New Music
tUnE-yArDs Drop ‘hold yourself’ Video, Single From Upcoming LP, sketchy.
Oakland, California-based duo tUnE-yArDs have shared a new song and animated video for “hold yourself,” off their just-announced fifth studio album, sketchy. The 11-track record, which includes last year’s single “nowhere, man,” arrives March 26 on 4AD. “This song is about feeling really betrayed, by my parents’ generation, and at the same time, really seeing how we are betraying the future,” the band’s Merrill Garbus explains in a statement. The new music was initially inspired by the Beastie Boys Book and Questlove’s Creative Quest and created with Merrill on drums and Nate Brennan on bass. “I started remembering that people come to us to be entertained, to move, to feel joy. And together, I think, we can wake up,” Garbus stated. Check out “Hold Yourself” below. [emb...
Jenny Lewis and Serengeti Release Latest Collaboration, ‘Vroom Vroom’
For fans of last month’s Jenny Lewis and Serengeti team-up for “Unblu,” the dynamic duo are back with another (very different) track. Although “Vroom Vroom” stays with a bit of the slower-paced, relaxing vibe of their original collaboration, it goes in an entirely new way with its retro-futuristic pop sound. It sounds less like floating through the clouds and more like taking a late-night trip to a diner because you can’t sleep (you know, back in the pre-COVID days when it was safe to do such things). Much like the duo’s first track, “Vroom Vroom” features a phone-shot video directed by Lewis. Although this one features decidedly fewer bouncing balls than its predecessor, it’s a good reminder that our favorite musicians are stuck at home with their phones a lot of the time, just like the r...
Clairo Shares New Song “Just for Today”: Stream
With winter descending, everyone’s seasonal depression can finally be introduced to their pandemic and clinical depressions. The last year has been a mental health clusterfuck, as Clairo acknowledges on her new song ” Just for Today”. The DIY bedroom popper shared a lovely demo of the song in the early hours of Tuesday, January 26th. The aching lyrics find Clairo wrestling with the worst her mind can throw at her. “Honestly, i didn’t think I’d end up here this time,” she sings. Later, she says, “Mommy, I’m afraid i’ve been talking to the hotline again.” But “Just for Today” isn’t as weighty as the feelings that inspired it. Her voice is sweet and empathetic, and at one point she’s joined by a special guest: her new puppy Joanie. The pint-sized pup has recently become the star of Clai...
FKA twigs Unveils New Song “Don’t Judge Me”: Stream
Things are afoot in the FKA twigs camp. In October, the R&B star revealed that her third album had been completed during quarantine. Now, she’s back with a new song called “Don’t Judge Me”. Today’s offering is her first since dropping the masterful album MAGDALENE in 2019. In addition to a stunning performance from FKA twigs, the track features UK rapper Headie One and producer Fred again…, who’s worked with the likes of Ed Sheeran and Brian Eno. “Don’t Judge Me” appears to be something of a companion release or sequel to “Don’t Judge Me (Interlude)”, an early 2020 collaboration that also featured all three artists. Unlike the intentional vagueness of that song, the themes on this version are a lot more direct. During her verse and the hook, twigs begs her lover to hold her and appreci...
Hardcore Band Regional Justice Center Announce New Album, Unleash “Absence” and “Inhuman Joy”: Stream
Hardcore quartet Regional Justice Center have announced their sophomore full-length, Crime and Punishment. The band has also shared two fiery songs from the LP, “Absence” and “Inhuman Joy”. The album follows a prolific string of 7-inch splits and EPs by Regional Justice Center, who paired their output with an exhaustive touring itinerary prior to the pandemic. In the meantime, the band’s calculated intensity has grown even more ferocious, as heard on new tracks “Absence” and “Inhuman Joy”. The songs operate in a duality, the former holding to a classic hardcore template of blasting rhythms and urgent lyricism, and the latter pitched down to a bass-heavy dirge. The distinct writing style of vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Ian Shelton shows through on both tracks. In a press release, the...
’68 Announce New Album, Share “The Knife, The Knife, The Knife”: Stream
Former Norma Jean and The Chariot singer Josh Scogin has announced a new album from his current project ’68. It’s called Give One Take One and due out on March 26th via Cooking Vinyl. He’s has also shared the music video for the lead single, “The Knife, The Knife, The Knife”. Scogin himself created the video for the heavy single, which leans more toward garage rock as opposed to the metalcore and hardcore punk of his previous bands. Hints of blues fuse with a noisy post-hardcore edge, resulting in a massive wall of sound — impressive considering ’68 are only two individuals: Scogin and drummer Nikko Yamada. “Of all the music I’ve created over the years, this album holds some of my very favorite moments, lyrically, musically, and even mentally; I travel down several roads that are...
Dave East Unveils New Song “Mercedes Talk”: Stream
Dave East has elevated hustle to a religion. Since 2010 he’s dropped something like 16 mixtapes and albums, most recently 2020’s Karma 3. The veteran MC shows no signs of slowing down, opening 2021 with the new song “Mercedes Talk”. The track was produced by AraabMuzik. His beat eschews internal movement, building tension out of the contrast between a high chime and rumbling bass. East works over the top with a laid back flow, mixing the personal (“I still don’t feel like I’m famous/ Had to move up out the projects just to feel like I made it,”) with punchlines (“Headshot turn your thoughts into liquor.”) “Mercedes Talk” comes with a music video directed by WillC. It shows East on the street with his bros, outside a corner store, and behind the counter of a fast food joint. Oh, and th...
HDBeenDope Drops New Song “21 Bags”: Stream
HDBeenDope is building on the buzz from his 2020 album BrokeN Dreams with an arresting music video for his new song “21 Bags”. “21 Bags” quietly dropped on December 31st, at a time when the world was preoccupied with burning 2020 in effigy. The odd timing disguised a banging self-produced beat, over which HD unleashed half-a-dozen head-spinning flows. One of the things that makes him such an interesting MC is ability to switch between humility and braggadocio, hard truths and going hard. “21 Bags” is here to slap you upside the eardrums. He spits, “Parlayed all the hard days/ To the soirée with a ‘Yonce/ I need all lays for the bolognese/I got octane and they all blaze.” The new video was directed by Erikson Corneil. It shows HDBeenDope in what appears to be an enormous dance studio, ...
Teenage Fanclub Share ‘I’m More Inclined’ From Upcoming LP
Teenage Fanclub has shared “I’m More Inclined,” the third release from the upcoming Endless Arcade LP, the Scottish lineup’s first new music in four years. The album, says the band’s Norman Blake, addresses the fact that “We’re all getting older, and you can’t help but think about mortality, especially when you’re being creative and reflecting on your life.” Endless Arcade was originally scheduled to arrive on March 5; the new release date is April 30, 2021. The lineup released the album’s first single, “Home,” the first new music in four years, in November. “I’m More Inclined” was written by Blake. “When we first starting talking about getting songs together for a new album, Norman said, ‘I have one ready to go now!’—and that was ‘I’m More Inclined,’” the band’s Raymond McGinle...
Madeline Kenney Reveals New Summer Quarter EP: Stream
Madeline Kenney has unveiled the Summer Quarter EP via Carpark Records. Stream it below using Apple Music or Spotify. The follow-up to 2020’s Sucker’s Lunch, Summer Quarter was recorded in the isolation of quarantine, at a time when Kenney had hoped to be touring. The indie songwriter used the extra hours to develop new skills — namely behind the boards. While her first three records were produced by Toro y Moi and members of Wye Oak, this time Kenney took on all the producing duties herself. As she explained on Twitter, “i recorded it in my basement and it’s my first release produced solely by me. it’s weird and different but i like it.” Editors’ Picks The four-track effort is headlined by “Wasted Time” which comes with a music video directed by Kenney. With the aid o...
Melvins Share New Song “The Great Good Place”, Announce Valentine’s Day Livestream
The Melvins’ re-formed 1983 lineup is set to drop the new album Working with God on February 26th. As another preview of the impending release, they’ve shared “The Great Good Place”. They’ve also announced their second livestream event, “Divine Monkeyshines: Valentine’s Day Special”. Another massive slab of heavy rock, “The Great Good Place” is built on chunky riffs and a twisted pop sensibility that’s pure Melvins. Having now heard almost a third of the album, Working with God is primed to be one of 2021’s heaviest records thus far. Driving home the 1983 concept behind the project, the lyrics and music for Working with God closely mirror the vibe of the Melvins’ formative years — proof that the band was writing irreverently brilliant songs from the start. The Melvins’ antics don’t st...
New Punk Band Rest Easy Debut with Blistering Single “Get Busy Dyin’”: Stream
Rest Easy, a new band from Vancouver, are giving off some old-school hardcore punk vibes with their debut single “Get Busy Dyin’”. The track comes in advance of the group’s Sick Day EP, due February 12th. The quartet, which features members of the Vancouver band Daggermouth and the Seattle outfit Shook Ones, recently inked a deal with Mutant League Records. The single, “Get Busy Dyin’”, sounds modern and classic at the same time, with sonic nods to legendary acts like Minor Threat and 7 Seconds. The Sick Day EP was recorded in the fall by producer Tim Creviston (Misery Signals) and mixed and mastered by Paul Miner at Buzzbomb Studios in Orange, California. As for the formation of the band, guitarist Kenny Lush commented, “Some old friends, some laptops, GarageBand, some spicy r...
