Lafawndah

27 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…

LAFAWNDAH – “DADDY”

Following 2016’s Tan EP on Warp (and a 2018 collaborative EP with Midori Takada), art pop/experimental R&B artist Lafawndah has announced her debut full-length, Ancestor Boy, which comes out on March 22 via her own Concordia label. The announcement comes with new single “Daddy,” which should appeal to fans of anything from Bjork to Kelela.

1349 – “DODSKAMP”

Norwegian black metal vets 1349 are releasing a new EP, Dødskamp, on April 5 via Season of Mist, and the lead single/title track sees them doing what they do best. It’s a rager.

R.A. THE RUGGED MAN – “THE RETURN”

Veteran New York rapper R.A. The Rugged Man is dropping a new album this year, and while exact info is still TBA, he just shared lead single “The Return.” He made it with live band The Missing Channel and producer Shroom, and it stays true to the hard-edged New York rap he’s been putting out for decades, while sounding fresh in 2019 too.

DOEMAN – “SOUTHSIDE KINGS” (ft. MAXO KREAM)

Doeman dropped new single “Southside Kings,” featuring fellow Houston rapper Maxo Kream (whose PUNKEN was one of our favorite rap albums of 2018). It comes with some eerie production, and both rappers go hard af over it.

XIU XIU – “PUMPKIN ATTACK ON MOMMY & DADDY”

Jamie Stewart is back with new Xiu Xiu album Girl with Basket of Fruit on February 8 via Polyvinyl which was produced by Angela Seo and Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier.  New single is the clattering, frenetic “Pumpkin Attack on Mommy & Daddy” which is nearly as strange as its title, and comes with an equally bizarre video, co-directed by Seo and Anna Lian Tes.

JADE BIRD – “I GET NO JOY”

Rising singer-songwriter Jade Bird will release her self-titled debut album on April 19 via Glassnote. The record was produced by Simone Felice and David Baron, and the first single is the anthemic acoustic rocker “I Get No Joy.” “This song is about the stream of thought that runs through your head at all times as an over thinker,” says Jade. “It’s about how that gets in the way of being present in the moment and ultimately ‘getting no joy’ and about the frustration of everyone’s cliché of happiness not making you feel fulfilled either.”

STARCRAWLER – “HOLLYWOOD ENDING”

L.A. band Starcrawler are back with a new single “Hollywood Ending” that was produced by Ryan Adams and mixed by Nick Launay. “This song to me shows a loss of innocence and the dramatic yet sometimes bitter ‘Hollywood ending’ to a first love,” says singer Arrow De Wilde. Everyone has to go through different Hollywood endings in their own lives, whether they’re good or bad. Sometimes it’s The Wizard Of Oz and you wake up from a crazy nightmare dream and you’re fine, or sometimes it’s Carnival of Souls where you’ve been dead all along. Watch the video, directed by Gilbert Trejo:

KAREN O & DANGER MOUSE – “WOMAN”

Karen O & Danger Mouse revealed details on their collaborative album and shared second single “Woman,” which we wrote more about here.

GAUCHE – “CONSPIRACY THEORIES”

DC group Gauche, which includes the core trio of Priests drummer Daniele Yandel, Downtown Boys’ Mary Jane Regalado and and Jason P Barnett, have signed with Merge Records and will release their full-length debut via the label later this year. News on that is still TBA but here’s the first single (read more here).

SHANA CLEVELAND (LA LUZ) – “FACE OF THE SUN”

La Luz frontwoman Shana Cleveland will release solo album Night of the Worm Moon on April 5 via Hardly Art and was inspired, in part, by cosmic jazz icon, Sun Ra. “Face of the Sun” is gorgeous, ethereal psych-folk that has accidental connections to it’s making, during the 2017 eclipse. “We took a break from recording during [the] totality and looked at the sun’s image through a piece of cardboard projecting onto a garbage can,” Cleveland says. “When we came back inside the studio was covered in dozens of tiny crescent suns, refracted from a mirrored disco ball that [engineer Johnny Goss] had hanging in a window.”

WHOA MELODIC – “I WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN”

London multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Michael Wood who, when not playing in a group with Darren Hayman of Hefner and Emma Kupa of Standard Fare, makes music under the name Whoa Melodic. (It’s an anagram of his name.) Whoa Melodic’s debut LP is out February 1 via WIAIWYA and “I Will Never Let you Down” is another great example of the kind of classic-sounding pop Michael Makes. Fans of Teenage Fanclub and The Lemonheads, take note.

THE CRANBERRIES – “ALL OVER NOW”

The Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan sadly passed away exactly one year ago today, and in celebration of her life, the band have announced they have one last album coming that they started recording before her death and finished last year. We wrote more about lead single “All Over Now” here.

93PUNX (ft. VIC MENSA) – “ZOMBIE” (CRANBERRIES COVER)

In more celebration of Dolores O’Riordan’s life, Vic Mensa’s new project 93PUNX released a soaring, electronic-tinged cover of The Cranberries’ “Zombie.” “93PUNX is a band I created to express things outside of rap. We connected to zombie because we were born from violence. RIP Dolores,” says Vic.

TAMARYN – “FITS OF RAGE”

Tamaryn is back with her first album in four years, titled Dreaming in the Dark and out March 22. First single “Fits of Rage” recalls the ’80s heyday of 4AD, with Cocteau Twins at their gothiest.

LIGHT CONDUCTOR (BESNARD LAKES, YOUNG GALAXY) – “A BRIGHT RESEMBLANCE”

Jace Lasek of The Besnard Lakes and Stephen Ramsay of Young Galaxy have collaborating on drony synth jams in Jace’s studio for a few years now, but are only now just sharing the results. Naming their project Light Conductor, their debut album, Sequence One, will be out March 15 via Constellation Records. Get a first taste of the space dust they created with this abridged “A Bright Resemblance.”

DAVE HARRINGTON GROUP – “BELGRADE FEVER”

Dave Harrington’s improvisational ensemble are set to release their new album Pure Imagination, No Country on February 1. Some of the songs on the album grew out of jams Dave and his bandmates played at soundchecks, including this one, which Dave told Stereogum “quickly worked its way into the live repertoire. Mid-tour, we found ourselves with a few days in Belgrade, Serbia and rather than take them off, we booked some time at a recording studio housed in an old warehouse, where they used a huge empty hallway under a skylight as their echo chamber — when it was raining, you could hear it in the reverb.”

STRAND OF OAKS – “WEIRD WAYS”

“Weird Ways” is the lead single off Strand of Oaks’ upcoming album (where he’s backed by 4/5 of My Morning Jacket), and we wrote more about it here.

DUSTER – “WHAT YOU’RE DOING TO ME”

“What You’re Doing To Me” is one of six previously unreleased songs on the upcoming Duster box set, which we wrote more about here.

CRANE LIKE THE BIRD – “WHEN I SEE” (FEAT. CONOR OBERST)

Drummer Kyle Craft has contributed to albums by Kurt Vile, Neko Case, Big K.R.I.T., and others, and he also has a solo project, Crane Like The Bird, that he’s releasing a new self-titled solo album from on Friday. We last heard “Wishing Cap,” featuring guest vocals The Shins’ James Mercer, and now Kyle has shared “When I See,” featuring vocals from another indie mainstay, Conor Oberst. “This song,” Kyle says, “is about a snowboard trip I took with my father. Neither of us had ever snowboarded and he joked that we had a special riding technique called “The Falling Leaf”. We had no idea what we were doing but it was one of the happiest moments in my life. We packed every pocket we had with granola bars and ate as we went up the chair lifts so we wouldn’t have to stop to eat. We got stuck on the mountain on the way home due to a snow storm and had to check in to an old red lodge. My dad was my basketball coach and I remember him calling on the hotel phone to let the team know we couldn’t make the game. It was the first time we had ever missed a game.”

LEGGY – “EDEN”

Ohio garage punks Leggy are back with a new album, Let Me Know Your Moon, which will be out March 8 on Sheer Luck Records. Singer/songwriter Veronique Allaer says, “the most prominent theme in this album is a relationship where you have to take a step back and ask ‘does this person water me? Do I water them?’ – meaning, do we help each other grow, are we good for each other? Is there anything more painful than realizing the person you love is no longer good for you?” First single from the album is the gritty, anthemic “Edien.”

THE DRUMS – “BODY CHEMISTRY”

The Drums are back with new album Brutalism which is out April 5 via ANTI-. Main man Jonny Pierce produced the record himself and the first single is “Body Chemistry” which Pierce says is a cornerstone for the album. Read more here.

HARLEM – “BLONDE ON BLONDE”

Late-’00s indie rockers Harlem are back and gearing up to release their first LP in nine years which will be out on Valentine’s Day. Here’s another track from it which makes reference to Dylan, as well as Brooklyn and more, all in a very catchy four-minute pop song.

PUP – “KIDS”

PUP are finally set to return with a new album, and we wrote more about the super catchy lead single “Kids” here.

LEON VYNEHALL – “DUCEE’S DRAWBAR”

“Ducee’s Drawbar” is one of the new, original songs coming out on Leon Vynehall’s upcoming DJ-Kicks mix, and we wrote more about it here.

JUSTUS PROFFIT – “PAINTED IN THE SOUND”

Having released a collaborative EP with Jay Som last year, Justus Proffit is releasing his debut full-length on Bar/None this year and we wrote more about new single “Painted In The Sound” here.

TWAIN – “DEATH (OR S.F.?)”

“Death (or S.F.?)” is the latest taste of Twain’s upcoming 2 E.P.s, which we wrote more about here.

GUSTER – LOOK ALIVE (ALBUM STREAM)

“This record’s all over the place, hopefully in a good way. I don’t think we’ve ever been more unpredictable as a band than we are right now,” Guster drummer Brian Rosenworcel says about their new album, which is streaming now.

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