Now, Now are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their breakout sophomore album Threads with a limited deluxe edition that features new B-sides and demos. Out now digitally via Chris Walla’s Trans- Records, with pre-orders for cassette and vinyl starting in May, the reissue includes the previously unreleased tracks ‘Comfortable’ and ‘Shifting’ as well as seven demos and expanded liner notes. Stream it below.
The Minneapolis band followed up Threads with Saved, which came out in 2018.
Nilüfer Yanya performed her PAINLESS single ‘midnight sun’ on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night (March 11), wearing the pair of giant pink angel wings from the song’s video. Watch the performance below.
PAINLESS, Yanya’s sophomore LP following 2019’s Miss Universe, arrived earlier this month. The London songwriter is currently on a European tour in support of the album, and will head to the US next month. She last appeared on Fallon in February 2020, performing ‘Crash’ from her Feeling Lucky? EP.
Maren Morris has shared the latest single from her upcoming album Humble Quest, which is set to arrive on March 25 via Columbia Nashville. Written by Morris, Jimmy Robbins and her the Highwomen bandmate Natalie Hemby, ‘Nervous’ follows previous offerings ‘Circles Around This Town’ and ‘Background Music’. Listen to it below.
Chelsea Wolfe has shared a cover of Arthur Field’s ‘Oui Oui Marie’ as part of the soundtrack to the upcoming A24 horror film X. Wolfe and Tyler Bates composed the score for the film, which is directed by Ti West and stars Kid Cudi, Mia Goth, Jenny Ortega, and Brittany Snow. Check out Wolfe’s take on ‘Oui Oui Marie’ below.
According to the movie’s official synopsis, X is set in 1979 and follows “a group of young filmmakers [who] set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives.”
The film comes out in theaters on March 18, and the soundtrack is out on March 25.
X (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Tracklist:
1. My God
2. Maxine Meets Pearl
3. Theda
4. Pearl’s Lullaby
5. Fucking Finally
6. Pearl’s Rapture
7. Dolls
8. Pumping Gas
9. Our Secret
10. Use Your Telephone
11. We Talked About This
12. Nice Girl
13. Headlights
14. Sorry to Disturb You
15. The Cellar
16. What is it Baby?
17. I Was Young Once
18. Tell Me I’m Special
19. Maxine Grabs the Gun
20. Oui Oui Marie
21. Bring Our Daughters Home
Phoebe Bridgers has released an acoustic version of her Punisher highlight ‘Chinese Satellite’ as part of Secretly Canadian’s 25th anniversary singles series SC25. Bridgers recorded the new rendition in Los Angeles at Sound City Studios, and you can listen to it below.
Bridgers is set to kick off a world tour next month, which will keep her on the road throughout 2022. Last week, she shared a cover of Billie Eilish’s ‘When the Party’s Over’ , which premiered during the first episode of her new SiriusXM radio show named for her Saddest Factory label imprint.
Moderat – the electronic project of Modeselektor’s Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary and Apparat’s Sascha Ring – have shared a new song called ‘Easy Prey’. It’s set to appear on their forthcoming record MORE D4TA, the trio’s first album in six years, alongside lead single ‘Fast Land’. Give it a listen below.
MORE D4TA is set for release on May 13 via Monkeytown Records.
Sigrid has announced the details of her second album: How to Let Go is set to arrive on May 6. To accompany the announcement, the Norwegian pop artist has shared a video for her recent single ‘It Gets Dark’, which was created with ‘Mirror’ director Femke Huurdeman and CANADA. and sees Sigrid escaping into space. Check it out below, and scroll down for the album’s cover art and tracklist.
Commenting on the song and video, Sigrid said in a statement:
I believe you need to feel the lows in life to feel the highs, and you have to know what sucks to then properly appreciate the good stuff. It Gets Dark is an ode to that. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been as excited about a single release before. It’s the first song that was written for my upcoming album, and I remember the joy and relief when we figured out the soundscape. I was like FINALLY I know how this second record is gonna sound! The music video is the weirdest I’ve gone visually and I absolutely love it. We’re playing with planets, UFO’s and rooms all made by hand, as well as perspective, time and space. It’s the second time working with the brilliant Femke Huurdeman and Canada, and I’d literally do anything for that team; hence me being reborn out of a planet egg, flying in space with wind blowing in my face, punching a planet and wearing the Saturn ring on my head. It’s as ridiculously fun as it was making it: enjoy!
According to a press release, the follow-up to 2019’s Sucker Punch was written at a time when Sigrid was contemplating her life in Norway and her life outside of Norway. “They’re two different things,” she said. “The chill girl who loves to ski and hike and cook versus the other part of me that’s like ‘let’s go out’, or let’s play massive shows, go on stage and not be scared of anything. I used to be so shy as a kid but then when I’m on stage at Glastonbury for example I love losing myself in it.”
How to Let Go Cover Artwork:
How to Let Go Tracklist:
1. It Gets Dark
2. Burning Bridges
3. Risk Of Getting Hurt
4. Thank Me Later
5. Mirror
6. Last To Know
7. Dancer
8. A Driver Saved My Night
9. Mistake Like You
10. Bad life
11. Grow
12. High Note
Alanis Morissette has announced new dates for her world tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of Jagged Little Pill, marking the news with the release of a new single called ‘Olive Brach’. She’ll embark on a UK and European tour in June, with support from Beth Orton, before heading to North America in July and August, where she’ll be joined by Garbage. Listen to ‘Olive Branch’ and check out the list of dates below.
Jun 9 Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena*
Jun 12 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome*
Jun 14 Hamburg, Germany – Barclaycard Arena*
Jun 16 Paris, France – AccorHotels Arena*
Jun 19 Glasgow, UK – OVO HYDRO*
Jun 21 Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena*
Jun 23 Birmingham, UK – United Arena*
Jun 24 Leeds, UK – First Direct Arena*
Jun 25 Manchester, UK – Manchester Arena*
Jun 28 London, UK – The 02*
Jun 29 London, UK – The 02*
Jul 10 Ottawa, ON – Ottawa Bluesfest
Jul 12 Montreal, QC – Bell Centre^
Jul 13 London, ON – Rock The Park Fest
Jul 17 Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage^
Jul 19 Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts^
Jul 21 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Jul 23 Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheater^
Jul 24 St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center^
Jul 27 Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome^
Jul 28 Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place^
Jul 31 Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena^
Aug 2 Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater^
Aug 4 Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre^
Aug 6 Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
Jenny Hval has released Classic Objects, her first album for 4AD. The follow-up to 2019’s The Practice of Love was preceded by the singles ‘Jupiter’, ‘Year of Love’, and ‘Freedom’. Elaborating on the process of making the record in press materials, the Oslo-based artist wrote: “At the time, I was listening to devotional music, like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s qawwali recordings and Alice Coltrane’s ashram tapes. I think somehow this listening made me permeable, like I could find ways in and out of places. Past places, like the old empty Melbourne pubs my band used to play in. Places I missed, like public spaces. And imagined, future places, impossible places. Places only dreams, hallucinations, death or art can take you. Classic Objects is a map of those places. It is interested in combining heavenly things and plain things.”
Maia Friedman, known for her work with Dirty Projectors and Coco, has issued her debut solo album, Under the New Light, via Last Gang Records. The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist began working on the album four years ago, collaborating with Tom Deis and Peter Lalish, while Coco bandmate Dan Molad handled production. “I’m someone who has struggled with depression for as long as I can remember,” Friedman said in our Artist Spotlight interview. “There are peaks and valleys and waves, and I think a lot of the record is sort of me talking to myself, to reassure myself that it’ll all come out the other end and that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s me searching for that. My hope is that it will be comforting and grounding and calming and that it will provide a space of respite and almost – not escape, but sort of like a suspension from everything going around.”
Alex Cameron is back with a new LP. It’s called Oxy Music, and it’s out now via Secretly Canadian. Spanning nine songs, the follow-up to 2019’s Miami Memory features guest appearances from Lloyd Vines and Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson and was previewed with the tracks ‘Best Life’ and ‘Sara Jo’. “The album is a story, a work of fiction, mostly from the perspective of a man,” Cameron explained in a statement. “Starved of meaningful purpose, confused about the state of the world, and in dire need of a reason to live. This is one of those people.”
Drug Church have put out their fourth album, Hygiene, via Pure Noise Records. Following the 2018 LP Cheer and 2021’s Tawny EP, the Albany and Los Angeles-based band’s latest was recorded with producer/engineer Jon Markson. “I’m sure that my bandmates felt the upward momentum of Cheer and wanted to stick with that, but it’s hard to say what elements from Cheer resonated with people,” vocalist Patrick Kindlon told Stereogum. “This is a thing that happens to a lot of bands: they have some success, and then they misjudge on the next record what made that previous record a success. And honestly, you don’t know until you fail miserably. I would think that, and I haven’t discussed this with them, but I would think they wanted to write something that continued that upward lift while still being personally fulfilling enough to play every night.”
Richmond, Virginia rapper Fly Anakin has dropped his debut full-length, Frank, via Lex. The 17-track effort features guest appearances from Pink Siifu, Henny L.O., and Big Kahuna OG as well as production by Jay Versace, Madlib, Evidence, and others. Anakin previewed the LP with the tracks ‘Ghost’, ‘Sean Price’, ‘No Dough’, and ‘Black Be the Source’. Frank follows Anakin’s self-produced 2021 EP Pixotes as well as his recent collaborations with Pink Siifu: 2020’s FlySiifu’s and 2021’s Smokebreak EP. “I used to give myself 30 days to make a project and, if it was good, just put that shit out,” Anakin told Pitchfork. “That’s how I got my chops up. But Frank needed to be respected.”
Crease is the debut LP by Kee Avil, the project of Montréal producer and guitarist Vicky Mettler. The album, which draws influence from the likes of Scott Walker, Fionna Apple, early PJ Harvey, and Pan Daijing, was produced over a period of three years, without any particular narrative in mind. “Each [song] represents a certain moment in time, an emotion, exercise or spontaneous idea that creates its own world,” Mettler explained in press materials. “Each of these worlds was built without consideration for the other. It felt impossible to me, once I would enter the atmosphere of a song, to try to start another until that idea was finished. Once assembled, the album presents a narrative as the songs want it told.”
Widowspeak have returned with their sixth studio album, The Jacket. The follow-up to 2020’s Plum is out now via Captured Tracks and includes the previously shared singles ‘While You Wait’, ‘Everything Is Simple’, and the title track. “One big theme of this album is that people, and their motivations, are complex: there’s no one side of the story, no singular way to be, and it’s hard to fully know someone,” the duo explained in a statement. “In a band, you’re intertwined with others and necessarily trusting in that shared experience, but that perspective is also sort of a foil for examining other relationships and connections, jobs and endeavors, and thinking about what it means to have dreams for the future in any context.”
The Districts have a new album out via Fat Possum titled Great American Painting. The follow-up to 2020’s You Know I’m Not Going Anywhere was produced by Joe Chiccarelli and recorded at Sunset Sound in LA. “The last album almost felt like a recording project of my own rather than a band affair, so from the start the goal was to focus on what’s always worked well with us: an element of simplicity that’s still very powerful, with a lot of visceral rock-and-roll energy to it,” vocalist and guitarist Rob Grote said in a press release. “We usually love to just keep making everything louder, but this time there was a lot more attention paid to carving out space within the songs to really showcase each instrument,”
Belle and Sebastian have released a new song and video in support of those affected by the war in Ukraine. ‘If They’re Shooting at You’, which the band co-produced with Shawn Everett and Brian McNeill, features a visual collaboration with photographers covering the conflict in Ukraine. All artist income from the song will be directed to the Red Cross, and donations made via Bandcamp until March 18 will be matched by the UK government as part of the joint appeal with the Disasters Emergency Committee. Watch and listen below.
Frontman Stuart Murdoch said in a statement:
When the situation in Ukraine first started to happen it became clear that the lives of the people there, and probably “ours” too, were never going to be the same. The band had just started rolling out tracks for our new album, and it all felt a bit silly to be honest.
We had one track called “If They’re Shooting At You,” it’s a song about being lost, broken and under threat of violence. The key line is “if they’re shooting at you kid you must be doing something right.”
We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and hope that their pain and suffering can be brought to a halt as soon as possible.
We got in touch with various photographers and creatives in Ukraine and they generously said that we could put their pictures to music. In creating this we aspire to show a hopeful, defiant side, as well as bringing an awareness to the plight of the people there.
We think any way in which we can get behind Ukraine – politically, culturally, practically, spiritually – it must all add up in the end. Together we have to do what it takes to help Ukraine beat this tyranny.
Please consider giving to the Disasters Emergency Committee, The Red Cross, or any other humanitarian charity involved in the crisis.
If you choose to donate to the Red Cross, please visit here. They are part of the joint appeal with the DEC until March 18th, and money donated before then will be matched by the UK government.