Music Videos
Meskerem Mees Is Not Your Average “Joe” on Her Debut Single: Stream
You may not know Belgium-based singer-songwriter Meskerem Mees just yet, but she’s ready to charm you with a formal first impression. At least that’s the plan for her debut single, “Joe”, which she’s released today along with an accompanying music video. Mees is a 20-year-old indie folk artist with Ethiopian roots. Armed with an acoustic guitar and a gentle, scratchy voice, she whisks up music akin to Joni Mitchell, Laura Marling, and Jade Bird in a modest but nurturing style. After stealing the spotlight at local live shows in Europe, she’s finally begun making moves to formally record and release her music. That’s where “Joe” comes in. With a soothing, strolling guitar melody, Mees tells the story of a wandering man who won the protagonist over when she was just a teenager. The narrative...
DevilDriver Announce New Double Album, Unleash Single “Keep Away From Me”: Stream
DevilDriver have announced the release of a new album, Dealing With Demons I, due out this fall. The LP will be the first of a two-part double album, with the second one to follow at a later date. In advance of the release, the band has unveiled the single, “Keep Away From Me”. Aptly titled for the current times, “Keep Away from Me” has an anthemic quality as people social distance during the coronavirus pandemic. Serving as the album opener, the song touts a groove-laden, mathematic technicality and a passionate vocal delivery from frontman Dez Fafara. The video is rooted in the pandemic as well, featuring news footage with phrases like “censoring freedoms of speech” and “truth missing” flashing across the screen, a la The X-Files intro sequence. It’s an ominous way to begin the doub...
Disclosure Announce New Album ENERGY, Featuring slowthai, Kehlani, Common, and More
Disclosure returned in February with an EP called Ecstasy. Now, the electronic music duo is prepping a proper full-length album for August. It’s dubbed ENERGY and sees the Lawrence brothers collaborating with rappers for the very first time in their decade-long career. ENERGY follows up on 2015’s Caracal and serves as the group’s third LP overall. It boasts guest contributions from hip-hop acts like slowthai, Common, Mick Jenkins, Aminé, and Channel Tres. Also slated to make cameos are Kelis, Syd of The Internet, Fatoumata Diawara, and Blick Bassy. According to a statement, recording sessions for the new album yielded upwards of 200 (!) potential tracks, which Disclosure eventually whittled down to 11. “The thing that decided which songs made it and which songs didn’t was that on...
Sharon Van Etten and Josh Homme Share Video for “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding”: Watch
Sharon Van Etten and Josh Homme in video for “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” Sharon Van Etten and Josh Homme’s cover of “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” wasn’t intentionally made for the quarantine era. “Recording this song had nothing to do with what we’d be going through… until we started going through it,” explains Homme in a statement. But while the track itself wasn’t intended to be an anthem of isolated times, its new music video fully embraces the state of the world. Directed by Matthew Daniel Siskin, the clip captures Van Etten and Homme at home with their families. The former’s kid plays around with an empty inflatable swimming pool while she sips a glass of wine and sings karaoke in front of a projection of SMPTE color bars. Homme, m...
Sia Shares New Song “Together” from Upcoming Directorial Debut: Stream
Sia’s last proper album, This is Acting, hit shelves more than four years ago. The pop superstar has been quite busy since then, though — and not just with her music. Not only is she working on the soundtrack to a movie she herself directed, she has also expanded her own family by adopting two 18-year-old boys. Marking Sia’s feature directorial debut, the forthcoming film is called Music. Co-written by Sia and children’s author Dallas Clayton, it’s based on a short story the singer penned in 2007. The story follows the life of an autistic teenager (Maddie Ziegler) who is cared for by her drug-dealing half-sister (Kate Hudson). If you’ll recall, actor and dancer Ziegler often appears in Sia’s music videos, including the now-classic clip for “Chandelier”, one of the best hits of the 201...
Julianna Barwick Announces New Album Healing Is a Miracle, Shares “Inspirit”: Stream
Julianna Barwick has announced a new album called Healing Is a Miracle just in time to help soothe our global anxiety. It’s her first record in four years and is due out on July 10th via Ninja Tune. To celebrate, she’s shared the lead single, “Inspirit”, along with a scenic music video that captures the mood. Healing Is a Miracle was built on improvisation, reflection, and collaboration. In particular, the latter takes shape in the form of some very notable guest features by Jónsi of Sigur Rós, Nosaj Thing, and Mary Lattimore. While this may appear like a departure from her past work, the press release assures that Healing Is a Miracle is a natural evolution from her previous albums, including 2016’s Will and 2013’s Nepenthe. Barwick began drafting ideas for Healing Is a Miracle last sprin...
Rina Sawayama has a Bloody Breakdown in New “Bad Friend” Video: Watch
Rina Sawayama, our April Artist of the Month, is back with a new music video for “Bad Friend”. It comes in support of SAWAYAMA, her recently released debut album of “brilliant” and “lyrically complex, refined pop.” Directed by Ali Kurr, the film noir-style clip sees Sawayama play the role of a man drinking down his breakup sorrows at a bar. Though initially reserved and private in nature, after a few too many shots, he completely lashes out and attacks his drinking companion. For Sawayama, this was the first time doing her own stunts and working with prosthetic makeup. Editors’ Picks In a statement, the Japan-born, UK-based pop artist talked about the purposefully shocking tone of the visual, “The song is about the heartbreak of losing a friendship and realizing that you were the cau...
Arca Announces New Album KiCk i, Featuring Björk, Rosalía, and More
Arca has formally announced her new album, KiCk i. The follow-up to 2017’s self-titled LP is due out June 26th via XL Recordings. The forthcoming 12-track effort sees experimental producer Alejandra Ghersi teaming up with prominent guests Björk and Rosalía, as well as SOPHIE and Shygirl. This fourth full-length continues a long-running collaborative streak for Arca and Björk; Arca previously contributed heavily to the Iceland icon’s albums Vulnicura (2015) and Utopia (2017). KiCk i represents a new and transformative chapter for Arca, who now identifies as a Latinx trans woman comprised of more than one “self-state.” “I’m asking for recognition that we have multiple selves without denying that there’s a singular unit,” she told Paper recently, “I want to be seen as an e...
Country Westerns Share the Origins of New Single “I’m Not Ready”: Stream
In our new music feature Origins, bands give their listeners some insight into the inspirations behind their latest track. Today, Country Westerns explain why “I’m Not Ready”. For a full year, few had heard the music of Country Westerns besides the late David Berman. After all, Silver Jews drummer Brian Kotzur had started the project with The Weight/Gentleman Jesse’s Joey Plunkett as a way to play music pressure-free; performing for the indie icon was enough of an outlet. They’d tested the waters of Nashville’s DIY party scene, but otherwise kept things close to the garage. Once State Champion’s Sabrina Rush picked up bass for the first time and started playing with Country Westerns, however, it was Berman who encouraged them to take their sound wider. So off the trio went to New York, spe...
The Residents Announce New Album, Share “Die! Die! Die!” with Black Francis: Stream
The veteran art-rock collective The Residents have announced a new double-disc album called METAL, MEAT & BONE: The Songs of Dyin’ Dog. The first single, “Die! Die! Die!”, comes with a Trump and coronavirus-inspired music video, along with unhinged vocals from Black Francis of Pixies. METAL, MEAT & BONE arrives July 10th, and if you’re wondering, “Who’s this Dyin’ Dog?”, The Residents have provided a typically cracked answer. According to a statement, Dyin’ Dog was a bluesman from the 1970s born with the name Alvin Snow. Before his mysterious disappearance on January 13th, 1976, Dyin’ Dog apparently recorded a ten-song demo. As the story goes, The Residents were fortunate enough to rediscover this long-lost masterpiece, and have now used it as the basis for METAL, ME...
Madeline Kenney Announces New Album, Shares “Sucker” Featuring Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner: Stream
Madeline Kenney has announced her third studio album, Sucker’s Lunch. Set to arrive July 31st through Carpark Records, it’s being teased with a lead single titled “Sucker” featuring Lambchop frontman Kurt Wagner. For her first two full-lengths, Kenney enlisted the help of two special musicians; Toro y Moi produced 2017’s Night Night at the First Landing, while Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak handled production on the 2018 follow-up, Perfect Shapes. Kenney has again brought in outside talent for Sucker’s Lunch, this time turning to all of Wye Oak — both Wasner and Andy Stack. All three artists co-produced and pieced together the new album during quick studio sessions held in Durham, San Francisco, and Kenney’s hometown of Oakland. Musically, the forthcoming LP is said to lean more int...
IDLES Return With Rallying New Song “Mr. Motivator”: Stream
IDLES’ “Mr. Motivator” video Just when we could all use a boost, IDLES are back with a rallying new song called “Mr. Motivator”. It serves as the first official preview of their new album. With their signature breed of stomping punk instrumentation and frontman Joe Talbot’s wily vocals, the Bristol natives crank through a whole batch of self-admitted cliches in the name of inspiration. “Like Conor McGregor with a samurai sword on roller blades/ Like Vasyl Lomachenko after four pints of Gatorade”, hacks Talbot during the track’s first verse. “Let’s seize the day/ All hold hands/ Chase the pricks away”, he chants throughout its cheery refrain. “Mr. Motivator” falls in line with the style of rough-and-tough positivity that IDLES became known for on their 2018 record, Joy As ...
