18 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…

BRIGID DAWSON & THE MOTHERS NETWORK (OH SEES) – “IS THE SEASON FOR NEW INCARNATIONS”

Sometimes-Oh Sees member Brigid Dawson will release Battle of Apes, her first record with her backing band The Mothers Network, on May 23 via Castle Face. The record features appearances from Total Control’s Mikey Young, Mike Donovan (Sic Alps), Shayde Sartin (Fresh & Onlys, Sonny & the Sunsets), Mike Shoun (Oh Sees), and Brooklyn’s Sunwatchers. The first single is “Is The Season for New Incarnations,” a slab of heavy (yet understated), soulful psych.

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WOOLEN MEN – “ALLEY CAT”

Portland, OR’s Woolen Men have embarked on a singles series, the first entry of which is out now. “Alley Cat” is one of their poppier, bouncier songs in a while, but still with that minimal Woolen Men sound.

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THE DEARS – “I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING AND IT’S AWFUL”

Montreal’s The Dears will release their new album, Lovers Rock, on May 15 and its shaping up to be very much in the mold of their classic No Cities Left. “This is a song that came in rather suddenly,” frontman Murray Lightburn says of this new single. “I woke up one morning and there it was, playing in my head. The news story of a manhunt for a couple of teenage kids who were charged with 2nd degree murder played in the background. I finished the song as news broke that two male bodies found were believed to be them. I am not at all saying the song is about this story, only that I was totally obsessed with the story as I wrote this song.”

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NICOLAS BOUGAÏEFF – “THALASSOPHOBIA”

Berlin-based producer and artist Nicolas Bougaïeff will release The Upward Spiral which will be his first album for Mute. He’s just shared the first single, a minimal techno banger, “Thalassophobia.” “It’s about looking inwards,” says Bougaïeff. “It’s a Greek word that means fear of depth, actually literally it’s fear of water, but it’s the fear of unfathomable depths. I’m pointing to the fear of depths; both literal and metaphorical. It’s a beautiful word that has attracted me going back years.”

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HANNIBAL BURESS – “JUDGE JUDY” FT CHROME SPARKS AND RON LAMONT

Hannibal Buress has collaborated with Chrome Sparks on this track that gets its title from the many samples from TV adjudicator Judge Judy. Hannibal’s lyrics tell the tale of someone who appeared on the show. Ron Lamont also features.

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ELEPHANT STONE – “AMERICAN DREAM”

Montreal band Elephant Stone have shared this new politically minded single that is specifically about the coronavirus crisis with lines like “One month since no kid’s been shot / Not so much winning as all of the schools are locked.” All proceeds from the single will benefit PLUS1’s COVID-19 Relief Fund which directly supports touring crews and others in the live music industry who have lost work or have gotten sick during the COVID-19 crisis.

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KEHLANI – “F&MU”

Ever-popular R&B star Kehlani releases her anticipated new album It Was Good Until It Wasn’t next week (May 8 via Atlantic), and it’ll include this likable new single, which comes with a self-shot, quarantine-style video.

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AJ TRACEY – “DINNER GUEST” (ft. MOSTACK)

UK rapper/producer AJ Tracey has dropped a danceable new single ft. MoStack, and all proceeds from first-week sales go to COVID-19 relief.

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SELF DEFENSE FAMILY – “SECULAR TRUST” & “LUST FOR NUKE”

Self Defense Family have shared two more unreleased songs from their vault. These were recorded when SDF were on tour in Europe with Creative Adult, and these recordings were made with members of that band, Spiritual Cramp, Regional Justice Center, and Pretty Matty (and possibly others). Both are on the atmospheric, slow-burning side, but in that gritty, gravelly way that’s unmistakably the work of Self Defense Family.

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BEHOLD THE ARCTOPUS – “FORGOTTEN EXPLANATIONS”

Behold The Arctopus have shared another song off their upcoming album Hapeleptic Overtrove, and it finds this band sounding as avant-garde as ever.

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ARCA – “NONBINARY”

Arca shared a 62-minute song and video back in February, and now she’s followed that with another new track, “Nonbinary.” It’s the first single off her upcoming album, KiCK i, and its accompanying video includes a surreal and phantasmagorical reimagining of The Birth of Venus. Speaking to Paper about the song, Arca says, “I’m asking for recognition that we have multiple selves without denying that there’s a singular unit. [It’s] the difference between the pronoun use of ‘they’ and ‘it.’ It’s that I want to have my cake and eat it, too. I want to be seen as an ecosystem of minor self-states without being stripped of the dignity of being a whole. It gives me the feeling of possibility, to not allow for easy categorization. I wouldn’t want to just go pop and I wouldn’t want to go full experimentalist. That’s where a nonbinary mode of thinking feels really fertile. It opens possibilities rather than collapsing things. Allowing for change without resisting it.”

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DISHEVELED CUSS – “OH MY GOD”

Disheveled Cuss, the new project of Tera Melos’ Nick Reinhart, has released another new song off his upcoming self-titled debut album (pushed back from May 8 to June 12 via Sargent House), and this one kinda finds him in upbeat post-punk/new wave mode. Cool stuff.

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BRAIDS – “JUST LET ME”

Braids’ new album Shadow Offering is due out June 19 (postponed from April), and the latest single they’ve shared is “Just Let Me,” which is accompanied by a video the band’s Raphaelle Standell-Preston directed. “With this video and song we sought to examine the elements both physical and emotional that stand in the way of our ability to love and be loved – feelings of complacency, loss of autonomy and freedom, and the contradictory desire for something which is no longer new to feel fresh, as though you are experiencing each other again for the very first time,” she writes. “While writing this song, I recall feeling far away from my partner, our silence louder than shouting words, wondering ‘how can I get through to you?’ I am grateful to have been able to explore this very question with two incredible dancers and dear friends Stephen John Quinlan and Justin De Luna, and choreographer Axelle Munezero. We spent many Sundays together at Axelle’s studio, seeking to understand love in its many forms through body and movement. It was an emotional yet liberating experience – a lot of sweat, tears and laughter went into this. Thank you to all involved who believed in seeing this video through from beginning to end. My whole heart and respect goes out to Derek Branscombe, DOP and with whom I directed this video, for beautifully elevating the imagery I had playing in my head, taking it to realms I didn’t know possible. I have to say, this is one of the things I am most proud of having been a part of.”

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JESS WILLIAMSON – “SMOKE”

Jess Williamson’s new album Sorceress arrives May 15 via Mexican Summer and here’s another song from it. It starts out as a tender, delicate folk song, but it’s a slow-burn and it evolves into something much bigger and much trippier.

https://youtu.be/vINgxOeiCoQ

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THOM YORKE – “PLASTICINE FIGURES”

Thom Yorke debuted this new song on an at-home edition of Fallon last night, and it’s a gorgeous, piano-based song that’s very worth listening to. Read more here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgyHOfV-i1k

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THE PRIZE FIGHTER INFERNO – “STAND BY ME” (BEN E. KING COVER)

Coheed & Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez re-activated his electronic solo project The Prize Fighter Inferno earlier this month, and today he released this “Stand By Me” cover which you can read more about here.

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DEDICATED MEN OF ZION – “I FEEL ALRIGHT”

Gospel/soul group Dedicated Men of Zion are releasing an album of covers of sacred soul obscurities, and you can read more about it here while you listen to this new one.

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LUCY DACUS – “TOM COURTENAY” (YO LA TENGO COVER)

Did you know Lucy Dacus and Yo La Tengo’s Electr-o-pura share the same birthday? (May 2, 1995.)  It’s true, and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of YLT’s classic album, she’s covered it’s single.

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