23 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.
M.I.A. – “OHMNI 202091”
M.I.A. returned over the weekend with her first new song in three years, and it’s as larger-than-life and genre-blurring as you’d hope for from M.I.A. Listen and read the lyrics at her Patreon.
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MAC MCCAUGHAN (SUPERCHUNK) – “SPORTSCHANNEL8: THE THEME SONG”
Superchunk frontman, Merge Records label boss and sports fan Mac McCaughan turned his loves into a theme song for local North Carolina sports radio show and, with all sports canceled like concerts, he’s shared it. “I love sports, I clearly love music (despite album titles to the contrary), so when when local sports radio ‘personalities’ Ben Swain and Hayes Permar asked me to record the theme song for their new radio show Sports Channel 8, I knew my moment had arrived to unite two worlds,” says Mac. “The song has graced our local airwaves since and to my delight has been performed by the Florida State Pep Band at ACC basketball games as well. With the cessation of all sports at the moment, you will have to envision the 110% being given by your favorite team as you listen.”
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SORRY – AS THE SUN SETS
UK duo Sorry (Asha Lorenz and Louis O’Bryen) release their terrific debut album this week and here’s one of the standout cuts that typifies the jazzy cabaret meets dance music vibe of the record, with a little not to Louis Armstrong.
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AC NEWMAN – “TELL IT ALL BROTHER” (KENNY ROGERS & THE FIRST EDITION COVER)
New Pornographers leader AC Newman pays tribute to Kenny Rogers, who died over the weekend, with this lovely cover of The First Edition’s “Tell it All Brother,” featuring keys by Marco Benevento and harmony vocals from New Pornographers’ Kathryn Calder and Levon Helm’s daughter Amy Helm.
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MARK LANEGAN – “BLEED ALL OVER”
Here’s another song from Mark Lanegan’s forthcoming Straight Songs of Sorrow, due out May 8 via Heavenly. With acoustic guitars set to a minimal drum machine beat, “Bleed All Over” has a bit of a Leonard Cohen vibe to it.
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BARISHI – “THE SILENT CIRCLE”
Vermont proggy sludge metallers Barishi have debuted another taste of their anticipated new LP Old Smoke in the form of the 11-minute rager “The Silent Circle.”
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BEHOLD THE ARCTOPUS – “BLESSING IN DISGUST”
Metal weirdos Behold the Arctopus are releasing their new album Hapeleptic Overtrove on June 12, and first single “Blessing In Disgust” is as chaotic and unruly as you’d expect.
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WILLIAM BASINSKI – HYMNS OF OBLIVION
Composer William Basinski released a new album, Hymns of Oblivion, which he describes as a “never released, 30 year old song cycle with lyrics by Jennifer Jaffe of legendary art installation collective, TODT. It’s dark, but they’ve been exploring our dystopian nightmare since the 80’s.” He goes on to say it dates from his “goth, Lestat phase recorded at Arcadia in Williamsburg, 1989-1991.”
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FIELD MEDIC – “KEIRA, YOU ARE A SPIRIT
The next installment of Field Medic’s new singles series is here, and it’s a dose of rustic, vintage folk with an emo/bedroom pop sense of intimacy.
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AS FRIENDS RUST – “UP FROM THE MUCK”
Gainesville punks As Friends Rust have been reunited for a bit, and now they’ve released their first new song in 18 years. “The song was written to be a hopeful message to everyone struggling to keep up or stay afloat, who may at times feel that they’re alone in their battles against financial, physical or emotional demons,” vocalist Damien Moyal told No Echo. “It’s a reminder that, sadly, each of us is at war with something, and regardless of our circumstances or differences, we’re all strangely united in those shared experiences of smallness and vulnerability.”
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BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG – “I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW” (TOMMY JAMES AND THE SHONDELLS COVER)
“Dear friends,” the Green Day frontman writes, “while we’ve all been in quarantine I’ve been reflecting on the things that matter the most in my life. Family, friends and of course music. I recorded a cover of Tommy James and the Shondells “I Think We’re Alone Now” in my bedroom. I figure if we have to spend this time in isolation at least we can be alone together.”
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CAVANAUGH (OPEN MIKE EAGLE + SERENGETI) – QUARANTINE RECORDINGS
Underground rappers Open Mike Eagle and Serengeti are together known as Cavanaugh, and they uploaded this EP of songs they started making “a couple years ago and never finished” in order to make up for some lost income from cancelled touring. Mike says “I made all the beats and did all the mixing and it isnt mastered so it sounds weird in the ways that I like.” It is indeed delightfully weird, and very worth hearing.
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BAND À PART – “TEMPLOS Y NEONES”
Spanish indiepop duo Band À Part will release their second album Templos Y Neones this week. Here’s the title track, a delightful, effervescent track that flirts with easy listening and early-’80s Japanese “City Pop.”
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BC CAMPLIGHT – “CEMETERY LIFESTYLE”
BC Camplight will release Shortly After Takeoff on April 24 via Bella Union and here’s another single from that. “Cemetery LifeStyle” sounds a bit like late-’70s new wave (Squeeze, Elvis Costello), with a nice dose of power-pop as well. Lyrically, it’s a bit prophetic: “By allowing me to process some pretty bizarre feelings I was having, the writing of this song allowed me to look at my fears and eventually look past them,” says Brian “BC” Christinzio. “As reflected in the lyrics, I had been having feelings that I was up against an invisible force. Something inevitable that I couldn’t ignore or outrun. This had led to my living in long periods of solitude and worry. I couldn’t have known that months later these sentiments would be eerily echoed by so many. My hope is that the song brings comfort and levity to whoever it touches.”
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MAX BLOOM (OF YUCK) – “CANCELLING OUR SHOWS (CORONAVIRUS THEME)”
Yuck’s Max Bloom shared this single that’s all too relevant to the present time, and proceeds from purchases go to Help Musicians UK.
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C-4 – GOES TO WAR DEMO
Boston raw punks C-4 signed to Triple B and they’ll release their debut 12″ EP Chaos Streaks “soon,” but meanwhile BBB is now hosting their 2019 demo. It’s grimy and fun as shit and it’s making us excited for that EP.
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MEDITATIONS IN AFFINITY – SOLICITUDE 4-WAY SPLIT
The trusty Zegema Beach Records just dropped this four-way split from Bighand//Bigknife, Almanac Man, Emma Goldman, and Abandoncy. It’s all within the emo/screamo/hardcore realm but each artist has their own variation on it, and tying it all together is a shared complete lack of production quality (in a charming, old school screamo kinda way).
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MILK TEETH – “BETTER”
UK punks Milk Teeth are releasing their self-titled sophomore album this Friday, March 27 via Music For Nations, and here’s another single from it. It’s catchy, grungy punk that Smashing Pumpkins and Pixies fans might wanna give a spin to.
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CAR SEAT HEADREST – “MARTIN”
It’s a second single from Car Seat Headrest’s upcoming album Making A Door Less Open which is due out May 1 via Matador.
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RUN THE JEWELS – “YANKEE AND THE BRAVE”
The first taste of RTJ4 has arrived and you can read more about it here.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/B-DQDROjFEt/
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GEORGIA MAQ – “THE LADDER” / KELSO – “SOUTH”
Camp Cope members Georgia Maq and Kelso each contributed a home-recorded track to this new split single. Read more here.
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MAXWELL STERN – “WATER TOWER”
Maxwell Stern may be best known as vocalist/guitarist of Signals Midwest and Meridian, or as a member of Timeshares, but he’s been doing solo stuff lately too and now he’s got a new single on Lauren Records, “Water Tower,” out today. Read more here.
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Looking for even more new songs? Browse the ‘New Songs’ archive.
