Hand Habits has shared a new single from their forthcoming mini-album Sugar the Bruise. ‘Private Life’, which follows previous offering ‘Something Wrong’, arrives alongside an Otium-directed video. Check it out below.
Sugar the Bruise will be released on June 16 via Fat Possum. Meg Duffy’s most recent Hand Habits LP, Fun House, came out in 2021.
Westerman has released ‘A Lens Turning’, the latest single from his upcoming album An Inbuilt Fault. Following previous cuts ‘Take’, ‘CSI: Petralona’, and ‘Idol: RE-run’, the track arrives with an accompanying video directed and animated by Edwin Burdis. Watch and listen below.
An Inbuilt Fault, the follow-up to Westerman’s 2020 debut Your Hero Is Not Dead, comes out this Friday, May 5 via Partisan/Play It Again Sam.
Gordon Lightfoot, the Canadian folk and country legend, has died at the age of 84. His longtime publicist, Victoria Lord, confirmed the news via CBC. No cause of death was provided.
Born in Orillia, Ontario, in 1938, Lightfoot started performing as a child, singing in church and appearing on local radio shows. As a teenager, he learned piano and taught himself to play guitar and drums. In 1958, he moved to California to study jazz composition at Hollywood’s Westlake College of Music and supported himself by writing commercial jingles and singing on demo recordings. Having grown homesick, he returned to Toronto in 1960 and joined the Singin’ Swingin’ Eight, a vocal group featured on CBC TV’s Country Hoedown. He also formed a duo with Terry Whalen called the Two Tones, which recorded the live album Two Tones at the Village Corner 1962. The following year, he served as the host on the BBC-TV series The Country & Western Show.
After discovering Bob Dylan in 1963, Lightfoot’s approach to songwriting shifted. “I started to get a point of view, and that’s when I started to improve,” he said. He went on to sign with Albert Grossman, who was also the manager of Dylan and Peter, Paul, and Mary. Around this time, Peter, Paul, and Mary and country artists like Marty Robbins also began recording some of Lightfoot’s earlier material. After signing a recording contract with United Artists Records in 1966, he released his debut LP, Lightfoot! Following three more studio albums for the label, Lightfoot found commercial success after switching to Warner Bros./Reprise in 1970. He scored his first US hit with ‘If You Could Read My Mind’, which originally appeared on the album Sit Down Young Stranger, while 1976’s Summertime Dream boasted the hit ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’.
Although his output slowed down in the ’80s, Lightfoot experienced a career revival in the ’90s, when he issued 1993’s Waiting For You and 1998’s A Painter Passing Through. In 2002, he suffered an abdominal aortic aneurysm and spent six weeks in a coma. Following his recovery, he released the album Harmony in 2004. His final LP was 2020’s Solo, an acoustic collection of demos and unreleased tracks written between 2001 and 2002.
Lightfoot was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1986. He was elected to the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001 and received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 2022.
“We have lost one of our greatest singer-songwriters,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted. “Gordon Lightfoot captured our country’s spirit in his music – and in doing so, he helped shape Canada’s soundscape. May his music continue to inspire future generations, and may his legacy live on forever. To his family, friends, and many fans across the country and around the world: I’m keeping you in my thoughts at this difficult time.”
Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo has returned with a new song under his given name, a collaboration with Mac DeMarco called ‘Nudista Mundial ’89’. The track, which was recorded at DeMarco’s studio, comes paired with a music video inspired by the ’80s adult video game Leisure Suit Larry and animated by Johnny Woods. Check it out below.
“While working on a few tunes, I was trying to get a hold of this certain piano,” Palomo shared in a statement in a statement. “My keyboard player told me Mac had one at his studio so I hit him up. And on one breezy day in May, we sang a duet about two guys going to a nude beach together in Ibiza.”
‘Nudista Mundial ’89’ marks Palomo’s first release since 2019’s ‘Toyota Man’, which he released as Neon Indian.
Desire will be supporting Metronomy on a number of dates this month, and to celebrate the occasion, the duo has shared a cover of their song ‘I Have Seen Enough’. The track originally appeared on Metronomy’s 2022 LP Small World. The Los Angeles-based artist Glüme, who is also opening on the tour, has tackled the album track ‘It’s Good to Be Back’. Take a listen below.
Desire’s latest album, Escape, came out last year.
Throughout the week, we update our Best New Songs playlist with the new releases that caught our attention the most, be it a single leading up to the release of an album or a newly unveiled deep cut. And each Monday, we round up the best new songs released over the past week (the eligibility period begins on Monday and ends Sunday night) in this best new music segment.
This week’s list includes PJ Harvey’s sparse, darkly gentle ‘A Child’s Question, August’, the lead single from her first new album in seven years; Kari Faux’s smooth, dreamy new single ‘MAKE A WISH’, produced by Phoelix; ‘That! Feels Good!’, the ecstatic title track from Jessie Ware’s new record; Jess Williamson’s wonderfully rendered ‘Chasing Spirits’, which considers the shape of deep devotion when love is lost; The National’s ‘The Alcott’, a duet with Taylor Swift that serves as one of the most heart-wrenching moments on their new album; Gia Margaret’s ‘Hinoki Wood’, a lovely, quietly stirring introduction to her next album Romantic Piano; Julie Byrne’s achingly beautiful ‘Summer Glass’, which leads her new LP The Greater Wings; and ‘Black Magic’, a classic-sounding Beach House track from the duo’s new EP.
Best New Songs: May 1, 2023
PJ Harvey, ‘A Child’s Question, August’
Kari Faux, ‘MAKE A WISH’
Jessie Ware, ‘That! Feels Good!’
Jess Williamson, ‘Chasing Spirits’
Song of the Week: The National feat. Taylor Swift, ‘The Alcott’
Gia Margaret, ‘Hinoki Wood’
Julie Byrne, ‘Summer Glass’
Beach House, ‘Black Magic’
Raymond Weil stands as a highly esteemed brand in the world of luxury watches, securing a well-deserved position among the finest in the industry. With a rich history backing their legacy, their latest releases consistently exceed expectations. One such remarkable timepiece is the Freelancer GMT WorldTimer, showcasing the ability to simultaneously display the 24 different time zones. In this Watch Spotlight, we delve into why we hold this new addition by Raymond Weil in such high regard.
Regarding aesthetics, the Freelancer GMT WorldTimer undeniably exudes beauty in two captivating variations: a sleek black dial option and a naturesque green dial option. The black dial and strap exude a sense of stealth and elegance, making it an ideal choice for those who appreciate monochromatic wardrobes and a more urbane colour palette. On the other hand, the green khaki variant radiates a spirit of adventure and exploration.
The movement of the watch, the Calibre RW3230, is also an impressive component that aids in keeping the watch slim while keeping a power reserve of 50 hours. It’s mechanically self-winding with a GMT function, making it a suitable addition for movement-loving watch fanatics.
The Freelancer GMT WorldTimer is a neat piece that will set you back £2,495. Now, while there are a lot of alternatives to this watch by brands such as Hamilton, Baume & Mercier, and Longines, all offering great adventurous pieces that offer style and finesse at a great price, the Raymond Weil is undoubtedly a contender with its slender, and majestic design profile that celebrates movement and adventure.
The Knife’s Olof Dreijer has announced a new collaborative album with Mt. Sims titled Souvenir, a collection of five steel drum tracks. It’s set for release on June 9 via Rabid, and its first single, ‘Hybrid Fruit’, is out today. Check it out and find the album’s cover artwork and tracklist below.
Souvenir began after Dreijer and Sims were contacted by the Trinidad/New York organization Special Friends of the Earth (SFOTE) to create music using a steel drum created by the Trinidad-based instrument maker Ellie Mannette. “We tried to find our own thing,” Dreijer said in a press statement. “That’s usually our way around using an instrument that has been heavily exoticized and appropriated.”
Souvenir follows Dreijer’s co-production work Fever Ray’s latest LP, Radical Romantics, which arrived in March.
Souvenir Cover Artwork:
Souvenir Tracklist:
1. Liten Karin
2. Hybrid Fruit
3. A Vessel of Clay
4. Breaths of Clay
5. Across This Mud
Australian duo Confidence Man have teamed up with Daniel Avery for a new song called ‘On & On (Again)’. Arriving via their new label home of Polydor Records, it marks their first single since the release of their 2022 album TILT. Check it out below.
Speaking about the track, Confidence Man said in a statement: “Dan knows what’s good. And conman does too. It’s a match made in sexy rave heaven. A naughty international subgenre mashup. Yin and Yang in parachute pants. And we did it all for you. Open up and let us in.”
quinnie has unveiled a new song called ‘fade’. It’s set to appear as a bonus track on the upcoming deluxe edition of the singer-songwriter’s debut album flounder, which will arrive this summer. Check out a lyric video for it below.
The original version of flounder came out back in February. It followed quinnie’s 2019 EP gold star.
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