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Albums Out Today: Water From Your Eyes, Arlo Parks, Sparks, Gia Margaret, and More

Konstantinos Pappis
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Albums Out Today: Water From Your Eyes, Arlo Parks, Sparks, Gia Margaret, and More

In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on May 26, 2023:

Water From Your Eyes, Everyone’s Crushed

Water From Your Eyes – the Brooklyn experimental duo of Rachel Brown and Nate Amoshave – have released their sixth record and first for Matador, Everyone’s Crushed. Following 2021’s Structure, the nine-track LP was previewed by the singles ’14’, ‘Barley’, and ‘True Life’. In press materials, Brown described it as their most collaborative effort to date, as the pair “find silliness and fatalism dancing in a frantic lockstep, using heart palpitating rhythms and absurdist, deadpan lyrics to convey stories of personal and societal unease.” Read our Artist Spotlight interview with Water From Your Eyes.

Arlo Parks, My Soft Machine

Arlo Parks is back with her sophomore album, My Soft Machine, via Transgressive. The follow-up to 2021’s Collapsed in Sunbeams includes the promotional singles ‘Weightless’, ‘Impurities’, ‘Blades’, and the Phoebe Bridgers-assisted ‘Pegasus’. “The world/our view of it is peppered by the biggest things we experience – our traumas, upbringing, vulnerabilities almost like visual snow,” Parks explained in a statement. “This record is life through my lens, through my body – the mid 20s anxiety, the substance abuse of friends around me, the viscera of being in love for the first time, navigating PTSD and grief and self sabotage and joy, moving through worlds with wonder and sensitivity – what it’s like to be trapped in this particular body.”

Sparks, The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte

Sparks have returned with The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte, their first album for Island Records in 47 years. It marks their 26th studio LP, following 2020’s A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip. “And here we find ourselves in 2023, almost 50 years later, re-signing with Island Records, again with an album that we all feel is as bold and uncompromising as anything we did back then, or for that matter, anytime throughout our career,” brothers Ron and Russell Mael said in a press release. “We’re happy that after so much time, we’ve reconnected with Island, sharing the same spirit of adventure that we all had way back when, but with our new album, The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte.”

Gia Margaret, Romantic Piano

Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist Gia Margaret has issued her latest album, Romantic Piano. The follow-up to 2020’s Mia Gargaret was preceded by the lead single ‘Hinoki Wood’ and ‘Cicadas’. “Romantic Piano was written with a beginner’s mind,” Margaret explained. “For this collection, I thought: ‘What if I could clear my head of all the things I have learned about the piano? What would those songs sound like?’” She added, “I wanted to make music that was useful.” Commenting on ‘Hinoki Wood’, she added: “Hinoki aroma is known to reduce stress, tiredness and stimulate the brain. In a way, I wanted these songs to do the same for myself/for the person listening.”

Shirley Collins, Archangel Hill

The legendary Shirley Collins has released a new album, Archangel Hill. The record was produced by Collins’ musical director Ian Kearey, who wrote the arrangements with Collins, Pip Barnes, Dave Arthur, and Pete Cooper. It’s named in honour of Shirley’s stepfather, who referred to Mount Caburn, a landmark near Collins’ home in Lewes, as Archangel Hill. “Whenever I walk Mount Caburn, I give a silent greeting in memory of my stepfather Bill and his horses,” Shirley said. “I’ve picked sloes there in autumn, sat watching sheep and the occasional chalk hill blue butterfly in summer, but Bill had ridden over it many times in the 1920s, walking horses from Bishopstone to the Lewes races.”

Miya Folick, Roach

Miya Folick’s sophomore album, Roach, has arrived via Nettwerk. The follow-up to 2018’s Premonitions features all six songs from last year’s 2007 EP – which we broke down track-by-track with Folick – as well as the singles ‘Get Out of My House’, ‘Mommy’, ‘So Clear’, and ‘Cockroach’. “It’s an album about trying to get to the core of what life really is,” Folick explained. “I think over the course of writing this record, I actually did the work and got closer to the person that I really want to be, even if that path isn’t linear and I still have moments where I disappoint myself, where I’m angry with myself.”

Kassa Overall, ANIMALS

Seattle-born, Brooklyn-based drummer and producer Kassa Overall has released his new LP, ANIMALS, via Warp. It features contributions from Danny Brown, Wiki, Vijay Iyer, Shabazz Palaces, Lil B, Laura Mvula, Francis and the Lights, Nick Hakim, and more. “We call ourselves humans, right?” Overall said in press materials. “But we kind of do animalistic shit towards each other. We justify immorality by almost stripping people of their humanity. He’s an animal, so we can treat him as such. All these different kinds of little questions in these songs point to questions about humanity: am I free? Or am I a circus animal? These questions intersect with the way I think about race.”

galen tipton, brain scratch

The Ohio-based producer galen tipton has dropped a new record, brain scratch. Spanning 20 tracks that fuse ambient, IDM, ASMR, sound collage, plunderphonics, and musique concrète, the album is described on Bandcamp as “sheet music, for orchestral free jazz graffiti splattered across wet playground gravel”; “a diary of textures, smells, tastes, and sensations capturing intimate ineffable mundane delights”; and “a scavengers hymnal, a choir of bugs, sound knick knacks carefully collected, a digital nest.” It was written, produced, mixed, and mastered by tipton.

Other albums out today:

Clark, Sup Dog; Kari Faux, REAL B*TCHES DON’T DIE!; Kevin Morby, More Photographs (A Continuum); Stuck, Freak Frequency; Wolf Eyes, Dreams in Splattered Lines; Matthew Herbert, The Horse; Asma Maroof, Patrick Belaga & Tapiwa Svosve, The Sport of Love; Lil Durk, Almost Heale; Chain of Flowers, Never Ending Space; Daniel Blumberg, GUT; Incendiary, Change the Way You Think About Pain; Low Coast, Existing the Dream; Laurent Garnier, 33 Tours Et Puis S’en Von; Boy & Bear, Boy & Bear; Ryan Oakes, WAKE UP; Eliades Ochoa, Guajiro; Wata Igarashi, Agartha.

The Voidz Return With New Single ‘Prophecy of the Dragon’

Konstantinos Pappis
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The Voidz Return With New Single ‘Prophecy of the Dragon’

Julian Casablancas and the Voidz are back with a new song, ‘Prophecy of the Dragon’, their first since 2020’s ‘Alien Crime Lord’. The single arrives ahead of a series of European festival appearances in June, including Primavera Sound in Barcelona and Madrid. Listen to it below.

In a statement about ‘Prophecy of the Dragon’, the band said:

The track started with a very simple question… what would it feel like if God whispered into your ear “you are my most magnificent creature”. What would that feeling sound like? What would it’s bassline be? With that—The Voidz conch was blown, and we assembled from the various corners of the earth to which we had been summoned for previous quests. From the deserts of the Sahara, to the truck stops of the midwest – we reunited in California to answer this question.
the response?
…from the fiery bones of eternity,
the dragon’s voice, awakened after millennia in waiting, spewed forth a sonic fist of impertinence in
the shape of a New Pirate anthem,
where nothing is what it seems, nor is it otherwise:
—Prophecy Of The Dragon. 

The Voidz’ last LP was 2018’s Virtue.

Listen to Taylor Swift’s New Songs With Ice Spice and Lana Del Rey

Konstantinos Pappis
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Listen to Taylor Swift’s New Songs With Ice Spice and Lana Del Rey

Taylor Swift has released a new deluxe edition of Midnights, which updates two album tracks: ‘Karma’ and ‘Snow on the Beach’. The ‘Karma’ remix features Ice Spice, who Swift said was “the coolest person on earth” upon the album’s announcement, while the extended version of ‘Snow on the Beach’ gets even more vocals from Lana Del Rey. Midnights (Til Dawn Edition) also includes ‘Hits Different’, which was previously released as a Target exclusive bonus track. Take a listen below.

Dua Lipa Shares New ‘Barbie’ Soundtrack Song ‘Dance the Night’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Dua Lipa Shares New ‘Barbie’ Soundtrack Song ‘Dance the Night’

Dua Lipa has released a new song, ‘Dance the Night’, which serves as the lead single to the soundtrack for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie. Marking her first solo track since the release of the deluxe edition of Future Nostalgia in 2021, the song was produced by Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, and the Picard Brothers. Check it out below.

The Barbie movie soundtrack features contributions from HAIM, Tame Impala, Charli XCX, Ice Spice, Lizzo, PinkPantheress, and more. The movie hits theaters on Friday, July 21, and the soundtrack arrives the same day. Since releasing Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa – who has an acting role in Barbie –  has shared collaborations with Megan Thee Stallion and Calvin Harris & Young Thug.

Squid Share Video for New Song ‘The Blades’

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Squid Share Video for New Song ‘The Blades’

Squid have released ‘The Blades’, the latest offering from their forthcoming record O Monolith. Following previous entries ‘Swing (In a Dream)’ and ‘Undergrowth’, the track arrives with an accompanying video directed by Kasper Häggström and starring You actor Charlotte Ritchie. Watch and listen below.

According to a press release, ‘The Blades’ is singer Ollie Judge’s favourite Squid song to date.“It’s a lot more vulnerable than stuff we’ve previously done, which can be quite a daunting thing,” he said. “Dan [Carey] and I were talking about vocal delivery and how it would be good to not completely let myself go, and not fall back on shouting because it’s more instantly gratifying. The end of the song is really soft and tender and I don’t think we’ve done something like that before.”

“On the surface it’s a song about police brutality with the last section kind of inspired by The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe, although I’ve never read the book, I’ve just seen The Simpsons’ spoof of it,” Judge added. “Narratively it follows a police helicopter pilot’s day, ending with him in bed hearing another pilot circling the skies as if he were taunting him. There’s a deeper meaning in there somewhere of my fear of ego, but I’m still working out which bit of the song that’s coming from.”

O Monolith is slated to arrive on June 9 via Warp Records.

Album Review: Arlo Parks, ‘My Soft Machine’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Album Review: Arlo Parks, ‘My Soft Machine’

Arlo Parks’ 2021 debut Collapsed in Sunbeams marked her as one the most resonant voices of her generation, capable of capturing our collective anxieties through uniquely poetic language and delicate, laidback melodies. But musically, there was room for growth. As a whole, it was a little too easy to get lost in its soothing sounds and intimate lyrical vignettes, her own presence sometimes drifting off into the background. Parks’ sophomore effort, My Soft Machine, takes significant steps in the right direction, punching up the production and allowing her to take more of an active role rather than being perpetually locked in that of a keen, empathetic observer. Without quite swinging for the fences, Parks communicates her sense of ambition by embracing more transparent and intentional songwriting, each choice meant to elevate the power of her words – and vulnerability.

Part of the freshness of My Soft Machine stems from Parks’ move to Los Angeles, a decision that ended up mirroring the way she approached the music. “I wanted to feel like it was coming from a completely new place,” she recently said. “I wanted to feel like it pushed the bounds of what I had done before.” On ‘I’m Sorry’, one of the more melancholy cuts on the album, the move to LA is part of a list of things – therapy, meditation, fucking the pain away – that have failed to take away the numbness, a state that’s easy to slip into when it masks itself as comfort. But Parks does step out of her comfort zone on My Soft Machine, first and foremost by bringing herself further into the fold. “I feel so much guilt that I could not guard more people from harm,” she admits on opener ‘Bruiseless’, a disarming confession from an artist whose work has been a balm for so many. As if overwhelmed by the pain that can so quickly accumulate between masses of people, she folds in glimpses of joy and childhood innocence before the song fades in just over a minute.

More so than her debut, the album navigates the thin line between joy and desperation in ways that are vivid and nuanced. On ‘Weightless’, just a few shards of affection are enough to propel the song forward, as Parks clings to the memory of a relationship grown sour (“Tethered to the person you could be/ Re-reading our texts from the strawberry days”). But joy doesn’t just come in bits and pieces or exist solely in the past; there’s a whole sea of it that Parks swims through on songs like ‘Impurities’, ‘Pegasus’, and ‘Dog Rose’, none of which sound quite like the other. With bright, dreamy instrumentation, ‘Dog Rose’ is lifted up by helpless devotion instead of drowning in it, while ‘Impurities’ basks in the warm glow of community. A guest appearance from Phoebe Bridgers is not a rarity these days, but it does so much to open up the song she’s featured in; their interweaving voices on ‘Pegasus’ give it a palpable quality, the softness of exchanged breaths more than just words.

On My Soft Machine, Parks draws from a more disparate palette that does wonders for her sound, even if she could lean into it a little more. The obvious influence of Elliott Smith and Frank Ocean now mesh with more unexpected and less fashionable reference points like the Smashing Pumpkins and Deftones that fuel highlight ‘Devotion’, whose fiery production is worthy of a line like “Flood me with your nervous love.” This dynamism extends to ‘Blades’, a deceptively upbeat song that paints a more destructive picture of devotion, as if to dance it away. The chorus of ‘Puppy’ calls back to Collapsed in Sunbeams‘ ‘Hurt’, with “Just know it won’t hurt so much forever” now becoming “I know some things don’t get easier/ I know some things hurt forever.” On paper, it seems like a regression, but it’s a testament to an artist learning to be present with – rather than trying to accurately represent – everything that’s entangled in her experience, including discomfort. In contrast to the silky R&B that encased that song, she even throws in a My Bloody Valentine-inspired synth that sends the song flying in another direction. It’s a tight balancing act and a bit of a risk, but it’s the result of Parks simply trusting her gut. After all, you don’t get to control how the truth washes over you; you can only choose how to project it.

Mark Ronson’s ‘Barbie’ Soundtrack Features Tame Impala, HAIM, Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, Ice Spice, and More

Konstantinos Pappis
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Mark Ronson’s ‘Barbie’ Soundtrack Features Tame Impala, HAIM, Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, Ice Spice, and More

The soundtrack for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie Movie has been announced. As Rolling Stone reports, Barbie: The Album is executive produced by Mark Ronson and features Tame Impala, HAIM, Charli XCX, Ice Spice, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, Pink Pantheress, Khalid, Ava Max, Dominic Fike, Karol G, and more. Ryan Gosling, who plays Ken in the movie, is also on the soundtrack, as is Dua Lipa, who stars as a blue-haired mermaid Barbie. Dua Lipa’s ‘Dance the Night’ will be the lead single, and it’s out tonight. According to the announcement, more artists will be revealed nearer the album’s release. Check out the soundtrack’s poster and a new trailer for the film below.

Foo Fighters Release New Song ‘Show Me How’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Foo Fighters Release New Song ‘Show Me How’

Foo Fighters have released another single from But Here We Are, their first album since longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins died suddenly last year. ‘Show Me How’, which follows previous cuts ‘Rescued’ and ‘Under You’, features a guest vocal appearance from Violet Grohl. Check it out below.

But Here We Are, the follow-up to 2021’s Medicine at Midnight, comes out next Friday, June 2 via Roswell Records/Columbia Records.

Big Thief’s Buck Meek Announces New Album ‘Haunted Mountain’, Shares New Single

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Big Thief’s Buck Meek Announces New Album ‘Haunted Mountain’, Shares New Single

Big Thief guitarist Buck Meek has announced a new album, Haunted Mountain. The follow-up to 2021’s Two Saviors will arrive on August 25 via his new label home, 4AD. Today, Meek has shared the LP’s lead single and title track, which was co-written with Jolie Holland, who co-wrote five of the album’s 11 tracks. “It’s about being humbled by the thing you’re drawing power from only at which point an actual, fair relationship begins,” Meek said in a statement. Check out the song’s Riley Engemoen-directed video below.

Along with his longtime backing band — Adam Brisbin (guitar), Austin Vaughn (drums), and Mat Davidson (pedal steel, bass) – Meek is joined on Haunted Mountain by bassist Ken Woodward and Meek’s brother Dylan on piano and synths. The album is produced by Davidson and mixed by Adrian Olsen.

“The music here is an expression of a group,” Meek added of the album. “I asked for the job because I felt strongly that we shouldn’t bring in someone from outside the band. Otherwise, the only personal desire I had was that we be able to explore space, that we let the music open up and slow down in contrast to previous records – not in terms of tempo but rather overall movement, information between the beats.”

Haunted Mountain Cover Artwork:

Haunted Mountain Tracklist:

1. Mood Ring
2. Haunted Mountain
3. Paradise
4. Cyclades
5. Secret Side
6. Didn’t Know You Then
7. Undae Dunes
8. Where You’re Coming From
9. Lullabies
10. Lagrimas
11. The Rainbow

Tina Turner Dead at 83

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Tina Turner Dead at 83

Tina Turner, the legendary singer-songwriter known as the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” has died. “Tina Turner, the ‘Queen of Rock’n Roll’ has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland,” her family said in a statement Wednesday (May 24). “With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model.”

Born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939 in Brownsville, Tennessee, Turner grew up singing in her church choir as a young girl. She spent most of her childhood and teenage years living with her grandparents, and worked as a nurse’s aide in St. Louis after graduating from high school. In the mid-1950s, Turner and her sister began frequenting the nightclub scene in the St. Louis area, where she met Ike Turner playing with his band the Kings of Rhythm. She began performing with the band as a backup vocalist but became the star of the show just two years later, adopting the stage name Tina Turner. The couple found success in 1960 with ‘A Fool in Love’, which hit No. 2 on the Hot R&B Sides chart and No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In the late ’60s, Ike and Tina Turner began incorporating more rock into their music, and in 1971 scored their biggest hit with their cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Proud Mary’. By the mid-1970s, however, Ike’s addiction to cocaine put a strain on his relationship with Tina, who later revealed Ike was abusive throughout their marriage. She left him in 1976, and their divorce was finalized two years later. Turner’s first solo album, Tina Turns the Country On!, came out in 1973, and was followed by several albums for United Artists during the 1970s.

In 1984, Turner returned with Private Dancer, which came to be known as her comeback album. ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It’, its second single, became her first and only No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1986, Turner published her bestselling memoir, I, Tina,  and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Ike Turner in 1991. In 2018, her work was adapted into the jukebox musical Tina. Turner released a total of nine albums, won twelve Grammys including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and holds the record as the eighth best-selling female artist of all time across all genres.

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