Indie Rock
How Artist of the Month Wet Leg’s Authentic Joy Led to Massive Buzz
Artist of the Month is an accolade given to a rising artist or band on the cusp of stardom. In April 2022, we give the nod to one of the buzziest bands around, Wet Leg. Getting Wet Leg on the phone for an interview is impressively challenging. In the run-up to last week’s release of their self-titled debut, the Isle of Wight duo of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers were, in their own press rep’s words, “scheduled within an inch of their lives.” Between countless interviews, their second tour of the United States, and performing on nearly every late-night show there is, the buzziest band around is hard to lock in for a 30-minute chat. All the attention has been a wild ride for Wet Leg, but an understandably exacting one. As Teasdale notes, it’s hard to appreciate the landmarks when they co...
Sleater-Kinney Announce Dig Me Out Covers Album for 25th Anniversary
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of their third LP, Dig Me Out, Sleater-Kinney have announced a covers album arriving this summer. Among the artists that Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker recruited for Dig Me Out – A Covers Album are St. Vincent, Wilco, Courtney Barnett, Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, The Linda Lindas, Margo Price, and more. The band took to social media today to share the news, writing, “To commemorate 25 years of Dig Me Out, we’re releasing a covers album featuring some of our closest friends and admired artists! We can’t wait to share these unique renditions with you. Coming this summer!” Advertisement Related Video The duo will be donating a portion of proceeds from the celebratory studio set to Sexual & Gender Minority Youth Resource Center (SMYRC), an LGBTQIA+...
Father John Misty’s Chloë and the Next 20th Century: Doomed Love Songs For the Pseudo-Nostalgic
“What’s ‘deeply funny’ mean anyhow?” Father John Misty asks on “Q4,” a single from Chloë and the Next 20th Century. The song is the album’s clearest, most cutting satire, but this question feels earnest, the stakes intimate to the singer — as a performer and person seeking connection in a modern wasteland. Over five albums, singer-songwriter Josh Tillman has been a craftsman of story-songs delivered via absurdist personae, scaffolding ironic provocation with heartfelt croons and soaring folk-inspired instrumentation. On Chloë, singer-songwriter Josh Tillman returns with his first new material since 2018’s taciturn God’s Favorite Customer. Written and recorded in fall/winter 2020, the album sees Tillman continuing to collaborate with multi-instrumentatlist/producer Jonathan Wilson and engin...
Pavement Unveil Terror Twilight and Spit on a Stranger Reissues: Stream
Happy April 8th to all Pavement fans who celebrate: two long-awaited projects, reissues of 1999’s Terror Twilight LP and Spit on a Stranger EP, are out now on Matador Records, and they’re available to stream below. Pavement first announced they were reissuing their final album back in January. Terror Twilight: Farewell Horizontal compiles a remastered version of the original album, B-sides, home demos, rehearsal tapes, and live recordings from the era on 4xLP and 2xCD editions. In addition, the package features the rough tracks from a scrapped studio session recorded at Sonic Youth’s Echo Canyon studio. In all, the reissue spans 45 songs — 28 of which have never been heard before. The Spit on a Stranger reissue, meanwhile, presses the EP to 12-inch vinyl for the first time. ...
Father John Misty Releases New Album Chloë and the Next 20th Century: Stream
J. Tillman has released his fifth album as Father John Misty, Chloë and the Next 20th Century, via Sub Pop and Bella Union. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. The 11-track opus was once again produced by Tillman and Jonathan Wilson, who has overseen every Father John Misty project from his 2012 debut Fear Fun to the most recent follow-up, 2018’s God’s Favorite Customer. The album’s exquisite orchestral sweeps and retro aesthetics, credited to the likes of Dan Higgins, Wayne Bergeron, and arranger Drew Erickson, were showcased on preceding singles “Funny Girl,” “Q4,” and “Goodbye Mr. Blue.” Father John Misty will be on the road through next year in support of Chloë and the Next 20th Century with an extensive world tour that was just announced. He’ll ease into the global trek with ...
Porridge Radio Unveil Heartbreaking New Single “The Rip”: Stream
Porridge Radio are gearing up to release a new album next month, and today they’ve shared the latest single, “The Rip,” and its accompanying music video. Meant to combine the “massive pop” of Charli XCX with the instrumentation of bands like Slothrust or Deftones, “The Rip” was the last song to be completed for Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky after lead singer Dana Margolin took a few years to write the lyrics. Opening with new wave synths, “The Rip” combines 80s pop with shoegaze, as Margolin bares her soul about losing grip on a relationship. “You’re all that I need,” she screams. “The back of my head/ The back of my hands/ I threw it away before it went bad.” Advertisement Related Video “At the beginning, it was a song about a power dynamic where I was in control, by the end...
Amigo the Devil and Murder by Death Announce Summer 2022 US Tour
Amigo the Devil and Murder by Death are joining forces for a Summer 2022 US tour. The two dark-folk acts were supposed to hit the road together in 2020, but the pandemic put a stop to those plans. Now, they’ll finally get things going this August. The “Tour From the Crypt” begins August 5th in Austin, Texas, and currently runs through a two-night stand September 10th and 11th in Seattle, with more dates yet to be announced. Samantha Crain will support the first leg of the tour, while Katacombs will jump on for the second leg. Tickets for select shows are available via Ticketmaster, with other dates available through purchase links on Amigo the Devil’s website. Amigo the Devil (aka Danny Kiranos) released his latest album, Born Against, in April 2021, at which time he was named Consequence’...
Post Animal Unveil New Song “No More Sports”: Stream
Post Animal are back with another look at their upcoming album Love Gibberish. This time, they’ve shared the hair metal throwback “No More Sports.” Listen to the single below. Post Animal have never been shy about their classic rock influences, but “No More Sports” takes the ’80s theatrics to a whole new level with choppy guitar, spacey synthesizers, and lyrics like “Going 95 down the highway of burning desire.” Even better, the single comes with a kaleidoscopic, partially animated music video that looks like it was ripped directly from a Guitar Hero performance. The Chicago psych rockers explained the origins of “No More Sports” in a statement, calling it “an ode to early arena rock of the ’80s with a twist of ego death. All the bravado of a hair metal song with lyrics that examine s...
Alt-J Perform “Hard Drive Gold” on Kimmel: Watch
Alt-J swung by Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night to perform “Hard Drive Gold,” a cut from their new album The Dream. Check out the performance below. Thom Sonny Green, Gus Unger-Hamilton, and lead singer Joe Newman rocked out in front of a projection screen with geometric shapes floating across it, the most common type being golden blocks. The performers stayed relatively still behind their mics, but Newman put lots of energy into his voice, having loads of fun on the long, drawn-out “brr” when he sang, “Non-shatter ruler, put it on the table and go ‘brr’/ Watch it shatter.” Check out “Hard Drive Gold” below. Back in February, Alt-J appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where the trio performed the new song “U&ME” and the 2012 classic “Breezeblocks.” The ...
Lady Lamb Shares New Single “Wolves of My Want”: Stream
As the proverb goes, March comes in like a lion, but out like a lamb. Singer-songwriter Lady Lamb is certainly taking the saying to heart, dropping her new single “Wolves of My Want” just one day after returning with “Ivy,” her first new music since 2020. After opening with sparse instrumentation, “Wolves of My Want” builds up to a beautiful combination of strings and piano as the musician born Aly Spaltro reminisces about childhood and ponders the mysteries of the universe. “Why do you always have me meet you in here/ You tell me like a secret, make me wanna keep it,” she sings. “Ah well yes, of course, I will find you again/ You’re so real to me I could reach out and snatch that apple from your hand.” Advertisement Related Video “Wolves of My Want” and “Ivy” mark Lady Lamb’s first n...
Christian Lee Hutson Shares Origins of New Album Quitters: Exclusive
Origins is a recurring new music feature giving artists the chance to break down the inspirations for their latest release. Today, Christian Lee Hutson opens up about his new album, Quitters. Over the past several years, Los Angeles singer-songwriter Christian Lee Hutson has found himself in some pretty heady company, collaborating with his best friend Phoebe Bridgers on several projects including the indie darling’s collaborative album with Conor Oberst. Hutson’s sophomore album Quitters, out today, reunites him with both artists, who served as producers on the project. With the encouragement of Bridgers and Oberst, Quitters was made directly to tape, rather than the digital recording method used for Hutson’s debut studio album, Beginners, also produced by Bridgers. Another...
Lady Lamb Drops New Single “Ivy”: Stream
Lady Lamb has released her latest single “Ivy” via Ba Da Bing! Records. Stream it below. “I think you were hopin’ I could decode/ The meaning of your touch,” the artist otherwise known as Aly Spaltro laments on the track’s second verse over gently melancholy acoustic guitar before the chorus crashes in. “It’s what I’d wanted, why was I oblivious?/ Turns out playin’ it cool, it don’t serve us at all/ I wish I’d had my shit together/ Thrown you up against the wall.” According to a press release, another song called “Wolves of My Want” will be released tomorrow (April 1st). These two tracks mark Lady Lamb’s first new music since her pair of 2020 singles, “Arizona” and “We’ve Got a Good Thing Going.” Her last album was 2019’s Even in the Tremor. Related Video The singer-songwriter is...
