Indie Rock
Big Thief Cancel Concerts in Israel, Venue Calls Band “Cowards”
Amid public outcry from many of their fans, Big Thief have canceled a pair of upcoming shows scheduled in Tel Aviv, Israel. In a statement issued on Thursday, the band said, “To be clear, we oppose the illegal occupation and the systematic oppression of the Palestinian people. We believe in total freedom and self-determination for all Palestinians.” Big Thief announced the July concerts at Tel Aviv venue Barby last last week, explaining in a statement that they wanted to explore bassist Max Oleartchik’s Israeli hometown and meet his family and friends in the same way that he had done for them as they toured the United States. “It is important for us to go where we have family to share space and play for them,” the band said. “It is foundational. It is in that spirit that we made our d...
The What Podcast Makes Their Bonnaroo Schedule Picks
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music | Radio Public | RSS Bonnaroo is just a week away, which means it’s time to finalize your personal schedule. The What podcast’s Barry and Lord Taco, with some help from Brad, offer their picks for which acts they plan to see at The Farm this year. Related Video Will they choose The War on Drugs, Arlo Parks, or Japanese Breakfast, or Robert Plant & Alison Krauss on Friday? Where will they find some downtime on Saturday to rest up for late-night? What other events are going on outside of music that are can’t-miss — and where can you see The What hosts recording a live episode? Advertisement Find this all out by listening to the episode now above, or w...
Big Thief Announce Israel Tour Dates, Internet Boos
Big Thief have extended their world tour by adding two dates in Tel Aviv, Israel, cushioning the announcement with a statement claiming to be “open to other people’s perspectives” regarding the country’s conflict with Palestine. Noting that bassist Max Oleartchik is from Israel, the band explained that they wanted to explore Oleartchik’s hometown and meet his family and friends in the same way that he had done for them as they toured the United States. “It is important for us to go where we have family to share space and play for them,” the band said. “It is foundational. It is in that spirit that we made our decision to play in Israel.” Aware that many fans would likely not support their decision to perform in a country currently occupying another, Big Thief went on on to add, “We ar...
Angel Olsen Delivers Country-Sized Emotions on Big Time
Angel Olsen has never repeated herself. Her debut Half Way Home introduced Olsen as a psych-folk songwriter with a powerhouse voice, before the lo-fi indie of Burn Your Fire For No Witness reframed her within the context of a band. Two years later, My Woman upped the production value and saw Olsen at her most intense and confrontational. All Mirrors wiped clean any pre-conceptions of Olsen, and even when she literally repeated herself with Whole New Mess, it felt like an entirely new statement. Since the one-two punch of All Mirrors and Whole New Mess, Olsen has kept fans guessing on which direction she might be headed next. In 2021, she released her Sharon Van Etten collaboration “Like I Used To,” a victory lap of an indie rock song for two of the genre’s most accomplished singer-songwrit...
Algernon Cadwallader Reunite for 2022 Tour
Algernon Cadwallader, the emo heroes who dropped two beloved albums and then disappeared, have reunited to announce their first tour in a decade. The band last toured together in 2012, shortly after the release of their sophomore album Parrot Flies. The reunited lineup boasts every original band member, including Peter Helmis (vocals, bass), Joe Reinhart (guitar), Colin Mahony (guitar), Nick Tazza (drums on 2008’s Some Kind of Cadwallader), and Matt “Tank” Bergman (drums on 2011’s Parrot Flies). “We’re just so stoked y’all have kept our band alive this long so that we have the opportunity to play these songs together again,” Helmis said in a statement. “These shows are gonna be 100% authentic Algernon.” Advertisement Related Video The 20-date tour kicks off October 14th in P...
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Announce New Album Cool It Down, Share Perfume Genius Collab “Spitting Off the Top of the World”: Stream
Yeah Yeah Yeahs are officially back. The art-punks have announced their first new album in nine years, Cool It Down, will be out September 30th via Secretly Canadian, and shared its first single, the Perfume Genius collaboration “Spitting Off the Top of the World.” Listen to the track, and watch the… Please click the link below to read the full article. Yeah Yeah Yeahs Announce New Album Cool It Down, Share Perfume Genius Collab “Spitting Off the Top of the World”: Stream Carys Anderson [flexi-common-toolbar] [flexi-form class=”flexi_form_style” title=”Submit to Flexi” name=”my_form” ajax=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”post_title” class=”fl-input” title=”Title” value=”...
The National Debut Three New Songs in Spain: Watch
Over the weekend, The National kicked off their first tour since COVID-19 hit, and they marked the occasion by debuting three new songs. Performing in Pamplona, Spain on May 28th, Matt Berninger and company performed hits like “Bloodbuzz Ohio” and “Day I Die” in between the new tracks, dubbed “Grease In Your Hair (Birdie),” “Tropic Morning News (Havisham),” and “Bathwater (Mount Auburn).” Surprisingly, they didn’t perform the December single “Somebody Desperate,” but perhaps the songs that did make the band’s set more accurately preview the band’s follow-up to 2019’s I Am Easy to Find. Speaking of which, Bryce Dessner spoke about the band’s next album in an interview with The Up Coming. “It’s all very exciting: it kind of feels back to the classic National sound in a way, which was r...
Bright Eyes Share Three EPs of Re-Recorded Old Music Featuring Phoebe Bridgers, Waxahatchee & More
We hope you have a box of tissues nearby, because Bright Eyes have today unveiled reworked versions of some of their earliest songs. To accompany the recent reissues of their 1998 debut A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997, 1998’s Letting Off the Happiness, and 2000’s Fevers and Mirrors, Conor Oberst and company have released a companion EP for each album, each comprising re-recordings of five album tracks plus a cover of a song that especially inspired them when they originally made that album. But Bright Eyes didn’t embark on this ambitious project alone: To help them, the band enlisted pals like Phoebe Bridgers, Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield, and M. Ward to contribute. In addition to hearing Oberst covering Simon Joyner, Lullaby ...
NoSo Shares Origins of New Song “Parasites”: Exclusive
Our recurring new music series Origins is an exclusive platform where musicians can offer insight into their latest release. Today, NoSo shares “Parasites.” LA-based musician NoSo (real name Abby Hwong) has a preternatural ability to convey the complexities of accepting one’s identity in its entirety. Ahead of their upcoming debut album, Stay Proud of Me, NoSo shares a piece of themselves in the hauntingly mesmerizing single “Parasites.” Capturing feelings of isolation, “Parasites” manages to find solace in feeling small in an infinitely large universe. NoSo’s journey to finding a space free from judgment is reflected in the music video for the opening track of Stay Proud of Me, and they explore the challenges of finding oneself while navigating an intricate range of emotion...
Harry Styles Knows You’ve Been “Touching Yourself” on New Cover of “Wet Dream”: Watch
Harry Styles is comfortable with himself, his voice, and his incorrigibly horny fans, as he proved with a new cover of Wet Leg’s “Wet Dream.” The song by the “Chaise Longue” rockers came as part of Styles’ set at the BBC 1 Radio Live Lounge (or should that be Live Longue?). “I was in your wet dream,” he cooed, “Driving in my car/ Saw you at the side of the road/ There’s no one else around/ You’re touching yourself, touching yourself,” he repeated with a little wiggle of the hips, “Touching your, touching yourself/ Touching yourself.” Styles followed that with “Late Night Talking,” “Boyfriends,” and “As It Was,” all from his fun new album Harry’s House. Check out the Live Lounge set below. Advertisement If you want to have dreams of the more restful varie...
Wynonna and Waxahatchee Bravely Face the “Other Side” on New Single: Stream
Wynonna Judd hasn’t let losing her mother Naomi Judd get in the way of making music. Less than a month after the sudden death of her former bandmate in The Judds, the country music legend has teamed up with modern indie-folk icon Waxahatchee (aka Katie Crutchfield) for a spirited new song called “Other Side.” An upbeat, breezy country number, “Other Side” seems topically relevant, serving as a beacon of light in the midst of tragedy. “I got a heart, got a heart of gold/ Casts a shadow, dark and cold/ If we move our way against the tide/ There’s something on the other side,” the pair sing in blissful harmony over a steady drum beat and fingerpicked guitars. “In the midst of everything that has happened, I said that I would continue to sing,” Wynonna explained in a statement. “So, here I am....
Pavement Rip Through Hits and Deep Cuts at First Gig in 12 Years: Video + Setlist
We can’t show you a word that rhymes with Pavement, but we can show you the indie rock pioneers’ setlist from their very first show in 12 years. The reunion tour that was originally supposed to happen in 2020 finally kicked off on Monday night with a special warm-up gig at Los Angeles’ Fonda Theater, and per setlist.fm, they selected a healthy mix of crowd pleasers and deep cuts for devotees both new and old. Naturally, Pavement performed “Harness Your Hopes” — their 1997 B-side that’s become a mysterious viral hit on Spotify and TikTok — for the first time in over 20 years. Aside from the expected hits like “Gold Soundz,” “Range Life,” “Cut Your Hair,” and “Spit on a Stranger,” they also ran through fan favorites like “Frontwards,” “Here,” “Grounded,” and “Summer Babe (Winter Version...
