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.
BLIND PILOT – “JUST A BIRD”
Portland, OR indie folk vets Blind Pilot have announced their first album in eight years, In The Shadow Of The Holy Mountain, due August 16 via ATO, and its first single is the propulsive “Just A Bird.” They’ve got upcoming tour dates too.
—
MAVIS STAPLES – “WORTHY”
Ahead of her tour with Norah Jones, Mavis Staples shared “Worthy,” which was written and produced by MNDR. “It’s a pick-me-up song – it’s a celebration, and you can’t help but move,” Mavis says. “Certain songs just cover you, and this song is just so sassy and fire. It’s got me fired up.”
—
SPEED – “DON’T NEED”
The anticipation for Australian hardcore band Speed’s debut LP Only One Mode is high, and every new single just adds more fuel to this exciting fire. Here’s new rager “Don’t Need,” with a video featuring footage of the band’s wild live show. If you like what you hear, pick up our exclusive black & white vinyl variant in the BV shop.
—
JORDANA – “WE GET BY”
“‘We Get By’ is about true love,” Jordana says of her new single, which was produced by Emmett Kai. “It’s about leaving any materialistic things behind and basking in the appreciation of the truest loving from a pure ground zero — whether that be with yourself or with someone else. We could leave everything we have and still be happy.”
—
JESSICA BOUDREAUX – “MAIN CHARACTER”
Summer Cannibals’ Jessica Boudreaux has shared another song from her upcoming solo album The Faster I Run, which she calls “one of the more light-hearted and tongue in cheek songs on the record,” and adds, “Approaching the song initially, I thought I was writing about someone else but as the song progressed I realized I was writing about a version of myself I hadn’t had the self awareness to see until recently.”
—
THE JAPANESE HOUSE – “:) (SMILEY FACE)”
“‘Smiley Face’ is a song I wrote when I was very excited about talking to someone off a dating app,” The Japanese House says of her new single, which arrives during her summer tour. “She lived in Detroit, and I was fantasising about flying to meet her. I was in a session at the time for someone else’s stuff, but I couldn’t help this song spilling out of me, I was in some sort of frenzy. Turns out I did buy the plane tickets, now we’re engaged.”
—
OCEANATOR – “FIRST TIME” & “BE HERE”
Oceanator has shared two more songs from her upcoming album Everything Is Love and Death, the glammy hard-rocking “First Time” and the new-wavey “Be Here.”
—
GINGER ROOT – “BETTER THAN MONDAY”
Ginger Root’s third album, SHINBANGUMI, is out in September, and he’s given us another early taste with the funky “Better Than Monday.” “I wanted to experiment with the idea of what mashing together lo-fi intimacy and hi-fi energy would sound like on a track,” he says. “Lyrically I wanted to poke fun at hating a specific day of the week, and no matter how bad any given day can get for some reason it will ALWAYS be better than a Monday.”
—
STATE FAULTS – “BLOOD MOON”
State Faults have shared the second single from Children of the Moon, and this one finds the band in pretty different territory than usual. It’s rooted in screamo, but it’s a lively, upbeat, extremely catchy song that covers a lot of cool ground.
—
LESIBU GRAND – “ANARCHY”
Atlanta-based band Lesibu Grand announced their debut LP, Triggered, due out on August 16 via Kill Rock Stars. The lead single is “Anarchy,” which is accompanied by a Jetsons-themed video directed by Nathan DuCongé.
—
RP BOO & ARMAND HAMMER – “BLOOD RUNNING HIGH” (from SUN RA TRIBUTE)
Chicago footwork pioneer RB Boo and experimental rap duo have teamed up for “Blood Running High,” a Sun Ra-sampling head trip from the upcoming Sun Ra tribute album Outer Spaceways Incorporated – Kronos Quartet & Friends Meet Sun Ra.
—
EFTERKLANG – “ANIMATED HEART”
Things We Have in Common, the new album from Efterklang, comes out in September, and they’ve shared “Animated Heart,” which vocalist Casper Clausen says “originated in my little studio in Lisbon. In the early stages of the process, I shared numerous sketches with the others, and this one stood out. As we began to develop it further, we often played it together with the girls’ choir, Sønderjysk Pigekor, from our hometown. Their addition brought a whole gospel vibe to the track, which I found incredibly appealing. I was struck by how their voices seemed to lift the composition into another realm, creating a sense of expansiveness that no instrument or single voice could achieve. I’m singing about being alone, clinging to the stone, kissing oneself to the bone, deep in the heart of the soul.”
—
HIATUS KAIYOTE – “CINNAMON TEMPLE”
Hiatus Kaiyote have shared a new song from Love Heart Cheat Code and the soulful band get pretty chaotic on this one, with a Malian rhythm and fuzzed-out guitar riffage.
—
SCOUT GILLETT – “ROOM OF SHADOWS” (THE HUMAN EXPRESSION COVER)
Scout Gillett announced a new EP, Imagination, MO, due out in early fall. The first single is a cover of The Human Expression’s “Room of Shadows,” and she says, “The first time I heard The Human Expression’s ‘Room of Shadows’ was in December of 2021. I was completely captivated by the rawness. The warbly, droney tape sounds were intoxicating, my busy mind grew warm, the haunting vocals sent chills down my spine. The song reminded me how I know so well what it feels like to be dancing with the shadows of the past while searching for light in the present. After the song finished, I jumped up and moved the needle back. I didn’t think of covering ‘Room of Shadows’ until November of 2023 during my ‘build a band tour.’ I was in Los Angeles collaborating for the first time with Omar Schambacher, now a band member, when the idea came to mind. I had been talking to Scott Cornish( live sound for Angel Olsen / Slint ) about recording together, and we made it happen the next day. We recorded mostly in Scott’s home studio in LA. I did my vocal takes in the stairwell with the lights off. I carried all the relief and connection that I felt while first hearing this song and delivered my experiences into the making.”
—
TRACE MOUNTAINS – “SICK OF MYSELF” (MATTHEW SWEET COVER)
Trace Mountains (aka Dave Benton of LVL UP) has shared a stripped-down cover of Matthew Sweet’s ’90s power pop hit “Sick of Myself.”
—
EXTINCTION AD – “IMPERVIOUS (UNREPENTANT)” (ft. MATT HEAFY)
Long Island crossover thrashers Extinction A.D. have announced a new album, To The Detested, due August 16 via Unique Leader Records, and the ass-kicking new single features Trivium’s Matt Heafy.
—
OLD CITY – “ANTHEM”
Philly punk/hip hop group Old City have signed to Get Better Records, and their first single for the label is the rowdy “Anthem,” which features gang vocals by UK Ramones tribute band The Ramonas.
—
COLD GAWD – “ALL MY LIFE, MY HEART HAS YEARNED FOR A THING I CANNOT NAME”
Southern California shoegazers Cold Gawd have announced a new album, I’ll Drown On This Earth, due August 30 via Dais, and they’ve shared this blissful new single.
—
CHINO PACAS – “MAMI CHULA”
Mexican singer Chino Pacas follows his recent Lil Wayne-referencing, Gabito Ballesteros-featuring “Tunechi” with “Mami Chula,” another taste from his upcoming debut album (not to be confused with “Mami,” the song from the upcoming Peso Pluma album that Pacas features on). “The song is like a corrido with reggaeton. We combined the genres,” he told Rolling Stone.
—
OCEANS OF SLUMBER – “POEM OF ECSTASY”
Houston prog-metallers Oceans of Slumber have announced a new album, Where Gods Fear To Speak, due September 13 via Season of Mist. Here’s the shape-shifting new single “Poem of Ecstasy.”
—
JOE GODDARD (HOT CHIP) – “FOLLOW YOU”
“With all the different people on this record, I’ve been working on how to respect the contribution they make and not trying to be the one who has to lead everything,” Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard says of the latest single from his upcoming solo album. “That follows through into the songs where I’m singing. I tried to write words without having too much of an idea of what I’m trying to express, where I’m just writing a stream of consciousness.”
—
BEACHWOOD SPARKS – “GENTLE SAMURAI”
Beachwood Sparks are gearing up to release their first new album in 12 years, Across The River Of Stars, on July 19. “Gentle Samurai” evokes The Byrds and Beach Boys.
—
CRACK CLOUD – “THE MEDIUM”
Here’s the second single from Canadian collective Crack Cloud’s upcoming third album (and first for Jagjaguwar). “The Medium” has fun with ’60s pop chord progressions while putting their distinct art-punk spin on them.
—
RUI GABRIEL – “CHANGE YOUR MIND”
Former Lawn member Rui Gabriel releases his solo debut this week and here’s one last preview. “I was working a pretty standard office job and going out with my friends once a week right after I clocked out, striving for a couple of hours of the fun I used to have before realizing that I was looking for an escape more than I was trying to unwind,” Gabriel says of “Change Your Mind.” “The lyrics are intended to exemplify the kind of person I thought I still was as opposed to accepting a new set of responsibilities that come with fatherhood and leaving old routines behind, even if I haven’t fully succeeded in engaging with my own sense of nostalgia.”
—
ISLANDS – “BOLL WEEVIL”
“As a rare formalist exercise, I tried my hand at writing a “boll weevil” song, using the motif not to write a song about agricultural scarcities, but about another great device of rock & roll, blues, and R&B: romantic courtship,” says Island’s Nick Thorburn. “We aimed to capture something trashy and bluesy in the R&B garage rock tradition of bands from the 1960s, so I knew this song had to be recorded completely live. We did it in one take without headphones, as the band played together in a room, letting the drums and amps bleed into each other.” Island’s “final” album What Occurs is out Friday.
—
BLITZ VEGA (ANDY ROURKE) – “LOVE CITY”
Blitz Vega, the band that included late Smiths bassist Andy Rourke, are releasing their posthumous debut in September and they’ve just shared a new song from it, “Love City,” which is a fun, danceable rocker.
—
FONTAINES D.C. – “FAVOURITE”
Fontaines D.C. have shared a second single from their upcoming album ROMANCE. They debuted “Favourite” at their Brooklyn show in May and this is Fontaines doing janglepop with a soaring chorus.
—
THE SOFTIES – “I SAID WHAT I SAID”
Indiepop greats The Softies (Rose Melberg and Jen Sbragia) have announced their fourth album, The Bed I Made, which is also the duo’s first in 24 years. This is the lovely first single.
—
LAURIE ANDERSON – “ROAD TO MANDALAY”
Laurie Anderson has announced Amelia, her first album in six years, which will be out August 30 via Nonesuch. The album is about pilot Amelia Earhart’s tragic, final flight and features Czech orchestra Filharmonie Brno conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, and contributions from ANOHNI, Gabriel Cabezas, Rob Moose, Ryan Kelly, Martha Mooke, Marc Ribot, Tony Scherr, Nadia Sirota, and Kenny Wollesen.
—
DUTCH INTERIOR – “ECIG”
LA band Dutch Interior, who released their debut album Blinded by Fame last year, have now signed to Fat Possum and released their first single for the label. “Ecig” is decidedly louder and noisier than anything on Blinded by Fame, taking them out of folk-rock territory and into hazy psychedelic rock terrain.
—
MOLLY NILSSON – “EXCALIBUR”
Here’s the new single from Swedish musician Molly Nilsson’s 11th album.
—
BOB MOULD – “BREATHING ROOM”
“Generally speaking, the new compositions are brief, catchy, and simplistic in structure,” says Bob Mould of this new song, one of a few he’s trying out live on tour before recording. “The focus of this writing cycle is memorable pop songs.”
—
THEE SACRED SOULS – “LUCID GIRL”
Check out the first single from Thee Sacred Souls’ second album.
—
TORRES & FRUIT BATS – “MARRIED FOR LOVE”
Merge labelmates Torres and Fruit Bats have announced a collaborative EP, A Decoration, and you can read more about the EP and lead single “Married For Love” here.
—
EZRA COLLECTIVE – “GOD GAVE ME FEET FOR DANCING” (ft. YAZMIN LACEY)
UK jazz group Ezra Collective have announced a new album, Dance, No One’s Watching, and new single “God Gave Me Feet For Dancing” has guest lead vocals from Yazmin Lacey. Read more about it here.
—
Looking for even more new songs? Browse the New Songs archive.