New Album Announcement
Hum Surprise Release New Album Inlet, First LP in 22 Years: Stream
Alternative rock band Hum have returned with the surprise release of their fifth studio album, Inlet — their first new music in 22 years. The long-awaited follow-up to 1998’s Downward Is Heavenward comes as a delight to fans who’ve been wondering whether Hum would ever release new material following their ’90s heyday. The band rose to prominence with its 1995 major label debut, You’d Prefer an Astronaut, and the iconic space-faring single “Stars”. The track garnered considerable MTV and FM airplay, to the point where Hum are sometimes erroneously labeled a “one hit wonder.” Downward Is Heavenward would be equally beloved by fans, despite falling short of Astronaut‘s commercial success. Hum would go on hiatus in 2001, infrequently reuniting for shows and small tours, sparking rumors of...
Phil Elverum Announces The First Microphones Album in 17 Years, Microphones in 2020
Phil Elverum has reactivated The Microphones for the project’s first album in 17 years, Microphones in 2020. The effort — comprising a single, 40-minute-long song — is due out August 7th via the musician’s own P.W. Elverum & Sun. The Microphones’ last release was 2003’s Mount Eerie, a name which Elverum began performing under not long after. In a press release, Elverum said that regardless of the name, his work has always been about “exploring autobiographically in sound and words with occasional loose participation from friends.” Last year, he delivered a rare performance as The Microphones for “no big reason.” However, the attention and interest garnered by that show at the small “What the Heck?” event in Anacortes, Washington inspired him to “step back into ...
Metallica’s Lars Ulrich Surprises Nurse on Kimmel, Announces S&M2 Box Set
Throughout the pandemic, Jimmy Kimmel has been paying tribute to healthcare workers on his late-night talk show by having celebrities surprise them during their video chat sessions. Last night, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich surprised pediatric nurse Tracey Bednar, and also spilled the beans on a new box set capturing last year’s “S&M2” performances with the San Francisco Symphony. When Kimmel introduced Bednar, who is a pediatric ICU nurse in Long Island, New York, the two initially discussed the effects of COVID-19 on children. Kimmel asked her what she does to relax while working such a stressful job, and Bednar responded, “I actually play golf, I love yoga, and the best thing I do is, on my way home from work, when it’s my own private time, I play my radio really, really loud.” The ...
Toots and the Maytals Announce Got to Be Tough, Share Title Track: Stream
Reggae pioneers Toots and the Maytals have announced their first album of original music in ten years, Got to Be Tough. In anticipation of the August 28th release date, the legendary group has also shared the title track. Frederick “Toots” Hibbert formed the first iteration of the Maytals in 1962. A mainstay of Jamaica’s ska and rocksteady scenes, Toots expanded the world’s musical vocabulary with his first global hit, 1968’s “Do the Reggay”. Over the course of the band’s nearly six-decade career, the Maytals have gone through a number of lineups and explored a wide variety of genres, with the one constant being Toot’s smoky, expressive vocals. The new single “Got to Be Tough” has all of the classic reggae benchmarks, including offbeat rhythms and urgent, staccato chords. It also cont...
All Them Witches Announce New Album, Premiere New Song “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”: Stream
All Them Witches are offering up a nice respite from all the chaos going on in the world. The Nashville rockers have announced the forthcoming release of a new album, Nothing as the Ideal. Moreover, the band is teaming up with Heavy Consequence to share a taste of what’s to come with opening track “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”. Nothing as the Ideal will arrive on September 4th via via New West Records. The album was recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles famously laid down most of their iconic catalog. Regarding the song “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”, guitarist and songwriter Ben McLeod tells us, “We very specifically wanted to lead with this track. I think it’s the most well-rounded track on the record; it’s constantly changing, it has a lot of different vibes to it.” He giv...
Oh Sees’ John Dwyer, TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone Form Bent Arcana, Share “The Gate”: Stream
Because spearheading the ever-prolific Oh Sees and releasing solo music as Damaged Bug isn’t enough, John Dwyer has gone and put together a new supergroup. Dubbed Bent Arcana, the improvisational jazz fusion band’s self-titled debut is out August 21st via Castle Face. Today, they’ve shard the lead single “The Gate”. In addition to Dwyer, Oh Sees affiliates Tom Dolas (keys) and Brad Caulkins (saxophone) also perform with the group. Other members include TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone (modular synthesizer), Thurston Moore and Charles Gayle associate Ryan Sawyer (drums and vocals), Prettiest Eyes’ Marcos Rodriguez (guitar), Feels’ Laena “Geronimo” Myers-Ionita (violin), Joce Soubiran (tenor sax), and Flying Lotus and Nick Waterhouse associate Andres Renteria (percussion). Speaking of the band i...
Genevieve Artadi Announces New Album Dizzy Strange Summer, Shares “Living Like I Know I’m Gonna Die”: Stream
One half of the jazz-funk project Knower, Genevieve Artadi dropped her solo debut, genevieve lalala, back in 2015. Five years later, she’s announced her sophomore album under her own name, the serendipitously named Dizzy Strange Summer. Due out July 17th via Brainfeeder, the 16-track LP is being previewed today with the lead single, “Living Like I Know I’m Gonna Die”. Though not what’s become known as a “quarantine album,” Dizzy Strange Summer does reflect the world’s current state in both its title and themes. The collection’s 16 songs were written while Artadi was experiencing a personal upheaval, not unlike many of us are going through now. “I was pretty lost,” she said in a press release. “But enjoying feeling lost.” Helping the psychedelic jazz artist find her way on the LP were ...
Nicolas Jaar Announces New Album Telas, Shares “Telahora”: Stream
Electronic composer Nicolas Jaar isn’t letting 2020 get him down. Already this year he’s released his latest album, Cenizas; dropped an effort under his Against All Logic moniker, 2017-2019; and shared a bunch of unreleased A.A.L. music during a livestream mix. Now, Jaar has announced another new LP, Telas, and debuted not only the first song, “Telahora”, but an additional non-album track called “All One”. Jaar detailed Telas, which means “Veils,” both on his website and during a takeover of Palestine-based internet radio station Radio Al Hara. Due out July 17th on Other People/Mama Records, the album is, at its core, an hour-long piece of music broken into four parts: “Telahora”, “Telencima”, “Telahumo”, and “Telallás”. Joining Jaar in the music making are cellist...
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...
Stabbing Westward Announce New Album Wasteland, First Full-Length Since 2001
Stabbing Westward have inked a new record deal and will release a new album titled Wasteland, the industrial rock act’s first full-length LP in nearly 20 years. The news follows the early 2020 release of the band’s comeback EP, Dead & Gone. So far, there’s no release date or tracklist, but Stabbing Westward plan to unveil the album and at least one single in 2020. They’ve signed a recording deal with COP International, and have welcomed back producer John Fryer (Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode), who helmed Stabbing Westward’s early albums Ungod and Wither Blister Burn & Peel. “It’s grand to be working with Stabbing Westward again,” said Fryer in a press release. “The first two albums we made together were some of my finest work as a producer.” Stabbing Westward frontman Christopher H...
The Residents Announce New Album, Share “Die! Die! Die!” with Black Francis: Stream
The veteran art-rock collective The Residents have announced a new double-disc album called METAL, MEAT & BONE: The Songs of Dyin’ Dog. The first single, “Die! Die! Die!”, comes with a Trump and coronavirus-inspired music video, along with unhinged vocals from Black Francis of Pixies. METAL, MEAT & BONE arrives July 10th, and if you’re wondering, “Who’s this Dyin’ Dog?”, The Residents have provided a typically cracked answer. According to a statement, Dyin’ Dog was a bluesman from the 1970s born with the name Alvin Snow. Before his mysterious disappearance on January 13th, 1976, Dyin’ Dog apparently recorded a ten-song demo. As the story goes, The Residents were fortunate enough to rediscover this long-lost masterpiece, and have now used it as the basis for METAL, ME...
Dee Snider Announces Live Release, Unveils New Song “Prove Me Wrong”: Stream
Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider will release a new live album and home video, For the Love of Metal Live, on July 31st. The package also includes one studio recording, “Prove Me Wrong”, which Snider is sharing ahead of the album’s release. The track is a fun sing-along stomper that is fairly thrashy for Snider. Like with Twisted Sister’s classics “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock”, Snider takes a stance against his naysayers and uses the chorus to emphasize his point. “‘Prove Me Wrong’ are words that I’ve thought in my head since the day I began rocking,” Snider reflected in a press release. “I had a monster chip on my shoulder and dared the world to knock it off… nobody ever could. At this point in my career I thought I’d let everybody in on what has kept be going all these man...
