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, track premieres, and more all day. In these concertless times, that includes daily livestreams and live concert videos we love. 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.
SHENSEEA - "UPSET"
It's no surprise that dancehall singer Shenseea continues to rise; just about everything she does is great, and this bold, brash, hard-hitting new song is no exception.
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THE SOUL SANTAS (BEAK>) - CHRISTMAS CRACKERS, VOL 1
The Soul Santas are Beak>'s Geoff Barrow and Billy Fuller, plus Geoff's scoring partner Ben Salisbury, and Sean Snook who played a one-off Christmas show back in 2014. They recently found a recording of that show, which inspired them to record this record live at Barrow's Invada Studios back in October. Christmas Crackers, Vol 1 features instrumental covers of standards such as "White Christmas," "We Three Kings" and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." All proceeds go to Feed the Homeless Bristol.
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DEZZIE & HEADIE ONE - "OPP DIDDY BOP"
Headie One has been the rising star of UK hip hop collective OFB, but Dezzie's been on the rise too, and he just teamed with Headie One for this new song. If you haven't heard him yet, this song makes it very clear why he's taking off.
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CHEQUE - "ZOOM" (REMIX ft. WWALE & DAVIDO)
Nigerian Afro-pop up and comer Cheque (aka Superboy Cheque) has tapped hometown hero Davido and US rapper Wale for a new remix of his already-addictive "Zoom."
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CAROLINE POLACHEK - "SO COLD YOU'RE HURTING MY FEELINGS"
Caroline Polachek reimagines her 2019 single for the festive season, with production from A.G. Cook.
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THE ANTI-QUEENS - "RUN"
This song actually is from from Toronto punks The Anti-Queens' 2019 Self-Titled album (Stomp Records), but it just got a new video and we haven't posted about this killer LP yet, so here it is. The Anti-Queens do melodic punk with a heavy rock 'n' roll vibe, and they've got hooks for days. "Run" is no exception.
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YACHT - "CHRISTMAS ALONE (2020)"
"A few years ago we made a goofy Christmas song about how much we love spending the holidays at home in Los Angeles," Yacht empty freeways, takeout Sichuan, matinees at the Arclight. In 2020, California is the global epicenter of the pandemic and we’re spending Christmas at home again—only this year we’re alone, and so is everyone we love. We revised our song, “Christmas Alone,” to reflect our mood this year: scared, angry, and exhausted, and above all grateful that we made it through 2020 safely. We’ve been lucky, but so many people in our community have not. The number of people experiencing food insecurity has nearly tripled in Los Angeles since the pandemic began. All proceeds from the sale of “Christmas Alone” will be donated directly to the Los Angeles Food Bank. If you want to make a donation but you don’t care about our music, you can donate to our virtual food drive directly below. We’ve set a goal for $1,000—which may not seem like a whole lot, but it will provide about 4,000 meals to hungry families in Los Angeles this season. Have a safe and happy holiday, wherever you are.
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STARS HOLLOW - "TADPOLE"
Speaking of 2019 songs we slept on, Iowa emo band Stars Hollow broke the news that their new album is done, and while you wait for it, you can check out the 2019 single they put out "to prove we still exist while we disappear and record an album" if you haven't already. "Tadpole" is raw, scrappy emo that toes the line between noodly Midwest emo and throat-shredding post-hardcore, and it rips.
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TAPE GIRL - "...AND YOU'RE DOING NOTHING"
Tape Girl is a new bedroom pop/ska artist from Colorado, and you can read more about her music here. Her latest single is the very good "...And You're Doing Nothing."
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FLEE LORD - "ALL FOR THE GOAT" (ft. CONWAY THE MACHINE)
New York rapper Flee Lord released an album a month in 2020, and his latest, In the Name of Prodigy, came out today. As the title implies, the album is a tribute to the late Prodigy of Mobb Deep (who helped mentor Flee Lord early on), and it was entirely produced by Mobb Deep's Havoc. One of its highlights is this song with Conway.
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PURSESNATCHERS - "PROOF OF CONCEPT (JEREMY BASTARD REMIX)"
"Remember when people would gather in humid bars to watch other human beings make amplified noises on raised platforms?," asks Brooklyn's Pursesnatchers in the notes to this remix of thier song "Proof of Concept". "When record jockeys would smell the collective sweat in a room and deduce the perfect song to keep everyone's feet flying? I used to see Jeremy Bastard a lot in those poorly-lit places. Our bands used to play together on those sticky stages. I was fucking psyched for him to remix this song. I hope some night to hear it played too loud on a bitchin' sound system with some drink tix to share. Maybe next year."
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SINKANE & FRIENDS - "CHRISTMAS WRAPPING" (WAITRESSES COVER)
This cover of The Waitress' new wave holiday classic -- featuring Nancy Whang, Money Mark and more -- is pretty faithful to the original, with Nancy bringing that slightly ironic vocal attitude the song needs. Proceeds go to Food Bank of New York City.
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KISSIES / SPLUNDR / KPG SPLIT
Noisy screamo band Kissies (featuring Teenage Halloween frontperson Luke Henderiks on bass/vocals), mathcore/emo/shoegaze band Splundr, and noise musician KPG have come together for an all-New Jersey three-way split, and you can read more about it here.
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Looking for even more new songs? Browse the ‘New Songs’ archive.