Indie Rock
Sleater-Kinney Detail Dig Me Out Covers Album, Share Courtney Barnett’s “Words and Guitar”: Stream
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of their seminal third album Dig Me Out, Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker are preparing to release Dig Me In: A Dig Me Out Covers Album. Ahead of its October 21st release date, the band have shared the album’s full list of collaborators, offering a preview today with Courtney Barnett’s take on “Words and Guitar.” A few of the names contributing to Dig Me In aren’t surprising at all: The band’s frequent collaborator St. Vincent will put her own spin on “Dig Me Out,” while fellow Pacific Northwest indie legends Wilco will take on “One More Hour,” and teenaged riot grrrls The Linda Lindas will offer their rendition of “Little Babies.” Elsewhere, we’ll hear chameleonic indie duo Low perform “Dance Song ’97,” Margo Price p...
Broken Social Scene Surprise Release Bootleg Live at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, 2003: Stream
Broken Social Scene have surprise released a Toronto bootleg recording called Live at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, 2003. To accompany the project, they have also shared a live performance video of the previously unreleased fan favorite “Jimmy and the Photocall” directed by Stephen Chung. The bootleg was recorded during a three-night stand at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto in December 2003 after the band’s tour in support of their sophomore album, You Forgot It in People. Broken Social Scene’s personnel lineup at the time included Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Justin Peroff, Andrew Whiteman, and Jason Collett, as well as Evan Cranley and Charles Spearin on horns. Live at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, 2003 includes songs from You Forgot It in People, Broken Social Scene’s self-tit...
Spoon Announce Remix Album Lucifer on the Moon, Share New Version of “On the Radio”: Stream
Spoon are keeping the momentum going on their latest album Lucifer on the Sofa with a full-album rework called Lucifer on the Moon, with all remixes done by Adrian Sherwood. Before the full album is out November 4th, the Austin band have shared a preview today with the new version of “On the Radio.” Spoon’s initial plan was to have Sherwood remix only a few tracks off Lucifer on the Sofa. But one thing led to another, and like a snowball effect of dub-influenced-indie rock the musicians found themselves with a track-by-track remix on their hands. “I got into the melody and the thoughts it evoked in me,” Sherwood explains in a press release. “It just evolved and we eventually found ourselves with a whole album.” Advertisement Related Video The producer takes “On the Radio” from a ...
Nilüfer Yanya Finds Romance in Cover of PJ Harvey’s “Rid of Me”: Stream
Nilüfer Yanya has released her first solo single post-PAINLESS with a cover of PJ Harvey’s “Rid of Me,” the roaring opener to her 1993 LP that shares the same name. The London native’s new take opens up the song’s overbearing “you’re not rid of me” refrain into an almost endearing plea to stay together, but like its predecessor, the obsessive adoration comes undone with a crushing, distortion-heavy climax. The track’s typically spare production has always made it the perfect canvas for Harvey to impress upon her distinctive vocals, and Yanya fully embraces the opportunity with her own unique, soulful delivery. It’s a warmer, yet wounded, interpretation, which fits perfectly considering Yanya’s read of the song as “very romantic despite what some of the lyrics get at.” In a statement, Yanya...
Wet Leg Add More 2022-2023 Tour Dates, Share Cover of Ashnikko’s “Daisy”: Stream
Even though Wet Leg have spent most of the year thus far on the road, it doesn’t look like they plan on slowing down anytime soon: The British indie rockers have scheduled more shows for late 2022 and summer 2023. Additionally, they’ve unveiled their cover of Ashnikko’s hit “Daisy” as part of the Spotify Singles series. Wet Leg will headline four shows in New York this December at four different iconic venues: Webster Hall, Bowery Ballroom, Elsewhere, and Music Hall of Williamsburg. After supporting a run on Harry Styles’ “Love on Tour” earlier this year, they’ll reunite with the pop star again next summer as they open his shows throughout the UK and Europe. While Ashnikko’s original “Daisy” is a trap-pop jam, Wet Leg give the tune an alt-rock spin that’s still just as infectious. The othe...
Arlo Parks Cancels US Tour Dates Due to “Debilitating” Mental Health
Arlo Parks has canceled a series of US tour dates in order to return home to London and focus on her “debilitating” mental health. “I’ve been on the road on and off for the last 18 months, filling every spare second in between and working myself to the bone,” Parks wrote in a statement. “It was exciting and I was eager to grind and show everyone what I was capable of, how grateful I was to be where I am today. The people around me started to get worried but I was anxious to deliver and afraid to disappoint my fans and myself.” Parks continued: “I pushed myself unhealthily, further and harder than I should’ve. I find myself now in a very dark place, exhausted and dangerously low — it’s painful to admit that my mental health has deteriorated to a debilitating place, that I’m not okay, that I...
Phoenix Perform “Tonight” with Ezra Koenig on Colbert: Watch
Phoenix appeared on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Wednesday, September 14th, to perform “Tonight,” their new song featuring Ezra Koenig. The Vampire Weekend vocalist joined his fellow indie rock icons by dialing in from what appeared to be a Tokyo taxi. This felt a little odd; Koenig was chilling in the back of the cab and seemingly lip synching, while Phoenix’s Thomas Mars gave a high energy performance all across the Late Show stage. But ‘odd’ can still be a lot of fun, as you can see in the performance below. We named “Tonight” Song of the Week when it dropped earlier this month. The track appears on Phoenix’s upcoming album Alpha Zulu, which is out November 4th (pre-orders are ongoing). So far, the band has also shared the album’s t...
Whitmer Thomas Ponders Why “Everything that Feels Good Is Bad” on New Single: Stream
Before Whitmer Thomas shares his new album The Older I Get the Funnier I Was this October, the comedian-musician has shared another preview today with the single and its accompanying music video. Sonically, “Everything that Feels Good Is Bad” is on the mellower side for Thomas, layering gentle acoustics over an electronic beat before the song swells into a rush of placid dream-pop. The song tackles the habit of gluttonous self-destruction in all its forms, effortlessly weaving the morose with the mundane: “Is it intermittent fasting or an eating disorder?/ Do I need all my old birthday cards or am I a hoarder?” he sings. “This song is about all of the unhealthy things I know I’m not supposed to do that I get some satisfaction out of doing in the moment,” Thomas explains in a press rel...
Cate Le Bon Shares Slinky New Song “Typical Love”: Stream
Cate Le Bon has released her standalone single “Typical Love,” a leftover from the sessions for her 2022 album, Pompeii. It arrives ahead of her headlining North American tour, which kicks off on September 27th (grab tickets here). Built atop a grooving bassline and the drumming of Stella Mozgawa, “Typical Love” is anything but typical. It comes with flourishes of electric guitar and synths alongside a distorted sax that adds to the disconcerting feel of the song’s production. Le Bon’s vocals cascade up and down the track, as she compares her love to “a shattering of glass and how I imagine Japan” and “an invite to the art of demolition.” “‘Typical Love’ was a product of a rare jam session with dearest genius friend, Stella Mozgawa,” Le Bon explained in a statement. “The outline, written o...
Sam Fender Cancels Remaining US Tour Dates to “Look After” Mental Health
English singer-songwriter Sam Fender has canceled his remaining 2022 US tour dates to take care of his mental health. This includes a trio of headlining shows, gigs in support of Florence + the Machine, and an appearance at Las Vegas’ Life Is Beautiful. “It seems completely hypocritical of me to advocate discussion on mental health and write songs about it if I don’t take the time to look after my own mental health,” Fender wrote in a statement posted to social media. “I’ve neglected myself for over a year now and haven’t dealt with things that have deeply affected me. It’s impossible to do this work on myself while on the road, and it’s exhausting feigning happiness and wellness for the sake of business. My friends and colleagues have been worried about me for a while and it’s not going t...
Weyes Blood Announces New Album, Shares “It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody”: Stream
Weyes Blood season is approaching: Natalie Mering’s avant-rock project will return with a new album And In the Darkness, Hearts Aglow, on November 18th, 2022 via Sub Pop. Along with the announcement, Mering has unveiled the record’s lead single “It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody,” as well as a batch of 2023 tour dates. And In the Darkness, Hearts Aglow is the second in a trilogy of Weyes Blood albums. While its predecessor Titanic Rising (one of our top albums of 2019) was caught up in the anticipation of impending doom, the new album documents being in the thick of the storm and searching for an escape. “We’re in a fully functional shit show,” Mering says in a press release. “My heart is a glow stick that’s been cracked, lighting up my chest in an explosion of earnestness.” Pre-o...
Built to Spill Premiere New Album When the Wind Forgets Your Name: Stream
Built to Spill have revealed their new album, When the Wind Forgets Your Name, out September 9th via Sub Pop. Listen to it in full below. When the Wind Forgets Your Name mark’s Built to Spill’s first album in seven years and their debut release with Sub Pop. “I’m psyched: I’ve wanted to be on Sub Pop since I was a teenager,” founding member Doug Martsch said in a press statement. “And I think I’m the first 50-year-old they’ve ever signed.” Martsch started working on the album after meeting Oruã members Le Almeida and João Casaes several years ago. After serving as his new backing band for shows in Brazil, they joined him on tour in the US and Europe, learning new songs Martsch had written. After coming off the road, they recorded the bass and drum tracks at his rehearsal space in Bois...
