21 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…

SHOGUN AND THE SHEETS (EX ROYAL HEADACHE) – “HOLD ON KID” & “PISSING BLOOD”

Australian soulful punks Royal Headache disbanded last year but frontman Shogun is back in solo mode with a new backing back of high school mates. Shogun and The Sheets’ debut 7″ will be out in November via What’s Yr Rupture but you can listen to both sides now. “Hold on Kid” is a different kind of rocker than Royal Headache ever gave us, though Shogun’s delivery remains fiercely passionate; “Pissing Blood,” meanwhile, is more of an old-school soul number…but with louder guitars. “There’s no real message in these songs,” says Shogun. “I think I keep my lyrics ambivalent deliberately. I like it when you can feel a meaning or presence in a song but you can’t pinpoint what it is. That way the listener can create their own meaning.” The band’s third-ever show happens this Sunday in Sydney. Next up, the world.

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VIC MENSA – “EMPATHY”

Vic Mensa released a new song that he says is “in response to all the controversy,” and he’s referring to the controversy surrounding his freestyle at the BET Hip-Hop Awards where he took shots at the late XXXTentacion and the abuse accusations X faced during his lifetime (“Only time you bear arms is in a wife beater, loser/Your favorite rapper’s a domestic abuser/Name a single Vic Mensa song/XXX we all know you won’t live that long/I don’t respect n***** posthumously/homicide ain’t new to me/catch up with Akademiks at your eulogy,” he rapped, though “XXX” was blurred out when it aired.) Vic later posted, “Protect women. Domestic & sexual abuse are not excusable because you have talent or you are troubled. With that said I was not aware his mother would be in attendance & I offer her my deepest condolences.” Things continued to spiral from there, and you can now hear Vic address all of it (and more) in the new song:

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POWERS PLEASANT – “PLEASE FORGIVE” (ft. DENZEL CURRY, IDK, ZOMBIE JUICE, ZILLAKAMI)

Pro Era’s Powers Pleasant is gearing up to release a solo EP, and after recently releasing the “Pull Up” remix (ft. Joey Bada$$, Flatbush Zombies, and The Underachievers) from that, he’s now back with a second single featuring more killer guests: Denzel Curry, IDK, Zombie Juice of Flatbush Zombies, and ZillaKami. It’s an awesome, warped, futuristic posse cut and very worth hearing.

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KADHJA BONET – “THE WATCH,” “IMPOSTER” & “WAKE” (CHILDQUEEN OUTTAKES)

Modern-day psychedelic soul great Kadhja Bonet just released three outtakes from her very solid sophomore album Childqueen, “The Watch,” “Imposter,” and “Wake.” Whatever the reason for leaving them off the album, these are worthy tracks and definitely not just throwaways.

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CURTIS HARDING – “WHERE WE ARE”

It’s been almost a year since Curtis Harding released his terrific 2017 album Face Your Fear, and he’s now back with a new single, “Where We Are.” He’s keeping in that psychedelic soul mode, with sweeping strings and flute, giving this one an almost “Across 110th St” vibe. More, please.

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EMPRESS OF – “I DON’T EVEN SMOKE WEED”

Empress Of’s new album Us comes out this Friday and she’s shared one more single from it, the enjoyably upbeat (and awesomely titled) “I Don’t Even Smoke Weed.”

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JULIA HOLTER – “WORDS I HEARD”

“Words I Heard” is the second single off Julia Holter’s upcoming album, which we wrote more about here.

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BAD RELIGION – “THE PROFANE RIGHTS OF MAN”

This new song sounds like classic Bad Religion, it’s got a powerful message, and we wrote more about it here.

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KING TUFF – “S.O.S.” (ABBA COVER)

Everybody’s covering ABBA these days, from Cher to Wedding Present spinoff Cinerama. And here’s Sub Pop rocker King Tuff who puts a glammy, garage spin on the the Swedish quartet’s 1975 hit. Perhaps he’ll play it on his upcoming tour.

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YOU TELL ME (MEMBERS OF FIELD MUSIC) – “INVISIBLE INK”

Peter Brewis of Field Music and Sarah Hayes of orchestral pop group Admiral Follow met each other at a Kate Bush celebration concert, hit it off and decided to make music together. Calling themselves You Tell Me, the duo released their debut single earlier this year, and they’ve now announced their self-titled debut LP which will be out January 11 via Memphis Industries. There are touches of baroque folk on new single “Invisible Ink,” but in that creatively rhythmic was most Field Music projects are.

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THE MOLES – CODE WORD (LP STREAM)

Australian quirky pop maestro Richard Davies is back with Code Word, the first new album from The Moles in two years. The record’s 16 tracks range from the Flying Nun style indie rock which typified The Moles’ classic Untune the Sky, to southern-fried boogie, bluesy garage rock, power-pop, jazz, psych folk, and everything in between, while Davies’ unique approach and distinctive vocals tie everything together. Read more about it here.

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ESPERANZA SPALDING – “DANCING THE ANIMAL”

“Dancing The Animal” is the second to last song to be revealed from Esperanza Spalding’s 12 Little Spells project, which will finally be completed tomorrow.

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ALL GET OUT – “VALUE”

All Get Out have unleashed another song from their upcoming album No Bouquet (due 11/2 via Equal Vision). “Value” brings in some mathy guitar and builds to a soaring chorus that sounds like it could’ve been a hit back when the radio played songs like this.

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TWAIN – “YOUNG GOD (GOTTA LOTTA FEELING)”

Twain are releasing 2 E.P.S, a collection of unreleased songs recorded during sessions for their last album, Rare Feeling, and solo demos previously only available digitally, on January 25 via Keeled Scales. The first single, “Young God (gotta lotta feeling),” is one of the latter, a warm, earnestly-strummed track with a pastoral feel.

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LEE FIELDS & EL MICHELS AFFAIR – “NEVER BE ANOTHER YOU” (REGGAE VERSION)

El Michels Affair helped storied soul great Lee Fields put a reggae spin on his 2017 song “Never Be Another You,” which we wrote more about here.

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YUGEN BLAKROK – “CARBON FORM”

South African rapper Yugen Blakrok reached a wider audience when she collaborated with Kendrick Lamar and Vince Staples for “Opps” on Black Panther: The Album, and today she dropped her own great new song. Read more here.

VARIOUS ARTISTS – SOURIS CALLE (COMPILATION STREAM)

The National, Laurie Anderson, Jarvis Cocker, Bono, Pharrell Williams, Michael Stipe, Fabrizio Moretti of the Strokes, and others pay tribute to conceptual French artist Sophie Calle’s cat in this 37-track tribute compilation. There are instrumental and spoken word pieces, The National singing in French, Bono leaving a voicemail message, and more over the course of an hour and thirty-five minutes.

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THE OLD 97’S – “LOVE THE HOLIDAYS”

We know, its not even Halloween yet, but Old 97’s want to make sure everyone knows they love the holidays so much they’re releasing an album called Love the Holidays. Would you believe there’s also a song on the album called “Love the Holidays”? Well here it is, but feel free to bookmark and come back after Thanksgiving.

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