New Music Friday - March 24, 2017

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

Essential Full-Length Releases

Drake - More Life Word of this "playlist" (his words) from Drake first surfaced late last year. I had initially heard it was set for release on December 23, but that date came and went with no news of the record. It wasn't until March that it got its final release date. More Life is meant to bridge the gap between releases from the rapper, but has become an acclaimed set of songs in its own right, and another hit for Drake.

The Jesus and Mary Chain - Damage and Joy It's been 19 years since The Jesus and Mary Chain's last record, 1998's Munki, which they released just before splitting the next year. It's been ten years since they reformed, but much of that time was spent re-releasing old music and touring. Jim Reid announced that the band was back in the studio in 2015. Damage and Joy is the result of those sessions, produced by Youth. Watch: "Amputation" Watch: "Always Sad"

Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens This is the debut album from Kelly Lee Owens, who was formerly the bassist for the History of Apple Pie before they parted in 2013. Her solo work can be broadly described as electronic, though she mixes elements of various substyles of the genre. She is indebted to various influences on her debut, ranging from Massive Attack to Arthur Russell, and includes a feature from another, Jenny Hval. Watch: "Anxi" (featuring Jenny Hval) Listen: "Throwing Lines"

Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me For 13 years, Mount Eerie (Phil Elverum) was married to Canadian artist Geneviève Castrée. She passed away last year following a battle with pancreatic cancer, also leaving behind a young daughter. While he was always intensely private about his marriage, his eighth studio album deals with the grief of his loss head-on. Stylistically, it's looser than his past work, representing less an effort to write traditional songs, but to exorcise his pain. Watch: "Ravens" Listen: "Crow"

Red Baraat - Bhangra Pirates Red Baraat is a bhangra band out of Brooklyn who also incorporate jazz and R&B. The band was founded by Sunny Jain in 2007 and released their debut, Chaal Baby, in 2010. They've become renowned for their live shows. Bhangra Pirates is their third studio release, which includes a contribution from the incredible guitarist, Steve Marion! Listen: "Bhangale" (featuring Delicate Steve) Listen: "Layers"

Other Full-Length Releases

Becca Stevens - Regina Watch: "Queen Mab" Watch: "Well Loved" (featuring Laura Mvula)

The Bug Vs Earth - Concrete Earth Listen: "Don’t Walk These Streets" Listen: "Snakes Vs Rats"

Johnny Flynn - Sillion Watch: "Raising the Dead" Listen: "Heart Sunk Hank"

Matthew Stevens - Preverbal Listen: "Our Reunion" (featuring Esperanza Spalding) Listen: "Undertow"

Mike-WiLL Made-It - Ransom 2 Watch: "Gucci on My" (featuring 21 Savage, YG, & Migos) Listen: "Come Down" (featuring Chief Keef & Rae Sremmurd)

Pallbearer - Heartless Watch: "I Saw the End" Listen: "Thorns"

Spiral Stairs - Doris & the Daggers Watch: "Dundee Man" Watch: "Dance (Cry Wolf)"

Tonstartssbandht - Sorcerer Listen: "Breathe" Listen: "Sorcerer"

Singles, EPs, Soundtracks, etc.

Fucked Up - Year of the Snake Listen: "Year of the Snake"

Hannah Lou Clark - The Heart and All Its Sin EP Watch: "Don’t Sweat It"

Paul McCartney - Flowers in the Dirt Deluxe Reissue Watch: "My Brave Face" Listen: "Twenty Fine Fingers" (featuring Elvis Costello) (demo)

PINS - Bad Thing EP Watch: "Aggrophobe" (featuring Iggy Pop) Watch: "All Hail"

Tactus Tempus

New Music Tuesday - September 2, 2014

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

New Full-Length Releases

Blonde Redhead - Barragán Four years after the release of Penny Sparkle, Blonde Redhead are attempting to reinvent their sound. Over their nine albums and 21 years together, they've moved towards a quieter, softer sound. This may be a disappointment for some fans, but I feel that most bands and musicians are more interesting if they evolve their sound over time. Listen: "Dripping" Listen: "No More Honey"

Earth - Primitive and Deadly Earth is a well-established drone metal band who released their first album in 1993. They separated for six years in 1997 and they've been pretty active since. Their latest features guest vocals from Mark Lanegan. Listen: "From the Zodiacal Light" Listen: "Even Hell Has Its Heroes"

Jeezy - Seen It All I've known the name Jeezy for quite awhile, but never been particularly interested in the music. While I'm exploring more hip hop artists and finding any that I liked, I'm also finding that they work with each other... a lot. I'm still not enthralled by his music, but his latest record includes contributions from Future, Rick Ross, and Jay-Z. Watch: "Me OK" Watch: "No Tears"

Sinkane - Mean Love Sinkane is the stage name of Sudanese musician Ahmed Gallab. He worked as a studio musician for such artists as Eleanor Friedberger, Caribou, and Yeasayer. He released a few EPs and albums starting in 2008, but broke out with the release of 2012's Mars. It was a great record, but he's recreating (even improving on) that magic. His music is a fusion of styles, influenced by the cultures that he grew up in, and the music he loves. Watch: "How We Be" Listen: "New Name"

Steven James Adams - House Music Steven James Adams has been performing for more than ten years and was a founding member of the Broken Family Band. This year, though, he's breaking out as a solo musician and enlisting some help from Emily Barker and The Vaccines. Watch: "Tears of Happiness"

The Vines - Wicked Nature The Vines rode in on the garage rock wave of the early-2000s and, like many of their contemporaries, faded into seeming obscurity for several years. It's been shorter than it seems, though, their previous record, Future Primitive, was released in 2011. This is still being pitched as a come-back record and is marked by a few big changes in the band. Lead singer Craig Nicholls takes producing credit for the first time and there's been some changes in the band's lineup. Watch: "Metal Zone" Listen: "Everything Else"

Zammuto - Anchor Nick Zammuto part of the duo The Books with Paul de Jong until the project ended in 2012. He released his first solo album following the disbandment, self-titled, in 2012. Anchor is the follow-up, recording with a full band. Watch: "IO" Watch: "Great Equator"

Zoot Woman - Star Climbing Zoot Woman is an electronic synthpop trio from England. They've been together for nearly twenty years, though this is just their fourth album. The band promises that this record is a departure for them, and has allowed them to incorporate all of their individual styles. Watch: "Don't Tear Yourself Apart"

Other New Releases

God Help the Girl: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack God Help the Girl has been a long-term project for Belle and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch. The project was begun in 2009, when Murdoch brought together a group of female vocalists. That incarnation released a few singles, an album, and an EP; but he had larger sights set. He began developing a script for a movie that starting filming in 2012 and was released this year, starring Emily Browning as the main character. Watch: "God Help the Girl" Watch: Trailer

Julianna Barwick - Florine Reissue Julianna Barwick has become a bigger name in indie music over the past few years, but is not forgetting where she came from. She's re-releasing her first two EPs this weel. Florine was her second release, which originally came out in 2009. Listen: "Cloudbank" Listen: "Anjos"

Julianna Barwick - Sanguine Reissue Sanguine was the performer's very first release, coming out in 2006. It was where she first displayed her use of vocal loops and use of sounds over lyrics. It also serves as a show of how she creates music, allowing ideas to come to her spontaneously, rather than going through writing and re-writing processes. Listen: "Dancing with Friends" Listen: "Scary Cat"

Sam Smith - I'm Not the Only One Remix EP Sam Smith released his debut album, In the Lonely Hour, in June, riding in on a wave of hype created through early singles and guest appearances. He's releasing one of the songs, "I'm Not the Only One," from that record, with a few remixed versions. Watch: "I'm Not the Only One" Listen: "I'm Not the Only One" (Armand van Helden Remix)

Vaults - "Lifespan" Vaults were one of my newly-discovered favorites recently. I absolutely love their take on synthpop and, while they only have a few singles out as of yet, am looking forward to the release of their first record. Watch: "Lifespan"