New Music Friday - March 9, 2018

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

Essential Full-Length Releases

August Greene - August Greene August Greene is a new project from Common, which sees him working again with longtime collaborators Karriem Riggins and Robert Glasper. Bringing pianist Glasper into the fold underscores Common's longtime interest in marrying jazz and hip hop. The debut album from the trio also brings in a new collaborator, and a name that I had not heard in a while, Brandy! Watch: "Optimistic" (featuring Brandy) Listen: "Black Kennedy"

Liza Anne - Fine But Dying Fine But Dying is the third album from this artist from Georgia (the U.S. state). On the record, she deals head-on with past struggles with mental illness and the various interpersonal effects, as well as the conflict between internal state and outward appearance. Watch: "Paranoia" Watch: "Closest to Me"

Shamir - Resolution Resolution was a surprise release from Shamir. He had previously announced an EP, Room, and released a few songs from that project. It's not his first surprise release; last year, he released Hope before the more traditional release cycle of Revelations.

Young Fathers - Cocoa Sugar Young Fathers are a trio from Edinburgh. Their music is generally described as hip-hop, though that's a limiting descriptor for them. They also incorporate elements of pop, club music, and industrial. Cocoa Sugar is their third record. Watch: "In My View" Watch: "Lord"

Other Full-Length Releases

Albert Hammond Jr. - Francis Trouble Watch: "Muted Beatings" Watch: "Set to Attack"

David Byrne - American Utopia Watch: "Everybody’s Coming to My House" Listen: "This Is That" (featuring Oneohtrix Point Never)

Editors - Violence Watch: "Hallelujah (So Low)" Watch: "Magazine"

Nap Eyes - I’m Bad Now Watch: "Every Time the Feeling" Watch: "I’m Bad"

of Montreal - White Is Relic/Irrealis Mood Watch: "Plateau Phase/No Careerism No Corruption" Watch: "Paranoiac Intervals/Body Dysmorphia"

Singles, EPs, Soundtracks, etc.

David Byrne - Naked in Denver

Guided By Voices - Ogre’s Trumpet

Jimi Hendrix - Both Sides of the Sky Watch: "Lover Man" Listen: "Mannish Boy"

Logic - Bobby Tarantino II Listen: "Wassup" (featuring Big Sean) Listen: "State of Emergency" (featuring 2 Chainz)

Maria Usbeck - Bosque De Bambú Listen: "Bosque De Bambú"

Shamir - "Room" 7” Watch: "Room" Listen: "Caballero"

Tom Waits - Closing Time Vinyl Reissue Listen: "Closing Time" Listen: "Little Trip to Heaven"

Tom Waits - Under the Covers Listen: "Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag"

You Were Never Really Here: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

New Music Tuesday - September 16, 2014

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

New Full-Length Releases

Allah-Las - Worship the Sun Sometimes, listening to the radio can still introduce you to some great new music... well, satellite radio, at least. During a recent road trip to a wedding in a rental car with free satellite radio, I first heard the Allah-Las. At this point, I can't quite remember the song that I heard, but I quickly jotted down their name so I could look them up later. Their garage rock game is strong and reminds me a little bit of Jaill around the time of their This Is How We Burn album. Definitely a great find! Watch: "No Werewolf" Watch: "501-415"

Blake Mills - Heigh Ho Blake Mills caught my ear on the quality of his recent collaborations. One of the early tracks released from this record featured vocals from the venerable Fiona Apple. His talents have also allowed him to play with artists like Cass McCombs, Band of Horses, and Julian Casablancas, as well as to produce albums for Alabama Shakes and Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek). But he's also an excellent solo musician with a new, but familiar sound. Heigh Ho is his second record. Watch: "If I'm Unworthy" Watch: "Don't Tell Our Friends About Me"

The Juan MacLean - In a Dream The end of LCD Soundsystem left many fans reeling, but here is yet another band to check out if you've been missing them. Made of up John MacLean and former LCD member Nancy Whang (who is featured gorgeously on the album cover), they produce a similar type of electronic dance-punk. In a Dream is their fifth studio record. Watch: "A Simple Design" Watch: "A Place Called Space"

Lia Ices - Ices A lot of new music comes out in a given year, a lot by artists that I have an interest in. Few, though, really make a solid impact, even fewer on first listen. But this is one of those albums. I first came to love Lia Ices with the release of her 2011 record Grown Unknown. That album is great, but this one also makes me incredibly happy to listen to. It's light and upbeat, but loses none of what made her so appealing to me initially. Watch: "Higher" Watch: "Thousand Eyes"

My Brightest Diamond - This Is My Hand Shara Worden's previous record, All Things Will Unwind, was my favorite of hers (up to that point) and somewhat changed how I thought about the artist. Where earlier work had seemed heady and a bit unapproachable, that record brought her sound back down to earth a bit. What I've heard from this seems to be on that same track. She keeps the classical intricacies of her past work, but the songs created are easily listenable and interesting. Watch: "Pressure" Listen: "This Is My Hand"

Octave Minds - Octave Minds Octave Minds is the newly-formed combination of Boyz Noise (aka Alexander Ridha) and Chilly Gonzalez (aka Jason Beck). The duo formed after the Canada-based Chilly relocated to Germany, where Boyz Noise is based. The EDM-meets-piano virtuosity combo makes for an unexpected pairing, but a thoroughly rewarding one. Although the band is made up of two incredible musicians, they've also enlisted the help of another notable act, Chance The Rapper. Watch: "Symmetry Slice" Watch: "Anthem"

She Keeps Bees - Eight Houses This band's interesting name comes from the surname of vocalist Jessica Larrabee. Since they formed in 2006, the band has garnered some pretty impressive comparisons to the White Stripes, PJ Harvey, and Cat Power, just to name a few. Their latest album also features fairly extensive guest vocals from another prominent artist, Sharon van Etten. Watch: "Is What It Is" Listen: "Breezy"

Shellac - Dude Incredible Shellac is the main band for guitarist Steve Albini, who has become better known for his production work than his own music. While he's a well-known and respected producer, he's had a long career as a musician, too, spanning back to the early 80s. This band has been together for just over 20 years and this is their fifth album. Listen: "Dude Incredible" Listen: "All the Surveyors"

Other New Releases

CONS EP Vol. 2 The CONS EP series is a new music project from shoe brand Converse. Previously, they engaged in an ongoing singles series that saw contributions from artists such as Julian Casablancas, Frank Ocean, and Santigold. This new campaign is a lot more focused on skateboard culture and sees more hip hop and punk contributions. This latest has a collaboration between Flatbush Zombies (hip hop) and Trash Talk (punk). Listen: Flatbush Zombies x Trash Talk - "Modern Mayhem"

Dead Man's Town: A Tribute to Born in the USA June 2014 marked the 30th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen's iconic Born in the USA. To celebrate the record's milestone, Lightning Rod Records has put together a tribute album made of up covers from that album performed by a variety of artists. Featured here are Low, Nicole Atkins, Jason Isbell, and Blitzen Trapper, among many others. Listen: Nicole Atkins - "Dancing in the Dark" Listen: Low - "I'm on Fire"

Franz Ferdinand - Late Night Tales The Late Night Tales series continues to go strong with this 37th entry, curated by Scottish rockers Franz Ferdinand. Along with their own new singles, "Leaving My Old Life Behind," theirs features songs from Boards of Canada, James Brown, and Paul McCartney. Watch: Franz Ferdinand - "Leaving My Old Life Behind" Watch: R. Stevie Moore - "I'm Only Sleeping"

Jimi Hendrix - The Cry of Love Reissue A couple of Jimi Hendrix albums are getting reissued this week. The first, The Cry of Love, was the first released posthumously following his death in 1970. He had been working on the record before his death, but the individual tracks were in various stages of completion. Everything was completed following his death; the result is a highly-regarded album. Listen: "In from the Storm" Listen: "Belly Button Window"

Jimi Hendrix - Rainbow Bridge Reissue This was the second album released following Hendrix's death. It was released as a soundtrack for the concert film of the same name, though it did not contains any live performances featured in the film. Like its predecessor, it features tracks that Jimi worked on towards the end of his life. Listen: "Hey Baby" Listen: "Room Full of Mirrors"

LAMC #13 The thirteenth installment of Famous Class' Less Artists More Condos series takes on a punk vibe. The split single features a new track from Parquet Courts on one side, and one from Future Punx on the other. Listen: Parquet Courts - "This Is Happening Now" Listen: Future Punx - "Spike Train"

Mass Appeal Compilation Vol. 1 Mass Appeal is a music, fashion and culture media network with a heavy focus on hip hop. For their first compilation, they have enlisted such artists as A$AP Ferg, YG, and Pusha T to contribute new songs. Listen: "Old English"

Moonface - City Wrecker EP City Wrecker is the follow-up to Moonface's incredible 2013 album, Julia with Blue Jeans On. It has a similar name to a recent popular Miley Cyrus track and Spencer Krug has described it as an aesthetic counterpoint to that song. Don't let that stop you from giving it a listen though, it's a great EP! Watch: "City Wrecker" Listen: "Daughter of a Dove"

Nancy Whang - The Nancy Whang Casablanca Reworks In addition to a new album from her band, The Juan MacLean, Nancy Whang is also putting out this mix of song reworkings this week. She applies her own touch to tracks like "Working the Midnight Shift" (by Donna Summer), "Like an Eagle" (Dennis Parker), and "Flashlight" (Parliament). Watch: "Like an Eagle" Listen: "Flashlight"

Ramona Lisa - Dominic EP Caroline Polachek of Chairlift released her first solo album, Arcadia, just this past April. She is following that up with a short collection of new songs. The title track is taken from her album; additionally, the release includes a French-language version of the song, a brand new song, and a cover of a song originally by Psychic Tv. Watch: "Dominic"

Run the Jewels - "Oh My Darling Don't Cry" The hip hop duo of El-P and Killer Mike contribute the latest track to the Adult Swim Singles Series,w which features their trademark back-and-forth style. Run the Jewels will also be releasing their sophomore album later this year! Listen: "Oh My Darling Don't Cry"

Ryan Adams - "Jacksonville" 7" I guess Ryan Adams decided to make 2014 a catch-up year. With a fairly long (for him, at least) gap between albums, he is quickly making up for it with new material. In addition to his recent album, he has put a single, two EPs (including this one), and has another EP slated for late October. Listen: "Jacksonville" Listen: "I Keep Running"

Swim Good x RLMDL- "Saturday" Swim Good is a Toronto-based producer whose name is a nod towards a Frank Ocean track. RLMDL is an electronic dreampop outfit, also from Toronto. Together, they've created a track that's a mix of genres from ambient, to house, to indie pop. Listen: "Saturday"

New Music Tuesday - November 12, 2013

New Full-Length Releases

Cate Le Bon - Mug Museum Cate Le Bon is a Welsh singer-songwriter who's become noted for her dark lyrics and voice, which has garnered comparisons to Nico. Mug Museum is her third full-length album. Now, I haven't been previously familiar with Cate's music, but she recorded one of the songs on this album with a favorite artist of mine. "I Think I Knew" features Perfume Genius. I listened to and liked that song, so I knew I needed to check out her work. Listen/Watch: "Are You with Me Now"

Other New Releases

Andrew Bird - I Want to See Pulaski at Night EP Folk singer Andrew Bird keeps himself very busy. He seems to be constantly touring, but finds a way to put out many releases. In 2012, he managed to put out two albums and two EPs. This year has been comparatively quiet for him, but, late in the year, we are getting a short release of new material! Listen: "Pulaski at Night"

The Beatles - On Air - Live at the BBC Volume 2 From 1963 to 1965, The Beatles conducted a series of performances for the BBC Light Programme. In 1994, a collection of recordings from those sessions was released, which included songs and dialog. Volume 2 is intended as a rerelease of that 1994 compilation, but also includes previously unreleased material from those programs. Listen: "You Can't Do That"

David Lynch - "Bad the John Boy"/"The Big Dream" (Venetian Snares Remix) Director and musician David Lynch released his latest album, The Big Dream, in July of this year. "Bad the John Boy" is a B-side from the album's recording sessions. Included with the single is a remixed version of a song from that album. Listen: "Bad the John Boy"

Flume - Flume Deluxe Reissue Flume is a young producer who released a self-titled solo album last year. I wasn't previously familiar with his work, but heard a song featuring Autre Ne Veut and decided to check him out. The deluxe version of his album features some new tracks as well as remixed versions of some of the original songs. Listen/Watch: "Insane"

Grizzly Bear - Shields Expanded Grizzly Bear released Shields last year and it became one of my favorites of that year. Well, here is the (now, apparently) requisite deluxe edition. It features some demos from the band, as well as remixes and bonus tracks. Listen/Watch: "gun-shy"

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Miami Pop Festival The Jimi Hendrix Experience performed at the Miami Pop Festival way back in May of 1968. A documentary, titled Hear My Train A Comin, was recently released and the release of this live album is in conjunction with that. Listen/Watch: "Foxey Lady"

Mount Eerie - Pre-Human Ideas Mount Eerie is the project of musician Phil Elverum. His latest release consists of previously-released songs that have been re-recorded using MIDI instruments and auto-tune. Listen: "House Shape"

Nat Baldwin - Dome Branches: The MVP Demos Dirty Projectors have kept Nat Baldwin busy lately (he is the bassist for that band). He has worked as a solo artist as well, though, most recently (before this, of course) releasing People Changes. This release consists of demos from his debut record, Most Valuable Player. Listen: "Look She Said"

Sampha - "Too Much"/"Happens" Sampha built his name as a guest vocalist for other artists, most notably, SBTRKT. He has been releasing a series and EPs and singles this year, though. He continues his move towards his own career with this latest single, a reworking of a song that he originally did with rapper Drake. Listen/Watch: "Happens"

Saint Heron Solange Knowles (also known as Beyoncé's little sister) recently started her own record label, Saint. She's developed a unique style that often incorporates many elements of indie music. While the songs on this record are mostly pre-recorded, it provides a good look at the music that she loves and that may be featured with her label. Listen: Solange - "Cash In"

Stornoway - You Don't Know Anything EP Stornoway is an indie folk band out of England who released an amazing debut album, Beachcomber's Windowsill, in 2010. I loved the band's music, but only found out about the release of their sophomore album a few months after its released. I was more on top of this one, though; I don't want these guys off my radar! Listen/Watch: "Farewell Appalachia"

The xx - HVNXX EP The xx have put out two albums and countless singles and EPs since they banded in 2005. Their latest EP consists of remixes of four of their previous songs. Listen: "Fiction" (Marc Pinol Remix)