Before the Mountain Goats became a real band, they were just John Darnielle, alone with an acoustic guitar, yelling fire and brimstone into a Panasonic boombox. And now, in these crazy mixed-up times we find ourselves in, that is what the Mountain Goats have once again become. For the past several weeks in quarantine, Darnielle […]
RMR – "Dealer" Video
Back in the long-ago nether-time of February, a strange video swam across our timelines. RMR, a masked and as-yet-unidentified singer, came out with his clip for “Rascal,” a lovely and minimal street-survival tale set to the tune of Rascal Flatts’ 2004 country power-ballad hit “Bless The Broken Road.” In the video, RMR and his friends […]
Midwife Releases New Album 'Forever': Stream
Madeline Johnston, a DIY musician from Denver, makes soft and dreamy music under the name Midwife. Johnston refers to her genre as “heaven metal,” which is an awesome thing to call your style of music, even if there’s absolutely nothing traditionally metal about what Johnston does. Instead, she makes insular-landscape empty-space music, like what might […]
Polo G – “DND”
It would be interesting if Polo G, young and permanently downhearted Chicago sing-rap prince, had just made a song about tabletop fantasy gaming. But that is not what’s going on on “DND,” Polo G’s new single. Instead, the letters in the title of the new Polo track “DND” stand for “Do Not Disturb.” As in: […]
Leon Bridges – "Inside Friend" (Feat. John Mayer)
Leon Bridges and John Mayer have released an intriguing, addictive one-off duet. “Inside Friend,” the result of an impromptu jam session between the two musicians, is a reminder of how versatile both of these guys are. Instrumentally, it’s an easygoing retro soul ballad pierced through with digital bass bombs and trap drum programming, topped off […]
Stream Drain’s Debut Album California Cursed
This was supposed to be Drain’s year! The Santa Cruz hardcore livewires are notorious for their anarchic, ridiculous, fun-as-hell live shows, and they were going to be all over hardcore’s busy summer-festival circuit, stealing shows from bigger names. That’s almost certainly not going to happen now. But Drain have just come out with their debut […]
Luke Schneider – "Lex Universum"
Veteran hired gun Luke Schneider is preparing to release Altar Of Harmony, a new age ambient album performed entirely on pedal steel, on Jack White’s Third Man Records. If you heard lead single “Anteludium,” you know this shit is dope, and you’re probably eager to hear more. So I’m pleased to report that another Schneider […]
Usher, Lil Jon, Ludacris – “SexBeat”
In January of 2004, the R&B star Usher teamed up with two fellow Atlantans, producer Lil Jon and rapper Ludacris, on a sensational club record called “Yeah!” Usher, Lil Jon, and Ludacris were all at the absolute top of their respective games at that moment, and the record exploded, topping the Hot 100 for 12 […]
Stream The Strokes' First Album In 7 Years, 'The New Abnormal'
Hey, there’s a new Strokes album out! For the first time in seven years, Julian Casablancas, Nick Valensi, Albert Hammond Jr., Nikolai Fraiture, and Fab Moretti have joined forces to drop a full-length collection of songs on us. It’s called The New Abnormal. It was produced in Malibu by the band’s fellow Lower Manhattan music […]
Danzig – "One Night" (Elvis Presley Cover)
Glenn Danzig has loved Elvis Presley for a long time, and he’s been working on an album of Elvis covers for nearly as long. Now, the project is finally coming to fruition; Danzig Sings Elvis is coming out next week; he’s planning some intimate, Vegas-style all-Elvis concerts later this year; and today, he’s sharing its […]