New Music
BTS Reveal Explosive New Single “Dynamite” and Video: Watch
Pandemic be damned! BTS continue their world domination today with new single “Dynamite” and its music video. The English-language offering finds the beloved K-pop purveyors hitting the disco dance floor and channeling their inner Saturday Night Fever. A much welcomed reprieve from these strange times, the track is filled with joy and appreciation for all the little things that life has to offer. In the corresponding clip, directed by Yong Seok Choi (Lumpens), BTS deliver choreography consisting of “simpler movements [that are] tastefully connected, allowing each member to sing and express themselves to their hearts’ extent.” The seven-piece boyband can be seen singing in front of a “Disco” storefront, as well as a beautiful pink lemonade sunset. Check out the explosive “Dynamite” below. E...
Mariah Carey Announces Rarities Album, Shares Lauryn Hill Collaboration “Save the Day”: Stream
Ms. Lauryn Hill (photo by David Brendan Hall) and Mariah Carey In celebration of the 30th anniversary of her self-titled debut, Mariah Carey has announced a new collection called The Rarities. Included in the 32-track compilation are a number of unreleased songs, including the newly revealed collaboration with Ms. Lauryn Hill, “Save the Day”. Due out October 2nd, The Rarities will include fan-favorite songs like “Always Be My Baby” and “Hero” alongside rare tracks (natch) and never-before-released recordings. The second half of the two-disc collection will feature a live album capturing Carey’s first-ever Japanese concert. The performance took place on March 7th at the Tokyo Dome during her “Daydream World Tour”, the first of three sold-out nights that were the fastest selling shows in the...
Vic Mensa Releases Surprise V TAPE EP: Stream
Chicago is being represented well this New Music Friday thanks to Vic Mensa. The rapper has dropped off a surprise EP called V TAPE, and it’s streaming below via Apple Music or Spotify. The unexpected collection consists of seven all-new songs. Among them are collaborations with SAINt JHN, BJ the Chicago Kid, Snoh Aalegra, Eryn Allen Kane, and Chance the Rapper associate Peter Cottontale. Meanwhile, Hit-Boy, Thelonious Martin, Keyon Christ, Stefan Ponce, and C-Sick provide production alongside Smoko Ono, SC, and TRAKGIRL. As to be expected from the always thought-provoking and outspoken activist-rapper Mensa, V TAPE weaves in themes of social justice and suffering. For example, lead single “MACHIAVELLI” and its corresponding “vignette” offer an intimate look at Chicago’s South S...
Erasure Release New Album The Neon: Stream
Longtime synthpop duo Erasure are back with a new album called The Neon, and they’ve released it in full today. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. This year marks Erasure’s 35th anniversary as a band (!) which is a pretty remarkable feat to hit, especially since they’ve never stopped innovating along the way. Not only is The Neon their follow-up to 2017’s World Be Gone, but it’s also their 18th album overall. Before releasing the record, Erasure gave listeners of taste of what was to come with “Shot A Satellite” and the lead single “Hey Now (Think I Got A Feeling)”, which also serves as the album opener. Editors’ Picks The 10-track album was written and produced by Erasure, with recording taking place in Atlanta earlier this year. According to Andy Bell, both he and bandmat...
Pharrell Enlists Jay-Z for Powerful New Single ‘Entrepreneur’
Pharrell wasn’t “<a href="http://” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Frontin” when he announced his new track with Jay-Z on Thursday. Just hours later, the legendary Neptunes producer has shared his most recent Hov link-up, “Entrepreneur.” The single was released as part of Skateboard P’s Time Magazine curated cover, The New American Revolution, which features conversations with Angela Davis, Tyler the Creator, Naomi Osaka, Geoffrey Canada and others about systemic issues faced by the Black community in the U.S., as the public figures discuss how we can achieve a more equitable future. The New American Revolution is a special project by @Pharrell featuring a curation of essays and conversations examining Ame...
McCall is in Denial on New Song “Nothing Even Wrong”: Stream
Rising songwriter McCall has shared the lusciously neurotic new song “Nothing Even Wrong”. It’s off her On Self Loathing EP, which has now been given the release date of September 18th. Having offered a couple of previews of On Self Loathing, it’s safe to say that McCall is branching out in a slightly different direction. Her breakout 2019 EP Under the Reign showed a rare ear for melody, but it dressed those toplines in rock-accented pop. As “Nothing Even Wrong” continues to demonstrate, she’s become interested in swelling choruses made of just her voice, as well as cutting-edge studio wizardry. The path she’s going down has been explored by the likes of Imogen Heap and Bon Iver, but her perspective is so different from those artists that her music can’t help but s...
Dan Deacon Releases Original Score for HBO’s Well Groomed: Stream
This past January saw Dan Deacon drop his first album in four years, Mystic Familiar. The Baltimore-based musician is back now with his second project of 2020: his original score for HBO’s Well Groomed. Well Groomed is a documentary about the colorful and wonderfully absurd subculture of competitive dog grooming. The film premiered on HBO in late 2019, but today marks the official release of Deacon’s accompanying soundtrack. Much like the doc, the music is playful and fun in nature. Its 14 arrangements also find the electronic music producer Deacon expanding his sound palette by dabbling with more earthy and organic instrumentation. Previous collaborators like pianist M.C. Schmidt of Matmos, vibraphonist Rich O’Meara, and guitarist Steve Strohmeier assisted Deacon in creating the soni...
The Avalanches Head to Space in Cosmic New Video for “Wherever You Go”: Watch
The Avalanches have released a new music video for “Wherever You Go”, their collaborative single with Jamie xx, Neneh Cherry, Mick Jones of The Clash, and CLYPSO. It marks the first time members Robbie Chater and Tony DiBlasi have ever appeared in a video in the band’s 23-year-long career. A collaboration with The International Space Orchestra, the clip is filled with fun space science, planets, and even musical spacecrafts. “We are forever grateful to Dr. Nelly Ben Hayoun [ISO director] and the International Space Orchestra for a truly magical, inspiring and connective experience,” The Avalanches commented in a statement. “During a hard lockdown, it has renewed our faith in music, humanity and the power of connection, science and love.” Watch below. For those...
London Grammar Return with New Single “Baby It’s You”: Stream
Even during these dismal times, London Grammar have managed to find a little light. The British trio return today with the uplifting “Baby It’s You”, their first single in three years. Co-produced by George FitzGerald (Foals, Moby), the track is a soothing listen about the grounding power of love. “All these lights are changing/ See ’em everywhere/ In my veins like lightning/ I don’t even care,” sings Hannah Reid, her vocals robust and enveloping like a weighted blanket. “All these colors in me, but all I wanna see you/ And nothing else matters/ You, baby it’s you.” Between Reid’s soaring presence, the snappy percussion, and the song’s feel-good message, “Baby It’s You” seems like the ideal anthem to blast throughout an arena. Stream the new track below and get those lighters ready. Editor...
Phoenix Return With ‘Identical,’ Discuss New Album Details
It’s been a few years since Phoenix’s 2017 LP, Te Amo. But the French band is back with “Identical.” Bringing the synths and high energy, “Identical” will also appear on the soundtrack to the new Sofia Coppola film, On the Rocks, starring Bill Murray, Rashida Jones and Marlon Wayans. Aside from “Identical,” which you can also hear featured in the movie trailer below, Phoenix also wrote the score and put together the soundtrack — making it the band’s fifth collaboration with Coppola. “Too Young,” off their 2000 debut LP, United, appeared in her 2003 movie Lost in Translation, kicking off their creative partnership. While “Identical” is meant for a film, singer Thomas Mars said that the track will likely be on their upcoming new album — despite the fact that it goes in a different sonic...
Dirty Projectors Announce Super João EP, Share “Holy Mackerel”: Stream
Dirty Projectors are currently two installments into a planned five-EP series they’re releasing over the course of the year. Each four-song collection features a different band member taking lead: For March’s Windows Open, it was Maia Friedman, while Felicia Douglass stepped forward for June’s Flight Tower. Now, Dirty Projectors mastermind Dave Longstreth has announced his own contribution, the Super João EP, and shared the lead single, “Holy Mackerel”. Arriving September 4th, Super João has the sort of smooth samba sounds you’d expect from an effort named after bossa nova pioneer João Gilberto, who passed away last year. Longstreth co-wrote the lyrics with Little Wings’ Kyle Field before recording direct to tape with Kyle Thomas of King Tuff, who happens to be his neighbor in Los Angeles....
Brasstracks Share the Origins of New Single “Golden Ticket” with Common, Masego: Stream
In our new music feature Origins, we asks artists to take a moment to reflect on the backstory of their latest single. Today, Brasstracks tell us how they cashed their “Golden Ticket” with Common and Masego. Rising from their jazz school backgrounds, Brasstracks have already accomplished more than most duos made of just horns and drums could dream of. Mark Ronson essentially has them on speed dial, they’ve got some GRAMMY shine thanks to their work on Chance the Rapper’s “No Problem”, and they’ve collaborated with everyone from Wyclef Jean to Anderson .Paak. Oh, and they only formed six years ago. But now Ivan Jackson and Conor Rayne are really ready to grab the spotlight with their debut album, Golden Ticket. Due out August 21st, the full-length follows their 2019 EP Before...
