New Music
Carly Rae Jepsen Drops Surprise New Album Dedicated (Side B): Stream
Surprise! Carly Rae Jepsen has returned with a companion album to her recent full-length, 2019’s Dedicated. Aptly titled Dedicated (Side B), the 12-track LP includes contributions from Jack Antonoff, Dev Hynes, and Ariel Rechtshaid. Stream it below. “So yes there have been whispers and I’m bad at keeping secrets. Side B for Dedicated is out now babies and I couldn’t be more thrilled to shares these tunes,” Jepsen said in a statement. “I hope it makes yah dance your pants off! Thank you for all the joy you shared with me on this last year of touring. I owe yah one… or like two albums turns out.” Earlier this year, Jepsen released an anti-Valentine’s Day track called “Let’s Be Friends”. Editors’ Picks Dedicated (Side B) Artwork: <img data-attachment-id="1038628" data-perma...
Elliott Smith’s Self-Titled Sophomore Album Gets 25th Anniversary Reissue
This July marks the 25th anniversary of Elliott Smith’s sophomore self-titled album. To celebrate the occasion, Kill Rock Stars has announced a deluxe reissue of the LP, set for release on August 28th. Official Smith family archivist Larry Crane pulled the closest possible recordings to the original Elliott Smith mix downs from scores of reels, cassettes, files, and DAT tapes to give the album a fresh remaster. The special edition comes housed in a 52-page coffee table book featuring handwritten lyrics, stories from Smith’s friends and collaborators about the era, and two dozen previously unreleased images from photographer JJ Gonson. One of those new photographs is the original image that became the album’s cover art. What’s more, the collection includes the previously unreleased Liv...
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande Drop Collaborative Single “Rain on Me”: Stream
With just a week to go before the arrival of Chromatica, Lady Gaga has unveiled the album’s most highly anticipated collaboration: “Rain on Me” featuring Ariana Grande. Check it out below via its official music video. On the new single, the two pop powerhouses take turns belting out lines like, “I’d rather be dry, but at least I’m alive.” The pair took a similar empowering stance in all of the track’s various promos on social media, which featured Gaga and Grande striking poses in outfits straight out of a sci-fi flick. In an interview with Apple Music on Thursday, Gaga recalled how the partnership came together, “I said to her, ‘OK, now everything that you care about while you sing, I want you to forget it and just sing. And by the way, while you’re doing that, I’m going to dance in ...
Woods Return with New Album Strange to Explain: Stream
Indie folk rockers Woods are back with a new album called Strange to Explain. Hear the entire effort below via Apple Music or Spotify. Due out via their own Woodsist label, Strange to Explain marks the group’s 11th (!) full-length to date. In the time since their last LP, 2017’s Love is Love, Woods frontman Jeremy Earl became a father, and guitarist Jarvis Taveniere relocated from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, turning the group bicoastal. The two bandmates also helped produce David Berman’s first and only album as Purple Mountains. Editors’ Picks According to a statement, the new record’s 11 tracks — including lead single “Where Do You When You Dream?” — serve a “sweet reflection for the 15-year-old band, bouncing back to earth as something hopeful and weird and resolute.” Stran...
The 1975 Finally Release New Album Notes on a Conditional Form: Stream
By this point, our calendars are filled with crossed reminders of the release date for The 1975’s new album. After two years and multiple delays, the circle finally takes the square: The 1975 have today released Notes on a Conditional Form. The follow-up to the truly excellent 2018 effort A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships was formally announced last summer with an expected due date of February 21st, 2020. Work didn’t progress as anticipated, however, and a month before the release it was pushed to April 24th. Then the full-length faced another hitch along with the rest of the world when the pandemic hit, forcing The 1975 to delay it once again until today, May 22nd. In her review of the album, Consequence of Sound contributor Samantha Small said that the diverse record is...
Doja Cat Pounces on Remix of The Weeknd’s “In Your Eyes”: Stream
Doja Cat has learned the power of the remix, especially after “Say So” featuring Nicki Minaj became each woman’s first number one hit. Now she’s teamed up with Canadian megastar The Weeknd, pouncing on a new remix of his After Hours track “In Your Eyes”. She feels right at home in The Weeknd’s tripped-out pop landscape, where the melodies are intoxicating and the artists have been over-served. She begins her verse in tears over her love, even though the rest of the lyrics imply that the relationship is going well. “I can’t stop staring at you” she sings, before spitting raps. “It’s like I forgot that staring is rude/ And that’s what five shots could turn me into.” Check out “In Your Eyes (Remix)” below. In March, The Weeknd shared a deluxe edition of After Hours featuring re...
HAIM Drop Groovy New Song “Don’t Wanna”: Stream
HAIM have dropped a new bop for summer playlists everywhere. “Don’t Wanna” is the latest single from their upcoming third album, Women In Music Pt. III. Listen in below. While today’s offering has a groovy bit of sun and pep in its step, ultimately it’s about trying to save a failing relationship. “Well we both had nights/ Waking up in strangers’ beds/ But I don’t wanna, don’t wanna/ I don’t want to give up yet,” sings Danielle Haim. The HAIM frontwoman also produced the track with assistance from Rostam Batmanglij and Ariel Rechtshaid. The highly-anticipated Women In Music Pt. III was initially slated for release in April, but was pushed back to June 26th due to the coronavirus pandemic. Still, the three-piece band has been busy promoting the record, having previously shared “I Know Alone...
Meskerem Mees Is Not Your Average “Joe” on Her Debut Single: Stream
You may not know Belgium-based singer-songwriter Meskerem Mees just yet, but she’s ready to charm you with a formal first impression. At least that’s the plan for her debut single, “Joe”, which she’s released today along with an accompanying music video. Mees is a 20-year-old indie folk artist with Ethiopian roots. Armed with an acoustic guitar and a gentle, scratchy voice, she whisks up music akin to Joni Mitchell, Laura Marling, and Jade Bird in a modest but nurturing style. After stealing the spotlight at local live shows in Europe, she’s finally begun making moves to formally record and release her music. That’s where “Joe” comes in. With a soothing, strolling guitar melody, Mees tells the story of a wandering man who won the protagonist over when she was just a teenager. The narrative...
Local Natives Team with Sylvan Esso for New Version of “Dark Days”: Stream
Local Natives (photo by Jonathan Chu) and Sylvan Esso’s Amelia Meath (photo by Shervin Lainez) Way back in March — when bands were still able to perform for live audiences — Local Natives debuted a new version of their song “Dark Days” featuring Sylvan Esso’s Amealia Meath on Kimmel. Today, they’ve shared the studio version of the indie collaboration. The update of the track from 2016’s Sunlit Youth finds Meath adding a brand new verse that, as Local Natives puts it, “taps into the nostalgia and the longing we all feel for a different time.” The new take was mixed by Spike Stent, known for his work with Madonna and Björk. “It was a joy to dip into summertime with Local Natives,” Meath said of working with the band. “‘Dark Days’ is a beautiful illustration of being youn...
DevilDriver Announce New Double Album, Unleash Single “Keep Away From Me”: Stream
DevilDriver have announced the release of a new album, Dealing With Demons I, due out this fall. The LP will be the first of a two-part double album, with the second one to follow at a later date. In advance of the release, the band has unveiled the single, “Keep Away From Me”. Aptly titled for the current times, “Keep Away from Me” has an anthemic quality as people social distance during the coronavirus pandemic. Serving as the album opener, the song touts a groove-laden, mathematic technicality and a passionate vocal delivery from frontman Dez Fafara. The video is rooted in the pandemic as well, featuring news footage with phrases like “censoring freedoms of speech” and “truth missing” flashing across the screen, a la The X-Files intro sequence. It’s an ominous way to begin the doub...
Dave Harrington Forms New Band, Drops Surprise Album Tura Lura: Stream
To say guitarist Dave Harrington has been around the block would be an understatement. After cutting his teeth in the New York experimental underground, he broke out internationally in the early 2010s with Darkside, his collaborative electro-psych project with producer Nicolas Jaar. And in recent years he’s helmed a shapeshifting jazz ensemble called the Dave Harrington Group. Now, Harrington has launched yet another jazz project, Harrington, Gustin & Zahn. The new outfit is comprised of Harrington on guitars, drummer Jeremy Gustin (The Ah, Star Rover), and bassist Spencer Zahn. The idea to form the band came up casually after the three of them had been playing in the improvisational collectives Exo-Tech and Harrington’s Merry Pranksters. Editors’ Picks The trio is introducing it...
Disclosure Announce New Album ENERGY, Featuring slowthai, Kehlani, Common, and More
Disclosure returned in February with an EP called Ecstasy. Now, the electronic music duo is prepping a proper full-length album for August. It’s dubbed ENERGY and sees the Lawrence brothers collaborating with rappers for the very first time in their decade-long career. ENERGY follows up on 2015’s Caracal and serves as the group’s third LP overall. It boasts guest contributions from hip-hop acts like slowthai, Common, Mick Jenkins, Aminé, and Channel Tres. Also slated to make cameos are Kelis, Syd of The Internet, Fatoumata Diawara, and Blick Bassy. According to a statement, recording sessions for the new album yielded upwards of 200 (!) potential tracks, which Disclosure eventually whittled down to 11. “The thing that decided which songs made it and which songs didn’t was that on...
