Moses Sumney has shared his rendition of Ariana Grande‘s hit single ‘thank u, next’, from her 2019 album of the same name. Sumney’s slowed-down cover is available exclusively via Amazon Music. Check it out below.
Phoenix have shared a new song titled ‘Identical’. It’s taken from the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola’s upcoming movie On the Rocks, starring Bill Murray, Rashida Jones, and Marlon Wayans. It arrives with a video directed by Roman Coppola and dedicated to the the late Philippe Zdar. Check it out below.
Phoenix’s score for On the Rocks will mark their fifth film collaboration with Coppola, whose husband is Phoenix leader Thomas Mars. ‘Identical’ is also the first new music from the band since 2017’s Ti Amo. In a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Mars discussed working on the follow-up to that album: “There’s no coherence and it’s a little bit like our first record, maybe, United, which had songs that would explore heavy metal and then country music. And then this is the same sort of weird Frankenstein of an album,” he said.
Ben Gibbard performed two songs during a livestream concert for the 2020 Democratic National Convention. He played the Death Cab for a Cutie track ‘Northern Lights’ as well ‘Such Great Heights’, the hit song from his indie pop project The Postal Service, which he of course dedicated to the USPS. Check out his performance below.
“I think more than any election in my lifetime, this one is of paramount importance. And one of the many institutions outside of democracy that is very core that is under fire is that of the United States Postal Service,” Gibbard said during the livestream. “For those who are not aware, I was in a band called the Postal Service. We put out a record in 2003 and we made this music by sending CDs back and forth to each other … I think in the midst of this global pandemic, nothing is more important than to being able to vote safely and securely and vote by mail has shown to be that over and over and over again.”
As Stereogum notes, the US Postal Service originally sent a cease and desist notice to the band, but eventually agreed to give them free license to use the name in exchange for promoting them. The DNC also hosted performances from Billie Eilish, Maggie Rogers, Leon Bridges, Stephen Stills, Billy Porter, and John Legend.
Billie Eilish gave her latest single ‘my future’ its live debut while performing at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Check out her performance below.
In addition to performing her new song alongside her brother, Finneas, Eilish also encouraged her fans to vote and endorsed Joe Biden. “You don’t need me to tell you things are a mess. Donald Trump is destroying our country and everything we care about,” she said. “We need leaders who will solve problems like climate change and COVID, not deny them. Leaders who will fight against systemic racism and inequality. And that starts by voting for someone who understands how much is at stake. Someone who’s building a team that shares our values. It starts with voting against Donald Trump and for Joe Biden.”
“Silence is not an option, and we cannot sit this one out,” she concluded. “We all have to vote like our lives and the world depend on it because they do. The only way to be certain of the future is to make it ourselves. Please register, please vote.”
‘my future’ marks Eilish’s second new song of 2020, following her theme song for the James Bond film No Time to Die. Earlier this week, Maggie Rogers, Leon Bridges, Stephen Stills, Billy Porter, and John Legend all performed at the DNC.
When reviewing A. G. Cook‘s 49-track LP 7G, we said that it’s “just a hint a of what’s to come” – just a couple of days later, the PC Music founder has announced yet another album. Titled Apple, it’s comprised of 10 tracks and comes out September 18 via PC Music. Cook has also shared a new song from the album called ‘Oh Yeah’ alongside a self-directed music video featuring an adorable French bulldog. Check it out below, and scroll down for the album’s cover artwork and tracklist.
“The notion of pure, classic songwriting is one of the core aspects of the album and ‘Oh Yeah’ is maybe my most direct attempt,” Cook said in a statement. “I was really inspired by Shania Twain and how her clean, slinky vocals tell you as much about the song as her lyrics. The song itself—like most pop music—is really about confidence & escapism, and how bittersweet those things can feel.”
He added: “Apple is my own take on Personal Computer Music. I’ve always been interested in the blurred line between bedroom and professional studio production and at what point a personality either gets created or accidentally takes shape. For me, there’s a great sense of freedom in combining something slick with something naive reality where anything could happen.”
Arms That Fit Like Legs, an electronic-instrumental trio from Dublin, Ireland, have presented a magnificent groovy track named What It Is Is. The song comes from their forthcoming album which due to be released next year.
According to Arms That Fit Like Legs, the song was recorded during “a couple of socially-distanced Zoom session” — making it even more relevant to the times.
What It Is Is is available to be streamed via Spotify.
Arcade Fire‘s Will Butler has unveiled a new song called ‘Close My Eyes’, the latest single from his upcoming solo LP, Generations. It arrives with a self-directed music video featuring Butler rowing around in a boat built by his grandfather. Check it out below.
“I tried to make the lyrics a straightforward and honest description of an emotion I feel often—a drive for change coupled with despair,” Butler said in a statement about the track. “‘I’m tired of waiting for a better day. But I’m scared and I’m lazy and nothing’s gonna change.’ Kind of a sad song. Trying to tap into some Smokey Robinson/Motown feeling—‘I’ve got to dance to keep from crying.’”
Generations comes out September 25 via Merge. It follows Butler’s debut solo album, 2015’s Policy. Last month, Butler shared the lead single from the record, ‘Surrender’.
Dirty Projectors have announced a new EP titled Super João. It marks the third instalment of their five-EP run this year and arrives September 4 via Domino. The band have also unveiled a new single called ‘Holy Mackerel’, alongside an accompanying music video. Check it out below.
Each EP in the series will be fronted by a different member of the band, and Super João was written, produced, and performed by leader Dave Longstreth. The EP was recorded straight to tape in Los Angeles alongside Kyle Thomas (aka King Tuff), while Little Wings’ Kyle Field collaborated on the lyrics. As hinted at by its title, it’s partly inspired by João Gilberto, the Brazilian bossa nova pioneer who passed away last year.
The band have also announced that the sequence of five EPs will come out in one continuous, 20-track anthology called 5EPs upon the release of the final instalment. Previously, Dirty Projectors released Maia Friedman’s Windows Open and Felicia Douglass’ Flight Tower. Last month, they performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert.
Oslo-based singer-songwriter Siv Jakobsen makes ambient folk that swaddles you in its haunting yet gentle beauty. She released her first EP The Lingering back in 2015 and went on to tour alongside the likes of Benjamin Franciss Leftwich and Bear’s Den, following it up two years later with her stunning full-length debut The Nordic Mellow. After taking necessary break from touring and recording in 2018, she’s now back with the aptly titled A Temporary Soothing, out this Friday via U OK?, a cathartic release that couldn’t have come at a better time. Produced by Chris Bond (Ben Howard, Nick Mulvey) and mixed by Zach Hanson (Bon Iver, Tallest Man on Earth), the album sees Jakobsen refining her sound while retaining the intimately evocative qualities of her past work. Opener ‘Fear the Fear’ creates a stirring atmosphere with its lush cinematic strings and slow-burning outro, the pristine echo of the snare drum a testament to the attention placed on each element of the mix. There are even hints of The War on the Drugs’ driving electro-folk on ‘Island’, while tender closer ‘I Call it Love’ centers on a delicate piano arrangement and Jakobsen’s raw, vulnerable vocals. On the dazzling highlight ‘A Feeling Felt or a Feeling Made’, she presents us with a question that’s both poignant and timely: “I wonder if loneliness is a feeling felt or a feeling made/ Do we make it up as we go along/ To feed our poetic lines?”
We caught up with Siv Jakobsen 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 inspired you to start making music?
I’ve been into music for as long as I remember, I can’t remember a time where I didn’t feel a need to sing. As far as writing music, I started playing around with it a tiny bit in high-school, but didn’t get properly into it until my early 20’s. I had started listening to more and more music in the indie-folk and singer-songwriter genres, and a good friend of mine who is also a songwriter suggested I take a songwriting class in our college to try it out. It only took about a half a lesson for me to be completely hooked, and I’ve never looked back.
Who are some artists you look up to, and why?
There are many. Two that come to mind right now are Gregory Alan Isakov and Ane Brun – both incredible songwriters that have been able to stay independent with their music. I look to both of them for inspiration both musically and in how they manage themselves and their careers in the industry.
What were some of the ideas that went into the making of A Temporary Soothing?
At this point the record feels like a big melting pot of ideas, hunches, thoughts, dreams and emotions. A sort of guideline I gave myself when going into the writing process with this record was that I wanted to be less critical and nit-picky in regard to the songwriting. I tend to slave over lyrics for a really long time, but I wanted to let myself go a little to see what would happen. As far as the recording goes it was important to me that everyone involved felt free to try whatever ideas they had, no matter how crazy, no matter how weird. I wanted an atmosphere of absolute creative freedom, where we could have fun with the process. I think we were able to do that, and I feel it’s made the album feel creatively free as well. I also wanted to go in without too many set ideas of how I wished it to sound, to see what would happened if I let go a little more of controlling everything.
How was your approach different to The Nordic Mellow?
On The Nordic Mellow I definitely went in with a more set idea of what I wanted the record to sound like. I love that record a lot and definitely think that’s a good way to work, but I like to challenge myself, so it felt natural to take myself out of my controlled comfort zone and let someone else take the reins a bit more on A Temporary Soothing.
What was it like working with Chris Bond?
Chris is a fantastic producer and a really lovely person, it was a real treat to work with him. For most of the recording process it was just Chris, Bear Bond, and myself (Bear is the assistant producer and engineer on the record). That meant that we could all experiment more freely, there wasn’t really anyone else coming in, disturbing our little recording bubble.
What was your favourite track to record, and why?
Ask me every day of the week and I’ll likely have a different answer to this. I will say that Fear the Fear has a special place in my heart – that was the first track we did, it was a sort of tester to see if Chris, Bear and I were a good fit. We worked early AM to past midnight for two days on it, before I went straight to Spain for a gig. It was a bit of a whirlwind but I remember feeling so excited afterwards, knowing we had made something special.
What are your future plans?
My future plans are to just keep writing, recording and performing music, on repeat, for as long as I am able to. At the moment it’s hard to know how much of the performing aspect can happen, I guess we’ll just have to see.
Phoebe Bridgers has shared her performance of the Punisher tracks ‘ICU’ and ‘Halloween’ at the L.A. Coliseum. Filmed as part of Versus Creative’s new 50on50 series, the show took place in March of 2020, with just fifty fans in the audience. Check out both videos, directed by Tony Corella, below.
The performance marks the first episode in Versus Creative’s 50on50 series, which aims to showcase artists performing intimate shows in iconic stadium settings. “As an L.A. native, Phoebe Bridgers is the kind of artist that we want to see perform a hometown show for a packed Coliseum someday,” said Nate Auerbach, co-producer of 50on50, in a statement to The Fader.
He added: “I could not think of a better artist to launch this new series with us. We were so lucky to have filmed this right before everything locked down. For the people there, it was their first time hearing Phoebe’s new music, and probably their last time seeing a live show for a very long time.”
