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Billie Eilish’s third studio album, "HIT ME HARD AND SOFT", released via Darkroom/Interscope Records is her most daring body of work to date, a diverse yet cohesive collection of songs— ideally listened to in its entirety from beginning to end—does exactly as the album title suggests; hits you hard and soft both lyrically and sonically, while bending genres and defying trends along the way. With the help of her brother and sole collaborator, FINNEAS, the pair wrote, recorded, and produced the album together in their hometown of Los Angeles. This album comes on the heels of her two massively successful albums “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO?" and "Happier Than Ever" and works to further develop the world of Billie Eilish.
Neon Pill is the highly anticipated new album from Cage The Elephant, and group’s first new music since their album, Social Cues, which won Best Rock album at the 2019 GRAMMY Awards.
Cage The Elephant consists of brothers Matt Shultz (vocals) and Brad Shultz (rhythm guitar) along with Daniel Tichenor (bass), Jared Champion (drums), Nick Bockrath (lead guitar) and Matthan Minster (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals).
Produced by Chris Coady and written by DIIV (pronounced Dive), Frog in Boiling Water, the band’s fourth full-length LP is a collection of snapshots that explores the brutal realities of end-stage capitalism and overwhelming technological advance. Across 10 dark and dazzling tracks, DIIV documents the collapse from various angles with unusual sensitivity and depth of purpose while expanding their grand, hypnotic shoegaze, to create a transportive, sensual work of hope, beauty and renewal.
WE DON’T TRUST YOU arrived as a celebration of the historic partnership of two culture-shifting legends at the peak of their powers, nearly breaking the internet in its wake. Future and Metro Boomin’s latest collaborations are a continuation of a musical legacy that dates back to "Karate Chop," an electric 2013 single that birthed the most dynastic hip-hop duo of the 2010s. They'd fortify their connection with tracks like 2015's "Jumpman" (with Drake) and 2017’s "Mask Off," singles that have combined to be certified 14-times Platinum by the RIAA. WE DON’T TRUST YOU features the track “Like That” feat. Kendrick Lamar as well as other “A list” guest features.
Gracie Abrams returns with her sophomore album, "The Secret of Us" released via Interscope Records. This is Gracie's most expansive body of work both sonically and narratively. Coming off the heels of her hugely successful debut "Good Riddance" Gracie shows us how much she has accomplished in one short year. Gracie's growth as a songwriter and vocalist is showcased in her most extroverted album yet, as she continues to work with longtime collaborator Aaron Dessner. A portion of these songs were also written with Gracie's best friend, Audrey Hobert. This album was written with the urgency with which you run home to detail every moment of a night to your friend, with her live experiences over the past year having deeply shaped the identity of this album.
The long-awaited second album from NxWorries – the iconic duo of superstar vocalist Anderson .Paak and GRAMMY Award-winning beatmaker and producer Knxwledge.
8 years after their breakthrough debut Yes Lawd!, NxWorries return with Why Lawd? – a winning combination of Knx’s unmistakeable beats and .Paak’s instantly recognizable vocals.
This time, special guests are invited along for the ride. Featured artists include H.E.R., Snoop Dogg, Thundercat, Earl Sweatshirt, Rae Khalil and more.
With the release of Cigarettes After Sex’s third album, X’s, the band finally takes center stage as not just one of today’s preeminent indie bands, but as one of the most globally accomplished acts across any genre. Filled with raw, imagistic, sometimes smutty vignettes set to entrancing, slow burn pop songs, bandleader Greg Gonzalez captures every emotion a romantic arc inspires. Indie Exclusive Crystal Clear LP. Limited Edition.
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The Moon Is In The Wrong Place is an upbeat, yet poignant narrative on grief and resilience from Shannon & The Clams. Woven from the threads of devastating loss and communal ties in the aftermath of profound loss – the sudden passing of Shannon's fianceé just months before their wedding – this record unfolds as the Clams' most introspective to date. With Dan Auerbach's production, the album delves deep into themes of heartache and healing, and showcases the band's trademark wry psychedelia, energetic nostalgia, and flourishes of retro beauty. It's a tribute to the power of art and community to triumph over tragedy, and a milestone in Shannon & The Clams' venerable oeuvre.
St. Vincent’s first self-produced record, All Born Screaming is Annie Clark at her most unfiltered. All Born Screaming is an invitation to test the limits of what is possible–and to then keep going; Brought to life with the aid of a highly curated dream lineup of friends — Rachel Eckroth, Josh Freese, Dave Grohl, Mark Guiliana, Cate Le Bon, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Stella Mogzawa and David Ralicke — the album is an unadulterated expression of St. Vincent’s singular vision.
Gary Clark Jr.’s forthcoming album entitled JPEG RAW, his fourth studio release,
marks a grand step in his musical evolution…. A powerful and expansive artistic statement.
While retaining the deep and true resonance of his blues foundations and guitar virtuosity with subtlety yet conviction, he reaches well beyond this time.
The emphasis here is on song and studio craft without losing the rawness of his young legend. (Rolling Stone Magazine called him, The Chosen One).
The music is dense and adventurous with a more cohesive synthesis of his eclectic musical palette. Hip samples, Thelonious Monk and Sonny Boy Williamson decorate flourishes of African, World Music, even Jazz while merging with blues , rock, R&B and rap; familiar areas he has ventured before, this time with more unity forging a fresh new style. Clark’s lyrics are pointed, deeply personal, outspoken and socially conscious with occasional forays into rap and spoken word from Clark himself. The sonics are immersive verging on modern groove-oriented psychedelia with hip-hop driven beats in verses giving way to anthemic choruses, rich with power-chording and wide fuzz riffage.
Songs like “Maktub”, “JPEG RAW”, “This Is Who We Are”, “Hyperwave” and the epic 10-minute Habits, break fresh ground defying categorization in the ever corporatized, predictable “alt” music world. The co-written Stevie Wonder duet, “What About The Children” feels like an immediate classic that could have lived on Innervisions or Talking Book if not for Clark’s fuzzed out riff and hip-hop pocket.
Clark has always had swagger and sex in his sound and very dangerous hands when wielding 6 strings. JPEG RAW is all of that and breaks new ground that is both thrilling and inspiring on every level.
Tigers Blood [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Tigers Blood Clear Red LP]
One of the hardest working singer-songwriters in the game is named Katie Crutchfield. She was born in Alabama, grew up near Waxahatchee Creek. Skipped town and struck out on her own as Waxahatchee. That was over a decade ago. Crutchfield says she never knew the road would lead her here, but after six critically acclaimed albums, she's never felt more confident in herself as an artist. While her sound has evolved from lo-fi folk to lush alt-tinged country, her voice has always remained the same. Honest and close, poetic with Southern lilting. Much like Carson McCullers's Mick Kelly, determined in her desires and convictions, ready to tell whoever will listen.
And after years of being sober and stable in Kansas City - after years of sacrificing herself to her work and the road - Crutchfield has arrived at her most potent songwriting yet. On her new album, Tigers Blood, Crutchfield emerges as a powerhouse - an ethnologist of the self - forever dedicated to revisiting her wins and losses. But now she's arriving at revelations and she ain't holding them back. Produced by Brad Cook, the album features MJ Lenderman, Phil Cook, and Spencer Tweedy.
Only God Was Above Us is the new album from Vampire Weekend. Available on CD, and 2 Disc Vinyl.
Metamodern Sounds in Country Music is the second studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson. The album was produced and engineered by Dave Cobb and was released on May 13, 2014, through High Top Mountain/Thirty Tigers.
'Metamodern Sounds in Country Music' 10 Year Anniversary Edition, to be released May 10, 2024, features fully reimagined album artwork for the CD and vinyl release. The limited edition vinyl variant is packaged in an "old-style" tip-on gatefold jacket and pressed on 180g black vinyl.
With $10 Cowboy, Charley Crockett didn’t set out to make a themed record. He had released a concept album in 2022, the critically acclaimed Man From Waco, propelling Crockett to new heights and establishing him as one of the leaders of a sparkling revival of traditional country and folk music.
For the follow up album, Crockett wrote freely, over a two-month period, as he wound his way across the United States on the back of a tour bus. The resulting songs—raw, personal, vivid portraits of a country in transition—ended up being connected after all.
“This material is written at truck stops, it’s written at casinos, it’s written in the alleys behind the venues, it’s written in my truck parked up on South Congress in Austin,” explains Crockett. “A ramblin’ man like me, a genuine transient, is in a pretty damn good position to have something to say about America.”
As the album unfolds, you begin to understand that a $10 Cowboy is anyone who has hustled to get by, who didn’t fit in, who has slept on other people’s couches, or the street, who has fallen down, gotten up, and ventured from home chasing a paying gig, or a new start.
“Being out on the road gives you a first-hand experience of how different kinds of Americans see themselves as going through some kind of great struggle,” Crockett says. “The roughneck working the oil and natural gas fields in West Texas. The single mother raising kids by herself. The young man working a street corner because he thinks it's his only option. I would be dishonest if I said I couldn’t see the thread. Each of ‘em feel invisible. I am struck by the battles they are fighting internally, and the ways they have been entrapped by what America says they are.”
The album was recorded at Arlyn Studios in Austin, produced by Crockett and his long-time collaborator Billy Horton. It was recorded live to tape, with anywhere from 6-12 musicians and backup singers on each track, giving the songs the feel of a live performance. It’s a sound Crockett has been after for years. “Reason I cut it on tape is because when you got the right people in the room, and the great players rise to the occasion when that red light is on and the tape is rolling, you get the magic of a great performance.”
It's exactly what he achieved with $10 Cowboy. Regular bandmates Fox, Nathan Fleming, and Mayo Valdez are joined by some of the genre’s most talented players—Rich Brotherton, Kevin Smith, Dave LeRoy Biller, T. Jarrod Bonta and others, including a string quartet. Lauren Cervantes and Angela Miller sing on the album. While the musicianship and accompaniment are exquisite, they are also subtle, placed joyously, yet judiciously across the album.
No, Crockett didn’t set out to write a themed record. Or, through his studied eye, to find America. But with $10 Cowboy, he might have done both.
KNOCKED LOOSE:
As Knocked Loose chipped away at what would become their third album, they felt the pressure from all sides. Internally, there was the need to challenge themselves as songwriters while retaining the merciless intensity and unflinching honesty that have always been their calling cards. Externally, there was a whole new set of eyes on the hard-touring Louisville quintet, following a banner year in which they’d brought their underground-seasoned sound to some of the world’s biggest stages, finding themselves the unlikely viral darlings of both Coachella and Bonnaroo.
The creative process was arduous, with the band writing close to 40 songs across a span of four years before locking in the 10 tracks that make up new LP You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To. But in the end, vocalist Bryan Garris, guitarists Isaac Hale and Nicko Calderon, bassist Kevin Otten and drummer Kevin “Pac Sun” Kaine honed a diverse, cohesive and savagely intense album that both sums up the massive strides they’ve taken during their decade as a band, and asserts their boundless potential going forward.
Raging lead single “Blinding Faith” skillfully wields whiplash tempo changes in service of a scathing indictment of religious groupthink. “Don’t Reach for Me” combines the band’s signature frenzied attack with deliberate catchiness and refreshing sonic variety. While “Suffocate,” featuring pop-meets-metal trailblazer Poppy, contrasts an oppressive heaviness befitting the title with a dance-y, syncopated groove and, midway through, the most concussive reggaeton rhythm you’ve ever heard.
The album title — a phrase that a fellow passenger said to Garris to soothe his severe air-travel anxiety during a particularly trying flight — strikes a note of reassurance. But glossing over negative emotions isn’t what Knocked Loose are about. The new songs find them plumbing new depths of loathing — directed both inward and outward — and tortuous anguish. Musically, they’re leaning into their most extreme impulses, from blastbeat-driven fury, chaotic turbulence and seismic breakdowns, while seasoning the mix with ear-catching auxiliary percussion, evocative samples and shout-along hooks, all interwoven to perfection by Grammy-nominated, pop-savy producer Drew “WZRD BLD” Fulk.
There’s no ceiling for hardcore in 2024 — even an outfit as uncompromising as Knocked Loose can turn up in mainstream-adjacent spaces and win over new fans. But there’s a center to what they do that will never change: uncompromising heaviness, both sonically and thematically. What is evolving is their drive to find new ways to convey that heaviness, and add tasteful variety that only highlights their undiminished ferocity. Everywhere Knocked Loose have been is here on this record — but so is everywhere they may yet go.
In their decade-plus together, the four-piece—Julia Shapiro (guitar, vocals), Lydia Lund (guitar, vocals), Gretchen Grimm (drums, vocals), and Annie Truscott (bass, vocals)—have created a resonant body of work. Live Laugh Love is a natural continuation. Against the bizarre backdrop of the past few years, Chastity Belt remained a supportive space for the members to grow and experiment, drawing on the ingredients most essential to their process since the beginning: authenticity and levity. Recorded over three sessions in as many years (January 2020, November 2021 and 2022), the focus became more about enjoying their time together in the studio than making it feel like work. Their ease and familiarity with engineer Samur Khouja in LA, who also recorded their last album, made for a particularly enjoyable process. Once completed, they returned to renowned engineer Heba Kadry who mastered the album.
Album opener “Hollow” sets the tone with a gently driving rhythm while guitar layers stream like sun rays through an open car window. A warmth radiates through Shapiro’s voice, even while grappling with feeling lost and stuck. “The older I get,” Shapiro says of the lyrics, “the more I realize that I might just always feel this way, and it’s more about sitting with the feeling and accepting it, rather than trying to fight it.” That wisdom seems to anchor Live Laugh Love. Chastity Belt has never shied from navigating the spectrum of difficult emotions, and an existential thread weaves throughout the subject matter. And yet the songs feel more grounded than ever; there’s a sense of quiet confidence and self-assurance that comes with being less numb and more present. Facing discomfort takes more fortitude, after all.
Live Laugh Love finds the members in their prime as musicians. Their parts trace intricate patterns over one another, but there’s room to breathe between the layers. Everyone contributes to the writing, sometimes switching instruments, and for the first time, all four members sing a song. It’s never been more apparent that they are creative siblings, cut from the same belt. “We’ve been playing music with each other for over a decade,” says Shapiro, “so it really does feel like we’re all fluent in the same language, and a lot of it just happens naturally.”
“Laugh” seeks in the balm of friendship, aware of the anticipatory nostalgia that hits during a good time that you’re already missing before it’s gone; the heavier guitar tones on “Chemtrails” streak ominous chord progressions over Grimm’s precision timekeeping, lamenting memories that won’t fade easily. During a transitional time, Truscott came across a note in their phone that read, “it's not hard all day, just sometimes,” which inspired a poignant line in the chorus of “Kool-Aid,” their first song as lead vocalist on a Chastity Belt recording. Another standout, “I-90 Bridge” shines with a silvery melody that soars as Lund belts one of the most resounding moments on the album: “Tell your girlfriend she’s got nothing to fear/I’m set in my head/My body’s a different story.” The track “Blue” saunters nonchalantly with a wink; you can almost hear Shapiro’s smile as she sings “Faking it big time/So I can hit my stride/Man, it feels good to be alive,” channeling early Chastity Belt channeling early ’90s before channeling the late Elliott Smith in a spiral of distortion and insight: “Don’t get upset about it/It’s gonna pass/Tell all your friends about it/They’re gonna laugh.”
“We have such a strong sense of each other’s musical inclinations” says Lund. “I think this allows for a lot of playfulness…we can kinda surprise each other, like a good punchline would.”
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What's New 5-10-24
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New Release Round-Up 05-17-24
Billie Eilish - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT - Darkroom/Interscope Records
Billie Eilish’s third studio album, "HIT ME HARD AND SOFT", released via Darkroom/Interscope Records is her most daring body of work to date, a diverse yet cohesive collection of songs— ideally listened to in its entirety from beginning to end—does exactly as the album title suggests; hits you hard and soft both lyrically and sonically, while bending genres and defying trends along the way. With the help of her brother and sole collaborator, FINNEAS, the pair wrote, recorded, and produced the album together in their hometown of Los Angeles. This album comes on the heels of her two massively successful albums “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO?" and "Happier Than Ever" and works to further develop the world of Billie Eilish.
Luke Grimes - Luke Grimes - Mercury Nashville
Luke Grimes self-titled debut album on Mercury Nashville features 13 tracks, including “Burn,” “Hold On,” and “Oh Ohio.” Known for his role as Kayce Dutton on the hit television series Yellowstone, Grimes has been making music for years. He closed out 2023 with a sold-out tour after playing fairs and festivals around the country, including
Stagecoach, Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival, Under The Big Sky Festival, and more. Grimes grew up playing music in church as the son of a Pentecostal pastor. His father also laid the foundation for the music he loves, introducing him to the works of Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Indie Exclusive
Clear LP. Limited Edition.Various Artists - NOW K-Pop 2024 - NOW
Possibly the most long-awaited NOW album since NOW That’s What I Call Music released it’s first album in 1998, NOW That’s What I Call K-Pop will be available May 17th.
NOW That’s What I Call K-Pop, a first of its kind curation for K-Pop, featuring 20 top hits from major current K-Pop favorites – the full tracklist is below.
NOW That’s What I Call K-Pop is available in CD digipack, black vinyl
CD and vinyl editions each include photo cards for all 20 featured artists, a photocard envelope to hold them, and a photo spread of many carefully curated images of the artist
Zayn - ROOM UNDER THE STAIRS [Forest Green/Neon Splatter 2 LP]
Cage The Elephant - Neon Pill [Indie Exclusive Milky Clear LP]
The Avett Brothers - The Avett Brothers [Indie Exclusive Light Blue LP]
Modest Mouse - Good news For People Who Love Bad News (Deluxe Edition)
Pink Floyd - Animals (2018 Remix) [Audio Blu-ray w/Dolby Atmos Mix]
Hampton Hawes - For Real! [Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series LP]
Cold Hart - Pretty In The Dark [LP]
Bright Light Bright Light - Enjoy Youth [Pink LP]
Joe Bonamassa - Live At The Hollywood Bowl With Orchestra [2 LP]
ISOBEL CAMPBELL - Bow to Love [Solid Yellow LP]
Guster - Ooh La La [Mint Green LP]
Ghostly Kisses - Darkroom [LP]
Sasha Alex Sloan - Me Again [LP]
Better Than Ezra - Super Magick [LP]
Night Sins - A Silver Blade in the Shadow [Green and Black Marble LP]
Hollywood Vampires - Rise [CD]
Porcupine Tree - Closure / Continuation: Live Amsterdam 07/11/22
Stephen Sondheim / Cast Recording - Here We Are (Original Cast Recording) [LP]
Oppressor - Solstice Of Oppression
Blitzen Trapper - 100's Of 1000's, Millions Of Billions (Blue)
Collective Soul - Here To Eternity
Ana Egge - Sharing In The Spirit [Limited Edition]
For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.UPCOMING RELEASES