Indie Folk
Shura Remixes Becca Mancari’s “Lonely Boy”: Stream
Back in June, Becca Mancari released her excellent debut album, The Greatest Part, via Captured Tracks. Today, our former Artist of the Month has shared a remixed version of the single “Lonely Boy” by none other than our former CoSign, UK electro-pop artist Shura, Although The Greatest Part was produced by Paramore’s Zac Farro, Mancari’s sound has more roots in indie music than pop or pop-punk. The original version of “Lonely Boy” is a catchy indie rock track with a bumpy bassline and a dreamy hook, but there’s a spaciness to the song that translates really well in Shura’s dance-pop context. In the remix, the main hook of the tune remains intact, but Shura adds some clubby flair and an epic drum breakdown that transitions into a dazzling synth melody. In their respective press st...
M. Ward Announces Billie Holiday Tribute Album Think of Spring, Shares “For Heaven’s Sake”: Stream
M. Ward, photo by Holly Andres M. Ward released his latest album, Migration Stories, back in April of this year. Now, he’s already set to return with more new music — well, new takes on old music, at least. Ward has announced a Billie Holiday tribute album called Think of Spring, due out December 11th via ANTI-. The collection is a reimagining of the majority of Holiday’s 1958 record Lady in Satin, along with the classic “All the Way”. Ward previously performed all the Lady in Satin tracks during a Los Angeles show in 2018. That concert was done with a quartet, but for Think of Spring, he deconstructed the songs for acoustic guitar using alternative tunings and recorded mostly to an analog Tascom four-track. “I first heard Lady in Satin in a mega-shopping mall somewhere in San Francisco,” ...
Rosie Carney Announces Radiohead Covers Album, Shares Her Version of “Bones”: Stream
Like many of us, Rosie Carney was forced to change her plans when the pandemic hit earlier this year. Instead of entering the studio for recording sessions, the folk artist retreated to her parent’s house in Ireland to be close to family and seek proper treatment for her mental health, which was suffering on account of the global crisis. But her musical brain never stopped turning. While quarantining in Ireland, Carney decided to cover Radiohead classic “Fake Plastic Trees”. However, when she saw how many people had already done so, she pivoted to a more ambitious undertaking: tackling The Bends in its glorious entirety. The resulting covers album is due for arrival on December 11th, but Carney is offering a peek today with her version of “Bones”. “I recorded ‘Bones’ the day before I flew ...
Julia Jacklin Unveils New Songs “to Perth, before the border closes” and “CRY”: Stream
Australian songwriter Julia Jacklin has unveiled a pair of new songs: “to Perth, before the border closes” and “CRY”. Both cuts are available as a 7-inch as part of the Sub Pop Singles Club, Vol. 5. As you probably guessed from the titles, these tracks were written in quarantine. This past March, Jacklin was nearly finished with a year-long world tour in support of her excellent sophomore album Crushing, when the Australian government issued a series of lockdown orders. After half-a-decade of nearly nonstop touring, Jacklin was forced to pick a spot and stay there. She chose Perth, and “to Perth, before the border closes” was written in that moment of turmoil. She sings, “I loved it there/ That city held me/ Don’t you know that everything changes?” In a statement, Jacklin explained wh...
Bon Iver Pays Tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg with New Song “Your Honor”: Watch
Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon (photo by Ben Kaye) and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (photo via WikiCommons) Ever the political advocator, Justin Vernon recently launched For Wisconsin, a get-out-the-vote initiative in his home state. As part of the registration drive, the Bon Iver frontman is hosting “A Visit with Vernon”, in which fans nominate a friend who is undecided about voting to have a conversation with Vernon. Video of the first visit has been revealed, and it includes the debut a new Bon Iver song dedicated to Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Entitled “Your Honor”, the song came about shortly after RBG’s passing two weeks ago. Though Vernon said writing new music is something “I never do anymore,” he was compelled to recognize the late Supreme Court Justice’s legacy. “Times getting sho...
Woods Share New Rarities Collection Reflections Vol. 1 (Bumble Bee Crown King): Stream
Indie folk outfit Woods have returned with a new rarities collection called Reflections Vol. 1 (Bumble Bee Crown King). The full album is available to purchase for Bandcamp Friday, and you can stream a few of its tracks below. The project follows Woods’ 11th studio effort, Strange To Explain, from this past May. In normal, pre-coronavirus times, they’d be touring the world in support of it, but they decided to roll with the punches and unlock some unreleased material from the vault. In a statement, Woods summarized all the goodies that can be found on Reflections, which they consider “a lost record”: “With no touring this year, and possibly next, we decided to take a deep dive into our archives and put together the first volume of our much discussed archival series, Reflections. Featuring ...
Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker Shares Tender New Song “dragon eyes”: Stream
Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief has shared a tender new song called “dragon eyes”. It’s the second preview from the two solo albums she’s releasing later this month, songs and instrumentals. Following lead single “anything”, this new track is a stark and beautiful indie folk tune that features all of Lenker’s signature qualities: rustling percussion, bristly acoustic guitar, and her soft, soothing, and entrancing vocal delivery. As always, her lyrics strike a curious balance between poetic abstraction and vivid imagery. “Stars bloom/ On a warm summer night/ They have a clear view /Without the bedroom light,” she sings with care. Take a listen below. Even though the ever-prolific Lenker released two albums with Big Thief last year — U.F.O.F. and Two Hands — t...
Fleet Foxes’ Shore Comes as a Soul-Soothing Surprise: Review
The Lowdown: Earlier this week, folk outfit Fleet Foxes made major waves (no pun intended) upon the spontaneous release of their latest album, Shore, which is their first in three years following 2017’s Crack-Up. Released to coincide with the autumnal equinox, which marks the shift from summer to fall, the album is peppered with themes related to transition and change within oneself, in others, and in the world. What makes Shore feel special, though, is the multidimensional lens in which transition and change are explored. [embedded content] Through a tapestry of 15 tracks, Shore details how transitions often involve the pain of letting go (and sometimes before we’re ready to do so), the challenge that can come with accepting their presence, reckoning with the myriad of impacts they can ha...
Ranking: Every Sufjan Stevens Album from Worst to Best
Sufjan Stevens has come to be one of the quintessential voices in contemporary indie rock, but it’s not a title he earned overnight. The songwriter is known for being prolific, having written eight solo studio albums, several collaborative albums, original material for Luca Guadagnino’s 2017 film Call Me by Your Name, and even multiple Christmas albums. He writes, performs, and records most of the music himself, sometimes playing more than 10 instruments on a single record. He even once vowed to make an album for each of the 50 US states (though, we all know how that turned out). Throughout each of his records, he’s explored banjo-led folk, electro-pop, grandiose indie rock, glitchy experimentalism, and instrumental new-age music. Stevens is the epitome of a musical polymath. What’s impres...
Dawes Share the Origins of New Single “Didn’t Fix Me”: Stream
Our new music feature Origins gives artists the challenge of digging into the various influences behind their latest tracks. Today, Dawes reveal the things that “Didn’t Fix Me”. Now more than ever, we’re all on our own journeys to try and feel just a little bit better. Of course, the double-edged sword of it all is no matter how good a place we find ourselves in, this year has made it ever more clear that such harmony is frail. But as anyone with any experience giving or receiving mental health advice will tell you, that’s normal. Feeling 100% all the time is an unfeasible expectation — and that’s okay. If you ever need a reminder of that, Dawes have delivered what could be the perfect musical hug with their new song “Didn’t Fix Me”. Taken from the band’s forthcoming Good Luck with Whateve...
Artist of the Month Anjimile’s Giver Taker Is a Startlingly Beautiful Prayer to the Present: Review
The Lowdown: Anjimile Chithambo might be new to the spotlight, but he’s been paying attention for a long time. His debut album, Giver Taker, carries a wide variety of influences — among them church choirs, ’80s pop, African music, and indie-folk — and melds them together as if they were born for this, born to flow into one another. The Boston-based trans musician wrote much of Giver Taker while in treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, and many of the songs are also concerned with his experiences coming out as trans and non-binary. As such, the entire album is papered with transformation, but through lenses of tenderness: the love implicit in confessions and the awe of one’s own resilience in the face of socialization and struggle. The Good: Would that I could just plop every single lyric f...
Angel Olsen and Composer Emile Mosseri Share Cover of “Mr. Lonely”: Stream
Back in July, Focus Features shared the trailer for writer/director Miranda July’s new film, Kajillionaire. The preview promised some quirky cons — and a new cover of the Bobby Vinton classic “Mr. Lonely” from Angel Olsen and composer Emile Mosseri. Today, a standalone stream of the pair’s rendition has been revealed. It’s a soft and haunting version, sounding like it could have come from Olsen’s Whole New Mess sessions. Add in the distant organ, and there are definitely some David Lynch vibes. In a press statement, Olsen recalled receiving the first text message from July asking her to work on the song with Mosseri. “So I met with them both, and we talked about cadence and we talked about life and we talked about the film,” Olsen said. “And Miranda directed me to sing the cover in the way...
