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. 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.
SESSA - "GOSTAR DO MUNDO"
Brazilian singer/songwriter Sessa has announced his sophomore album, Estrela Acesa, due June 24 via Mexican Summer, and the first single is "Gostar do Mundo," a lovely acoustic folk song that Sessa says takes influence from both bossa nova and roots reggae.
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A-TRAK - 10 SECONDS VOL. 1
During COVID lockdown, A-Trak fixed up his old E-Mu SP1200 -- a drum machine used by A-Trak's heroes like Pete Rock, Madlib, and DJ Muggs -- and he used it to churn out four tracks of raw, old school house music. Those tracks make up his new 10 Seconds Vol. 1 EP, out now.
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FLUME - "SIRENS" FT. CAROLINE POLACHEK
Flume's guest-filled new album Palaces is out in May, and here's one of the collaborations, "Sirens," which Caroline Polachek adds crystalline vocals to. "Caroline and I had known each other for years, but she’d just moved to LA and we bumped into each other living down the street," Flume says. "We started playing weekly games of Magic The Gathering with A.G. Cook and a few friends. We started doing a session, and Danny L Harle showed me a voice note from Caroline with some very early stages of vocals. I loved it and went back in on it during the pandemic."
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SUPERORGANISM - "IT'S RAINING" FT STEPHEN MALKMUS & DYLAN CARTLIDGE
Superorganism's new single is an unlikely mashup of indie rock icon Stephen Malkmus, rapper Dylan Cartridge and a sample of Scott Walker's 1969 song "It's Raining Today." Say the band: "We've been enormous fans of Stephen Malkmus forever, and we loved the idea of combining Malkmus and Scott Walker into a strange almost broken-sounding hip hop track. We'd done a remix for Dylan Cartlidge and absolutely loved his flow; we asked him if he'd like to try a verse and he fit so naturally. With Dylan being from the North of England and Stephen in Portland, the rain theme is all the more fitting for them too.” Superorganism's new album, World Wide Pop, is out July 15.
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HORSEGIRL - IT'S OBVIOUS (AU PAIRS COVER)
Horsegirl stopped by SiriusXM's studios while in NYC last week to chat about their upcoming debut album and to record a short set. That included this excellent, low-key cover of Au Pairs' 1981 song "It's Obvious."
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DONNY MCCASLIN - "BLINDED" FT. ANI DIFRANCO
Jazz saxophonist and David Bowie's Blackstar band leader Donny McCaslin collaborated virtually with Ani DiFranco on "Blinded" during the pandemic. "If you hang in there long enough, the universe will spin you into your people," Ani says. "I feel that way about Eren and Donny even though I’ve yet to meet either of them in the flesh. I feel that way about Justin Tranter, who connected us. I happened to be wallowing away in a pandemic when the universe sent 'Blinded.' What a joy to be invited into the space of this exhilarating track." McCaslin adds, "I’ve always been drawn to serious artists who put their heart and whole being into what they do. Artists who are fearless, unwavering and committed. Ani DiFranco is all of those things. It was a thrill that she agreed to put her stamp on 'Blinded.'"
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WEIRD NIGHTMARE (METZ) - "LUSITANIA"
METZ frontman Alex Edkins is releasing his solo debut as Weird Nightmare on May 20 and he's just shared this anthemic new song that sounds like The Who by way of Dayton and Dunedin. "I let my obsessive love of '60s pop, garage rock and '80/'90s Flying Nun come to the surface," says Edkins. "I feel like my true musical personality comes out in these songs.”
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IBEYI - "LAVENDER AND RED ROSES" FT. JORJA SMITH
Ibeyi's new album Spell 31 is due out in May via XL, and they duet with Jorja Smith on new single "Lavender & Red Roses." "We knew we wanted to create something with Jorja that would be different from what we’ve done previously that would allow us to connect with the true meaning of the song," Lisa-Kaindé says. "When we came across the three sisters of fate from the Greek mythology that personify fate we knew immediately that it would be the right idea. Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos are sisters, one of them creates the thread of fate, the other analyses it and the third one cuts it. 'Lavender and Red Roses' is a song about the feeling we all experience when we love someone troubled. It could be a partner, a sibling, a parent, a friend. We wanted to talk about the pain of witnessing a loved one hurting, repeating patterns and getting lost. And how it triggers in us the desire to reach them, hold them tight and wash their troubles away with lavender and red roses. But the truth is you can’t save them, if they pull you into their darkness, you will have to protect yourself, and allow them to find their own strength and light, their own way."
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RLYR - "WRACK"
Chicago post-metal trio RLYR (members of Pelican, Cleared, Locrian, Bloodiest, and more) have announced a new self-titled album, due May 13 via Gilead Media. First single "Wrack" is out now and you can read more about it here.
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GOD MOTHER - "TEETHING"
Swedish band God Mother have announced a new EP, Obeveklig, due May 6 via self-release. Previous releases were on Party Smasher Inc, the label run by The Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman, who calls God Mother "an undeniable 'force majeure' that demands attention like bands did in the old days, by just being that fucking good." The EP was mixed and mastered by Cult Of Luna drummer Magnus Lindberg, and it's easy to see why someone like Ben Weinman would speak so highly of it; the chaotic, grindy hardcore of lead single "Teething" has some shared DNA with the music Ben wrote in DEP.
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LA NEVE - "SOFT POWER"
La Neve, the project of Downtown Boys' Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, has a new EP, History Solved, due out in April, and the latest single is "Soft Power," which pairs synths with urgent, propulsive vocals, closing with a sample of labor historian E.P. Thompson.
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EST GEE & 42 DUGG - "EVERYBODY SHOOTERS TOO"
EST Gee and 42 Dugg have shared the second single from their upcoming collaborative project Last Ones Left. On their own, both rappers nail a balance between street-rap grit and pop-rap appeal, and together, they're unstoppable.
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BRAXE & FALCON - "STEP BY STEP" (ft. PANDA BEAR) & "CREATIVE SOURCE"
French house pioneers (and longtime Daft Punk associates) Alan Braxe and DJ Falcon have a new collaborative project, Braxe & Falcon, and they've just released two singles on Domino's new imprint Smugglers Way, one of which features (past Daft Punk collaborator) Panda Bear. Panda brings his unmistakable voice to the disco balladry of "Step By Step," and more disco love is shown with the chopped up vocal samples of the funky "Creative Source."
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STREET SECTS - "HISTORY IS EVERYONE'S FUCK"
Austin's great punk-infused industrial duo Street Sects have announced the fifth and final installment of their Gentrification singles series, Gentrification V: WhitewashedZ, due May 20 via The Flenser. It'll feature two new tracks, including the just-released "History Is Everyone's Fuck," which is noisy and abrasive but kinda catchy too. Street Sects also tour with HEALTH and Perturbator this summer.
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THEY HATE CHANGE - "BLATANT LOCALISM"
Tampa rap/production duo They Hate Change have shared a new song off their upcoming Jagjaguwar debut Finally, New, and it puts an experimental, electronic twist on classic '90s/early 2000s style rap. The duo says, "As the cycle of rap cliches continues, we remain levelheaded. Rather than flexing rented cars and rented jewelry, we’re talking vintage cameras and how we came up selling tapes at DIY shows. Few minor flexes about designer dogs and staple name brand pieces, but it’s a break from the gimmicks and a PSA for those who continue to live a façade; we’re asking for everyone to show what’s really behind the curtain. Blatant Localism is our Skate Punk Jam."
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PACHYMAN - "ALL NIGHT LONG"
Pachyman (aka LA multi-instrumentalist Pachy García) has a new two-song single on ATO Records, and today he shares second track "All Night Long," a hypnotic song that takes influence from Eastern reggae. "Since a very young age I was fascinated with the far-east sound in early reggae," Pachyman says. "Chinese-Jamaican producers Herman Chin-Loy and Clive Chin brought these harmonic influences to the music and musicians like Augustus Pablo and Tommy McCook explored more on these themes. With this tune I wanted to achieve the early far-east sound found in an Aquarius Records release but I also wanted to deconstruct the rhythmic patterns that were commonly used at the time and rearrange them to create something fresh." Pachyman also begins a tour at Brooklyn's Baby's All Right tonight (3/30).
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HEART TO GOLD - "TIGERS JAW"
Heart to Gold's new song may share a name with the great indie-emo band Tigers Jaw, but it sounds more like '90s grunge. It's off their new album Tom which comes out next week via (frequent Tigers Jaw collaborator) Will Yip's label Memory Music.
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JOEBOY - "CUBANA"
Nigerian Afropop singer Joeboy shares a new single, "Cubana," which is off his upcoming TBA project, and which Joeboy calls "probably the most playful song I've ever released. "I was in the studio trying to create a ‘heartbreak song‘ with my producer Type A, and there was this really vibey and trippy progression I just started playing around with," Joeboy says. "‘Cubana’ started as a freestyle with this very catchy melody that stuck, and we decided to go with the flow, and create something very different from what we originally intended."
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DOUBLE GAINER - "MEETING IN THE MIDDLE"
Double Gainer (members of Posture & the Grizzly and The Most) released their debut EP in February and now they've announced a full-length album, Such Is Life, due May 13 via Refresh Records. The first single is the anthemic indie-punk of "Meeting in the Middle."
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NECTAR - "ROUTINE" & "PONYTAIL"
Champaign, Illinois band Nectar will release their new LP No Shadow on May 13 via Lauren Records, and two songs are out now: the folky, slow-burning indie rock of "Ponytail" and the poppy indie-punk ripper "Routine."
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SHILPA RAY - "LAWSUITS AND SUICIDE"
Shilpa Ray's new album Portrait of a Lady is due out April 29 via Northern Spy, and the latest single is "Lawsuits and Suicide," which she says was "written as a diss track to my abuser from a relationship I had suffered through in my mid to late 20s. A couple years ago I had read a New York Times article where a high profile abuser had allegedly threatened his victims with either a lawsuit or committing suicide and I was floored that my abuser had used the same style of threats on me. I had no idea how common this device was among abusive men. I wrote this song to express my rage and mock my abuser's unoriginality. I wish I knew then all the things I know and am finding out about now. I wish I was strong then as I am strong now. I wrote this song in the same vein as I did most of the album Portrait of A Lady, by using an 80s soundscape and songwriting sensibility. Ultimately I wanted this song to sound like I was winning. The 80s were all about winning.”
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HÄLLAS - "ELUSION'S GATE"
HÄLLAS' new album Isle of Wisdom arrives next week (April 8 via Napalm Records), and new single "Elusion's Gate" puts classic prog and psych influences over a triumphant, Iron Maiden-worthy gallop.
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KEHLANI - "UP AT NIGHT" FT. JUSTIN BIEBER
Kehlani's third album blue water road is out April 29, and the latest single is "up at night," which features guest vocals from Justin Bieber. "It’s about having a healthily obsessed relationship," Kehlani says. "You’re telling someone, ‘I love you so much it keeps me awake at night’. I love what Justin did, and it’s such a fun one to dance to."
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TRY THE PIE - "NEW DUST"
San Jose's Try The Pie have announced their first new song in seven years and first for their new label home of Get Better Records. It's called "New Dust," and it's a climactic, suspenseful indie-punk song.
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FLATLAND CAVALRY - "DANCIN' AROUND A FIRE" (FAR OUT WEST SESSION)
Texas alt-country band Flatland Calvary have launched a new live session series, the "Far Out West Sessions," which will feature stripped-down performances of songs from their acclaimed 2021 album Welcome to Countryland. First up is "Dancin' Around A Fire," which, true to the song's name, the band performs as a literal campfire song.
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BAKAR - "NW3"
UK rapper/singer Bakar recently released his debut album Nobody's Home, and here's a new video for "NW3."
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C DUNCAN - "HEAVEN"
Scottish musician C Duncan has announced new album Alluvium which will be out May 6 via Bella Union and the first single is out now. “'Heaven' is an upbeat and optimistic song about moving on to greener pastures," Duncan says. "It’s about turning corners, looking to the future and embracing what lies ahead.”
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KATRINA FORD - "GLEAMING THE CUBE"
Celebration frontwoman Katrina Ford will release her self-titled solo debut on June 24 via Violin Films. She's just shared this song that is not actually about the '80s Christian Slater skateboard noir film. Say Katrina: "Haste makes waste makes treasure. - 'I meant to do that.' Fuck 'outside box.' We are inside the cube, pushing the light. Finding the levity in inevitable law of gravity. SO I get layered like a cake in rock piano and shuffle beat, meshed into chunks of backing vocals and swirls of synths topped with a roto-tomic filled, club whistling, marching band field recording and a dab of harp on top."
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STEVEN BROWN (TUXEDOMOON) - "RESIST"
Steven Brown, a founding member of avant garde San Francisco group Tuxedomoon, will release El Hombre Invisible -- his first solo album since the '90s -- on April 15. The songs draw from his life in Mexico, where he's lived for years. This fiery, discordant protest song is the new single.
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AMYL & THE SNIFFERS - "MAGGOT (LIVE)"
The expanded edition of Amyl's Comfort to Me comes with a bonus disc of the band performing the album live. It's on clear smoke vinyl and includes a fold-out poster and new artwork. Here's a taste of the live album.
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KAE TEMPEST - "I SAW LIGHT" FT GRIAN CHATTEN (FONTAINES DC)
Kae Tempest will release new album The Line is a Curve on April 22, and they've just shared "I Saw Light," which features low key minimal electronic production and verses traded with Fontaines D.C.'s Grian Chatten.
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KEVIN MORBY - "ROCK BOTTOM"
Kevin wrote "Rock Bottom" as a tribute to the late Jay Reatard and the video stars Tim Heidecker.
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KELLY LEE OWENS - "SONIC 8" & "OLGA"
Kelly Lee Owens is back with a new album, LP.8, which will be out digitally on April 29 via Smalltown Supersound, with the vinyl release on June 10. This one is quite a bit different than 2020's Inner Song. She made the album in Oslo with noise artist Lasse Marhaug, who has worked with with Merzbow, Sunn O))) and Jenny Hval, and looked to both Throbbing Gristle and Enya as inspiration.
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JAPANESE BREAKFAST - "SKINNY LOVE" (BON IVER COVER)
As you may have heard, Spotify is gearing up for the Grammys by asking this year's Best New Artist nominees to cover songs by past Best New Artist nominees, and here's Japanese Breakfast doing that with a rendition of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love." As part of the session, she also did a stripped-back version of "Be Sweet." Read more here.
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HOME IS WHERE - "NAMES" / RECORD SETTER - "PLAIN ENGLISH"
Two of the best emo/screamo bands around, Home Is Where and Record Setter, are putting out a split EP in April and you can hear one track from each now. Read more about it here.
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Looking for even more new songs? Browse the New Songs archive.