Caroline Polachek

8 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…

CAROLINE POLACHEK – “SO HOT YOU’RE HURTING MY FEELINGS”

Caroline Polachek, formerly of Chairlift, is releasing her debut solo album, Pang, on October 18 via Columbia. New single “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” has a distinctly ’80s vibe, with tropical synths and plenty of vocoder.

MARK HOPPUS – “JUST WHAT I NEEDED” (THE CARS COVER)

We sadly lost The Cars frontman and famed producer Ric Ocasek this past weekend, and several musicians have been paying tribute to him. Among those is blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, who shared this creepy, atmospheric cover of The Cars’ hit “Just What I Needed,” which had been in the vaults for a couple years. Mark explains, “A couple years ago, I was asked to record a creepy cover of Just What I Needed for a tv show. They wanted moody and strange, dark, and drony, with space for dialogue to go over it. I went into the studio with my friend James Ingram and this is what we came up with. The show was cancelled so quickly the episode never aired, but if you can imagine a grim and grizzled detective determinedly working a murder case that shook them to the very core of their being, this is the music the show requested. It’s been sitting on a hard drive ever since, and with the sad news of Ric Ocasek’s passing, I thought I’d put it up here. Enjoy it. And go listen to The Cars.”

STORMZY – “WILEY FLOW”

Stormzy continues his run of great 2019 singles with “Wiley Flow,” a dark, menacing song which — as you probably guessed — pays tribute to the godfather of grime, Wiley. The video comes with this warning: “WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS FLASHING LIGHTS WHICH MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR PHOTOSENSITIVE EPILEPSY.”

SPEARMINT – “24 HOURS IN A&E”

UK cult indiepop band Spearmint are back with new album Are You From the Future? which will be out November 1. The band’s singer and songwriter Shirley Lee, says the album title “refers to the younger folk, who will see a future that I won’t. I can only apologize for what my generation and the baby boomers are passing on – the sooner the current teens and twenty-somethings are running the world the better, as far as I’m concerned.” The first single is a ’70s disco stormer that is equal parts The Style Council and Love Unlimited Orchestra.

FRAN – “COMPANY”

Chicago-based Maria Jacobsen makes music as Fran and will release debut album, A Private Picture, on November 15 via Fire Talk. The first single is “Company,” a churning indie rock anthem and its video which explores “the traditionally male-dominated spaces (sports courts, diy basement shows, drum sets) and dig into the absurdity of that entitlement.”

MARY LATTIMORE – “QUINTANA”

Harpist Mary Lattimore has shared a new track, a gorgeous, 15-minute composition titled “Quintana.” “I made this song when making the others from Hundreds of Days,” says Mary. “Pretty long. Have been playing it live but wasn’t released. Pretty imperfect but has some cool moments I think.”

—-

PRINCESS NOKIA – “SUGAR HONEY ICED TEA (S.H.I.T.)”

Princess Nokia really started to (deservedly) take off after releasing the 2017 deluxe edition of her 2016 EP/mixtape 1992, and then she took a sonic detour with 2018’s “emo” mixtape A Girl Cried Red, but now she’s back with her first new single in over a year, and it sounds like she’s entirely back on track. “Sugar Honey Iced Tea (S.H.I.T.)” is a return to the incisive raps of 1992, but it’s also a massive leap forward from that album. It’s one of Nokia’s most immediately satisfying songs yet, and it doesn’t really sound like anything else she’s done. The horn-fueled song sounds upbeat and fun on the surface, but Nokia tackles some serious issues in the lyrics, including racism, sexism, domestic abuse, guns, and more. (She references the throwing soup at the racist subway rider incident.) Check it out, along with its equally awesome, beauty pageant-themed video (directed by Emma Westenberg and featuring a Maliibu Miitch cameo), below.

BLUT AUS NORD – “NOMOS NEBULEAM”

We’ve been anticipating Blut Aus Nord’s upcoming album Hallucinogen ever since it was announced, but no song from it was released until today. Your first taste of the album is the eight-and-a-half minute “Nomos Nebuleam.” As you might expect from the album title and artwork, Blut Aus Nord are getting very trippy with this one, and though it’s got clear elements of black metal, it’s almost more accurate to just file this one under psychedelic rock. Listen at Metal Hammer.

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