Action Bronson

23 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…

ACTION BRONSON – “WHITE BRONCO”

Action Bronson is off his major label and is planning to self-release his next project White Bronco, which he’s been talking about for a while. Now he says it’s coming “extremely soon” and he just released its title track. “White Bronco” sees Bronson rapping over chilled-out, jazzy production, which is the perfect match for his ’90s-style rhymes. Bronson made some of his best work as an independent artist, and it sounds like he’s doing just fine now that he is one again.

PARDISON FONTAINE – “BACKIN’ IT UP” (ft. CARDI B)

Pardison Fontaine is an up-and-coming Newburgh, NY rapper and he’s a longtime friend of Cardi B, who was nice enough to bless his new single “Backin’ It Up” with one of her hardest verses of the year. The song is worth it just to hear her go off, but Pardison holds his own on the track too.

CHRIS CORNELL – “WHEN BAD DOES GOOD”

A new career-spanning Chris Cornell retrospective will be released on November 16. Available in a 17-track double LP as well as a four-disc deluxe edition and a super deluxe edition with four CDs, seven LPs, and a DVD. All will pull from throughout the late Cornell’s career, including Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and solo works. That super-deluxe edition has 11 unreleased songs, one of which, the soulful, organ-drenched “When Bad Does Good,” his estate shared today.

NORAH JONES & JEFF TWEEDY – “A SONG WITH NO NAME”

Norah Jones has been releasing a string of singles this year and has just shared this one which is a collaboration with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. They co-wrote the song together and it features Jeff on acoustic and electric guitar, with Jones contributing vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, and celeste.

JOHNNY MARR – “JEOPARDY”

Johnny Marr is in the midst of his North American tour where he’s treating fans to songs from his three solo albums — like this year’s Call the Comet — as well as dips into The Smiths and Electronic’s catalogs. To remind everyone he’s out there, Johnny’s just shared “Jeopardy” which was previously only available as a vinyl b-side.

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD – “KILL US ALL” (ft. DENZEL CURRY)

The Neighborhood is not a band I usually like, but their new Ever Changing EP features great rappers (Denzel Curry, Nipsey Hussle, Ghostface Killah, and IDK) on four of its five songs, and The Neighbourhood basically take a backseat and let their guests take over, which works to this EP’s benefit. The best song is probably opener “Kill Us All,” which features Denzel Curry and basically sounds like it could’ve fit on Denzel’s great new album. He opens with “I drop gems like a bad jewel thief from Kool Keith / Dr. Octagon, with a delivery from the Octamom,” which is not just an awesome turn of phrase, but a good comparison for this song, which isn’t far removed from Dr. Octagon’s weirdo futuristic outer space raps. – Andrew

BROCKHAMPTON – “WEIGHT”

Brockahmpton’s highly anticipated new album Iridescence is finally here, and the big highlight is “Weight.” As we said, the song “goes from spoken word-rap over orchestral strings to big, reverby soulful harmonies over ambient textures, to breakbeat/trip hop type stuff to slow-jam hip hop and beyond. That song’s one of the lyrical highlights too, with the group members getting introspective and looking at the ways their lives have changed since the fame and all the hardships that came with it (‘They split my world into pieces / I ain’t heard from my nieces / I’ve been feeling defeated / Like I’m the worst in the boyband,’ Kevin begins).”

CALVIN JOHNSON – “(I’VE STILL GOT) SAND IN MY SHOES” FT. MICHELLE BRANCH

Indie rock and DIY icon Calvin Johnson surprised a lot of people when he announced his new album, A Wonderful Beast, was produced by Black Keys’ Patrick Carney and features backing vocals on many of the songs by Michelle Branch. Just as surprising is how well Johnson’s distinctive baritone works on sleekly produced tracks like this.

COLTER WALL – ‘THINKIN’ ON A WOMAN”

Canadian country singer Colter Wall sounds and looks he  came straight from the early ’70s scene, and his new album, Songs of the Plains, is one of our most anticipated fall releases. Here’s another lonesome ballad to tide you over till the LP’s October 12 release.

180DB (mem SAVAGES) – “ROAD TRIP” (ft. MEREDITH GRAVES & NICK ZINNER)

180db is a new project from two members of Savages, and their debut single features Meredith Graves and Nick Zinner. More info here.

GALLANT – “TOOGOODTOBETRUE” (ft. SUFJAN STEVENS & REBECCA SUGAR)

Rising alt-R&B singer Gallant has covered Drake and Prince with Sufjan Stevens in the past, and now he teamed up with him for a new original song, which we wrote more about here.

SIA – “STEP BY STEP”

Recently Sia released a few singles with LSD, her supergroup with Diplo and Labrinth, as well as a duet with Dolly Parton for the Dumplin’ soundtrack, and now she’s sharing a new song of her own. While she considered, according to a 2015 radio interview, pitching “Step by Step” to 2019 Super Bowl Halftime artists Maroon 5 or (two-time Halftime Show performer) Bruno Mars, she released her own version instead. (Yay.)

RHYE – “HYMN”

“This one has been a long time coming,” Rhye said about their new single, “Hymn.” “I’m in a wicked state,” Mike Milosh intones over minimal beats that gradually swell to incorporate electronic noise and strings, “so come on fade.” Later in the song, his “ooh, I’m losing control” is nearly a sigh. The song follows their February release of Blood, their sophomore album.

CHARLI XCX – “FOCUS” (YAEJI REMIX)

Yaeji, who we named one of the best new(ish) artists of 2017, leaves her mark on this Charli XCX single from this earlier this summer, pitching it into a minor key and making it all around a little weirder than the original.

JUNGLEPUSSY – “THEY KNOW”

New York rapper Junglepussy begins her tour supporting this year’s JP3 tonight, and to mark the occasion, she dropped a new song, “They Know.” It’s a laid-back jam that has Junglepussy’s increasingly sharp delivery in fine form (and there’s a nice OutKast reference in there). It’s a nice way to stir up some more excitement for this tour.

SOB X RBE – “MADE IT”

Fast-rising rap group SOB x RBE are releasing their second album of 2018, Gangin II, next week, and they’ve shared a new song from it. “Made It” shows off their melodic side, and it’s more proof that this is an unstoppable year for SOB x RBE. (A rumor is circulating that they’re breaking up, but that is not confirmed and they’re also still set to tour through December.)

YOUNG DOLPH – “BREAK THE BANK” (ft. OFFSET)

Young Dolph released his new album Role Model today, and among its 14 tracks is “Break The Bank,” which features Offset of Migos and is the kind of Atlanta-style trap banger that would fit on a Migos album.

MAGNA CARTA CARTEL (pre-GHOST) – “THE SUN & THE RAIN”

Before Tobias Forge, Martin Persner and Simon Söderberg formed the Swedish occult rock band Ghost, they were in the alt-rock band Magna Carta Cartel, who Persner now revived after he and Söderberg parted ways with Ghost. Their first new single since getting back together is “The Sun & The Rain,” which isn’t much like Ghost at all. MetalSucks compared it to the Gin Blossoms and that’s one of the first things we hear too.

TOOTHGRINDER – “THE CHAIN” (FLEETWOOD MAC COVER)

Metal bands covering Fleetwood Mac is a thing, and given its darker tone, it’s no surprise that a lot of these metal bands do “The Chain.” That’s just what NJ progressive metallers Toothgrinder have done with this new cover, which is definitely a little more metal than the Mac but actually a fairly straightforward rendition.

JOHNATHAN RICE – “MEET THE MOTHER”

Frequent Jenny Lewis collaborator and producer Johnathan Rice is preparing to release a new solo project, his first since 2013’s Good Graces. About new single “Meet The Mother,” he says, “This song is an outlier in my catalogue because it’s my attempt at writing something funny. I ended up in a conversation with Bill Murray one night about relationships, and he told me, ‘Well, you’ve got to meet the mother,’” recalls Rice. “I carried that phrase with me for years. It felt totemic. I don’t necessarily think that we are just facsimiles of our parents. Real life is way more nuanced than that. But songs aren’t real life. Songs are shorter.”

A-MOMS = ALGEBRA MOTHERS – “CAR SICK”

Third Man Records is unearthing an album’s worth of material from late-’70s mutant punks A Moms (aka Algebra Mothers) who formed at Detroit’s Cass Tech High School. It will be their first release in 40 years, and only their second release ever. “Car Sick” is soaked in sneery attitude and gets gloriously weird in its last minute.

SOUTH SOUTH MILLION – “LIKE FLAGS THE LIGHTS”

South South Million are Zoos of Berlin’s Trevor Naud and Daniel I. Clark in chillout mode. Their first record in six years is due out this fall and you can read more about it HERE.

SUSS – “LARAMIE”

SUSS, which includes members of ’80s new wave band Rubber Rodeo, a Nickelodeon TV composer, and the co-creator of ‘Idiotland,’ make “ambient country” and their self-released album is getting a proper release in November on Northern Spy, with bonus tracks. Read more about it HERE.

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