By now, K-pop has proven its long-term appeal with American audiences, and J-pop is eager to do the same. Japanese fans have been soaking up the joy of their country’s own original pop music for decades now. Now, Western audiences can join in the fun thanks to ARASHI, one of the country’s most legendary J-pop groups, who have just released a new song produced by Bruno Mars called “Whenever You Call”. ARASHI have been dominating the J-pop scene for over two decades, and it’s easy to understand why when listening to “Whenever You Call”. It’s the exact type of slick ’80s throwback that’s meant to win over hearts, complete with dramatic crooning choruses. Most notably, though, “Whenever You Call” marks the band’s first-ever track sung entirely in English. Originally, ARASHI planned on flying t...
When he’s not hosting illegal, maskless birthday parties, Justin Bieber spends his days attending church and practicing Christianity. While he’s gone on the record to say he doesn’t consider himself “religious” per say, the pop star appears comfortable acknowledging his faith in song now — or at least that’s the case with “Holy”, his new collaboration with Chance the Rapper. Bieber teased the track throughout this week by promising fans it was the start of a “new era.” Sure enough, it features the usual bass-forward momentum of a pop song, but it’s guided by something completely fresh for Bieber: a gospel choir literally praising god. It’s anthemic and inspiring, the exact type of track that’s meant to be blasted full volume to get others to sing along. “Holy” also comes with a short film-...
Puscifer have announced the release of their fourth studio album, Existential Reckoning. In advance of its October 30th arrival, the band has unleashed the album’s second single, “The Underwhelming”. The experimental rock band’s core lineup consists of vocalist Maynard James Keenan (Tool), singer-keyboardist Carina Round, and multi-instrumentalist Mat Mitchell. For this album, they’ve also recruited Greg Edwards (Failure), and drummers Gunnar Olsen and Sarah Jones. Existential Reckoning will arrive five years to the day that Puscifer released their last album, Money Shot. The new song “The Underwhelming” follows first single, “Apocalyptical”, which was unveiled way back in May. Like everything Puscifer have done in the past, there is a certain mystique around Existential Reckoning. Th...
Neil Young has released his new live acoustic EP The Times. To ensure the best audio experience possible (as Young is wont to do), it’s only available to stream on the Neil Young Archives website or Amazon Music HD. Sign up for AMHD here or listen via the embedded player below. The seven-track collection captures the “Porch Episode” of Young’s Fireside Sessions series from back in July. That performance introduced fans to the updated version of “Lookin’ for a Leader 2020”, which reworks the lyrics to specifically target Trump and the current US political climate in 2020. The EP takes its name from another featured track: a cover of Bob Dylan’s classic “The Times They Are A-Changin’”. The Times is rounded out by five cuts from various stages in Young’s catalog, all of which are particularly...
With the state of the world, there’s never been a better time to blast to “Bridge Over Troubled Water” for a moment of peace. Thankfully, Muse’s Matt Bellamy has us covered. On Friday, the British singer-songwriter dropped his rendition of the 1970 Simon and Garfunkel cut, complete with some delicate acoustic strumming and his stellar falsetto. The track sees a pretty powerful instrumental crescendo toward the end with an organ and some keys, making Bellamy’s held notes hit that much harder. “[This is] one of my favorite songs of all time, and a timely song for a tough year,” Bellamy says of the release. “We should all reach out and be there for our friends right now.” Back in 2018, Bellamy said in a Deezer interview that he’d love to cover the song, so it seems this may have been sitting ...
Just one week before the release of their new album, Sacramento’s Deftones are giving fans yet another taste of Ohms. On Friday, the crew unleashed their latest single off the forthcoming album, “Genesis,” with a video to match. The release follows lead single “Ohms” which dropped on Aug. 21 alongside their announcement of a Sept. 25 album of the same name and some lyrical teasing. “Genesis” finds the group in its usual riff-heavy metal pocket, as its video — directed by Sebastian Kökow with live performance direction from Clemente Ruiz — is just as trippy and flashy as expected. SPIN recently took a look back at the group’s iconic 2000 album White Pony in honor of its 20th anniversary back in June. Take a look at our retrospective here and listen to Deftones’ latest single below: [em...
Raffi, the legendary artist behind children’s music hits like “Bananaphone”, has just released a new song called “Black Lives Matter to Me”. While it may seem like a bold step for a guy whose target demo is kids, Raffi sees it as the logical next step for his catalog, which already includes original protest songs to help children better understand the importance of justice, freedom, and the realities of longing for equality. After witnessing the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, the rise in peaceful protests, and the unwarranted police violence taking place across the country, Raffi decided to pen “Black Lives Matter to Me”. He saw the country’s historic opportunity to “heal the wounds of racism and injustice” and wanted to use his power as an artist to help. “In support of the Black Liv...
Rico Nasty is back today with a new single called “Own It”. Easily one of the Maryland MC’s most accessible tracks to date, the song is built on a rhythmic beat that rolls along muted exotic tones just hinting at a Middle Eastern vibe. Fittingly for a track called “Own It”, Rico Nasty makes no excuses for herself in the lyrics. “Talk my shit, I ain’t gonna stop,” she confidentially professes. “When I walk in, jaws gonna drop.” The song’s music video continues this unapologetic self-proprietorship. Featuring a number of wild outfits and an abundant use of a fisheye lens, the clip aligns the very 2020 artist with the weirdos of ’90s rap. Take a look below. Editors’ Picks “Own It” follows a number of singles Rico Nasty has dropped throughout the year. In addition to her solo cuts like “...
After releasing numerous collaborations over the years, Health has curated those tracks into a new album, Disco4:: Part I. Not only does it offer previously recorded collaborations with Soccer Mommy, Perturbator and JPEGMAFIA, it introduces three new tracks with 100 gecs, The Soft Moon and Brothel. “In the past, each HEALTH LP has been accompanied by a corresponding remix record,” the band said in a statement. “This time, despite being called DISCO 4, in the interest of continuity, we offer you a collection of original collaborations with artists we admire. Also, FUCK 2020.” Along with the album announcement, the Los Angeles band also shared the new track “Cyberpunk 2.0 2.0.” Going along with the above sentiments, the Zev Deans-directed visual initially feels like some far-off futuristic t...
Blood Orange (photo by Ben Kaye) and 박혜진 Park Hye Jin (photo courtesy of artist’s Bandcamp) Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes, has teamed up with Los Angeles experimental pop musician 박혜진 Park Hye Jin for a new song titled “CALL ME (Freestyle)”. The track marks his first Blood Orange release since guesting on The Avalanches collaboration “We Will Always Love You” back in February. Today’s so-called “freestyle” falls somewhere between a remix and an interpolation of Park’s original “CALL ME” from 2019. Hynes alternately raps and sings over that song’s weary, lo-fi piano beat for a while, and then Park pops in later for her own verse. The collaborative track is accompanied by a video featuring footage that Hynes shot while wandering around New York City in March. It pairs perfectly wi...
Veteran funk bassist Bootsy Collins is gearing up to release a new album called The Power of the One. The guest-filled record is due to drop October 23rd via Bootzilla Records/Sweetwater Studios. For Collins, who rose to prominence working with James Brown and then Parliament-Funkadelic, this forthcoming solo effort marks his 10th solo overall. It was begun prior to the pandemic, but completed during lockdown at his own Boot-Cave Studios in Cincinnati. The entire record was produced, written, and arranged by Collins himself. Although quarantined in his own space, the 68-year-old artist was able to assemble long list of special collaborators, some of whom contributed from afar, including Snoop Dogg, fellow James Brown bandmate Christian McBride, bassists Larry Graham and Victor Wooten,...