Indie Rock
Nathaniel Rateliff Covers Leonard Cohen’s “There Is a War” with Kevin Morby and Sam Cohen: Stream
Kevin Morby (photo by David Brendan Hall), Nathaniel Rateliff (Ben Kaye), Sam Cohen (Kenneth Bachor) Nathaniel Rateliff, Kevin Morby, and Sam Cohen have teamed up for a new cover of Leonard Cohen’s “There Is a War”. The timely track was produced by Sam Cohen (no relation), and will benefit Rateliff’s The Marigold Project. The song first appeared on 1974’s New Skin for the Old Ceremony, at a time when President Nixon’s message of “Law and Order” was getting drowned out by the Watergate scandal. Well, Trump has been beating that “Law and Order” drum, but he’s one-upped Nixon by providing so many competing scandals that none can dominate the headlines for very long. Meanwhile, the deep-seated conflicts that Cohen wrote about show no signs of abating. The new cover has the three cont...
Gianna Lauren Shares the Origins of New Single “Closed Chapter”: Stream
In our new music feature Origins, we give artists the opportunity to explain the influences of their latest single. Today, Gianna Lauren tells us about the internet algorithms that haunt “Closed Chapter”. Next month, folk songwriter Gianna Lauren will release a new EP called Vanity Metrics. Recorded over the course of two weeks, the project explores feelings of love, loss, and sorrow. These deep reflections are tied to the effort’s title, which “refers to useless music industry data,” and the way in which worth is now often dictated by hollow online algorithms. The heart of the EP is probably best conveyed on today’s single, “Closed Chapter”. The new track grapples with the vicious cycle of internet metrics: “algorithms fucking up mainstream beauty standards, acknowledging...
Crowded House Release First New Single in 10 Years, Music Video Starring Mac DeMarco: Stream
Crowded House have released their first new music in a decade. It’s a single called “Whatever You Want” and it comes with a music video starring a very hallucinatory Mac DeMarco. The Australian rockers have been pretty quiet over the past decade, but perhaps that’s about to change with the release of “Whatever You Want”. It follows their 2010 album Intriguer, but it doesn’t sound out of shape. In fact, the single sounds as lively and composed as something Crowded House would have released in the early 2000s, not to mention lead singer Neil Finn sounds his best. In the music video, directed by Nina Ljeti, DeMarco wakes up from a drunken stupor on a couch, trophy in hand, and shakes off some troubling flashbacks. As he goes about getting ready for the day, he begins hallucinating conversatio...
Johanna Samuels Reveals New Single “High Tide for One”: Stream
Rising songwriter Johanna Samuels has joined the roster of Mama Bird Recording Co., a label known for like-minded folk acts such as Damien Jurado, Vetiver, and Haley Heynderickx. To coincide with the signing announcement, the Los Angeles native is sharing a new single dubbed “High Tide for One”. While 2019 offerings like “Rush of Wheels” and “Supposed to Say” were more of the moody folk variety à la boygenius or Sharon Van Etten, today’s track finds Samuels experimenting with more left-field styles. There’s hints of whimsy in her curling guitars, and following Samuels’ lilting melodies is like taking a leisurely drive across rolling hills. The lyrical focus of “High Tide for One” isn’t as lighthearted, though. According to Samuels, the song was penned in response to watching Dr. Blasey For...
Kevin Morby Unveils New Song “US Mail”: Stream
Kevin Morby has unveiled a tribute to mothers, daughters, and postal workers with the new song “US Mail”. In keeping with this theme, he’s also shared a P.O. Box where you can write him a letter. This loosie was originally intended for Morby’s October release Sundowner, which is perhaps the best album of his career. But after the studio went into lockdown, Morby decided to record the song remotely with producer Brad Cook. The lyrics take the form of an exchange of post cards between a mother in rehab and her lonely daughter. “Mama won’t you write me a letter?” he sings. “Stick it in the US Mail/ And mama I do hope you feel better/ For you, I will not fail.” In a statement, which he fittingly styled in the form of a letter, Morby explained his fascination with the postal service and ho...
Andrew Bird Shares COVID-19-Inspired Holiday Song “Christmas in April”: Stream
Hark! is the forthcoming holiday album from Andrew Bird, due out next week. An expansion of his 2019 EP of the same name, the project features covers of John Prine and John Cale, as well as original numbers like today’s newly unveiled “Christmas in April”. As you may have guessed by its title, this seasonal offering was inspired by and written during quarantine. On it, the indie troubadour wonders what the holidays will look like amidst the coronavirus pandemic. “When will we know if we can meet under the mistletoe?” Birds asks with a sobering melancholy in his voice, echoing our very same anxieties and fears as the global health crisis stretches into fall and winter. (Remember when we thought it would only last through spring?) Editors’ Picks In a statement, Bird further explained h...
Storefront Church Shares Chilling New Song “The Gift”: Stream
Los Angeles based singer-songwriter Lukas Frank, aka Storefront Church, makes the kind of rock music that blurs the line between dark hymn, brooding folk, and gothic/alt-rock. It’s no surprise, then, that he’s settled in with new label home Sargent House, known for acts like Chelsea Wolfe, Daughters, and Deafheaven. To celebrate the signing, Storefront Church is sharing his debut single for the label, “The Gift”. A chilling yet stunning piece, at times both minimal and flushed with lush strings and piano, it sounds like the ideal haunting piece to play in an abandoned church. It’s certainly starker than his past material, with hints of early Yellow House-era Grizzly Bear and James Blake in the mix, but something tells me this could be the calm before the storm — the melodic, ambient intro ...
Kevin Parker Is All of Tame Impala in “Why Won’t They Talk to Me?” Performance Video: Watch
Because of the size and sound of the project, it’s easy to think of Tame Impala as a full band. But really, all of that music stems from the “group’s” mastermind, Kevin Parker. The Australian artist reminds us of this in a new performance video for the Lonerism cut “Why Won’t They Talk to Me?” Filmed for the Adobe MAX creative conference by frequent collaborator Alex Haygarth, the clip finds Parker playing every instrument and even singing backup vocals — all three harmonies. Haygarth shot the thing in an empty floor space, with Parker setting up different instruments in different sections of the room. Using some nifty editing techniques, it ends up looking like the musician really cloned himself to fill out all of Tame Impala’s ranks. Check out the creative performance below. Editors̵...
Sigur Rós Announce Orchestral Album Odin’s Raven Magic, Share “Dvergmál”: Stream
Sigur Rós have announced the long-awaited release of their orchestral album Odin’s Raven Magic, a white whale for many diehard fans. To celebrate the news, the Icelandic band is sharing lead single “Dvergmál” ahead of the record’s December 4th release. Stream it below. First commissioned by the Reykjavik Arts Festival in 2002, Odin’s Raven Magic is an early piece of Sigur Rós’ catalog that was only ever performed a handful of times over their career. The collaboration was recorded with the band, Icelandic music legend Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, and respected fisherman and chanter Steindór Andersen. It features arrangement work by former Sigur Rós member Kjartan Sveinsson and amiina member Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir. Odin’s Raven Magic builds from Sigur Rós’ roots in orchestral and choral f...
The National’s Matt Berninger Performs “One More Second” on Colbert: Watch
Last week, The National’s Matt Berninger celebrated the release of his debut solo album, Serpentine Prison. To further promote the project, the indie rock frontman performed “essential” track “One More Second” on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday. Accompanied by his backing band, Berninger played from inside a warehouse-type space. Berninger’s signature bellow, pensive and somber, set the tone for the entire appearance, along with the moody blue lighting that blanketed him. Watch the video replay below. In a review of Serpentine Prison for Consequence of Sound, Jordan Blum wrote, “Serpentine Prison isn’t the drastic change of pace that many frontmen create when they do a project outside of their main band, but it does enough to justify i...
Bright Eyes Share Planned Parenthood Benefit Single “Miracle of Life” featuring Phoebe Bridgers: Stream
This weekend, Bright Eyes are set to take part in “Village of Love”, a livestream concert supporting Planned Parenthood. Ahead of Sunday’s virtual event, the band has shared a new, guest-heavy benefit single for the nonprofit called “Miracle of Life”. The song is a dark country mosey, courtesy of drumming from Queens of the Stone Age’s Jon Theodore and bass from Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea. Better Oblivion Community Center collaborator Phoebe Bridgers also contributes, her vocals echoing alongside Conor Oberst’s with the unholiness of the lyrics’ narrative. They sing of a couple who try to drive out of state for a legal abortion, only to find themselves forced into a dangerous situation. Of course, the immorality isn’t in their goal, but in the roadblocks in their way. “Lay down on th...
Hot Chip Recruit Jarvis Cocker for New Single “Straight to the Morning”: Stream
Friday night bar-hopping may not be a thing these days, but that doesn’t mean ya can’t have a festive evening indoors. Cue: Hot Chip and Jarvis Cocker, who’ve just joined forces on a new disco-inflected song called “Straight to the Morning”. As its name implies, the track is guaranteed to spark an all-night living room dance party. According to a statement, the collaborative single was originally written with disco-pop princess Dua Lipa in mind. However, after crossing paths while DJing at Paris club Les Bains-Douches, Hot Chip and the Pulp frontman decided to make it all their own. “‘Straight To The Morning’ is a disco anthem about going out, for a time when people really can’t, and it features our friend Jarvis Cocker urging us to go ‘straight through until the break of dawn,’” Hot...
