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17 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…

MAKEWAR – “OH, BROTHER”

MakeWar have announced a new album, Get It Together, due November 1 via Fat Wreck Chords, their first for the label. The led single is “Oh, Brother,” a dose of grizzled yet melodic punk that fans of bands like The Lawrence Arms and The Menzingers will probably dig.

PIP BLOM – “FRECKLES”

Dutch band Pip Blom released their debut album, Boat, back in the spring. If you haven’t checked it out it’s hooky, quirky indie rock that throws in a little scruffy noise as well. The record is getting a deluxe edition of the album, with new cover art, a slightly rearranged tracklist order and two 7″ singles. On of the songs from those bonus 7″ is “Freckles,” a three-minute pop number with scrappy low-fi charm. The band will be on tour in North America this fall as well.

KERO KERO BONITO – “WHEN THE FIRES COME”

UK trio Kero Kero Bonito are back with a new single. After experimenting with indie rock and shoegaze last year, “When the Fires Come” is a return to electronic pop, plus an ecological message. “When the Fires Come’ is about the worldwide wildfires heralding the seemingly imminent climate change apocalypse,” say the band. “It was partially inspired by our experience on tour in North California last year, when we got caught underneath the smoke cloud from the Camp Fire.” The band add that the song’s video was shot on the hottest day of 2019 in Britain and that this is “the first song of a new project.”

WEAKENED FRIENDS – “WHAT YOU LIKE”

Portland, Maine indie rock trio Weakened Friends share a new single as they embark on tour with Blis. About the rocking, cathartic “What You Like,” vocalist Sonia Sturino says, “‘What You Like’ is a song about embracing the feeling of inadequacy or feeling as though you’re constantly the underdog no matter how hard you work or how far you’ve come. When I wrote this song, we had just released a record and there’s a great deal of pressure and anxiety that comes along with that. I remember thinking, “Wow. What if it sucks? What if everyone hates it?” I took that feeling and ran with it. I told myself, “You know what? Screw it. Sure, you’re not always going to please everyone. You may feel like inadequate, but rather than cower, go scream it from the roof tops. ‘I’M NOT PERFECT AND I DON’T CARE!’ I wanted to craft an anthem for all of my fellow self-deprecating and anxiety-ridden folks. We need one.”

THE GROWLERS – “TRY HARD FOOL”

The Growlers’ North American tour just got underway and here’s a catchy, laid-back new single you might hear at one of their shows. “It’s an old term we used growing up,” says singer Brooks Nielsen. “Like, ‘That kid’s a try-hard.’ Trying too hard to be popular, trying to be successful. If I feel like I’m trying too hard at anything, I have to check myself. The lyrics are directed at me, keeping me in line, reminding me to take a break, but don’t quit.”

SAINTSENECA – “IN A VAN”

Indie folkies Santseneca are back with a new single, and it takes its inspiration from a somewhat unexpected place: the late Chris Farley. “Strange where the muse can take you. I followed obediently, but I never would have guessed I’d find inspiration in old Chris Farley skits,” says main member Zac Little. “I was revisiting his ‘Best Of’ with some buds for the first time in well over a decade. This collection was a fixture of goofy-ness growing up, but it felt like a revelation that night. It was a strangely emotional experience. The gauzy 90’s TV sheen, the feathery haircuts, a couple cringe-y jokes that didn’t age well. But I saw his talent and craft shine through, in a way I had never quite noticed before. It was amazing, funny, and a little sad – knowing the end while witnessing the best all at once. What a weird nostalgia trip to fall into some 25 years later- all tangled up with life and memory – the same old thing, accumulating new meaning with time. I felt old. I felt like a kid.”

JENNY HVAL – “ACCIDENT”

Ahead of her new album The Practice of Love, which comes out Friday, Jenny Hval shares one final single and its compelling accompanying video, directed by Zia Anger and starring her mother Barbara Anger. “It’s a given that the product of some artistic work is worthless,” Jenny and Zia write in a joint statement. “You are therefore expected to ‘mother’ it instead of working and being compensated for it. And sometimes this is the best kind of work. Because it doesn’t feel valuable. Because not everybody will like it, or understand it. Because it won’t immediately be sucked up into the capitalist scroll. It has time and space to be conceived of, to sit in utero, to be birthed, to have its umbilical cord cut, and to live, to breathe.”

FOXES IN FICTION – “ANTIBODY” & “RUSH TO SPARK”

Warren Hildebrand is releasing a new album as Foxes in Fiction, Trillium Killer, due out on October 18 on their own Orchid Tapes label. They’ve shared the first two singles, which Warren says “are at their core two songs about the effects of medication. ‘Antibody’ is a song about HIV anxiety as a sexually active queer person brought on by homophobic stigma around the virus and what happens when you’re liberated from that anxiety by taking PrEP drugs like Truvada and how that can reframe a person’s understanding of HIV and help eliminate internalized social-sexual stigmatization of HIV-positive people. ‘Rush to Spark’ is about getting a sense of what it feels like to be neurotypical after finding medication that works for you but still living with the understanding that mental illness is going to be something that you’re going to have to deal with and maintain for the rest of your life. It’s also about the stress and tension that you unintentionally (or intentionally) can put on your own life and lives of people around you when you’re experiencing episodes caused by your illness.”

PERNICE BROTHERS – “THE DEVIL AND THE JINN” (FT. NEKO CASE)

Pernice Brothers’ new album, Spread the Feeling (their first in nine years), finds Joe Pernice still in command of soaring choruses and ringing guitars. One of the album’s standouts is “The Devil and the Jinn” which features the instantly recognizable voice of Neko Case.

NECRONOMICON – “SINGULARIS DOMINUS”

Canadian blackened death metallers Necronomicon are releasing their new album Unus on October 18 via Season of Mist, and you can stream the ominous, orchestral “Singularis Dominus” now.

NEVER ENDING GAME – “GOD FORGIVES…”

Detroit’s Never Ending Game (who share members with Freedom, True Love, and Detain) are releasing their new album Just Another Day on October 11 via Triple B Records, and first single “God Forgives…” is a white-knuckling hardcore crusher with a couple flashes of fancy metallic leads.

SUPERGRASS – “NEXT TO YOU” (THE POLICE COVER)

The reunited Supergrass will tour in 2020 and they’ve also got a new retrospective box set due out in January that, in addition to their six studio albums, includes six hours of previously unheard material. One of those bonus tracks is a cover of The Police’s punky Outlandos D’Amour deep cut “Next to You.” Supergrass don’t mess with the original too much but it is decidedly very much in their sonic wheelhouse.

DEAN BLUNT – ZUSHI! (ft. two new PANDA BEAR collabs, A$AP ROCKY, more)

Dean Blunt is back with a new 39-minute mix/project, and buried within are two new Panda Bear collaborations, “In Plain Sight” (starting around the 1:05 mark) and “Moments” (starting around the 12:25 mark). Both are cut from a similarly earthy, guitar-oriented cloth as Panda Bear’s latest album Buoys, and they fit right in with the airy singer/songwriter vibe of the mix’s first half. Other contributors top the mixtape include A$AP Rocky, Mica Levi, Joanne Robertson, Jonatan Leandoer96 (aka Yung Lean), DJ Escrow, and Sauce Walka. A$AP Rocky comes in around the 29:40 mark.

TURNOVER – “MUCH AFTER FEELING” & “PLANT SUGAR”

Turnover announced a new album and shared two new songs, which see them bringing more overt ’80s influences into their dream pop sound than ever before. Read more here.

FKA TWIGS – “HOLY TERRAIN” (ft. FUTURE, co-prod. SKRILLEX, JACK ANTONOFF)

FKA twigs has shared the second single off her anticipated new album, and this one features Future and was co-produced with Skrillex and Jack Antonoff. Read more here.

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