New Music Releases
The Ophelias Announce New Album Crocus, Share “Neil Young on High” Featuring Julien Baker: Stream
A new album from The Ophelias is on the horizon. The folksy quartet announced today that their next full-length, Crocus, is coming out on September 24th via Joyful Noise Recordings, and things are already looking promising: the lead single, “Neil Young on High”, includes backing vocals from Julien Baker. The Ohio band has also shared an accompanying music video inspired by everything from Twin Peaks to Renaissance paintings. The Ophelias recorded Crocus at a Masonic lodge that the band swears is haunted; naturally, the setting means the record bears some moodier, darker tones, channeling their influences from ‘60s singer-songwriters to Lilith Fair mainstays. “Neil Young on High” boasts all the major tenets of an Ophelias song, complete with soaring harmonies, a rootsy violin riff, and chug...
Steve Gunn Announces New Album Other You, Shares “Other You” and “Reflection”: Stream
Steve Gunn has announced a new album. It’s called Other You and it’s due out August 27th via Matador. To break the news, he’s releasing the two-song single “Other You” / “Reflection” today and has unveiled a string of US tour dates as well. Gunn has released a lot of records over the years, but technically speaking Other You is his sixth studio album and the follow-up to 2019’s The Unseen in Between. It was created with veteran producer Rob Schnapf (Beck, Elliott Smith) and Gunn’s longtime friend and collaborator Justin Tripp. It also features contributions from Julianna Barwick, Mary Lattimore, Jeff Parker, Bridget St. John, Bill MacKay, Ben Bertrand, and others. In a statement, Gunn explained that the idea for the title came about during a vocal recording session with Schnapf. “Rob was v...
Lil Yachty Shares New Track “Love Music”: Stream
Lil Yachty has returned with the new single “Love Music”. Just two months after his last mixtape, Michigan Boy Boat, the Atlanta rapper’s latest track sees him return to his mellower side. “Love Music” is a saccharine ode to a crush, backed by a calm guitar riff and simple beat that evoke Yachty’s early releases. “I dreamed of you last night/ You had on a big ole gown and a wedding ring/ You were my wife,” Yachty croons in his signature mumble. “All I ever do is think of you/ Think of you and me holding hands.” Listen to the “Love Music” below. The Michigan Boy Boat mixtape, Lil Yachty’s tribute to the Midwest’s burgeoning rap scene, arrived back in April with a stacked cast of features. He also appeared in the new season of fellow rapper Lil Dicky’s surreal comedy series, Dave. Yachty’s m...
Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine Announce New Album Featuring Taylor Swift, Fleet Foxes, Sharon Van Etten
On first glance, How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? may look like the hottest indie rock festival of 2010, but it’s actually the stacked new album from Big Red Machine. The supergroup from Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and Aaron Dessner (The National) will drop their newest studio set on August 27th. It features Taylor Swift, Fleet Foxes, Sharon Van Etten, and more, and as a preview the band is offering the new song “Latter Days” with Anaïs Mitchell. This will be Big Red Machine’s second album following their eponymous debut in 2018. That project leaned heavily on the voice of Vernon, but this time around they’re mixing things up. Dessner handles lead vocals on three tracks, and as new single “Latter Days” demonstrates, they’re also making space for guest vocalists. Mitchell is th...
Wanda Jackson Announces Final Album Encore Produced by Joan Jett
Wanda Jackson, who has been called the Queen of Rockabilly and the first sex symbol of country music, has announced her final album Encore. Produced by Joan Jett, this curtain call for an iconic career will bow on August 20th. Jackson announced her retirement from touring in 2019, a decision that was said to be based on “health and safety.” But she always left the door open for a recorded return, and as it turns out, she was already hard at work on Encore. The eight-track studio set includes covers and originals, all recorded around the time she was pulling out of the spotlight. She called it “one of the most personal pieces I have ever released.” Via Exclaim!, the album will offer “a picture of my early life and have a peak into the closeness that my late husband ...
Geese Share Punky Debut Single “Disco”: Stream
Geese have officially staked their claim in the post-punk scene. The Brooklyn band have released their debut single, “Disco”, out today via Partisan Records. Gritty and noisy, the track calls to mind pioneering forebears like Gang of Four and Public Image Ltd., although it still bears a sense of contemporary flair. Its lyrics evoke the anxieties of growing out of adolescence and being forced to assimilate into the real world. “‘Disco’ was our first big step forward as a band,” Geese said in a statement. “It’s a very urgent and restless song, which was indicative of all our headspaces at the time. ‘Disco’ has a lot of organized chaos at its core; the music, the lyrics, and even the way we recorded it all speak to a sort of manic energy we were all working through. It’s a song that sounds li...
CHVRCHES Drop Robert Smith Remix of “How Not to Drown”: Stream
Last month, CHVRCHES released their latest single, “How Not to Drown” featuring Robert Smith, and now they’ve shared a special new version of the track remixed by The Cure frontman himself. The remix draws the single out, transforming singer Lauren Mayberry’s vocals into an echoing, atmospheric refrain before Smith once again takes over for the second verse. “I’m writing a chapter on what to do after they dig you up/ On what to do after you grew to hate what you used to love/ That was the first time I knew/ They were out for blood/ And they would have your guts,” he sings before harmonizing over Mayberry on the chorus. In an all-caps statement, Smith said he wanted this remix to “FOCUS ON SOME OF THE SUNKEN ELEMENTS IN THE BRILLIANT ALBUM MIX, TO CONJURE UP AN IRRESISTIBLE MIDNIGHT SEA, WI...
Unknown Mortal Orchestra Share Soulful New Single “Weekend Run”: Stream
Psych-rock outfit Unknown Mortal Orchestra return today with “Weekend Run”, their first new music of the year. “Weekend Run” is an ode to the off days that rescue us from the week’s mundanities. “When the weekend comes/ Yeah, we’ll be lost in love,” bandleader Ruban Nielson sings. The five-minute track encompasses’s Nielson’s affinity for soul and disco music, backed by a chugging bassline and a danceable beat. Along with the song, UMO have shared an accompanying music video, which aptly feels like a flashback to the 1970s. Filmed by Amanda Hugenquist, it depicts Nielson going about ordinary daily activities like playing video games and making breakfast. “At the end of the day I don’t take for granted that I have the perfect job,” Nielson said in a press release. “I truly work to...
Foo Fighters Unveil Mark Ronson’s “Re-Version” of “Making A Fire”: Stream
Foo Fighters have released a brand new version of their latest single “Making A Fire”, reimagined by Mark Ronson. On the remix, the superproducer enlists members of numerous bands — including Antibalas, the Budos Band, the Dap-Kings, El Michels Affair, La Buya, Menahan Street Band, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Tuatara to provide instrumentation for frontman Dave Grohl’s wailing vocal performance. “Are you afraid of the dark?/ I know a place we can start/ But if this is our last time/ Make up your mind/ I’ve waited a lifetime to live/ It’s time to ignite/ I’m making a fire,” he intones over backing vocals by a quartet that includes his 15-year-old daughter Violet Grohl. Related Video Stream the Foo Fighters’ “Making a Fire (Mark Ronson Re-Version)” after the jump. While the orig...
RZA Announces New Album RZA vs. Bobby Digital, Shares “Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater”: Stream
RZA has shared a new single called “Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater”. It’s the first preview of the Wu-Tang Clan member’s forthcoming album, RZA vs. Bobby Digital, a dual-persona project due out August 6th. The track — as well as the entire album — was produced exclusively by DJ Scratch, allowing RZA’s instantly-recognizable MCing to take the forefront. “Lyrically the hip-hop part of me had a chance to re-emerge during quarantine,” RZA said in a statement. “Giving Scratch the reins as a producer and me taking the reins as an MC, that’s what frees me up creatively and lets me play more with lyrical gags and lyrical flows because I don’t have to be focused on everything. [Scratch] delivered tracks that resonated and brought me back to a sound that I felt was missing. For me it was really ...
Nashville Singer-Songwriter Gatlin Releases To Remind Me Of Home EP: Stream
In Music City, writing is key. There’s a reason the slogan around the business that built Nashville is “three chords and the truth,” a phrase originally from Harlan Howard, and members of the current generation of Nashville’s singer-songwriters seem to be getting back to that original premise. Listeners can tell when an artist isn’t being honest. As a bedroom-pop writer and producer, Gatlin is part of a demographic not always discussed when it comes to Nashville, where country is king but the pop, R&B, and rock scenes are just as (if not more) interesting. With her latest EP, To Remind Me Of Home, Gatlin taps into that critical honesty, speaking for young people in particular who are surrounded by heartache, loneliness, and a general sense of detachment. The EP’s single, “Hospital,” sp...
Wild Pink Release New 3 Songs EP: Stream
Breezy indie rockers Wild Pink have just released a gorgeous new EP called 3 Songs. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. As the title indicates, the EP consists of three songs in total: the gorgeous single “Ohio” featuring Samia that came out last month, the punchier number “Leferever” that brings to mind a dusty Bruce Springsteen track, and the seven-minute-long epic “A Scene from the Eau Gallie Causeway”. “Ohio” is undoubtedly the EP’s standout track, and apparently it came about way back in 2018. “This song is about feeling isolated but then the relief that comes from seeing family/friends,” said singer John Ross in an earlier statement. “It’s about getting some comfort from some of the mundane things I took for granted growing up, like daily summer storms and the hum from an os...
