Music Videos
100 gecs Throw a Backyard Rave on New “stupid horse” Remix: Stream
Earlier this month saw 100 gecs member Dylan Brady contribute extensively to how i’m feeling now, the quarantine album from Charli XCX. Now, 100 gecs proper are back with new material of their own: a remix of “stupid horse” featuring UK pop singer GFOTY and producer Count Baldor. Compared to the original version found on last year’s acclaimed 1000 gecs debut, today’s rework capitalizes further on the duo’s manic, off-the-wall brand of experimental, futurist pop. Guitar parts have been swapped out for shredder-like synths and the whole thing feels like a Blink-182 and Sleigh Bells mashup on the verge of implosion. Check out the remix below via an official video directed and edited by Weston Allen. As to be expected from 100 gecs’ Brady and Laura Les, it’s a bonkers watch filled wi...
Faith No More’s Roddy Bottum Debuts Single “Daddy” from His Man on Man Project: Stream
Faith No More keyboardist/guitarist Roddy Bottum and his boyfriend, Joey Holman, have launched a new project called Man on Man, and they’ve just debuted their first single, “Daddy’”. Bottum and Holman describe the project as “gay lovers making gay music” on their Instagram page, and appear in tighty-whities in both the promotional photos and the music video for “Daddy”. Bottum told Rolling Stone, “There’s enough representation in the gay community of young, hairless pretty men. It feels good to represent a faction of our culture that isn’t squeaky and manicured.” He added, “Based on the ageist and homophobic responses posted in the comments section of a straight publication that ran our photo, I’m happy to be those faces on the queer map.” As for the song itself, the music leans more...
Tove Lo Releases Expanded Edition of Sunshine Kitty, Shares New Song “sadder badder cooler”: Stream
Tove Lo has released a new expanded version of her latest album, Sunshine Kitty. Dubbed the Paw Prints Edition, the special release adds eight songs to the tracklist, including the newly revealed single “sadder badder cooler”. Much of the additional material on Sunshine Kitty (Paw Prints Edition) is made up of previously released tracks, including the FINNEAS-produced “Bikini Porn” and “Passion and Pain Taste the Same When I’m Weak”, as well as Tove Lo’s cover of Swedish artist Veronica Maggio’s “I’m Coming”. Also present are a pair of Live at Vevo recordings (“Sweettalk My Heart” and “Mistaken”), Heavy Baile’s remix of “Are U Gonna Tell her”, and the Team Salut remix of “Sweettalk My Heart”. As for the new track, “sadder badder cooler” is an empowering electropop jam that truly lives up t...
Owen Pallett Releases Surprise New Album Island: Stream
Owen Pallett has returned with a surprise album titled Island. Check it out below via Bandcamp, in addition to a new video for “A Bloody Morning”. Island marks the Canadian composer’s first full-length since In Conflict, a stellar release from 2014. It consists of 13 almost entirely acoustic songs, many of which were initially written on an old-fashioned acoustic guitar. According to a statement, the new album also boasts Pallett’s “grandest ensemble” yet in the London Contemporary Orchestra, whose arrangements were recorded at the famed Abbey Road Studios. In addition to revealing the self-produced LP, the Arcade Fire associate has released a clip for “A Bloody Morning”, conceived and directed completely during the pandemic. Helmed by director Vincent René-Lortie, who filmed foo...
Meskerem Mees Is Not Your Average “Joe” on Her Debut Single: Stream
You may not know Belgium-based singer-songwriter Meskerem Mees just yet, but she’s ready to charm you with a formal first impression. At least that’s the plan for her debut single, “Joe”, which she’s released today along with an accompanying music video. Mees is a 20-year-old indie folk artist with Ethiopian roots. Armed with an acoustic guitar and a gentle, scratchy voice, she whisks up music akin to Joni Mitchell, Laura Marling, and Jade Bird in a modest but nurturing style. After stealing the spotlight at local live shows in Europe, she’s finally begun making moves to formally record and release her music. That’s where “Joe” comes in. With a soothing, strolling guitar melody, Mees tells the story of a wandering man who won the protagonist over when she was just a teenager. The narrative...
DevilDriver Announce New Double Album, Unleash Single “Keep Away From Me”: Stream
DevilDriver have announced the release of a new album, Dealing With Demons I, due out this fall. The LP will be the first of a two-part double album, with the second one to follow at a later date. In advance of the release, the band has unveiled the single, “Keep Away From Me”. Aptly titled for the current times, “Keep Away from Me” has an anthemic quality as people social distance during the coronavirus pandemic. Serving as the album opener, the song touts a groove-laden, mathematic technicality and a passionate vocal delivery from frontman Dez Fafara. The video is rooted in the pandemic as well, featuring news footage with phrases like “censoring freedoms of speech” and “truth missing” flashing across the screen, a la The X-Files intro sequence. It’s an ominous way to begin the doub...
Disclosure Announce New Album ENERGY, Featuring slowthai, Kehlani, Common, and More
Disclosure returned in February with an EP called Ecstasy. Now, the electronic music duo is prepping a proper full-length album for August. It’s dubbed ENERGY and sees the Lawrence brothers collaborating with rappers for the very first time in their decade-long career. ENERGY follows up on 2015’s Caracal and serves as the group’s third LP overall. It boasts guest contributions from hip-hop acts like slowthai, Common, Mick Jenkins, Aminé, and Channel Tres. Also slated to make cameos are Kelis, Syd of The Internet, Fatoumata Diawara, and Blick Bassy. According to a statement, recording sessions for the new album yielded upwards of 200 (!) potential tracks, which Disclosure eventually whittled down to 11. “The thing that decided which songs made it and which songs didn’t was that on...
Sharon Van Etten and Josh Homme Share Video for “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding”: Watch
Sharon Van Etten and Josh Homme in video for “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” Sharon Van Etten and Josh Homme’s cover of “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” wasn’t intentionally made for the quarantine era. “Recording this song had nothing to do with what we’d be going through… until we started going through it,” explains Homme in a statement. But while the track itself wasn’t intended to be an anthem of isolated times, its new music video fully embraces the state of the world. Directed by Matthew Daniel Siskin, the clip captures Van Etten and Homme at home with their families. The former’s kid plays around with an empty inflatable swimming pool while she sips a glass of wine and sings karaoke in front of a projection of SMPTE color bars. Homme, m...
Sia Shares New Song “Together” from Upcoming Directorial Debut: Stream
Sia’s last proper album, This is Acting, hit shelves more than four years ago. The pop superstar has been quite busy since then, though — and not just with her music. Not only is she working on the soundtrack to a movie she herself directed, she has also expanded her own family by adopting two 18-year-old boys. Marking Sia’s feature directorial debut, the forthcoming film is called Music. Co-written by Sia and children’s author Dallas Clayton, it’s based on a short story the singer penned in 2007. The story follows the life of an autistic teenager (Maddie Ziegler) who is cared for by her drug-dealing half-sister (Kate Hudson). If you’ll recall, actor and dancer Ziegler often appears in Sia’s music videos, including the now-classic clip for “Chandelier”, one of the best hits of the 201...
Julianna Barwick Announces New Album Healing Is a Miracle, Shares “Inspirit”: Stream
Julianna Barwick has announced a new album called Healing Is a Miracle just in time to help soothe our global anxiety. It’s her first record in four years and is due out on July 10th via Ninja Tune. To celebrate, she’s shared the lead single, “Inspirit”, along with a scenic music video that captures the mood. Healing Is a Miracle was built on improvisation, reflection, and collaboration. In particular, the latter takes shape in the form of some very notable guest features by Jónsi of Sigur Rós, Nosaj Thing, and Mary Lattimore. While this may appear like a departure from her past work, the press release assures that Healing Is a Miracle is a natural evolution from her previous albums, including 2016’s Will and 2013’s Nepenthe. Barwick began drafting ideas for Healing Is a Miracle last sprin...
Rina Sawayama has a Bloody Breakdown in New “Bad Friend” Video: Watch
Rina Sawayama, our April Artist of the Month, is back with a new music video for “Bad Friend”. It comes in support of SAWAYAMA, her recently released debut album of “brilliant” and “lyrically complex, refined pop.” Directed by Ali Kurr, the film noir-style clip sees Sawayama play the role of a man drinking down his breakup sorrows at a bar. Though initially reserved and private in nature, after a few too many shots, he completely lashes out and attacks his drinking companion. For Sawayama, this was the first time doing her own stunts and working with prosthetic makeup. Editors’ Picks In a statement, the Japan-born, UK-based pop artist talked about the purposefully shocking tone of the visual, “The song is about the heartbreak of losing a friendship and realizing that you were the cau...
Arca Announces New Album KiCk i, Featuring Björk, Rosalía, and More
Arca has formally announced her new album, KiCk i. The follow-up to 2017’s self-titled LP is due out June 26th via XL Recordings. The forthcoming 12-track effort sees experimental producer Alejandra Ghersi teaming up with prominent guests Björk and Rosalía, as well as SOPHIE and Shygirl. This fourth full-length continues a long-running collaborative streak for Arca and Björk; Arca previously contributed heavily to the Iceland icon’s albums Vulnicura (2015) and Utopia (2017). KiCk i represents a new and transformative chapter for Arca, who now identifies as a Latinx trans woman comprised of more than one “self-state.” “I’m asking for recognition that we have multiple selves without denying that there’s a singular unit,” she told Paper recently, “I want to be seen as an e...
