Indie pop
Japanese Breakfast Performs “Be Sweet” on Fallon: Watch
Michelle Zauner, aka Japanese Breakfast, served as the musical guest on Monday night’s episode of Jimmy Fallon, where she performed her latest single, “Be Sweet”. Additionally, in a nod to her debut appearance on The Tonight Show, Zauner dusted off “Jimmy Fallon Big!”, from 2017’s Soft Sounds from Another Planet, as a web exclusive. Zauner and her band filmed their mini-set at Brooklyn’s National Sawdust. With the exception of a female patron at the bar and an extraterrestrial bartender, the venue was completely empty. As such, the only way to view both performances is by clicking the play button on the videos embedded below. “Be Sweet” is the lead single from Zauner’s upcoming album, Jubilee, out June 4th via Dead Oceans. The record follows 2016’s Psychopomp and 2017’s...
Teenage Fanclub Share New Single “The Sun Won’t Shine on Me”: Stream
Teenage Fanclub have released a new song from Endless Arcade ahead of the album’s April 30th release. It’s called “The Sun Won’t Shine on Me” and it’s an absolutely gorgeous number to brighten an otherwise dreary Monday. Stream it below. This is the fourth song Teenage Fanclub have shared from their upcoming studio full-length, following the lead single “Home”, the downtrodden track “Everything Is Falling Apart”, and the jittery festival-primed song “I’m More Inclined”. Combined, it colors in Endless Arcade as an album that’s equally full of despair, positivity, and a laid-back approach to life. “The Sun Won’t Shine on Me” is a gorgeous, gentle song penned by Norman Blake. Over the course of the track’s three-minute-long runtime, Teenage Fanclub build from shimmering guitar riffs...
Matt and Kim Cover Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me”: Stream
There’s perhaps no more classic anthem for International Women’s Day than the late Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me”. So to celebrate today’s festivities, Matt and Kim have flipped their name to Kim and Matt for a cover of the 1963 hit. Out via FADER, the duo’s cover of “You Don’t Own Me” sees drummer Kim Schifino providing lead vocals (natch). The home recording updates the song’s instantly recognizable R&B balladry with electronic drums and fuzzy synths. It captures all the norm-defying independence of the original for a modern audience that feels like it’s finally beginning to change those norms. “This song has always resonated with me lyrically, ever since I was a kid,” Kim said in a statement. “My dad raised me to not take shit from anyone and live the life I want to live. It break...
Lake Street Dive on the Challenge of Writing Songs With Important Messages
Kyle Meredith With… Lake Street Dive Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Lake Street Dive frontwoman Rachael Price talks with Kyle Meredith about the band’s new album, Obviously. Price discusses working with producer Mike Elizando due to his work with huge hip-hop artists, writing in pairs for the first time, and digging into her teenage diaries for inspiration. The soul-pop vocalist also takes us through the heavier topics on the album, how the songs change depending on what’s happening in the world, and the challenge of putting an important message in a song. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide breadth of musicians. Every Mo...
Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett Reunite for First Performance in Six Years: Watch
We’ve officially lived a full decade without the existence of Rilo Kiley. Since the band split, singer Jenny Lewis and lead guitarist Blake Sennett have only reunited once, when the latter joined the former on stage at Coachella in 2015 for “Portions for Foxes”. Nearly six years later, it’s finally happened again, as the pair reunited over the weekend to take part in Linda Perry’s Rock-N-Relief livestream event. Lewis and Sennett delivered what could be their first-ever performance of “Let Me Back In”, a single from the 2013 compilation LP RKives. With a masked Sennett playing his acoustic guitar behind her, and a sweet little floof of a puppy on her lap, Lewis sang to camera, checking an off-camera lyrics sheet every so often. Memorized or not, it was a darling pre-recorded rendition, and...
Caroline Polachek Covers The Corrs’ “Breathless” on Corden: Watch
In December, Caroline Polachek recorded a studio version of The Corrs’ iconic 2000 song “Breathless”, and last night, she brought those “Go ons!” to The Late Late Show with James Corden. The set designer apparently took “Breathless” literally, and to watch the performance is to find yourself dead at the gates of hell. But if we have to suffer eternal damnation, we couldn’t ask for better company than Polachek. The former Chairlift singer has the energy of an up-and-comer combined with a veteran’s poise. Wearing a Mad Max twist on a classic black dress, she commands the massive stage while hardly moving a step, using purposeful hand gestures and little shakes of the hip to provide visual interest while still keeping her breath supported for the vocally-challenging tune. ...
Charli XCX Teams with No Rome and The 1975 on New Song “Spinning”: Stream
Charli XCX (photo by Philip Cosores); No Rome and The 1975 (photo via No Rome’s Instagram) Charli XCX has teamed with No Rome and The 1975 for a new song, “Spinning”. Stream it below. London-based Filipino musician No Rome officially announced the collaboration in early February. He revealed the song was already mastered, but the music video was still in the process of being edited. Several weeks later, Charli went a step further, excitedly dubbing the three of them a supergroup. The British singer-songwriter shared her experience of working with No Rome and The 1975 in a tweet. “I think Rome and The 1975 guys are so talented, it’s honestly so cool to have this song with them,” Charli wrote. “I feel like we all speak the same musical language in some way, and that language is stunnin...
Small Black Share New Single “The Bridge”: Stream
Over five years after delivering their last full-length, 2015’s Best Blues, Small Black are set to return next month with a new album called Cheap Dreams. Early singles “Duplex” and “Tampa” arrived over the last few months, and now the chillwave pioneers are back with “The Bridge”. Built off a patiently sanguine piano line, “The Bridge” is an ode to Rockaway Beach, a favorite oasis for New York escapists. For those spending most of their time in the concrete jungle of the boroughs, it’s a magical slice of Atlantic coastline, and the song’s dreamy longing transports listeners right back to those shores. As singer Josh Kolenik explained in a statement, the lyrics are specifically from the point of view of his Uncle Matt, an individual Small Black fans may recognize from the band’s first-ever...
Japanese Breakfast Announces New Album Jubilee, Shares “Be Sweet”: Stream
Michelle Zauner has announced a new Japanese Breakfast album called Jubilee, due out June 4th via Dead Oceans. Today, Zauner is getting the party started with the lead single, “Be Sweet”. The singer-songwriter’s third studio album follows 2016’s Psychopomp and 2017’s Soft Sounds from Another Planet, but it finds her traversing new emotional ground. While her first two albums dealt with the devastation she felt after her mother’s death from cancer, Jubilee is meant to be just that: a celebration marking the passage of time. In a statement, she explained the intention behind the project and its first single “Be Sweet”, saying, “After spending the last five years writing about grief, I wanted our follow up to be about joy. For me, a third record should feel bombastic and so I ...
Cherry Glazerr Release New Song “Big Bang”: Stream
Cherry Glazerr have returned with a new song called “Big Bang”. For this one, the Los Angeles garage-rock band continue to move in the poppier direction that their last couple singles have hinted at. During Cherry Glazerr’s breakout years in the mid-2010s, the band, led by frontwoman Clementine Creevy, were standouts in the West Coast garage and surf revival. Their 2014 album Haxel Princess helped define that era, but 2017’s Apocalypstick and 2019’s Stuffed & Ready saw the band develop into a bigger, fuller rock sound akin to groups like White Reaper and Bleached. Then, at the end of 2019, the group collaborated with their former tourmates Portugal. The Man on a track called “Call Me” that had a much sleeker sound. After a year of radio silence, they dropped a ...
Claud Unveils New Song “Guard Down”: Stream
We’re days away from Super Monster, the highly-anticipated debut album from Claud. Now, the first artist signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory label has gifted fans with one final peek behind the curtain with a new song called “Guard Down”. Co-written with Cameron Hale and Mary Weitz, the song kicks off with an eclectic drum riff that sets the stage for whimsy and fun. Claud unveils another catchy melody, using the sunny topline as a Trojan Horse for a tale of unrequited love. “Don’t let your guard down,” they sing over and over again, “Don’t let your guard down.” In a statement, Claud explained the emotions behind the song, writing, “I have the hardest time opening up and letting my guard down. When I wrote this song, I had just found out somebody I had ...
Ora The Molecule Announces Debut Album Human Safari, Shares “Creator”: Stream
Norwegian avant-pop artist Ora The Molecule has signed to Mute Records and announced her debut album Human Safari. To pair with the news, she’s shared its elastic lead single, “Creator”. Ora The Molecule is the project of the Oslo, Norway-born songwriter Nora Schjelderup, who started putting out music under this name back in 2018. In 2019, she released a great EP called Sugar that sonically landed somewhere between The Eurythmics, Austra, and Jessie Ware. Throughout the rest of 2019, she dribbled out singles that were in the same vein of sleek, icy, slightly strange dance-pop, and clearly she resonated with a wider audience. According to a press release, the 12-track Human Safari was informed by Schjelderup taking the opportunity to really examine the world around her. ...
