So many artists, so many songs, so little time. Each week we review a handful of new albums (of all genres), round up even more new music that we’d call “indie,” and talk about what metal is coming out. We post music news, track premieres, and more all day. We update a playlist weekly of some of our current favorite tracks. Here’s a daily roundup with a bunch of interesting, newly released songs in one place.
AJA MONET – “ELSEWHERE” (FT. GEORGIA ANNE MULDROW, MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO & NOVENA CARMEL)
aja monet announced a new album, the color of rain, due out May 22 via drink sum wtr. New single “elsewhere” features Georgia Anne Muldrow, Meshell Ndegeocello and Novena Carmela, and aja says, “‘elsewhere’ is a dedication to Sly Stone. We were in the studio working on the album and learned of his death. Meshell told me to go home and write something not in memoriam but in homage. The next day we started working on the song and it was like he was in the room with us. Everything came together in divine timing. I had already reached out to Novena Carmel and also Georgia Anne Muldrow but they both responded the same day and joined us. The song reminds me of our love for one another and the portal of possibility.”
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SQUIRREL FLOWER – “WHEELS” (FT. BABEHOVEN & BILLIE MARTEN)
Squirrel Flower says her new single “Wheels,” which features Babehoven and Billie Marten, was inspired by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris’ 1987 Trio album. “I wanted to write a song that really let my voice shiiiiine, and the final vocal take is the original scratch take, sleepy and loose,” she says. “Maya and Billie recorded their angel harmonies remotely and perfectly. Inspired by a gas station attendant a couple years ago telling me ‘may your wheels stay on the ground.'”
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TERROR – “DESTRUCTION OF MY SOUL”
Terror’s new album Still Suffer arrives next month, and they’ve given us another early taste with “Destruction of My Soul,” another anthemic hardcore ripper.
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KRISTIN HERSH – “SUNDIAL”
Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses is preparing to release a new solo album in the fall. Details on that are still to come, but for now she’s given us a preview with “Sundial.” “Sometimes I’ll miss someone so suddenly, like a lightning strike,” she says. “If they’re a fellow musician, this is usually triggered by musical moments; certain tempos and keys”. A person’s sound story… is an intense, rainstorm-dark and sunshine-bright orientation, like telling time with a sundial. It doesn’t leave you.”
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JOHANNA SAMUELS – “WHITE LIMOUSINE” (FT. COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS)
Johanna Samuels wrote her new single, which features Courtney Marie Andrews, in the early 200s, after having a panic attack for the first time. “It was in a white limousine,” she says. “A friend had rented one for her 15th birthday and I felt a pressure rising within myself to be inauthentic that night. I felt a sense of dread come over me, like I was unsafe. I could feel myself growing apart from myself. I have found that in the pursuit of art in my adult life, the marketization of the medium and the social setup of the musical community has brought this same feeling up again and again. I’ve found myself having to recenter values when I find myself drifting from my authentic heart. I’ve learned that if you don’t make a practice of it, life will recenter your path for you (to remind you who is in charge). This route is oftentimes much less graceful and not as peaceful.”
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EARL SWEATSHIRT, MIKE & SURF GANG – “LEADBELLY”
Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE, and Surf Gang gave us another preview of their double album, POMPEII // UTILITY, which arrives on April 3.
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THE CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM – “MEAT MACHINES”
Les Claypool of Primus and Sean Onon Lennon release their new album as The Claypool Lennon Delirium, The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy, on May 1, and they’ve given us another preview with “Meat Machines.” “Some people think humans are just biological machines,” Ono Lennon says. “They think free will is a hallucination and we’re destined to be replaced by robots. Not only are they happy about this, but they’re actively trying to make it happen as fast as possible. Some of us think we still have a choice. We think there’s something special about living, breathing and feeling. We believe we can shape our own destiny, because we know we are more than just ‘Meat Machines.’”
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DOUBLESPEAK – “BACK TO NATURE” (FAD GADGET COVER)
Vince Clarke (Erasure), Neil Arthur (Blancmange), and Benge have a new project, Doublespeak, and their self-titled debut is out on May 29. It reimagines 11 of their favorite songs from the past four decades, and the first single is their rendition of Fad Gadget’s “Back To The Nature.”
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HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER – “SHAKY EYES”
Hiss Golden Messenger’s new album I’m People arrives in May, and the latest single is “Shaky Knees.” MC Taylor says, “Do we stick with the sure bet? Or, do we gamble on possibility, never knowing how winning is apt to change things we never even considered? Or: Do we drift in the in-between? I grew up in California and big western skies are something that color my dreams still. They make me feel small and ambiguous, and they feel like home. This song is indebted—in title if nothing else—to Lou Mathews’ novel Shaky Town, a piece of work that feels Los Angeles, the Southland, deeply and lovingly. This tune was also written in Santa Fe under a neon mezcal moon.”
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MIKI BERENYI TRIO – “ISLAND OF ONE”
Ahead of their spring tour of the EUK and Ireland, Miki Berenyi Trio have shared a new single. “‘Island of One’ took shape because I became quite obsessed with the track ‘Just A Western’ by Nilüfer Yanya last year, and the Latin-y beat got me inspired,” Berenyi says. “But I wanted a lively, catchy song to add to our live set, so it ended up less laidback and more 60s-breezy with some driving, scratchy guitars – once all three MB3 members pile in on the embellishments, a song ends up a fair distance from where it started! As ever, recording and production took place in our various home-studio set-ups, and the song was mixed by our brilliant Bella Union labelmate, Paul Gregory.”
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ANGELO DE AUGUSTINE – “EMPTY SHELL”
“It was the first song written of the batch that would make up the album,” Angelo De Augustine says of the bare bones “Empty Shell,” the new single from his upcoming album Angel in Plainclothes. “I don’t know how to talk about a song like this in a way that wouldn’t cheapen the experience of listening to it. You have to listen to understand.”
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THE BUG CLUB – “YOURS (IF YOU WANT ME)”
About “Yours (If You Want Me),” The Bug Club write, “prepare to be reflective and emoted have a listen treat ya lugs you know the score I dont need to tell you how to consume stinkin art for god sake!” It’s from their new album Every Single Muscle.
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JUJU ROGERS – “ELOHIM” (FT. JAMILA WOODS)
“Elohim, a name for God, explores the idea of the divine within,” JuJu Rogers says of his new single, which features Jamila Woods. “It reflects on how wisdom, compassion and truth already exist inside us, encouraging self-reflection, personal responsibility and a deeper sense of purpose, while recognising the sacred in others.” It’s from his new album Pink Guitars, Spaceships N Voodoo Dolls, due out May 22 via Counterkultur.
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JULIA CUMMING – “PLEASE LET ME REMEMBER THIS”
Julia Cumming of Sunflower Bean releases her new solo album Julia next month, and the new single, “Please Let Me Remember This,” was inspired by The Beach Boys’ “Busy Doing Nothing.” The song “started with two questions,” she says. “Why are our sad and painful moments easier to remember than our happy ones? And why can’t we choose what we let go of, or what we get to keep? There’s a surrender that comes with memory, and it’s always fascinated me. I wanted to create a song using these little vignettes to explore the lack of control we have over what we remember. I wanted to capture the desperation that comes with trying to turn an immaterial experience into something that could be held onto.”
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MR BRUCE – “HOW WILL WE KNOW” (FT. BRIAN ENO & HOMEBOY SANDMAN)
Mr. Bruce, one half of British duo The Correspondents, will release his debut solo album, OK, on May 15 via state51, and the new single “How Will We Know” features Brian Eno and Homeboy Sandman.
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CHEEKFACE – “BLACK SITE”
Cheekface announced their sixth album Podium, and gave us another preview with “Black Site.” Read more about it here.
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BEDOUINE – “LONG WAY TO FALL”
Bedouine’s new album Neon Summer Skin arrives in June, and she’s shared the first single, which you can read more about here.
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BIG D AND THE KIDS TABLE – “WHIPLASH”
Here’s the first preview of Big D and the Kids Table’s first album in five years, The Good Ole American Saturday Night.
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GELLI HAHA – “KLOUDS WILL CARRY ME TO SLEEP”
Ahead of her first ever headlining tour, Gelli Haha has unveiled another whimsical, maximalist single.
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MOUSE ON MARS & LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY – “ROCKCURRY”
Mouse on Mars are releasing a previously unheard collaborative album with late reggae icon Lee “Scratch” Perry, and they’ve given us the first taste with “Rockcurry.”
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SOULWAX – “PERFECT WE ARE NOT”
Soulwax have shared a song they recorded at the rave they threw at London’s Abbey Road Studios. Read more about it here.
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SUBLIME – “UNTIL THE SUN EXPLODES”
Sublime announced their first album in 30 years, and first with Jakob Nowell, the son of the late Bradley Nowell. They’ve shared the title track, and you can read more about it here, and pre-order our exclusive vinyl variant.
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Looking for even more new songs? Browse the New Songs archive