Indie Rock
Bon Iver Share Previously Unreleased Versions of “Beth/Rest” and “Babys”: Stream
Bon Iver will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their self-titled sophomore album with a deluxe reissue of the Grammy-winning LP. The bonus material is pulled from Justin Vernon and Sean Carey’s 2011 4AD/Jagjaguwar Sessions at AIR Studios, and the band has today shared two of those tracks: “Beth/Rest” and “Babys.” The AIR Studios sessions saw the Bon Iver members stripping back the layered sounds of Bon Iver, Bon Iver and restructuring them for piano. Thus, that glorious ’80s melodrama of the album version of “Beth/Rest” becomes a more grounded and cooler drama. Meanwhile, “Babys,” a cut from Bon Iver’s 2009 Blood Bank EP, is already based on keys; here, however, Vernon and Carey slow the tempo down a tick, allowing the song’s emotionality to settle in. Take a listen to both trac...
Andrew Bird Joins Forces with Iron & Wine in Yosemite to Perform “Manifest” and “Fixed Positions”: Watch
Andrew Bird and Iron & Wine have collaborated for the first time for a new video series set in Yosemite National Park. In the first episode of Lucky Brand and La Blogothèque’s new Play the Parks series, the two alternative singer-songwriters teamed up to perform an intimate, acoustic rendition of Bird’s My Finest Work Yet highlight “Manifest” as well as his yet-to-be-released track “Fixed Positions.” Barefoot, the pair wander through the park before arriving at the edge of Tenaya Lake and wading right in as they perform “Manifest.” Then, Bird follows up by delivering his brand new song from atop a giant rock formation with a stunning view. Advertisement Related Video “When your position remains fixed, my dear,” he croons on “Fixed Positions” while playing the acoustic guitar. “Results ...
Built to Spill Announce 2021-2022 West Coast Tour Dates
Built to Spill are ready to hit the road. Today, the indie rock band headed by Doug Martsch announced their first slate of tour dates for 2022 — with a little bit of 2021 as well. The veteran alt rockers will actually kick off the West Coast jaunt ahead of the turn of the year with four shows in Washington and Oregon. Following that quartet of December dates, the tour picks back up on January 26th and 27th with two back-to-back performances at The Crocodile in Seattle. From there, the trio will make stops up and down the Pacific Coast — often with dual dates in multiple cities — including Portland, Sacramento, Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Openers along the way include Team Dresch, Prism Bitch, Dinosaur Jr., Oh, Rose, and Itchy Kitty. Advertisement Related Video Tic...
Oberhofer Shares “SUNSHiiNE” Featuring Shamir and The Strokes’ Nick Valensi: Stream
After a nearly six-year hiatus, Brad Oberhofer is back and releasing music. His new album Smothered is due out November 12th, and he’s now shared the latest single, “SUNSHiiNE,” featuring Shamir and The Strokes’ Nick Valensi. Here, the sunshine is more metaphorical than literal. “I was walking in the rain today,” Oberhofer begins, “I wasn’t feeling great/ Pulled out my phone and saw a message from you/ It was a smiley face.” Throughout, the synths sparkle like the rainbow after a storm, as Oberhofer sings to the light of his life: “When I met you/ My heart skipped a beat/ When I’m with you/ I feel so complete/ My sunshine.” Nick Valensi adds a fuzzy guitar solo that slowly searches its way upwards, and Shamir adds a distorted spoken-word section about how “life is the g...
Jenn Wasner’s Flock of Dimes Drops New Song “Through Me”: Stream
Jenn Wasner’s Flock of Dimes has unveiled its new single “Through You,” exclusively for Adult Swim Singles. On the vamping ballad, the singer-songwriter layers her vocals to create transfixing harmonies over the pluck of a steady bass and guitar. “It is hard/ To get sunny/ It is wrong/ To go back,” she croons ahead of the bluesy guitar solo. “‘Through Me’ is about losing sight of yourself in an attempt to find someone else,” Warner said in a statement, “twisting your perception of reality until you’re not sure how to find your way back to what is real.” Stream “Through Me” after the jump. Advertisement Related Video The new song arrives just six months after the Wye Oak member’s sophomore solo album as Flock of Dimes, Head of Roses, which the singer released back in April. Containing singl...
Big Thief Confirm 20 Song Double Album Coming in 2022
For their fifth album, Big Thief are going even bigger. In a new interview with Mojo, the indie rock quartet said that their upcoming studio set is 20 songs long and will be presented as a double-disc album. That’s a lot of music, especially since the band just released two interesting albums in 2019. The majority of the songwriting took place in July 2020, during a blistering two-week quarantine in the Vermont woods. “We accumulated so many songs that we loved, maybe about 50,” vocalist Adrianne Lenker said. “20 could be whittled down to 12, but not 50.” According to guitarist Buck Meek, they were guided by “focusing on different chunks of songs… that were stylistically, or thematically, connected. Like, we could just play country music for two weeks and not think abou...
The Districts Announce New Album Great American Painting, Share Single: Stream
Nearly a year and a half after releasing their last full-length, The Districts are back with another new album in tow. The Philadelphia indie rockers just announced their next record is called Great American Painting and it’s set to come on February 4th via Fat Possum. The band also shared the lead single “I Want to Feel It All,” and announced a massive 2021-2022 tour. Recorded at the legendary Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, Great American Painting is the fifth full-length by The Districts and follows their 2020 album You Know I’m Not Going Anywhere. The LP spans nine tracks in total, including this lead single, and was produced by indie rock icon Joe Chiccarelli (Spoon, The Strokes, Broken Social Scene). As our first preview of what to expect, “I Want to Feel It All” is about as equal ...
Thao & the Get Down Stay Down Break Up
Thao & the Get Down Stay Down, the indie rock collaboration between Thao Nguyen and Adam Thompson, is breaking up. The duo made the announcement on Instagram. “After over a decade of making music together, Thao & the Get Down Stay Down is dissolving,” they wrote. “Thank you to all who have recorded and performed with us. Thao and Adam are each moving on to pursue other projects.” The Bay-area outfit formed in Virginia in 2003 and released five albums together, most recently 2020’s Temple. But earlier this year, Nguyen began performing solo shows under the name Thao, and in September she accompanied Julien Baker on tour without Thompson. She seems likely to continue under her mononymous moniker, while Thompson can be followed on social media at @the_okbird. The OK Bir...
Strand of Oaks Break Down New Album In Heaven Track by Track: Exclusive
In our Track by Track feature, artists unveil the inspirations and stories behind each song on their new album. Today, Tim Showalter of Strand of Oaks takes us track by track through his new record In Heaven. Tim Showalter has unveiled his seventh studio album as Strand of Oaks, In Heaven. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. The follow-up to 2019’s Eraserland finds Showalter in a different place, both physically and emotionally. He relocated to Austin, Texas, stopped drinking, and his family experienced profound grief. “In Heaven was created with so much love and my greatest hope is that it connects with people and provides a momentary space for reflection, joy, catharsis and whatever else someone might be looking for in their life,” he said in a ...
IDLES Announce New Album CRAWLER, Share “The Beachland Ballroom”: Stream
Barely a year after they dropped the fiery Ultra Mono, IDLES are back with a follow-up album. It’s called CRAWLER and it’s due out November 12th via Partisan. As a preview, the Bristol post-punk group have shared the lead single, “The Beachland Ballroom,” along with a music video, which you can stream below. Over the span of 14 tracks, IDLES are using CRAWLER to bring to life vivid stories of trauma, addiction, and recovery. A press releases promises warped glam-rock (“The Wheel”), 30 seconds of grindcore (“Wizz”), and even a marching band anthem (“Stockholm Syndrome”), all of which should be interesting to hear from the otherwise punk-rock faithfuls. The whole thing was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic and was co-produced by Kenny Beats and the band’s own guitarist Mark Bowen. As our...
Bartees Strange, Eric Slick, and OHMME Cover TV on the Radio’s “Province”: Stream
The only thing better than finding a new indie rock artist you love is discovering that they look up to an old indie rock artist you also love. It’s a warm feeling, and a handful of our favorite musicians are rekindling that today by way of a cover song; Bartees Strange, Eric Slick, and OHMME joined forces to record their own version of “Province” by TV on the Radio. Stream it below. For their group rendition of “Province,” all three artists play into their unique strengths. The Dr. Dog drummer steers the track with his effortless fills and driving rhythms, Bartees Strange adds an emotional depth with his pitch-perfect vocals, and OHMME’s Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart add synth swells to the mix like celestial glitter. It’s a low-key yet riveting cover of a TV on the Radio classic, and...
Connan Mockasin Announces New Album Jassbusters Two, Shares “Flipping Poles”: Stream
Connan Mockasin is returning to the fictional universe he introduced with his 2018 album Jassbusters. Out on November 5th via Mexican Summer, Mockasin’s upcoming album is appropriately titled Jassbusters Two and features the lead single “Flipping Poles,” which you can hear below. Jassbusters Two is a concept album once again recorded by a fictional band of schoolteachers. The musicians are taken from the imaginary daytime TV miniseries Bost’n ‘n Dobs’n, which is conceived and directed by Mockasin himself. The New Zealand singer-songwriter also stars in the production, which is teased as “possibly coming to a late night cinema.” The new album was recorded at Gary’s Electric Studio in Brooklyn, New York, where Mockasin gathered together his real-life Jassbusters counterparts: Nich...
