Hi! Hello! Here we are with some bite sized goodies and a taste of a some new things that we dug that came out in the last week (ish), quick fire responses to some great new music we think you should check out. This week Chantal, Kate and Mike weighed in on some killer songs— give ’em a listen!
Anareta– Black Snake. This blackened-orchestral doom band hails from New Orleans and blends western classical instrumentation with brutal and intense metal. “Black Snake” is the third single from their upcoming debut album, Fear Not.
The band shares:
“‘Black Snake’ is a recognition of the horrific and destructive forces of the oil industry and the commercial infrastructures that are imposed on our lands and across our waterways. The title stems from a Lakota prophecy of a black snake that would cross the land causing destruction and poisoning waters, and was widely used during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests to refer to the toxic contamination that oil pipelines produce across our land. These issues are not isolated, but global, as industry everywhere continues to contaminate and compromise our natural resources. This song is about water. Water is life, and through water everything is connected. With rage and grief we recognize what we have lost as water turns black.”
The song is an 11 minute sweeping opus, starting out with the metal side of their sound before giving way to a gorgeous, string led instrumental interlude that lasts for several minutes before building back up again to a huge crescendo to drive the song home. Fear Not, is due out on 4/28. [KH]
Bo Gritz– Stored In The Sky. It’s been five years since the noisy London trio released their Tape EP and we hadn’t heard from them during all that time until earlier this year when they released the single “Observes and Selects.” Now they’re really back and not just “back” but BACK and with the announcement of their debut album, Chroma, in hand. Its first single, “Stored In The Sky,” came out today and it’s a ball of industrial grit wrapped in acidic, glitched out post punk sensibilities; it will snarl at you harder than someone bumping into you on the London Underground during rush hour. (Or maybe I’m NYC projecting here, in my experience people are much nicer on the Underground than on the NYC Subway!)
In their press release this was compared to “Snapped Ankles at their most industrial extremes” and being a lover of their weirdly wonderful forest too, I can certainly see the juxtaposition here. Chromareleases in full on 6/9 and the band has some UK tour dates throughout the spring, though nothing on our side of the pond just yet; we’ll certainly be keeping our eyes peeled for that. [KH]
Crazy & the Brains– Open Eyes. The band released this Pete Steinkopf (Bouncing Souls) produced single last fall but today released a brand new video for it which we premiered. Check out more here. [KH]
Desert Sharks–Medusa. Kicking in immediately with growling bass and guitar and the powerful vocals of Stephanie Gunther, this is full throated rock and roll, an “anthem of feminine rage and reclamation of power” inspired by the mythological Medusa. The video blends images of blooming flowers and slithering snakes with live performance footage filmed at Econolodge. Desert Sharks’ new album will be out on Substitute Scene Records March 31—watch this space! [CW]
The Dilators– Cop City. The Brooklyn queer punx and driving force behind Brooklyn Transcore have been on a relentless push over the last year, their live shows cathartic, community affairs that continue to grow in size. Now they are here with their debut single and if you’re a cop or a bootlicker, they don’t have time for you or your fucking bullshit. Not one ounce of a word is minced on “Cop City,” and it just so happens to be one of the ragiest and most refreshing slices of hardcore I’ve heard in a while. The song comes paired with a powerful music video of live performance clips alongside protest footage.
Lead singer Saoirse shares:
“The cops and Hollywood are working together to bulldoze hundreds of acres of forest in Atlanta, the largest urban forest in the country, to build a mock city/pig training facility. People all over the world are standing up to this atrocity. But the cops are cracking down hard, holding dozens of peaceful forest-defenders in jail on trumped up charges. Over 40 people have been wrongfully charged with domestic terrorism. And on January 18, during a violent raid, the police murdered a tree defender. Tortuguita was a peaceful warrior. They were a nonbinary person of color. They were fighting for everything that is good and right. They were sitting cross-legged with their hands up. They were shot 14 times. We made this video to raise awareness about the great sacrifices people are making so that we can have clean water to drink, fresh air to breathe, and real freedom. Rest In Power, Tortuguita.”
The band has a tour coming up around Reclaim the Stage Fest and will be in Brooklyn next on 4/21 at The Meadows with Adult Mom and 5/13 at TV Eye with HIRS. “Cop City” is from the forthcoming album, Die Later, due out later this year. [KH]
Fenne Lily– In My Own Time. The latest single from Fenne Lily is a gentle and soothing acoustic contemplation, but while it is delicate, it explores big feelings, existential quandaries of life and the general state of confusion that can bring. Who among us can’t relate to the realism of lyrics like “sometimes I feel like I’m just killing time here // or maybe it’s killing me” and the feeling of wondering what else might be out there? Lily is joined by Katy Kirby on harmonies for some added saccharine that hits just right: in the heartstrings. For the accompanying video that features ventriloquist dummies and rowdy bar patrons she shares:
“This song’s about the weight of stasis — about time moving too quickly and too slowly and every mistake feeling both permanent and inconsequential. When it came to writing this video concept, I wanted it to reflect the twisted aspects of a love that’s found in the midst of chaos and the subsequent feeling of being inanimate in your own story. All that, in the style of Terminator 2.”
“In My Own Time” is from the forthcoming album Big Picture (4/14 Dead Oceans). Fenne Lily will embark on a lengthy tour in the UK and Europe followed by US dates which will see her hit Music Hall of Williamsburg on June 2nd. [KH]
Friko–Crimson to Chrome. Singer and guitarist Niko Kapetan’s confessional lyrics (“I’m sitting here writing the same sad song / with the cogs on fire / spinning on and on / till I’m old and tired / even then I’m on fire”) and earnest yet forceful voice paired with classic indie distortion and sharp percussion puts me in mind of a more rollicking Bright Eyes. There’s an energy here you could certainly enjoy in the comfort of your own room but is perhaps better experienced with a crowd singalong. Indeed, their video for the track is comprised of clips from their first headlining tour. Currently they are appearing at SXSW and moving on to a West Coast tour through April. [CW]
Grampfather– Rot In Bliss. The Kingston, NY quartet is back with a brand new single “Rot In Bliss,” which follows up their 666G EP released in summer of 2022 (read our review). This band sure as hell knows how to bring the jangle and how to get in your head with some catchy and fun indie rock. You can catch them live on 3/31 at Our Wicked Lady for even more fun. [KH]
Jesus Piece– Silver Lining. The Philadelphia metallic hardcore band is set to release their upcoming album …So Unknown soon and have released the centerpiece of the album “Silver Lining,” a song the band says was inspired by vocalist Aaron Heard’s son. The song is epic, heavy and yet atmospheric, showing off many sides of their muscianship. They are currently on tour with Show Me The Body, Zulu, Scowl and TRiPP JONES and will hit NYC on 3/24 at Brooklyn Steel. [KH]
Low Presh– Blade Runner. For those keeping track and counting down the days until LP III (which is a pretty cool subtle double entendre btw), Low Presh just dropped a trompy stompy banger new single called “Blade Runner.” Between sliding walls of big guitars, punctuated with moments of hanging silence and big fuzzy choruses, the track is stung together beautifully by verses bent by metallic clink. It offsets wonderfully last month’s “Dark Eyes,” a brooding ripper full of dark spacey imagery and ominous slither. The quartet has proven themselves over recent years to be quite skilled at balancing discord and resolution, and these new songs prove nothing to the contrary. We are pretty excited to dig further into the new record which comes out on all platforms March 31st. [MB]
NEWSKI–Airplane. A midtempo lo-fi rock song featuring Guster‘s Ryan Miller that flows along pleasantly and strikes a nostalgic tone, or as NEWSKI says, “a magical time when MTV still played music videos…when prank calling truckers on CB radios was top-shelf entertainment, and when MGD was still considered a good beer.” FRIEND ROCK releases on April 7th and features appearances from Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Brian Vander Ark (the Verve Pipe) and more. [CW]
OK Cool– nissanweekends. There’s a lot going on here and I like that. Got some emo, some indie, it gets mathy, it gets loud, it’s in 6/8, I’m feeling all of it. I was previously unfamiliar with the Chicago duo who bills themselves alternately as “two pasty little music muppets” or “two tiny tiny rats with a dream of one day becoming human,” but I’m very ready to hear more.
Band member Haley Blomquist shares:
“nissanweekends” was written about the monotony of work and the stress that comes with balancing your time around it. It can feel like a waste of time to not be productive when there’s so many plates I’m trying to balance at once, ultimately making it hard to ever relax without feeling like ‘if I lay down, the earth will open up and leave me.’”
It is the second single from the upcoming album, fawn, which is due out 4/28 and follows several other singles and EPs, plenty for me to get to know them more with. Let’s get this band to NYC for a show, stat! [KH]
Snooper– Waste. Blink and you might miss this frenzy of a song. 1:24 of disorder is packed into this lo-fi banger and just as you’re settling into the chaos, BAM! there it goes, finished and done, just watch out it doesn’t take your head off in the process. The band is just wrapping up a tour around SXSW, here’s hoping they make it to NYC soon. [KH]
Semaphore– Stay2gether (Blink 182 cover). A shoegaze cover of Blink 182 was certainly unexpected, but being someone who loves a cover that changes things up, this one hit the spot. Singer/guitiarist Siddhu Anandalingam shares that “Stay Together For The Kids” is his favorite Blink song and it started out as an experiment with new gear which then evolved into this cover. This version keeps the moody spirit of the original, making it even darker along the way particularly since Anandalingam’s voice more closely matches the deeper pitch of Mark Hoppus who only sings the verses in the original, while Tom DeLonge sings the chorus in his much higher voice to make it soar; the deeper voice throughout works much better for this slowcore electro gaze take, keeping it grounded and more subdued. The band will release their album, I Need A Reason to Stay, on 3/24 and celebrate with a release show on 3/26 at Gold Sounds. [KH]
Teen Mortgage– Sick Day. Got 2 minutes? Then Teen Mortgage has this heavy garage rock ripper to tear apart your mind! This one looks like a stand alone for now but I’m reeeeeeaaal ready for a follow up to their 2019 EP Life/Death (which was a recent Bandcamp Friday pick for me) and hope that’s coming down the pike soon. As well as some live show action here in the swampy bowels of Brooklyn, too, of course. [KH]
Tetchy– Next Generation. Whether you are a die hard Trekkie, a Wesley Crusher fan, or just a being of any sort wishing for a better world, Tetchy’s newest single is for you. Aptly titled “Next Generation,” Maggie Denning and crew daydream of being friends with the young Crusher aboard the Starship Enterprise while binge watching TNG and hopelessly crestfallen over the disparity between relative future utopia of The United Federation of Planets and our current state of existence. Tetchy is currently at SXSW and will play their next Brooklyn show with my band, Nihiloceros, on 3/30 at Alphaville. [MB]
Tinariwen–Tenere Den. Tinariwen were my (and many others) first introduction to “desert blues,” which blends traditional Tuareg music and West African and Malian influences with an electrified guitar sound. Their new single “Tenere Den” displays their mastery of the craft, with intricate guitar work, meditative rhythms, and call and response lyrics that speak of the dualities of the desert (“white at times, and at other times / red with the blood of the martyrs / the desert where everything is far away / Inkilal heard the sound of gazelles / or of a Toyota roaming the vicinity.”) Their ninth album Amatssou is out on May 19th, and they’ll be at Webster Hall on June 6th. [CW]
waveform*–Lonely. I heard this song via a flyer on my street here in Brooklyn, walking home at 3 am not entirely sober, and let me tell you those are *exactly* the vibes for this track. This is gorgeous, country tinged (get a load of that guitar solo) dream pop with a surreal feeling, courtesy of songwriting duo Jarett Denner and Dan Poppa. Their album Antarctica will be out on Run For Cover on May 12th. [CW]
This past Saturday night, Greenpoint Brooklyn’s heavy music haven, Saint Vitus, welcomed Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, the UK-based band we previously dubbed “stoner/psych/doom noise kings,” and we’re not sure we’ve been to a bar that packed to the gills since the pandemic made us all afraid of crowds. It was the first performance on this side of the Atlantic for the thunderous madness of the raucous quintet from Newcastle and it did not disappoint. They had been scheduled to play Vitus on Friday, March 13, 2020, when, you know, the world was trembling on the edge of a cliff and then fell over the edge. But we’re all trying to clamber back up that cliff now, and these Pigs are close to the top with some very dirty and torn trotters, but ready to fucking rock you to your core, as the decibel levels and their general unadulterated joy on Saturday more than demonstrated.
The NYC-based super psych rock duo, White Hills, kicked off the festivities with their unique sound and visually-striking live show. Ego Sensation— who plays a standup drum kit and sample pad—broke through her backlit sea of fog with driving drum beats, while her partner, guitarist/vocalist Dave W., lost himself in the music again and again, pacing around the stage between verses, pausing to shred, and then off again to wander in the seductive swirl of noise. But no matter the peregrinations, this duo is always in sync. After twenty years of writing, recording, and performing together on their own terms—never being afraid to alienate people by changing it up album to album—White Hills possesses an electric connection that’s tangible when in the room with them. By the end of the set, Mr. W shook his guitar over his head in ecstasy as the packed room squeezed in even more, a perfect warm-up for the piggy fun about to take the stage.
And then, yes, here came our Pigs! The absolutely massive sound surged on the crowd from the first song, “Mr. Medicine,” one of the more garage-punk offerings from their recent release, Land of Sleeper (read our review). Had there been more room to move, things might’ve gotten real rowdy real quick, but sandwiched in as we all were, the stoner energy dominated, and bodies just pulsed and swayed to the cacophony. And note that when we say massive sound, we mean MASSIVE. Bassist John-Michael Hedley—who in a nod to noisy, heavy NYC music of yore was wearing an Unsane shirt—played through two heads and two Ampeg eight-by-ten cabinets (you know the refrigerator sized amps), and guitarists Adam Ian Sykes and Sam Grant each had double head, full-stack Orange rigs. All tube, no solid state, LOUD AS FUCK. They blew the walls out in a way you could feel deep in your bones with some up front opting for double ear protection (aka Hoos as she shot the show).
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs at Saint Vitus
Throughout their frenetic set, Pigs x7 demonstrated their impeccable showmanship. These gents know how to put on an all out kick-ass show! Frontman Matthew Baty strutted about in his dragon-print boxer shorts and New York Fuckin City t-shirt, dousing himself with water and delivering jokes with heavy-weight swagger like some Muhammad Ali-meets-Freddie-Mercury fantabulous hybrid (which if anyone can fuse those two larger-than-life beings, Baty just might be the man).
The Pigs continued to shake Saint Vitus for near an hour, bringing other big crowd pleasers from Land of Sleeper like “Ultimate Hammer” and “Terror’s Pillow,” peppered throughout with Baty’s humourous stage banter with mentions of “food disasters” and getting rich through their very own Pigs pyramid scheme. “I know it looks like we’re professional athletes but we’re actually really unhealthy, especially on the inside,” he quipped after shaking his microphone over his head in a fit and needing to take a water break. The group seemed genuinely excited to begin their first US tour in New York, and Baty predicted that if each person there at Vitus would bring eighty friends next time they were in town, they’d be able to fill Madison Square Garden (which actually checks out…we did the math).
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs at Saint Vitus
At the end of the night, they brought “A66” (from their 2018 release King of Cowards), and suddenly the previously vibed out stoner crowd erupted into an all out frenzy pushing and moshing towards the front; it felt like that movement had been summoned by the band all night. The Pigs left the stage sweaty and triumphant, after ensuring everyone that they “wouldn’t charge you $40 to take a photo” at the merch table “because we’re not worth that much.” They are now making their way toSXSW in Austin next, then onward to the West Coast, before they make one more stop in our fair city, April 4, at Mercury Lounge to conclude their time here and head home to the UK. You know, a warmup for their next stop here at MSG, a venue they are certainly loud enough, and charismatic enough, to blow the roof right off of.
Scroll down for setlist, pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
Setlist: Mr. Medicine, Rubbernecker, Halloween Bolson, Ultimate Hammer, Reducer, Ball Lightning, World Crust, Cake of Light, Big Rig, Terror’s Pillow, GNT, A66
Each week a ton of new music comes out, and between our weekly singles column that gets posted every Friday, and the full album reviews throughout the week, plus live show reviews and news announcements, we get to a lot! Here’s a quick fire list of even more great albums and EPs that came out this week(ish) that we dug and think you should get on your radar too.
Bard’s Flying Vessel– Nightfall Generator. The latest from the Brooklyn based group and like their eponymous 2021 debut, the music on this new album finds this five-piece band throwing various styles into the mix and producing a sound that’s all their own. Equal parts psych rock, lo-fi fuzzy garage rock, surf rock, 60’s folk vibes yet at times heavy as hell. “Scheming” is a big stand out for me and other highlights include “Barrows,” “Fortune Wheel,” and the title track. If I had a car I’d wanna blast this as I drive, windows down. Check out our recent coverage of their release show. [KM]
Ben Kweller– Sha Sha Deluxe. To celebrate its 20th anniversary (or 23rd or 21st depending on which version we’re talking about), Ben Kweller has released a deluxe edition of his debut album, Sha Sha. The album has been remastered and includes all of the original tracks you know and love plus an additional 22 demos, live cuts, B-sides and other rarities including the lo-fi “I Have the Power,” which was released as an early single. (As a fellow 1981 baby and nerd, I see and love the 80s reference in this title.) The album is available now on the standard formats—triple LP, triple CD and DSPs—plus, for those of us who like to combine our dental hygiene with our indie rock, a USB toothbrush you can scrub your plaque away with and then plug into your computer. Pretty convenient if you ask me! Here’s hoping the 1997 album, Restraining Bolt, by Kweller’s earlier band, Radish, gets the re-issue treatment sometime soon too. [KH]
Frankie Rose– Love As Projection. After four years Frankie Rose is back, and continuing to explore synthpop and new wave as she did on 2017’s Cage Tropical and 2019’s Cure cover project, Seventeen Seconds. It’s a big departure from her days in fuzzy guitar bands (as the leader of Frankie Rose and The Outs and as a member of Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls and others) but she’s hardly the first Slumberland artist to make the jump into more Tears For Fears-inspired territory. Rose has always been good at writing a hook, and delivering them through electronic means rather than a fuzz pedal allows the intricacies of her song writing to stand out. The album starts out very catchy with “Sixteen Ways” and “Anything.” Yet much of the record sees Rose taking a more subdued approach, slowing down the beat and moving the mood from dance party to nighttime neon drive. Love As Projection is out on Slumberland Records today, and she will be performing a release show the next night at Union Pool. [CW]
Glitter Wizard– Kiss The Boot. Do you like the Seventies? I sure fucking do, and thank god Glitter Wizard does as well. This glam tinged EP features more licks than you can shake a stick at, and a David Bowie cover to top it all off. There’s glitter here to be sure, but also swagger. Glitter Wizard are obviously inspired by the bluesy psychy rock of the past, but they hit all the good notes while avoiding being too derivative. Highlights on this EP are “Sequins and Leather” and “Sugar Beat,”’ while the video for “She’s a Star” sends it all up with leather and big hair. Kiss The Boot is out right now via Kitten Robot Records. [CW]
The Grasping Straws– Patterns. The latest from the BK indie art rockers have a brand new album out this week. Read our thoughts here. [MB]
H. Hawkline– Milk For Flowers. The project of Welsh song writer Huw Evans (and frequent Aldous Harding/Cate LeBon collaborator) has just released a new album, Milk For Flowers via Heavenly. The bouncy title track kicks off the album, piano driven indie pop finery, and the next song, “Plastic Man,” continues in this vein before the third, fourth and fifth tracks bring it down a bit. “Athens At Night” is a low-key synth pop jam and one of my favorites, anchoring the middle of the album well, before it slips down into the more gentle “Like You Do,” and the album concludes with a few more somber tunes. The pacing of the album feels very intentional and I enjoyed this about it too, you can tell a lot of thought went into this as a body of work and it is not just “some songs thrown together as a collection.”
I admittedly was not familiar with his work at all before I met him at Webster Hall when I worked Aldous Harding‘s show there last year (he is a member of her backing band and also opened the show), so this is the first time I’ve sat down with his music more in depth. I should definitely remedy that as he has four more solo albums and numerous collaborations to dig into. I was surprised none of the songs here were sung in Welsh (as he told me that is actually his native tongue and he didn’t learn to speak English until he was primary school aged) but perhaps there may be more in his back catalog I’m not yet aware of; I look forward to taking some time to do that. He is also a graphic designer and gifted me a beautiful hand printed linocut at that show and you can see more of his visual art on his website and albums. [KH]
Jeerleader– I’m Fine Until I’m Not. A brand new four song EP from Brooklyn’s own dream pop quartet, Jeerleader. This follows up 2020’s But It’s Fine and I think maybe they’re trying to tell us something…everything is not fine…but I also think we all already knew that. This is a fun one and shows off the groups pop sensibilities nicely. “Keanu Reeves Saves The Planet” is a particular stand out with really cool bass and lead guitar work and “Ghost World” is a bouncy jam that will stick in your head like glue. [KH]
Meet Me @ The Altar– Past // Present // Future. I famously am not much of a fan of pop punk or emo, but there are, as they say, exceptions to every rule. Meet Me @ The Altar definitely thawed a bit of my long standing iciness towards these genres ever since I saw some early videos of them (though I can still take a hard pass on just about 99.5% of the rest of those genres as a whole) and I have always been impressed with their exceptional musicianship and the prowess they bring to their songs, even when they were starting out as teens. And never mind the fact of how absolutely refreshing it is to see a band making pop punk without yet another boring white man or his “feelings” in sight.
They have released a series of singles and EPs over the years and this week hit the world with their full length debut, Past // Present // Future, now mature masters of their craft. The production here is huge, more pop than punk really, but their strong chops as musicians is still very much the glue that holds this band together, big budget recording or not. Songs like “Try,” “Same Language,” and “It’s Over For Me” are super fun that will keep you bouncing while “King of Everything” is a relatable anthem I really dug, with lyrics about just wanting to catch a damn break for once—been there, felt that. While I’m not likely to be found at Emo Nite or a pop punk show any time soon, this is a fun one that definitely had lots to sink my teeth into. [KH]
Snayx– Weaponized Youth: Part 1. This band has been one of my biggest surprises of 2023. I saw their name on a flyer for UK snark punk band Panic Shack‘s recent tour and decided to look them up. (Truth be told, I find lots of great bands this way, just looking at show flyers for bands I already like and doing a little digging.) Their song “Work” was my first intro and I was immediately hooked on the snotty ode to fucking off and telling your boss to shove it. I love bass and drums rock bands and I love fast paced irreverent songs, so I really took a shine to that one. “Deranged” is in a similar spirit of being wild and out of control, and that was most of what I knew of this band before the full EP came out. (Other than “Buck” which felt like a little bit of a departure for them and I said as much in my review here.)
But all, as it turns out, is not as it seems and this band has a lot of nuance beyond the brashness presented in the two songs I initially got to know them through. On the full EP, we get to see their depth with the soulful and political “Weaponized,” which also showcases the full range of their musicianship beyond just the driving romps that initially drew me to this band (though there is certainly nothing wrong with plenty of those types of songs either, I bloody love them). As I said, “Buck” is a bit more on the subdued side, and “Body Language (She Could Read My)” splits the difference and also features some super cool, slick bass work.
Every song on this five song debut is a winner and it’s been a while since I’ve heard an EP that nails it all the way through with nothing that can be called “filler” in the bunch. l also really love the cover art here, courtesy of artist Georgie Ramsay, it pairs very nicely with the title of the EP and I just love collages in general. This is a band I definitely have very high up on my list to see live and really hope they either get over to the States soon, or my next trip to the UK will coincide with one of their shows. Even better, I hope both happen! [KH]
Tired Radio– Lousy, thanks. The melodic mid-tempo hard rock band made up of “1 big guy, 1 small guy and 2 medium guys,” have just released their latest EP, Lousy, thanks, which is the follow up to their 2020 album, Patterns. The EP builds off the strength of lead single “Old Keys,” which has been making the rounds following a European tour last year where they opened for The Get Up Kids in Germany. For fans of band like The Menzingers, Hot Water Music, and Jawbreaker (alternatively Sharkswimmer or Heavy Lag for local Brooklyn comparison). Other highlights are “Down In Flames” and the title track. These are six catchy songs you’re going to want in your ears as the winter thaw beings to set in. [MB]
Check out these other recent reviews for even more new music:
Hi! Hello! Here we are with some bite sized goodies and a taste of a some new things that we dug that came out in the last week (ish), quick fire responses to some great new music we think you should check out. This week a whole bunch of the crew—Chantal, Kate, Megan, Mike and Ray— weighed in on some killer songs— give ’em a listen!
Acid King– Mind’s Eye. Seven minutes of slow burn acidic doom from the San Francisco crew, this is the latest from their upcoming album, Beyond Vision, due out on 3/24. Packed with gigantic riffs and hard hitting drums, this one makes me sad I have a crew cut because this is a hair in your eyes, vibing the fuck out stoner rock gem. [KH]
Angel Olsen– Nothing’s Free. Forever Means, the follow up EP to Angel Olsen’s fantastic 2022 album, Big Time, is on the way and the lead single “Nothing’s Free” was released this week. A subtle and soulful piano driven contemplation, complete with lush sax accents, the song sees Olsen exploring her identity and laying it all out for the first time. The songs on the EP were recorded during the Big Time sessions but not included on that record. They are collected here with a common theme of there being “no finish line.”
Olsen shares in a statement:
“Forever is to remain curious, never letting yourself think you’re finished learning or exploring, while trying also to be kind and honest.” She further elaborated about this song specifically, saying it’s “about that point when self-denial breaks, and you notice how long you’ve been restraining who you are. It felt really difficult to exclude it from Big Time,” she admits, “but it felt more soulful than the direction of that record, it was coming from a different place. For me, when I wrote it, I was coming to terms with my identity and sexuality. I was opening up in a new way.”
Forever Means will be release on 4/14 via Jagjaguwar. Check out our recent coverage of her show at Bearsville Theater. [KH]
Beach Fossils– Don’t Fade Away. The long running indie bedroom pop quartet have just announced their first album in six years, Bunny, and released the first single “Don’t Fade Away.” This song finds them in the rich dream pop territory that they are so deft at with band leader Dustin Payseur sharing that the song “is about missing old friends, being on tour, self-medicating, longing, anxiety, love, being an idiot, having fun, embracing your mistakes and keeping your spark.” Bunnywill be released on 6/2. [KH]
Bodywash– No Repair. The second single from Montreal post punk duo’s forthcoming second album. It’s an airy and lush song with Rosie Long Decter on lead vocals this time who shares:
