Indie Rock
U.S. Girls Collaborate with Classical Pianist Glenn Gould on “Good Kinda High”: Stream
U.S. Girls have unveiled their new single, “Good Kinda High,” and it features the unlikeliest of collaborators: classical pianist Glenn Gould. “This is that good kinda high/ That kind you cannot buy/ There are some things that you cannot buy/ This is that good kind of high/ That kind you cannot buy/ Only some things that you cannot buy,” intones Meg Remy — the brainchild of U.S. Girls — repeatedly over a piano line by the late classical artist, who passed away nearly 40 years ago in 1982. The track is included on the compilation album Uninvited Guests, on which producer Billy Wild melds samples of the late Gould’s work with the music of modern artists like U.S. Girls. (The album is out today via Primary Wave Music and Sony Masterworks.) Advertisement Related Video “This started seven years...
Parquet Courts Share New Album Sympathy for Life: Stream
Parquet Courts return today with their new album, Sympathy for Life. The post punk torchbearers’ follow-up to 2018’s Wide Awake! is out via Rough Trade, and marks the band’s seventh LP to date. Spanning 11 tracks, Sympathy for Life originated from a series of live jam sessions, inspired by the likes of Primal Scream, Pink Floyd, and bygone live music clubs in their New York City home base. The record was produced alongside Rodaidh McDonald and John Parish, whose credits between them include David Byrne and PJ Harvey, just to name a few. “Historically, some amazing rock records have been made from mingling in dance music culture — from Talking Heads to Screamadelica,” co-frontman Austin Brown explained in a statement. “Our goal was to bring that into our own music. ...
Alex Lahey Shares Free-Spirited New Single “Spike the Punch”: Stream
Alex Lahey returns today with “Spike the Punch,” her first proper solo single of 2021. Self-produced alongside John Castle and mixed by Grammy winner Carlos de la Garza, the power-pop tune arrives with a stunning accompanying music video. Like taking a gulp of jungle juice in the wee morning hours at a house party, “Spike the Punch” feels like an inhibition-free sugar rush. Its lyrics reckon with the euphoria of ditching your morals, while the threat of real consequences always linger in the shadows: “I got my ass kicked, it was fantastic /Kept going back like a hopeless romantic,” Lahey sings in the track’s opening lines before an explosive chorus. “‘Spike the Punch’ is a song about the fun that comes with self-sabotage and reckless abandon,” Lahey wrote in a statement. “It’s big, it’s lo...
Beirut Announce Compilation Album Artifacts, Share “Fisher Island Sound”: Stream
Beirut are back — kind of. Today, Zach Condon’s beloved baroque-pop project has announced Artifacts, a forthcoming double album that compiles material from the band’s entire history. Ahead of its release on January 28th via Condon’s own Pompeii Records, he’s previewing the compilation with a never-before-released Beirut track called “Fisher Island Sound.” Condon began pouring over old Beirut material in an effort to assemble a proper EP, but Artifacts seemed like the best route to take in order to document his evolution since he began making music at 14. On the double album, you’ll hear a few familiar Beirut standards like “Elephant Gun,” though this is largely a deep dive into Condon’s unreleased work. “When the decision came to re-release this collection, I found myself di...
Real Estate Cover Television’s “Days”: Stream
Real Estate are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their breakout album, Days, with a cover of the song that inspired it: Television’s striking 1978 track “Days.” With this cover, Real Estate are rattling the unbroken chain connecting melodic indie rock of the past and present. It’s a fittingly faithful cover, and would slot in nicely amongst the tuneful guitars of Days. In a statement, bassist Alex Bleeker explained how Television’s song, their own album, and the new cover are related. He wrote, “The shrewd, completist bootlegger will always remember 6/30/2011 as the day that we debuted the album Days live in its entirety at 285 Kent in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Back then Domino Park, across the street, was still a dilapidated sugar warehouse, and our unreleased sophomore al...
Shovels & Rope Announce New Album Manticore, Share “Domino”: Stream
Shovels & Rope, the folk-rock duo from Charleston, South Carolina, are back. They just announced a new album called Manticore that’s coming out February 18th via Dualtone Music. To celebrate the news, they’re sharing the lead single “Domino,” which you can stream below, as well as news of a US and European tour. Manticore is Shovels & Rope’s seventh album of their career, following this year’s covers collection Busted Jukebox Vol. 3 and 2019’s original full-length By Blood. The new LP spans 10 tracks in total, including “Domino.” Bandmates Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst originally wrote Manticore as an acoustic album, but the pandemic offered them the time to reimagine their initial arrangements and flesh out the music a bit more. In a press release, Manticore is descr...
Jeff Tweedy Announces New Album, Covers Neil Young’s “The Old Country Waltz”: Stream
Jeff Tweedy has announced a deluxe edition of his 2020 album Love Is the King, featuring a new collection of live versions of its songs titled Live Is the King. Due out December 10th via dBpm Records, it comes with a new cover of Neil Young’s “The Old Country Waltz,” which is out today. Live is the King sees the Wilco frontman accompanied by a band consisting of his sons Sammy and Spencer Tweedy, as well as Liam Kazar, James Elkington, and Ohmme’s Sima Cunningham. The live versions were recorded at Wilco’s Chicago studio the Loft, as well as the Chicago venues Constellation and The Hideout. You can pre-order Love Is the King/Live Is the King now. Watch Jeff Tweedy and the aforementioned band’s performance of Neil Young’s “The Old Country Waltz” below, followed by the deluxe editi...
Julien Baker Joins Phoebe Bridgers as Surprise Guest at Berkeley Concert: Watch
Phoebe Bridgers had a special treat up her sleeve at her concert in Berkeley, California on Saturday night: a surprise appearance by Julien Baker. Performing at the William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre, Bridgers’ boygenius bandmate wowed fans as the unannounced opener for the evening, running through an eight-song set that included “Blacktop,” “Funeral Pyre,” and “Happy to Be Here.” For her final number, Baker was joined by Bridgers for a cover of “One Man Guy,” a song originally written by Loudon Wainwright III and later covered by his son Rufus on 2001’s Poses. But that was far from the last that attendees saw of the two pals — who last appeared together supporting Lucy Dacus (a.k.a. the final third of boygenius) on her 2021 album Home Video — onstage. At the end of her headlining set, ...
Snail Mail Shares New Single “Ben Franklin”: Stream
As Lindsey Jordan readies her next Snail Mail album, the 22-year-old indie rocker has offered up a new single, titled “Ben Franklin.” Check out the lovelorn track via its Josh Coll-directed video below. Driven by a head-nodding bassline and bright synths, “Ben Franklin” details a lingering heartbreak that seemingly will never end. “You’re gonna leave a stain,” sings Jordan. “Like a relapse does when you really try/ Damn, this time I really tried.” “I wanted to sonically and lyrically get out of my comfort zone with ‘Ben Franklin,’” explained Jordan in a statement. “It felt only right that the visual accompaniment should include dancing in front of a camera and holding a 10-foot snake close to my face.” Advertisement Related Video In the aforementioned music video, Jordan does indeed ...
Courtney Barnett Drops Harriet the Spy Theme Song “Smile Real Nice”: Stream
I spy with my little eye…a new Courtney Barnett single! Today, the indie rock singer unveiled “Smile Real Nice,” the theme song for Apple TV+’s new animated adaptation of Harriet the Spy. On the defiant track, Barnett croons, “I don’t wanna be/ You don’t wanna be/ We don’t wanna be/ Told what to do/ No, I won’t cut my hair/ And I’ll wear whatever I like/ It when I get to be myself” over raucous drums and dueling electric guitars. As mentioned, “Smile Real Nice” serves as the opening theme for Harriet the Spy, which is set to premiere on Apple’s streaming service on November 19th. An illustrated update on the 1964 children’s novel by Louise Fitzhugh, the series stars Beanie Feldstein as the voice of the titular spy alongside Jane Lynch as Ole Golly and Lacey Chabert as Marion Hawthorne.&nbs...
Speedy Ortiz Announces New Compilation The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever
Sadie Dupuis has spent the last decade writing and recording playful indie rock as Speedy Ortiz. Now, the musician is commemorating her 10th year under the moniker with a 2xLP compilation called The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever, featuring some of the band’s earliest work. The expansive reissue is due out November 12th via Carpark, and as a preview, Dupuis has also shared the new self-directed video for “Cutco.” The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever will include the contents of 2011’s Cop Kicker EP and The Death of Speedy Ortiz LP, all now remastered by Dupuis, who’s since become a go-to producer in her own right. You’ll also get to enjoy a handful of previously unreleased tracks, reflective liner notes written by Dupuis, and a collection of photos f...
Sunflower Bean Share New Single “Baby Don’t Cry,” Announce US Tour Dates
Following their 2018 breakthrough album Twentytwo in Blue, Sunflower Bean are gearing up for a comeback. Today, the New York City trio — and former Artist of the Month — have returned with “Baby Don’t Cry.” Additionally, Sunflower Bean have unveiled a handful of tour dates beginning in December and going into 2022. “Baby Don’t Cry” aims to uplift, though Sunflower Bean deliver their sentiments with the knowledge that it can be hard to fight back tears: “TV makes me so mad/ NPR is always telling me something bad,” vocalist Julia Cumming sings over a sauntering instrumental that melds the band’s grungy roots with a ’60s girl group flair. “So many things in our lives are disposable,” the band writes in a statement. “Content and news is consumed and discarded leaving us unfulfilled. ‘Baby Don’...
