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.
JESSICA PRATT – “WORLD ON A STRING”
Jessica Pratt has shared the second single off her anticipated new album Here in the Pitch, and this one’s more in her usual bare-bones folk territory, following the more fleshed-out lead single “Life Is.”
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DIIV – “EVERYONE OUT”
DIIV say their new single “utilizes a softer and more textural sonic pallet: acoustic instruments, layered tape loops and synthesizers. The song is emotional and intimate, and could be interpreted as either hopeful or cynical. It may or may not be a character study centering around a quick transition from youthful naivety to bitter disillusionment. This loss of hope may be manifest in a desire to leave society completely or to accelerate its collapse. Or maybe both, or neither.” New album Frog in Boiling Water will be out May 24 via Fantasy Records.
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CHASTITY BELT – “LAUGH”
Chastity Belt’s new album Live Laugh Love is out this week and while there are no songs titled “Live” or “Love,” here’s “Laugh.” Says singer Julia Shapiro: “”I wrote this song during the summer of 2021 when I was still technically living in LA, but I spent the whole summer in Seattle living at a punk house (Spruce) with my friends. It was a really special summer, and I could feel that while it was happening. I’d been feeling pretty lonely in LA, and it had been a long year and a half of Covid, so it felt like this much needed time to be around old friends. The song is about that time, and being nostalgic for it while it was still happening, which is something I tend to do.”
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OWEN – “VIRTUE MISSPENT” & “HIT AND RUN”
Owen (aka American Football’s Mike Kinsella) has shared two more songs off his upcoming album The Falls of Sioux. They’re both gorgeously delicate songs that find his unique singing/songwriting style in excellent form.
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FULL OF HELL – “GASPING DUST” (ft. IMMOLATION’S ROSS DOLAN)
Full of Hell have shared the second single off their upcoming LP Coagulated Bliss, and both the song and its video are total sensory overloads.
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MAXÏMO PARK – “FAVOURITE SONGS”
Long-running UK band Maxïmo Park are back with this new single that finds the band’s angular sound still sharp and pointy. “Our aim was to create a peppy yet powerful ode to the consolation of music and companionship in the face of other people’s preconceptions,” says frontman Paul Smith.
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EELS – “GOLDY”
“Sometimes the answers to all of your problems are right there in the fishbowl on your table,” says Eels frontman E of the latest single from their upcoming album, Eels Time! Fans of the band’s late-’90s records will dig this one.
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LAWRENCE ROTHMAN – “YESTERDAY TOMORROW”
“‘Yesterday Tomorrow’ is about breaking free from the constraints of societal norms and embracing the fluidity of time, identity and purpose,” says Lawrence Rothman of this twangy, widescreen ballad. “My lyric is navigating the liminal space between memory and anticipation. The past doesn’t define us, and the future isn’t predetermined. It’s easy to feel nostalgic to a time when you felt safe and happy. But nostalgia is the death of progress. A lot of people complain about the current times we live in, but I subscribe to the idea of embracing the chaos, keep dancing on the edge of uncertainty, create the things you want to see, hear or experience. Redefine the very essence of what it means to exist in the contemporary landscape.” The Plow That Broke the Plains will be out April 26 via KRO Records.
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MDOU MOCTAR – “IMOUHAR”
“Imouhar” is a call to action for the Tuareg people to preserve their Tamasheq language…all via blistering rock. Mdou Moctar’s new album Funeral for Justice is out May 3.
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WILL GREGORY MOOG ENSEMBLE (MEMS GOLDFRAPP) – “YOUNG ARCHIMEDES”
Will Gregory of Goldfrapp has announced a new project, the Will Gregory Moog Ensemble who will release their debut album, Heat Ray, on June 14 via Mute. It was inspired by the work of storied Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes and features Gregory and his ensemble of synthesizer experts (including Portishead’s Adrian Utley) along with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. “I wasn’t a great maths student,” Will admits. “So my translation of music alongside those principles isn’t very thorough or very accurate. They’re just an impression of his ideas in sound.”
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BIG|BRAVE – “CANON : IN CANON” FT MARISA ANDERSON
“canon : in canon” is the latest single from Montreal doomy post-rock ensemble BIG|BRAVE’s new album A Chaos Of Flowers. This one also features their Thrill Jockey labelmate Marisa Anderson.
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GIRL AND GIRL – “MOTHER”
Australian band Girl and Girl have shared anotehr song off their upcoming Sub Pop debut. “I wrote Mother about my beautiful mum and how our relationship has matured and evolved from my late teens to my mid-twenties,” says bandleader Kai James. “Shifting from this all-knowing being into something a bit more human. There’s beauty in that shift, relief at the fact that no one’s perfect, but then fear and doubt, too, as you step out and slowly learn to trust and back yourself.” The video, directed by the Snuff Puppets’ Andy Freer and Dan Flood, is pretty weird.
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BEEN STELLAR – “ALL IN ONE”
“In many ways this song and its lyrics are at the album’s heart,” say Been Stellar of “All in One,” from the group’s upcoming debut album. “I think it’s the culmination of a point we’ve been trying to make for years. The lyrics grapple with processing the mundane daily tasks we all carry out, and how they connect to understanding our lives in a larger sense. So much of life in a condensed city like New York is spent in a very small box- we wanted the video to portray the madness that comes from that experience. The themes of solipsism and existential uncertainty we brought up on our EP feel tied up with this song. The music feels like a creative conclusion for us as well— like the kind of song we’ve been working towards for years. We finished it in the final weeks leading up to recording and couldn’t be more proud of how it came out.”
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MARY IN THE JUNKYARD – “MARBLE ARCH”
London trio Mary in the Junkyard have announced their debut EP, This Old House, which will be out May 9. “I wrote the words to marble arch in the back of the book ‘wise children’ under the actual marble arch, it’s about the intense relationship between sisters, and leaving home and not wanting to come back,” says Clari Freeman-Taylor of the EP’s first single which ballances quiet beauty with sludgy guitars.
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ANI DIFRANCO – “THE THING AT HAND” & “NEW BIBLE”
Ani DiFranco has announced her 23rd album, Unprecedented Sh!t, which will be out May 17 via Righteous Babe and was was produced by BJ Burton (Bon Iver, Low). “I believe there is a rhyme and a reason as to why these songs have come together in this way now and I want people to experience this album as a journey, a piece of art, without being influenced by a cacophony of surrounding narratives,” Ani says. Check out two songs from the album now.
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FRANK TURNER – “LETTERS”
“In some ways, I’ve been writing it since a genuine pen-friendship of mine dried up when I was a kid, when the mixtapes stopped coming through the post,” says Frank Turner of his song “Letters” which is from his forthcoming album, Undefeated. It’s a song about communication and its breakdown, about nostalgia for teenage romance, and about how reassessing those things as an adult can be the start of a healing process.”
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CRUMB – “AMAMA”
NYC band Crumb have announced their third album AMAMA, which will be out May 17, and have shared the title track. “AMAMA is dedicated to my namesake, my grandmother, whose voice is sampled throughout the song. A video sent to me over WhatsApp of her singing originally inspired the melody and ethos of the song, from which I built its glitchy, warped foundation. It’s a love song! My partner and Crumb’s creative director [Abraham El Makawy] directed the video, which combines his family’s archival footage of the neighborhood we grew up in, home videos from the band, as well as drawings from 702 fans who helped us animate the last part of the video. The song is the title track and spiritual center of our new album.”
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JAY EXODUS – “STORIES & LESSONS” (ft. BOLDY JAMES)
Jay Exodus taps Boldy James for the woozy boom bap of “Stories and Lessons.”
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ORIGINAL SHARKS – “TRUNK DON’T OPEN”
Brooklyn punks Original Sharks have dropped an energetic, catchy new single produced by Jon Markson (Koyo, Drug Church, etc) ahead of this weekend’s NYC show with Winona Fighter.
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JORDAN HAMILTON – “ROSES” & “WISDOM CROW”
Jordan Hamilton will release Project Freedom on May 31 via Mello Music Group, and two singles are out now. Both find him blurring the lines between hip hop, soul, R&B, jazz, and more, and between electronic and acoustic instrumentation.
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ALEX HENRY FOSTER – “A SILENT STREAM”
Alex Henry Foster (Your Favorite Enemies) has announced new album Kimiyo which features Momoka and is out April 26. “I have always been looking for a pretext or an excuse to work with Momoka,” Alex says. “She’s got a very unique spirit, and she’s a very inspiring and insightful person.We have a common view about life in general and spirituality in particular, but most of all, she is a fantastic artist for whom I have the utmost admiration.”
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THE HOPE CONSPIRACY – “THOSE WHO GAVE US YESTERDAY”
The Hope Conspiracy will release their first album in 18 years, Tools of Oppression / Rule by Deception, including this fired-up new single. Read more here.
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VACATION – “RARE EARTH”
Cincinnati punks Vacation have announced a new album, Rare Earth, and you can read about the title track here.
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ROSE HOTEL – “DROWN”
Rose Hotel blends slacker indie rock, folk, and psychedelia on new single “Drown,” and you can read more about it here.
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STRAND OF OAKS – “MORE YOU”
Tim Showalter has announced a new Strand of Oaks album, Miracle Focus, and you can read about lead single “More You” here.
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BLONDSHELL & BULLY – “DOCKET”
“I had space on this song for another person and I kept hearing Bully’s voice on it,” says Blondshell of this new collab single with Alicia Bognanno. “I’m a huge fan of hers and when I was touring last summer I couldn’t stop listening to her album. Honestly when we were sitting in the studio and I heard her voice coming through I was just kind of shocked and in awe of her. I’m really happy she said yes to making the song with me.”
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JOHN CALE – “HOW WE SEE THE LIGHT”
John Cale has announced new album, POPtical Illusion, which will be out June 14 via DoubleSix/Domino. Unlike 2023’s collab-heavy MERCY, this album was made almost entirely by Cale with co-producer Nita Scott. This is the first single.
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SAOSIN – “LOST SYMPHONIES” & “SLEEPERS” (LIVE)
Saosin have announced a 20th anniversary live album, Live From The Garden Amphitheater, including both lead singers (Anthony Green and Cove Reber), cool covers, and more. Two songs/videos are out now. Read more here.
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Looking for even more new songs? Browse the New Songs archive