19 New Songs Out Today
So many artists, so little time. Each week we review five 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 BOOKS – “UFO”
Manchester Orchestra/Kevin Devine offshoot Bad Books have shared a new song and video off their upcoming third album (due next week), “UFO.” Andy Hull sings lead on this one, and it’s a gorgeous, atmospheric ballad. Director Jeremy Hartman says, “We wanted to find a location that emotionally connected with the lyrics ‘what an empty gorgeous place.’ We found Pisgah Crater with some Google satellite help. And despite an active rattlesnake population, we found it to be breathtaking — an almost Martian landscape that felt isolated from the world. We were concerned that such a perfect spot would be too good to be true, but the scouting gods were nice to us in that the crater is owned by a guy who likes films and Bad Books.” The band are going on their first tour in 6 years later this month, and Kevin Devine is playing an intimate show at Capitol Theater’s Garcia’s space in July (tickets)
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DEVON WELSH – “FACES”
Former Majical Cloudz vocalist Devon Welsh released his debut solo LP, Dream Songs, last year, and now he’s followed it with new single “Faces.” It has the haunting, cathartic, and emotionally raw qualities of much of Devon’s work, and it’s accompanied by a video which Zola Jesus helped shoot and edit.
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THE UNDERACHIEVERS – “WASTEMAN”
Not only are The Underachievers very busy this year as members of the Beast Coast supergroup, the duo returned today with their own new single, and it’s as dizzying as you’d expect from these two.
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FUTURE – SAVE ME (EP STREAM)
Atlanta trap giant Future is back with a new seven-song EP called Save Me. It’s the prolific artist’s second project of 2019.
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MOSTACK – STACKO (ALBUM STREAM)
British rapper/singer MoStack has been buzzed about for a while and today he finally dropped his debut album, Stacko. It’s a breezy, enjoyable batch of songs featuring Stormzy, J Hus, Dave, Fredo, and Dolapo.
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THE DREW THOMSON FOUNDATION – “L.A. LATELY”
Single Mothers frontman Drew Thomson is releasing a full-length album as The Drew Thomson Foundation this year, and its new single is the catchy, mid-tempo “L.A. Lately.” “Tripping over substance abuse and retreating from responsibility isn’t a new theme, but it’s relatable. I spent half my life sweeping up the night before and avoiding what caused the mess, determined it was the place I was living, not the life I was living that was the true problem. It’s a fight most of us go through it sometime in our 20’s. This song is just about a punch in that fight, not the knock out or the beginning – but a snippet somewhere between yelling at the bouncer and hearing the sirens getting closer down the street,” Drew says. If you like “emo all grown up” stuff like The New Amsterdams, you’re probably gonna dig this too.
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VANISHING TWIN – “BACKSTROKE”
London band Vanishing Twin’s second album, The Age of Immunology, is out today and answers the question “What would Stereolab and Broadcast have sounded like if they were one band?” One of the standout cuts is “Backstroke” which sounds like Can fronted by Jane Birkin. Read our review of the album here.
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FRENCH VANILLA – “FRIENDLY FIRE”
Self-described art-punks, LA’s French Vanilla aren’t that different from the Priests and Savages and IDLES of our era. Saxophones skronk, guitars scratch, the rhythm section is manic disco and singer Sally Spitz wails wild out front. But they approach it all from a decidedly new wave angle, that is closer to Romeo Void and The Waitresses than Gang of Four or PiL. You can Molly Ringwald dance to “Friendly Fire.” Read our review of their new album How Am I Not Myself?
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SLØTFACE – “TELEPATHETIC”
Norway’s Sløtface released their debut album Try Not To Freak Out in 2017, and now they’ve followed it with this peppy new single. Frontwoman Haley Shea, says, “the lyrics were something I’d been trying to fit somewhere on the record throughout the process. The song is about the feeling, usually when you’re growing up, or working a job you don’t like, or other halfway points where it just feels like everything good is happening in other places from where you are. It’s about how ineffectual it is to wait around and hope for things to happen, about how you have to make things happen, but also about the silly fear that if you dream about something it might not happen.”
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THE DIVINE COMEDY – OFFICE POLITICS (ALBUM STREAM)
Neil Hannon has been making records as The Divine Comedy for nearly 30 years, most of the grand orchestral works inspired by Scott Walker and Jacques Brel, with a flair for harpsichord and the melodramatic. Office Politics is his 12th album and his first double. It’s also a concept album — or maybe a rock opera of sorts, or a musical workplace dramedy — about a bunch of coworkers and the machines they use, from computers to copiers to coffee machines. “It has synthesizers. And songs about synthesizers,” Neil says. “But don’t panic. It also has guitars, orchestras, accordions, and songs about love and greed.”
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PETER PERRETT – HUMANWORLD (ALBUM STREAM)
Only Ones’ frontman Peter Perrett’s new album Humanworld, is his second album for Domino and follows 2017’s How the West Was Won (which was his first album in 20 years). “I’m fully aware there are a lot of people who never even thought I’d get to make another album, let alone two, in such a short time,” Perrett jokes, adding, “This record has got more urgency and the songs are more concise. Don’t like words such as progression but I hope this is texturally and sonically more interesting than How The West Was Won.”
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AMBER MARK – “WHAT IF”
Swoony strings drench Amber Mark’s new single and give it a luxurious, sullty feel that’s neighbors with Sade. Sink in:
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PHARRELL WILLIAMS – “LETTER TO MY GODFATHER”
Netflix just released The Black Godfather, a new documentary on music industry icon Clarence Avant, and Pharrell reunited with his old Neptunes partner Chad Hugo to write this auto-tuned ode to Clarence for the film.
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DJDS & DIJON – “MAGIC LOOP”
Production duo DJDS have made a name for themselves as makers of modern, inventive electronic music, and this new song with R&B crooner Dijon is no exception.
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PRINCE DADDY & THE HYENA – “C’MON & SMOKE ME UP”
Prince Daddy & the Hyena have shared another song off their upcoming album Cosmic Thrill Seekers, and this one’s a fast-paced indie-punk rager that should appeal to fans of Jeff Rosenstock and Joyce Manor.
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PRIESTS – “MOTHER” (DANZIG COVER)
Priests put a new twist on this Danzig classic and you can read more about it here.
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RAPHAEL SAADIQ – “SOMETHING KEEPS CALLING” (ft. ROB BACON)
Raphael Saadiq shared the first single off his first album in eight years, which you can read more about here.
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MADONNA – “DARK BALLET”
The latest single from Madonna’s new album comes with a video starring Mykki Blanco as Joan of Arc. Read more about it here.
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LIAM GALLAGHER – “SHOCKWAVE”
“I’m buzzing,” says Gallagher about his glammy stomper of a new single. “Buzzing to be alive, buzzing to be making tunes, raring to go. It’s nice to be back with some new music because it means I can get out there, play some gigs and give some people some stick because that is what I do. Let’s face it, it’s boring without me.”
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Looking for even more new songs? Browse the ‘New Songs’ archive.
