Muse have announced a companion film to their 2018 LP Simulation Theory. Part concert film and part narrative movie, it was directed by previous collaborator Lance Drake and follows a group of scientists who “investigate the source of a paranormal anomaly appearing around the world,” according to a press release. The concert portion of the film was shot at London’s O2 Arena in September of last year. Check out the trailer below.
“The goal for Simulation Theory was to capture the scale of the electrifying live show and to expand upon its connection to the DNA of the world we built for the past three years in music videos for Muse,” Lance Drake explained in a statement. “In a strange turn, the film’s alternate reality eerily started to mirror our own.”
Less than a year after releasing his last studio album Miami Memory, Alex Cameron has announced an accompanying EP titled Miami Memories, out August 21 via Secretly Canadian. The EP will feature stripped-back versions of songs from the LP, including a newly unveiled demo of ‘Gaslight’. Check it out below, along with the rest of the tracklist.
Cameron described Miami Memory as a “gift to my girlfriend” and “a symbol to hoist on the totem of love”. Cameron’s girlfriend, Jemima Kirke, who starred in the music video for the title track, also appears in the Miami Memories artwork.
Miami Memories Tracklist:
1. Far From Born Again (Demo)
2. Gaslight (Demo)
3. Miami Memory (Demo)
4. PC With Me (Demo)
Just today, Nynne Kunde, the designer of NYNNE delivered a beautiful SS21 collection at the Copenhagen Fashion Week via a digital film.
As a label, NYNNE focuses on exceptional fit, pragmatic design and luxurious details. It aims to empower women in their day to day life through positive and practical pieces.
Hailing from Seattle, Washington, Black Ends are a self-described ‘gunk pop’ group consisting of singer/guitarist Nicolle Swims, bassist Ben Swanson, and drummer Jonny Modes. Last month, they released Stay Evil, the follow-up to their 2019 EP Sellout. As hinted by the record’s cover artwork, the 4-track EP has a surreal quality about it, at once bizarre and electrifying. The pure dynamism of the band is evident from the first moments of the mesmerizing, propulsive title track, which showcases Swims’ strangely hypnotic vocals as she proclaims “I’m not paranoid”. Listening to the rest of the EP, however, feels much like spiralling into some sort of neurotic fantasy: ‘Monday Mourning’ carries with it the same kind of raucous energy, this time with more of a grunge flair. But perhaps the EP’s biggest highlight is ‘Live in the Sea’, which evokes the disquieting intimacy of Kurt Cobain’s acoustic demos. “What’s the use in crying? I live in the sea,” Swims repeats over and over, as Maxwell Patterson provides some utterly chaotic percussion that swirls around like a hungry tide. Swims leaves us with the raw power of her voice: “Am I warm?” she cries out on the closing track ‘Low’. As absurd as music like this can get, Black Ends aren’t afraid to hit you with a wave of unadulterated emotion.
We caught up with Nicole Swims of Black Ends 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.
How did you form Black Ends?
Black Ends was my project for a while before I moved to Seattle. I decided I wanted to start a band to finally get these songs going once I moved. Ben reached out to me and asked to play bass and Jonny was playing drums at a house show and I loved his playing so reached out to him to see if he’d be interested in being in our band.
What are some of your influences across the group?
I’m really into Nirvana and Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith. Stuff like that. I really like dark pop music if you could call it that. Jonny and Ben kind of just listen to chiptune and French black metal. They also really love listening to the Barney theme song on a loop for hours. Pretty disturbing honestly.
What was the inspiration for your ‘Stay Evil’ EP?
No idea. I just wrote the songs and thought they sounded good. I was inspired by the things around me. Books, movies, songs. The world in general.
How was your approach different from your previous releases?
This time was a bit different just because we recorded basically everything besides Monday Mourning in Jonny’s basement. Low was recorded mostly at my house during Covid because we couldn’t really do much else.
What’s your favourite track from the EP, and why?
‘Live in the Sea’ is probably my favorite track from the EP just because it’s rambunctious and calming at the same time. Maxwell really did the song justice and made it so fun to listen to. I just love that track.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
I’ll probably record some demos. Maybe do a few music videos and just kind of promote the EP as best as possible. It’s kind of hard to know what will really come along since things are so all over the place right now. I just hope we stay creative through all of this.
The Mountain Goats have revealed details for their second album of 2020: Getting Into Knives comes out October 23rd via Merge, according to the band’s Bandcamp page. Below, check out the new track from the LP, titled ‘As Many Candles As Possible’, and scroll down for the album’s cover artwork and tracklist.
The 13-track LP was produced, mixed, and engineered by Matt Ross-Spang and recorded at Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis, Tennessee between March 1–6, with assistance from Wesley Graham. The cover art was designed by Daniel Murphy.
“If I told you all how much fun we had making this one you wouldn’t even believe me but we hope it comes through,” reads a statement from the band. “Dedicated to the secret priests of the Bell Swamp, those oracles of Brunswick County, wizards of Winnabow, night lords of the thousand acres: whose domain yet grows, may its borders encompass the sky and all beyond.”
Getting into Knives will mark John Darnielle and company’s 19th studio album, following on from this year’s Songs for Pierre Chuvin, which was released in April.
Helena Deland has announced her debut full-length album, Someone New, out October 16 via Luminelle. The Montreal singer-songwriter has also unveiled the title track, alongside an accompanying music video directed by Xavier Bélanger-Dorval. Check it out below, and scroll for the album’s cover artwork and tracklist.
“‘Someone New”’ is about the validation and relief from one’s internal world that a romantic encounter can offer, but also about becoming aware that there seems to be an expiry date on that type of opportunity for women,” Deland said in statement. “It ambivalently celebrates and condemns the idea of being in one’s ‘prime,’ as it is so rare that youth and self-understanding are simultaneous.”
Earlier in 2020, Deland released the track ‘Lylz’ from her upcoming album. In 2018, she put out four volumes in her Altogether Unaccompanied series.
Someone New Cover Artwork:
Someone New Tracklist:
1. Someone New
2. Truth Nugget
3. Dog
4. Fruit Pit
5. Pale
6. Comfort, Edge
7. The Walk Home
8. Seven Hours
9. Smoking at the Gas Station
10. Lylz
11. Mid-Practice
12. Clown Neutral
13. Fill the Rooms
Sylvan Esso have shared a new single from their upcoming album titled ‘Rooftop Dancing’. The bright, heartwarming new track arrives with an accompanying video directed and produced by Cheryl Dunn. Check it out below.
“Sunlight beaming out over the bridge/ We’re all running, outrunning death,” Amelia Meath sings atop tender electronics. “Summertime breaking but we’re chasing it/ Forever rooftop dancing.”
Last month, the indie pop duo announced their new album Free Love, out September 25 via Loma Vista, along with the release of the single ‘Ferris Wheel’. They first teased new music with the 90-second track ‘What If‘.
Vic Mensa has dropped a new song titled ‘No More Teardrops’. Marking the Chicago rapper’s first new music of 2020, it features appearances from Malik Yusef and Wyatt Waddell. Listen to it below.
The track, which was first teased earlier this month during a three-song virtual set for Lollapalooza, addresses police brutality in the wake of the killing of George Floyd while also criticizing white anti-maskers. “Police cars on fire in the streets/ Tear gas and the dogs on a leash/ The scene seem like something in the ’60s,” he raps, later adding: “White folks protesting cause they can’t leave/ Try twenty-five to life, that’s a real quarantine/ They just take the mask off when they can’t breathe/ But we got officers knees in our esophagus.”
Writing on Instagram, Mensa promised new music is coming soon: “But I can say that Vic is back creating the best music he’s ever made in his entire life. Be prepared. Love y’all, support bro every step. 2020 is ours.”
‘No More Teardrops’ will appear on an upcoming Roc Nation compilation titled Reprise. A few days ago, Jorja Smith also shared a new song from the project, which “hopes to bring awareness to social justice issues”, with a portion of the proceeds going to “funding organizations that support victims of police brutality, hate crimes, and other violations of civil rights.”
Hayley Williams has unveiled a cover of Radiohead‘s ‘Fake Plastic Trees’, from their 1955 studio album The Bends. Give it a listen below.
The singer-songwriter shared the cover on Instagram, writing: “the top requested song throughout my brief career in self-serenadism has been a @radiohead song. seemed sacrilegious at first until i realized that the band themselves have never once regarded what they do as precious or never-to-be-toyed with. they are never beholden to any one version of their expression and public affections don’t seem to sway them.”
She continued: “so many times people thought they were at their best only for them to bloom more beautifully into something unexpected and unequivocally better. for a time i pretended to be over Radiohead (iiii knowwww) but good good things always find you and welcome you back. so, in admiration of one of the best bands of all time – and in humility to everyone who did *not* ask for this – here’s a self-serenade of “Fake Plastic Trees”. enjoy it if you can.”
Williams said that this would be “the last of the self-serenades”, at least for a while – previously, the Paramore singer shared covers of Phoebe Bridgers, Tegan And Sara, SZA, and Björk. Earlier this year, she released her solo debut LP, Petals for Armour.
Throughout the week, we update our Best New Songs playlist with the new releases that caught our attention the most, be it a single leading up to the release of an album or a newly unveiled deep cut. And each Monday, we round up the best new songs released over the past week (the eligibility period begins on Monday and ends Sunday night) in this segment.
This week, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion came through with what might just be the sexiest banger of the summer; Kelly Lee Owens shared a meditative, evocative new track with none other than John Cale; Filipino-British indie artist beabadoobee served up the grungy ‘Sorry’, the second from her upcoming album to make it to our Best New Songs playlist; SG Lewis released a sleek, effortlessly danceable new collaboration with Robyn and Chanel Tres; and the South-London based alternative R&B artist Sola delivered a sensual, dynamic new track with ‘Mami Wata’.
2020 is ours.”
