Emel Mathlouthi

30 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…

EMEL MATHLOUTHI – “FOOTSTEPS”

Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi is preparing to release a new album this year (most details TBA), and it will feature “Footsteps,” which is her first song ever sung entirely in English. Emel describes “Footsteps” as “a song that’s haunted by this mysterious, rich living past that somebody left behind, agonizing on a fading floor,” and you can definitely feel how she would call this song “haunted.” It’s dark and psychedelic, and though it starts out minimal and atmospheric, it builds to a breathtaking climax.

CHARLIE HEAT & DENZEL CURRY – “ALOHA”

Producer Charlie Heat (who’s worked with Kanye, Travis Scott, Madonna, and more) has now teamed with one of the finest rappers around, Denzel Curry, for a new single “Aloha.” Heat provides a horn-fueled backdrop that isn’t much like what Denzel normally raps over, but he still handles it like a pro.

CHAI – PUNK (ALBUM STREAM)

Uncategorizable Japanese band CHAI have their cake and eat it to on their second album, PUNK, which satirizes the “kawaii” concept of ultra cute-ness, while still being well within definition that construct. The record also rocks, dabbles in disco and prog. There’s nothing else quite like CHAI and you can stream the album over at NPR and watch the video for “CHOOSE GO!” below.

NOTS – “HALF PAINTED HOUSE”

Memphis synthy garage-punks NOTS are back with new album ‘3’ on May 3 via Goner. It’s their first album as a trio. The first single is “Half Painted House,” which is urgent with a dose of paranoia running through its veins.

DAUGHTER OF SWORDS (ALEXANDRA SAUSER-MONNING OF MOUNTAIN MAN) – “GEM”

All three members of Mountain Man are very active now, with Amelia Meath’s group Sylvan Esso being the biggest but there’s a Molly Sarle album on the way and now here’s Alexandra Sauser-Monnning’s solo project Daughter of Swords. She’s got an album due this summer via Bella Union and while details are still TBA, you can get a first taste with this “Gem” of a folk-pop single.

CHRISTIAN SCOTT ATUNDE ADJUAH – “FOREVERGIRL” (ft. CHRIS TURNER & MIKE LARRY DRAW)

Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah has shared a second single off his anticipated new album Ancestral Recall, which drops March 22. Christian provides a mesmerizing backdrop, and with crooning from Chris Turner and rapping from Mike Larry Draw, this is among Christian’s more accessible songs. Christian told The FADER, “I wanted to sonically mirror some of the things I had seen in an analytic cubist rendering of two lovers. In that form an object is taken apart and reassembled in abstraction to depict the object from as many perspectives as possible. Essentially giving a more global viewing of what the object is comprised of. I wanted create in sound what I was seeing. So there are a multitude of parts/voices collapsed onto one another to stamp out ambiguity in the composition, to help focus a more clear reading through sort of encapsulating the sentiment in sound into a confined space. You can hear this in the many layers of trumpet, muted and non-muted, and in what I wrote for Chris Turner. A different take on constructing a love song. As my brother Terrace Martin says ‘there’s a thousand ways to say I love you.’ I wanted to channel that in this one.”

LOCAL NATIVES – “CAFE AMARILLO”

Local Natives recently announced a tour with Middle Kids, and now they’ve shared their first new song in two years, “Café Amarillo.” The lush vocal harmonies and sorta-tribal-y drums that have come to define Local Natives are in fine form on this song, which longtime fans should appreciate.

THE COMET IS COMING – TRUST IN THE LIFEFORCE OF THE DEEP MYSTERY (ALBUM STREAM)

Spiritual jazz trio The Comet Is Coming — aka Shabaka Hutchings (Sons of Kemet), Dan Leavers, and Max Hallett — are releasing their new album Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery on March 15 via Impulse!, and all 45 psychedelic minutes are streaming now at NPR.

BUDOS BAND – “ARCANE RAMBLER”

Budos Band are releasing their new album V on April 12 via Daptone, and lead single “Arcane Rambler” is just the kind of hypnotic, horn-fueled psychedelic instrumental rock you’d expect from these guys.

PATIO – “NEW REALITY”

Brooklyn’s Patio make a gritty nervy kind of indie rock that recalls both British post-punk and the late ’80s days of college radio groups like Scrawl and Tsunami. Their self-titled debut album is out April 5 via Fire Talk and “New Reality” is one of its standout cuts.

GARCIA PEOPLES – BREAK ME DOWN

New Jersey band Garcia Peoples, who have toured with Kikagaku Moyo, will release their second album, Natural Facts, at the end of the month via Beyond Beyond is Beyond. They’ve just shared the rambling, jangly “Break Me Down” which is a nice bit of ’60s inspired sunshine pop by way of The Feelies and Television.

BASEMENT – “FUNERAL” (PHOEBE BRIDGERS COVER)

Andrew Fisher, frontman of UK punks Basement, did a solo acoustic cover of Phoebe Bridgers’ “Funeral” for a recent Paste Studios Session. It’s mostly a straightforward, faithful rendition, but Andrew does a pretty great job with it. You can catch Basement on tour opening for Weezer and Pixies and then on a co-headlining tour with Nothing.

KINDNESS – “CRY EVERYTHING” (FEATURING ROBYN)

Kindness has collaborated with Robyn before and they’re on tour together as we write this. Here’s more.

BEDOUINE – “WHEN YOU’RE GONE”

While we’re patiently awaiting the announcement of Bedouine’s sophomore album, she did just share this great new single which we wrote more about here.

THE BLACK KEYS – “LO/HI”

The Black Keys returned today with their first new song in five years, which we wrote more about here.

THE GET UP KIDS – “SATELLITE”

The Get Up Kids announced their first full-length album in eight years (and first for Polyvinyl), Problems, and we wrote more about lead single “Satellite” here.

SOAK – “DEJA VU”

Bridie Monds-Watson releases a new album as SOAK, Grim Town, in April. New single “Deja Vu” is accompanied by a video that director Brother Willis calls “a looping, nonsensical, Lynchian dream.” His goal, he explains, “was to make a disconnected and confusing performance video, one that recasts Bridie as both performer, then observer, and back and forth in dreamlike messiness.”

BLACK MOUNTAIN – “FUTURE SHADE”

Indie hard rockers Black Mountain will return with their fifth album Destroyer in May, and we wrote more about lead single “Future Shade” here.

DREADNOUGHT – “BESEIGED”

Genre-defying Denver doom band Dreadnought have signed to Profound Lore for their fourth album Emergence, and we wrote more about lead single “Beseiged” here.

MARY LATTIMORE & MAC MCCAUGHAN – “I”

Harpist Mary Lattimore and Superchunk frontman Mac McCaughan’s new album is titled New Rain Duets which is also kinda what it sounds like, gorgeous ambient instrumentals.

RANDY RANDALL (of NO AGE) – “DESERT SUNRISE, PT. 2”

No Age guitarist Randy Randall is releasing his debut solo album of ambient music later this month, and we wrote more about new single “Desert Sunrise, Pt. 2” here.

ODONIS ODONIS – “COLLECTOR”

Toronto industrial trio Odonis Odonis are returning with a new EP in April, and we wrote more about new single “Collector” here.

ERIN DURANT – “TAKE A LOAD OFF”

Erin Durant made her sophomore album Islands with TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone, and it’ll be out in June via Keeled Scales. We wrote more about lead single “Take A Load Off” here.

THE DREW THOMSON FOUNDATION – “BREAK”

Single Mothers singer Drew Thomson is releasing his debut solo album as The Drew Thomson Foundation this year, and we wrote more about lead single “Break” here.

TAKEN BY TREES – “CARELESS WHISPER” (WHAM! COVER)

“I’ve always been a fan — of Wham! since I grew up, and then George Michael. I felt when he passed I wanted to do one of the songs,” Victoria Bergsman told Billboard. “Everyone knows his songs so well, I wanted to make it something different — not too far from the original but different,” she continued. “We changed the rhythm up a bit and made it a few beats per minute faster. The cumbia rhythm makes it feel more laid back and groove-y. There’s a bit of, like, early ’90s, Ibiza sunset flavor to it, in a way.”

M83 – “KARL”

M83 is releasing the soundtrack for Knife + Heart, the new film from main M83 member Anthony Gonzalez’s brother Yann, tomorrow, and they just released “Karl” from it today. Read more here.

KENNY O’BRIEN AND THE O’DOULS (AKA KEVIN DEVINE) – “MARGARET REED O’SHAUGHNESSY”

Kevin Devin’s new Celtic rock project Kenny O’Brien and the O’Douls are playing their first-ever shows St. Patrick’s Day Weekend in NYC and the Boston-area, and ahead of those shows they’ve released this new song (backed by their previously released Pogues cover).

GRIM STREAKER – “TODAY NEW YORK”

Brooklyn punks revive late ’70s / early ’80s punk, and you can get a taste of that from their new single “Today New York” which we wrote more about here.

OTOBOKE BEAVER – “I’M TIRED OF YOUR REPEATING STORY”

Japanese punks Otoboke Beaver have unleashed a chaotic new song from their anticipated new album ITEKOMA HITS, which we wrote more about here.

FOIE GRAS – “SISYPHUS”

San Francisco artist Iphigenia Rose Lee makes distorted dancable pop that’s not too far from groups like M83 or TR/ST. Her new EP Holy Hell is out on April 5 via Yellow Year Records and first single “Sisyphus” is an appealing bleeding-levels anthem. This is also the only Foie Gras you’ll ever re.ad about on this website.

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