Weird Nightmare, the new project of METZ guitarist and singer Alex Edkins, has shared a new song called ‘Lusitania’. It’s set to appear on the forthcoming self-titled LP alongside last month’s single ‘Searching For You’. Check out a Colin Medley-directed video for the track below.
“‘Lusitania’ was a big breakthrough for the entire Weird Nightmare album. I realized that, musically, my goal was to make songs that would make people feel good,” Edkins explained in a statement. “This idea of waking up from a terrible dream or winter changing into spring. Momentary relief. We all need that feeling right now and music has always been what I turn to most.”
The Austin-based industrial duo Street Sects have returned with a new single called ‘History Is Everyone’s Fuck’. It’s taken from Gentrification V: Whitewashed, the final installment in a five-part serial album that began eight years ago as part of a series of seven inches. ‘History Is Everyone’s Fuck’ serves as the B-side to the single, which was mixed and mastered by Seth Manchester and arrives on May 20 (via The Flenser) ahead of the band’s tour with HEALTH and Perturbator. Give it a listen below.
Kevin Morby has shared a new single, ‘Rock Bottom’, lifted from his forthcoming record This Is a Photograph. The song features album producer Sam Cohen on bass, backing vocals by Cassandra Jenkins, and laugh tracks from Tim Heidecker and Alia Shawkat. It arrives with a music video directed by Johnny Eastlund and featuring Tim Heidecker and nunchucker Ariel Kelloggdirected. Check it out below.
Of the song and video, Morby said in a statement:
I’d often pass a mural of the late James Lee Lindsey Jr. on Main Street (in Memphis) which eventually lead me down a rabbit hole to revisiting his body of work including watching the 2009 documentary filmed during his last days, Better Than Something. I was taken by how similar his story was to that of many other American icons that were ahead of their time and too-quickly rose from the bottom to the top, inevitably burning out. I read that his stage name, Jay Reatard, was worn as a badge of honor after years of being picked on in grade school – which may or may not be why on the cover of his seminal album Blood Visions he’s covered in blood as a nod to Sissy Spacek’s character in Carrie. Because of this I chose to begin the song by repeating ‘they’re all gonna laugh at you!’ When in the studio I pointed at the last Reatard’s album, Grown Up, Fucked Up as a reference for what I was trying to achieve sonically.
For the video, director Johnny Eastlund and I decided we wanted to make an Ice Cream themed Nunchucking Western so I tagged in one of my instagram nunchuck idols Ariel Kellog to help me battle an evil talent show judge, played by Tim Heidecker, who is taunting his contestants, most notably a little girl in a bumble bee costume. The video also features comedian Caleb Heron, my bandmate Cyrus Gengras, Azniv Korkejian (aka Bedouine), Jess Wolfe (who is 1/2 of Lucius), and more.
Today, Morby is also launching a newsletter on Substack called Kevin Morby’s Fam Club. This Is a Photograph, the follow-up to 2020’s Sundowner, is out May 13 via Dead Oceans. Morby previously unveiled the album’s title track.
Silk Sonic will open the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which take place this Sunday, April 3 in Las Vegas. Billie Eilish, BTS, Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, John Legend, J Balvin with Maria Becerra, and Carrie Underwood are also set to perform at the ceremony, which will feature a tribute to late Foo Fighters’ drummer Taylor Hawkins, according to a report from Variety.
Foo Fighters were added to the slate of performers at this year’s Grammys on March 24, and Hawkins died the following day in Bogotá, Colombia at the age of 50. The band canceled all of their upcoming tour dates earlier this week, but has not commented on the performance.
The duo of Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars performed ‘Leave the Door Open’ at last year’s Grammys, making their TV debut on the show. The song is nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song.
Home Is Where and Denton, Texas-based hardcore outfit Record Setter have announced a split EP called dissection lesson. The record features a guest appearance from Soul Glo on one of the Home Is Where tracks. It’s out on April 15 via Topshelf and Father/Daughter Records, and today, each band is sharing one of their songs from the project. Listen to Home Is Where’s ‘names’ and Record Setter’s ‘plain english’ below, and scroll down for the split’s cover artwork (by Connie Sgarbossa of SeeYouSpaceCowboy) and tracklist below.
“[We] wanted to make something unabashedly trans. Two trans bands. Songs about trans issues. Cover by a trans artist. We wanted to make something for the girls to pop off to,” Home Is Where’s Brandon MacDonald said in a statement.
Kelly Lee Owens has announced a new album called LP.8. The follow-up to 2020’s Inner Song arrives on April 29 digitally, with a physical release to follow on June 10 via Smalltown Supersound. Today, the British producer and musician has shared two album tracks, ‘Sonic 8’ and ‘Olga’. Listen to them and find the album’s cover art and tracklist below, along with Owens’ upcoming tour dates.
Owens worked on the record with noise artist Lasse Marhaug, who is known for his work with Merzbow, Sunn O))), and Jenny Hval. “For me, 8 meant completion — an album that will ripple infinitely with me personally,” Owens explained in a press release.
LP.8 Cover Artwork:
LP.8 Tracklist:
1. Release
2. Voice
3. Anadlu
4. S.O (2)
5. Olga
6. Nana Piano
7. Quickening
8. One
9. Sonic 8
Kelly Lee Owens Tour Dates:
Fri Jun 3 – Melbourne, AU – Rising Festival Hub
Sat Jun 4 – Sydney, AU – Motorik [DJ Set]
Wed Jun 15 – Milan, IT – Magnolia Fest
Sun Jun 19 – Dublin, IE – Body & Soul Festival
Sat Jun 25 – Bristol, UK – Bristol Sounds
Sat Jul 2 – Roskilde, DK – Roskilde Festival
Fri Jul 8 – Bilbao, ES – Bilbao BBK Live Fest
Sun Jul 10 – Modena, IT – Artivive Festival
Fri Jul 22 – Macclesfield, UK – Bluedot
Sat Jul 23 – Hertfordshire, UK – Standon Calling Festival
Sat Jul 30 – London, UK – South Facing
Sun Jul 31 – Sicily, IT – Ortigia Sound System Festival [DJ Set]
Sat Aug 20 – Hasselt, BE – Pukkelpop
Sun Aug 21 – Biddinghuizen, NE – Lowlands Festival
Kae Tempest has enlisted Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten for the new track ‘I Saw Light’. It’s taken from Tempest’s forthcoming album The Line Is a Curve, which is out on April 8 via Fiction Records. Listen below.
The Line Is a Curve, Tempest’s fourth album, was produced by longtime collaborator Dan Carey. It includes the previously released singles ‘No Prizes’ featuring Lianne La Havas, ‘More Pressure’ with BROCKHAMPTON’s Kevin Abstract, and ‘Salt Coast’.
Philadelphia’s Mannequin Pussy have announced a run of UK and Ireland dates for the summer. The tour kicks off on June 22 at London’s EartH and will conclude with a performance at Two Thousand Trees Festival in Cheltenham, with more festival appearances to be announced. Check out the band’s itinerary below.
Last year, Mannequin Pussy released their Perfect EP, which landed on our list of the best EPs of 2021. Their last album was 2019’s Patience.
Mannequin Pussy 2022 UK Tour Dates:
Jun 22 – London – EartH
Jun 25 – Manchester, Outbreak Festival
Jun 26 – Broadcast, Glasgow
Jun 27 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Jun 28 – Bodega, Nottingham
Jun 30 – Elsewhere, Margate
Jul 1 – Green Door Store, Brighton
Jul 2 – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
Jul 5 – Future Yard, Birkenhead
Jul 6 – Dolans, Limerick
Jul 7 – Workman’s Club, Dublin
Jul 9 – Two Thousand Trees Festival, Cheltenham
Japanese Breakfast has shared a cover of Bon Iver’s ‘Skinny Love’. The rendition arrives as part of a special edition of the Spotify Singles series celebrating the Best New Artist category at this year’s Grammys. Listen to it below, along with a re-recorded version of ‘Be Sweet’.
“We decided to record Bon Iver’s ‘Skinny Love’ because it felt like a very surprising cover for Japanese Breakfast,” Michelle Zauner said in a statement. “It’s so moving and sparse. We felt we could add some interesting instrumentation to the track and celebrate our fellow label mate Bon Iver.”
Fellow BNA nominee FINNEAS also covered a Bon Iver song for the series, offering his take on ‘Flume’. Earlier this week, Arlo Parks shared her version of KAYTRANADA and Syd’s ‘You’re the One’. The 64th annual Grammy Awards take place this Sunday, April 3.
Last year, Japanese Breakfast collaborated with Spotify for their Live at Electric Lady EP series.
sadie, the moniker of Brooklyn producer and songwriter Anna Schwab, has announced her debut EP. Nowhere, which was co-produced by Joe Valle (Wet) and Maya Laner (True Blue & Porches), is out June 21. To mark the announcement, sadie has shared a video for the EP’s title track, which follows last month’s lead single ‘4am’. Check out the Matt Hixon-directed visual below.
“‘Nowhere’ is sort of about listlessness, and about the slippery quality of emotions—it’s about feeling a sense of purpose and joie de vivre for a moment, and losing it the minute you feel it,” saide explained in a press release. “I usually find the minute I name, or recognize, a feeling—it’s gone. And then the memory of the feeling, and the desire to feel it again, makes its absence more acute. I wrote the song in early spring. I find the world takes on a sort of manic happiness and electric hum at the first signs of spring, and it’s always the time of year when I feel the most low. “April is the cruelest month,” as TS Eliot says. So I wanted to juxtapose those feelings with bubblegum melodies and the sort of ice-cream truck inspired synths you hear in the background, to help capture that sense of dissonance.”
