Indie Rock
Aaron Dessner on Big Red Machine, The National’s Future, and Working with Taylor Swift
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS On this week’s Kyle Meredith With, Aaron Dessner calls in to discuss How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last, the sophomore record from his Big Red Machine project with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. The prolific producer/songwriter takes us through the process of bringing in more friends for this album, including Sharon Van Etten and Taylor Swift, and how the set came to focus on themes of mental health, depression, and family dynamics. That was particularly true on “Hutch,” a song written for the late Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchinson, a close friend of Dessner’s. Advertisement Related Video On working wit...
Japanese Breakfast Shares New Song “Glider”: Stream
Michelle Zauner: dreampop star, bestselling author, and now, video game soundtrack composer. Today, the musician better known as Japanese Breakfast is sharing the latest single from Sable, her forthcoming soundtrack to the video game of the same name. The track is called “Glider,” and it’s one of the three songs on the soundtrack to include lyrics. Though “Glider” wasn’t written with a typical Japanese Breakfast project in mind, its swirling, ethereal melodies sound right in line with Zauner’s usual mode. It’s easy to imagine yourself floating through the vast open world that comes with Sable while listening to it. In a press release, Zauner cited film score legends Alan Menken and Joe Hisaishi as some of her biggest inspirations while creating the Sable soundtrack. “I was so lucky Daniel ...
Helado Negro Shares New Single “Outside the Outside”: Stream
Roberto Lange, the electronic musician better known as Helado Negro, has shared the new single “Outside the Outside.” The second preview from his forthcoming album Far In arrives with an accompanying music video composed of video footage of Lange’s family house parties in the 1980s. “Outside the Outside” is a hushed dance number that calls to mind the alienation Lange felt growing up, both as the child of immigrants and as one of the sole musicians in his family. “I found space through music and outsiders finding each other,” he said in a press release. “This is a song about intimate partnerships and long-loving friendships. To be loyal freaks and an outsider amongst outsiders.” The video for “Outside the Outside” mirrors that desire for belonging: “My family came to this country as outsid...
Geese Announce Debut Album Projector, Share “Low Era”: Stream
The Strokes have been the Kings of New York for two decades now, but the scuttlebutt around the palace suggests Geese are coming for the throne. The very young Brooklyn rockers — the eldest member just turned 19 — have announced their debut album Projector. It drops October 29th, and to herald its arrival, the quintet have unveiled the new single “Low Era.” The reference to The Strokes wasn’t accidental, and if you listen to previews of Projector you’ll hear many more. Songs like previous single “Disco” radiate a casual coolness, with textured guitar riffs that would slot nicely alongside cuts from Is This It? But music has come a long way over the last 20 years, and Geese are far more than aughts indie revivalists; the band utilizes tempo changes, psychedelic flou...
Samia Talks About Eating Disorders, Trauma, and Anxiety
Listen via: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Stitcher | Google | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Indie rocker Samia joins Dr. Mike Friedman on the Going There podcast to share her struggle with mental health, specifically how anxiety led to her dealing with an eating disorder. Throughout her life, the Scout musician experienced anxiety, where her mind would focus on scary possibilities – things that could go wrong that she could not control. This sense of loss of control was exacerbated by both her having suffered sexual abuse and the subsequent judgment and invalidation she experienced from others when she shared her traumatic event. Advertisement Related Video Samia discusses how she sought to regain a sense...
Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay on LUMP’s Boombastic Shoegaze Wonder-Journey
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay catch up with Kyle Meredith to talk about Animal, their sophomore release as LUMP. Advertisement Related Video The British electronic duo take us through taking musical inspiration from Bowie’s Berlin Years, visualizing the world of LUMP as a sort of Stranger Things’ Upside Down, and the possibilities of expanding the visual presence of the project. For her part, Marling also discusses finding meaning within her free-form lyrics, portraying a more masculine side of her personality, and the American hedonism that weaves its way through the songs. Stream the interview with LUMP above, or via the YouTube player below....
Japanese Breakfast Covers Sufjan Stevens’ “Romulus”: Stream
Japanese Breakfast has shared a lovely cover of Sufjan Stevens’ Michigan track “Romulus.” The rendition was recorded at New York City’s iconic Electric Lady Studios for Japanese Breakfast’s appearance on SiriusXMU tonight (August 18th). Remaining as gentle as the original, Michelle Zauner’s take is even more lush than Stevens’ original, thanks to a deeper emphasis on the piano notes and replacing the banjo with a violin. Take a listen below. Zauner’s appearance on the satellite radio network will surely find her discussing the banner year she’s been having. Her new record, Jubilee, has received much acclaim since it’s June release, with the musician herself saying it marks the start of a “new chapter” in her career. Advertisement Related Video She also became a New York Times bestsell...
Courtney Barnett Takes Us Down “Rae Street” on Fallon: Watch
Courtney Barnett is gearing up to soundtrack your Sad Girl Winter with her forthcoming album, Things Take Time, Take Time. To promote the follow-up to 2018’s Tell Me How You Really Feel, the Aussie singer-songwriter made an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she performed her recent single (and previous Song of the Week) “Rae Street.” Sonically, “Rae Street” feels warm and rugged, and Barnett’s remote performance suited the song’s ambiance perfectly; she and her band set up in a dimly-lit lounge area that looks like a mix between your neighborhood speakeasy and your favorite grandparent’s living room. It’s the type of setup that makes you want to curl up in one of the big upholstered chairs in the corner and watch Barnett’s magnetic songwriting unfurl in front of y...
A Conversation with Faye Webster About Isolation and Depression
Listen via: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Stitcher | Google | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Indie folk artist (and former Consequence Artist of the Month) Faye Webster speaks about her struggle with isolation and depression in the latest episode of the Going There podcast with Dr. Mike Friedman. The I Know I’m Funny haha singer-songwriter shares her experience of isolation during the pandemic, something to which many of us can relate. We as human beings often crave connecting with others, and the pandemic has in many cases radically changed and interfered with how we connect with people. Webster describes how she approaches her mental health as an ongoing and experimental process by which she is...
St. Vincent Throws a One-Woman Parade in New Music Video “Daddy’s Home”: Watch
St. Vincent leads a parade and the streets are not impressed in the new official music video for “Daddy’s Home.” Directed by Bill Benz, the visual to the title track from her latest album finds Annie Clark singing from the back of a flatbed. The few people she spies don’t seem all that excited to see her, a fact which is explained by a graphic representation of the “parade route,” which is really just a loop around a single block. That doesn’t stop the singer from strutting back and forth in front of the mic, crowing for anyone who’ll listen (and a few who will not) that “Inmate 502” is now free. The “Daddy’s Home” video is currently available exclusively on Facebook, and you can watch it over at St. Vincent’s page. Advertisement Related Video You can catch St. Vincent on tour this fall, a...
Bon Iver Announce Bon Iver, Bon Iver 10th Anniversary Reissue, Fall Concert Dates
Bon Iver have announced a 10th anniversary reissue of their Grammy-winning self-titled sophomore album, due out January 14th, 2022 via 4AD/Jagjaguwar. Available on CD and LP, Bon Iver, Bon Iver (10th Anniversary Edition) will include all 10 original tracks, as well as a recording from Justin Vernon and co.’s 2011 live session at AIR Studios. During that performance, they played “Hinnom, TX,” “Wash.,” and “Beth/Rest” off Bon Iver, Blood Bank’s “Babys,” and a cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” A new embossed version of the cover art by Eric Timothy Carlson and an in-depth essay written by longtime Bon Iver fan Phoebe Bridgers will also be included in the reissue. The 2xLP is pressed on white vinyl and will be enclosed in a matte gatefold with silver ink. Advertisement Relate...
Wednesday Share New Album Twin Plagues: Stream
The new album from Wednesday — no, not that Wednesday — is here. Twin Plagues, the latest release from the Asheville, North Carolina quintet, is indie rock in the truest sense of the phrase, released via the Chicago label Orindal Records. Twin Plagues includes the single — and our Song of the Week Honorable Mention — “Handsome Man.” On this album, Wednesday tap into many tried-and-true ‘90s touchstones. You can hear flashes of Pavement’s unpolished, lo-fi charm, The Breeders’ knack for earworm melodies, Codeine’s hypnotic slowcore, and My Bloody Valentine’s trademark roaring guitars. Altogether, however, Wednesday make these well-worn references feel fresh across the 12 tracks of Twin Plagues. Lyrically, Wednesday aren’t afraid to step into the surreal: “I think the magical realism/absurd ...
