K-pop group SEVENTEEN have released a highlight medley video for their upcoming new album, ; [Semicolon]. Watch it below. ; [Semicolon] is the second special album SEVENTEEN have recorded. It’s currently scheduled to be released on October 19th, and they’re going big by making the physical version available in 13 different variants, one for each member of the group. To shake things up before the record hits streaming services, SEVENTEEN decided to gift fans a preview of each track. The six-song medley begins with the chipper finger snaps of retro opener “HOME;RUN”. It’s followed by the anthemic trap number “Do Re Mi (도레미)”, the pop-forward “HEY BUDDY”, and the jazzy rap “Light a Flame (마음에 불을 지펴)”. The album then closes out with the acoustic synth song “AH! LOVE” and the mellow closer “All...
Portugal. The Man and “Weird Al” Yankovic, photos by Ben Kaye Portugal. The Man and “Weird Al” Yankovic have joined forces once again, but this time it’s not to turn beloved indie songs into polka jams. Instead, they’ve collaborated on a new track, “Who’s Gonna Stop Me”, in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day. Produced by the Grammy-winning Jeff Bhasker (Kanye West, Rihanna) and co-written by the legendary Paul Williams (David Bowie, The Love Boat theme), the song also features contributions from The Last Artful, Dodgr. A peacefully powerful call for freedom, the opening verses are meditative before a rattling drum beat turns it towards invigorating. “Sneaking out, jumping over backyard fences/ We’re all just looking for freedom,” sings “Weird Al” on the second verse. “I’ve got an ...
Angel Olsen has been on an absolute tear since releasing Whole New Mess in late August. Not only has she covered both George Harrison and Bobby Vinton — the latter for Miranda July’s latest film Kajillionaire — the folk songwriter also delivered an acoustic Tiny Desk (Home) Concert for NPR. Olsen is back today bearing another gift: a new 11-minute song called “Time Bandits”. Olsen performed the track in full on Instagram on Sunday; she was seated at her piano in her Asheville home, with the camera positioned right in front of her mic. According to the video’s caption, “Time Bandits” was written just a few weeks ago after Olsen returned from St. Louis. “Against better judgement I’ve decided to put new songs up,” she added. “It’s a business but it’s my business.” (We can’t say we’r...
London punk five-piece Chubby and the Gang dropped their debut album, Speed Kills, earlier this year to some excited praise, and it seems like labels were tuning in. Today, Partisan Records revealed they signed the band, and Chubby and the Gang are celebrating by releasing a new single called “Union Dues”. Considering their garage-rock spin on punk is as politically concerned as it is musically reckless, Chubby and the Gang should be a logical fit on Partisan alongside bands like Fontaines DC and IDLES. Led by “local electrician” Charlie Manning, Chubby and the Gang are billed as “coming out of a new wave of British hardcore,” the reality of which is blisteringly fun, rapidly quick, and excitingly unpredictable. If “Union Dues” is any indication of Chubby’s next moves, then we’re in for a ...
A Grammy-nominated Americana artist on her own, Yola is also an honorary member of The Highwomen. Not only did she perform with the supergroup during their live debut at last year’s Newport Folk Festival, she contributes backing vocals to several tracks on their self-titled album. It turns out there were some extra recordings captured during the sessions for The Highwomen, and today Yola has shared one of those songs, “Hold On”, as a benefit single. Recorded at RCA’s iconic Studio A with producer Dave Cobb, “Hold On” features some contributions from Yola’s fellow Highwomen. Brandi Carlile and Natalie Hemby provide backing vocals, while Sheryl Crow takes to the piano and Jason Isbell plays guitar. You could look at this as a Highwomen song written by Yola, but it’s most definitely her story...
Last year, CupcakKe announced her intention to quit the music industry. The Chicago MC has clearly scrapped those plans, however, as she’s spent 2020 releasing a new single every couple of months. Following this past spring’s “Discounts” and “Lemon Pepper”, she’s back today with “Elephant”. On this new cut, CupcakKe calls out all her various critics — from those that say she needs to jump on more collaborations to the folks who have a problem with the way she handles press. “They like, ‘cupcakKe you gotta do more, why the fuck you don’t do features?’” she raps, before putting these complainers in their place: “Want a verse? Gotta pay me/ Ain’t shit free, no JT.” (The latter line is a reference to the formerly jailed JT from City Girls.) Elsewhere, she seems visibly bothered that fell...
Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper (photo by Philip Cosores), Robert Glasper (photo by Todd Copper) Over the summer, Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, and 9th Wonder cooked up their self-titled debut album as Dinner Party. But the jazz-funk supergroup isn’t quite done feasting: Dinner Party are back at the table to serve up a new dish titled Dessert. As its name suggests, this project is closely tied to the tasty meal that was Dinner Party; it features all seven tracks of that first album, but reworked with the help of new guest “chefs” Snoop Dogg, Herbie Hancock, Bilal, Tank and the Bangas, Cordae, and Rapsody. Buddy, Punch, and Alex Isley also jump in the musical kitchen to lend a helping hand. Phoelix, who sang on the original debut LP, still has vocals throu...
Benny the Butcher (photo by Setor TsiKudo), Lil Wayne (photo by Ben Kaye), and Big Sean (photo by Philip Cosores) Benny the Butcher has announced a new album called Burden of Proof, due out next week. As an early look, the Griselda rapper is sharing a collaboration with fellow rap veterans Lil Wayne and Big Sean that’s appropriately titled “Timeless”. Benny’s prolific label mates, Conway the Machine and Westside Gunn, have each already dropped three albums (!) in 2020 alone, but the New York-bred MC is slowly but surely catching up: Burden of Proof marks his second effort of the year following his joint record with DJ Drama from July. Clearly going for a quality over quantity approach, Benny enlisted renowned beatmaker Hit-Boy (Kanye West, Beyoncé) to produce the entire project. ...
Mannequin Pussy (photo by Marcus Maddox) and Rilo Kiley (photo courtesy of the band) A handful of indie and punk artists have come together to cover Rilo Kiley’s 2002 album, The Execution of All Things, in its entirety. The new project — officially dubbed No Bad Words for the Coast Today: The Execution of All Things — is due out next month, but is being previewed now with Mannequin Pussy’s take on the title track. Like Rilo Kiley, Mannequin Pussy are a band with a diverse stylistic palette. Just as The Execution of All Things shifts between peppy, fuzzy indie rock and twee, piano-driven indie pop, Mannequin Pussy’s 2019 album Patience swung between shoegaze, power-pop, hardcore punk, and more. For their cover today, Mannequin Pussy continue to channel that ve...
Today, October 9th, would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday. As a tribute to the late Beatles legend, Tame Impala mastermind Kevin Parker has shared a bedroom cover of the iconic Imagine song “Jealous Guy”. When we say bedroom cover we mean it quite literally. In a video posted to the Tame Impala Instagram account, Parker is seen singing and strumming along to the 1971 tune while lounging in his big comfy bed. In the original version of the song, Lennon’s vocals are bolstered by a full band’s worth of instruments, but Parker manages to translate the track’s timeless beauty with just his voice and an acoustic guitar. Props to him for having a bedroom with surprisingly great natural reverb, because even though this was probably shot on an iPhone the sound quality is pretty great. Watch d...
Swedish dream pop artist Lykke Li has released a new single in her native language. “BRON”, which translates to “BRIDGE” in English, marks Li’s first original offering since her 2018 album so sad so sexy. Li wrote the track in collaboration with Ludwig Göransson, a Swedish producer and music composer known for his Oscar-winning work on Black Panther and Emmy-worthy score for The Mandalorian. As to be expected from such a pairing of talents, “BRON” has a heartbreaking and cinematic ambiance to it. “On a bridge/ With heart in hand again/ It is now or never/ I died/ With heart in hand again/ Let me go/ But never let me go,” a torn and conflicted Li sings in the opening verse. The chorus finds her a bit more resolute about her feelings, though: “Because I’m crushed/ But I will not cry mor...
Three years ago, Big Boi and frequent collaborator Sleepy Brown released the track “We the Ones” on the self-titled EP from Organized Noize. Featuring CeeLo Green and Big Rube, the song served as an uplifting rally to “stand up to oppression.” Three years later, the theme is more relevant than ever, so Big Boi and Sleepy have called on Killer Mike for a new remix of “We the Ones”. Much of the original cut remains intact, including CeeLo’s hook and the spoken word sections from Big Rube. Killer Mike comes in for the third verse, telling stories of individuals taking different paths towards betterment, especially when it comes to religion. He talks about “a cousin named Robert”, a “robber” who found “conviction through religion” while serving time: “Reformed, Robert told me, ‘We should only ...