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Normani Reveals Debut Album Release Date, Shares Gunna-Featuring New Song “1:59”: Listen
Normani has released the first single from her long-promised debut album. The new song, “1:59,” features Atlanta rapper Gunna. Find the new song, produced by Leathre Jackettt and Tommy Brown, below. Along with “1:59,” Normani has shared the release date for her album Dopamine. The former Fifth Harmony...
Christine and the Queens Shares Video for New Song “Rentrer Chez Moi”: Watch
Christine and the Queens has shared a new song, “Rentrer Chez Moi,” with a Sasha Mongin–directed video with choreography set in the desert. Check it out below. The single follows Chris’ album Paranoïa, Angels, True Love, released last year. “This song makes me cry because...
Hyperdrama
For a brief spell on Hyperdrama, Justice’s fourth studio album, it’s 1991 all over again and the rave gods are raining down lightning bolts from on high. Justice have always been time travelers, and on “Generator,” the album’s second track, they zap us back to the past with a serrated synth that tears across the stereo field like the Jaws of Life ripping through a crumpled Delorean. The sound is a reference to Joey Beltram’s oft-sampled “Mentasm,” a cornerstone of early-’90s hardcore techno and everything loud and rude—jungle, gabber, breakcore, and, however tenuously, Ed Banger itself—that followed. It might be the heaviest thing the French duo has ever set to tape; given their history (hard-rock riffs, Marshall stacks, a song called “Heavy Metal”), that’s saying something. But that very heaviness also makes the song an outlier on the album, because Justice have never sounded more polished.
Different Type Time
Somewhere in Brooklyn, New Orleans, or Oakland, there’s a corner apartment with a window propped open. A slight breeze gently pushes the curtains aside to let the sunshine in, noises from the street below sneaking behind it. Thin ribbons of smoke from a smoldering cone, either weed or incense (but probably both), perfume the room while a gust of wind flutters notebook pages full of long-forgotten observations. There’s an undeniable wisdom that lives in moments like these, cultivated through the simplicity of attuning to the sights, smells, and space around you. If you tap into that energy, you might even bridge the past and present, connecting with something larger than yourself.
Watch Grimes Discuss AI in Music for PBS Series A Brief History of the Future
The fourth episode of the new PBS series A Brief History of the Future, a documentary series about reimagining a better future for the Earth and its inhabitants, aired last night (April 24). The episode focuses on how artificial intelligence factors into that vision. During one segment, Grimes is interviewed as a figure at “the forefront of this work” in the music realm by Ari Wallach. Watch her interview, which starts around the 32:00 mark, below.
The Get Up Kids Announce Something to Write Home About 25th Anniversary Tour
The Get Up Kids have announced a North American tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their seminal emo album Something to Write Home About. The trek takes place late summer into the autumn, and joining them on the run are Smoking Popes. See the full list of tour dates below.
Tomb Mold and Horrendous Announce 2024 North American Tour
Toronto death metal trio Tomb Mold and Philadelphia death metal quartet Horrendous are joining together for a North American tour this summer. Dubbed the Enraptured by Fate’s Tangled Thread Tour, it begins on July 4 in Toronto, Ontario, and lasts on through to the end of the month, concluding in Brooklyn on July 27. See Tomb Mold’s complete list of tour dates, which includes stops at Sled Island and Austin Death Fest, below.
Listen to Pablo Skywalkin’s “Why You Kiss”: The Ones
For over a decade Pablo Skywalkin’s cracked voice and offbeat flow has made him one of the oddballs of Detroit’s street rap scene. But these days I have no idea what’s going on with him. He’s ditched the True Religion Canadian tuxedo he sported in early videos like “Flex on Em” and now rocks wool sweaters and oversized spectacles that make him look like Norbit. No idea why, but he seems to be having a good time in the video for “Why You Kiss,” terrorizing a commercial bookstore by doing a wacky two-step in the aisles. The song is pretty silly too—it’s off his recent mixtape where he raps a bunch of nonsense on handclap-centric Certified Trapper type beats. I’m especially into “Why You Kiss” because the lyrics have him railing against the dating choices of the girl he’s trying to hit on, and the hook goes, “Bitch, why you kiss that broke nigga on his lips.” Too bad Pablo doesn’t do a great job of explaining what she should find so desirable about him, but I suppose somewhere, somehow, Mr. Rogers-core makes you a catch.
All Born Screaming
Annie Clark says that a performer’s job is to “shock and console.” For years, she was doing much more of the former than the latter. Her first four records—an impeccable run from 2007’s Marry Me through to 2014’s St. Vincent—played on a common trope of the horror genre, the idea that behind every pristine façade lies a world of ugliness, violence, and malcontent. Horror franchises, of course, tend to get stale pretty fast: Once you know the general mode and motive of a killer, they aren’t all that scary. The aesthetic of Clark’s music has stayed relatively consistent but as she’s added more elements in—synths, latex, wigs, outlandish album concepts that don’t necessarily align with the increasingly personal music contained within—it’s begun to feel less potent.
Raving Disco Breaks Vol. II
Good news, boppers—Eris Drew finally released the second edition of Raving Disco Breaks, the pick-up-your-feet, turn-your-whole-day-around DJ mix series she debuted in 2019. The theme of the second edition is Rock the House—not exactly rock as in RAWK, but the verb sense of the word, as in “Keep it rockin’.” Once again the mix is available on SoundCloud and on cassette, though it landed on my desk more like contraband, one gigantic audio file too big for cloud storage to handle. Ah yes, I thought, now that’s the good stuff.
This Could Be Texas
On This Could Be Texas, English Teacher outline a landscape burdened by prejudice, the cost-of-living crisis, mental health issues. The band’s name couldn’t be more apt—it’s here to school us in 50 minutes. They sweep up myriad literary and cultural references and dabble in several genres to dole out endlessly twisting melodies. If a synth flutters into mellow guitar rock, into wandering piano, into drums, out of drums, into layered vocals, with a squeaky guitar on top, you’ve about covered the dextrous three minutes of track one.
2Pac’s Estate Threatens Drake With Legal Action Over “Taylor Made Freestyle”
The estate of Tupac Shakur has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Drake over the Toronto rapper’s “Taylor Made Freestyle.” The track, a diss aimed at Kendrick Lamar, features vocals meant to sound like 2Pac, likely created using artificial intelligence. The estate is asking Drake to take down the song, which he posted on his social media pages last week.
Overmono Release Remix of the Streets’ “Turn the Page”: Listen
Overmono have shared the remix of the Streets’ “Turn the Page” that has been a staple of their live sets since its debut at Lost Village in 2022. Check it out below. The remix will also be released as a 12" single, via XL. Tom and Ed...
Robyn Hitchcock to Publish Memoir
Robyn Hitchcock has announced a memoir, 1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left. The cult singer-songwriter and bandleader of the Soft Boys and the Egyptians chronicles a 12-month span of his early adolescence in the book, documenting his alienating move to a new school and subsequent obsessions with the Beatles, Brian Eno, Jimi Hendrix, and many more. It’ll be published through Akashic Books in the United States on June 28.
Nilüfer Yanya Shares Video for New Song “Like I Say (I Runaway)”: Watch
Nilüfer Yanya is back with her first new single in two years. “Like I Say (I Runaway)” arrives with the news that Yanya has signed to Ninja Tune. It also comes with a music video directed by Yanya’s sister, Molly Daniel, that follows her sprinting off into the distance as a runaway bride. Check it out below.
Beings, New Band Featuring Steve Gunn and Shahzad Ismaily, Announce Debut Album, Share Songs: Listen
Guitarist Steve Gunn; bassist and synthesizer player Shahzad Ismaily; saxophonist, guitarist, and vocalist Zoh Amba; and drummer Jim White have come together to form the new band Beings. On June 7, the New York quartet will release its debut album, There Is a Garden, via No Quarter. Below, listen to Beings’ first two songs, “Flowers That Talk” and “Happy to Be.”
Watch Les Savy Fav’s Video for New Song “World Got Great”
Les Savy Fav have shared “World Got Great” from their comeback album Oui, LSF. Accompanying the new song is an animated video by Emmy-winner Jimbo Matison, in which Les Savy Fav defeat world-ending monsters in a battle through the power of tickle fights and flower power. Check it out below.
Art Brut Announce New Compilation Album A Record Collection, Reduced to a Mixtape
Art Brut have announced a new compilation album, A Record Collection, Reduced to a Mixtape. For the 2xLP or 5xCD set, the south London indie-pop institution selected highlights from its albums Bang Bang Rock & Roll, It’s a Bit Complicated, Art Brut vs Satan, and Brilliant! Tragic!, along with demos, alternate takes, and live recordings from its 2003-2008 heyday. The CD collection, titled And Yes, This Is My Singing Voice!, comes with a zine and an Eddie Argos essay in the liner notes; it’s the first in a two-part set that will collect all of Art Brut’s output. Check out the vinyl tracklist below.
MTV Video Music Awards 2024 to Take Place at Long Island’s UBS Arena in September
There is a location, date, and time for the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards. The annual awards show will take place at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, September 10, at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. “We are excited to welcome back the MTV Video Music Awards to...
Crumb Announce North American Tour, Share Video for New Song “The Bug”: Watch
Crumb have announced a headlining North American tour and unveiled another new song from their upcoming album, Amama. Titled “The Bug,” the track comes with a Haoyan of America–directed music video that’s filled with crawling insects. Watch it below. According to singer Lila Ramani, “The Bug”...
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