Albany post-hardcore collective Self Defense Family put out their Performative Guilt EP nearly a year ago to the day. And now, after trawling through their archives, they’re back with two songs collected in a new release called Kitten Beach. As the band explain in a statement on Bandcamp: We’re cleaning out our hard drives for […]
The Magnetic Fields – “(I Want to Join A) Biker Gang”
Next month, the Magnetic Fields will release an album that isn’t an album at all. Quickies, the new collection from Stephin Merritt’s longtime cleverness-pop project, is a box set that’ll feature 28 songs — all under three minutes — spread over five EPs. We’ve already posted the early tracks “The Day The Politicians Died” and […]
Bedouine – "The Hum" (Margo Guryan Cover)
Back in 1972, Queens singer-songwriter Margo Guryan wrote “The Hum,” a sarcastic lament inspired by the Watergate scandal. It’s exactly the sort of jazzy, folksy baroque-pop song that informs Azniv Korkejian’s music as Bedouine, so it makes sense that the Artist To Watch has decided to cover “The Hum” in 2020. It makes even more […]
Austra – "Mountain Baby" (Feat. Cecile Believe)
In a couple weeks, Katie Stelmanis is releasing a new Austra album, HiRUDiN, the follow-up to 2017’s Future Politics. We’ve heard two tracks from it so far, “Risk It” and “Anywayz,” and today she’s back with another one, “Mountain Baby.” It’s an elastic pop song that features contributions from a children’s choir from Toronto and […]
Peter Cottontale – “Pray For Real” (Feat. Chance The Rapper & Tobi Lou)
Peter Cottontale, the Chicago producer and keyboardist, has been working with Chance The Rapper ever since Chance released his debut mixtape 10 Day in 2012. These days, most of us would recognize Cottontale as a member of Chance’s band the Social Experiment. (He’s the guy with the afro.) But Cottontale also makes his own music, […]
Naeem – "Simulation" (Feat. Swamp Dogg & Justin Vernon)
One of the best songs on Bon Iver’s i,i, “Naeem,” was named for one of the many artists in the orbit of Justin Vernon’s 37d03d collective. That artist is Baltimore-born Naeem Juwan, who in a different lifetime used to record salacious rap music under the name Spank Rock. Now based in LA, Jawan has rebranded […]
Courtney Marie Andrews – "Burlap String"
Americana singer-songwriter Courtney Marie Andrews is coming back in a couple of months with Old Flowers, the follow-up to her acclaimed 2018 album May Your Kindness Remain, which she recorded after the dissolution of a nine-year relationship. We’ve already heard one track from the collection, the lovely, vulnerable “If I Told You.” And now she’s […]
Nation Of Language – "Friend Machine"
Brooklyn synthpop masters and Band To Watch alumni Nation Of Language are finally getting ready to release their debut album Introduction, Presence, which was originally supposed be out last month but ended up getting delayed until May due to the pandemic. So far we’ve heard several singles, including “The Motorist,” “Rush & Fever,” “Tournament,” and […]
Tasha – "But There's Still The Moon"
Constants are hard to come by these days. With everything in a state of perpetual upheaval, sometimes it helps to look to the stars to calm us down, to remind us that the world, in some form or another, will continue its gravitational pull. Tasha’s new song, “But There’s Still The Moon,” takes hold of […]
Public Practice – "My Head"
The artsy, dancy, jittery Brooklyn combo Public Practice have been putting together a pretty solid rollout for their debut album Gentle Grip. Last fall, before they announced the album, they dropped a Gang Of Four-inspired funk-punk bass bomb called “Disposable” on us. Upon detailing the LP, they showed off their poppy and upbeat side with […]