statement. “I then began to ponder the countless wa...
