jacco-somnium

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…

ANDERSON .PAAK – “WHO R U?”

Anderson .Paak’s highly anticipated new album Oxnard finally drops next week, and he’s unleashed one more song from it ahead of the release. It’s a Dr. Dre-produced cut that has .Paak in more of a hard-edged rap mode than usual, and it features a few brief vocal interjections by Dre too. Paak’s delivery also gets a little Pharrell-like at times. It’s cool stuff.

REGINA SPEKTOR – “BIRDSONG”

Regina Spektor contributed the lovely, acoustic guitar-laden “Birdsong” to the sixth episode of Matthew Weiner’s Amazon series The Romanoffs. “This episode felt like a love letter to the deep rich culture of Mexico,” she says, “and to people just trying to find and accept themselves as they are.”

SUFJAN STEVENS – “LONELY MAN OF WINTER”

Alec Duffy won “Lonely Man of Winter” in Sufjan Stevens’ 2007 Xmas Song Xchange Contest, in exchange for a song of his own, “Every Day is Christmas.” He held listening sessions that gradually reached across the county, but until now an official recorded version of the song hasn’t been available. Sufjan recorded a new version, and proceeds from sales go to Brooklyn non-profit performance space JACK, which Alec is the founder and artistic director of.

JACCO GARDNER – “LEVANIA”

Dutch artist Jacco Gardner will release instrumental album Somnium next week. “I deliberately removed my voice from the experience, as it made it more difficult for me to achieve the intended state of mind,” say Jacco, whose previous albums have had vocals. “I think it makes the journey more interesting, more deep, and more intimate. I didn’t feel the need to show my face while one drifts away into thought. Somnium is a visionary experience. The album is more than just a trip, it is about contact with a deeper – hidden – reality.” Check out “Levania,” which brings just a little tropical flavor to his usual baroque psych.

SHOUT OUT LOUDS – “UP THE HILL”

These Swedish indie pop vets are back with a new single, “Up the Hill,” that finds the band experimenting with autotune and other studio tricks. “Life in this world is backbreaking at times, and I bet most of us sometimes feel at least a little bit like the allegorical orchestra playing on while the ship is sinking under our feet.” The band hope this may lift some spirits.

JOHNNY MARR – “SPECTRAL EYES”

Johnny Marr has released “Spiral Cities,” the latest single from this year’s Call the Comet. It comes with a new b-side, “Spectral Eyes,” which features some of his signature guitar-work.

SABA – “STAY RIGHT HERE” (ft. MICK JENKINS & XAVIER OMAR)

Chicago rappers Saba and Mick Jekins are responsible for two of the year’s finest rap albums, and now here they are on a song together, with San Antonio’s Xavier Omar in the mix too. It’s the kind of warm, soulful, jazzy rap that Saba and Mick tend to excel at it, and it’s great stuff.

KELSEY LU – “DUE WEST”

Vocalist, cellist, and producer Kelsey Lu calls her new single, “Due West,” “a continuation of the evolution of self. A continuous questioning of the romanticism of ‘home’ and what we leave behind in order to gain hope in what’s ahead” Produced by Rodaidh McDonald with additional work from Skrillex, its accompanied by a video directed by Cara Stricker and Mindy Le Brock.

CITY GIRLS – “TWERK”

Miami rap duo City Girls already released one album this year, and then they got exposed to a bigger audience than ever when Drake sampled them on “In My Feelings,” and now they’re set to release their second LP of 2018, G I R L C O D E, next week (11/16) on Quality Control. Get amped for that with this new banger, “Twerk.”

METHYL ETHEL – “REAL TIGHT”

Methyl Ether, the project of Australian musician Jake Webb, will return with their third album, Triage, which will be out February 15 via 4AD. The new single for the record is the very poppy “Real Tight” which has Webb busting a move in an empty warehouse. Maybe he just watched Flashdance?

IDK – “BAD NEWS” (ft. RICO NASTY)

IDK’s new guest-filled IDK & Friends EP is out today, including the recent singles with Maxo Kream and with Denzel Curry. It also features this song with Rico Nasty, one of the hardest and best breakout rappers of 2018. As you might expect, this song goes.

DEJ LOAF – “WHO GONE STOP US”

While there’s still no word on DeJ Loaf’s long-awaited debut album Liberated, she has dropped another new single. It’s called “Who Gone Stop Us” and it’s a super catchy song that shows off her melodic sing-rapping side, and it’s more proof that DeJ can do no wrong.

TYLER THE CREATOR – “I AM THE GRINCH”

There’s something that feels really perfect about Tyler, the Creator making music for a remake of The Grinch. You already heard his cover of “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” and now he shared an original song that he wrote for the film. It’s weird and dark and schizophrenic, just like most of Tyler’s own albums.

WOOING – “IN HER HEAD” & “COULD HAVE BEEN”

Rachel Trachtenburg has been active in the NYC music scene since childhood, and for the past year she’s been joined by JR Thomason and Rosie Slater for her latest project, Wooing. The trio released a new two-song 7″ EP, The Clouds, via Kanine. Both “In Her Head” and “Could Have Been” have a strikingly distinct and bluesy guitar sound that mixes nicely with Rachel’s dreamy vocals.

ILSA – “THE DEVILS”

DC sludgesters Ilsa returned this year with their first album for Relapse, Corpse Fortress (following a run of albums of A389), and now they’ve released even more new music: a split with Greta that’s available digitally and on a cassette that you can exclusively pick up at Ilsa’s West Coast tour this month. Ilsa’s one song on the split is the crushing, relentless “The Devils.”

ALIREZA – “NEVER SEEN”

For whatever reason, legendary metal label Earache has signed a rapper for the first time in their career: DC’s Alireza. According to his bio on Earache’s website, Alireza is influenced by metal, but his new song “Never Seen” is actually a pretty straight-up rap song that you would sooner picture Def Jam signing than Earache. Either way, it’s a booming, aggressive rap song that makes us excited to hear more from this guy.

HEALTH x YOUTH CODE – “INNOCENCE”

“INNOCENCE” is the latest in HEALTH’s series of collaborative singles, and we wrote more about it here.

CRAZY & THE BRAINS – “PEOPLE WHO DIED” (JIM CARROLL BAND COVER)

Crazy & the Brains take on this power pop classic for their upcoming album Into The Ugly, which we wrote more about here.

JON SPENCER – “BEATLE BOOTS”

The man who once got down to “Bell Bottoms” now rails against fake Beatles Boots on one of the standout cuts from his new solo album, Spencer Sings the Hits. He’s railing against phonies with their imitation leather and plastic zippers, urging folks to get real. “Stop playin’ with the butter knife!”

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