As teased, Lil Nas X has shared a brand new song called ‘Holiday’, his first solo single in more than a year. It arrives with a futuristic Gibson Hazard-directed music video set on Christmas eve in the North Pole, with the rapper taking on the role of Santa Claus as he oversees his team of robotic elves. Watch it below.
Following the viral success of ‘Old Town Road’ in the spring of 2019, Lil Nas X released his debut 7 EP last June. Earlier this year, he won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for his ‘Old Town Road’ remix with Billy Ray Cyrus.
In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on November 13th, 2020:
AC/DC, POWER UP
AC/DC are back with their seventeenth studio album, POWER UP, out now via Columbia. It’s the first album to feature the band’s surviving classic line-up of Brian Johnson, Phil Rudd, Cliff Williams, and Angus Young since 2008’s Black Ice. Though the late guitarist Malcolm Young did co-write 2014’s Rock or Bust, he did not appear on the album due to his declining health. In 2015, Rudd left AC/DC following legal issues, and a year later, Johnson had to exit the band’s tour due to hearing loss. POWER UP includes the previously released singles ‘Shot in the Dark’ and ‘Realize’ and was made in collaboration with producer Brendan O’Brien, who also worked on the band’s previous two albums.
BENEE, Hey u x
BENEE has come through with her debut studio album, Hey u x, out now via Republic. The New Zealand artist’s 13-track LP features guest contributions from Lily Allen, Grimes, Flo Milli, Gus Dapperton, Mallrat, Kenny Beats, Bakar, and Muroki and includes the previously released singles ‘Happen to Me’, ‘Plain’, ‘Supalonely’, ‘Night Garden’, and ‘Snail’. The album was made over the course of New Zealand’s two lockdown periods; it was the intimate nature of the creative process that inspired its title. “I feel like ‘Hey u x’ is something that you send to a mate, or someone you have a thing with,” BENEE said in an interview with FLOOD Magazine. “I wanted this album to feel very personal to whoever is listening to it. I want it to feel like a conversation between them and I.”
Chris Stapleton, Starting Over
Chris Stapleton has released his new album, Starting Over, out now via Mercury Records Nashville. Completed in late February just days before lockdown began, the follow-up to 2017’s From A Room: Volume 1 and 2 contains fourteen tracks, including covers of John Fogerty’s ‘Joy Of My Life’ and Guy Clark’s ‘Worry B Gone’. “This record has a lot of depth in it,” Stapleton told Tenessean. “It has a lot of variance in tone and music. It feels a little a bit like not a complete departure, but a little different lane to some of the things we’ve done. But it still very much sounds like the things that we do.”
Told Slant,Point The Flashlight and Walk
This is the third album from Told Slant, the folk-rock project of Brooklyn songwriter Felix Walworth. Their first album in four years, Point The Flashlight and Walk is out now via Double Double Whammy and follows 2016’s Going By. The album was mixed by KT Pipal and mastered by Josh Bonati, while the cover artwork was created by Thea Kliros and Amalia Soto. Prior to its release, Told Slant shared the singles ‘Family Still’, ‘No Backpack’, ‘Run Around The School’, and ‘Whirlpool’.
Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin, FlySiifu’s
Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin have teamed up for a new collaborative project titled FlySiifu’s, out now via Lex Records. Centered around the concept of the two prolific rappers running a fictional record store, the album features guest appearances from Liv.e, $ILKMONEY, Fousheé, and B. Cool-Aid, as well as production credits from Madlib, Jay Versace, Richmond beatmaker Graymatter, and more. It includes the previously released tracks ‘Dollar Dr. Dream’, ‘Mind Right’, and ‘Richard Pryor’.
Billie Eilish is back with a new song called ‘Therefore I Am’. The follow-up to ‘my future’ arrives with a self-directed music video shot at the deserted Glendale Galleria, where Eilish used to hang during her early teens. Check it out below.
Run the Jewels have shared a new track called ‘No Save Point’. It’s taken from the soundtrack for Polish video game developer CD Projekt Red’s long-awaited Cyberpunk 2077. Each of the musicians who contributed original music have taken on alter egos to fit into the game’s dystopian setting, and the duo of El-P and Killer Mike appear not as Run the Jewels but Yankee & the Brave (in reference to their RTJ4 track of the same name). Check out ‘No Save Point’ below.
As part of Run the Jewels’ collaboration with Cyberpunk, the duo is releasing an exclusive merch line with RTJ-inspired images that feature in the game, including a RTJ x CP heavyweight hoodie, t-shirts, and accessories. The limited Run The Jewels x Cyberpunk 2077 collection launches this weekend.
RTJ4, the group’s latest studio album, dropped back in June. Cyberpunk 2077 was originally scheduled for release on April 16, but has been pushed back multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The game is now set to arrive on December 10. A$AP Rocky, Nina Kraviz, Grimes, and more also contributed to the soundtrack.
Goldensuns, a band made of brothers Chase, Jantzen, and Weston, have revealed their newest song ‘Cover It Up’ — today. The single is the third to be released before their big EP release in 2021, the last two being ‘Can’t Care Too Much’ and ‘Denandra Moore.’
‘Cover It Up’ is much more of an impassioned, melancholic piece by the band compared to the two previous songs. It’s a reminiscent-like piece that still drives on the dreamy vibe that Goldensuns present throughout discography, imperceptibly juxtaposing to the tension of the current political climate but still maintaining a mood of sadness, bringing us back to the reality of the situation we are facing.
Francis of Delirium – the Canadian-American, Luxembourg-based duo led by 19-year-old Jana Bahrich alongside collaborator Chris Hewett – have announced their sophomore EP, Wading. The follow-up to this year’s All Change EP is for release next February via Dalliance Recordings and includes the newly unveiled single ‘Lakes’. Check it out below, alongside an accompanying music video.
“The main idea in ‘Lakes’ is that we are all fed by other people (or other “rivers”) to eventually form who we are, one large lake fed by other water streams, one community,” Bahrich explained in a press release. “Left emptied and lost, you begin to lose your sense of self. Your anchor was the people around you, and now you’re tied to nothing, floating around in a space alone.”
The accompanying visual is made up mostly of footage Bahrich’s grandfather took around the 70s. “Through the music video I wanted to find identity through family and heritage,” she said. “I never really developed a relationship with my grandfather and I found a large sense of self through making the video. Many tears were shed.”
Bahrich previously served as the songwriter, videographer and artwork creator on All Change, but Wading finds her also taking the role of co-producer. The EP was mixed by Gabe Wax (Adrianne Lenker, Palehound, Squirrel Flower), while Joe Lambert (The National, Sharon Van Etten, Dirty Projectors) handled the mastering.
Multi-talented LA artist Ayoni was staggeringly quick on her feet establishing herself as a one to watch in music. As soon as the 21-year-old Barbados-born singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist dropped her self-composed and self-produced debut album, Iridescent, the critics (who got the memo) instantly took notice. Led by Ayoni’s remarkable, radiant voice, the boundary-breaking project melds rich, rousing electro-pop soundscapes packed with global beats and diverse vocal arrangements wrapped in sensitive, expressive lyricism. Other than Iridescent’s vibrant instrumentation and universally appealing melodies, what instantly hits is that Ayoni’s vocals are phenomenal. She has huge range and a rarely seen acrobatic ability to slip between high and low notes, a skill best exemplified in the exultant trills of her uplifting ‘Santa Monica’ and throughout soulful power-ballad, ‘September’. Since her glittering first project, Ayoni has gone on to release a spate of singles, including the poignant soul track ‘Unmoved (A Black Woman’s Truth)’ and her energetic, gloriously harmonised pop single, ‘All Out of Love’ (co-written by songwriter and producer, Stark). With the release of the ebullient Namy collab, ‘Disco Dancing’, last month, it really feels like Ayoni has industry-conquering potential, and we can’t wait to see where her creativity takes her next.
We caught up with Ayoni for this edition of our Artist Spotlight series, where we showcase up-and-coming artists and give them a chance to talk about their music.
What first made you want to pursue music?
My infatuation with divine experiences is what initially drew me into music. Growing up in the church, worship was always an integral and grounding part of my weeks. A church I used to attend in Oakland had an incredible worship program where I regularly heard layered harmonies and improvisation which I would consider two central aspects of my sound.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Life is the ultimate muse for me. I’m a lover of feelings and emotions and the metrics of human experiences. I try to draw upon places that I have lived or travelled to and lessons I’m currently exploring in my own life as a source of inspiration. At the core of it all, though, I’m trying to tell stories about those experiences that might save someone else from the same foolish mistakes.
Who are your influences, and what music are you loving right now?
I’ve recently been most influenced by Moses Sumney, Lianne La Havas, JAiRUS, and Dijon. They are so intentional with their soundscapes and melodies in a way that is sure of itself – like a running river. It’s a practice of tapping into the divine that can’t be manufactured, and it’s been inspiring me so much in my own work. I was raised by Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Frank Ocean, Bon Iver, Adele, and Lorde. I love artists who are storytellers by nature and definitely aim to recreate that level of truth and bravery in my own music.
What are your thoughts on the music industry as it stands?
The music industry as it stands remains exploitative and unwilling to invest in new stories and innovators. Numbers and data take precedent over talent and intention which makes the path longer for artists looking to preserve their artistic integrity and protect their stories, while also needing to support their finances sustainably. That being said, I’m moving in alignment with my purpose and am supported by a growing community of lovely people. Despite my human moments of doubt, I really really believe in myself – so that will need to be enough.
You had a really great first outing with your debut album, Iridescent. What do you think was the secret to its success?
Thank you! I tried to be as honest as I was able at the time, and I think that is at the core of connections made from/with my music. I think people are really over-saturated with content made to be shallowly engaged with, but still be entertained by, and I think that there are many people who are just heavy and burdened with all the agreements life necessitates who want to feel something real. I think my art resonates with people because there’s a beautiful humanity to my creations. I want to honour what it means to be alive and to love and to hurt and to mourn and to grow and so I wanted my first proper project to cost me something – and also cost my listener too. To demand my listener to be present is my ultimate goal.
What’s the most important thing for you in your work?
My ultimate motive is to make revolution irresistible. To make dreaming the bare minimum and our elevation a requirement. Socially we’ve been stagnant for too long. This year has been just unbearably long for me. Unpacking fascism, and capitalism, and the desire of too many to dominate and control has been mentally draining. As a result, the urgency of the times have enabled me to realise my responsibility as an artist to open conversations – and I think that is my path forward. I don’t need to be your role model. I definitely don’t even need you to like me, but I do need the urgency of my messages to be honoured and I won’t allow my talent to be dismissed. I say all that to say that freedom is the most important thing to me and my work. Freedom to speak truth to power.
You recently released your groovy 80’s inspired single, ‘Disco Dancing’ – do you have any more music on the way?
I’m working on my debut album right now. It’s in its infancy which I love because I get to ask myself the most interesting questions about the stories I want to tell.
Kylie Minogue was the musical guest on last night’s episode of The Late Show With Steven Colbert. Playing in front of a bright backdrop and joined by two dancers, the singer performed the DISCO highlight ‘Magic’. Watch it below.
DISCO, Minogue’s 15th studio album, was released last Friday. The follow-up to 2018’s Golden includes the previously released singles ‘Say Something’, ‘Magic’, and ‘I Love It’. Read our review of the album here.
Tame Impala appeared on BBC Radio 1’s Future Sounds With Annie Mac yesterday (November 11) to perform a live session from Kevin Parker’s home studio. Playing as a trio, the band performed a cover of Nelly Furtado’s ‘Say It Right’, from the singer’s 2006 album Loose. Watch it below, along with a performace of The Slow Rush track ‘Is It True’.
The Slow Rush was released back in February. Blood Orange recently shared a remix of the album track ‘Borderline’, which Tame Impala performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon!. Last month, Kevin Parker covered John Lennon’s ‘Jealous Guy’.
AC/DC have shared the second single from their upcoming album POWER UP. Listen to ‘Realize’ below.
The new track follows lead single ‘Shot in the Dark’, which marked the band’s first new song in years with the surviving classic lineup of Angus Young, Brian Johnson, Phil Rudd, and Cliff Williams. AC/DC worked on the new album with producer Brendan O’Brien, who also worked on 2008’s Black Ice and 2014’s Rock or Bust. POWER UP comes out tomorrow (November 13) and is available in multiple formats, including a limited deluxe edition featuring a light-up box with built-in speakers that play a portion of ‘Shot In The Dark’, a 20-page booklet, and more.
AC/DC
BENEE
Chris Stapleton
This is the third album from Told Slant, the folk-rock project of Brooklyn songwriter Felix Walworth. Their first album in four years, 
Pink Siifu
