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.
RICHARD REED PARRY & LITTLE SCREAM – “LIVE THAT WAY FOREVER” (FROM THE IRON CLAW)
The Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry composed the score for new film The Iron Claw, about the famed Von Erich wrestling family, and he also wrote the anthemic song “Live That Way Forever” which Mike Von Erich’s band performs in it. Here’s Parry’s version with band Little Scream.
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BE SAFE – “REPLACEABLE MAN”
Be Safe (ex-Perfect Future) have detailed their new album Unwell, which arrives January 19 via Count Your Lucky Stars, and they’ve shared its second single. “Replaceable Man” starts out in slow, moody, Pedro the Lion-esque territory, before reaching an explosive climax.
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SLEATER-KINNEY – “UNTIDY CREATURE”
“‘Untidy Creature’ was the first song we wrote for Little Rope,” Sleater-Kinney say, “although we didn’t know it at the time; we weren’t certain we were even working on another record. We also worried it had come too easy, the song featured two elements that come very naturally to Sleater-Kinney: a big guitar riff, an even bigger vocal. But as the year wore on, and our choices and bodily autonomy shrank, our feeling about the song changed. It became a gift, somewhere to put our darkest fears, and our deepest hopes. We sometimes feel trapped or angry, and yet still we breathe. For the video, we wanted imagery that spoke to the themes which permeate Little Rope: uncertainty, restlessness, urgency, all of the in-between and discomfiting states with which we’re forced to reckon. So, we came up with the idea of a woman holding her breath in a bathtub for the duration of the song, unsure of her motivations, not knowing whether she’s seeking escape, disappearance, absolution, or simply a moment of quiet and reprieve. We love the tension created by an act that defies both custom and comfort.” Little Rope is out on January 19.
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GREY SKIES FALLEN – “KNOWING THAT YOU’RE THERE”
Long-running Staten Island melodic doomers Grey Skies Fallen have announced a new album, Molded by Broken Hands, due March 8 via Profound Lore (their first for the label). Here’s the howling, triumphant lead single “Knowing That You’re There.”
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KATY KIRBY – “HAND TO HAND”
Katy Kirby’s anticipated new album Blue Raspberry is out later this month, and the latest single is “Hand to Hand.” “I wrote this at a moment I was witnessing the gory breakdown of several relationships/couples all at the same time,” she says. “I don’t really want to invoke the word “heteropessimism” here, but I guess it’s about something like it, or just about commitment in general. It all seems like such an incredibly risky idea? I’m feeling less dark about it these days but I also fell in love with someone recently, so have tried to think about it less.”
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DJ SABRINA THE TEENAGE DJ – “ANYTHING LOST (CAN BE FOUND AGAIN)”
DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ’s poppy, sample-heavy dance music is as infectious as ever on “Anything Lost (Can Be Found Again).”
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YOUTH LAGOON – “FOOTBALL”
Youth Lagoon follows his great 2023 album Heaven Is a Junkyard with new single “Football,” which, like Heaven Is a Junkyard, was co-produced by Rodaidh McDonald. “‘Football’ is really a celebration of failure,” Trevor Powers says. “Society has a terrible habit of only recognizing achievement while glossing over the greatness in the shadows. We’re so distracted trying to earn love, worth and value that we forget it’s something we inherently already have. I wanted to play with this idea through the lens of sports ‘cuz, in a lot of ways, sports are the truest religion. When I was young, it was the only way I knew how to connect with my dad. We didn’t have a lot in common, but we could both throw the ball. There were rules and rituals we could see eye-to-eye on. We didn’t have to argue over who was right or wrong. The difference in my family was, it didn’t matter how good I was. The act of just throwing a ball was communion. It didn’t matter if I caught it. I love my Dad for that.”
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MARY TIMONY – “THE GUEST”
“I was imagining loneliness as a house guest who keeps knocking on your door,” Mary Timony says of the latest single from her anticipated new solo album, Untame the Tiger. I thought it would be funny to say loneliness is the only one who always comes back.” Her album’s out February 23 via Merge.
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THE BEVIS FROND – “LEB OFF”
Nearly 40 years into their career, The Bevis Frond (Nick Saloman for all intents and purposes) have carved out a distinct, ringing, ragged sound which falls somewhere between Teenage Fanclub and Dinosaur Jr (two bands who have cited The Bevis Frond as an influence). By our count, the upcoming Focus on Nature is the band’s 26th album and this is the second single from it.
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FINNOGUNS WAKE – “SO NICE”
Finnoguns Wake, the new group from Shogun of Royal Headache, will release their debut EP at the end of January and here’s another song from it. Says Shogun: “‘So Nice’ is about a crazy night out where things get a bit topsy-turvy and people’s true colors are revealed.”
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NATION OF LANGUAGE – “SPARE ME THE DECISION” (CUTOUTS REMIX)
Nation of Language bassist Alex MacKay took a stab at remixing their song “Spare Me the Decision” under his Cutouts guise. “I love the drum tracks Ian and Nick came up with, especially the slinky hi-hat pattern… and Ian is a true singer, so it’s an absolute joy working with his vocals. I preserved those parts but had a go at replacing almost everything else,” Alex says. “I thought it’d be fun to stretch the length, and try different chords under the chorus melody every time it comes around. I also slowed it down a couple BPM. I like seeing how slow I can make songs without losing the groove. Sometimes there’s a second pocket in there, a little slower than you might expect”.
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SLIFT – “WEAVERS’ WEFT”
French psych band Slift will release their Sub Pop debut, ILION, on January 19 and here’s one more preview. Say the band: “‘Weavers’ Weft’ is the song that opens the album’s second half. There was a tipping point in the narrative at the end of the first half of the album. The second half of the record is no longer situated in the linear flow of time that serves as a backdrop for many stories. From ‘Weaver’s Weft’ onwards, time goes both into the past and into the future. The piece talks about weavers of the fabric of time, entities who continually create space-times, each containing its share of universes. Everything that exists is written there, and it is possible to travel between frames. Everything is cyclical and infinite. To illustrate this (or maybe it’s the other way around?), we wanted something monolithic and timeless. It is as if this song has been sung for millennia (time goes back to the past!). The heavier parts are inspired by bands like Part Chimp and Gnod.”
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OZONE – “ALWAYS ON MY BACK”
Fort Worth hardcore band Ozone have unleashed a fiery new ripper with “Always On My Back.”
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EMMA AYZENBERG – “LUCILE”
Luke Temple and Carly Bond produced Los Angeles artist Emma Ayzenberg’s new EP, iron mountain, which is due out on January 26. The latest single is “lucile,” and she says, “Over the last few years, I’ve become fascinated with Jungian psychology and in my study of it have come to understand that memory often takes the shape of dreams and nightmares. On ‘lucile,’ I process the memories and shame of a relationship that turned abusive. For about 8 years I had a recurring dream about it which became the backdrop for this song. I am grateful that music is where we can speak the unspeakable…”
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COLOURING – “LOVE TO YOU, MATE”
“Love To You, Mate – The story of Christmas 2021 spent with my wife’s family in hospital together,” says Jack Kenworthy of the title track to his new Colouring album Love to You, Mate. “My brother-in-law Greg became very ill and in hindsight, that period marked the beginning of the end. But through all the worry and uncertainty, we just laughed and cried together in the most incredible ways – it was so special; Greg and the whole family were just amazing. This is a message to all of them and the still-point of the record really.” The album is out February 23 via Bella Union.
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DUCKS LTD. – “TRAIN FULL OF GASOLINE”
Toronto duo Ducks Ltd release their anticipated second album Harm’s Way on February 9, and they’ve just shared a new song from it. “Train Full of Gasoline” is another jangly earworm, and this one has some nice forward-thrust via Ratboys drummer Marcus Nunzio. The song also features backing vocals from Ratboys’ Julia Steiner and Moontype’s Margaret McCarthy.
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DAVID NANCE & MOWED SOUND – “MOCK THE HOURS”
Omaha singer, songwriter and guitarist has been putting his own ragged, garage-punk-inspired spin on heartland rock for over a decade, and despite releasing records on respected labels like Ba Da Bing and Trouble in Mind he still feels like a cult artist. Maybe that will change with this one, his first with new band Mowed Sound that will be out on Jack White’s Third Man Records.
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GHOST WORK – “GODSPEED ON THE TRAIL”
Ghost Work (members of Seaweed, Minus the Bear, Milemarker, and Snapcase) have a new album coming, and you can read more about lead single “Godspeed on the Trail” here.
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Looking for even more new songs? Browse the New Songs archive.
