Last month, Gorillaz unveiled the audio portion of the first season of their audiovisual project, Song Machine. But some visuals are still coming down the pipeline, and that includes the newly-released music video for “The Valley of the Pagans” featuring Beck. Gorillaz love to combine live-action and animated footage, but “The Valley of the Pagans” is more animated than most. It shows 2D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel cruising around a CGI Los Angeles while driving a low-rider called a Pagan. The song blasts out of the speakers, and when it comes time for Beck to chime in, he appears on something called a Fruit phone. Honestly, it looks like it was recorded over FaceTime in about the time it takes to listen to the song, but the device (plot and cellular) works; th...
Lil Durk has dropped his new song “Stay Down” featuring a hook from 6LACK and a guest verse from Young Thug. This is the second single from Durk’s forthcoming album The Voice. Produced by Metro Boomin and DY Krazy, “Stay Down” is all about priorities. Specifically, Durkio prioritizes sex and lots of money. With the aid of auto-tune, he raps “Only five star shit, ain’t no thots with us/ Chanel round shades like binoculars/ Diamond nose ring, they think Pac with us.” He’s got punchlines about The Proud Family (“I gave you every Penny like Oscar”), and shows off some non-English vocabulary to prove that women of other cultures and faiths are more than welcome in his bed. But the Chicago native’s line about going “from Harold’s Chicken to eating lobster,” is unlikely to win him many ...
We’re officially less than a month away from Smashing Pumpkins’ new double album, CYR. Following the release of “Anno Satana” and “Birch Grove” a few weeks ago, the Billy Corgan-led outfit is now sharing another pair of teaser songs in “Wyttch” and “Ramona”. “Wyttch” finds the Pumpkins revisiting some of their more ominous musical territories, filled with crunchy and searing guitars. The track comes just in time for the spooky Halloween weekend. The alt-rockers take a mellower approach on “Ramona”, however. Corgan here drops his snarl in favor of a softer vocal delivery, and a coating of ’80s synths give the song a light, glassy sheen. Stream both new singles below. “Ramona” also comes with a Linda Strawberry-directed music video that stars founding Pumpkins members Corgan, James Iha,...
Freddie Gibbs, Big Sean, and Hit-Boy have teamed up to release a celebratory new single called “4 Thangs”. The collaboration comes with a mood-worthy music video in which all three hip-hop stars can be seen decked out in Lakers jerseys celebrating the team’s recent NBA championship. It’s hard not to feel a secondhand high as you them hugging golden trophies, slipping into commemorative t-shirts, and spraying champagne in the air. Watch the clip below. Editors’ Picks Earlier this year, Gibbs dropped his Alchemist-produced album Alfredo, which has since gone on to become his highest-charting record to date and one of the best albums of the year. As for the other two, Big Sean released his latest full-length Detroit 2 and Hit-Boy produced the entirety of Nas’ new record a...
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 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...
Indie pop artist Jordana will cap off 2020 with a new album called Something to Say to You. The sophomore effort is comprised of two EPs, this past summer’s Something to Say and To You, which is out the same day as the complete full-length. Following last month’s single “Divine”, the musician born Jordana Nye is now previewing the LP with “I Guess This is Life”. Similar to its predecessor, today’s track sees Jordana formulating a more polished and punctuated pop sound, thanks in part to her producer Jeffrey Melvin, better known under his EDM moniker MELVV. Subject-wise, Jordana takes a step back to really evaluate her life in a very present and mindful type of way. The new song is “about the motions of everyday life and how experiences, no matter big or small, make up the person ...
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 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...