Indie Rock
Song of the Week: Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak Play It Smooth as Silk Sonic on “Leave the Door Open”
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, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak dropped their first single as Silk Sonic. Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak have teamed up under the name Silk Sonic, which seems to have been a good name choice. Their first single, “Leave the Door Open”, is nothing if not luxurious, velvety goodness. The full-length project, An Evening with Silk Sonic, reunites the two artists who previously toured together with .Paak as an opening act on Bruno Mars’ 2017 “24K Magic World Tour”. Sonically, “Leave the Door Open” is a return to form for Bruno Mars, who ha...
Fucked Up Share 26-Minute Song “Year of the Horse – Act Two”: Stream
Fucked Up have released “Year of the Horse – Act Two”, the second track of the Toronto punk band’s latest EP celebrating the Chinese Zodiac. Stream it via Bandcamp below. The 26-minute epic is written like a play. It contains seven different scenes starring a cast of more than a dozen characters, which are detailed in the liner notes the band made available on WeTransfer. The song mixes disparate sounds from straightforward punk rock to spaghetti-western to doom metal, and includes guest vocals from singers Tuka Mohammed, Eidolon, and Maegan Brooks Mills. “Act Two” appears on the four-track EP, Year of the Horse. Fucked Up is dedicating the project to Texas hardcore icons Wade Allison of Iron Age and Riley Gale of Power Trip, both of whom were friends with the group prior to their deaths. ...
Mitski Announces Graphic Novel Soundtrack, Shares “The Baddy Man”: Stream
For her first full-length project since 2018’s Be the Cowboy, Mitski wrote and recorded the soundtrack to the graphic novel This Is Where We Fall. It’s out May 5th, and as a taste of things to come, the 30-year-old songwriter has shared the new song “The Baddy Man”. Written by Chris Miskiewicz and illustrated by Vincent Kings, This Is Where We Fall combines science fiction and Western tropes to tell a tale of death and the afterlife. It will be available in both softcover and hardcover editions, though the hardcover has the added bonus of coming with Mitski’s soundtrack on cassette. Besides that, 1,000 copies of a deluxe edition will also be released, and that iteration includes her score on vinyl. In a statement to Rolling Stone, Mitski said, “It was exciting to make a...
IAN SWEET Finds Her Breath on the Revealing Show Me How You Disappear: Review
The Lowdown: How do you turn introspection into propulsive pop? How can deep reflection push a person into new patterns? These questions weave the eclectic tapestry of Show Me How You Disappear, the third album from IAN SWEET, the now-solo indie-rock project from singer-songwriter Jilian Medford. The collection sparked during the time Medford, 27, spent in an outpatient therapy program for anxiety just before the pandemic, and the songs’ inventive, textured pop marks her best release to date. [embedded content] The Good: The album opens with a momentary squall, the first track, “My Favorite Cloud”, expanding into a Flaming Lips-esque garble that sounds like a sentient modem drowning, before it’s pierced by Medford’s high, filtered voice: “My psychic told me I’d die/ ’Cause I’d forget to br...
The Wiggles Cover Tame Impala’s “Elephant”: Watch
Hey there kids, your favorite band The Wiggles are back with a searing takedown of arrogant assholes! The Australian institution has covered Tame Impala, another artist from Down Under, adding a few new lyrics to make the anti-bully anthem “Elephant” more family friendly. The Wiggles performed Tame Impala’s breakout 2012 hit for Triple J’s cover series Like a Version. To entertain any children who happen to come upon it, bandmember Anthony Fields spent the whole song inside an elephant costume, wobbling his trunk to the rhythm of the beat. The band also added an extended riff on “Fruit salad,” which, they said is, “Yummy yummy!” and for which they embarked upon some tummy-rubbing choreography. Even the most drugged-out Tame Impala fans have never imagined an “Elephant” as bizarre as this. ...
10 Artists Worth Bringing Back VH1 Storytellers For
Kendrick Lamar photo by Amy Price; St. Vincent photo by David Brendan Hall; Janelle Monáe photo by Philip Cosores VH1 Storytellers was such a cool show. It borrowed the idea of MTV Unplugged — a hugely popular act performing a stripped-down set in front of an intimate audience — and took it one step further. Audiences could see and hear artists in a more relaxed setting, dishing on their careers and telling stories about creating the songs we know and love. Storytellers first aired 25 years ago in late February 1996; Kinks mastermind Ray Davies was the first performer. It ran for 97 more episodes, the last starring Ed Sheeran in 2015. In between, there was a veritable Who’s Who of talent, from classic rock gods like David Bowie and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to ‘90s stars like Pearl ...
Kings of Leon on the Stories Behind When You See Yourself
Kyle Meredith With… Kings of Leon Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill gives a ring to Kyle Meredith to talk all about the band’s new album, When You See Yourself. It’s a record that finds Followill with his most poetic lyrics to date, and he explains why. The Tennessee-born songwriter also gets into the impact that Western movies and TV shows have had on him, and how they find their way into the album, with nods to Pancho & Lefty and Johnny Guitar. He also talks about recalling the band’s classic sound on this set, creating his own language during their early songs, and raising money for road crews during the pandemic. Kyle Meredith With…&nbs...
Rostam Announces New Album Changephobia, Shares Single “4Runner”: Stream
After dropping a handful of standalone singles, Rostam has announced a new solo album is on the way. It’s called Changephobia and it’s due out June 4th via Matsor Projects/Secretly Distribution. Best of all, you can stream a new track from the record, titled “4Runner”, below. Changephobia spans 11 tracks in total, including the previously release singles “These Kids We Knew” and “Unfold You”, which Rostam used to explore new-to-him sounds like retro bebop and ’90s neo-psych rock. Not only is it the ex-Vampire Weekend member’s third studio album, but it’s also his first full-length LP in four years following 2017’s Half-Light. In a press release, Rostam said that he was compelled to write Changephobia after meeting a stranger on a park bench. The two opened up to one another ...
Song of the Week: Jay Som and Palehound Choose the Bachelor’s Life and Debut “Anything at All”
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, two longtime friends form a new band and find a new sound. The past year of our lives has taught us that loneliness comes in several shades of blue. It can feel like total isolation, separation from dear friends, or even the tedium of seeing the same faces every single day. Those among us who have fared best have either found ways to beat the loneliness (a little Zoom went a long way there for a while, didn’t it?) or embrace it as a chance to remain in the moment and accomplish something. Jay Som (Melina Duterte) and Palehound voc...
I Don’t Know How But They Found Me on the Importance of Mystery
Kyle Meredith With… I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS I Don’t Know How But They Found Me singer-songwriter Dallon Weekes talks with Kyle Meredith about the band’s debut LP, Razzmatazz. Weekes tells us about the breakthrough single “Leave Me Alone” being inspired by Bowie, Prince, and Don Henley, growing up on the Gen X / Millennial line, and the importance of keeping the band a bit mysterious. He also talks about theatrics and the beauty of a spoken word bridge. The former Panic! At the Disco member also hints at a possible graphic novel in the works with DC Comics and how he plans to work all of the high concept into the live show. Kyle Mere...
St. Vincent Details “Sleazy, Grimy” New Album Daddy’s Home
One of our most anticipated albums of 2021 is the impending new record from St. Vincent. Last year, Annie Clark confirmed that the LP would arrive by this summer, and earlier this week some eagle-eyed Reddit users spotted posters that indicated it’s titled Daddy’s Home and would be released on May 14th. In a new interview with The New Cue, Clark didn’t confirm either of those facts, but she did share some key details about the album’s theme, sound, and recording process. While speaking with the new weekly music newsletter, the Grammy-winning rocker revealed that it was co-produced by Jack Antonoff (who she worked with on 2017’s MASSEDUCTION ) and that it was heavily inspired by early ’70s New York City. “I would say it’s the sound of being down and out Downtown in New Y...
Julien Baker Unveils New Album Little Oblivions: Stream
Julien Baker has unveiled her highly-anticipated new album Little Oblivions. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. As she did on her first album, 2015’s Sprained Ankle, and the 2017 follow-up, Turn Out the Lights, Baker wrote, performed, and produced every track. The biggest difference this time around might be Baker herself. In 2018, she formed boygenius with Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers, and their powerful self-titled debut introduced each artist to new fans and fresh approaches to songwriting. Still, despite everything good that’s come from her career, Baker lived through a “really difficult year,” and she sees Little Oblivions as a “pretty pessimistic record.” As she explained in an interview with Consequence of Sound on Kyle Meredith with…, “I wrote this record over...
