New Music Releases
Mining Metal: Alchemy of Flesh, Diskord, Filth Is Eternal, Hooded Menace, Oxygen Destroyer, Qrixkuor, Sculptured, Wormwitch
Mining Metal is a monthly column from Heavy Consequence writers Joseph Schafer and Langdon Hickman. The focus is on noteworthy new music emerging from the non-mainstream metal scene, highlighting releases from small and independent labels — or even releases from unsigned acts. I’d hoped to be done with obituaries for a while after last month’s one-two punch of Metal Church’s Mike Howe and Slipknot’s Joey Jordison. No such luck. As I’m writing this, the metal world received news that Eric Wagner, vocalist of The Skull and former singer for Trouble had passed away from complications related to COVID-19. He was 62 years old. Advertisement Related Video Wagner had a singular voice and lyrical approach. He used his warbling upper register without apology, channeling the rough-around-the edges t...
Sleigh Bells Share New Song “Justine Go Genesis”: Stream
Sleigh Bells have shared the frenzied and lively “Justine Go Genesis,” the latest single off their upcoming album, Texis, due out September 10th. Watch the music video below. Driven by a muscular guitar riff and fast-paced drums, “Justine Go Genesis” features a powerhouse performance by Sleigh Bells singer Alexis Krauss. “I’m a cavity comedy girl/ The best night of your life,” she pronounces. “I really wanna blow your mind/ But I haven’t got the time.” The noise pop duo started working on the song back in 2018, when producer/guitarist Derek Miller first sent Krauss an early demo. She wrote the catchy melody within a few hours of receiving the track, resulting in a sound mixing elements of Metallica, Spice Girls, and ‘90s drum and bass. Advertisement Related Video Directed by Alex Ross Perr...
Patti Smith Surprise Releases New EP Live at Electric Lady: Stream
After nearly a decade, Patti Smith is finally putting out recorded music again. The legendary musician has just surprise released a new live EP called Live at Electric Lady. Stream it below exclusively through Spotify. Live at Electric Lady is Smith’s first piece of recorded music since putting out her 11th studio album Banga in 2012. The EP spans seven tracks in total, including her original classics like “Birdland,” “Ghost Dance,” and “Broken Flag” as well as covers of Bob Dylan’s “One Too Many Mornings” and Stevie Wonder’s “Blame It on the Sun.” “We are very proud to be part of Spotify’s Live at Electric Lady series, our favorite recording studio,” said Smith in a statement. “It was a unique challenge and offered us an exciting and innovative platform. We are grateful to Spoti...
Men Without Hats Reinvent “Safety Dance” with New Single “No Friends of Mine”: Stream
Nearly four decades after unleashing “Safety Dance” on the world, Men Without Hats are writing the next chapter of the story with their new single “No Friends of Mine.” Take a listen below. Built around hop-scotching synths, booming percussion, and an all-too-familiar melody line on flute, the track slows the 1982 new wave classic down into a rather soothing meditation while replicating its original lyrics. “We can dance if we want to/ We can leave your friends behind/ ‘Cause your friends don’t dance/ And if they don’t dance/ Well, they’re no friends of mine,” Ivan Doroschuk croons before a bombastic beat crashes in on the song’s chorus. “After the filming of the music video for ‘Safety Dance,’ the jester and the crazy blonde girl settled down in West Kington. He became the mayor of the to...
Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe (Mark Lanegan & Joe Cardamone) Announce Debut Album, Share “No Justice”: Stream
Mark Lanegan and The Icarus Line‘s Joe Cardamone have announced the eponymous debut album for their recording project Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe. They’ve also shared the song “No Justice” ahead of the LP’s October 15th release date. The song presents a pulsing electronic sound paired with Lanegan’s imitably deep vocal delivery. Minimal dancefloor beats and synthesizers percolate beneath the grunge veteran’s mix of spoken word and singing. Dark Mark lives up to his moniker during the chorus: “Ain’t no justice here, ain’t no justice there / Nobody sees, nobody cares.” According to the album’s press announcement, the project was born out of Lanegan and Cardamone’s mutual respect for one another as artists. They also needed a creative outlet where they could go outside their typical genres and...
The Fiery Furnaces Announce First Tour Dates in a Decade
The Fiery Furnaces are hitting the road. Today, the reunited indie rock duo announced they’re heading out on a three-date mini tour across the US this fall, which mark their first shows together in a decade. Following their previously-announced appearance next month at the Pitchfork Music Festival, the band will kick off the trio of dates on November 13th at Brooklyn Steel in New York City, followed by shows in Chicago on the 15th and Los Angeles on the 17th. For all three dates, Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger be joined by special guest Fred Armisen. “We’re very excited to be playing again, to get a chance to do new things with old stuff, or old things with new people,” the band said in a statement. “And we’re very happy to have Fred opening the shows. We’ll be six on stage, joined by Bri...
Helado Negro Shares New Single “Outside the Outside”: Stream
Roberto Lange, the electronic musician better known as Helado Negro, has shared the new single “Outside the Outside.” The second preview from his forthcoming album Far In arrives with an accompanying music video composed of video footage of Lange’s family house parties in the 1980s. “Outside the Outside” is a hushed dance number that calls to mind the alienation Lange felt growing up, both as the child of immigrants and as one of the sole musicians in his family. “I found space through music and outsiders finding each other,” he said in a press release. “This is a song about intimate partnerships and long-loving friendships. To be loyal freaks and an outsider amongst outsiders.” The video for “Outside the Outside” mirrors that desire for belonging: “My family came to this country as outsid...
Marissa Nadler Announces New Album The Path of the Clouds, Shares “Bessie, Did You Make It?”: Stream
Marissa Nadler is gearing up to release her ninth studio album. The Path of the Clouds, the forthcoming LP from the Boston singer-songwriter, arrives October 29th via Sacred Bones and Bella Union. As a preview of what’s to come, Nadler has shared the album’s opening track, “Bessie, Did You Make It?,” along with the song’s pensive music video. Nadler wrote the bulk of The Path of the Clouds in quarantine, during which she found an odd solace in the documentary series Unsolved Mysteries. The show’s frequent topics of cold cases and paranormal wonders pushed Nadler to go for a similarly eerie approach with The Path of the Clouds, which sees her grow in her musical exploration. Here, reality and the metaphysical feel less distinct from each other, driven by simultaneous anxiety and curiosity a...
Explosions in the Sky Announce New Album Big Bend, Share “Climbing Bears”: Stream
Explosions in the Sky ascended to indie rock stardom in the 2000s thanks to a beloved piece of Texas pop culture, Friday Night Lights; now, the Austin-based band are even further cementing themselves into Lone Star State canon with their latest project. Explosions in the Sky are readying the release of Big Bend (An Original Soundtrack for Public Television), a standalone album that builds off their score for the recent PBS documentary, Big Bend: The Wild Frontier of Texas. Along with their two-decade career of studio albums, Explosions in the Sky have also been around the block when it comes to composing film soundtracks. Back in 2019, they were approached to create the score for Big Bend: The Wild Frontier of Texas, an hour-long film that landed on PBS in early 2021. The documentary captu...
Geese Announce Debut Album Projector, Share “Low Era”: Stream
The Strokes have been the Kings of New York for two decades now, but the scuttlebutt around the palace suggests Geese are coming for the throne. The very young Brooklyn rockers — the eldest member just turned 19 — have announced their debut album Projector. It drops October 29th, and to herald its arrival, the quintet have unveiled the new single “Low Era.” The reference to The Strokes wasn’t accidental, and if you listen to previews of Projector you’ll hear many more. Songs like previous single “Disco” radiate a casual coolness, with textured guitar riffs that would slot nicely alongside cuts from Is This It? But music has come a long way over the last 20 years, and Geese are far more than aughts indie revivalists; the band utilizes tempo changes, psychedelic flou...
R.E.M. Announce New Adventures in Hi-Fi 25th Anniversary Reissue, Share “Leave (Alternate Version)”: Stream
R.E.M. have announced a 25th anniversary reissue of their 1996 album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, due out October 29th via Craft Recordings. As a preview, the legendary Athens, Georgia rockers have shared an alternate version of “Leave,” which you can stream below. The deluxe CD edition includes three discs featuring newly remastered audio, 13 B-sides and rarities, and a Blu-ray containing an unreleased film that was originally projected on buildings to promote the album’s release. The Blu-ray also features five HD-restored music videos from the New Adventures in Hi-Fi era. It’s all packaged in a 52-page hardcover book with new liner notes from journalist Mark Blackwell, archival photographs, and commentary from all four original band members, Patti Smith, Thom Yorke, and producer Scott Litt....
Big Boi and Sleepy Brown Unveil New Song “The Big Sleep Is Over”: Stream
The Dungeon Family said, ‘Wake up!’ Today, Big Boi and Sleepy Brown have shared another somnolent-themed single, “The Big Sleep Is Over,” featuring Kay-I. It’s the latest preview of their long-in-the-works collaborative album The Big Sleepover, which will be dropping September 3rd. Fans have been hearing about The Big Sleepover since 2019, and while the duo had promised its arrival in 2020, they must have forgotten to set their alarm. But if “The Big Sleep Is Over” is any indication, it will have been worth the wait. Producer Sleepy Brown has built a groovy track out of relaxed pianos and urgent 808s, allowing plenty of space for Big Boi’s stutter-step flow. “N****s sleeping but I’m wide awake/ It’s time to make the donuts by my lonely we can’t hibernate/...
