Fifa 23 will mark another massive instalment in EA’s cash cow franchise. The football game that has dominated its niche will be once again released on platforms like the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.
But, the question arises. Will it be free?
FIFA 23 on Playstation 5 / Xbox Series X
Sadly, Fifa 23 will not be free on the PS5 and the Xbox. The game comes in two different editions. The cheapest and most popular is the Standard Edition. This edition comes at £69.99 and includes a few perks such as FUT Ambassador Loan Player Pick, Career Mode Homegrown Talent, and Untradeable TOTW 1 Player Item and a few other bits.
Moving ahead, we have the Ultimate Edition, which is £20 more. For this, the player will receive 4600 points, three days of early access and a few other great perks.
FIFA 23 on PC
If you’re a PC gamer, you’re a bit luckier because the game is around £10 cheaper on both editions compared to the PS5. It will also have crossplay features meaning you won’t need to leave your console friends behind.
Is the game still called FIFA?
Yes, while the license will run out after next year. The current FIFA 23 and FIFA 24 video games will be titled as such.
For all its downsides, the internet has done wonders when it comes to catering to groups that are underrepresented or entirely ignored in the mainstream media.
There’s a new site on the scene that does just that for members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies, so let’s look at what it has to offer and why you should check it out.
Your source for a fresh take on LGBTQ+ culture
To get the stories, articles and coverage that speaks to you, Twelve Past Midnight is the place to go. It’s an up and coming hub for content that’s geared towards LGBTQ+ readers, although of course it’s an inclusive space that’s also appealing to anyone with an interest in this culture.
First, you’ll find all the latest news that deals with issues impacting people from across the spectrum of gender and sexuality. And in the times we live in right now, with so much division and unwarranted animosity, this is an important element to stay on top of.
Next, there are lifestyle pieces that cover a range of conversation-starting areas, from fashion to healthcare and beyond.
Finally, there’s the entertainment arena, which of course turns its attention to celebrities in the LGBTQ+ space, covering everyone from Kate McKinnon and Rebel Wilson to Halsey and beyond. Basically, if you want to keep your finger on the pulse, then this is the place to be.
Unafraid to tackle the contentious topics
While much progress has been made with regards to LGBTQ+ rights and representation in recent years, there is still a long way to go. Because of this, it’s important for publications of all kinds to call out problematic behavior and well-meaning but flawed attempts at mainstream integration of queer culture where they see them.
That’s also part and parcel of Twelve Past Midnight’s modus operandi. Whether that means commenting on the retroactive assignment of sexual preferences to characters in Stranger Things, or dealing with the circumstances surrounding the alleged misdemeanors of Ezra Miller, there’s thought-provoking and balanced journalism to be found here.
Media-rich and well-formatted
It might not seem that important at first, but it’s a breath of fresh air to find a content-focused site that doesn’t suffer from being overstuffed with ads, pop-ups and other annoyances.
The interface of Twelve Past Midnight is clean, clear and easy to engage with. This same minimalist ethos carries across to the content itself, which is uniformly well laid-out, making it straightforward to digest.
The other attractive element here is the use of media, from high quality imagery pulled from reputable sources, to embedded videos and social media posts that mean you don’t need to browse anywhere else to find out more about the background of a story or article.
Best of all, it’s very scalable, so it’s ideal for browsing on bigger format displays on a laptop or desktop, as well as on mobile devices where you’ve got less screen real estate to work with. Again, this should be a minimum requirement for modern websites, but so many alternatives don’t get this right.
Final thoughts on Twelve Past Midnight
Everyone benefits from finding content that caters to their niche, whatever that might be. And you don’t have to feel bad for seeking out something that’s tailored to you, rather than just consuming the same stuff as everyone else.
This new site definitely deserves your attention no matter what you’re into, but for LGBTQ+ people it will certainly be all the more appealing. Hopefully it will continue to grow and gain an audience as time passes.
First Aid Kit have released a new single called ‘Out of My Head’. It’s taken from the Swedish sister duo’s recently announced fifth album, Palomino, which arrives on November 4 via Columbia Records. Check out a video for ‘Out of My Head’ below.
“We wrote this song with Bjorn Yttling from Peter Bjorn and John last year,” the duo wrote in a statement. “It was written really quickly, almost like a stream of consciousness. It’s about feeling stuck in your own thoughts and desperately wanting to escape. Guess we’ve all been there? We shot this magical video in Ireland with Jason Lester. It truly captures the feeling of the song.”
Commenting on the process of making the album, they added: “We had so much fun making this record. It took longer than usual because we wanted it to grow slowly. We’re so proud of it and poured all of our emotions into it. Our highs and our lows, our fears and our dreams. Making a record is a precious, holy thing to us. It’s both exciting and scary finally letting these songs out into the world. We hope they find a home in you and you a home in them. We hope that they’ll give you comfort, make you feel seen and understood. Maybe they’ll inspire you to dare to go wherever your heart desires. To ride off on a Palomino.”
Palomino will include the previously released single ‘Angel’.
Palomino Cover Artwork:
Palomino Tracklist:
1. Out of My Head
2. Angel
3. Ready to Run
4. Turning Onto You
5. Fallen Snow
6. Wild Horses II
7. The Last One
8. Nobody Knows
9. A Feeling That Never Came
10. 29 Palms Highway
11. Palomino
Megan Thee Stallion is back with her second studio album, Traumazine, out today. Recorded at Criteria Studios in North Miami, the Houston rapper’s follow-up to 2020’s Good News and last year’s Something for Thee Hotties mixtape features the previously released singles ‘Plan B’, ‘Sweetest Pie’ (with Dua Lipa), and ‘Pressurelicious’ (with Future), as well as guest spots from Key Glock, Rico Nasty, Latto, Pooh Shiesty, and Jhené Aiko. Speaking to Rolling Stone about the new album, Megan said: “I want to take you through so many different emotions. At first you was twerking, now you might be crying.”
Hudson Mohawke has returned with his third studio album, Cry Sugar. It follows his 2015 LP Lantern, 2016’s Ded Sec – Watch Dogs 2 (Original Game Soundtrack), and a series of archival releases he put out in 2020. The Scottish DJ and producer’s latest was informed soundtracks by apocalyptic soundtracks from by everyone from the late Vangelis to the ’90s work of John Williams and features the early tracks ‘Bicstan’, ‘Stump’, and ‘Dance Forever’, as well as ‘Cry Sugar (Megamix)’. Wayne horse Willehad Eilers made the cover artwork. Read our review of the album.
Panda Bear and Sonic Boom’s collaborative effort, Reset, has arrived via Domino. In addition to co-producing 2015’s Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper, Sonic Boom – whose real name is Peter Kember – mixed and mastered Panda Bear’s 2011 album Tomboy. Six years ago, Kember moved from England to Portugal, at least in part so the pair could continue working closely together. Reset draws inspiration from Kember’s collection of records from the ’50s and ’60s; Kember found himself fixating on the intros of songs, and began sampling and looping them. “It was deep dreaming, really,” he told Pitchfork. “If you heard the original loop with just the vocal, it had most of the powers already. Right from the start, you could tell that something was happening.”
The duo of Nick Sanborn and Amelia Meath have put out their latest album, No Rules Sandy. The follow-up to Sylvan Esso’s 2020 LP Free Love is out now via Loma Vista and includes the previously released single ‘Didn’t Care’. In a press statement, Meath said the record “feels like who we actually are. It just feels like us. We’re not trying to fit into the mold, just happily being our freak selves.” Sanborn added, “Our whole career up until now, I feel like everything’s been really considered, and we’ve maybe overthought a lot of the music. I think that might be the ultimate effect of like the last record and the pandemic — feeling like, fuck that, I know what I want. And it’s now, or never. So let’s get out there and do it.”
Danger Mouse and Black Thought have dropped their new collaborative album, Cheat Codes, via BMG. Preceded by the singles ‘No Gold Teeth’, ‘Aquamarine’, and ‘Strangers’, the 12-track LP features guest appearances from A$AP Rocky, Run the Jewels, MF DOOM, Michael Kiwanuka, Kid Sister, Joey Bada$$, Russ, Raekwon, Conway the Machine, and more. It marks Danger Mouse’s first full-length hip-hop outing since Danger Doom, his 2005 collaboration with the late MF Doom. As for Black Thought, it follows his solo trilogy Streams of Thought.
Rat Tally, the moniker of Chicago singer-songwriter Addy Harris, has released her debut LP, In My Car. Following her self-released 2019 EP When You Wake Up, the album features guest appearances from Jay Som and Madeline Kenney and was previewed with the singles ‘Spinning Wheel’, ‘Longshot’, and ‘Prettier’. Before that, Harris shared the song ‘Shrug’ to mark her signing to 6131 Records, the label known launching artists such as Julien Baker, Touché Amoré, and more.
Claudia Ferme, who records as Claude, has issued her debut album, a lot’s gonna change, via American Dreams Records. Produced with Michael Mac, the follow-up to the singer-songwriter’s 2021 EP Enactor includes the advance tracks ‘roses’ and ‘twenty something’. In a statement, Ferme described the record as “a snapshot of my early-to-mid twenties — formative, sometimes confusing years.” Of her songwriting approach, she added: “Pop can encompass a lot, and I like that: song structures that are even and catchy; even if the songs aren’t fast-paced, stuff sticks in your mind.”
Boris have released the third album in their Heavy Rocks series and their second project of 2022, following January’s W. Out now on Relapse Records, Heavy Rocks (2022) includes the previously unveiled songs ‘My name is blank’, ‘She Is Burning’, and ‘Question 1’. In a statement accompanying the album’s announcement, the band wrote: “The world has changed over the last two years. Everyone’s thinking is simpler and pragmatic. Now, it is easier for everyone to grasp what is important to each of us.We leave it to the future and pass it on. The soul of rock music is constantly evolving. A soul that transcends words and meaning to reach you – instinct, intuition, and fangs.”
Kiwi Jr.’s third album, Chopper, has come out today via Sub Pop. The follow-up to 2021’s Cooler Returns was recorded at the band’s Toronto base, with Dan Boeckner handling the production. The record includes the previously shared tracks ‘The Extra Sees The Film’, ‘Unspeakable Things’, and ‘Night Vision’. In a statement about ‘Night Vision’, singer/guitarist Jeremy Gaudet said that “the idea of it existing as a Kiwi Jr. song inspired us and set the tone for the record. A lot of the images in the lyrics are of teenagers driving around, trying to make plans, sharing the aux, putting their parents’ car in the ditch, etc. But the idea at the center of the song is that of working up the nerve to make a big decision. Like a boxer getting pumped up before a fight.”
Elaine Howley, The Distance Between Heart and Mouth
The Distance Between Heart and Mouth is the debut solo album by Cork-based musician Elaine Howley, known for her work with Crevice, Howlbux, and The Altered Hours. A collection of lo-fi pop tracks recorded on a 4-track cassette machine throughout 2019 and 2020, the LP was previewed with the singles ‘Silent Talk’ and ‘To the Test’. “I was thinking a lot about the themes of silencing and communication,” Howley explained in a statement. “My voice and a lot of my feelings were buried and I wanted to push that out using music. That is the intention of this album – trying to be brave enough to share and to open up; along with the internal and external barriers that exist when it comes to doing that.”
Other albums out today:
The Game, Drillmatic: Heart vs. Mind; Faye, You’re Better; Tomu DJ, Half Moon Bay; OSEES, A Foul Form; Erasure, Day-Glo (Based on a True Story); Pale Waves, Unwanted; Goo Goo Dolls, Chaos In Bloom; Doll Spirit Vessel, What Stays; Kasabian, The Alchemist’s Euphoria; Destroy Lonely, No Stylist; Tony Molina, In the Fade; Kamikaze Palm Tree, Mint Chip; Norma Jean, Deathrattle Sing For Me; Max Tundra, Remixtape;WAAX, At Least I’m Free; Sunfear, Octopus.
Death Cab for Cutie have released ‘Foxglove Through the Clearcut’, the latest single from their upcoming 10th album Asphalt Meadows. It follows previous entries ‘Roman Candles’ and ‘Here to Forever’. Take a listen below.
“‘Foxglove’ is by far the most personal song on the record,” frontman Ben Gibbard said of the new track in a statement. “While I was writing it, I thought I was merely the narrator. But the longer I sat with it, I realized I was both the protagonist and the narrator.”
Asphalt Meadows is set for release on September 16 via Atlantic.
Bella Poarch, one of the most popular creators on TikTok, has shared a new song featuring Grimes. It arrives a month after she released ‘Dolls’, which came with an Andrew Donoho-directed video that saw Poarch and Grimes pretend-fighting. Listen to ‘No Man’s Land’ below.
‘No Man’s Land’ and ‘Dolls’ both appear on Poarch’s Dolls EP, which is out today and also features the previously released singles ‘Build A Bitch’ and ‘Inferno’. ‘Living Hell’, a new song, has also gotten an accompanying visual that you can check out below. “I’m really excited to release my first EP after starting this journey during lockdown,” Poarch said in a statement. “Dolls is my personal story of challenges and growth over time that I hope my fans can relate to.”
Anitta has teamed up with Maluma for a new song called ‘El Que Espera’. The track arrives alongside an accompanying Mike Ho-directed video, which was filmed in Ibiza. Check it out below.
Anitta released her latest album, Versions of Me, back in April. A deluxe edition of the 15-track LP is “coming soon,” according to a press release, and the singer shared a visual for ‘Gata’ last week. Anitta will be performing at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards later this month, where her song ‘Envolver’ is nominated for Best Latin video.
Beyoncé has joined Ronald Isley, one of the Isley Brothers, on ‘Make Me Say It Again, Girl’, a remake of ‘Make Me Say It Again Girl, Pts. 1 & 2’. Isley first mentioned the collaboration in a Variety interview last year. Give it a listen below.
‘Make Me Say It Again Girl, Pts. 1 & 2’ appears on the Isley Brothers’ 1975 album The Heat Is On. Beyoncé’s new album, RENAISSANCE, recently debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Ari Lennox has announced her second album, age/sex/location, which arrives on September 9 via Dreamville/Interscope. Along with the announcement, Lennox has shared a video for the new single ‘Hoodie’. Check it out below.
age/sex/location will follow Lennox’s 2019 debut Shea Butter Baby. ‘Hoodie’ is a collaboration with the R&B singer’s longtime Dreamville collaborator Elite, who helmed eight tracks on Shea Butter Baby.
M.I.A. has released ‘Popular’, another preview of her upcoming album MATA. A music video for the track will come out later today (August 12). Teasing the single on her Instagram page, M.I.A. wrote: “MIA IS DEAD AF, THE FUTURE IS HERE ITS MAI BITCHES [sic].” Streaming services list Diplo and Dutch-Israeli producer Boaz van de Beats as co-writers and producers on ‘Popular’. Listen to it below.
MATA, the follow-up to 2016’s AIM, does not have a release date as of yet. M.I.A. previously shared the singles ‘The One’ and ‘Babylon’.
Megan Thee Stallion is back with her second studio album, 
Hudson Mohawke has returned with his third studio album, 
Panda Bear and Sonic Boom’s collaborative effort, 
The duo of Nick Sanborn and Amelia Meath have put out their latest album, 
Danger Mouse and Black Thought have dropped their new collaborative album, Cheat Codes, via 
Rat Tally, the moniker of Chicago singer-songwriter Addy Harris, has released her debut LP, 
Claudia Ferme, who records as Claude, has issued her debut album, a lot’s gonna change, via 
Boris have released the third album in their Heavy Rocks series and their second project of 2022, following January’s W. Out now on 
Kiwi Jr.’s third album, 
The Distance Between Heart and Mouth is the debut solo album by Cork-based musician Elaine Howley, known for her work with Crevice, Howlbux, and The Altered Hours. A collection of lo-fi pop tracks recorded on a 4-track cassette machine throughout 2019 and 2020, the LP was previewed with the singles ‘Silent Talk’ and ‘To the Test’. “I was thinking a lot about the themes of silencing and communication,” Howley explained in a statement. “My voice and a lot of my feelings were buried and I wanted to push that out using music. That is the intention of this album – trying to be brave enough to share and to open up; along with the internal and external barriers that exist when it comes to doing that.”
