New Music Releases
Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, and Jon Randall Announce The Marfa Tapes, Share “In His Arms”: Stream
Country superstar Miranda Lambert has teamed up with songwriters Jack Ingram and Jon Randall for the new album The Marfa Tapes. It drops May 7th, and to preview the release, the group has unveiled the lead single “In His Arms”. Lambert, Ingram, and Randall are hardly strangers; the trio previously collaborated on Lambert’s twice Grammy-nominated single “Tin Man” (2016), as well as the fan favorite “Tequila Does” (2019). Fresh takes on both of those songs will appear on The Marfa Tapes, but the majority of the 15-track effort has never been heard outside of Marfa, Texas. The small town is home to only about 1,800 people, but for five days last November it also hosted three musicians, two microphones, and one acoustic guitar. The stripped-down recording session tried to capture the stark bea...
Fijian Rapper Jesswar Releases Debut EP TROPIXX: Stream
Three years after she set out to write and record her own music, rising Fijian rapper Jesswar has just released her debut EP TROPIXX via Inertia Music/PIAS. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. TROPIXX is a six-track EP meant to introduce listeners to Jesswar’s range of skills. On the previously released singles “Medusa” and “Venom”, she shows off a verbal tenacity and community-driven storytelling that seeks to empower fellow marginalized people, and that remains true for the other tracks on the EP. The way she sees it, holistic independence doesn’t have to mean you’re estranged from kinship or unity. “When I first started writing TROPIXX, I was tired of being overlooked, and I knew I had a lot to say. It was really upsetting to wake up every day and see how women of color are con...
Mitski Announces Graphic Novel Soundtrack, Shares “The Baddy Man”: Stream
For her first full-length project since 2018’s Be the Cowboy, Mitski wrote and recorded the soundtrack to the graphic novel This Is Where We Fall. It’s out May 5th, and as a taste of things to come, the 30-year-old songwriter has shared the new song “The Baddy Man”. Written by Chris Miskiewicz and illustrated by Vincent Kings, This Is Where We Fall combines science fiction and Western tropes to tell a tale of death and the afterlife. It will be available in both softcover and hardcover editions, though the hardcover has the added bonus of coming with Mitski’s soundtrack on cassette. Besides that, 1,000 copies of a deluxe edition will also be released, and that iteration includes her score on vinyl. In a statement to Rolling Stone, Mitski said, “It was exciting to make a...
Kings of Leon Unveil New Album When You See Yourself: Stream
Kings of Leon have unveiled their first album in five years, When You See Yourself. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. The 11-song effort is the Nashville-bred band’s first full-length since 2016’s WALLS. They previewed the album with three singles — “The Bandit”, “100,000 People”, and “Echoing” — but the most compelling aspect of the rollout process had nothing to do with the sound of the music (which is quite good). Earlier this week, the group announced that they were going to be the first band to ever release an entire album in NFT form — that’s “non-fungible token” for those who aren’t aware. NFT’s are essentially a cryptocurrency for art: images, videos, music, and even items like concert tickets that are sold on an online marketplace like Bitcoin. In add...
Tyler, the Creator Releases Coca-Cola Commercial Song “Tell Me How”: Stream
Life tastes good when you’re cashing that corporate check. Tyler, the Creator caught the wave when he had the opportunity to create music for a new Coca-Cola commercial. The ad dropped last month, and now the hip-hop artist has released its soundtrack as a standalone recording. Entitled “Tell Me How”, the track itself doesn’t have much lyrical content — “Tell me how it tastes/ Yeah, good good good” gets you through most of it — but it’s the manic energy that really makes it a Tyler original. The track jumps with electric arcs between different moments of impatient peace and wilin’ out. According to Tyler himself, that’s him playing flute on the intro. “Tell Me How” is definitely a frantically fun cut, which fits the Coke ad’s visuals perfectly. The clip sees people from various walks ...
Drake Releases Scary Hours 2 EP: Stream
Drake has released his second Scary Hours EP. It serves as a follow-up to his 2018 EP of the same name. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. Like his last Scary Hours release, this new EP only includes a few songs — three to be exact. “What’s Next” opens the EP, followed by “Wants and Needs” featuring Lil Baby and “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” featuring Rick Ross. Chances are Drake is hoping some of these tracks will blow up and can then be tacked onto Certified Lover Boy, his new album due out this year. After all, that plan worked surprisingly well with the last EP when “God’s Plan” became a smash hit and scored a proper spot on Scorpion. Speaking of, Certified Lover Boy was technically supposed to be out in January, but that month has since come and gone. Drake hasn’t updated fans on...
Evanescence Unveil New Single “Better Without You”: Stream
Evanescence’s long-awaited new album, The Bitter Truth, is set to arrive in just a few short weeks. In advance of its March 26h release, the band has unveiled the LP’s latest single, “Better Without You”. The new single marks a bold statement for singer Amy Lee, with a press announcement describing the song as follows: “An f-you to the forces that have attempted to hold her back, ‘Better Without You’ is bandleader Amy Lee’s unapologetic declaration of independence.” Musically, “Better Without You” is hard-driving rocker, with Lee delivering her signature soaring vocals in the chorus. Fans have gotten a substantial preview of The Bitter Truth, as “Better Without You” follows previous singles “Wasted On You”, “The Game Is Over”, “Use My Voice”, and “Yeah Right”. Editors’ Picks The...
Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats Drop UNLOCKED 1.5 Remix EP: Stream
Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats have unleashed their new UNLOCKED 1.5 EP. The project is a reworking of their joint EP, 2020’s UNLOCKED, and can be streamed below via Apple Music and Spotify. The eight-track project features remixed versions of UNLOCKED songs produced by The Alchemist, Jay Versace, Robert Glasper, Charlie Heat, Sango, and more. Joey Bada$$, Smino, Benny the Butcher, Arlo Parks, and Kenny Mason contributed feature verses. Previously released singles include Glasper’s version of “So.Incredible.pkg” featuring Smino, and the Joey Bada$$-assisted “Cosmic’.m4a” remix produced by The Alchemist. Denzel has stayed busy this year with guest appearances. He hopped on J.I.D’s “Bruuuh” remix, was featured on slowthai’s “terms”, and teamed up with Nyck Caution on “Bad Day”. Kenny has ...
Chance the Rapper Drops New Song “The Heart and the Tongue”: Stream
Chance the Rapper is back with a new single. It’s called “The Heart and the Tongue” and it comes with an introspective music video filmed during quarantine. Stream it below. In his typical slick delivery over a trip-hop beat, “The Heart and the Tongue” sees Chance the Rapper ruminating on truth as a concept. “My heart and tongue are fighting/ My mind is undecided,” he raps. “It’s not like Trump and Biden/ It’s more like something private/ Like when yo’ cousins are fighting/ One of ’em gets excited/ You can’t just jump the gun and pick a side and jump inside it.” It’s funny hearing him bring up the election considering he supported Kanye West in his presidential run only to perform at a post-inauguration performance for Biden six months later. In the song’s accompanying music video, Ch...
Rising UK Singer Karl Benjamin Announces Debut EP DRIST, Shares “Friends”: Stream
Karl Benjamin has been buzzing in the UK for his smooth vocals and rich blend of R&B and soul. Today, the singer announced his debut EP, DRIST, out on March 26th via Atlantic Records. DRIST stands for Deep Rooted Insecurities and Shy Tendencies. Benjamin further elaborated on the title’s meaning in a press statement: Being trapped in the house with my own thoughts for so long has really shown me how much this word means to me. I’m an antisocial extrovert that’s had the time to analyze their own DRIST, and in doing so, I’m slowly understanding myself and my cerebellum more each day. I wrote this EP with my DRIST in mind. I hope it reaches those with similar thought patterns to mine. To accompany the announcement, Benjamin shared his latest single, “Friends”. Stream it below. Written as ...
The Mars Volta Announce Staggering 18-LP Box Set with Unreleased Material
After an eight-year hiatus, an impressive new archival release from The Mars Volta is on the horizon. La Realidad De Los Sueños is a staggering 18-LP box set that arrives April 23rd and contains the experimental rockers’ entire studio discography alongside unreleased material. After breaking up in 2013, guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala focused on their other project At the Drive-In. But earlier today, the band teased a mysterious something-or-other with altered artwork from De-Loused in the Comatorium. This unleashed a frenzy of speculation among fans in places like Reddit, but few imagined anything as robust as an 18-disc deluxe drop. Translating to “the reality of dreams,” La Realidad De Los Sueños takes is name from lyrics in “Concertina...
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band Gets “Ultimate” Reissue with 159-Song, 8-Disc Box Set
Yoko Ono Lennon has announced a massive deluxe reissue of John Lennon’s debut solo album, titled John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band – The Ultimate Collection. Ahead of its release on April 16th, preview the collection with “Mother (Ultimate Mix)” below. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was originally released on December 11th, 1970 following the break-up of The Beatles earlier that year. Influenced by his experiences with primal therapy, it features minimal production with simple and sparse instrumentation. The new box set contains 159 tracks across six CDs and two Blu-ray audio discs, including 87 never-before-heard recordings. There are unreleased and rare demos, rehearsals, outtakes, jams, and studio conversations detailing how the songs came together. All of the tracks have been mixed from scrat...
