Billie Eilish has shared a new song called ‘my future’. Produced by her brother FINNEAS, the track was written and recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown. Check it out below, along with a video animated by Andrew Onorato.
“It’s a song that’s really really personal and special to me,” Eilish wrote in a statement. “When we wrote this song, it was exactly where my head was at—hopeful, excited and a craaaazy amount of self reflection and self growth. But recently it has also taken on a lot of new meaning in the context of what’s happening in the world now. I hope you can all find meaning in it for yourselves.”
‘my future’ marks the second new track from Eilish in 2020, following her theme song for the 007 film, No Time to Die. Earlier this year, she also released the short filmNot My Responsibility. Back in November, she put out the track ‘everything i wanted’. It was the first new material following the release of her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, which we named one of the best pop albums of the decade.
In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on July 31st, 2020:
Alanis Morissette,Such Pretty Forks In The Road
Alanis Morissette is back with a new album titled Such Pretty Forks In the Road, out now via Epiphany/ Thirty Tigers/ RCA. The album, which was co-produced by Alex Hope (Troye Sivan, Carly Rae Jepsen) and Catherine Marks (Foals, The Big Moon), marks the alternative singer’s ninth studio album and first full-length release in eight years, following 2012’s Havoc and Bright Lights. Originally scheduled for release back in May but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the LP includes the previously released singles ‘Reasons I Drink’, ‘Smiling’, ‘Diagnosis’, and most recently, ‘Reckoning’. ‘Smiling’ was originally written for the stage musical production of Jagged Little Pill, which made its Broadway debut at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City last December.
Fontaines D.C.,A Hero’s Death
Dublin post-punk outfit Fontaines D.C. have come through with their sophomore studio album, A Hero’s Death, via Partisan. After working with producer Dan Carey (black midi, Bat for Lashes) on their previous album Dogrel, they’ve reunited once again for this 11-track LP. Compared to its predecessor, however, A Hero’s Death is described by a press release as a more stripped-back effort with an emphasis on “spectral balladry”, taking inspiration from the likes of Leonard Cohen, The Beach Boys, and Beach House. The band previously shared the title track, described by singer Grian Chatten as “a list of rules for the self, they’re principles for self-prescribed happiness that can often hang by a thread.”
Madeline Kenney,Sucker’s Lunch
Oakland-based singer-songwriter Madeline Kenney has released her third studio album, Sucker’s Lunch, via Carpark Records. Following her Toro y Moi-produced debut Night Night at the First Landing in 2017 and its 2018 follow-up Perfect Shapes, her latest finds her working once again with Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner (who also has an EP out today) and Andy Stack. “My experience writing these songs wasn’t easy, it was painful and difficult,” Kenney said in a statement. “I was terrified of falling in love, and as much as I’d like to write a sticky sweet song for someone, it doesn’t come naturally to me. Instead I wanted to explore the tiny moments; sitting alone in my room guessing what the other person was thinking, spiraling into a maze of logical reasons to bail and finding my way out again. When I spoke with friends about the theme of the ‘idiot’, it became apparent that everyone understood that feeling and was relieved to hear it echoed in someone else.”
Creeper, Sex, Death, and the Infinite Void
Following their critically acclaimed debut Eternity… In Your Arms, Creeper are back with their sophomore release, Sex, Death, and the Infinite Void, out now via Roadrunner Records. “The real-life time travel that music can achieve is almost supernatural,” frontman Will Gould said in a statement. “In a moment you can be transported from a bedroom in the south of England to another dimension entirely. With our latest album, we attempted to perform a similar magic.” As for the album artwork, he added that “the concept came to me when I was considering the ways I first discovered music. Both guitarist Ian Miles and I have similar stories of discovering our parents’ records. Holding in our hands these battered relics of the past, playing them for the first time and experiencing the magic of them coming to life over the speaker.”
Other albums out today:
The Psychedelic Furs, Made Of Rain; Brandy, B7; Mirah, You Think It’s Like This But Really It’s Like This; Steve Howe, Love Is.
Paweł Franik, a gifted photographer out of Warsaw, Poland, has presented a superb, individualistic series named On His Own. In this series, Franik draws attention to being content while being alone with oneself; it observes loneliness as a positive rather than a negative.
Writing about the series Franik stated “I show this loneliness as something peculiar, something entirely human. Because every one of us, whether lonely or living in a happy relationship and having their own family, everyone needs their moment of loneliness, the moment of devoting attention to just their own self, their own thoughts and reflections. We live in a world of tremendous acceleration and the constant quest for our purposes, in the world where there is no place for the proverbial “minute for one’s own self”, for the time when you could stop, talk to your own thoughts and feel the desirable harmony. From minute to minute, we outlive our lives and get lost in this rush. Would it be worth to stop and look deep in our hearts?.”
Taylor Swift has unveiled what she calls a “cabin in the candlelight” version of ‘cardigan’, the single from her recently released surprise new album, folklore. The track is already a stripped-back affair, but this new version consists just of Swift’s voice, a spare guitar, and Aaron Dessner’s delicate piano, making it feel all the more intimate. Check it out below.
The new version also comes with a video compiling footage from the folklore cover shoot. Previously, Swift had shared fairytale-inspired official video for the song which she wrote and directed herself. Folklore follows her 2019 album Lover. Read our review of the album here.
A$AP Ferg has shared a new song featuring Nicki Minaj and MadeinTYO via A$AP Worldwide/Polo Grounds Music/RCA. With production from longtime collaborator Frankie P, the track marks the third collaboration between Nicki Minaj and Ferg, following the ‘Plain Jane’ remix and the Mike WiLL Made-It-assisted ‘Runnin’ from the Creed II soundtrack. Check it out below, alongside a video set in an exercise class.
Nicki Minaj, who recently announced that she is pregnant, released her last album Queen back in 2018. She also released the collaborative single ‘Yikes’ with DaBaby and Rich the Kid, as well as her much-anticipated new single with Tekashi 6ix9ine, which brought her a fair bit of backlash.
A$AP Ferg dropped his Floor Seats EP last year; a press release states that fans can expect the follow-up to that to arrive soon.
Dublin singer-songwriter Patricia Lalor was just 11 years old when she started putting out covers on YouTube, catching the attention of none other than Hozier, who called her cover of his song ‘Cherry Wine’ as “hands down, one of the best covers I’ve seen”. On top of amassing over 140K subscribers on that platform, Lalor, now 14, already has multiple EPs under he belt, with her most recent release being the mesmerising Do It Again. Drawing from a wide range of influences, she’s always trying out new sounds from one project to the next, but her poetic lyrics and evocative vocals remain at the core of her music. Her latest EP can best be described as a cross between the intimacy of bedroom pop recordings and the neurotic, intricate electronic stylings of Radiohead; opener ‘Do It Again’ untangles amid In Rainbows-esque guitars, the track’s haunting beauty amplified rather than held back by the cavernous, lo-fi production. Lalor’s ethereal harmonies and confessional lyrics stand out on the iridescent ‘Self Aware’, while single ‘Alone’ offers a more upbeat, playful slice of alt-pop that’s among her catchiest songs yet. The fact that Lalor’s songwriting is way beyond her years goes without saying – but even without considering her age, there’s no denying she’s one of most exciting up-and-comers in the scene today.
We caught up with Patricia Lalor for this edition of our Artist Spotlight series, where we showcase up-and-coming artists and give them a chance to talk about their music.
How did your musical journey start?
Well I would like to think it all started because of my mom and her love for music. There was always good music playing in the house or in the car when I was little and that’s definitely influenced me, but my music journey probably properly started when I was around 10 and joined guitar lessons for the lols. There was no intention to “start my music career” I was just doing it for fun. The singing and writing kind of just slowly came along with learning guitar and it was all really just a thing I did cause I enjoyed it and still do.
Who are some of your influences?
There are so so many, right now it’s artists like Radiohead, Zero 7, Florist, Broken Social Scene, Bon Iver, Beach House and Ariel Pink who inspire me. I feel like they all are really different from each other and kind of go all over the place in terms of sound but they all inspire me in different ways. If you would have asked me a few months ago it would have been completely different, besides Radiohead and Bon Iver (and maybe Beach House) the music I’m influenced by right now compared to six months ago is really different and I feel like my music I’m writing is changing with it which is super cool.
What’s your songwriting process like?
It’s all over the place (in a good way though). I try to write down lyrics and record voice memos when I feel like I have found a good song idea, but so far the process of looking back at song ideas I’ve had has only really worked once. I’m more of a in the moment type of gal, meaning I usually have to feel something in the moment of writing a song in order for it to end up as a good song. My song writing process is changing, it used to be me finding nice chords and putting lyrics to them, but now lyrics and chords come together. I usually write a verse (maybe a chorus) and I start producing that verse and chorus straight away without writing the rest of the song, just cause producing is a big part that I love about writing. And yea writing the ending is usually the hardest part for me for some reason, so I have to step back from listening to the song for a few weeks, then come back to it and write the ending!
What are some of the ideas that went into the making of your new EP?
Music wise I usually just write a whole bunch of songs and see which ones are good and release them. There’s never really a plan for them just because the music just happens. Aesthetic wise I initially went into it imagining dark images, especially for the EP covers, but then my mom and I spontaneously did the video for ‘Alone’ without a plan (but knowing I wanted stop motion) and once I edited it my ideas for what I wanted the EP to look like had all changed and I wanted the kind of scrap book look for all the videos etc. It usually works out like that, we never really have a proper plan going into it but it all works out in the end hahah. But yea very very happy with how this EP has turned out aesthetic wise, probably my favourite out of the other EPs.
It’s already your second EP of the year! What keeps you motivated when it comes to making music?
I really don’t know dude, I just write when I feel like it and it all kind of comes out. Don’t get me wrong there has been some struggling where suddenly I haven’t written anything for ages and need to get some stuff out, but I think the music I listen to keeps me motivated to keep writing to be honest. I love writing music and I want to write music so it’s not hard to when I feel like it gladly.
Now that the EP is out, what’s next?
I’m not sure, nothing major with corona sadly but I think just keep writing, staying inspired etc. As you can tell I’m not a very planned out person so I’m just kinda rolling with the punches here, maybe I’ll write another EP who knows! Definitely more music will be coming that’s for sure, but for now that’s the entire “plan” I have if you could even call it that.
Singer-songwriter Jorja Smith has unveiled a new track called ‘By Any Means’. It serves as the lead single from the upcoming compilation project Reprise, a collection of songs curated by the Roc Nation label with all proceeds going to organizations in the fight against police brutality, hate crimes, and other civil rights violations. Check out ‘By Any Means’ below.
“The inspiration behind ‘By Any Means’ really came from going to the Black Lives Matter protest and leaving thinking, what can I do to keep this conversation going?” Smith said of her new track in a statement. “It’s not just a post on social media, its life.”
Jorja Smith’s last album was her debut LP, Lost & Found, released in 2018. Earlier this year, she contributed a song called ‘Kiss Me in the Morning’ to the Netflix series The Eddy.
Lost Angeles post-hardcore outfit Touché Amore have announced a new album. It’s called Lament and it’s slated for release on October 9 via Epitaph. The band also shared a new single from the album titled ‘Limelight’, which features Manchester Orchestra frontman Andy Hull and arrives with a visualizer created by guitarist Nick Steinhardt. Check it out below, and scroll for the album’s tracklist and cover artwork.
Produced with Ross Robinson (Slipknot, Korn, At The Drive-In), Lament will also include the previously released song ‘Deflector’, which was unveiled back in September. A press release describes the new LP as “the light at the end of the tunnel” following years of “working through darkness.” The whole album will be accompanied by visuals, also animated by Steinhardt. A deluxe physical edition of the LP will also include a 72-page art book.
Lament marks the band’s fifth studio album and first in over four years, following 2016’s Stage Four.
Lament Cover Artwork:
Lament Tracklist:
1. Come Heroine
2. Lament
3. Feign
4. Reminders
5. Limelight [ft. Andy Hull]
6. Exit Row
7. Savoring
8. A Broadcast
9. I’ll Be Your Host
10. Deflector
11. A Forecast
Malik B., Philadelphia rapper and founding member of The Roots, has died at the age of 47. The news was initially announced by Malik B.’s cousin, Don Champion, via Twitter. No cause of death was revealed.
The group then confirmed the news on Instagram, writing: “It is with heavy hearts and tearful eyes that we regretfully inform you of the passing of our beloved brother and long time Roots member Malik Abdul Baset.”
“May he be remembered for his devotion to Islam, His loving brotherhood and his innovation as one of the most gifted MCs of all time,” the statement.
Malik B. founded The Roots with Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter in Philadelphia in the late 1980s. The rapper appeared on the group’s first four studio albums – 1993’s Organix, 1995’s Do You Want More?!!!??!, 1996’s Illadelph Halflife, and 1999’s Things Fall Apart and left during the recording of 2002’s Phrenology to pursue a solo career. Though Malik was no longer an official member of The Roots, he later appeared as a guest on future albums including 2006’s Game Theory and its 2008 follow-up Rising Down. He released two solo albums, including a 2015 collaborative project with producer Mr. Green called Unpredictable.
Writing on Instagram, Black Thought wrote: “We made a name and carved a lane together where there was none. We resurrected a city from the ashes, put it on our backs and called it Illadelph. In friendly competition with you from day one, I always felt as if I possessed only a mere fraction of your true gift and potential.”
He added: “Your steel sharpened my steel as I watched you create cadences from the ether and set them free into the universe to become poetic law, making the English language your bitch. I always wanted to change you, to somehow sophisticate your outlook and make you see that there were far more options than the streets, only to realize that you and the streets were one… and there was no way to separate a man from his true self.”
Questlove also posted a lengthy tribute on Twitter, which you can read below.
Marilyn Manson has announced a new album titled WE ARE CHAOS. Co-produced by Manson and Shooter Jennings, the LP is set for release on September 11 via Loma Vista. Accompanying the announcement, the shock-rocker has also unveiled the video for the title track, which was directed, photographed, and edited by Matt Mahurin. Check it out below, and scroll for the album’s cover art (painted by Manson) and tracklist.
Manson issued a long statement explaining the concept behind the album:
“When I listen to We Are Chaos now, it seems like just yesterday or as if the world repeated itself, as it always does, making the title track and the stories seem as if we wrote them today. This was recorded to its completion without anyone hearing it until it was finished. There is most definitely a side A and side B in the traditional sense. But just like an LP, it is a flat circle and it’s up to the listener to put the last piece of the puzzle into the picture of songs.
This concept album is the mirror Shooter and I built for the listener — it’s the one we won’t stare into. There are so many rooms, closets, safes and drawers. But in the soul or your museum of memories, the worst are always the mirrors. Shards and slivers of ghosts haunted my hands when I wrote most of these lyrics.
Making this record, I had to think to myself: ‘Tame your crazy, stitch your suit. And try to pretend that you are not an animal’ but I knew that mankind is the worst of them all. Making mercy is like making murder. Tears are the human body’s largest export.”
WE ARE THE CHAOS will be Manson’s 11th studio album, following 2017’s Heaven Upside Down.
WE ARE CHAOS Cover Artwork:
WE ARE CHAOS Tracklist:
1. RED BLACK AND BLUE
2. WE ARE CHAOS
3. DON’T CHASE THE DEAD
4. PAINT YOU WITH MY LOVE
5. HALF-WAY & ONE STEP FORWARD
6. INFINITE DARKNESS
7. PERFUME
8. KEEP MY HEAD TOGETHER
9. SOLVE COAGULA
10. BROKEN NEEDLE
Alanis Morissette
Dublin post-punk outfit Fontaines D.C. have come through with their sophomore studio album, A Hero’s Death, via 
Oakland-based singer-songwriter 
Following their critically acclaimed debut Eternity… In Your Arms, Creeper are back with their sophomore release, Sex, Death, and the Infinite Void, out now via 
