Upcoming Album of the Week (Ending March 26)

Earlier today, it was announced that former R.E.M. frontman, Michael Stipe, would be performing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. This is big news as he has largely been out of the spotlight since his band parted ways in 2011. Does this mean an album is on the way? That is not known yet, but if something is announced, look for it on my Upcoming Releases page and check out other great music set to come out soon!

This week, Willis Earl Beal announced a new EP, Through the Dark.

pitchfork.com

Beal is a Chicago-born (at least that's what he tells us) musician who has become known for a DIY approach to art and music. He got his start distributing illustrated flyers around Albuquerque; ostensibly with a hope of finding a girlfriend. His illustrations caught the eye of some people at Found magazine and he ended up as their cover star and released a collection of art, writings, and music through them. Even once he became more established and was eventually signed to a fairly large record label, XL, he left to put out further releases on his own.

He has since joined another, albeit smaller, label, Tender Loving Empire, and released Noctunes through them last year. This upcoming EP will be his second release on the label. The announcement of the new release came with a lead single of the same name.



Through the Dark is set to be released on April 29.

Also announced this week:

Band of Horses - Why Are You OK (June)
Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial (May 20)
D.A.R.K. - Science Agrees (May 27)
Doused in Mud, Soaked in Bleach (April 16)
Jackie Lynn - Jackie Lynn (June 10)
Lil Silva - Jimi (May 6)
Little Scream - Cult Following (May 6)
Nicholas Allbrook - Pure Gardiya (May 27)
Peaches - Rub Remixes (May 27)
Red House Painters - Old Ramon Reissue (April 29)
Toothless - Terra (May 13)
Whitney - Light Upon the Lake (June 3)

New Music Friday - August 28, 2015

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

Essential Full-Length Releases

Beach House - Depression Cherry Beach House's previous two records, Teen Dream and Bloom, brought the band to new levels of commercial acclaim and popularity. Despite this, they sought to return to the simpler sound employed on their first two albums. The effort came in part from frustration in trying to recreate live what had been accomplished on those records. The frustration led to creative stagnation for the duo, but they were able to build on past ideas to create another fantastic record. Listen: "Sparks" Listen: "PPP"

Destroyer - Poison Season Even if it weren't for the amazing-ness that is the New Pornographers, many of its members would still be among the most highly-celebrated modern musicians. Destroyer's Dan Bejar is one of those musicians. He started Destroyer three years before his more ubiquitous band formed, and has pushed the envelope ever since. On his latest, he adds lush string arrangements to his already unique brand of baroque-inspired pop. Watch: "Times Square" Watch: "Girl in a Sling"

Foals - What Went Down Up until their last album, 2013's Holy Fire, Foals had felt a bit like a Bloc Party clone. Now, don't get me wrong; I did and still do really enjoy their debut album. Perhaps helped by the fact that Bloc Party had fallen off the radar a bit, Holy Fire was something very different, and even more amazing, from the band. What Went Down continues that progress and helps the band stand out even more in the crowded indie rock field. Watch: "What Went Down" Watch: "Mountain at My Gates"

Hamilton Leithauser & Paul Maroon - Dear God My worry over The Walkmen's hiatus last year was extremely short-lived since three of the band's members quickly released incredible records to fill the void. Two of the members are back at it this year with a limited edition collaborative album; frontman Hamilton Leithauser and guitarist Paul Maroon. The album is the second post-hiatus outing for Leithauser, and the first for Maroon, though he did help out on Black Hours. Listen: "How & Why"

Yo La Tengo - Stuff Like That There Throughout their career, Yo La Tengo has become known for their unique takes on others' music. In 1990, they released an album, Fakebook, almost completely made up of covers. They return to that format for their latest album, with their own interpretations of songs originally by Hank Williams, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Cure, and many more! Watch: "Friday I’m in Love" Watch: "Automatic Doom"

Other Full-Length Releases

All Dogs - Kicking Every Day Listen: "Skin" Listen: "How Long"

Frog Eyes - Pickpocket’s Locket Watch: "Joe with the Jam" Listen: "Two Girls (One for Heaven and the Other for Rome)"

Gin Wigmore - Blood to Bone Watch: "New Rush" Watch: "Written in the Water - Die Regardless"

Ruby Amanfu - Standing Still Watch: "Shadow on the Wall" Listen: "Streetlights"

Tamaryn - Cranekiss Watch: "Cranekiss" Watch: "Hands All Over Me"

The Weeknd - Beauty Before the Madness Watch: "Tell Your Friends" Watch: "I Can’t Feel My Face"

Willis Earl Beal - Noctunes Listen: "Flying So Low" Listen: "Survive"

Singles, EPs, Soundtracks, etc.

Cee-Lo Green - "Sign of the Times" Watch: "Sign of the Times"

Jamie xx - "Loud Places" Remix 12” Listen: "Loud Places" (John Talabot Loud Synths Reconstruction) Listen: "Loud Places" (Barnt E-Mix)

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Live at the Atlanta Pop Festival Listen: "Purple Haze" Listen: "Stone Free"

LAMC #16 Listen: La Luz - "Believe My Eyes" Listen: Scully - "Don’t Want That"

Mark Lanegan - Houston: Publishing Demos 2002 Listen: "No Cross" Listen: "I’ll Go Where You Send Me"

Mos Def & Ski Beatz - "Sensei on the Block" Listen: "Sensei on the Block"

Noel Gallagher’s High-Flying Birds - "Lock All the Doors" Watch: "Lock All the Doors"

Toro Y Moi - Samantha Watch: "Dada Art" Listen: "Want" (featuring Washed Out)

Willis Earl Beal - "Coming Through"

It doesn't seem like Mischa Barton has been doing much since the end of The O.C. in 2007. She's had a series of minor roles, but nothing much of note. Last year, she did get a gig in a very strange music video for Willis Earl Beal's "Coming Through," in which she joins the (hopefully fictional) Church of Nobody.

"Coming Through" was released on Beal's 2013 album Nobody knows, though he released a limited edition album, Noctunes, earlier this year.

New Music Tuesday - August 12, 2014

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

New Full-Length Releases

FKA Twigs - LP1 FKA Twigs has made a name for herself over the past couple of years, both with her music and her unique look. Since 2012, she's released of a couple of EPs and a few singles. LP1, as the name suggests, is her first full-length album. She's made her way up from a back-up dancer to one of the most anticipated and exciting artists of the past few years. She plays a bit like a female counterpart to artists like The Weeknd, many of her songs are about sex, but her music seems so much more mature and sensual. Watch: "Two Weeks" Watch: "Pendulum"

Mirel Wagner - When the Cellar Children See the Light of Day Wagner is a Finnish-by-way-of Ethiopia singer and songwriter, and this is her second album; first since signing with Sub Pop Records. Her voice is haunting, the lyrics are dark, instrumentation is sparse. Her style has gained her comparisons to a variety of other musicians, including (take this as you may) Lana Del Rey, Mark Lanegan, and Nick Cave. The comparisons are well-deserved, the young performer makes music that sounds like its been around forever and even she seems beyond her years. Watch: "The Dirt" Watch: "Oak Tree"

Willis Earl Beal - Experiments in Time Beal was gaining a lot of traction in his career when he released his sophomore album, Nobody knows., last year on XL Recordings. Turns out he wasn't very happy signed to a label and broke away from them earlier this year, feeling that the label didn't support the types of people that he made his music for. He hasn't resigned to a new label, but is releasing his latest effort independently. It is available digitally through CD Baby. Listen: "Traveling Eyes" Listen: "Until We Die"

Other New Releases

Architecture in Helsinki - Places Like This Picture Disc Places Like This was Architecture in Helsinki's third studio album and my first introduction to the band several years ago. It's getting re-released today on vinyl as a picture disc. Watch: "Like It or Not" Watch: "Heart It Races"

Blur - Live at the Budokan This was Japan-only live album from the iconic Britpop band. It was recorded during a show in Tokyo almost twenty years ago. The album was initially released in 1996, but is now seeing an international release. Watch: "Yuko & Hiro" Listen: "Girls & Boys"

Lucki Eck$ - "Weightin' On" (featuring Danny Brown) Lucki Eck$ is a rapper out of Chicago. He's worked with another artist releasing new music today, FKA Twigs, and even features on one of the album's tracks. For his new single, he gets some help from the more established Danny Brown. Listen: "Weightin' On"

New Music Tuesday - April 8, 2014

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

New Full-Length Releases

Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks - Enter the Slasher House Animal Collective has been a very active band since their inception in 1999. Each member has also had active solo careers. Avey Tare released his own solo record, Down There, in 2010 and is following it up with Enter the Slasher House. He gets some help this time around with Angel Derodoorian (formerly of Dirty Projectors) and Jeremy Hyman (formerly of Ponytail). Watch: "Little Fang" Watch: "Strange Colores"

EMA - The Future's Void EMA is the stage name of Erika M. Anderson, who's been working as a musician since 2006. She started as a guitarist for Amps for Christ, then released her first album in 2010. She started to gain more attention following the release of her sophomore album, Past Life Martyred Saints. It's been three years since that, but she's made the wait well worth it with her latest release. Watch: "So Blonde" Watch: "Satellites"

OFF! - Wasted Years OFF! is a hardcore punk supergroup made up of members of Burning Brides, Hot Snakes, Redd Kross and Black Flag. They formed in 2009 and have been incredibly active since. This is the combination's third album. Watch: "Void You Out" Watch: "Hypnotized"

Ratking - So It Goes Ratking is a young hip hop band out of New York City. I first checked out the band when they released the King Krule-featuring "So Sick Stories." The song, like many others on the record, is a gritty story of their city. The band further proves that the newest class of rappers are ready and able to change the hip hop game. Watch: "Canal" Watch: "So Sick Stories" (featuring King Krule)

Sweet Apple - The Golden Age of Glitter Sweet Apple is another supergroup, this one made of Dave Sweetapple, Robert Pollard, Mark Lanegan and J Mascis. The group formed in 2009 and released Love and Desperation. Five years, and countless other releases from members of the collective, they are releasing a follow-up. Watch: "Wish You Could Stay (A Little Longer)" Watch: "Boys in Her Fanclub"

SZA - Z SZA is the stage name of R&B chanteuse Solana Rowe. I first became familiar with her when I heard the Kendrick Lamar-assisted "Babylon" (I'm thinking I should make that man my music-finding assistant...if he weren't a world-famous recording artist, that is). Her style, similar to many other contemporary R&B artists, is a mix that includes genres that always associated with R&B. In her case, she brings in some synthpop. Watch: "Warm Winds" (featuring Isaiah Rashad) Watch: "Babylon" (featuring Kendrick Lamar)

Wilko Johnson & Roger Daltrey - Going Back Home Wilko Johnson and Roger Daltrey are both British classic rocks icons; Johnson as the guitarist for Dr. Feelgood and Daltrey as the frontman for The Who. The pair had no intention of recording together, nor had they met, when they were seated next to each other at a 2010 awards ceremony. They quickly hit it off and recorded this album together. It's become the first big hit either of them have had for over thirty years! Listen: "Going Back Home" Watch: "I Keep It to Myself"

Other New Releases

Franz Ferdinand - "Fresh Strawberries"/"Erdbeer Mund" Franz Ferdinand released their fourth album, Right Thoughts, Right Words Right Action, in August of last year. "Fresh Strawberries" is a track from that release, being released now as a single backed with "Erdbeer Mund." The latter is sung fully in German. Watch: "Fresh Strawberries" Watch: "Erdbeer Mund"

Girl Talk & Freeway - Broken Ankles EP Girl Talk has long been a lone artist, putting out five mashup albums, mainly consisting of classic rock and modern hip hop. He's lending his considerable production skills to rapper Freeway to release this collaborative EP. Watch: "Tolerated" (featuring Waka Flocka Flame) Listen: "Lived It"

Iggy Azalea - "Fancy" We've had white rappers and we've had female rappers for a long time now. White female rappers have been a rarer breed, but Iggy Azalea is out to prove that she can play with the big boys. She will be releasing her debut album, The New Classic, on April 22, which will feature this Charli XCX-assisted track. Watch: "Fancy" (featuring Charli XCX)

Jagwar Ma - Uncertainty Remixes EP Jagwar Ma released their debut album Howlin' last year and now one of the record's best tracks is getting the necessary remix treatment. Featured on this EP are contributions from Ewan Pearson, Missngno, Charles Murdoch, and Cut Copy. Listen: "Uncertainty" (Cut Copy Remix) Listen: "Uncertainty" (Missngno Remix)

Linda Ronstadt - Duets Linda Ronstadt had a career spanning nearly 35 years (she retired in 2011). During that time, she performed and recorded a number of duets with other vocalists. This release collects some of her better-known collaborations. Listen: "I Never Will Marry" (with Dolly Parton) Listen: "Don't Know Much" (with Aaron Neville)

Willis Earl Beal - Curious Cool Willis Beal Earl came out swinging when he released his debut album, Acousmatic Sorcery, in 2012. He released a follow-up, Nobody Knows, last year, but has been far more prolific than just that. Despite being signed to XL Recordings, he has put out several free releases. This is his second just this year. Listen: "Lust" Listen: "Why"

New Music Tuesday - September 10, 2013

New Full-Length Releases

2 Chainz - B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time I feel like I'm starting to become a bit of a hip hop connoisseur. Before this year, there were only a handful of artists that I really paid attention to, but I've been giving a lot more love to the genre lately. 2 Chainz is one of those artists I've been paying more attention to, especially after he was featured on the GOOD Music release Cruel Summer last year. I don't know what exactly it is about him that I like so much...maybe it's the way he says his name! Listen/Watch: "Feds Watching"

Arctic Monkeys - AM The Arctic Monkeys started off their career as teenagers sounding a lot like their early-2000s indie rock predecessors like Babyshambles or The Strokes. Over time, they have grown and strayed more and more from that sound. Now, their style is more reminiscent of stoner/psychedelic rock bands...think Queens of the Stone Age. While changes in style can often alienate fans, I love when bands switch things up. Of course, it helps that I truly love their current sound! Listen/Watch: "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?"

Babyshambles - Sequel to the Prequel One of the Arctic Monkeys indie rock predecessors is also releasing a new album this week! It's been a little while since we heard from Babyshambles, so long that I actually thought that they had broken up. Not so, six years after Shotter's Nation, and a solo album from front-man Peter Doherty, they are returning! Unlike the Arctic Monkeys, I haven't gotten much of an indication that their sound has changed greatly from their first two releases, but there's nothing wrong in sticking with what you do best. Listen/Watch: "Nothing Comes to Nothing"

Body/Head - Coming Apart Since the breakup of both her band, Sonic Youth, and her marriage to Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon has been fairly quiet. 2013 seems to be her re-entry year; she will be guest-starring on Girls, will release two books and has started a new band with Bill Nace. Body/Head released an EP earlier this year, but this is their first full-length together. The band has a similar punk/noise rock sound to Sonic Youth, but with a bit more experimentation going on. Listen: "Actress"

Delorean - Apar I started listening to Delorean about three years ago following the release of Subiza. I loved their interesting mix of indie rock and dance music. Also, what's not to love about an indie band out of Spain (really, we don't see too much of that). I always find the albums immediately following those which caught my attention from a band to be particularly exciting; I like to see what they've maintained of what I love and how their sound has progressed. Listen/Watch: "Spirit"

Emiliana Torrini - Tookah Emiliana Torrini is an Icelandic artist (family by way of Italy). Given such, much of her music shows the same quirkiness it seems we often get from artists from that country (Björk or Sigur Rós, for example). The 2009 single "Jungle Drum," from Me and Armini, was what first caught my attention of her. I've been a fairly avid fan since and was extremely excited when she announced the new album. Listen: "Speed of Dark"

Goldfrapp - Tales of Us So, there was a period during my sophomore or junior year of college where I really started to get downtempo electronic music (I think I credit Zero 7 with the discovery and love). I quickly tried to check out any band I could in the genre. Goldfrapp was one of the few who captured a bit more of my attention and became a fixture in my music library. I've loved her ever since. Tales of Us is her sixth studio album and I expect even more to love! Listen/Watch: "Drew"

Holy Ghost! - Dynamics After the end of LCD Soundsystem a couple of years ago, I pegged Holy Ghost! as a band that did nearly as masterful a job in the electronic genre. It must be something that James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem also saw, since the band is signed to his record label, DFA. Like LCD, this band uses electronic beats to develop music with otherwise typical song structures. Their sound seems to lean more towards pure electronic, though. Listen/Watch: "Teenagers in Heat"

Janelle Monáe - The Electric Lady It's not often that artists jump into concept albums at the start of their careers. Janelle, however, jump-started hers with the Metropolis concept, which centered around an android named Cindi Mayweather. Although she's carried this concept through two EPs and two albums, it's never come off as hokey or silly, it's resulted in some really excellent work. For her latest album, she's proving her worth even more, bringing in some R&B heavy-hitters like Prince and Erykah Badu as guests. Listen/Watch: "Dance Apocalyptic"

Man Man - On Oni Pond This is one of those artists I have randomly decided to check out after seeing their name dropped on several of my favorite blogs and magazines. Honestly, I know very little about them, except that they've been getting some good response on this latest album. Sometimes, it can be a good thing to just check something out for the sake of doing so, so I'm hoping this one pans out for me! Listen/Watch: "Head On"

The Weeknd - Kiss Land This is The Weeknd's debut album. Despite that, it seems like he's been around forever. In 2011, he released three mixtapes, which were compiled into Trilogy last year. The mixtapes and compilation have gotten him a lot of attention and a lot of hype. Reviews seem to be mixed on whether this album quite lives up to the hype, but it is exciting to see him releasing his first proper studio album! Listen/Watch: "Belong to the World"

Willis Earl Beal - Nobody Knows OK, so I guess I decided that this would be my week to check out music that I wasn't already too familiar with. Willis is another artist who I don't know much about, though I remember reading a lot of great things for his debut album, Acousmatic Sorcery. A big reason I'm checking this out, though, is that a singer who released of my favorite albums last year, Cat Power, is featured on one of the songs. As I've said before, work with someone whose music I love, I will definitely check out yours, as well! Listen: "Coming Through"

Other New Releases

Frightened Rabbit - Late March, Death March EP Frightened Rabbit released their excellent Pedestrian Verse album earlier this year. Typically, artists will release two or three song singles to further promote the album and songs, but FR has been releasing longer EPs in support of the album's tracks. They first did it with "State Hospital" last year and are doing it for another track from the album, "Late March, Death March," this week. Listen: "Radio Silence"

The Road to Jajouka The Road to Jajouka is a tribute album dedicated to paying tribute to the Master Musicians of Jajouka, Morocco. The album features recordings by Flea, Billy Martin and Lee Ranaldo. Listen: Lee Ranaldo - "Boujeloudia Magic"