Indie
beabadoobee Covers Daniel Johnston’s “Walking the Cow”: Stream
beabadoobee has already proven to have not just prodigious talent, but an expansive appreciation for her predecessors. She’s made songs referencing Pavement, dug deep into ’90s rock on the killer single “Care”, and covered The 1975. Now, the rising indie musician is once again demonstrating the breadth of her musical knowledge by delivering a cover of Daniel Johnston’s “Walking the Cow”. The acoustic cover comes as part of an at-home session for Apple Music. Speaking to the platform about why she chose to tackle Johnston’s 1993 track, beabadoobee said it was “because he is one of my favorite songwriters of all time. Doing that song reminded me how pure and honest his writing can be.” In reverence to that, beabadoobee said she attempted to create as simple a recording setup as possible, try...
Dirty Projectors Share “Lose Your Love” Remix by Jimmy “The Senator” Douglass: Stream
Felicia Douglass and Dave Longstreth of Dirty Projectors, photo by Jason Frank Rothenberg Dirty Projectors are in the midst of an ambitious five EP project, in which each member of the band has a chance to take on lead coals. The latest installment, Flight Tower surfaced back in May with the excellent single “Lose Your Love”. Now, Dirty Projectors are sharing a special remix of that track by Jimmy Douglass — the Grammy-winning producer best known as The Senator and, coincidentally, the father of keyboardist-percussionist Felicia Douglass, the lead vocalist on the track. There’s three alternate versions of “Lose Your Love” that Dirty Projectors are releasing today: an acoustic spin on the track, a remix by Miami-based producer Mz Poppinz, and the previously mentioned rendition by ...
Mina Tindle Teams with Sufjan Stevens for New Song “Give a Little Love”: Stream
French singer-songwriter Mina Tindle, a.k.a. Pauline de Lassus Saint-Geniès, may be known to many for her collaborations with The National. She is, after all, married to the band’s Bryce Dessner, and appeared frequently on I Am Easy to Find and its subsequent tour. Now, she’s expanding her indie reach with her new album, SISTER, and its latest single, “Give a Little Love” featuring Sufjan Stevens. Lonesome but sweet, “Give a Little Love” flows along gently reverberating guitars and piano notes that seem to coo under Tindle’s voice. The track was written, arranged, and produced by Stevens, and he also contributed subtle backing vocals, adding to the song’s warm feel. “I have always deeply loved Sufjan Stevens music,” Tindle said in a press statement. ”His words and melodies have resonated i...
Angel Olsen Announces New Album Whole New Mess, Shares Title Track: Stream
Last year, Angel Olsen released the orchestral All Mirrors, which quickly became not only one of the best albums of 2019, but of the 2010s in general. While promoting the effort, she frequently mentioned that early versions of the songs were intended for a separate, much more raw release. Today, Olsen has finally announced that companion record, Whole New Mess, and it’s due out August 28th via Jagjaguwar. Nine of the 11 tracks on Whole New Mess will at least be partially familiar to All Mirrors listeners, only here they’re presented in their original, stripped-down form with slightly different titles. You’ll see “Lark Song” instead of the powerful “Lark”, “(Summer Song)” instead of simply “Summer”, and “Chance (Forever Love)” instead of “Chance”. These versions were recorded alon...
Andy Shauf Shares Two New Songs “Judy” and “Jeremy’s Wedding”: Stream
Back in January, Andy Shauf released his wonderful new concept album The Neon Skyline. The rich narrative introduced a number of characters all coming together at a bar in a single night as it explored the relationship between the narrator and his ex-lover. Today, that story gets fleshed out even further with a pair of B-sides, “Judy” and “Jeremy’s Wedding”. Both songs are dreamy teetering on psychedelic, softly strumming folk numbers that carry the dramatic simplicity of Shauf’s storytelling. “Judy” is of particular interest to the Neon Skyline arc, as it finds Shauf’s narrator recounting a routine he and Judy had while still together of buying lottery tickets every Wednesday night. “What would you buy?” he asks himself on the refrain, dreaming of a big win. “I’d buy a ticket fo...
Nilüfer Yanya Debuts New Song “Day 7” During NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert: Watch
Nilüfer Yanya landed on both our Top 50 Songs and Top 50 Albums of 2019 lists thanks to her incredible debut album, Miss Universe. Today, she’s made her return to the spotlight with a new song, “Day 7”, which she premiered a performance for NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert series. This is technically Yanya’s second entry in the Tiny Desk catalog. Last year, the English artist visited the NPR headquarters to play a full-band Tiny Desk set featuring three tracks from Miss Universe. For this new edition, which was recorded at a studio in Cornwall, England, she turned in a solo performances of three other songs from that record: “Heat Rises”, “Paralysed”, and “Heavyweight Champion of the Year”. In between the familiar tracks, she unveiled “Day 7”. Like her previously released material, “Day...
Ashe Is So Over It On New Single “Save Myself”: Stream
If you’ve been on Spotify, Netflix, or TikTok at any point within the last year, chances are you heard and bobbed your head to Ashe. The San Jose indie pop artist’s breakout single, 2019’s “Moral of the Story”, was featured in the film To All the Boys: P.S. I Love You, as well as in over 900,000 TikTok videos. Today, Ashe is back with a follow-up song titled “Save Myself”. “Save Myself” was technically recorded after “Moral of the Story”, but their backstories are closely linked — both are tied to a failed relationship and its messy aftermath. “I look at ‘Save Myself’ as the precursor to ‘Moral of the Story’ instead of the follow up,” Ashe explained in a statement. “People say there are five stages of grief; I wrote ‘Moral of the Story’ in the fifth stage of grieving my relationship: accep...
Emerging Songwriter McCall Shares New Single “One Eye Open”: Stream
Rising Los Angeles songwriter McCall has shared the dreamy new single “One Eye Open”. It’s off her upcoming EP, On Self Loathing, due out sometime later this summer. McCall first began to break out with her 2019 EP Under the Reign. She specializes in what she calls “sad bops with spice,” and that certainly applies to her new offering. “One Eye Open” is fashioned around achingly personal lyrics and pared-back piano. Meanwhile, the studio effects — or her “spicy” ingredient — find McCall sounding like a kid in a candy store. The SoCal native arranges her own voice into a grand chorus, at times evoking Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek”. But she uses this technique sparingly, and as often as she builds out the top line, she demolishes it back to simplicity. She also worked a series of breaks...
My Morning Jacket Perform “Spinning My Wheels” on Fallon: Watch
It’s been less than a week since My Morning Jacket dropped their excellent new album, The Waterfall II. On Wednesday night, the band celebrated the record’s release with a quarantine performance of “Spinning My Wheels” on The Tonight Show. Album opener “Spinning My Wheels” is sensual and introspective. It relies on piano and slide guitar flourishes to provide a backdrop of beauty for the ennui of the lyrics. For the first live performance behind the LP, frontman Jim James selected what seems to be a teal peacoat, and he arranged his flowing hair and beard into a lion’s mane around his head. Filming took place with a red curtain directly behind James, and blank walls on either side. This allowed the camera cuts to provide visual interest, without requiring the band to do anything other...
Cults Announce New Album Host, Share “Trials”: Stream
Beloved indie pop duo Cults have announced their fourth album, Host. The record is due out later this summer on September 18th via Sinderlyn. According to a press statement, the follow-up to 2017’s Offering is said to be about the sinister dynamics of a parasitic relationship, and the catharsis that comes with achieving freedom and self-reliance. For multi-instrumentalist/singer Madeline Follin, in many ways the new album represents a form of liberation, as it’s her first to serve as primary songwriter. “In the past, I’d never brought my own music to the table because I was just too shy,” Follin explains. This time around, Follin did pitch her material, and once her bandmate Brian Oblivion and their producer Shane Stoneback heard what she had written, they were “floored”. Cults’ entire sou...
Makaya McCraven Announces New Album Universal Beings E&F Sides, Shares “Mak Attack”: Stream
Makaya McCraven released one of the 2018’s most acclaimed jazz albums in Universal Beings. Now, the Chicago-based drummer and producer is prepping to drop a companion piece called Universal Beings E&F Sides, in addition to a documentary series about the record. E&F Sides promises 14 “new pieces of organic beat music” that were cut from the original sessions for Universal Beings proper. One of those “Mak Attack”, which finds McCraven fiercely “attacking” his kit like the percussion beast that he is. As for the corresponding documentary, the visual will be soundtracked by the music found on E&F Sides. Its footage chronicles the making of breakthrough album Universal Beings, following McCraven in the studio and on the road as he traveled to California, New York, and...
Liza Anne Shares the Origins of New Song “Change My Mind”: Stream
Our new music feature Origins gives listeners a chance to get the inside scoop on an artist’s latest single. Today, Liza Anne explains what made her “Change My Mind”. Digging your heels in can be a sign of conviction, but also intractability. We all throw up walls when we’re challenged, which leaves very little room for growth (seriously, have you ever been in a Twitter debate?). On her new single “Change My Mind”, Nashville musician Liza Anne tries to keep a level head as she comes to grip with that sort of irked stubbornness. “This song holds hope of wanting the person on the other side to be there while you soften up, someone to challenge you to a place of connection, someone who is safe to grow in front of and with,” she explains in a press statement. “I am so sad that I ever learned c...
