So many artists, so many songs, so little time. Each week we review a handful of new albums (of all genres), round up even more new music that we’d call “indie,” and talk about what metal is coming out. We post music news, track premieres, and more all day. We update a playlist weekly of some of our current favorite tracks. Here’s a daily roundup with a bunch of interesting, newly released songs in one place.
BLONDE REDHEAD – “SIT DOWN FOR DINNER PT. I & II”
“‘Sit Down for Dinner’ is written like a journal and I suppose it’s confessional,” Kazu of Blonde Redhead says of the two-part title track to their new album that’s out this week. “‘Part 1’ starts with me living on a remote island and contemplating what to do. ‘Part 2’ is me writing to my mother and father alongside inspiration from Ms. Didion’s writing. It touches on death and destiny and how we move through our lives without knowing how and when the end will come (with no pity). I’m excited by the way I was able to put down my rather terrifying thoughts on top of ‘uplifting’ music. You would never guess what I’m singing about.”
—
THREE QUARTER SKIES (SIMON SCOTT OF SLOWDIVE) – “ON FIRE”
Slowdive drummer Simon Scott has announced new solo project Three Quarter Skies and will release debut EP, Universal Flames, on October 27 via Sonic Cathedral. “I’d worked on a handful of songs over the course of last year that didn’t really fit Slowdive, so I ‘organically’ debuted them at a club in London called Folklore after a last-minute invite to jump up onstage and play some music,” says Simon. “I’d not even finished the lyrics for each track, but the journey to the gig became ingrained in the song ‘On Fire’ – which has ended up being our debut single – after a burning building in Old Street held me up and I scribbled the words down in the back of my taxi.” You can listen to “On Fire” now.
—
ARMAND HAMMER – “THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY” (PROD. EL-P)
Armand Hammer (billy woods & ELUCID) release new album We Buy Diabetic Test Strips on Friday and here’s one last preview before the whole thing drops — “The Gods Must Be Crazy” which was produced by EL-P. “woods and ELUCID have something special going and I am happy we got together on this jam,” El-P says. “I think we made a banger.”
—
THE JOY FORMIDABLE – “SHARE MY HEAT”
“‘Share My Heat’ is about true connection & love,” Ritzy Bryan says. “Deep, selfless love between humans is a beautiful part of our existence, but I’m also singing about our inherent love for nature, the living world & our kinship to everything : plants, animals, mountains & lake. Can we repair our relationship & bring more reciprocity, compassion and companionship to a world that already gives us so much.” It’s the third single they’ve shared this year, following “Cut Your Face” and “The Hat.”
—
EVIAN CHRIST – “NOBODY ELSE”
Electronic musician Evian Christ has given us another early taste of his first full-length album, Revanchist, with pulsing trance track “Nobody Else,” which samples Clairo’s “North.”
—
KATIE DEY – “DAWN SERVICE”
Australian experimental pop artist Katie Dey announced a new album, never falter hero girl, due out on October 27. The first single is “dawn service,” about which she says, “to me this song is about being yourself.’ I wrote it thinking of a time in my reckless youth , going to the ANZAC day dawn service in a small conservative town in Australia where I grew up (while on a lot of drugs) and deciding, in a small brief way, to assert who I am in the face of a society that values radically different things than I do in an act of defiance. For the video I filmed myself sitting on the grass in the rain in my backyard. Parental warning: this song contains the homosexual f slur.”
—
JUNE MCDOOM – “EMERALD RIVER DANCE” (JUDEE SILL COVER)
June McDoom announced a new EP, With Strings, due out November 10, and featuring orchestral reworks of her own songs and some covers. “Judee Sill’s songwriting and arrangements have impacted me deeply, and so I hoped to honor the music she made by recording a version of her song, ‘Emerald River Dance,’” she says.
—
ARONE DYER & S T A R G A Z E – “DEFINE”
Buke and Gase’s Arone Dyer announced a new album with European classical-contemporary ensemble s t a r g a z e, ARONE x S T A R G A Z E, due out December 1 via Transgressive Records in collaboration with Brassland. The first single is sweeping chamber pop track “Define.” Dyer calls it “a quick-n-easy-down-n-dirty-flurry of sexual expression for me, which isn’t something I tend to do with Buke and Gase. I kept thinking about how much phones are integrated into relationships now, I think at the time many of my closest friends were on tinder or some other dating app, so there was a lot of talk about the ickiness of sizing someone up so quickly by a photo – swipe right or left and you’ve made your decision. I think this way of communicating and moving through the pool of sexual possibility is excessive and confusing.”
—
FLORENTINO – “PRESSURE” FT. SHYGIRL
Manchester-based Colombian producer Florentino is releasing a new EP, Kilometro Quinze, on October 20 via XL, and new single “Pressure” features vocals from Shygirl.
—
BAD BUNNY – “UN PREVIEW”
Bad Bunny has shared his first solo single since “Where She Goes” in May. He produced it with Tainy, Mag, and La Paciencia, and he rides a mechanical rocking horse in the video, directed by Stillz.
—
SUN JUNE – “MIXED BAG”
“‘Mixed Bag’ is about the comforts and frustrations of well-worn relationships with people and places,” say Sun June of this new single. “It focuses on the harsh realities of living in Texas, being in a long distance relationship, and becoming irritable with the people you love.” Bad Dream Jaguar is out 10/20 via Run for Cover.
—
WE OWE – “TIME SUCK”
We Owe, the synthy solo project of Christopher Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu), has announced new album Major Inconvenience that’s out December 1 via Mothland. “When writing for ‘We Owe,’ I use the bass guitar a lot, usually many tracks at the same time,” Chris says of the album’s first single. “I mix drum samples and real percussion. I use synths up the wazoo, a smattering of guitar, and other instruments depending on the song.”
—
O. – “SLICE”
Dan Carey’s Speedy Wunderground label has signed London duo O. (baritone saxophonist Joseph Henwood and drummer Tash Keary) and have announced their debut EP and shared the funky and fun first single. “We wrote ‘Slice’ as soon as we got back from our gig and week in Recife, Brazil,” says Tash. “One of the things we loved about carnival was the amount of energy and buzz that goes into the music, and ‘Slice’ is us taking that approach with our own songs.”
—
THE MOUNTAIN GOATS – “MURDER AT THE 18TH ST. GARAGE”
“Rather than being coy about it let me tell you that somebody gets killed in this song, which is, at best, a short-term solution to Jenny’s problems, not that I’m saying she herself did anything,” John Darnielle says of The Mountain Goats’ new song. “It’s her word against his now and he can’t talk any more and she’s long gone by the time the EMTs get to 18th street. Under oath I will testify that she was with me, because I am with her. I knew when I wrote this tune that Wurster-Hughes Inc. would eat it up like a big tasty snack, and guess what, they did. Lace up your dancing workboots but wear some inserts because this one’s a sprint.” New LP Jenny from Thebes is out 10/27 via Merge.
—
UPCHUCK – “CRASHING”
Atlanta punks UPCHUCK have shared another ripper form their upcoming Ty Segall-produced album, Bite the Hand That Feeds.
—
LIZ LAWRENCE FEATURING STEVE MASON – “I WAS THERE”
Liz Lawrence says this new single, featuring Beta Band’s Steve Mason, “goes out to anyone who can’t stop mentioning the state of the world at parties and killing the vibe. I am you.”
—
PAYCHEQUE (EX SHEER AGONY) – “NEXT IN LINE”
Jackson Macintosh, who used to lead Sheer Agony but these days plays in Drugdealer, TOPS and other bands, has finally announced a new project of his own. Paycheque is a duo with Allison Goldfarb and “Next in Line” is their first single, dark but poppy synthpop. Good stuff.
–
ROCKET – “PORTRAIT SHOW”
LA quartet Rocket have announced their debut EP, Versions of You, which will be out October 27. “I wrote this song like I was speaking to myself in the mirror,” Althea Tuttle says of “Portrait Show” which rides a nice indie rock bass groove. “Lyrically it takes you inside of my brain and lets you in on how easy it is for me to accept defeat. The first verse is split into the two sides of my mind, one being self deprecating and the other one trying to fight that.”
—
RAZE REGAL AND WHITE DENIM INC – “DISLOCATION”
“This record was born out of the friendship and the closeness that James and I share, as well as pure creativity,” Raze Regal says of his collaboration with White Denim that will be out November 24 via Bella Union. “Dislocation” is the flute-filled first single.
—
CIRCUS DEVILS (ROBERT POLLARD) – “HERE WE ARE”
Circus Devils, the trio of Guided by Voices‘ Robert Pollard backed by siblings Todd & Tim Tobias, have announced Squeeze the Needle</A., which is their 15th album and first in six years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIEQjqGWu5o ALEXALONE – “ALL I NEED”
alexalone announced a new album for Polyvinyl, ALEXALONE TECHNICAL RESEARCH, and shared the first single, which you can read more about here.
—
YEAR OF THE KNIFE – “WISH” FT. SANGUISUGABOGG’S DEVIN SWANK & “LAST LAUGH” FT. FULL OF HELL’s DYLAN WALKER
Year of the Knife announced No Love Lost, the new album they’d recorded before their serious car accident, and shared the first two singles, which you can read more about here.
—
Looking for even more new songs? Browse the New Songs archive
