New Song Releases
slowthai Shares New Song “CANCELLED” Featuring Skepta: Stream
Later this week, slowthai will finally unveil his sophomore album TYRON, which is one of our most anticipated projects of the year. As one last preview before it drops, the UK rapper has shared a song from the record called “CANCELLED” that features fellow British MC Skepta. slowthai is no stranger to transgressive behavior, and as the title suggests, this track is all about reveling in disorderly conduct that the public might frown upon. “I ain’t an actor, fuck the Oscars, main stage in my boxers/ Thousand grams, fuck the Grammys, same-same for the shoppers,” are the opening lines to slowthai’s short yet piercing verse. Skepta handles the hook, starting with chest-puffing braggadocio — “How you gonna cancel me?/ Twenty awards on the mantelpiece/ Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury/ Girls in...
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. ...
Andrew Bird and Jimbo Mathus Unveil New Song “Poor Lost Souls”: Stream
Andrew Bird and Jimbo Mathus wish blessings on Los Angeles’ homeless population on their new song “Poor Lost Souls”. The former Squirrel Nut Zippers bandmates have remained friends since parting ways in the ’90s, and Bird even joined SNZ for “Train on Fire” from their 2020 album Lost Songs of Doc Souchon. Now, the two songwriters are fulfilling a longtime ambition and collaborating on an album, These 13, which contains a baker’s dozen of folksy new tracks. The latest, “Poor Lost Souls”, takes place in LA, where, as the lyrics have it, you can “Look down and see the stars/ Look up and see the gold/ Look around and see these poor lost souls.” Mathus keeps up a steady groove of guitar, while Bird adds fiddle accents. The song highlights the absurdity of abundance surrounding need, w...
Conway the Machine and Big Ghost LTD Reunite on New Album If It Bleeds It Can Be Killed: Stream
Conway the Machine is still putting the final touches on God Don’t Make Mistakes, his debut album on Shady Records, but he’s got another release to keep fans occupied in the meantime: If It Bleeds It Can Be Killed, a joint LP with producer Big Ghost LTD. Today’s new effort marks a reunion for the two hip-hop acts, who previously linked up on last year’s well received No One Mourns the Wicked. Conway, Big Ghost LTD, and fellow Griselda regular Westside Gunn also put out a collaborative project in 2015 called Griselda Ghost. There are 10 tracks in all on If It Bleeds. Many feature soulful, almost Motown-esque production (“J Batters” and “Highly Praised”), while others like “Toast” couple heavy artillery sounds with fuzzy funk. There’s also “Red Beams”, which fills every conceivable spac...
Pell Announces New Album with NOLA Collective GLBL WRMNG, Shares “504”: Stream
Rapper/producer Pell has formed the new musical collective GLBL WRMNG with dozens of his fellow artists from New Orleans. Their debut album glbl wrmng vol. 1 is out February 19th, and today they’ve shared the lead single, “501”. GLBL WRMNG is an expansive project, with contributions from dozens of producers and artists including Jelly of Tank and The Bangas, Malik NinetyFive, Jzzle, Lil Iceberg, Kr3wcial, and $leazy EZ. That inclusivity is by design; Pell set out to foster connections in the NOLA songwriting community. As he explained in a statement, “I wanted to make records with all my hometown friends that didn’t have to be just Pell records that could showcase the talent of New Orleans and what we had to offer. I wanted to executively produce this record and then give us all somet...
Unborn Baby Records Debut Album
For decades, musicians have recorded music with the specific intent of helping foster child development in utero and teach soon-to-be kids iconic rap hooks. Now the tables have turned: an unborn baby has recorded her debut album, presumably for the enjoyment of full-grown humans. The baby, named Luca Yupanqui, is the soon-to-be child of Psychic Ills bassist Elizabeth Hart and Lee “Scratch” Perry collaborator Iván Diaz Mathé. Yupanqui created the songs on her album using biosonic MIDI technology that translated her in-utero movements into sound. The MIDI device was hooked to Hart’s stomach, recorded the vibrations created by Yupanqui, and transcribed them into Mathé’s synthesizers, a meditative process that took place over five hour-long sessions. Hart and Mathé then edited and mixed the re...
Rostam Shares New Solo Song “These Kids We Knew”: Stream
Last month, Rostam set Amanda Gorman’s now-famous Inauguration poem to music using piano arrangements. The former Vampire Weekend member is back today, this time with a dazzling original song of his own dubbed “These Kids We Knew”. Stream it below. This new offering revolves around a musical pulse meant to reflect the innocence of youth and the impermanence of stability. According to a press release, Rostam wrote “These Kids We Knew” in a “fever-dream state” in March of last year — during which he was recovering from COVID-19 — while reflecting on the push and pull of societal responsibility. “I was thinking of three generations while I was writing this song,” he explained. “There’s a generation of adults who don’t see global warming as their problem because they think they won’t...
Meskerem Mees Unveils New Song “Seasons Shift”: Stream
21-year-old songwriter Meskerem Mees drew international attention with her first single “Joe”, and now she’s proving she’s a talent to watch with her new song “Seasons Shift”. Mees enchants from the moment she opens her mouth, with an ethereal voice and cosmopolitan accent (she’s Belgian with Ethiopian roots). Alongside her friend the cellist Febe Lazou, she crafts gentle music out of turbulent emotions. “Seasons Shift” is more about a variable person than the changing weather, with lyrics that track differences over time. She sings of someone who “got serious in December/ Lonely in July, though you wouldn’t tell me why/ It might have been easier just to call me but you preferred to cry.” At first she seems to be sketching out a failed relationship, but as the song progresses, her co...
Russell Louder Shares Origins of New Track “Home”: Stream
In our new music feature Origins, artists are asked to give listeners unique insights into their latest track. Today, Russell Louder explains how they found “Home”. For Russell Louder, the most basic definition of ‘home’ would be Prince Edward Island. Though they were raised on the nautical Canadian province, they now split their time between PEI and Montreal. Factor in the journey the singer has gone on as a trans individual, and you can understand how the idea of ‘home’ is a bit fluid for them. But while discovering your place of supreme comfort is often seen as a daunting challenge, Louder finds excitement in the quest on her new single, “Home”. Over a beat buzzing and clanging with retro synth sounds, they sing not just of the terrible uncertainty of “finding home,” but the boundless p...
Skullcrusher Conjures Vintage Folk on New Single “Song For Nick Drake”: Stream
Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Helen Ballentine records music under the moniker Skullcrusher, but it doesn’t sound like what you might expect it to. She writes dreamy folk songs fit for Secretly Canadian — who fittingly released her debut EP last year — and today she’s back with another slice of such: a standalone single called “Song for Nick Drake”. As the title implies, “Song for Nick Drake” is an ode to the late pastoral legend and the visceral memories his music conjures. “‘Song for Nick Drake’ is about my relationship to the music of Nick Drake,” explained Ballentine in a press release. “It recalls moments in my life that are viscerally intertwined with his music, specifically times spent walking and taking the train. The song is really my homage to music and the times I felt mos...
Fredo Releases New Album Money Can’t Buy Happiness: Stream
British rapper Fredo has dropped his star-studded new album, Money Can’t Buy Happiness. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. Money Can’t Buy Happiness is the second studio album of Fredo’s career, following 2019’s Third Avenue. On his new effort, he links up with Summer Walker for The Fugees-sampling song “Ready” and collaborates with both Pop Smoke and Young Adz for the uptempo number “Burner on Deck”. He also reunites with Dave, his longtime friend and fellow British rapper, for “Money Talks”, which serves as a follow-up single of sorts to their 2018 smash hit “Funky Friday”. In a statement, Fredo explained that he scrapped his original version of Money Can’t Buy Happiness before settling on this current version, in part to portray a more realistic version of himself and his belie...
