New Music Friday - April 20, 2018

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

Essential Full-Length Releases

DRINKS - Hippo Lite This is the second album from the duo comprised of Cate Le Bon and Tim Presley (aka White Fence) following 2015's Hermits on Holiday. It's named for where it was recorded, Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort in France. Watch: "Corner Shops" Listen: "Real Outside"

Kimbra - Primal Heart Maybe still best known for her feature on Gotye's "Someone That I Used to Know," Kimbra is a talented musician in her own right. Primal Heart is her third album. It sees her experimenting a bit with rap, and not doing too badly with it. Watch: "Top of the World" Watch: "Everybody Knows"

A Perfect Circle - Eat the Elephants 14 years after their last record, Emotive, and eight years after reforming, Maynard Keynes' other project has released their fourth album. Watch: "TalkTalk" Watch: "Disillusioned"

Other Full-Length Releases

Alexis Taylor - Beautiful Thing Watch: "Oh Baby" Watch: "Beautiful Thing"

Chilly Gonzales - Other People’s Pieces

Sweet Valley - Eternal Champ II Watch: "Hit & Run" Listen: "Tunnel Rat"

Thievery Corporation - Treasures from the Temple Watch: "Voyage Libre" Listen: "San San Rock"

Singles, EPs, Soundtracks, etc.

David Bowie - Aladdin Sane Reissue Watch: "The Jean Genie" Listen: "Watch That Man"

Denmark Vessey - Sun Go Nova Watch: "Trustfall" (featuring Earl Sweatshirt) Listen: "Halal Avocado Toast"

The Flaming Lips - Scratching the Door: The First Recordings of the Flaming Lips Listen: "Scratching the Door" Listen: "Forever Is a Long Time"

Gang of Four - Complicit Watch: "Lucky" Listen: "Ivanka (Things You Can’t Have)"

Linda Ronstadt - Mad Love Reissue Watch: "Mad Love" Listen: "Girls Talk"

Little Dragon - "Best Friends"/"Sway Daisy" Listen: "Best Friends" Listen: "Sway Daisy"

Omni - "Sunset Preacher"/"Confessional" Listen: "Sunset Preacher" Listen: "Confessional"

Pete Townshend - Who Came First Remastered and Expanded Listen: "Let’s See Action" Listen: "Pure and Easy"

Tokyo Police Club - "New Blues" Watch: "New Blues"

The Who - Live at the Fillmore East 1968

New Music Tuesday - April 22, 2014

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

New Full-Length Releases

Beverley Martyn - The Phoenix and the Turtle Beverley Martyn is a British folk singer who's been active for nearly five decades, though this is just her fourth album. Before his death in 1974, she recorded a song, "Reckless Jane," with Nick Drake. That track is getting released here, along with eight other original tracks. Listen: "Reckless Jane" (with Nick Drake) Listen: "Levee Breaks"

Black Prairie - Fortune Black Prairie is a bluegrass side project of the band The Decemberists including almost every member except frontman Colin Meloy. The band was started by Chris Funk and Nate Query during some downtime between touring. They released their first album, Feast of the Hunter's Moon, in 2010. Watch: "Let It Out"

DaVinci & Sweet Valley - Ghetto Cuisine Sweet Valley is the Wavves side project consisting of Nathan Williams and his brother, Kynan. They've released three free instrumental albums, along with a long-form song on their Bandcamp page. DaVinci is a Bay Area-based rapper who released his last album, The MOEna Lisa, two years ago. For this release, Sweet Valley are lending their production skills to back up the rapper's hooks. Watch: "I Got That Line" Listen: "Animal"

Future - Honest Future created his moniker when he was considered to be "the future" by his peers in his native Atlanta. He kicked off his career in 2010 with a series of mixtapes and released Pluto, his debut, in 2012. Leading into his second album, his personal life and career seem to be hitting a greater stride. He's about to have a child with Ciara, a relationship which influenced at least one track on the record; and he's already getting a lot of praise for this release. Watch: "I Won" (featuring Kanye West) Watch: "Move That Dope" (featuring Pusha T and Pharrell)

Iggy Azalea - The New Classic Iggy Azalea is set out to change the hip hop landscape and she's already working on the face of the genre. A white, female, Australian rapper is something fairly new. She first came to the US at the age of 16 and was involved heavily in the Atlanta hip hop scene, which is fairly apparent with a Southern affectation in her raps which serves to contrast her Australian accent. Watch: "Fancy" (featuring Charli XCX)

Margot & The Nuclear So and So's - Slingshot to Heaven Margot & The Nuclear So and So's is an indie band out of Indianapolis with two member that attended IU (Go Hoosiers!). That's not the only reason I like them, they also make some great music. They started with a chamber pop sound before moving towards a more rock-focused style with 2010's Buzzard. The release of this latest album was accompanied by a 16mm film containing performances from the band. Listen: "Long Legged Blonde Memphis" Listen: "Lazy"

Thee Oh Sees - Drop Thee Oh Sees went on an "indefinite hiatus" in December of last year. At first, it seemed that it would be so, with frontman John Dwyer releasing his own solo album under the name Damaged Bug. The band, however, soon started performed together again and announced this latest album in February, and it was released this past Record Store Day. Watch: "Drop" Watch: "The Lens"

Other New Releases

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Soundtrack The second film in the latest reboot of the Spider-Man franchise was released this past weekend, preceded by the film's soundtrack. Film composer Hans Zimmer produced the majority of the record, but there are also contributions from Alicia Keys, Pharrell Williams and Johnny Marr. Watch: Alicia Keys - "It's on Again" (featuring Kendrick Lamar) Listen: Pharrell Williams - "Here"

Chvrches - The Bones of What You Believe Re-Package Chvrches released an incredible debut album last year. This year, the record is getting re-released with some bonus tracks and remixes. Watch: "Recover" Watch: "Strong Hand"

Farewell Transmission: The Music of Jason Molina Jason Molina, frontman for Ohia, passed away in 2013 after struggling with alcohol abuse. He has many fans, including other musicians, who felt a loss following his death. Some of those musicians have come together to release a tribute album to the late performer. My Morning Jacket, Murder By Death and Sarah Jaffe are just a few among many who contributed to this release. Listen: Memorial Electric Co. - "Trouble in Mind (Fade to Blue)" Listen: My Morning Jacket - "Farewell Transmission"

Fucked Up - "Year of the Dragon" Since 2006, experimental punk band has been releasing their Zodiac series 12"s. "Year of the Dragon" is sixth of the series, following 2012's "Year of the Tiger." Listen: "Year of the Dragon" Listen: "I Wanna Be a Yank"

Yuck - Southern Skies EP Yuck continues to prove that they do not need Daniel Blumberg to make great music. The band released a great sophomore album, Glow & Behold, in October of last year and are following it up with a short EP. Watch: "Another One" Watch: "Southern Skies"

New Music Tuesday - 02/11/2014

New Full-Length Releases

Doug Keith - Pony Doug Keith has been a member of Sharon van Etten's touring and recording band since at least 2011. I got to see him in action backing her up when I saw her in Columbus. Keith has also had an active solo career, though he hasn't received the same level of attention as van Etten. Hopefully, his latest album will see him getting some more attention for his own work! Listen: "Pure Gold in the 70s" Listen: "You Can't Stand to Be Alone"

Fanfarlo - Let's Go Extinct Fanfarlo has been one of my favorites since 2009 and the release of their debut, Reservoir. At the beginning, their sound reminded me of Neutral Milk Hotel, but they progressed beyond that with 2012's Rooms Filled with Light, taking on a more post-punk/alternative sound. With the latest, they change it up even more, bringing some dream pop into their sonic mix. We'll see if they can maintain being one of my favorites with this one! Watch: "Landlocked" Listen: "Let's Go Extinct"

HANDS - The Soul Is Quick HANDS is the side project of Axel Willner of The Field, another band that I've only recently become familiar with. The Field's music has been characterized by its busy-ness and a "lack of space." Here, he attempts to step away from that, but still maintains some of the darkness that he is known for. Listen: "Beelitz-Heilstätten pt6" Listen: "Beelitz-Heilstätten pt7"

Other New Releases

Band of Horses - Acoustic at the Ryman Band of Horses played at the iconic Ryman Auditorium two nights last April. They played a set of 13 bare bones songs from all of their albums. The recording of those shows is seeing a release, leading into another show at the Ryman for the band. Listen: "Detlef Schrempf" Listen: "Neighbor"

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - PRODUCE Mixtape Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. may make pop-tinged indie music, but that doesn't stop them from releasing a mixtape in a similar vein to what we often see from hip hop artists! The release sees them working with some interesting artists like Asher Roth and includes a Randy Newman cover. The mixtape is available as a free download from Datpiff.com! Listen: "Curtain Call" (featuring Asher Roth) Listen: "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today"

Endless Love Soundtrack Endless Love is a remake of the 1981 film of the same name. The reviews of the film aren't good and I'm not very likely to see it, but it does have some great songs on the soundtrack! Listen: Tegan & Sara - "Don't Find Another Love" Listen: The Tallest Man on Earth - "Leading Me Now"

Girls, Volume 2: All Adventurous Women Do "All Adventurous Women Do..." is the title of the third episode of HBO's Girls. I haven't yet started watching the show (it is on my list), but, like the first soundtrack, it's attracting some great artists to record original music! Watch: Lily Allen - "L8 CMMR" Listen: Jenny Lewis - "Completely Not Me"

The LEGO Movie Soundtrack The second soundtrack released this week to feature a new song from Tegan & Sara, but also another movie I'm not very likely to see. The majority of the soundtrack is comprised of the film's score by Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo. Watch: Tegan & Sara - "Everything Is Awesome!!!" (featuring The Lonely Island) Listen: Mark Mothersbaugh - "Escape"

The Moon Song EP Now for a movie that I do actually plan to see! Her is Spike Jonze's latest film and it includes an excellent song , "The Moon Song," penned by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O. The mini soundtrack includes several versions of the track, including the movie version sung by the film's stars. Listen: Karen O & Ezra Koenig- "The Moon Song" (Studio Version) Listen: Scarlett Johansson & Joaquin Phoenix - "The Moon Song" (Film Version)

The National - "I Need My Girl"/"Learning" The National's latest single from last year's excellent Trouble Will Find Me comes backed by a cover of a Perfume Genius song. While Matt Berninger's voice is much deeper than Mike Hadreas', he's able to bring the same sadness to it and it's an excellent addition to the band's repertoire. Watch: "I Need My Girl" Listen: "Learning"

Sweet Valley - "So Serene" Sweet Valley, the side project of Wavves' Nathan Williams, put out a number of sound experiment albums (all free) throughout 2012 and 2013. The latest is perhaps the most experimental and just consists of one 20+ minute track. Listen: "So Serene"

Tarka and Friends: Life Tarka Cordell was an influential British musician who took his own life in 2008. During his time here, he became good friends with a number of other musicians, who are now coming together to record some of his music in tribute. Listen: Lily Allen & Louis Eliot - "Shelter You" Listen: Imani Coppola - "13 Perfect Days"

Thurston Moore - "Detonation"/"Germs Burn" Thurston Moore has kept himself busy since the dissolution of his primary band The Sonic Youth a couple of years ago. He released a record as Chelsea Light Moving last year and is gearing up for a solo release early this summer! Listen: "Detonation" Listen: "Germs Burn"

Vampire Academy: Music from the Motion Picture OK...so this is another movie that I have no real plans to see, but has some amazing songs on its soundtrack. And yes, it was the Chvrches cover of the classic Bauhaus song that caught my ear on this one! Listen: Au Revoir Simone - "Crazy" Listen: Chvrches - "Bela Lugosi's Dead"

New Music Tuesday - 07/09/2013

New Full-Length Releases

Hebronix - Unreal I was heartbroken to hear that Daniel Blumberg quit as the lead singer of Yuck. The band had been one of the better to come out of the 90s-style indie rock revival a couple of years ago. My fears were salved, somewhat, upon discovering that both sides would be continuing on. The band would continue under the same name and Daniel under the name of Hebronix. The project takes a slightly different direction than that of his former band, but it's still apparent that this is a Blumberg project. Listen: "Unreal"

Jay-Z - Magna Carta Holy Grail Jay-Z took a very different approach to the release of this album. Samsung purchased one million copies of the record at $5 a pop and released it for free to subscribers. It was a boon to Jay-Z, he had a platinum record before it was even out. It didn't work as well for Samsung, though. The app crashed and there were numerous privacy concerns. It's a fairly new approach, so Samsung will live and learn. Although, it is disconcerting to think of the corporate influence involved. Listen: "Holy Grail" (featuring Justin Timberlake)

Robert Pollard - Honey Locust Honky Tonk Holy crap, this dude is prolific! He is the lead singer of Guided By Voices, who released three albums last year and already have an album and EP out this year. As a solo artist, he's put out two albums every year since 2006. I guess that he has a lot to say (or nothing else to do). Listen: "Airs"

Sweet Valley - SV Nathan Williams, of Wavves, started this side project with his brother Kynan last year. They released three albums for free that year, but this is their first release this year. They released the albums in a fairly short time frame last year, so expect more from them soon! Listen: "Kingdom of Heaven"

Other New Releases

Beck - "I Won't Be Long" Beck will be releasing a new acoustic album later this year (the exact date hasn't yet been announced). In the meantime, he is releasing a series of singles that are definitely not acoustic, so I'm guessing these won't be on the album. This is the second this year, following "Defriended." Listen: "I Won't Be Long"

Moderat - "Bad Kingdom" Moderat (the combination of Modeselektor and Apparat) are releasing an album later this year, creatively title Moderat II. "Bad Kingdom" is the first single released from that album. I haven't been very familiar with either artists' work, or their work together. But, if this is the sound they have, I'm pretty psyched for the album! Listen/Watch: "Bad Kingdom"

Regina Spektor - "You've Got Time" It's only been a little over a year since Regina released her most recent album, What We Saw from the Cheap Seats. This single does not come from that album however. I'm not sure if this heralds a new album later this year, but I like this sound from her, it's a bit like early Yeah Yeah Yeahs! Listen: "You've Got Time"

Thriftstore Masterpiece: Trouble Is a Lonesome Town Thriftstore Masterpiece is a music project dedicated to honoring lesser-known records from the past. This edition is dedicated to Lee Hazlewood's 1963 debut album, Trouble is a Lonesome Town. The album features covers from Black Francis (of the Pixies), Art Brut and Isaac Brock (of Modest Mouse), among others. Listen: Isaac Brock - "Railroad"

Woods - "Be All Be Easy"/"God's Children" The latest single from Woods features a re-recorded version of a song from their second most recent album, Sun and Shade. The B-side of the single features a cover of a song by The Kinks. Listen: "Be All Be Easy"