New Music Releases
Maxo Kream Details New Album WEIGHT OF THE WORLD, Shares “GREENER KNOTS”: Stream
Maxo Kream has shared the release date and artwork for his new album WEIGHT OF THE WORLD. The follow-up to 2019’s Brandon Banks drops Monday, October 18th, and to herald its arrival, the Houston rapper has shared the new song “GREENER KNOTS.” This latest single finds MK reflecting on how a hard-knock upbringing can influence a person’s worldview. “Okay, I seen a lot,” he begins, using a rapid fire flow with long phrases that end with a triple-rhyme. “Runnin’ in and out of granny house, uncle bummin’ on the couch, first time I seen a rock/ Hit it right there in the chair, watchin’ WWF, first time he seen The Rock.” He returns to the rhythmic idea on the hook, spitting, “Okay, I seen a lot/ Came from the slums, had to get it out the mud, no luck, to me that mean...
Courtney Barnett Drops Harriet the Spy Theme Song “Smile Real Nice”: Stream
I spy with my little eye…a new Courtney Barnett single! Today, the indie rock singer unveiled “Smile Real Nice,” the theme song for Apple TV+’s new animated adaptation of Harriet the Spy. On the defiant track, Barnett croons, “I don’t wanna be/ You don’t wanna be/ We don’t wanna be/ Told what to do/ No, I won’t cut my hair/ And I’ll wear whatever I like/ It when I get to be myself” over raucous drums and dueling electric guitars. As mentioned, “Smile Real Nice” serves as the opening theme for Harriet the Spy, which is set to premiere on Apple’s streaming service on November 19th. An illustrated update on the 1964 children’s novel by Louise Fitzhugh, the series stars Beanie Feldstein as the voice of the titular spy alongside Jane Lynch as Ole Golly and Lacey Chabert as Marion Hawthorne.&nbs...
Speedy Ortiz Announces New Compilation The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever
Sadie Dupuis has spent the last decade writing and recording playful indie rock as Speedy Ortiz. Now, the musician is commemorating her 10th year under the moniker with a 2xLP compilation called The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever, featuring some of the band’s earliest work. The expansive reissue is due out November 12th via Carpark, and as a preview, Dupuis has also shared the new self-directed video for “Cutco.” The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever will include the contents of 2011’s Cop Kicker EP and The Death of Speedy Ortiz LP, all now remastered by Dupuis, who’s since become a go-to producer in her own right. You’ll also get to enjoy a handful of previously unreleased tracks, reflective liner notes written by Dupuis, and a collection of photos f...
Sunflower Bean Share New Single “Baby Don’t Cry,” Announce US Tour Dates
Following their 2018 breakthrough album Twentytwo in Blue, Sunflower Bean are gearing up for a comeback. Today, the New York City trio — and former Artist of the Month — have returned with “Baby Don’t Cry.” Additionally, Sunflower Bean have unveiled a handful of tour dates beginning in December and going into 2022. “Baby Don’t Cry” aims to uplift, though Sunflower Bean deliver their sentiments with the knowledge that it can be hard to fight back tears: “TV makes me so mad/ NPR is always telling me something bad,” vocalist Julia Cumming sings over a sauntering instrumental that melds the band’s grungy roots with a ’60s girl group flair. “So many things in our lives are disposable,” the band writes in a statement. “Content and news is consumed and discarded leaving us unfulfilled. ‘Baby Don’...
Michael Kiwanuka Returns with New Single “Beautiful Life”: Stream
Michael Kiwanuka is back with “Beautiful Life,” his first new music in two years. Stream the track below. Serving as the title music for the new Netflix documentary Convergence: Courage in a Crisis, “Beautiful Life” was recorded in London with producer St Francis Hotel. Kiwanuka’s rich voice is enough to shake listeners out of their doldrums as he belts lyrics like, “I was caught in a nightmare/ Now we’re breathing the same air/ I live my life in a daydream/ All the colors are so clean.” “In this song I wanted to focus on the feeling that there’s a real strength in the human spirit when you try to look for beauty even in difficult situations,” explained the Mercury Prize winner in a statement. “Of course, in some situations that becomes more and more difficult. But I just wanted to ponder ...
Shamir Unveils His “Gay Agenda” on New Industrial Single: Stream
Leave it to Shamir to flip a fear-mongering term into a positive slice of art-pop. On his new single, “Gay Agenda” the Philadelphia-based musician leans into distortion for an anthem about taking pride in who you are and the way you live your life. Stream it below. Recorded with producer Hollow Comet of Strange Ranger, “Gay Agenda” sees Shamir embracing a new-to-him sound that’s more expansive and brooding than anything else he’s released prior. He leans into industrial synths, clanging drum machines, and sobering guitar for the track while letting his unmistakable voice scale to new heights. Truth be told, it feels more like an Arca deep cut than anything off his self-titled record, which was one of the best albums of 2020 — yet it still sounds totally like Shamir. In a press release, Sha...
Hamilton Leithauser and Kevin Morby Share New Song “Virginia Beach”: Stream
Hamilton Leithauser and Kevin Morby have joined forces for a new collaborative single called “Virginia Beach.” Stream it alongside a lyric video below. Unsurprisingly, “Virginia Beach” combines the best of both artists and will win over longtime fans and recent listeners alike. After opening with a finger-picked guitar part, it makes way for Leithauser and Morby trading verses and some blustery, stripped-down percussion. With equal parts acoustic guitar charm and dusty country flair, “Virginia Beach” is the type of song you could imagine both soundtracking a feel-good movie about discovering yourself on a road trip and playing over the speakers at a local dive bar. In a press release, Hamilton explained he wanted to create a modern take on a “dark country song” that utilized a dance groove...
Hamilton Leithauser and Kevin Morby Share New Song “Virginia Beach”: Stream
Hamilton Leithauser and Kevin Morby have joined forces for a new collaborative single called “Virginia Beach.” Stream it alongside a lyric video below. Unsurprisingly, “Virginia Beach” combines the best of both artists and will win over longtime fans and recent listeners alike. After opening with a finger-picked guitar part, it makes way for Leithauser and Morby trading verses and some blustery, stripped-down percussion. With equal parts acoustic guitar charm and dusty country flair, “Virginia Beach” is the type of song you could imagine both soundtracking a feel-good movie about discovering yourself on a road trip and playing over the speakers at a local dive bar. In a press release, Hamilton explained he wanted to create a modern take on a “dark country song” that utilized a dance groove...
Jeff Tweedy Shares “C’mon America” and “UR-60 Unsent” for Sub Pop Singles Club: Stream
Jeff Tweedy has shared a pair of solo tracks for Sub Pop Singles Club. “C’mon America” and “UR-60 Unsent” make up the latest 7-inch released from the subscription-only series. “C’mon America,” the A-side, is described in a press release as from an “unreleased group of songs with mostly sci-fi lyrics,” while “UR-60 Unsent,” the B-side, is billed as “a pitiful tale of an unsent lovesick mixtape, taken from a separate batch of unreleased songs with mostly pitiful lyrics.” On the twangy and sarcastic “C’mon America,” Tweedy asks, “what you gonna do now that the world is turned against you”? In contrast, “UR-60 Unsent” is a melancholy ballad full of heartsick lyrics about rejection. Stream both tracks below. Advertisement Related Video Also included in today’s drop is TV Priest’s “All Thing,” t...
Bon Iver Share Previously Unreleased Versions of “Beth/Rest” and “Babys”: Stream
Bon Iver will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their self-titled sophomore album with a deluxe reissue of the Grammy-winning LP. The bonus material is pulled from Justin Vernon and Sean Carey’s 2011 4AD/Jagjaguwar Sessions at AIR Studios, and the band has today shared two of those tracks: “Beth/Rest” and “Babys.” The AIR Studios sessions saw the Bon Iver members stripping back the layered sounds of Bon Iver, Bon Iver and restructuring them for piano. Thus, that glorious ’80s melodrama of the album version of “Beth/Rest” becomes a more grounded and cooler drama. Meanwhile, “Babys,” a cut from Bon Iver’s 2009 Blood Bank EP, is already based on keys; here, however, Vernon and Carey slow the tempo down a tick, allowing the song’s emotionality to settle in. Take a listen to both trac...
James Blake Reunites with slowthai for “Funeral” Remix: Stream
James Blake has recruited slowthai for a remix of “Funeral,” a track from Blake’s newly released fifth studio album, Friends That Break Your Heart. In this new version, Blake’s second verse is substituted with a restrained feature from the UK rapper. “I never been one for horror movies,” slowthai spits. “I fall asleep under your tongue, I hope you choose me/ The shadow silhouetting the sun, I’m glued to your feet/ I live in the shadows of, mmm, under the loose leaves.” Otherwise, the remix remains largely unchanged from the original. To accompany the reworked track, Blake shared a black-and-white music video capturing the somber tone of “Funeral.” Watch the full clip below ahead of the duo’s debut performance of the song on the episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon airing on Mo...
Tank and the Bangas Tap Big Freedia for New Single “Big”: Stream
Tank and the Bangas have returned with their newest single “Big” featuring fellow NOLA native Big Freedia. Stream the song below. “Big ass, big mouth, big bands, big house/ Everything I do is big/ Chillin’ at Big Freedia house/ All I drop is big sh-t/ Toilet bowls need cleaning out/ I pull up in that black thing/ I do a set, I roll out,” raps frontwoman Tarriona “Tank” Ball over Big Freedia’s wailing descant. Meanwhile, the track’s accompanying music video is a colorful science experiment gone wild, in which a lab coat-adorned Big Freedia convinces Tank to drink up a potion she’s concocted. Naturally, dancing, twerking, and all kinds of wild revelry ensue. Advertisement Related Video Says drummer Joshua Johnson of the collab: “This song boasts big energy from two talented New Orleans artis...
