Indie Rock
Conor Oberst Abruptly Leaves Bright Eyes Concert, Fans Fill-In with Karaoke: Watch
Bright Eyes’ show at the White Oak Music Hall in Houston on Sunday came to an abrupt conclusion after frontman Conor Oberst left the stage after playing two songs. The remaining band members then enlisted concertgoers to come on-stage to perform karaoke. According to an initial report by BrooklynVegan, the incident unfolded during the second song of the set, “Lover I Don’t Have to Love,” when the singer began to experience lyrical lapses and subsequently exited. Jezebel writer Caitlin Cruz was in attendance and live-tweeted the proceedings as the band scrambled to select volunteers and “tall boy-drinking men” from the audience to sing a few more songs before ending the show completely. During a break as the band prepared to launch into “Bowl of Oranges,” one of the impromptu singers could ...
The xx’s Oliver Sim Announces Debut Album Hideous Bastard, Shares “Hideous”: Stream
After a pair of singles, Oliver Sim — aka one-third of 2010s indie stalwarts The xx — has finally announced his debut solo album. It’s called Hideous Bastard, and it’ll be out September 9th via Young. To accompany the announcement, Sim has shared the track “Hideous,” and he also spoke about the making of the record in a new wide-ranging interview with The New York Times. Written and recorded over the span of two years, Hideous Bastard is largely inspired by Sim’s love of horror movies, using the tropes found in classic slashers like Halloween to unpack his own real-life experiences with shame, fear, and masculinity. Pre-orders for physical copies are ongoing. “I imagine that might paint a picture of a dark, ‘woe is me’ sounding album, but in recent years I’ve become a firm b...
Alex G Announces North American Tour, Shares New Song “Blessing”: Stream
Alex G is entering a wild new era with “Blessing,” a new single that sounds like little else in his recent discography. Wherever he’s headed musically, he’ll be taking this sound on the road in October and November with a newly-announced North American headlining tour. The formerly (Sandy) songwriter’s last proper album was 2019’s House of Sugar, though just a month ago he shared his moody soundtrack to the new movie We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. In comparison, “Blessing” is dripping with swagger; Alex G opens the track with a wall of distortion that gives way to marching drums and a strutting guitar riff. The lyrics are delivered in a call-and-response whisper, with Alex G beginning with the words, “Every day,” and waiting for the words “Every day” to be echoed back ...
Japanese Breakfast Performs on SNL, Eats Hot Dogs on Fallon: Watch
In the most recent step towards Michelle Zauner’s impending world takeover, Japanese Breakfast served as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live’s season finale. The indie rock band performed “Be Sweet” and “Paprika” from their 2021 album Jubilee. Additionally, Zauner appeared in the episode’s closing sketch, joining departing cast members Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant for a singalong of Joni Mitchell’s “The Circle Game.” But SNL wasn’t the only late-night stop for Zauner this past week: On Friday, the polymath visited The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to discuss turning her bestselling memoir Crying in H Mart into a movie, going to her first Grammys, and — of course — the origin of her 2017 song, “Jimmy Fallon Big!” “It kind of feels like I’m having conversa...
Sharon Van Etten Shakes Out Her “Mistakes” on Colbert: Watch
Sharon Van Etten swung by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Friday night to perform her song “Mistakes.” Watch the musical number below. Decked out with shaggy dark hair, heavy black eyeliner, and a head-to-toe red outfit, Van Etten resembled something like a modern Joan Jett as she passionately belted out the funk-rock tune. “Mistakes” is featured on the indie rocker’s brand new album We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong, which was released on May 6th via Jagjaguwar. While it didn’t contain any advance singles, the album follows one-off tracks “Porta” and “Used to It.” In Consequence’s official review of the album, Paolo Ragusa said Van Etten “is at an all time high, crafting a powerful journey on the subjects of motherhood, partnership, loving one’s self, and navigating the darkness...
Sharon Van Etten Shakes Out Her “Mistakes” on Colbert: Watch
Sharon Van Etten swung by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Friday night to perform her song “Mistakes.” Watch the musical number below. Decked out with shaggy dark hair, heavy black eyeliner, and a head-to-toe red outfit, Van Etten resembled something like a modern Joan Jett as she passionately belted out the funk-rock tune. “Mistakes” is featured on the indie rocker’s brand new album We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong, which was released on May 6th via Jagjaguwar. While it didn’t contain any advance singles, the album follows one-off tracks “Porta” and “Used to It.” In Consequence’s official review of the album, Paolo Ragusa said Van Etten “is at an all time high, crafting a powerful journey on the subjects of motherhood, partnership, loving one’s self, and navigating the darkness...
Mark Ronson, Damon Albarn, and Beach House Contribute to Charity Compilation For the Birds: Stream
Mort Garson and Stevie Wonder have both released albums for plants; Gorillaz’s Plastic Beach was provoked by water pollution; now, at long last, we have an album dedicated entirely to birds. Today, Grammy Award-winning producer and music supervisor Randall Poster has unveiled Volume 1 of For the Birds: The Birdsong Project, a massive compilation of recordings all inspired by sweet sounds of birdsong. Mark Ronson, Damon Albarn, Beach House, Beck, Kurt Vile, Karen O, and many more all appear on the project’s first installment, which you can listen to now. With the entirety of its proceeds benefitting the National Audubon Society, For the Birds aims to bring attention to the threats that currently endanger bird populations. Adam Horovitz, Nick Cave, A.G. Cook, Danielle Haim, and Blake Mills a...
Yard Act Announce 2022 US Tour Dates, Share “100% Endurance” Video: Watch
Yard Act are one of the most exciting new bands to emerge from the UK as of late, and now, they’re bringing the fun stateside: The post-punks have today added a batch of US dates to their lengthy tour schedule for 2022. Additionally, Yard Act have shared the music video for “100% Endurance,” a cut from their recent debut album The Overload. After wrapping up legs of their tour in Europe, Yard Act will finally hit the US this October, beginning with a show in Seattle on the 6th. Over the following ten days, they’ll also hit San Francisco, Los Angeles, D.C., and New York before wrapping up the leg in Philadelphia on October 16th. They’ll then return home to the UK for another run before their epic finale at London’s O2 Kentish Town Forum. A black-and-white dose of surrealism, the “100% ...
Delta Spirit Share New Album One Is One, Break It Down Track by Track: Exclusive
With our Track by Track series, we ask artists to give insights into every song on their newest release. Today, Delta Spirit aren’t just giving us the inside scoop on One Is One, they’re giving us an early listen to the full album. Delta Spirit returned from a six-year hiatus in 2020 with What Is There, a statement piece of a comeback LP. Without any in-person promotion or touring to be had while much of the industry was shut down, the band began working on a follow-up before the album was even out. Today, Delta Spirit are sharing an early listen at those efforts, debuting their new record, One Is One, ahead of its official release. Written in the summer of ’20 and eventually finalized during sessions in New York and Vermont, One Is One was produced by the band alongside Jason Ki...
Metric Bemoan the Internet on New Single “Doomscroller”: Stream
The Metric renaissance is in full swing. The indie rock band’s eighth studio album Formentera is coming July 8th, and they’re offering another preview today with the 10-minute epic “Doomscroller” and its accompanying music video. “Doomscroller” is essentially divided into two parts: Its front half starts with a steady bass line and four-on-the-floor beat, embellished with scintillating synths. The instrumentals build into a roaring blast of dark house music, as singer Emily Haines’ vocals are distorted to oblivion. Then, the track drops into a piano ballad, before revving things back up with a more rock-forward finale. As its title implies, “Doomscroller” evokes the anxiety of witnessing the news cycle in the digital age, where disaster always feels as though it’s just one tweet away....
Angel Olsen Shares New Piano Ballad “Through the Fires”: Stream
Angel Olsen is back with “Through the Fires,” a sentimental piano ballad billed as the “centerpiece” of her upcoming album, Big Time. Listen to the single below. Olsen keeps her voice low in “Through the Fires,” letting sweeping strings do the talking as she learns to let go of all earthly desires. In a press release, she called the song “the centerpiece statement of this record. It’s a song I wrote to remind myself that this life is temporary, the past is not something to dwell on, that it’s important to keep moving, keep searching for the people that are also searching, and to notice the moments that are lighter and bigger than whatever trouble I’ve encountered.” The track comes with an equally delicate music video shot by Angela Ricciardi, in which Olsen unwinds in a creek, surroun...
Animal Collective Announce Even More 2022 Tour Dates, Share “Cherokee (Dennis Bovell Remix)”: Stream
February brought us Time Skiffs, our first Animal Collective studio album in over half a decade, and the experimental indie rockers have a lot of touring to catch up on: Today, they’ve once again expanded their 2022 tour, which is under way now. Additionally, Animal Collective have shared a version of the Time Skiffs track “Cherokee” remixed by Dennis Bovell. This new leg of the tour will finally bring AnCo back to Canada with gigs in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and more. They’ll also hit more of the Midwest, with nights added in Omaha, Des Moines, and Indianapolis. Then, they’ll make their way over to the East Coast, including a night in New York for Central Park’s SummerStage series. Supporting AnCo on tour are Baltimore indie pop group Tomato Flower and Philly rockers Spirit of th...
