New Music
Arab Strap Return with “The Turning of Our Bones”, First New Song in 15 Years: Stream
It’s been 15 long years since Arab Strap dropped new material. That changes today with “The Turning of Our Bones”, their first release since the 2005 album The Last Romance. “WE’RE BACK FROM THE GRAVE AND READY TO RAVE,” the Scottish outfit announced on Instagram on Tuesday. And they weren’t kidding about the rave part. Arab Strap’s music, composed by primary members Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton, helped define the sadcore genre in the late ’90s and early 2000s. However, “The Turning of Our Bones” represents a striking evolution in their sound, as the two musicians now employ electronic drums, disco strings, and bongos that take on a more urgent tone. In a press release, Moffat said the song is an “incantation, a voodoo spell to raise the dead. Inspired by the Famadihana ritual o...
Actress Announces New Album Karma & Desire, Shares Sampha Collaboration “Walking Flames”: Stream
This past spring, electronic music producer Actress shared a mixtape called 88. Proving he’s not quite done with 2020, the English artist has now announced a new full-length album: Karma & Desire is expected to arrive next month through Ninja Tune. According to a cryptic statement, the upcoming LP is “a romantic tragedy set between the heavens and the underworld.” Its 17 songs are said to carefully examine “the same sort of things that I like to talk about – love, death, technology, the questioning of one’s being.” The producer born Darren J. Cunningham is assisted on the album by Zsela and Aura T-09. Mercury Prize-winning R&B crooner Sampha also appears, contributing to lead single “Walking Flames”. A meditative number featuring strings and mellow, muted percussion, today’s offeri...
Anjimile Reveals Mournful New Song “In Your Eyes”: Stream
Boston-based trans musician Anjimile is just weeks away from dropping his debut album, Giver Taker. A collection of songs about self-discovery, including reflections on his own transition, the LP is being previewed today with “In Your Eyes”. Although it shares a name with that one Peter Gabriel hit, today’s single is neither a cover, nor about “the light, the heat.” Instead, it’s about the indie songwriter’s encounters with prejudice and the way his mere existence is questioned regularly. “Getting right in your eyes/ Spitting right in your eyes/ Does my body divide? Was my body denied?” he sings in a soft coo à la Sufjan Stevens, but with a noticeable heaviness in his heart. “This is another song about grappling with homophobia and ultimately recognizing that I am what I am,” Anjimile...
Hundred Waters’ Trayer Tryon Shares “cul de sac” Featuring Jónsi and Moses Sumney: Stream
Trayer Tryon, producer and multi-instrumentalist for Hundred Waters, has shared his new solo single called “cul de sac”. It’s from Tyron’s upcoming album new forever, and features such well-loved collaborators as Jónsi and Alex Somers, Moses Sumney, Julianna Barwick, and even Nicole Miglis, vocalist of Hundred Waters. While his day gig with the Waters is informed by pop sensibilities, Tryon’s new solo efforts have been more abstract. That has somewhat to do with the way it was written; he composed “cul de sac” and the rest of new forever in bits and pieces while on the go. The whole project came about at the end of a six-year relationship. In a statement, he said he, “lived through a half-year mania, worked one-off oddjobs, fell feverishly in love, went without a home, hopped ar...
BTS Make K-Pop History with No. 1 Single “Dynamite”
Less than 24 hours after taking the MTV VMAs stage for the very first time, BTS have officially entered the K-pop music history books. Their explosive new “Dynamite” single has just topped the Billboard Hot 100 rankings, making BTS the first all-South Korean group to ever accomplish such a feat. The joyful and jubilant English-language track is also BTS’s first song to snag the Hot 100’s No. 1 spot. If that’s not enough excitement for the BTS ARMY, the beloved outfit has also shared “Ioniq: I’m On It”, a new jingle for Hyundai to help promote its new line of Ioniq electric and hybrid cars. Much like those vehicles, BTS’s tune is fun and sleek. .@BTS_twt‘s “Dynamite” officially debuts at No. 1 on this week’s #Hot100. They become the first all-South Korean group to hi...
Moses Sumney Creates 3D Performance with ‘Bless Me’ Video
Moses Sumney has taken the at-home performance to another level with his latest video for “Bless Me.” Teaming up with Microsoft, the visual fuses his movements and performance with abstract 3D animation thanks to the Microsoft Azure Kinect. The video project was initially meant to be a museum installation. Sumney explained in a statement that it was going to be “an experiential piece exploring isolation and solitude.” But with the global pandemic, Sumney and his frequent collaborator, director Sam Cannon, worked via Skype to direct and film this video from Sumney’s Asheville, N.C. home using the Azure Kinect. “As he moved to the song, the Azure Kinect sensors tracked his body in real-time, capturing it as skeleton data. This precise point cloud and skeletal-movement data, captured uti...
Angel Olsen Reveals New Album Whole New Mess: Stream
Angel Olsen has released her new album Whole New Mess. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. Today’s release follows last year’s stunning All Mirrors, which was one of the best records of 2019 and the 2010s overall. However, whereas that effort was an opulent extravaganza of 11-piece string arrangements and orchestral ambiance, Whole New Mess is a decidedly quieter and more intimate affair. It mostly features early, acoustic renditions of songs off All Mirrors, but also offers some new material like the beautiful title track. It’s technically the first true solo album Olsen’s made since her 2012 debut Half Way Home, but she sounds comfortable as ever in this raw and emotive musical environment. In a revealing interview with Pitchfork, Olsen opened up about how the aforemen...
Dua Lipa Unveils Club Future Nostalgia Remix Album: Stream
Dua Lipa already gave us one of our favorite albums of the year in Future Nostalgia. But the pop star isn’t quite done dancing to that record: today, she’s revealed its corresponding remix album, a star-studded affair called Club Future Nostalgia. Stream the entire effort below via Spotify. Helmed with the help of house/techno producer The Blessed Madonna, the Club boasts an impressive and eclectic guest list highlighted by BLACKPINK, Madonna, Missy Elliott, Mark Ronson, and Gwen Stefani, whom Lipa just interviewed while guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live. Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard, Yaeji, Jayda G, Jacques Lu Cont, and Horse Meat Disco were also invited to party. Editors’ Picks Additionally, a number of the included reworks feature fun samples of Stevie Nicks (“Stand Ba...
Anarchist Punk Outfit Crass Reissuing Entire Catalog with Bonus Material
Christmas has come early for fans of anarchist punk group Crass. On October 2nd, One Little Independent Records will reissue all of the English band’s albums as part of a campaign called The Crassical Collection. These reissues will come packaged with previously unreleased bonus tracks, as well as new artwork from longtime associate Gee Vaucher. Each of the band’s first six albums — that’s Stations of the Crass (1979), Feeding of the Five Thousand (The Second Sitting) (1981), Penis Envy (1981), Christ – The Album (1982), Yes Sir, I Will (1983), and Ten Notes on a Summer’s Day (1986) — will be reissued across two CDs. The first disc will contain the original album remastered by Alex Gordon and Crass founder Penny Rimbaud at Abbey Road Studios, while the second will feature “a mixture of rar...
AG Club Tap A$AP Ferg and NLE Choppa for “Memphis (Pt. 2)”: Stream
Ever since Baby Boy, Loui, Mick Antony, and Jody Fontaine formed AG Club and released their debut album Halfway Off the Porch earlier this year, the alternative hip-hop group has been quietly drumming up some underground buzz. Now, they’re gearing up for a proper breakthrough with “Memphis (Pt. 2)”, their new song featuring NLE Choppa and A$AP Ferg. “Memphis (Pt. 2)” is from AG Club’s forthcoming sophomore album, FYE, which is due out later this year. Apparently the group decided to reach out to a few of their favorite rappers to see if they were interested in collaborating on new music, but weren’t totally sure if anyone would be down. Needless to say, the group was over the moon when they found out both NLE Choppa and A$AP Ferb were game to jump on this single. “We had to get Choppa on t...
St. Vincent Teams with Yoshiki for New Version of “New York”: Stream
Yoshiki and St. Vincent, photo via Twitter/@YoshikiOfficial St. Vincent has teamed with X Japan’s Yoshiki for a reimagining of her modern classic “New York”. This version of the MASSEDUCTION cut essentially takes what was already there and puts a more archetypal classical spin on things. (The lyric “only motherf*cker” is also changed to “only other sucker.”) Yoshiki expands on the song’s original string arrangements, while adding some of his own gorgeous piano to replace Thomas Bartlett’s original work. St. Vincent compared the new “New York” to “the way time or distance transform longtime friends or relationships: the original is still recognizable, but subtly and significantly altered.” In his own statement, Yoshiki explained how the collaboration came about: “As an artist, I admire...
Grandaddy Announce The Sophtware Slump 20th Anniversary Box Set
California’s beloved indie rock group Grandaddy have announced a special box set reissue of their sophomore album, The Sophtware Slump, to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The 4xLP collection will be released on November 20th via Dangerbird Records. With four LPs’ worth of space, there’s a lot of special treats and songs tucked into the box set. There’s a remastered version of the original record, of course, but arguably the most exciting part of the reissue is a brand-new solo recording of the album that sees principal songwriter Jason Lytle playing the full tracklist on piano. That collection is aptly titled The Sophtware Slump….. on a wooden piano. Lytle apparently recorded the solo piano version of The Sophtware Slump in a similar environment to his initial setup over two decades ago. I...
