35 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…
MELII – PHASES (ALBUM STREAM)
Harlem’s Melii has been co-signed by Rihanna, she’s fresh off touring with Meek Mill (whose 2018 album Championships she is on), and now she just dropped her debut project phAses on Rule #1/Interscope. Across its 14 songs, she bounces between rapping and singing (and sometimes bounces between English and Spanish), and she’s great at both. It’s got trap songs, R&B songs, and plenty of the in-between, with features from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Tory Lanez, and Odalys.
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FURY – “VACATION”
Fury’s anticipated new album Failed Entertainment comes out May 3 via Run For Cover, and the Orange County crew have now unleashed its second single, “Vacation.” It’s a finger-pointing hardcore rager with just the right amount of melody and a slight classic rock flair with the guitar riffs. It’s great stuff, and it comes with a cool video directed by Mason Mercer.
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NADA SURF – “SONG FOR CONGRESS”
“I’ve written a few political songs over the years but most of them have remained in a desk drawer unfinished – they’re hard to write and can feel futile,” says Nada Surf singer-guitarist Matthew Caws of his band’s new single. “But when I read about the separation of families at the US-Mexico border, I felt compelled to try again. Like most people learning of the tragic situation there, I was outraged and upset. After calling the offices of my state representatives and leaving messages urging them to take some kind of action, I wished there was something more I could do. A thought occurred to me: what if I could speak directly to a congressperson or senator through a song? I knew that anyone on Capitol Hill actually hearing it was a moonshot, but I also knew that music can travel in unexpected ways and that it was at least worth trying.” It’s a lovely, string-laden song and Matthew has more to say about it here.
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HELMS ALEE – “SPIDER JAR”
Helms Alee have shared a second single off their anticipated new album Noctiluca, following “Interachnid.” “Spider Jar” is a killer dose of psychedelic rock that marries hypnotic vocal harmonies to lightly sludgy riffage, and it’s got a truly anthemic chorus.
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LAURA STEVENSON – “DERMATILLOMANIA”
Laura Stevenson releases her fifth album, The Big Freeze, on Friday (3/29), and she’s shared a final single ahead of that, “Dermatillomania.” “This is a heavy song,” Laura says, “but writing it gave me a renewed sense of strength, energy and agency.”
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LISA HANNIGAN & S T A R G A Z E – “BOOKMARK” (LIVE)
Irish singer/songwriter Lisa Hannigan collaborated on stage with modern classical ensemble s t a r g a z e (who also did an album and tour with Polica) first at the 2018 PEOPLE Festival and then at a show at Dublin’s National Concert Hall in October, and that Dublin show has now been turned into a live album, Live In Dublin (due May 31 via Play It Again Sam). “Sometimes working with classically trained musicians can be slightly nerve-wracking as a singer songwriter because they speak a language so beautifully fluently that I can only fumble towards,” Lisa said, before later adding, “When we started to play though, it felt like all of s t a r g a z e had climbed aboard my rowboat. They approach a song very much as a band would, with an enthusiasm and musicality which immediately felt like home.” The album features new arrangements of a career-spanning section of Lisa Hannigan, as well as the gorgeous brand new song “Bookmark,” which is out now. “‘Bookmark’ was one of those lost songs that I wrote for At Swim that didn’t seem to fit with the rest of that record. I also never could figure out how to orchestrate it beyond my guitar part and it felt a bit stuck. Andre wrote an arrangement for it during the PEOPLE festival in Berlin and overnight it came to life,” Lisa explains.
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BAD RELIGION – “DO THE PARANOID STYLE”
Bad Religion have shared another song off their upcoming 17th album Age of Unreason (due 5/3 via Epitaph). “Do The Paranoid Style” sounds like classic Bad Religion, and according to a press release, it was inspired by historian Richard Hofstadter’s 1964 essay “The Paranoid Style in American Politics” and compared “contemporary right wing conspiracy theorizing to a feverish dance craze.” It comes with a Dan Fusselman-directed video that combines mid-1900s-style propaganda film imagery with the rock n’ roll dancing of the same era. “When fringe groups blame shadowy forces for their problems it is, at worst, delusional. But when those holding the levers of power do the same thing, it’s not delusion, it’s a method of delegitimizing the opposition. It’s a tool of authoritarianism,” says Brett Gurewitz.
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THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH – “I’M A STRANGER NOW”
In 2017, The Tallest Man on Earth steadily released new material and covers as part of his The Light in Demos video series, which featured a then-new song titled “I’m A Stranger Now.” Today, it’s been revealed that the song will appear on his upcoming studio LP I Love You. It’s A Fever Dream., and you can hear the studio version below, higher production value included.
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FOXYGEN – “FACE THE FACTS”
Foxygen’s upcoming “goodbye” record Seeing Other People is out in April, and their latest offering from the record is this funky cut “Face The Facts,” which ranks among the duo’s grooviest material to date.
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SPILL GOLD – “DALÍ”
Amsterdam-based electronic/psych pop group Spill Gold, who’ve played shows with Beak> and Exploded View, which makes sense given their cold, pleasingly clinical sound, and they’ve been remixed by members of U.S. Girls, Virginia Wing and DOOMSQUAD. They’ve got a new single, “Dali” that is both eerie and danceable and comes with a rather alluring, spinning video. Note to gear heads: “Dali” features an percussion instrument made by Dutch experimental instrument builder Yuri Landman that, according to the band, “basically lets you play anything as long as it is made out of metal.”
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AUGUST EVE – “YOU ALREADY KNOW”
Los Angeles musician, songwriter, and dancer August Eve shared a new visual for her recent single “You Already Know,” shot and edited by Aaron Sinclair, and with art direction from August herself. The dreamy track would’ve sounded right at home performed at The Roadhouse on Twin Peaks: The Return.
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JANE WEAVER – “SLOW MOTION (LOOPS VARIATION)”
UK musician Jane Weaver has a new album titled Loops in the Secret Society that’ll be out June 21 via Fire. The album works songs from her last two albums — journey of The Silver Globe and Modern Kosmology that are now connected by new ambient pieces. You can check out this new version of Modern Kosmology‘s “Slow Motion”:
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DRUGDEALER – “HONEY” (FEAT. WEYES BLOOD)
Back in February, Drugdealer (the current project of Michael Collins) announced that his new, Mac DeMarco-engineered album Raw Honey would see an April release, and today he’s shared the album’s lovely second single “Honey,” which features killer guest vocals from Weyes Blood, who sounds right at home within Collins’ nostalgic soft rock arrangements.
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POZI – “ENGAGED”
London post-punk trio POZI will release their debut album, PZ1, next week and they’ve just shared one more track before the whole thing is unleashed. The group’s Toby Burroughs says “Engaged” is “a love song about a mobile phone. As much as I wish it didn’t, my phone has a strong hold on me and severely impacts my ability to connect with reality.” A love song we can all relate too, probably, while the band’s unique style — bass, violin, drum — reminds you this is your average musical mash note. The video, meanwhile, is darkly funny in a Black Mirror kind of way.
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COLD SHOWERS – “FAITH”
Los Angeles’ gothy synthpop band Cold Showers will be back with their third album, Motionless, on May 24 via Dias. The band made the album at their own studio with member Chris King behind the board and you can check out the sleek, arpeggiated single “Faith” — and its video, inspired by Andy Warhol’s screen tests — now.
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NICOLE ATKINS & JIM SCLAVUNOS (BAD SEEDS) – “A MAN LIKE ME”
Nicole Atkins and Bad Seeds drummer Jim Sclavunos are wrapping up a six-years-in-the-works collaborative album. Details are still TBA but they’ve just shared the smoky, sultry “A Man Like Me” which is pretty promising.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbl6SJir3jY
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BIG BEND – “FOUR” (ft. LARAAJI)
Big Bend (aka Nathan Phillips) is releasing his new album Radish on May 10, and its newest single features cult ambient musician Laraaji. Nathan tells Tiny Mix Tapes: “With Clarice Jensen–cello, Laraaji–electric zither, Rob Nairn–double bass, and myself on piano, we planned a series of guided improvisations in Spring, 2016. I set up a dry-erase board with instructions ready to go, but when we began the soundcheck, this song came out without a plan, which is why there’s still distortion from the zither signal chain. While the later takes had their strengths, nothing matched the promptness and excitement of this first and guide-less take. With the four of us there, the song got its name.”
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GREYS – “ARC LIGHT”
Greys have shared another track off their upcoming Age Hasn’t Spoiled You, and it’s got sort of a droning, shoegazy atmosphere but with an aggressive, attitude-fueled post-hardcore delivery that makes it a little tougher sounding than your usual shoegaze.
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FRANKIE COSMOS – “STRING” & “ETERNAL”
Frankie Cosmos has been sharing songs from a new digital collection, Haunted Items, two at a time over the course of four weeks. For week three she’s shared “String” and “Eternal,” both, like the rest of the collection, based solely around Greta Kline’s voice and piano.
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G. COUNT & PUSHA T – “POPE VS. PONTIFF”
G. Count is one half of Chicago duo LEP Bogus Boys, and for this new song he tapped Pusha T, who’s still riding high off the strength of last year’s killer DAYTONA. It’s a moody, melancholic song, and Push destroys it with a verse that namedrops Quavo and Hillary Clinton and sounds as vicious as anything on DAYTONA.
https://youtu.be/CQWnIeYEmec
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03 GREEDO & MUSTARD – “TRAP HOUSE” (ft. SHORELINE MAFIA)
Before getting sentenced to 20 years in prison on gun and drug charges, 03 Greedo recorded a new album with (DJ) Mustard, Still Summer in the Projects, which comes out April 5 via Alamo Records. Ahead of its release, they’ve dropped a new single featuring two members of the fast-rising LA rap group Shoreline Mafia. Over a beat that marries Mustard’s trademark bounce to a little West Coast G-Funk, the guys go back and forth between furious verses and a wailing auto-tune hook. It’s cool stuff.
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DEJ LOAF – “IN A MINUTE”
We’re still waiting for DeJ Loaf to finally release her debut album, and the end of the video for this new song “In A Minute” says “album coming soon” so our fingers are crossed that she means it! Meanwhile, she shows off her sentimental side on this promising loosie which comes with a video that tackles the political climate we unfortunately live in.
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SLINGSHOT DAKOTA – “LOUDER”
Slingshot Dakota are releasing their new album Heavy Banding on May 24 via Community Records/Specialist Subject Records, and the first single is “Louder,” which is a fine example of the band’s blend of sugary synthpop and driving rock rhythms. “This song is about all of the nay-sayers projecting their own insecurities on me,” singer Carly Comando says. “It’s about my gripes with the industry, specifically in 2016 (but um also last week), and the folks who wrote me privately in support but wouldn’t publicly agree with my points because ‘they didn’t want to burn bridges.’ It’s about having important conversations with fellow music buds about toxic people, and then watching them work with those people. It’s about constantly trying to let go of caring what people think so me and Tom can THRIVE doing what we love and leading by example.” The song features backing vocals from Petal, Dikembe, and Expert Timing.
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CRAIG FINN – “SOMETHING TO HOPE FOR”
Craig Finn has shared another song off his upcoming album I Need A New War. It’s a dose of ’80s-style heartland rock with horns, gospel-like harmonies, the works, and a half-sung, half-spoken delivery from Craig leading the way.
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THIS GIFT IS A CURSE – “WOLVKING”
Swedish black metallers This Gift Is A Curse are releasing their new album A Throne of Ash on June 14 via Season of Mist, and the first single is “Wolvking,” which the band describes as “a fitting first ‘single’ to showcase the new record and its sound. In its lyrical theme, [it’s] a song about the worship of pure hatred and how to embrace that feeling and canalizing that into a black venomous diamond of rage.” It comes with a video made by Magnus Ewald (who’s also worked with Entombed), and the band says “it was shot earlier this year, during a three day long blizzard where the band literally got snowed in. The location; a 200 year old barn at premises of the infamous Ghost Cabin of Wånkarbo, surrounded by thick Scandinavian forest and desolated fields. A place where the band have done many of its esthetic work over the years (recordings, videos and craft). This place has become a vital part of the very core of what is This Gift Is A Curse.”
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JLIN – “NO NAME”
Modern-day Chicago footwork great Jlin is back with a new single for the Adult Swim Series, the buzzing, dizzying “No Name.”
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DIPLO – “HOLD YOU TIGHT” & “BUBBLE UP”
Having recently released the Europa EP, Diplo is now gearing up to release another new EP entirely featuring house tracks, and two of those are out now. While Europa showed off Diplo’s love of pop and hip hop, these two new songs are pure dancefloor bliss.
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KEVIN DEVINE – “RHODE ISLAND” (THE FRONT BOTTOMS COVER)
You already heard The Front Bottoms’ Kevin Devine cover from their upcoming split, and here’s Kevin’s Front Bottoms cover. TFB act as Kevin’s backing band for the song and TFB’s Brian Sella provides backing vocals, but with Kevin in the driver’s seat it’s more of a warm, heavily-layered baroque folk song.
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SELF DEFENSE FAMILY – “AWAITING ACKNOWLEDGEMENT”
The highly prolific experimental post-hardcore band Self Defense Family are releasing the new EP Performative Guilt on April 19 via 6131, and lead single “Awaiting Acknowledgement” is out now. The band says the EP is “about people who’ve died on us,” and that comes across very powerfully on the new song, with its hook of “I won’t try to be clever, I just miss him.”
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SKY FERREIRA – “DOWNHILL LULLABY”
Sky Ferreira looks like she’s finally set to release her much-delayed Masochism album this year, and today she released the eerie, David Lynch-ian single “Downhill Lullaby” (which was actually co-produced by the music supervisor for Lynch’s Twin Peaks). Read more here.
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HELL FIRE – MANIA (ALBUM STREAM)
Bay Area band Hell Fire revive ’80s-era thrash and NWOBHM, and we premiered a stream of their third album (and proper RidingEasy Records debut) Mania, which you can read more about here.
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KEVIN MORBY – “NOTHING SACRED / ALL THINGS WILD”
Kevin Morby’s anticipated new album Oh My God is out at the end of April — read all about the new single here and watch its surreal video below.
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SKRYPTOR – LUMINOUS VOLUMES (ALBUM STREAM)
Instrumental noise/math/prog etc supergroup Skryptor (members of Dazzling Killmen, craw, STATS, Aa) are releasing their debut album this Friday, and we premiered the full stream and wrote more about it here.
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Looking for even more new songs? Browse the ‘New Songs’ archive.
