Indie Rock
Wye Oak Announce Civilian 10th Anniversary Reissue, Share “Electricity”: Stream
Wye Oak have announced a deluxe reissue of their third studio album, Civilian, in celebration of its 10th anniversary. Due out on October 22nd via Merge Records, the 2xLP features Cut All the Wires: 2009–2011, a previously lost collection of unreleased tracks and demos. Cut All the Wires contains 12 songs rediscovered by Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner while Stack was digging through some old hard drives. According to a press release, Wasner originally wrote the tracks while “deep in the throes of heartbreak and suffering,” lending a “raw, emotive quality to these songs.” “I found a treasure trove of material which we had both forgotten ever existed — original demos, live versions of the songs, and, most exciting, a bunch of fully realized studio recordings from this era which never saw the lig...
Song of the Week: Courtney Barnett Returns With the Graceful and Grounded “Rae Street”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Courtney Barnett sheds light on the special details in everyday experiences. Courtney Barnett sings like she’s talking to an old friend. This doesn’t just apply to her rambling, folksy delivery that recalls Bob Dylan, but to her lyrics, too, telling stories that feel familiar despite the inclusion of specific details. Five years ago, Barnett was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys, and in those years since, she’s continued to develop her authentic repertoire, with “Rae Street” as the latest addition. Ahead of her recently...
The xx’s Romy Combines Two Covers with “You’re Not Alone in the Rhythm of the Night”: Stream
The xx broke out with indie rock so sparse it sounded black and white, but their last album I See You (2017) introduced bright neon techniques cribbed from hip-hop and EDM. Now, co-founder Romy has combined the approaches with “You’re Not Alone in the Rhythm of the Night,” a simple acoustic performance that remixes two songs together. Built from parts of Olive’s “You’re Not Alone” and Corona’s “The Rhythm of the Night,” Romy’s new cover is a stirring statement to those feeling lost and afraid. She recorded the track for Apple Music’s Home Session for Pride, and in a press release she said she chose these tunes because they remind her of “when I was about 17 and started going to Gay bars in London.” She explained, “I’ve combined two songs into this cover, Olive – ‘You’re Not Alone...
Thurston Moore’s New Memoir Sonic Life Set for Publication
With touring and most typical forms of recording shut down during the pandemic, many musicians found new ways to channel their artistic urges. Thurston Moore threw himself into writing, resulting in a new memoir called Sonic Life, which has just been picked up for publication. The Sonic Youth co-founder first mentioned work on the book while speaking with Vulture late last year. “This downtime period allowed me to do this,” he said at the time, “so I have this manuscript called Sonic Life that I probably will publish at some point in 2021.” Though publication rights for the memoir were indeed secured, Moore’s timeline was a little off — by two years. According to industry website The Book Seller, Doubleday bought the rights to Sonic Life at auction and set it for a 2023 rele...
Courtney Barnett Announces New Album Things Take Time, Take Time, Shares “Rae Street”: Stream
Courtney Barnett is back with the announcement of her next album, Things Take Time, Take Time. The follow-up to 2018’s Tell Me How You Really Feel is due out November 12th via Mom+Pop. Along with the news, the Aussie singer-songwriter has shared the music video for her twangy new single “Rae Street.” Things Take Time, Take Time is Barnett’s third proper full-length. Written over the course of two years, she then recorded the album in late 2020 and early 2021 with producer Stella Mozgawa, known for work with Warpaint, Cate le Bon, and Kurt Vile. If “Rae Street” is any indication, the album will see Barnett lean into her more relaxed, country-fied mode, though with the same sense of acerbic wit that’s made her an indie rock star: “Time is money, and money is no man’s friend,” she croons on t...
Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine Announce Collaborative Album A Beginner’s Mind
Sufjan Stevens has announced a new collaborative album with Asthmatic Kitty label mate Angelo De Augustine. Entitled A Beginner’s Mind, it’s due for release on August 24th. As a preview, the duo has shared two songs: “Reach Out” and “Olympus”. A Beginner’s Mind came about after Stevens and De Augustine decamped to a friend’s cabin in upstate New York for a monthlong songwriting sabbatical. “Watching a movie to unwind after each day’s work, they soon found their songs reflecting the films and began investigating this connection in earnest.” A press release goes on to explain: “The resulting album is 14 songs (loosely) based on (mostly) popular films—highbrow, lowbrow and everything in between. They wrote in tandem—one person writing a verse, the other a chorus, churning out c...
Real Estate Announce Fall 2021 US Tour
Real Estate have announced a 2021 fall tour of the US. Taking place throughout the month of November, the trek comes in support of their recent Half a Human EP and — by the nature of 2020’s lack of tours — last year’s The Main Thing LP. The tour is bookended by shows in Upstate New York, launching November 3rd in Buffalo and concluding the 19th at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock. In between, Real Estate will stop in Cleveland, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Louisville, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Madison, and other cities. “We’re back on tour and more excited to be playing LIVE than ever before!” the band said in a statement. “This stands to be one of the most joyful, memorable tours we’ll ever go on and you’re not going to want to miss it. We have so many songs to share with you, new and...
Jeff Tweedy Covers Japanese Breakfast’s “Kokomo, IN” on The Tweedy Show: Watch
Jeff Tweedy has been hosting an Instagram Live performance series called The Tweedy Show, which mostly consists of him playing original tracks and putting his own spin on music he likes. During yesterday’s show, he played a cover of Japanese Breakfast’s “Kokomo, IN”. As it turns out, Michelle Zauner is a huge Wilco fan and she’s geeking out — like any of us would! For his rendition, Tweedy stayed rather faithful to the original version of “Kokomo, IN” as heard on Jubilee, Japanese Breakfast’s new album and third full-length LP under the moniker. Armed with an acoustic guitar and seemingly a lyric sheet off screen, the Wilco singer went about playing a stripped-down version of the sweet violin-laden track. If there was any doubt that Tweedy genuinely loves this song, it’s made clear during ...
R.I.P. Bryan St. Pere, Hum Drummer Dead at 52
Bryan St. Pere, the drummer for the massively influential shoegaze and alt-rock band Hum, has died. He was 52 years old. His bandmates confirmed the news in a statement earlier today, writing, “It is with very heavy hearts and tear filled eyes that we share the news that our beloved friend and bandmate, Bryan St. Pere, has passed away. We are devastated and deeply saddened by his sudden, and unexpected passing. Bryan was a dear friend, a loving father, brother, and was an incredible person and musician. We all feel extremely lucky to have shared time and space with him. Peace and love to all who knew Bryan, and those he touched. We will miss him dearly.” At an early age, St. Pere was drawn to the drums and decided to start playing the instrument after falling in love with Rush, particularl...
Justin Vernon, Aaron Dessner, and Taylor Swift Team Up on New Big Red Machine Song “Renegade”: Stream
Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and The National’s Aaron Dessner have a new album up their sleeve under their collaborative moniker Big Red Machine. Over the past few days, they’ve been releasing songs from the record one by one, and they return tonight to drop the biggest one yet: “Renegade” featuring the one and only Taylor Swift. Stream it below. “Renegade” is the third track we’ve heard from How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?, following the album’s lead single “Latter Days” with Anaïs Mitchell and the stripped-down number “The Ghost of Cincinnati”. Apparently they recorded this song in Los Angeles the same week that Dessner and Swift took home the Album of the Year Grammy for folklore. It’s a folk-pop earworm and it boasts future classic Swift lines like, “Is it insensitive for me to say ...
Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine Share New Single “The Ghost of Cincinnati”: Stream
Big Red Machine, the two-person supergroup comprised of Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and Aaron Dessner (The National), are back with another new track. Their latest single is called “The Ghost of Cincinnati”, and it’s available to stream below with a snazzy lyric video. Just yesterday, Big Red Machine announced they have a stacked new album on the way. It’s called How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? and it boasts collaborations with everyone from Taylor Swift (!) to Fleet Foxes and beyond. This is technically the second song we’ve heard from that record in under 24 hours, following the lead single “Latter Days” which features moving vocal parts by Anaïs Mitchell. By comparison, “The Ghost of Cincinnati” is a more stripped-down and driving number. It’s mixed in a way that pushes Dessner’s vo...
The Ophelias Announce New Album Crocus, Share “Neil Young on High” Featuring Julien Baker: Stream
A new album from The Ophelias is on the horizon. The folksy quartet announced today that their next full-length, Crocus, is coming out on September 24th via Joyful Noise Recordings, and things are already looking promising: the lead single, “Neil Young on High”, includes backing vocals from Julien Baker. The Ohio band has also shared an accompanying music video inspired by everything from Twin Peaks to Renaissance paintings. The Ophelias recorded Crocus at a Masonic lodge that the band swears is haunted; naturally, the setting means the record bears some moodier, darker tones, channeling their influences from ‘60s singer-songwriters to Lilith Fair mainstays. “Neil Young on High” boasts all the major tenets of an Ophelias song, complete with soaring harmonies, a rootsy violin riff, and chug...
