Alternative Rock
Portugal. The Man and “Weird Al” Honor Indigenous Peoples with New Song “Who’s Gonna Stop Me”: Stream
Portugal. The Man and “Weird Al” Yankovic, photos by Ben Kaye Portugal. The Man and “Weird Al” Yankovic have joined forces once again, but this time it’s not to turn beloved indie songs into polka jams. Instead, they’ve collaborated on a new track, “Who’s Gonna Stop Me”, in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day. Produced by the Grammy-winning Jeff Bhasker (Kanye West, Rihanna) and co-written by the legendary Paul Williams (David Bowie, The Love Boat theme), the song also features contributions from The Last Artful, Dodgr. A peacefully powerful call for freedom, the opening verses are meditative before a rattling drum beat turns it towards invigorating. “Sneaking out, jumping over backyard fences/ We’re all just looking for freedom,” sings “Weird Al” on the second verse. “I’ve got an ...
Future Islands’ As Long as You Are Is Familiar yet Captivating: Review
The Lowdown: Future Islands first truly caught the world’s attention with the Letterman performance of “Seasons (Waiting on You)” that brought lead vocalist Samuel T. Herring’s confident and expressive singing style into the viral limelight. This coincided with the release of Singles, their most polished album thus far and an encapsulation of all their post-wave aspirations. Now, two albums and six years later, they’re back again with As Long as You Are, a twinkling and pulsating slow burn that finds them employing many approaches that by now feel familiar to their sound, but still cohesive and captivating. [embedded content] The Good: It opens with seagulls and it ends with the coast. This is an album that deals with expanse and immensity that feels difficult to conceive of, let alone to ...
The Smashing Pumpkins Share New Songs “Anno Satana” and “Birch Grove”: Stream
The Smashing Pumpkins will drop their new double album, CYR, on November 27th via Sumerian Records. Already, we’ve heard the stellar title track, “The Colour of Your Love”, “Confessions of a Dopamine Addict”, and “Wrath”. Now, they’re back with two more cuts to add to the pile: “Anno Satana” and “Birch Grove”. Fans hoping Billy Corgan might continue itching that new wave side of his can drown in the thunderous “Anno Satana”. The same could be said for “Birch Grove”, which finds the singer-songwriter slowing things down for a glacial bath of synths. Both bode well for the new album and demand re-listens. Stream both tracks below. As you’ll see, “Anno Satana” doubles as both a new music video and yet also the latest episode for Corgan’s new animated series In Ashes. If you recall, the f...
Sheryl Crow: “If You Really Were Pro-Life, You’d Be at the Border Trying to Help”
Kyle Meredith With… Sheryl Crow Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Sheryl Crow speaks with Kyle Meredith about her new single, “In the End”, and its themes of leading with compassion and the danger of the religious right. Although she hopes for a Biden/Harris win, Crow admits that the money fueling the two main political parties has driven her to become a libertarian instead. Crow also opens up about the freedom of being a commentator with music that has immediacy, her virtual live series, and plans to possibly perform The Globe Sessions LP in full. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide breadth of musicians. Every Monday, Wedne...
The Kills Announce Rarities Album Little Bastards, Share Unreleased Demo “Raise Me”: Stream
The Kills have shared a previously unreleased demo called “Raise Me”. The song is taken from the band’s newly announced rarities collection, Little Bastards, arriving December 11th via Domino. The compilation comprises recordings dating from The Kill’s earliest 7-inch singles in 2002 through 2009. Featuring remastered B-sides, demos, and covers, Little Bastards collects many tracks originally recorded for bonus inclusion on CD singles. As that format vanished in the wake of digital streaming, most of those songs were abandoned — hence the title Little Bastards. The name is also a reference to the drum machine the duo used to expand their sound during the early days of their career, lovingly dubbed Little Bastard. “It was a Roland 880,” The Kills’ Jamie Hince explained in a statement, “whic...
Butch Vig Says Garbage’s New Album Is “Dark and Schizophrenic”
Kyle Meredith With… Butch Vig Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Garbage drummer and super-producer Butch Vig speaks with Kyle Meredith about Divine Accidents. The sophomore album from his side outfit 5 Billion In Diamonds finds him once again collaborating with The Soundtrack of Our Lives’ Ebbot Lundberg, Bristol UK producer Andy Jenks, and DJ James Grillo. Vig discusses how the band was inspired by late ’60s film music, why they looked to space and spirituality to make sense of the insane, and the similarities with writing Garbage’s James Bond theme to 1999’s The World Is Not Enough. Speaking of Garbage, Vig says the new album is about finished and talks about it being dark, schizo...
Matt Berninger Finds Stripped-Down Solace on Debut LP Serpentine Prison: Review
The Lowdown: As the founding singer of Ohio alt rock troupe The National, Matt Berninger has already proven himself to be a captivating vocalist and — alongside wife Carin Besser — an insightful lyricist. For instance, we praised last year’s I Am Easy to Find for its “conversational” approach regarding “the intricacies of modern romance.” Thus, his monotone yet elegantly arid voice and observational storybook songwriting rarely fail to charm and connect with us, especially when they’re placed on top of such vibrantly picturesque and subtly exploratory arrangements. For the most part, that holds true on his first solo record, Serpentine Prison. Produced by Booker T. Jones — a revered artist in his own right who’s also collaborated with Otis Redding, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Elton John, a...
Mark Lanegan Announces New Christmas Album Under the Name Dark Mark
Sure, Dolly Parton and Andrew Bird have holiday albums coming down the chimney this year, but 2020 deserves a darker sort of seasonal sing-a-long. Thankfully, Mark Lanegan is here to abide with his new Christmas album, Dark Mark Does Christmas 2020. Due out exclusively via Rough Trade record stores, the album is actually the ex-Screaming Trees frontman’s second holiday release under the Dark Mark moniker. The first, Dark Mark Does Christmas 2012, was a tour-only 12-inch EP featuring six tracks: “The Cherry Tree Carol”, “Down in Yon Forest”, “O Holy Night”, “We Three Kings”, “Coventry Carol”, and a cover of “Burn the Flames” by Roky Erickson. Five of those, including the Erickson cover, will make it onto the new LP, along with five freshly recorded songs. The new material comprises covers, ...
Corey Taylor Slams Trump’s Presidency: “The Cheeto Can’t Lead”
Kyle Meredith With… Corey Taylor Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Corey Taylor sits down with Kyle Meredith to discuss his first solo record, CMFT. The Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman talks about wanting to make an album with vintage vibes, blending genres, not hiding his influences, and writing with a different artistic muscle. Taylor also tells us about learning piano and his desire to take on steel drums, the loss of guitar-driven rock, and how he’s auctioning off his guitars to support the ACLU. We’re also tipped off on the B-sides and covers that will accompany this LP. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide breadth of m...
beabadoobee Unveils New Song “How Was Your Day?”: Stream
Rising rocker beabadoobee shared her new song “How Was Your Day?”. It’s the latest preview of her debut album Fake It Flowers, which drops October 16th via Dirty Hit. As you might guess from the songwriter behind “I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus”, bea has never been afraid to express herself with a forceful electric guitar. But here she strikes a softer tone, with acoustic strumming providing a backdrop for a bruised vocal delivery. The question, “How was your day?” is an attempt to reestablish communication. “What do you look like?” she asks later. “Remember when we used to fight?” Others might not recall that memory so fondly, but this is a song for appreciating the view through rose-colored glasses. She sings, “You used to kiss me/ Guess it’s not hard to believe/ That I miss gett...
The Smashing Pumpkins Share New Songs “Confessions of a Dopamine Addict” and “Wrath”: Stream
The Smashing Pumpkins will drop their new double album CYR on November 27th via Sumerian Records. Already, we’ve heard the stellar title track and the even more prolific stunner “The Colour of Your Love”. Now, we have two new cuts off the album to absorb: “Confessions of a Dopamine Addict” and “Wrath”. The laboriously titled “Confessions…” is a little too slick for this writer’s taste, and finds Corgan ramblin’ on to middling effect. Not gonna lie, it sounds like something culled from his post-Zeitgeist notebooks circa 2008. “Wrath”, however, finds steadier footing with a juicy beat straight outta The Church’s Starfish. Stream both tracks below. Additionally, Corgan has shared the first two episodes for his new animated series In Ashes. The five-part series invites viewers on a “fanta...
Josh Klinghoffer’s Pluralone Announces New Album, Shares “The Night Won’t Scare Me”: Stream
Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has announced a new solo album. Credited to his Pluralone moniker, it’s called I Don’t Feel Well and due out October 16th. The forthcoming effort serves as the follow-up to his 2019 debut album, To Be One with You, but is his first since being let go by the Peppers earlier this year. According to a statement, the 10-track effort was completed during the pandemic, hence the title’s rather dismal and uncertain tone. “This is a wild time,” Klinghoffer said of the LP. “This album was made during and amongst some very new experiences. I hope it captures some of how it felt during this period. I’ll feel better when this is behind us. As an early look at I Don’t Feel Well, stream reflective lead single “The Night Won’t Scare M...
