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.
MAXO – “HUMAN ?”
SoCal rapper Maxo has announced a new album, Mars Is Electric, due out June 20 via his own Smileforme label. The first single is “Human ?,” a gooey, psychedelic soul-infused song produced by longtime collaborator lastnamedavid along with Jacob Rochester.
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LAEL NEALE – “WILD WATERS”
“The video for ‘Wild Waters’ was a collaboration with choreographer & dancer Sandi (Denton),” Lael Neale says of the final single off her new album, Altogether Stranger. “I had this vision of dancers playing the part of interdimensional beings performing a dance that would open a portal, calling my character through. In perfect synchronicity, when I approached Sandi with the idea, she had already been building a two-person dance that fit seamlessly. I love working with Sandi for this reason.”
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ORIGINAL KOFFEE – “KOFFEE”
Koffee now goes by Original Koffee, and she just released her first new single in three years. It’s called “Koffee,” and it’s a great example of her ability to fuse classic reggae vibes with contemporary, radio-friendly sounds.
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LIDO PIMIENTA – “AÚN TE QUIERO”
Lido Pimienta’s new orchestral album La Belleza is out on May 16, and the latest single is “AÚn Te Quiero.” “I sing to the Lido of the past—to the people I once thought would be in my life forever,” she says of the song. “Friends, lovers, family. But falling-outs happen. We hurt each other. And yet, I’m a softie at heart—I still love all of them, even my enemies. There is so much I deal with as a mother and as a wife, there is so much about myself that I don’t recognize or connect with anymore, it happens to most of us caregivers, when we carry the weight of the home. We can’t always be there for everyone, and sometimes they can’t be there for us either, but the message remains, I still love us, beyond our expiry date.”
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BADBADNOTGOOD – “FOUND A LIGHT (BEALE STREET)” FT. V.C.R.
“This is more than a song to me,” says Memphis singer V.C.R. of their new single with BADBADNOTGOOD. “It’s a milestone. I’ve been cooking this kind of sound for years—from late nights writing at my desk in South Memphis to composing orchestral works at USC. This collaboration with BADBADNOTGOOD is a dream come true—and a thank you letter to my hometown, my people, and the communities that raised me.” Found A Light (Beale Street)” isn’t just a single. It’s a love letter to the sounds of the South and the sacred art of collective resilience. It calls back to a time when Black communities turned Beale Street into a sanctuary—a place to find freedom, purpose, and light amidst the harshest of shadows. This song is a taste of everything I’ve been marinating over the past few years—academically, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s a reflection of where I come from and what I’ve been building. And it’s only the beginning.”
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JENNY HVAL – “LAY DOWN”
“We enter the album through lying down in our own grave, under the earth, just like the root, which is the part of the iris that has a scent,” Jenny Hval says of the latest single off her anticipated new album, Iris Silver Mist. “It would be the very best time and place to listen to music, wouldn’t it? The fetus can smell and taste their mother’s food as well as hear voices outside the mother’s body in the final months of a pregnancy. Can a ghost in the coffin still hear the birds singing above?”
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THE REDS, PINKS & PURPLES – “WE SURELY BECOME HAPPY” (PERVENCHE COVER)
Glenn Donaldson is back with this new single, a deep dive cover. He explains: “I’ve been digging some fantastic Japanese music again lately. Here’s a cover of a Pervenche song. Check out Galaxy Train and KIli KIli Villa labels on Bandcamp, tons of good pop music including the Tony Jay collab with The Moment of Nightfall, and Menow, who just visited SF for some beautiful shows.”
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SEA LEMON – “GIVE IN”
Sea Lemon’s debut LP, Diving For a Prize, is out in June, and she’s shared another single, the dreamy “Give In.” “Growing up, I never knew the term of ‘intrusive thoughts’ but often had them, and as I got older, my particularly remaining intrusive thought is around wanting to go inside of abandoned houses even if I know it’s a horrible idea,” she says. “‘Give In’ is about giving into the intrusive thoughts, and the relief and the consequences that happen after. The song was written in an afternoon in my producer’s studio, and was probably the fastest song from initially writing to execution.”
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THESE NEW PURITANS – “A SEASON IN HELL”
“A Season in Hell” is the latest single from These New Puritans’ upcoming album Crooked wing, and the stylish video, directed by Harley Weir, features Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood, Succession). “It was great to bring Alexander Skarsgård and Harley Weir together,” says TNP’s George Barnett. “They’re both old friends of mine, especially Harley who I’ve known since we were teenagers; we share formative tenets and ideas in our work. She makes the familiar strange and the strange familiar. Skarsgård is a rare artist who can move from something experimental to a blockbuster and back. Everything he does is believable. He is high risk, threw himself into it, every detail in him is controlled. He’s magnetic in an otherworldly way, and that worked so well with what Harley does.”
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PUP – “OLIVE GARDEN”
PUP’s new album Who Will Look After the Dogs? arrives this week and here’s another single from it, a song named after the home of unlimited breadsticks that sounds like Pinkerton-era Weezer. Stefan Babcock says, “I don’t care what anyone says, ‘Olive Garden’ rhymes with ‘Grandma in a coffin’ – listen to this crap and tell me I’m wrong.”
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CHRIS FARREN – “CAUSE OF DEATH”
It’s Chris Farren’s birthday, and he’s celebrating with a song about death. Specifically, it’s “about that morbid curiosity we all have (..right??) anytime there’s news of a death but the cause is left ambiguous,” he says. “It’s a weird, kind of gross, voyeuristic tendency that I’m embarrassed about, but can’t seem to shake.”
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DEADGUY – “KILL FEE”
After reuniting in 2021 for live shows and discussing the prospect of new music, NJ metalcore pioneers Deadguy have now announced a new album. It’s their second LP ever, and it comes 30 years after their iconic, influential debut. It’s called Near-Death Travel Services, and lead single “Kill Fee” is out now. Read more here.
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MSPAINT – “ANGEL”
MSPAINT have announced that they’ll follow their excellent 2023 debut album Post-American with a new EP, No Separation, on 5/23 via Convulse Records. Read more about the EP and lead single “Angel” here.
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STEREOLAB – “MELODIE IS A WOUND”
Tim Gane, Laetitia Sadier and the rest of the ‘Lab (and many collaborators) seem to really be aiming for those Stereolab pleasure centers for their upcoming album (first in 15 years) and “Melodie is a Wound”. hits many of them, from the vibraphone to the chugging guitars, breezy melodies, layers of harmonies, gurgling synths, and groovy basslines.
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Looking for even more new songs? Browse the New Songs archive