Indie Rock
Wolf Alice Clap Back on New Song “Smile”: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-20T18:19:47+00:00“>April 20, 2021 | 2:19pm ET Wolf Alice are back with a new single from their upcoming album Blue Weekend. It’s called “Smile” and it comes with a saturated music video directed by Jordan Hemmingway. Stream it below. Musically, “Smile” is a bold number that sees Wolf Alice drumming up a tidal wave of energy, confidence, and passion akin to that on “The Last Man on Earth”, the album’s debut single. Singer Ellie Rowsell and the rest of the band penned “Smile” during lockdown as a way to clap back against the naysayers in life who try to put them in their place. As a result, it captures them in a wild, contagious mood. “This is one of the songs we wrote thinkin...
UV-TV Are “Back to Nowhere” on New Single: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-21T03:10:32+00:00“>April 20, 2021 | 11:10pm ET Queens, New York indie rockers UV-TV are back with another sunny burst of ’90s-style guitar pop. They just released a new single called “Back to Nowhere” and it’s ripe with jangly riffs, a giddy drum beat, and one hell of a feel-good chorus. Stream it below through Bandcamp. “Back to Nowhere” is the second track UV-TV have shared from Always Something, the band’s upcoming studio album. It follows lead single “Distant Lullaby”, which earned a coveted spot as one of the best songs of the week thanks to its power-pop hook and discreet shoegaze guitar tones. Always Something is the first album UV-TV has written since moving to New York f...
Pom Pom Squad Announce Debut Album Death of a Cheerleader, Share “Head Cheerleader”: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-20T16:33:57+00:00“>April 20, 2021 | 12:33pm ET Pom Pom Squad, the Brooklyn quartet led by Mia Berrin, have announced their debut album Death of a Cheerleader. To herald the June 25th release, the band has shared the new single “Head Cheerleader”, which features backup vocals from Tegan Quin of Tegan and Sara. Berrin formed Pom Pom Squad in 2015 with Shelby Keller (drums), Mari Alé Figeman (bass), and Alex Mercuri (guitar). After dropping the buzzy EPs Hate It Here (2018) and Ow (2019), the Squad took their grunge-inflected indie rock to City Slang Records. Death of a Cheerleader spans 14 tracks and was co-produced by Berrin alongside Sarah Tudzin of Illum...
10 Most Face-Melting Moments by Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-19T15:50:12+00:00“>April 19, 2021 | 11:50am ET Deep into their illustrious career, alternative rock heroes Dinosaur Jr. are set to release their 12th studio album, Sweep It into Space, on April 23rd. It’s a testament to the enduring consistency of the band’s singer, guitarist, and central force J Mascis. A gifted multi-instrumentalist, Mascis first established himself as the speed-demon drummer of Massachusetts hardcore band Deep Wound. From there, he’d form Dinosaur with fellow Deep Wound member Lou Barlow in 1984. Guided by Mascis’ twangy, pseudo-country vocals and an incendiary electric guitar assault, Dinosaur broke onto the scene something like the punk-rock version of Neil ...
Song of the Week: Montreal Psyche Rockers TEKE::TEKE Unleash Playful Mayhem on the Wild “Barbara”
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-18T18:05:24+00:00“>April 18, 2021 | 2:05pm ET 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, Montreal psych rockers TEKE::TEKE unleash a prankish spirit on an unsuspecting town in the wild, raucous “Barbara”. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. No matter how low infection rates have dropped in some (not all) states or how many vaccinations have been jabbed into people’s arms, that seems to be the mantra that health officials are sticking to: Let’s not get ahead of ours...
Covey Channels His Inner Mountain Goats on New Song “1991”: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-16T20:26:13+00:00“>April 16, 2021 | 4:26pm ET Covey is a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter who creates the type of pop-leaning folk-punk reminiscent of a young Kevin Devine, especially thanks to his confessional lyric style. He’s gearing up to drop his new album Class of Cardinal Sin on June 18th, and the latest single, “1991”, might just be his best track yet. On “1991”, Covey mines his personal past for a bonafide hit that sounds like The Mountain Goats covering Phoebe Bridgers. He’s all urgency and emotion, his voice pushed to the front in a way that demands your attention, and his guitar further bolsters that delivery. Throughout, Tom Freeman — the artist behind the moniker — ...
Modest Mouse’s This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About Distilled Suburban Angst into an Indie Rock Tour de Force
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-16T12:45:29+00:00“>April 16, 2021 | 8:45am ET Editor’s Note: Modest Mouse’s first album — that one with the really long title — came out 25 years ago this week and changed the landscape of indie rock forever. We welcome author Bryan C. Parker in his Consequence debut as he looks back at the sad, angsty beginnings of Isaac Brock’s Issaquah, Washington, outfit. Modest Mouse’s 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About, mapped a blueprint for one of the most successful careers in indie rock. The wandering guitar line, woozy note bends, and staggering drums that announce the record, combined with frontman Isaac Brock’s gravelly bark, forged an inim...
Man on Man (Faith No More’s Roddy Bottum) Share Video for New Song “It’s So Fun (To Be Gay)”: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-15T19:45:29+00:00“>April 15, 2021 | 3:45pm ET Man on Man is the project of Faith No More keyboardist-guitarist Roddy Bottum and boyfriend Joey Holman, and back in February they announced that their self-titled debut album will be out May 7th. They previously shared a single called “1983”, and now they’re back with a new one called “It’s So Fun (To Be Gay)”. Unlike the alt-metal of Faith No More and the shiny indie-rock Bottum makes with his band Imperial Teen, Man on Man has a much different vibe. “1983” had a locked-and-loaded post-punk sound to it, and “It’s So Fun (To Be Gay)” is strikingly bright and giddy by comparison. The near-five-minute track is a light, steamy pop song ...
Fiona Apple Covers Sharon Van Etten’s “Love More”: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-15T14:55:11+00:00“>April 15, 2021 | 10:55am ET Sharon Van Etten’s Epic Ten anniversary reissue arrives on digital platforms tomorrow, and now she’s shared the final advance single: a cover of “Love More” by recent Grammy winner Fiona Apple. The double-disc Epic reissue has already spawned several thrilling updates to old songs: Big Red Machine’s “A Crime”, IDLES’ “Peace Signs”, Shamir’s “Dsharpg”, and Courtney Barnett and Vagabon’s “Don’t Do It”. “Love More” is the closing track to both Epic and Epic Ten, and Apple puts her mark on the song right from the beginning with newly-added claps and hand drums. Where the original derived its atmospheric...
Crumb Announce Sophomore Album Ice Melt
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-14T18:20:44+00:00“>April 14, 2021 | 2:20pm ET After a lot of teasing and a discreet Billboard campaign, Crumb have finally announced a new album is on the way. The record is called Ice Melt and it’s due out April 30th via their own label Crumb Records. It’s the psych-rock band’s second studio full-length overall, following their 2019 debut Jinx. Ice Melt consists of 10 tracks in total and includes the three singles Crumb released earlier this year: the bass-forward jazz funk number “Trophy”, the eerie dream-pop song “BNR”, and the energetic hit “Balloon”. Based on those songs, it sounds like the Brooklyn-based group will be on the top of their game once again as they refine ...
Jenny Lewis and Serengeti Share New Collaborative Track “GLTR”: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-14T15:41:44+00:00“>April 14, 2021 | 11:41am ET Jenny Lewis and Serengeti continue their collaborative streak today with the new single “GLTR”. Take a listen via the accompanying music video, directed and edited by Lewis and filmed at the Hendersonville Memory Gardens where Johnny Cash is buried, which is embedded below. With a subtle electronic dance groove, “GLTR” gently spins in the darkness as the pair touch on the need to release the tension from our lives. While Lewis sings of “what a lie” daily stresses can be, Serengeti questions where our focus lies. “How’s your Instagram these days?” he raps. “Did you get a lotta action when you had braids?” Serengeti des...
Phoebe Bridgers Is Offering Free Handwritten Tattoos in Exchange for Donations to Daunte Wright’s Family
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-14T01:25:20+00:00“>April 13, 2021 | 9:25pm ET On April 11th, a 20-year-old Black father named Daunte Wright was shot to death by police during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Police officer Kim Potter allegedly mistook her gun for a taser when she shot him. Today, she resigned today after serving 26 years on the force. Thousands of Americans are protesting Wright’s tragic death and seeking ways to help — and the latest person to use their platform to do so happens to be Phoebe Bridgers. Our 2020 Artist of the Year took to social media on Monday to share an info graphic by Holistic Heaux. In it, they detail ways to support Wright’s two-year-old son Daunte J...
