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.
BRENT FAIYAZ - "GRAVITY" (ft. TYLER, THE CREATOR)
Maryland R&B singer Brent Faiyaz has tapped Tyler, the Creator for a new single produced by Kendrick Lamar/Drake collaborator DJ Dahi. It's a smooth slow jam and Tyler's rapped verse suits it well.
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THE HOLD STEADY - "SPICES"
With much of the US under a serious cold snap, The Hold Steady's "Spices" couldn't come at a better time. “‘Spices’ began with the intro riff that guitarist Tad Kubler brought in,” says Craig Finn, “and it unfurled quickly when the band got together. It’s probably one of the heaviest songs on the record, but it achieves some levity with the horn section that arrives at the chorus. Like a number of others on the record, ‘Spices’ speaks of technology – the way texts, social media, DMs, etc. allow acquaintances to pop up into our lives and potentially disappear again just as quickly.” The Hold Steady's new album, Open Door Policy, is out February 19.
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DESIRE (JOHNNY JEWEL & MEGAN LOUISE) – “ZEROS”
Desire, the duo of Chromatics' Johnny Jewel and Megan Louise, have shared this low-key house jam. “The cyclical music echoes flashback sequences of a recurring dream, chanting ‘Falling like a feather…Never touch the floor’," say Desire. "We sampled the incessant strikes of a grandfather clock, stopwatches, & digital alarm clocks to keep the time. From sunrise to sunset, every single day is adding up.”
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MR. EAZI - "THE DON"
Mr. Eazi continues to emerge as one of Afropop's biggest and best crossover stars, and he'll keep the momentum going with the Something Else EP, due February 19 via Eazi’s own Banku Music and emPawa Africa. The first single is "The Don," which owes as much to the Nigerian artist's homegrown Afrobeats as it does to moody R&B.
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ANXIOUS - "BLED WHITE" (ELLIOTT SMITH COVER)
Connecticut emo/hardcore band Anxious recently showed off a more tender side with the jangly "More Than A Letter" off their upcoming acoustic 7", and now they've explored that side once again with a shoegazy emo cover of Elliott Smith's "Bled White." It was originally released on NTS Radio and Brain Dead's Now That's What I Call Brain Dead comp, which also features '90s/'00s covers by Portugal. The Man, Cherry Glazerr, Homeshake, Miya Folick, Mac DeMarco, cursetheknife and more.
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THYLA - "BREATHE"
Brighton, UK quartet Thyla shared another cinematic, widescreen pop track, with they say is the first taste of their forthcoming debut album. "'Breathe' was written in the early hours of the morning," frontwoman Millie Duthie says. "Eventually we chanced upon this really vibey atmospheric lick that you hear in the intro, and the whole song grew from there. The song blossomed into a slightly melancholic dream-pop bop, it’s bittersweet and has a slightly inconclusive feeling to it; imagine a film where the main character never actually gets the happy ending you’ve been so long yearning for. The result of how the instrumental sounded no doubt manifested lyrics that held the same sentiment. The song is about loneliness, estrangement from family and close friends, yet despite this, feeling a sense of inner strength about the situation. It’s like recovering from a breakup and realising you’ve come out stronger, but a reflection of the scar tissue that resulted from the trauma."
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TO BE GENTLE - 3 SONGS
Eugene, Oregon screamo band To Be Gentle are releasing a new album, I Love You, But I Will Not Forgive You, on March 5 (benefitting RAINN). Jake Beeker says most of the songs were written and recorded yesterday (1/28) and adds, "I wanted to dive in deeper than i ever have before in regards to writing music about my mental health on this album. This album is a declaration of my trauma and how it has shaped me as a person, as well as an emancipation from my trauma consuming every facet of my life." Three of them are streaming now, and they're minimal, ambient instrumentals that manage to be as gripping as the band's screamo material.
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JULIA STONE - "WE ALL HAVE" FT. MATT BERNINGER
Julia Stone (of Angus and Julia Stone) is releasing a new solo album, Sixty Summers, due out April 16 via BMG. The newest single, "We All Have," is a duet with The National's Matt Berninger, whose tenor contrasts beautifully with Julia's voice. The song, like previous single "Break," was also co-produced by St. Vincent and Doveman.
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GENTLEMAN'S DUB CLUB - "HONEY" FT HOLLIE COOK
UK crew Gentleman's Dub Club tapped the great Hollie Cook for this summery jam and when her harmonies hit this is "Honey" indeed.
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BOOTSY COLLINS - "LIPS TURN BLUE" FT EMMALINE, OLVIDO RUIZ
Iconoclast and bass god Bootsy Collins collaborated with Cincinnati artist Emmaline on this new single which is the Funkadelic member's first bilingual song. "Lips Turn Blue" is from Bootsy's new album The Power of the One.
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AMOR - 'AMOR/LEMUR' EP
Glasgow's AMOR, who channel Arthur Russel and The Blue Nile with their lush and organic disco style, have teamed with Norwegian ensemble LEMUR for this terrific new EP.
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SELENA GOMEZ - "BAILA CONMIGO" (ft. RAUW ALEJANDRO, prod. TAINY)
Selena Gomez is releasing a Spanish-language EP, REVELACIÓN, on March 12 via Interscope, and new single "Baila Conmigo" features Puerto Rican rapper Rauw Alejandro and was produced by Bad Bunny/J Balvin producer Tainy. "It was a really interesting song for me to work on with Selena, since it fuses an authentic reggaeton sound with elements like the plucked electric guitar that lean more pop," Tainy says. "Rauw’s melodies captured that essence and complemented Selena’s very well."
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SPACE CADET - "BAD LUCK"
Space Cadet is the new band of The Explosion vocalist Matt Hock and guitarist David Walsh, and their upcoming debut album Lion on A Leash was produced by The Bouncing Souls' Pete Steinkopf. They've just released the Stonesy second single "Bad Luck," which has bass by a third Explosion member, Chris Gonzalez.
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PETER ROSENBERG - "MARCUS SMART" (ft. FLEE LORD & STOVE GOD COOKS)
Hot 97's Peter Rosenberg is curating a new album, and this new single features two of today's best boom bap revivalists, Flee Lord and Stove God Cooks, trading verses over a psychedelic beat from Zoomo.
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N.O.R.E. - "OUTTA LINE" (ft. METHOD MAN & CONWAY THE MACHINE)
N.O.R.E. stays true to his hard-hitting vintage sound on this new song which features fellow NYC legend Method Man and one of today's finest torch-carriers of '90s-style New York rap, Conway The Machine.
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BUGGIN - "GRATITUDE" (BEASTIE BOYS COVER)
Chicago's Buggin are one of the most promising young hardcore bands around, and today they've just followed their 2020 New Morality Zine-released self-titled EP with their first single for Flatspot Records. It features the ridiculously good song "Brainfreeze" that came out earlier this week, and that song is backed by a fiery cover of The Beastie Boys' "Gratitude," which fits right in with Buggin's own groovy hardcore.
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DEAD TORCHES (KILL YOUR IDOLS, NORA, NUMBER 12, etc) - "EXHAUSTION BLUES"
NJ metallic hardcore band Dead Torches have members of Kill Your Idols, Nora, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, Manalive, Second Arrows, and Troublemaker, and they've got a new 7" on the way. The first taste is the fiery "Exhaustion Blues."
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ALCEST - "PROTECTION" (ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTAL VERSION & BEN CHISHOLM VERSION)
Blackgaze pioneers Alcest have released two new versions of "Protection" from 2019's great Spiritual Instinct, one acoustic instrumental version and one industrial-tinged rework by Chelsea Wolfe collaborator Ben Chisholm.
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WORN - "PUBLIC EXECUTION"
Worn are an extremely sick hardcore band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and they've won over fellow Wilkes-Barre resident Ned Russin of Title Fight, who wrote the bio for their upcoming LP Human Work (due March 5). First single "Public Execution" is out now, and it's a very promising, very heavy first taste.
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ROB ZOMBIE - "THE ETERNAL STRUGGLES OF THE HOWLING MAN"
Rob Zombie's new album The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy drops March 12 via Nuclear Blast, and it'll include this dose of throwback party metal.
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THE KILLERS - "C'EST LA VIE"
The Killers have released a deluxe edition of Imploding The Mirage and one of the bonus tracks is this entirely new song.
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JPEGMAFIA - "FIX URSELF!"
JPEGMAFIA will release a new EP in February, and you can read more about its new single "FIX URSELF!" here.
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MYOPIC & AT THE GRAVES - "THROUGH VEINS OF SHARED BLOOD"
Myopic is a trio from DC and At The Graves is a one-man band from Baltimore, and now they've teamed up to release a collaborative album. You can read more about this lead single here.
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Looking for even more new songs? Browse the ‘New Songs’ archive.