Indie Rock
The Shins Reissuing Debut Album Oh, Inverted World for 20th Anniversary
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-13T16:53:18+00:00“>April 13, 2021 | 12:53pm ET The Shins have announced a 20th anniversary reissue of their debut album, Oh, Inverted World, out June 11th via Sub Pop. The re-release features an updated “inverted” cover” and includes a booklet featuring vintage photos, liner notes, and handwritten lyrics. Grammy-winning engineer Bob Ludwig, whose credits include projects by Nirvana, Queen, Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey, and David Bowie, remastered the record under the supervision of founding member James Mercer. Twenty fans who buy the vinyl edition will get a “Golden Ticket” version, which includes a vintage photo signed by Mercer. In a press release, Mercer reflected on the i...
Phoebe Bridgers’ Smashed Guitar from SNL Sells for $100k in Auction
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-12T17:45:58+00:00“>April 12, 2021 | 1:45pm ET Back in February, Phoebe Bridgers gave an instantly iconic performance on Saturday Night Live that concluded with her smashing her guitar onstage. The act earned our Artist of the Year both praise and melodramatic criticism. Apparently it also gave her an added level of fame, because Bridgers’ guitar has just sold in a charity auction for a whopping $101,500. GLAAD listed the mangled black Danelectro guitar last Thursday during the GLAAD Music Awards, at which Bridgers (who identifies as bisexual) was nominated for outstanding breakthrough music artist. Initially, bidders spent modest sums before bumping the price into the five-figure...
Silver Synthetic Share New Song “Around the Bend”: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-07T17:53:23+00:00“>April 7, 2021 | 1:53pm ET Third Man Records signees Silver Synthetic have shared a new song titled “Around the Bend”. It’s the latest single from their self-titled debut album, out this Friday, April 9th. Stream the lyric video below. Perfect for being blasted full volume during a road trip, “Around the Bend” is driven by a noodling bass and strumming guitar. It features lyrics like, “I’m looking forward to the please of seeing you again/ I now know the greatest treasure of losing what you win/ And oh, so sad, to be lost around the bend.” In a statement, band member Kunal Prakash explained how the video came together, saying, “I first came across Salvador Crest...
10-Year-Old Nandi Bushell Gets Pixies’ Seal of Approval for Her “Where Is My Mind?” Cover: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-07T15:58:11+00:00“>April 7, 2021 | 11:58am ET 10-year-old multi-instrumentalist and YouTube sensation Nandi Bushell continues to impress the artists she covers. This time around, she’s earned kudos from the Pixies for her loop version of the band’s classic song “Where Is My Mind?” Last year, Nandi earned respect (and a signature guitar) from Tom Morello for her cover of Rage Against the Machine’s “Guerrilla Radio”, as well as props from Metallica’s Kirk Hammett for her rendition of “Enter Sandman”. Of course, she also made headlines for her epic multi-round drum battle with Dave Grohl after challenging him with a cover of Foo Fighters’ “Everlong”. Her 2021 is already off to a big...
Rostam Drops New Song “Changephobia”: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-06T17:05:06+00:00“>April 6, 2021 | 1:05pm ET Rostam has shared a new song called “Changephobia”. It’s the title track from his upcoming sophomore solo album, which is due out in June. Check it out below. The single finds Rostam exploring the jazz influences found throughout Changephobia thanks to a sax solo by Henry Solomon, who previously appeared in the video for HAIM’s “Summer Girl” in 2019. A Wurlitzer closes out the song, representing a newfound resolve to move on from the fears keeping us stagnant. Rostam explained how “Changephobia” came together in a statement, saying, “‘Changephobia’ was one of the last songs I finished writing for this album. The chorus came to me sitti...
Ex-Yuck Member Max Bloom Announces New Album Pedestrian, Shares Title Track: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-06T19:19:29+00:00“>April 6, 2021 | 3:19pm ET In February, British indie rockers Yuck shared news of their breakup. Now, vocalist/guitarist Max Bloom has announced a new solo album titled Pedestrian, out June 18th via Bloom’s own label Ultimate Blends. Bloom started recording the album over the past year after getting to running, a passion he shared with a regular group of musicians including Spoon, Beck, and Yellow Magic Orchestra. Their influence — plus Wilco, George Harrison, and Grandaddy — served as his primary inspiration for the project’s sound. Bloom elaborated further about the album and title track in a statement, saying, “I was contemplating a lot of things when I was t...
Bully Announce 2021 US Tour Dates
Bully have announced their return to the road. This summer, the Alicia Bognanno-led band will embark on a nine-date US tour in support of their August 2020 album, Sugaregg. The tour kicks off on July 31st at Skully’s Music Diner in Columbus, Ohio before hitting stops in Nashville, Birmingham, Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis. On September 4th, the trek will conclude at Seattle’s Neumos venue. Bully previously teased the addition of more cities in the future. At this time, the band has not provided any details on COVID-19 safety protocols. Fans can text MEZZI to 31996 in order to get access to presale tickets on Thursday, April 8th. Tickets are open to the general public on Friday. To coincide with the tour announcement, Bully uploaded a new performance video for “Whe...
Julien Baker Announces 2021-2022 Tour Dates
Julien Baker has announced a whole slew of new tour dates for Fall 2021 and Spring 2022. In support of her new album Little Oblivions, the indie rock singer-songwriter is planning to hit North America during two separate treks. The first, which features support from Thao and Katie Malco, starts September 4th in Atlanta, GA and ends on September 29th in Pittsburgh, PA. Then Baker will link up with Dehd and Katie Malco once again for a run that starts October 27th in Texas and travels all throughout the Western side of the continent before ending in St. Louis on November 16th. Baker has also shared dates for European runs in Spring of 2022. She’ll be joined by Ratboys for most of the leg, which kicks off in the Netherlands on April 16th before concluding in Barcelona, Spain on May 30th. Hope...
JayWood Signs to Captured Tracks, Shares Title Track From New EP Some Days: Stream
Under the name JayWood, the artist born Jeremy Haywood-Smith makes slinky indie-psych with notes of jazz and funk. Now, he’s announced his signing to the Brooklyn-based tastemakers Captured Tracks, and he’s shared the title-track from his new EP Some Days. The Winnipeg songwriter has been putting out music for over half-a-decade now, including a full-length album in 2019 called Time. According to a press release, Haywood-Smith wrote and self-recorded the songs on Some Days back in 2015, but now he’s gone back and completely redone them for his Captured Tracks debut. The project’s title-track is a brisk indie-psych track with twirling guitar leads, a groove-driven rhythm section, and Haywood-Smith’s dreamy croon swooning above it all. It’s a song that fans of both Crumb ...
Fucked Up Go Long on New 22-Minute Song “Year of the Horse – Act Three”: Stream
Fucked Up have released “Year of the Horse — Act Three”, the third track off the Toronto punk band’s upcoming EP celebrating the Chinese Zodiac. Stream it via Bandcamp below. “Year of the Horse — Act Three” clocks in at a whopping 22 minutes (!) and is structured like a play. It’s theatrical and dramatic — which is par for the course so far with this EP, considering it comes with extensive liner notes — and sees singers Maegan Brooks Mills and Tuka Mohammed sharing their duties with frontman Damian Abraham. Unlike the first and second tracks from Year of the Horse, though, this new act features vocals by a surprise guest: Matt Berninger of The National. Needless to say, it makes for an unexpected listen. As per tradition, Year of the Horse is part of Fucked Up’s ongoing series tied to...
Godspeed You! Black Emperor Release New Album G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END!: Stream
Canadian post-rock outfit Godspeed You! Black Emperor return today with their new album G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END!. Stream it below via Bandcamp. Whereas the band’s previous album, 2017’s Luciferian Towers, went without ambient interludes in favor of softer climaxes, this follow-up effort sees GY!BE turning crackling analog sounds into inescapable thunderstorms. The album is fixated on unease, anxiety, paranoia, and the long space of time that occurs when you’re waiting for what’s next — ideally something better — in life. “this record is about all of us waiting for the end,” the band wrote in a statement. “all current forms of governance are failed. this record is about all of us waiting for the beginning, and is informed by the following demands= empty the prisons take power fro...
Ratboys Surprise Release New Album Happy Birthday, Ratboy: Stream
Surprise! Chicago indie-folk rockers Ratboys have just released a new album called Happy Birthday, Ratboy in celebration of their 10th anniversary as a band. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. Exactly a decade ago to the day, Ratboys released their debut EP for free on Bandcamp. It introduced them as an inventive group of musicians worth keeping an eye on, and since then Ratboys have gone on to record three standout LPs: 2015’s AOID, 2017’s GN, and 2020’s Printer’s Devil. As the fourth studio album in the band’s catalog, Happy Birthday, Ratboy is split into two sides; the first features new recordings of the five original Ratboy EP songs, and a second half has five new versions of rare college-era tracks. That’s not all! There’s one totally brand new song on Happy Birthd...
