Alternative Rock
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...
beabadoobee Releases Debut Album Fake It Flowers: Stream
Artist of the Month and London-based indie rocker beabadoobee has released her highly anticipated debut album, Fake It Flowers. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. Fake It Flowers is Bea Kristi’s first full-length record under the moniker beabadoobee. It follows five EPs, including her 2019 releases Space Cadet and Loveworm. The 12-track record includes the previously released singles “How Was Your Day?”, “Worth It”, “Sorry”, and “Care”, the latter of which stole the Song of the Week spotlight. Not only is Fake It Flowers one of the most anticipated albums of 2020, but it’s also a long-but-short time coming milestone for beabadoobee herself. While talking with CoS in a new interview, Kristi revealed that she was surprised how quickly songwriting came to her, especially considering ...
Alice in Chains to Release Facelift 30th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set
Alice in Chains’ seminal debut album, Facelift, is getting the deluxe treatment in celebration of its 30th anniversary. The band has announced a box set that is due to arrive on January 29th. The album actually turned 30 on August 21st. As we detailed in a recent feature, it helped give rise to the ’90s alternative-rock movement. Led by single “Man in the Box”, the 1990 LP’s success paved the way for albums like Nirvana’s Nevermind and Pearl Jam’s Ten, which came the following year. The deluxe box set should have Alice in Chains fans salivating, as it’s jam-packed with collectibles. Housed in an acrylic deluxe box with gel transparencies, the set includes a remastered 2-LP vinyl picture-disc edition of the album; a cassette version of the LP; a custom hardcover photo book; a two-sided post...
Puscifer to Stream Concert Event from Arizona Desert
Puscifer will celebrate the release of their upcoming album, Existential Reckoning, with a truly unique streaming concert event. The show will feature singer Maynard James Keenan and company performing in the middle of the Arizona desert. The concert, dubbed “Existential Reckoning: Live at Arcosanti”, streams on October 30th, the same day that the album arrives. The show will see the band performing the new LP in its entirety. As Keenan explained in a press release, the location makes for an unpredictable experience. “If you’re not familiar with Arcosanti, I highly recommend that you look it up,” said Keenan. “It’s one of a long list of examples of architects, artists, actors, musicians, writers, and poets. People who are not necessarily from Arizona but came here and found that creative t...
Portugal. The Man and “Weird Al” Honor Indigenous Peoples with New Song “Who’s Gonna Stop Me”: Stream
Portugal. The Man and “Weird Al” Yankovic, photos by Ben Kaye Portugal. The Man and “Weird Al” Yankovic have joined forces once again, but this time it’s not to turn beloved indie songs into polka jams. Instead, they’ve collaborated on a new track, “Who’s Gonna Stop Me”, in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day. Produced by the Grammy-winning Jeff Bhasker (Kanye West, Rihanna) and co-written by the legendary Paul Williams (David Bowie, The Love Boat theme), the song also features contributions from The Last Artful, Dodgr. A peacefully powerful call for freedom, the opening verses are meditative before a rattling drum beat turns it towards invigorating. “Sneaking out, jumping over backyard fences/ We’re all just looking for freedom,” sings “Weird Al” on the second verse. “I’ve got an ...
