The War on Drugs frontman Adam Granduciel will launch his very own imprint, Super High Quality Records, with the release of a new live album, LIVE DRUGS, on November 20th. That same day, the band will also unveil the first episode of Super High Quality Podcast, a new series detailing the creation of the LP. Today, the band has shared latest single from the record, a cover of Warren Zevon’s “Accidentally Like a Martyr”, as well as a teaser for the upcoming podcast. The four-episode Super High Quality Podcast is hosted by The War on Drugs’ guitar tech and confidant Dominic East. Throughout the weekly series, he’ll listen in as the group describes the process behind creating LIVE DRUGS, from revealing stories about the performances featured on the album to how they made sequenc...
Irish post-punk band The Clockworks have shared a stirring new song called “Enough Is Never Enough”. It’s the latest release from Creation 23, the new label from Creation Records founder Alan McGee, known for championing ’90s acts like Oasis, My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream early on in their careers. The London by way of Garland, IE band have only put out a handful of singles since McGee signed them back in 2019, but all of them have been incredibly promising for such a young act. That said, “Enough Is Never Enough” is definitely their best so far, as it finds a happy middle ground between the snarling post-punk of IDLES, the hollering garage rock of The Hives, and the gloomy indie-punk of early Cloud Nothings. It’s equal parts catchy and clamorous on the musical end, but it also contai...
UK-based folk rocker Jade Bird has just released a new single called “Headstart”. It’s her first piece of new music since releasing her self-titled debut album over a year ago — and it’s well worth the wait. “Headstart” is a three-minute romp bolstered by chipper guitar and her soaring vocals. Bird recorded the new track in the iconic RCA studios with producer Dave Cobb, who worked with big name Americana artists such as Brandi Carlile and the late John Prine. According to Bird, she found the inspiration to write “Headstart” after a trip to upstate New York at the start of this year. “Being there, I was immediately taken back to the magic and inspiration of creating the first album,” she said in a statement. “It’s quite a light-hearted song, about liking someone who just can’t see the sign...
Dolly Parton (photo by Ben Kaye), Barry Gibb (photo by Nathan Dainty), Jason Isbell (photo by Ben Kaye) Bee Gees co-founder Barry Gibb has announced a star-studded new album called Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1. The effort features classic songs from the Gibb brothers reimagined with assistance from a wide range of country and Americana stars. GREENFIELDS boasts contributions from Dolly Parton, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, Jason Isbell, Miranda Lambert, and Gillian Welch. Alison Krauss, Brandi Carlile, Olivia Newton-John, and Little Big Town also appear on the LP. The entire project was produced by Grammy-winning Nashville native Dave Cobb, known for his work with John Prine and The Highwomen. In a statement about the recording process, Gibb said, “From the first day we step...
With coronavirus cases slowly rising in Iceland, Björk was recently forced to delay her highly anticipated live concert series. Thankfully, the pandemic hasn’t stopped her from releasing new music. Today, Björk is sharing a new version of “Cosmogony”, created in collaboration with the Icelandic Hamrahlid Choir. “Cosmogony” originally appeared on Björk’s Biophilia album from 2011. However, this alternate a cappella rendition was conceived more recently during Björk’s “Cornucopia Tour” with the Hamrahlid Choir last year. The two acts actually share a history that dates back decades; Björk was a member of the group as a teenager, long before she brought them onstage during her live performances and featured them on albums like 2017’s immersive Utopia. “i was myself in this choir when i w...
Louisiana rapper Kevin Gates built a name for himself with his confessional anthems and transparent tracks, but lately he’s been exploring his talent as a singer, too. His latest effort, a new single called “Wonderland”, sees him continue that trend in an unexpected way: by covering John Mayer. Technically speaking, “Wonderland” is an original number by Gates about the highs and lows of being a hopeless romantic. To doll up the chorus, he sings the hook of Mayer’s Grammy-winning hit “Your Body Is a Wonderland”, off his 2001 breakout album Room for Squares, rather faithfully. But make no mistake: Gates doesn’t go full-blown lovey-dovey here. Whereas Mayer’s song is a cheesy attempt to woo a woman over, Gates’ number gets straight to the point about sexual attraction. (Hence a lyric like, “W...
In 2018, YoungBoy Never Broke Again released “Nicki Minaj”, a song that paid homage to the Queens-bred rapper of the same name. Today, it appears YoungBoy’s teenage dreams have come true, as he’s now collaborated with idol Minaj on a new single called “What That Speed Bout?!”. The track comes courtesy of veteran producer Mike WiLL Made-It, whose winding synths and stabbing percussion make for a listen that alternates between hypnotizing and urgent. And what is that speed bout, you might wonder? I’m still not quite sure, but I did learn YoungBoy has “got seven figures bouncin’ in the car” and watches Blues Clues, while Minaj loves to rock “diamonds on the chain, blingin’ off my tits.” Big moods all around. All three acts appear in the song’s shiny sci-fi video from Edgar Esteves and Austin ...
In the lead-up to the 2020 Election, ANOHNI has already released not one, but two anti-Trump protest songs, “R.N.C.” and a collaboration with CocoRosie and Big Freedia titled “End of the Freak Show”. With mere hours to go before the big day, the art pop musician has shared a cover of the Gloria Gaynor classic “I Will Survive”, which she uses to rail against the current administration and all the hate and injustices it has perpetuated the last four years. Slowed down to achieve an almost dramatic ballad status, ANOHNI’s rendition comes with a video featuring footage of her performing in the ’90s. Towards the end of the clip, ANOHNI dedicates the song to “all endangered Black trans lives”; “all those awaiting execution in US death chambers”; “those in the US who die from medical neglect”; “t...
The Weeknd has teamed up with Maluma for a remix of the reggaeton icon’s hit song “Hawái”. On it, the After Hours artist sings in both Spanish and English. The two singers began teasing the collaboration on Instagram on Wednesday, and now the track has arrived less than 24 hours later. It begins with The Weeknd singing an altered version of the intro verse in English and before suddenly switching to Spanish for the hook. The Colombian pop star then comes in and handles the rest of the verses while The Weeknd joins him on the refrain. Despite the fact that they both play different styles of music, the two have an incredible chemistry and The Weeknd sounds particularly comfortable singing on a reggaeton beat. The song comes paired with a flashy music video that suits both of their ...
Rising rockers Smut have announced the new Power Fantasy EP. In anticipation of the November 20th release date, the band has shared the new single “Fan Age”. Smut is a quartet made up of Bell Cenower, Andrew Min, Sam Ruschman, and vocalist Tay Roebuck. They got their start in Cincinnati but are now based out of Chicago, and they first gained buzz with the 2017 shoegaze EP End of Sam-Soon. The new three-track Power Fantasy finds Smut branching out into a slightly poppier sound, taking influences from hip-hop and trip-hop along the way. According to a statement, the title track deals with the euphoria and disappointment of trying to change the world by yourself, while “Perfect Dark” is inspired by the beloved Nintendo 64 first-person shooter. As for the lead single, “Fan ...