New Music
Colin Meloy and Laura Veirs Join Raye Zaragoza on New Song “They Say”: Stream
Colin Meloy (photo by David Brendan Hall), Raye Zaragoza (photo by Cultivate Consulting), and Laura Veirs Folk artist and protest music songwriter Raye Zaragoza has announced a new album, Woman in Color. Due out October 23rd through Rebel River Records, it’s being previewed today with a single called “They Say”, featuring harmonica from The Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy and banjo arrangements courtesy of veteran folk musician Laura Veirs. A timely number, it finds Zaragoza taking the US government to task for its piss-poor response to the coronavirus crisis. “This song is about the dysfunction of American power structures. It’s about how the systems built to support the people don’t support all people,” she explained in a statement. “Especially during a pandemic, it’s been ex...
Bilal Releases New Star-Studded Album VOYAGE-19: Stream
Veteran R&B and soul artist Bilal has returned with his first album in five years. Stream VOYAGE-19 below via Bandcamp. The long-awaited follow-up to 2015’s In Another Life was created over the course of just three days last month in partnership with Brooklyn-based studio HighBreedMusic. Joining the Grammy-winning musician remotely was a long list of special guests, who all recorded their parts in real time as part of a live event. Among those who participated: Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper, Nick Hakim, Cory Henry, Madison McFerrin, Marcus Strickland, and Jaime Woods. Ben Williams, Ray Angry, Brandee Younger, Marcus Gilmore, Louis Cato, and Melanie Charles also appear on the project. VOYAGE-19 is broken up into three separate parts, one for each day: “Day One – Warning-19”, “Day Two...
Phoebe Bridgers Covers Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees” in a Church: Watch
In addition to releasing one of the year’s best albums so far, Phoebe Bridgers has spent the summer months covering a number of iconic artists. In June, she shared her official recording of John Prine’s “Summer’s End”, which she then followed up with a rendition of Gillian Welch’s “Everything is Free”, done in collaboration with Courtney Barnett. Now, Bridgers has taken on an alt-rock classic in “Fake Plastic Trees”. The indie folk artist’s Radiohead cover came as part of the BBC Radio 1 program Phil Taggart’s Chillest Show. And chill it certainly was. Bridgers recorded her delicate version of The Bends original inside of a church with help from rising R&B star Arlo Parks, who provided icy piano accompaniment. Bridgers previously covered “Fake Plastic Trees” live in concert in 2017, as...
Plants and Animals Share Origins of New Song “Le Queens”: Stream
With our new music feature Origins, artists have the chance to pull back the curtains on the stories behind their latest single. Today, Plants and Animals discuss the je ne sais quoi or “Le Queens”. After four years away, Plants and Animals are set to return with their new full-length, The Jungle, on October 23rd. Early singles like “House on Fire” and “Sacrifice” portended a collection of catchy but chaotic sonic landscapes. The latest sample of the effort, “Le Queens”, offers a counterpoint to that aural bedlam — with a touch of Quebecois. A haze of distorted guitars and synthesizers, “Le Queens” is a much mellower tune than the previous Jungle singles. But there’s still a sense of disorder in the background, with percussive samples running ramshackle beneath the kaleidoscopic flow of th...
Wilco Announce Summerteeth Deluxe Reissue
Last year, Wilco celebrated the 20th anniversary of their seminal album Summerteeth. Now, the band has announced a new deluxe reissue bursting with additional demos, outtakes, and live recordings. The five-disc set includes the original album, remastered in 2020 by Bob Ludwig, as well as previously unreleased demos of tracks like “Tried and True”, “I’m Always in Love”, and “She’s a Jar”. There are also countless alternate versions and outtakes of “My Darling”, “Every Little Thing”, and “Viking Dan”, among others. As an additional bonus, the reissue features a 1999 concert recording from Colorado’s Boulder Theatre. For fans looking to splurge a bit more, the limited edition deluxe vinyl reissue boasts an extra LP containing audio from an in-store performance at Tower Records held just ...
Jay Park’s H1GHR MUSIC Showcases Seoul and Seattle Hip-Hop Talent on RED TAPE: Stream
H1GHR MUSIC, the independent record label founded by South Korean-American pop rapper Jay Park, has released RED TAPE, the first installment of their new two-part compilation album The New Chapter. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. Park originally founded H1GHR MUSIC in 2017 to shine a light on the undiscovered artists from his hometowns of Seattle and Seoul. While he was busy collaborating with Charli XCX and getting signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, Park was simultaneously spending his time inking deals with K-pop and hip-hop artists for his own label. He’s amassed quite a roster since then and the proof is in The New Chapter, which combines various singles and collaborative tracks by members of H1GHR MUSIC to surprisingly cohesive results. The New Chapter is split into two parts, ...
Japanese Breakfast and Crying’s Ryan Galloway Form BUMPER, Share pop songs 2020 EP: Stream
Quarantine has been somewhat of a double-edged sword. While it’s put great distances between close friends, it’s also forced people to find new ways to connect. Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner and Crying’s Ryan Galloway, for example, live just three blocks away from each other in New York, but haven’t been face-to-face in months. But while they’ve been separated, they’ve also been working on new music together under the moniker BUMPER. Originally, Zauner had reached out to Galloway simply to contribute a guitar line to her forthcoming Japanese Breakfast album. “I just wanted to work with people that really inspired me creatively,” she told Rolling Stone. “We worked together and made something that was totally out of the realm of what I would usually make. I realized that Ryan had...
Zakk Sabbath Premiere Cover of Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard” from Vertigo Album: Stream
Zakk Sabbath, led by guitar virtuoso Zakk Wylde, are set to unleash Vertigo, a faithful recreation of Black Sabbath’s iconic 1970 self-titled debut album. In advance of the LP’s release on Friday (September 4th), Zakk Sabbath have teamed up with Heavy Consequence to premiere their rendition of “The Wizard”. Wylde formed the cover band Zakk Sabbath in 2014 as a way to honor his beloved Black Sabbath, playing shows over the past several years. The trio is rounded out by bassist Rob “Blasko” Nicholson (a member of Ozzy Osbourne’s touring band alongside Wylde), and drummer Joey Castillo (Queens of the Stone Age, Danzig). With the album Black Sabbath celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Zakk Sabbath hit the studio to record a track-for-track recreation of the groundbreaking LP. “We recor...
A.G. Cook Shares New Song “Xxoplex”: Stream
A. G. Cook, photo by Alaska Reid With his forthcoming album Apple about to drop, A. G. Cook has shared the new single “Xxoplex”. The founder of PC Music has also announced the “Appleville” livestream on September 12th featuring Charli XCX, 100 Gecs, Clairo, Kero Kero Bonito, and more. This is only the latest dish coming out of Cook’s kitchen. In addition to his work as Charli XCX’s bandleader, executive producing her wonderful new album How I’m Feeling Now, Cook just put out the 49-song 7G collection last month. “Xxoplex” is the sound of a man who won’t slow down, and perhaps can’t — it’s a compulsively catchy melody, distilled down to its glitchy, bleeping essence. In a statement, Cook referred to “Xxoplex” as the “dark, industrial heart” of Apple. He ca...
Jesse Draxler Premieres Reigning Cement Album Featuring Chelsea Wolfe, Greg Puciato, VOWWS, and More: Stream
Los Angeles-based artist Jesse Draxler’s audio-visual project and compilation album, Reigning Cement, arrives Friday (September 4th), featuring contributions from nearly two dozen musicians including Chelsea Wolfe, Full of Hell’s Dylan Walker, The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato, Uniform, VOWWS, and more. A 100-page book of photography will accompany the album’s release. Below, you can stream Reigning Cement in full exclusively via Heavy Consequence. You may have seen Draxler’s striking artwork adorning recent albums by Daughters and Poppy. Steeped in black-and-white, his work is stark and uncompromising. Reigning Cement certainly bears his artistic stamp, with stark photographs of cop cars, crumbling cityscapes, and urban melancholy adorning pages within the book. For the music,...
Ace Frehley Shares Cover of The Beatles’ “I’m Down” Featuring John 5: Stream
Founding KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is returning with a new album of cover songs, Origins Vol. 2, on September 18th. First we heard his take on Deep Purple’s heavy “Space Truckin’”, and now Frehley is sharing a cover of The Beatles’ 1965 B-side nugget “I’m Down” featuring Rob Zombie guitarist John 5. The track selection shows Frehley’s appreciation for the Fab Four. The guitarist dug out a deep cut from The Beatles’ power-pop heyday of ’65, giving the song a hard-rock update for his Origins version. When it comes to reinterpreting the songs of others, Frehley is master of sorts, turning the Russ Ballard-penned “New York Groove” into a hit for KISS back in 1978. Like the initial Origins project in 2016, the tracklist for the new album depicts an autobiographical backstory of his influ...
King Khan Announces First-Ever Jazz Album The Infinite Ones, Shares “Wait Till The Stars Burn”: Stream
After putting out garage rock records for the last two decades, King Khan is looking to try something new on his next effort. Enter: The Infinite Ones, his first-ever jazz album, due out October 30th via Ernest Jenning Record Co. and Khannibalism. The 11-track effort boasts contributions from Sun Ra Arkestra members Marshall Allen and Knoel Scott. Calexico bandmates John Convertino and Martin Wenk also appear on select songs. According to King Khan, The Infinite Ones comes from “a place from deep within the soul” and serves as a tribute to iconic composers like Alice Coltrane, Ennio Morricone, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, John Carpenter, and Quincy Jones. The Canadian musician explained further, “In my 23 years of being a composer of music I have had the great opportunity to score severa...
