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.
DAMON ALBARN - "ROYAL MORNING BLUE"
Most of the tracks we've heard so far from Damon Albarn's upcoming album The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows have been on the atmospheric side, but "Royal Morning Blue" is upbeat pop. The song was inspired by his view from the piano of the sea, aiming for that feeling of rain turning into snow. “That’s why the song opens with ‘Rain turning into snow,’ because it’s that moment, that feeling," says Damon. "In all the darkness that we have experienced, that was such a beautiful, positive thing.” You can watch a live performance of the song and listen to the studio version:
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BEACH FOSSILS - “THIS YEAR (PIANO)”
Pandemic lockdown has delivered a lot of unexpected records, but Beach Fossils recording an album of jazz piano renditions of their songs is still a surprise. The record was inspired by former drummer Tommy Gardner who would play them on tour. “I was astounded by the amount of musical talent that he possessed,” says Payseur. “On tour, whenever we were in a green room with a piano, Gardner would sit down and start improvising Beach Fossils songs in a jazzy style. He would be playing the melodies for the guitars, bass and vocals all together. It’s not like he rehearsed it, it would be the first time he’d ever attempted to play these songs, and it was always beautiful. For years I had the idea of turning these piano versions of Beach Fossils songs into an album, and in 2020 when touring came to a sudden halt due to Covid, I reached out to Gardner and asked if he wanted to finally make this album.” Check out the piano version of "This Year" (from 2017's Somersault) and the album, The Other Side of Life: Piano Ballads, is out November 19 via Bayonet.
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DEERHOOF - "SCARCITY IS MANUFACTURED"
Deerhoof will release new album Actually, You Can on October 22 and the new single from it has a very specific inspiration. “The anthem's spirit comes from Ritchie Valens' rendition of the traditional song ‘La Bamba,’ says guitarist Ed Rodriguez. "I was moved by his declaration of Mexican pride and that he did it in his own style. He was able to be his past, present and future, everything at once. I've struggled with my identity, being raised by parents who embodied their culture yet pushed me to be more American, hoping to shield me from the racism they endured. I never felt like a 'real' Mexican but I also wasn't seen as a 'real' American by many. At our shows, people began to tell me it meant a lot to them that there was someone of Mexican descent playing in Deerhoof. Community gives us the strength to accept and celebrate ourselves in a way that we may not be able to on our own."
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STEEL TIPPED DOVE - "NFT" (ft. BILLY WOODS & THE KOREATOWN ODDITY)
Brooklyn producer Steel Tipped Dove is releasing a new album, Call Me When You’re Outside, on October 8 via Backwoodz Studioz, featuring billy woods, KeiyaA, Fat Tony, Fielded, Pink Siifu, The Koreatown Oddity, Fatboi Sharif, and more. The first single is the hazy "NFT" with billy woods and The Koreatown Oddity.
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BEN LAMAR GAY - "SOMETIMES I FORGET HOW SUMMER LOOKS ON YOU" (ft. OHMME)
Ben LaMar Gay has announced a new album, Open Arms to Open Us, due November 19 via International Anthem / Nonesuch. The first single is "Sometimes I Forget How Summer Looks on You," a genre-fluid, jazzy pop song that features Ohmme.
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GATES - "WHERE TO BEGIN"
Gates will release their new EP Here and Now on October 29 via Wax Bodega, and first single "Where To Begin" is an atmospheric slow-burner that builds to a cathartic post-hardcore climax.
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KOJEY RADICAL - "WAR OUTSIDE" (ft. LEX AMOR)
UK rappers Kojey Radical and Lex Amor team up for this mournful yet groovy new song.
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DORIAN ELECTRA - "GENTLEMAN" (ft. DANNY BROWN) [DOLLYWOOD1 REMIX]
Hyerpop artist Dorian Electra has shared a new remix of "Gentleman" from last year's My Agenda, and this version's even more nuts thanks to a new verse from Danny Brown.
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J. COLE - "HEAVEN'S EP"
J. Cole has shared a new song, which uses the beat from "Pipe Down" on Drake's new album, and he also namedrops Drake (and Kendrick) in the song: "Some people say that I'm running third, they threw the bronze at me, behind Drake and Dot."
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VIC MENSA - "THE TASTE" (ft. BJ THE CHICAGO KID & PAPI BEATZ)
Chicago artists Vic Mensa, BJ the Chicago Kid, and Papi Beatz have come together for this warm, lush soul song.
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WIKI - "WE CAN'T DO THIS ALONE" (ft. & prod. NAVY BLUE)
Wiki has a new Navy Blue-produced album called Half God on the way, and one song also opens with a rapped verse from Navy Blue. That song is here now, and it finds the two very different rappers sounding great over a triumphant, soulful beat.
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GUPPY - "ALIENS"
Los Angeles-based indie punks Guppy have released a new single for Lauren Records, produced by illuminati hotties' Sarah Tudzin. "Aliens" starts off with a little wistful country twang before transforming into an upbeat, retro-styled garage rock track.
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UNDEROATH - "PNEUMONIA"
Underoath have shared the third single off their upcoming album Voyeurist, and this one's very different from the previous two. At seven minutes long, it's largely an ethereal art rock song, not touching at all on Underoath's usual metalcore until the six-minute mark. It's intense stuff.
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RICHARD ASHCROFT - "THIS THING CALLED LIFE (ACOUSTIC)"
Former The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft is releasing an album of acoustic versions of his songs, and he's just shared this track which was originally released as part of his RPA & The United Nations of Sound side project. Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1 is out October 29.
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CONSTANT SMILES - "RUN TO STAY"
Sacred Bones say their new signing Constant Smiles are for fans of "Yo La Tengo, Rat Columns, Angel Olsen, The Clientele, Galaxy 500, Elliott Smith, good ass music." Which is to say, strummy indie rock heavy on moody atmosphere. The band's debut album, Paragons, is out November 12 and "Run to Say" is the appealing first single.
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PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING FT BLIXA BARGELD - "DER RHYTHMUS DER MASCHINEN"
Public Service Broadcasting's new album, Bright Magic, is out this week and is, their own words, "an album about moving to Berlin to write an album about people who move to Berlin to write an album." They tapped a hometown hero, Blixa Bargeld of industrial icons Einsturzende Neubauten, to provide vocal on "Der Rhythmus Der Maschinen."
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SPICE (mem CEREMONY) - "A BETTER TREATMENT"
Spice (Ceremony singer Ross Farrar and drummer Jake Casarotti plus members of Creative Adult and Sabertooth Zombie) will release a new two-song single on November 19, and the first track revealed is "A Better Treatment," a suspenseful, dreamy post-punk song.
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MASS WORSHIP - "PORTAL TOMBS" (ft. BARNEY GREENWAY OF NAPALM DEATH)
Sweden's Mass Worship will release their second album, Portal Tombs, on February 4 via Century Media. The lead single/title track features Napalm Death's Barney Greenway, and it toes the line between hardcore-leaning death metal and atmospheric sludge.
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HANA VU - "KEEPER"
Hana Vu's debut LP, Public Storage, is due out November 5 via Ghostly International, and the latest single is dynamic alt-pop track "Keeper."
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CAST AWAY - "THE BLINDING"
San Jose's Cast Away have put out this new single on Paper Wings Records, and it's a punishing offering of caustic, chaotic hardcore.
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PENELOPE ISLES - "SUDOKU"
Penelope Isles' sophomore album Which Way to Happy is due out November 5 via Bella Union, and the latest single is the dreamy, melancholy "Sudoku," which Jack Wolter says "is probably the oldest song on the album. We used to play it in our old band, Your Gold Teeth, back on the Isle of Man when Lily and I first started making music. Dad loves a sudoku puzzle whilst he's sat on the loo. So this one is for him! It's a special song for us and we wanted to bring it back and play it with Penelope Isles."
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ANGELS & AIRWAVES - "TIMEBOMB"
Angels & Airwaves' new album Lifeforms comes out this Friday (9/24) via Rise Records, and here's one more single, "Timebomb," which flirts with industrial and synthpop but still sounds distinctly like Tom DeLonge. We also just added a few more copies of our very limited splatter vinyl variant of this LP.
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JOHN THAYER (ARP) - "AKAKU"
John Thayer, who plays in Brooklyn band ARP, is releasing new solo album Supermundane on November 19 via Moon Villain. “During a year of frequent travel, I found myself waking up in new places, surprised by how vividly I was dreaming," says Thayer. "I became curious about how my surroundings were influencing my dream state and chose to document them through field recording allowing me to continue the conversation with these environments using the only instrument I had: my laptop.” First single "Akaku" is heavy on mallet instruments like vibraphone but he also makes good use of proggy synths. Fans of Tangerine Dream's '80s soundtracks will dig this.
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BOY SCOUTS - "A LOT TO ASK"
The latest single from Boy Scouts' new album Wayfinder, which is due out October 1 via ANTI-, is "A Lot to Ask." "I've always been pretty uncomfortable with conflict and generally avoid it at all costs," Taylor Vick says. "Until recent years, this also meant not acknowledging or wanting to look at any issues of my own. That meant a lot of feeling bad and unequipped to deal with those feelings, feeling like a burden, and obsessing over the question of 'why am I this way!' Instead of understanding that people can change, the issues we face can be our greatest teachers, and that vulnerability is not synonymous with weakness!"
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WESLEY GONZALEZ - "WAX LIMOUSINE"
Former Let's Wrestle frontman Wesley Gonzalez will release his third solo album, Wax Limousine, on March 18 2022. That's a ways off but the title track is out now that was inspired by Scritti Politti and Aretha Franklin.
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ONETWOTHREE (EX-KLEENEX/LILIPUT) - "GIVE PAW"
ONETWOTHREE is a new group featuring members of the late-'70s/early-'80s Swiss punk scene, all of whom are bassists. The band includes Klaudia Schifferle of Kleenex / LiLiPUT, as well as Madlaina Peer of the Noknows and Sara Schär, who was singer for TNT and Souldawn, and bassist for The Kick. Their debut album comes out next month via Kill Rock Stars and here's the new, new-wavey single.
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PARQUET COURTS - "BLACK WIDOW SPIDER"
Parquet Courts have shared another song from their upcoming new album Sympathy for Life -- the driving, psychedelic and punky "Black Widow Spider." “I told [producer] Rodaidh McDonald that I wanted to find a sound that was equal parts Can, Canned Heat and This Heat," says A. Savage of the song's sonic inspiration. "He was really into that and probably took some glee in having such a bizarre challenge.” And yes, the video was inspired by Gumby.
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KING HANNAH - "A WELL-MADE WOMAN"
Liverpool duo King Hannah are gearing up to release the follow-up to last year's excellent debut album, Tell Me Your Mind and I'll Tell You Mine. While a new album hasn't been officially announced yet, they have just shared an excellent new single, "A Well-Made Woman."
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A CERTAIN RATIO - "DOWN & DIRTY" DAN CAREY REMIX)
A Certain Ratio have announced a remix album, Loco Remezclada, which will be out November 5 via Mute. The album features songs from last year's ACR Loco and this year's trio of EPs, remixed by Dan Carey, Lou Hayter, The Orielles, LoneLady, Maps, Sink Ya Teeth, Skream, and more. “We took time to consider who we’d like to have involved, who we admired, who we love hanging out with, who we couldn’t wait to hear what they came up with,” say the band. Check out Dan Carey's remix of "Down and Dirty."
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CHARLOTTE ADIGÉRY & BOLIS PUPUL - "THANK YOU"
Belgian-Caribbean artist Charlotte Adigéry and collaborator/partner Bolis Pupul are back with a new single, "Thank You," that's out now via DEEWEE, the label run by Soulwax's David & Stephen Dewaele who also co-wrote and co-produced the track. Bolis has worked on all of Charlotte's records to date, but this is their first released officially as a duo.
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GEESE - "PROJECTOR"
"The opening riff on 'Projector' was the first thing we ever wrote for the record," says Geese frontman Cameron. "When the song was finished, it became a jumping off point for the rest of the album. We liked it because it was something decidedly different from the music we had been writing up to that point. Though we didn’t know it then, it’s fitting that 'Projector' became the title track on the record; it’s the song that ushered in the album’s sound."
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ANDY SHAUF - "JAYWALKER"
Andy Shauf released a new single, "Spanish on the Beach," a few weeks ago and now he's announced that it's part of new album, Wilds, which will be out this Friday, September 24 via ANTI-. Its nine songs were all from the same sessions that gave us last year's The Neon Skyline, though Wilds is less polished. Shauf played all the instruments on the album, came up with the arrangements "on the fly," and laid it all down on “a little tape machine” in his Toronto studio. Check out "Jaywalker."
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ALT-J - "U&ME"
alt-J have announced a new album, The Dream, and you can read more about lead single "U&ME" here.
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SCOWL - "BLOODHOUND"
Santa Cruz hardcore band Scowl will release their debut LP How Flowers Grow in November via Flatspot Records, and you can read more about lead single "Bloodhound" here.
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BRIAN FALLON - "THE VIRGIN MARY HAD ONE SON"
The Gaslight Anthem frontman and prolific solo artist Brian Fallon has announced a new album of renditions of classic hymns, and you can read more about the first one here.
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APES - "CORNWALL"
Quebec blackened grind/hardcore band APES will release a new EP produced by Will Putney and featuring noise contributions from Full of Hell's Dylan Walker on Translation Loss this January, and you can read more about lead single "Cornwall" here.
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OVLOV - "LAND OF STEVE-O"
Connecticut indie rockers Ovlov have announced their third album, Buds, and you can read more about lead single "Land of Steve-O" here.
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SEEYOUSPACECOWBOY - "MISINTERPRETING CONSTELLATIONS"
SeeYouSpaceCowboy have announced their highly anticipated sophomore album, The Romance Of Affliction, and you can read more about lead single "Misinterpreting Constellations" here.
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Looking for even more new songs? Browse the ‘New Songs archive.