Indie Rock
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each comprising re-recordings of five album tracks plus a cover of a song that especially inspired them when they originally made that album.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...
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...
