Rina Sawayama - STFU!

12 New Songs Out Today

So many artists, 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, show recaps, track premieres, and more all day. That includes a lot of tour announcements, a list of tonight’s NYC shows, and NY shows that just went on sale. We publish a monthly playlist of some of our favorite tracks. Here’s a daily roundup with a bunch of interesting, newly released songs in one place…

BAD BUNNY – “VETE”

Bad Bunny continues his unstoppable reign with this new jam that sees him exploring his more chilled-out side.

ISLET – “GOOD GRIEF”

Welsh trio Islet make groovy psych pop that owes more than a little to dark, mid-’90s trip hop. The band have announced their new album, Eyelet, will be out March 6 on Fire Records and have shared excellent first single “Good Grief,” along with its disquieting video. Says singer Emma, “It was filmed backwards with multiple versions of one long shot layered and revealed like wiping condensation on a windscreen. It’s a lucid dream in a static caravan filled with generations of enigmatic women and children.”

RINA SAWAYAMA – “STFU!”

London-via-Japan pop artist Rina Sawayama signed to Dirty Hit Records and released a new single, the nu-metal inspired “STFU!” “‘STFU!’ is a song about releasing the RAGE against microaggressions,” Rina says. “As a Japanese girl growing up in the West I dealt with an array of aggressors ranging from: sexual stereotypes, comparisons with Lucy Liu and Cho Chang, to having to be the unofficial PR person and tourist board to Tokyo (a city of Western fascination that I left when I was 4), to people shouting Asian greetings down the street (nihao! Konnichiwa!), and finally to people doing ‘slit eyes.’ The way I’ve dealt with these microaggressions in recent years has been through comedy – my Asian friends and I have bonded over our shared experiences, laughing at how truly ridiculous these microaggressions are. Through humor we heal and can move on. This is the spirit of ‘STFU!’ It was truly a therapeutic experience to condense all the things that people have said to me over the years into a situation that highlights how ridiculous these comments are when said all in one go in a context (like a first date) of flattery.”

EMPEROR X – “THE FINAL WORD OF THE PRES OF THE U DOT S DOT”

Donald Trump’s blocky handwriting, captured in a photo yesterday, quickly became a meme, and almost as quickly became a free downloadable font. Now it’s become a song by bedroom pop artist Emperor X (who will be on tour with AJJ next year). “I WANT NOTHING. I WANT NO QUID PRO QUO”…

YANN TIERSEN – “CLOSER” (ft. BLONDE REDHEAD)

French musician and composer Yann Tiersen released one new album, All, back in February, and he has a second, Portrait, lined up for a digital release in December, with a three-disc vinyl edition to follow in January. This one features reworked versions of his previous material, along with three original songs, one of which, “Closer,” features Blonde Redhead. “I was expecting to write new material for this album, that was always the plan,” Tiersen told Flood. “I had been working on this track for a long time and Emilie [Tiersen] suggested asking Blonde Redhead to sing the song, which was perfect. Unfortunately they couldn’t come to Ushant, so they sent files from New York and Italy. But it worked so well, it was almost as though they were there. I love this band, but we hadn’t met and we still haven’t! They are the exception on this album, but we will meet.”

TINASHE – “PERFECT CRIME”

Tinashe’s new album dropped today, and the whole thing is very good. An early highlight for us is “Perfect Crime,” which strikes an appealing balance between her new clubby side and her classic pop/R&B side.

CATTLE DECAPITATION – “DEATH ATLAS”

Cattle Decapitation’s new album Death Atlas drops next week (11/29) via Metal Blade, and today they’ve shared the title track. It’s a nine-minute song, and it covers a lot of musical ground in that time, from steamrolling brutality to serene atmospheric stuff, and plenty of the in-between.

ANDREW BIRD – “MANIFEST” (ft. ERIKA WENNERSTROM)

Andrew Bird’s latest album My Finest Work Yet came out in March, and he’s offered up a new version of one of its tracks, “Manifest;” he’s re-imagined it as a duet with Erika Wennerstrom of Heartless Bastards. “When it occurred to me that ‘Manifest’ would work well as a duet I thought of Erika right away because her voice is so deep and grounded,” Bird says. “Not to get all mystical on you, but it just sounds like the earth. She brought something new to the song and hearing that other voice can make you listen in a different way. I don’t like to preach in my songs. ‘Manifest’ just lays it all out there alongside the incontrovertible evidence of an environmental tipping point and says, ‘don’t pretend you can’t hear.’ I’ve been a fan of Erika’s since we used to tour with Heartless Bastards to her solo work. She doesn’t sound like anyone else. Unbridled and unpretentious. A true artist.”

JASTA – “SPILLED BLOOD NEVER DRIES” (ft. KIRK WINDSTEIN)

Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta is releasing a new guest-filled Jasta album, The Lost Chapters, Vol. 2, on December 13 via Perseverance Media Group, and it features members of Sacred Reich, Prong, Ignite, Biohazard, Cannibal Corpse, Killswitch Engage, and more. The new single features Crowbar frontman (and Jasta’s Kingdom of Sorrow bandmate) Kirk Windstein, and it’s a dose of anthemic, melodic alt-metal.

BRAIDS – “ECLIPSE (ASHLEY)”

Montreal’s Raphaelle Standell-Preston released a new album as half of Blue Hawaii, Open Reduction Internal Fixation, in October, and now she’s preparing a new release with her band Braids. That’s due out in 2020, and they’ve shared the first single, “Eclipse (Ashley).” According to Raphaelle, it’s ” a love song made for my best friend Ashley Obscura. During the car ride to go and view the total solar eclipse, we were fretting about not having glasses to stare at the sun, you know, those funny ones that look like you’re sitting down to watch a 3D movie. Amongst the chatter Ashley said ‘we should take this opportunity to think about what eclipses us in our lives.’ BAM. REFOCUS. We all took this sentiment with us as we sat on the side of the quarry, as the moon came to hug the sun. We sat in silence perched amongst the tall grass, the wildflowers, the rocks and glistening water, closed eyes, reflecting. Returning to the studio, the song poured out of us in one shot.”

EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING – “OUR QUIET WHISPER”

Australian garage punks Eddy Current Suppression Ring are back with their first album in 10 years, titled All in Good Time. They’ve released a single from the album — the simmering “Our Quiet Whisper,” which like its title, goes for the low-key approach rather than hitting you over the head. “Out quiet whisper has become a chant,” sings Brendan Huntley, as a head full of steam bubbles just below the surface.

COURTNEY LOVE – “MOTHER”

Courtney Love’s “Mother” is the first song revealed from the soundtrack for The Turning, which also features Kim Gordon, Mitski, Soccer Mommy, Vagabon, Warpaint, Cherry Glazerr, Alice Glass, Alison Mosshart, and more. Read more here.

Looking for even more new songs? Browse the ‘New Songs’ archive.