New Music Releases
Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders Release Collaborative New Album Promises: Stream
Floating Points (photo by Dan Medhurtst) and Pharoah Sanders (photo by Debi Del Grande) Electronic composer Floating Points and jazz legend Pharoah Sanders have just released Promises, their stunning new album with the London Symphony Orchestra. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. Broken up into nine distinct movements, Promises is a soul-stirring take on minimalist jazz, gentle instrumentation, and orchestra arrangements that can transport you into another dimension. At times, like in “Movement 6” and “Movement 9”, the percussion is so delicate that it feels like you’re in the middle of a movie score about the most contemplative, delicate moments of your life. Promises was composed by Sam Shepherd (AKA Floating Points) and sees the music brought to life via Sanders’ cel...
Beartooth Announce New Album Below, Share “The Past Is Dead”: Stream
Midwest rockers Beartooth have announced their fourth studio album, Below, which arrives June 25th. They’ve also unveiled the pyro-heavy video for the crushing single “The Past Is Dead”. The song opens with a soaring vocal build-up and before launching into an anthemic breakdown. The track’s melodies and upbeat metalcore riffing are paired with dark lyrical concepts, as reflected by the album title Below. In press release, singer Caleb Shomo questioned whether the new material was “too dark.” He said he drew upon experiences from the past year when writing the songs. “Below is by far my favorite album I’ve made to date,” Shomo stated. “It covers the dark side of dealing with mental strain during the last year. I gave it all I had — musically and lyrically. Is it too dark? Possibly, but it ...
Kenny Mason Drops New Single “Play Ball”: Stream
Rising Atlanta rapper Kenny Mason has released a new song titled “Play Ball”. Stream it below. Co-produced by Mason with Julian Cruz, the guitar-driven track is the latest preview of Mason’s upcoming project, Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut. After opening with a melodic intro and chorus, he switches over to a fast-paced flow while rapping about the realities of street life. “Life of a rough neck, die for my respect / Y’all n-ggas suspect, lie to get success,” Mason spits. “Lot of these n-ggas is lottery tickets in my hood / Inspirin’ me to jug, who ’bout to slip up next?” Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut is out April 16th and includes the previously released singles “Pup” and “Partments”. The 12-track project features heavy hitters like Freddie Gibbs and Denzel Curry. Mason is coming off a breakout 202...
Bloc Party’s Kele Announces New Album The Waves Pt. 1, Shares “Smalltown Boy”: Stream
Bloc Party founder Kele Okereke has announced a new solo album. It’s called The Waves Pt. 1 and it’s due out May 28th via his own label KOLA Records/!K7. To celebrate the announcement, he’s shared a single from the record dubbed “Smalltown Boy”. Stream it below. This is his fifth album under the name Kele, following his 2019 full-length 2042 and his musical soundtrack Leave to Remain from that same year. According to a press release, he created the record entirely on his own while holed up during quarantine. Most of the tracks draw their influence from film scores and classical music, while the lyrics seeks to transform the traditional topics of pop music into meditative passages. “We were due to start working on my second musical with the Lyric Theatre but when the lockdown...
Miguel Announces New EP Art Dealer Chic Vol. 4
Miguel has announced a new EP, Art Dealer Chic Vol. 4, out April 9th via ByStorm/RCA. News of the upcoming project accompanies the arrival of the first three volumes of Art Dealer Chic on streaming platforms for the first time since the EPs were first released in 2012. “I’ve been doing a lot of work to consider and refine my beliefs in the last few years,” the R&B singer said in a statement. “Inevitably, this brought me back to Art Dealer Chic as ADC is more or less an moniker for active mindset curation; choosing the thoughts, emotions, and actions that reflect my truest self instead of letting what I’ve experienced or what is expected of me dictate my choices.” He added, “As a basic operating system this mentality has made a profound impact on my life and I want to continue to share ...
Jackie Venson Teams Up with The Vapor Caves on New Song “Dreams”: Stream
Ever since Jackie Venson caught our attention with a mesmerizing performance at Austin City Limits a few years ago, we’ve been keeping our eyes on the Texas-based guitar virtuoso. Today, she’s back lending her skills to “Dreams”, a new funk-pop song by The Vapor Caves that exemplifies her singular talent well. Stream it below. “Working with Jackie Venson on ‘Dreams’ was such a cool experience,” the band wrote on Instagram earlier today. “We knew she would add something special, but the session flowed so naturally and led to the magic that this tune is today. Jackie drops the hammer with an epic solo that only she could play.” “Dreams” is a vibrant burst of retro funk-pop and melodramatic R&B. That seems to be the speciality of The Vapor Caves, but the fellow Texas-based duo wisely...
The Joy Formidable Return with New Single “Into the Blue”: Stream
The Joy Formidable are back with “Into the Blue”, their first new material since 2018. Stream the new song via its accompanying music video below. On “Into the Blue”, lead singer Ritzy Bryan describes turning feelings of rejection into self love. “Don’t fear the move out of the past,” she sings. “Let time take your hand and guide you / It’s time to move / Into the Blue once again.” “‘Into The Blue’ is about surrendering to love and magic,” explained Bryan in a statement. “Having the courage to enjoy a new journey and the mystery and excitement of something unexpected. It’s about opening your eyes to beauty and love again. Making it to the other side. Whilst not conceived as a metaphor for the times we all live in now, it certainly turned out that way.” As for the music video, it depic...
Amigo the Devil Shares New Song “Murder at the Bingo Hall”: Stream
Dark Americana artist Amigo the Devil has returned with another chilling tale, “Murder at the Bingo Hall”. The track is from the Austin singer-songwriter’s forthcoming sophomore album, Born Against, arriving April 16th. Once again, Amigo the Devil assumes the role of a grim storyteller, weaving a tongue-in-cheek tale of bloodshed in the most unlikely of places. As the temper of the paranoid bingo-playing protagonist grows fiercer with each passing number, the song careens to a climactic, violent conclusion. Amigo the Devil, aka Danny Kiranos, has become one of Americana’s rising acts thanks to his brand of entertaining narrative songwriting. Think Marty Robbins’ Gunfighter Ballads channeled through the grim post-modernism and black humor of Breaking Bad. Holding to the folk-music conventio...
Xiu Xiu Dissect New Album of Duets OH NO Track by Track: Stream
In our Track by Track feature, artists take listeners through each song on their new album. Today, Xiu Xiu explore the duets on their latest effort, OH NO. Oh, yes! Experimental duo Xiu Xiu are back with their latest album, OH NO — and they’re not alone. Each track on the 15-song effort features a different guest artist, and you can stream the whole thing below. The band’s 12th full-length serves as the follow-up to 2019’s Girl with Basket of Fruit. It’s ironically fitting that the album largely came together in 2020, as the music Jamie Stewart was writing already had its origins in a well of isolation. Even before the profound loneliness of the pandemic, Stewart was finding himself cutting off a number of close personal relationships following “surprising acts of betrayal and disrespect.”...
serpentwithfeet Releases Sophomore Album DEACON: Stream
Our March Artist of the Month, serpentwithfeet has today unleashed his stellar sophomore album, DEACON. Stream the 11-track effort below via Apple Music and Spotify, and read our review here. Serving as the direct follow-up to 2020’s Apparition EP, DEACON marks serpentwithfeet’s first full-length since 2018’s soil. The R&B artist has taken a more pop-forward approach for this release, as demonstrated on early singles like “Fellowship”, “Same Size Shoe”, and “Heart Storm”. Regardless of the shift in sonics, however, serpent is still writing about many of the same vulnerable themes, particularly Black gay love. As he told Consequence of Sound in our recent AOTM interview, “I see myself writing about gay love and Black gay love specifically for a long time. That’s what I’ve been writing a...
Lil Nas X Releases New Single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”: Stream
After teasing it for nearly a year, Lil Nas X has finally released his long-awaited new single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” alongside a dreamy music video. Stream it below. Technically “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” sounds nothing like Lil Nas X’s original breakout single “Old Town Road”, which stirred some controversy by being deemed too hip-hop for country radio before ultimately dominating the Billboard charts at large anyway. However, this new track aims for a similar unexpected mashup of sorts, blending low-key rap with a beat that recalls flamenco and reggeaton dipped in pop. It’s catchy, warm, and primed to become a summer hit. “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” derives its title from Nas’ birth name, which may explain some of the angelic life-versus-death themes present in the ...
Taylor Swift Unearths Previously-Unreleased Song “You All Over Me”: Stream
Taylor Swift has unveiled a previously unreleased song called “You All Over Me”. Stream it now via Apple Music or Spotify. The track was originally written well over a decade ago for Swift’s 2008 breakout Fearless, but it didn’t end up making the cut for the tracklist and has been living in the superstar’s vault ever since. A demo version of the song was leaked back in 2017, but now the 11-time Grammy winner has properly re-recorded it and cleaned it up for a legitimate release. As Swift wrote on Twitter, this version of “You All Over Me” features background vocals from the country-pop star Maren Morris. “One thing I’ve been loving about these From The Vault songs is that they’ve never been heard, so I can experiment, play, and even include some of my favorite artists,” she wrote.&nbs...
