AJ Tracey

40 New Songs Out Today

So many artists, so many songs, 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, track premieres, and more all day. We update a playlist weekly of some of our current favorite tracks. Here’s a daily roundup with a bunch of interesting, newly released songs in one place.

DOJA CAT – “VEGAS”

Doja Cat has released a new song “Vegas,” which will appear on the soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic, which arrives in theaters on June 24. It samples Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog” (which Elvis’ cover of became one of his biggest songs), and it’s a reminder that Doja’s pop crossover hasn’t stopped her from dropping hard af rap songs.

JACK HARLOW – “CHURCHILL DOWNS” (ft. DRAKE)

Jack Harlow has entered the realm of rap superstardom (his recent single “First Class” debuted at No. 1), and today he releases his widely-anticipated new album Come Home The Kids Miss You. It has its moments, and it’s easy to see why he’s become so successful, and one of those moments is when he teams up with fellow superstar Drake, who delivers a very fine verse on “Churchill Downs.”

KNUCKS – “DIE HARD” (ft. STORMZY)

Rising UK rapper Knucks dropped his new album Alpha Place, along with a video for the album’s collaboration with Stormzy. Stormzy brings all of his usual starpower to the track, and Knucks sounds great next to him. Catch Knucks in NYC on June 11 at Knitting Factory.

YENDRY – “KI-KI”

Dominican-Italian artist Yendry follows up recent collaborations with J Balvin and Damian Marley with the hard-hitting reggaeton of “KI-KI.”

S.G. GOODMAN – “HEART SWELL”

S.G. Goodman’s sophomore album Teeth Marks is out June 3 via Verve Forecast, and new single “Heart Swell” is a rustic folk song. “I wrote this song on my back porch in Kentucky and was reminded of how intense the cicadas had been in 2015, when I just so happened to be going through a break–up,” Goodman says. “The intensity of the cicada calls was what I felt like on the inside. Heartache was buzzing, it was constant, and there was no escaping it.”

NO JOY FT MARSFADE – “PURE SHORES” (ALL SAINTS COVER)

No Joy have covered All Saints’ 2000 single “Pure Shores” which was a #1 hit in the UK and you might know from the soundtrack to Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach. It’s a faithful cover, featuring marsfade on lead vocals, but there are some No Joy shoegaze guitar heroics.

SPEEDY ORTIZ – “THEME FROM GHOST CHURCH”

Speedy Ortiz created the theme to the podcast Ghost Church, and in honor of today’s Bandcamp Friday fundraiser, it’s now available to download and purchase.

BDRMM – “THREE”

UK band bdrmm have been expanding beyond their shoegaze beginnings pretty much since their debut album dropped. This excellent new single takes them even further out — “Three” is still dreamy but this is expansive new territory for them.

CARLY RAE JEPSEN – “WESTERN WIND”

Carly Rae Jepsen debuted her new single “Western Wind” at Coachella, and now she’s officially released it. Rostam Batmanglij produced and co-wrote the song, which features backing vocals from him, Angel Deradoorian, and Julia Ross.

MORAL LAW – “BLUEBIRD”

Denver vegan straightedge band Moral Law are releasing their debut LP The Looming End this summer via New Age Records, and new single “Bluebird” is a ’90s-style hardcore stunner that’s equal parts metallic and melodic.

MOUNTAIN TIME (MINERAL) – “MEET THE KID”

Mineral/The Gloria Record frontman Chris Simpson is releasing a solo LP as Mountain Time in 2023, and it’ll include new single “Meet the Kid,” which has a twangy, rustic folk rock vibe but still sounds unmistakably like Chris.

TAYLOR SWIFT – “THIS LOVE (TAYLOR’S VERSION)”

After releasing her re-recorded “Taylor’s Versions” of Fearless and Red, she seems to be moving on to 1989. She already shared her new version of “Wildest Dreams,” and now she’s released “This Love,” which also appeared in the trailer for Amazon Prime series The Summer I Turned Pretty.

CHILLIN VILLAIN EMPIRE (CVE) – “THUGS AND CLIPS”

Influential Los Angeles rap collective Chillin Villain Empire (aka CVE) are releasing Chillin Villains: We Represent Billions, a compilation of material from 1993 to 2003, on June 17 via Nyege Nyege Tapes. The first single is “Thugs and Clips,” a loud, subwoofer-rattling rap song that sounds way ahead of its time.

AJ TRACEY – “REASONABLE”

UK rapper AJ Tracey just keeps rising, and instantly-great singles like “Reasonable” are only speeding up his momentum. “I don’t rap on these beats, I glide,” he raps on the hook. Indeed.

BASTIONS – “ACRES OF LOVE”

UK band Bastions will release new album Majestic Desolation on July 29 via Church Road Records, and new single “Acres of Love” is a heavy, anthemic song that connects the dots between alt-rock, sludge metal, and hardcore.

BATTLESEX – “THE BATTLECALL”

Portland punks Battlesex have announced a new EP, The Battlecall, due May 20 via Convulse Records, and the just-released title track is an 84-second rager that sounds straight out of the ’80s crust/D-beat scene.

THE DEAR HUNTER – “RING 7 – INDUSTRY”

The Dear Hunter will release their new album Antimai on July 1 via Cave & Canary Goods, and lead single “Ring 7 – Industry” injects some ’80s pop into their theatrical, progressive post-hardcore sound.

ANNA CALVI – TOMMY EP

This EP features songs that were either used in Peaky Blinders, which Anna Calvi composed the score for its final two seasons, or were inspired by it. It includes her version of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ “Red Right Hand” (the show’s theme song), a cover of Bob Dylan’s “All The Tired Horses”, and two originals.

BOLIS PUPUL – “RENDEZ-VOODOO”

Here’s the b-side to Charlotte Adigery collaborator Bolis Pupul’s new single “Neon Buddha” and is an equally buoyant, blobby dance track. Good stuff.

KOTA THE FRIEND – “UP”

Brooklyn rapper Kota the Friend is prepping a new album called MEMO, and it’ll feature new single “Up,” which finds him delivering crisp bars over a soulful organ sample.

TOOSII – “KEEPER”

Toosii has put out his first single of 2022: the melancholic, melodic rap song “Keeper.”

YUNA – Y2 EP

Fresh off performing with TOKiMONSTA at Coachella, Yuna has released a new three-song, with three tracks of airy, downtempo R&B.

MORRAY – “MAMA’S LOVE”

Just in time for Mother’s Day, soul-trap crooner Morray has released a new anthem in tribute to his mom.

NINE OF SWORDS – “THE PAVEMENT”

Philly/NYC hardcore band Nine of Swords have shared another track off their upcoming LP Beyond The Swords, and it’s another scorcher, with Rachel Gordon’s caustic scream set against fat, thick, power chord punk riffage.

BERATOR – “ONSLAUGHT TO ABSOLUTION”

Chicago death metal band Berator (ex-members of Profanatica, The Chasm, and Nachtmystium) will follow their 2018 demo with their debut album, Elysian Inferno, on June 10 via Dark Descent Records. First single “Onslaught to Absolution” is out now and it’s hard as hell.

LOGIC – “THERAPY MUSIC” (ft. RUSS)

Logic follows up last month’s two singles with the nostalgia-inducing “Therapy Music.”

STEVE EARLE – “MR. BOJANGLES”

Steve Earle has a tribute album to the late Jerry Jeff Walker, Jerry Jeff, on the way later this month, and he’s shared his take on “Mr. Bojangles.” “There was a time in my life when I wanted to be Jerry Jeff Walker more than anything else in this world,” Earle writes. “Looking back, it must have been more than obvious that, having yet to find a voice or persona of my own, I was emulating my hero; the Jerry Jeff we had all come to know and love, the Gypsy Songman, who had arrived at the perfect moment to stand at the Austin epicenter of the latest chapter in the evolution of what was, then, referred to as Progressive Country.”

156/SILENCE – “A PAST EMBRACE”

Pennsylvania metalcore band 156/Silence follow last year’s great Don’t Hold Your Breath EP with a new single, “A Past Embrace.” It’s an ominous, suspenseful song that feels like it’s always on the brink of explosion, and just when you think it’s about to boil over, it makes a surprising 180 towards spoken word/post-rock.

DAWES – “SOMEONE ELSE’S CAFÉ / DOOMSCROLLER TRIES TO RELAX”

Dawes have announced new album Misadventures of a Doomscroller that will be out July 22. The first single is the album’s nearly 10-minute quasi title track. “The first half of this song could be about tyrants,” says Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith. “But it could also be about anyone who thinks that a little more control is gonna make everything ok. The second half is a response to that developing reality of the first half. The world might be a scary place sometimes but, to some degree, I want to believe I can decide how I respond to it.”

FREEDY JOHNSTON – “THERE GOES A BROOKLYN GIRL”

Singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston, who’s been making albums since the late ’80s, is back with his ninth album Back on the Road to You in September. The first single is this jangly number that Freedy calls “a never-ending love story,” adding, “She’s the hip girl in the office who lives with her musician boyfriend out in Williamsburg. He tends bar until 4. It can’t last. But at least a song comes out of it.”

FLYING LOTUS – “THEY CALL ME MAGIC (MAIN TITLE THEME)”

Flying Lotus shared the main title theme to four-part Apple Original documentary series They Call Me Magic, a minute-long track with bold horns and a cinematic feel.

DELTA SPIRIT – “VILLAINS”

Delta Spirit’s new album One is One has them trading in their previous rootsy sound for a synthier, danceable sound as you can hear on new single “Villains.” The album is out May 20 via New West.

SAADA BONAIRE – 1992

German cult duo Saâda Bonaire only released one album, way back in 1984, but they kept recording into the early ’90s even though it was never released. Until now.

BROOKLYN UNDERGROUND SYSTEM – “HE SAID SHE SAID”

“Sometimes you just gotta say ‘bye! Like an old flip-flop that has no more use in your life; don’t put tape around it, just throw it in the garbage,” says Domenica Fossati of Brooklyn Underground System’s sassy new single. “This song is about throwing out the trash. The romantic relationships that ran their course and no longer allow you to thrive. Sometimes they want to come back, and you just gotta to say “Nah, I’m good, thanks. Have a nice day” Then enjoy the moment with a nice mezcal at your favorite bar with your favorite people.”

WAH TOGETHER – “OUT! OUT! OUT!” (KIKI KUDO REMIX)

DJ, musician and chef Kiki Kudo has taken Wah Together’s closing track from their debut album and has completely transformed it into this glitchy Frankenstein. Wah Together are Phil Mossman (ex-LCD Soundsystem), drummer Vito Roccoforte (the Rapture), producer/guitarist Steve Schiltz (Longwave), and vocalist Jaiko Suzuki (Electroputas).

NEAR BEER (EX HENRY CLAY PEOPLE) – “YELLING AT A DOG”

Yelling at a Dog” was the first song we wrote that felt like a distinctly NEAR BEER tune,” say the band of this first taste of the new Near Beer album. “It sounds a lot LESS like all of our previous bands—it’s got more 12-string, minor chords, and “sure, why not?” kinds of turns. Lyrically, it’s very much a blender of thirties-band-person anxieties—being broke, being terrified of the future, questioning your life decisions, but still kinda okay with it all. We suppose this is just a variation on the same rock & roll romantic themes we sang about in our twenties, but maybe with higher stakes because the fuck-ups can feel more permanent. Also, we all love dogs. If we actually saw people yelling at dogs, we’d be pretty bummed. So consider this an anti-yelling-at-dogs song.” Near Beer, which includes former members of The Henry Clay People, Fakers, and I Make This Sound, will release new album Summer 2022 via Double Helix Records.

ERICA DAWN LYLE + VICE COOLER – “MIRRORBALL” FT KATHLEEN HANNA

Kim Gordon, Kathleen Hanna, The Raincoats, Alice Bag, The Linda Lindas, Kelley Deal, Rachel Aggs (Shopping), Satomi Matsuzaki (Deerhoof),Katie Alice Greer (ex-Priests), Christina Billotte (Slant 6), and more have all contributed to a new album that benefits the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust. The album is the creation Bikini Kill’s Erica Dawn Lyle and Vice Cooler and Erica says, “Originally conceived as a quarantine-era mutual aid project after Bikini Kill tour was canceled due to Covid in March 2020, Vice Cooler and I wrote songs together remotely via file sharing and then asked a bunch of our friends to help us finish the songs.” Check out the song with Kathleen Hanna now.

VOMIT FORTH – “SEETHING MALEVOLENCE”

Connecticut hardcore-infused death metallers Vomit Forth have announced their debut album, Seething Malevolence, due in July via Century Media, and you can read more about the title track here.

HAUNTED HORSES – “PIG”

Seattle’s Haunted Horses (who are now a trio with bassist Brian McClelland of Filth is Eternal and He Whose Ox is Gored) have announced a new LP for Three One G, and you can read more about lead single “Pig” here.

…AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD – “NO CONFIDENCE” & “SALT IN YOUR EYES”

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead have announced their 11th album, XI: Bleed Here Now. Two tracks are out now and you can read more here.

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