Alternative Rock
Bring Me the Horizon Unveil New Song “Teardrops”: Stream
Bring Me the Horizon have unleashed another new song from their upcoming EP, Post Human: Survival Horror. The latest single, “Teardrops”, is accompanied by a music video that finds frontman Oli Sykes in an underwater struggle. “Teardrops” follows recent singles “Parasite Eve” and “Obey”, as well as last year’s “Ludens”, which all appear on the nine-song EP, due October 30th. Sykes has high praise fo “Teardrops”, ranking it among the UK band’s top tracks. “It is my favorite song off the record,” he said in a press release. “I’m so excited to get this single out, it feels like a classic Bring Me the Horizon tune but without it feeling like anything we’ve done before. I feel like ‘Teardrops’ is some of the best work we’ve ever done, musically and lyrically as whole.” Editors’ Picks As p...
Jeff Tweedy’s Love Is the King Conquers Anger and Fear with Happiness: Review
The Lowdown: Who in 2020, a year defined almost exclusively by fear, hate and unprecedented political division, has the nerve to release a record called Love Is the King? That might sound a little too optimistic for Jeff Tweedy, but while the Wilco frontman doesn’t always paint a rosy picture in his songs, he knows how to offer calm reassurance in dark times. Few songwriters possess such an acute ability to make sense of the craziness around them, and if Tweedy’s latest solo endeavor proves anything, it’s that sometimes that’s good enough. [embedded content] The Good: There was a time when recording a record amid such social or personal turmoil would have sent Tweedy down the path toward artful rancor. But Love Is the King is the latest in what has been a string of relatively calm releases...
Marika Hackman Covers Elliott Smith’s “Between the Bars”, Beyoncé’s “All Night”: Stream
Next month, English indie rocker Marika Hackman will release a new covers album featuring takes on Radiohead, Grimes, Sharon Van Etten, and more. As a preview of the simply titled Covers, Hackman is now sharing her version of the 1997 Elliott Smith song “Between the Bars” and Beyoncé highlight “All Night”. “When it comes to covers, I like to pick songs which I have been listening to obsessively for a while,” the 28-year-old Londoner noted in a statement. “It gives me a natural understanding of the music, and lets me be more innovative with how I transform it.” Hackman just might be underselling herself with the word “innovative”, as her reworks of Smith and Queen Bey are quite remarkable. And not just for their unique arrangements, but also the fact that such contrasting covers somehow exi...
Bruce Springsteen Interviewed Eddie Vedder and Dave Grohl, And Of Course You’re Going to Listen
In the run-up to his new album Letter to You, Bruce Springsteen is hosting a five-episode radio series for Apple Music called Letter to You Radio. Eddie Vedder and Dave Grohl joined The Boss on the most recent episode, and together the rock veterans discussed key moments in their respective careers, what those first few breaks felt like, and the brotherhood of bands. Springsteen spoke to the Pearl Jam frontman first. He wanted to know about the Seattle grunge scene, because “we didn’t come out of a scene with a lot of peers. We were a one-shot out of Asbury Park.” To Springsteen, his own success seemed utterly unexpected, whereas Pearl Jam always felt inevitable. Springsteen said, “You had the kind of band that simply was a big, powerful band with a reach that want...
Gorillaz Continue to Exude Colorful Chemistry on Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez: Review
The Lowdown: Ever since they first stole our hearts about 20 years ago, Gorillaz — the genre-splicing virtual band spearheaded by Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett, and now Remi Kabaka Jr. — have provided about as much visual flamboyance and experimentation as musical. In other words, they’ve always made exceptional use of things like music videos, 3-D concert projections, and web-based gimmicks to not only enhance the impact and mystique of their albums and lore but also to push the limits of what modern, multimodal artistry can achieve in a broader sense. Earlier this year, they announced arguably their most ambitious endeavor yet: Song Machine, a web series wherein each “episode” features a new song/music video that encapsulates Gorillaz’s trademark tongue-in-cheek bizarreness, stylistic flex...
Guided by Voices Announce Third Album of 2020, Share “Mr. Child”: Stream
Proving the pandemic hasn’t put a major dent in their plans, prolific band Guided by Voices are announcing their third album of 2020. Titled Styles We Paid For, it’s due for arrival December 11th via the aptly named Rockathon Records. The upcoming project follows closely behind February’s Surrender Your Poppy Field and July’s Mirrored Aztec. Frontman Robert Pollard originally envisioned it to be an all-analog LP called Before Computers, but with lockdown in place, GBV were forced to take their creative process online. “The pandemic obviously changed our recording plans and ironically it was all recorded digitally on computers,” Pollard told Rolling Stone. Each member contributed their parts from their own faraway quarantine locations — guitarist Doug Gillard in New York, ba...
Oasis Classic “Wonderwall” Becomes First ’90s Song to Hit One Billion Streams
Today is gonna be the day that… Oasis enter the history books. The British rock group’s anthemic “Wonderwall” has just become the first ’90s song to hit one billion streams on Spotify. The momentous milestone comes as the single, as well as the classic album on which it appears, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, celebrates its 25th anniversary. “Wonderwall” was originally released on October 30th, 1995 as the third single from (What’s the Story). Written by Noel Gallagher, it’s said to describe “an imaginary friend who’s gonna come and save you from yourself.” The song has gone on to become one of — if not the — most popular in the entire Oasis catalog, and has even spawned its own meme. Its corresponding music video is also Oasis’ most viewed. At the 1997 Grammys, “Wonderwall” earned the...
The National’s Matt Berninger Releases Debut Solo Album Serpentine Prison: Stream
Matt Berninger of The National has released his debut solo album Serpentine Prison. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. The album was produced by the legendary Booker T. Jones, and features contributions from Andrew Bird, The National’s Scott Devendorf, The Walkmen’s Walter Martin and Matt Barrick, and Menomena’s Brent Knopf. But the only other artist actually heard on Serpentine Prison is Gail Ann Dorsey, whose vocals featured on six of the tracks from the 2019 The National album I Am Easy to Find. Here, there’s little to distract from Berninger’s mellifluous voice. In a review of Serpentine Prison for Consequence of Sound, Jordan Blum wrote, “Serpentine Prison isn’t the drastic change of pace that many frontmen create when they do a project outside o...
The Hold Steady Announce 10th Anniversary Reissue of Heaven Is Whenever, Share Previously Unreleased “Separate Vacations”: Stream
It’s been 10 long years since The Hold Steady released their fifth studio album, Heaven Is Whenever. To mark the anniversary, the band will reissue an expanded deluxe edition of the LP featuring previously unreleased songs, demos, and alternate takes. Due out November 27th via Vagrant Records, the double-album reissue consists of a newly remastered version of Heaven Is Whenever, along with nine (!) bonus tracks. Some of these unearthed songs are called “Ascension Blues”, “Touchless”, “Beer on the Bedstand”, and “Wonderful Struggle”. There’s also an alternate take on “We Can Get Together”. For those fans hankering for even more goodies, the digital version of the reissue comes with an additional six tracks. Most are recordings from The Hold Steady’s Avatar Sessions with Franz Nicolay (...
Artist of the Month beabadoobee Unleashes the Raw and Gutting Fake It Flowers: Review
The Lowdown: If you’ve ever scrolled TikTok, you’ve heard beabadoobee’s sweet single “Coffee”. It — plus a song that samples it — has been used to soundtrack almost every clip that includes any of the following: a nausea-inducing relationship montage, a racoon (or other wild animal) doing something kind of cute, or a craft project that you will absolutely never do but bookmark anyway. “Coffee” had taken off even before it made its way onto the omnipresent app, when it was posted by 1-800-LOVE-U, a popular YouTube channel with 700,000-plus subscribers. Characterized by a soft, almost dissolvable voice, the song is just under two minutes of simple guitar chords, doughy lyrics, and pleasant feelings. It’s charming, the equivalent of a gentle hug and kiss on the forehead. If, at times, the son...
The Cranberries on Soundtracking Your Favorite ’90s Movies
Kyle Meredith With… The Cranberries Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS The Cranberries founding members Noel Hogan and Fergal Lawler sit down with Kyle Meredith to dive back into 1994’s No Need To Argue for the 25th anniversary deluxe edition. The two take us through the first album’s success, working out these songs on tour, learning to make heavier sounds, and the lasting impact of “Zombie”. They also revisit the music video for “Ridiculous Thoughts”, covering The Carpenters, featuring on soundtracks for Clueless and Empire Records, winning at the MTV Music Awards, and the time one of their shows started a riot in Washington DC. Later on, they explain what happened to the famous so...
Lost Under Heaven Return with New Single “Alpha Omega”: Stream
LUH. Lost Under Heaven, aka LUH., have returned with a new song called “Alpha Omega”. After releasing their previous albums, 2016’s Spiritual Songs for Lovers to Sing and last year’s Love Hates What You Become, via Mute, LUH. have decided to go the independent route. “Alpha Omega” marks their first release under their new label/arts platform, LUH.international. The single was entirely funded via the band’s Patreon, where subscribers got an early listen a few days ago. Today, the heavy swirling lament has been released wide for all to hear. As LUH. detailed in a statement, “Alpha Omega” was born out of exploring existential questions during lockdown. “After reflecting on our rapturous moment, from the sensational and quickly suppressed alternative narratives (or ‘conspiracy’ theories) to th...
