New Song Releases
slowthai Pops Off on New Song “Thoughts”: Stream
UK rapper slowthai gives us a piece of his mind on the new song “Thoughts”. While the artist born Tyron Frampton recently announced his sophomore album TYRON, “Thoughts” did not appear on the tracklist. This apparent loosie finds the volatile MC spitting a stream of consciousness flow. “There’s a fine line between love and hate,” is how he begins, and this tension infuses all that follows. Early on, he raps, “Couple times I’ve contemplated killin’ my folks,” then later he says, “Knock on wood that my family’s good.” He contemplates a life that’s perceived as, “Too black for the whites, too white for the blacks,” and his childhood traumas are balanced against a recently fat wallet (“Check my account, won’t believe I was poor once”). slowthai’s “Thoughts” is revealing and deeply persona...
Caroline Polachek Shares Studio Cover of The Corrs’ “Breathless”: Stream
Chances are, if you caught Caroline Polachek live during her Pang tour, then you saw the alternative pop artist bust out a cover of The Corrs hit “Breathless”. In the event you missed out on that electric performance, however, Polachek has dropped an official studio cover version of the 2000 bop today. As is to be expected from the former Chairlift singer, Polachek’s rendition is a little weirder and a little bit less blown-out than the bombastic original, which featured triple harmonies from the three Corr sisters. Polachek handles all of the singing on this one, pitching up her voice to accentuate its sticky hook and add more angular dimensions to this Grammy-nominated number. Take a listen to both Polachek’s cover and the original version of the song below. Editors’ Picks Luckily ...
HAIM Rework “Christmas Wrapping” Into a 2020 Hanukkah Song: Watch
Tonight is the eighth and final night of Hanukkah, so HAIM are stepping up to the plate to serenade its end with “Christmas Wrapping 2020”, a new song they released this afternoon. It’s a rework of The Waitresses’s 1981 holiday classic to be about Hanukkah, COVID-19, and all the chaos that ensued this year. The Grammy-nominated sisters unveiled the track on social media alongside a message for their fans. “HAPPY HANUKKAH!!” they tweeted. “Presenting our FIRST EVER holiday song: Christmas Wrapping 2020 (All I Want for Christmas is a Vaccine) 🔯🎄We hope this song helps you get through the holiday season.” As expected, “Christmas Wrapping 2020” is a clever spin on the holiday radio staple. Over a slinky bass line by Thundercat and production courtesy of Ariel Rechtshaid, HAIM g...
Florence Welch Shares Gorgeous Cover of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”: Stream
The holiday season is well underway, and Florence Welch is celebrating by lending her voice to a Christmas classic. As part of The Stars Come Out to Sing for Christmas, an annual charity event by Nordoff-Robbins, the Florence and the Machine singer shared a gorgeous cover of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, which you can hear below. For her rendition, Welch stayed true to the original, singing gently over a bare piano melody that’s slightly faster than Judy Garland’s 1944 version. Of course, the power in her cover comes from her extraordinary vocal range. Instead of flaunting her skills, Welch takes a subtle approach, singing the iconic falsettos with graceful dexterity and charming casualness. Thankfully, Welch’s performance was captured live in a beautiful video that sets the sc...
CupcakKe Drops Epic Diss Track “How to Rob (Remix)”: Stream
Leave it to Chicago rapper CupcakKe to start some drama right before the year’s end. In a nod to 50 Cent’s debut single “How to Rob”, she’s released her own diss track called “How to Rob (Remix)” where she goes after more than 20 rappers. Stream it below. CupcakKe sets the scene by opening the song with cheeky insults and friendly digs, saying, “It’s all motherfuckin’ love, don’t take shit personal.” From there, she wastes no time calling out Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, DaBaby, Lil Baby, 6ix9ine, Lizzo, Offset, Migos, Wiz Khalifa, Tory Lanez, Young M.A., Doja Cat, Sukihana, Lil Durk, City Girls, Lil Kim, Chief Keef, G Herbo, Mulatto, Flo Milli, Sada Baby, and DreamDoll. The one-liners she shoots off, ranging from “Drop Offset’s body in the jungle since he wanna be a cheetah” to “Is that ...
Lady A Releases New Song “My Name Is All I Got” in Response to Lady A: Stream
Anita White, the Seattle blues singer best known as Lady A, has released a new song called “My Name Is All I Got”. The track was seemingly written in response to her ongoing legal battle with Lady A, aka the band formerly known as Lady Antebellum. Stream it below. “My Name Is All I Got” is a boisterous, heartening, blues number about standing tall and being proud of your identity. “Oh they tried to take my name, but my name is all I got,” she sings in the opening verse. Later on in the song, she thanks Margo Price for saying “the real Lady A” should be invited to play the Grand Ole Opry (“That’s what true allyship looks like,” sings White) and comends Chris Stapleton for saying “Black lives matter” in a CBS interview, notes Pitchfork. This is the latest in an ongoing tug-of-war between the...
Four Tet and Madlib Announce New Collaborative Album, Share “Road of the Lonely Ones”: Stream
Electronic music producer Four Tet and hip-hop producer Madlib are joining forces for a new collaborative album. Titled Sound Ancestors, it’s due out next month via Madlib Invazion. The upcoming effort has been in the works “for the last few years,” according to a statement posted to Four Tet’s social media on Sunday. “[Madlib] is always making loads of music in all sorts of styles and I was listening to some of his new beats and studio sessions when I had the idea that it would be great to hear some of these ideas made into a Madlib solo album,” he noted. Four Tet explained further how Sound Ancestors came together using “hundreds of pieces” of music, “Not made into beats for vocalists to use but instead arranged into tracks that could all flow together in an album designed to be lis...
Alice Cooper Shares New Song “Our Love Will Change the World”: Stream
Alice Cooper has shared the new song “Our Love Will Change the World”, the second single from his upcoming album, Detroit Stories. Cooper called the track one of the “oddest songs” of his career for its juxtaposition of “happy” major chords and otherwise cynical lyrics. The shock rock legend explains that the song was written by a fellow Detroiter, thus fitting the Motor City theme of the new album. “I think ‘Our Love Will Change The World’ is one of the oddest songs I’ve ever done and it was one that came to us by somebody else, another Detroit writer,” Cooper explained in the press release. “And it was so strange, because it was happy and what it was saying was anything but happy — it was simply a great juxtaposition. And I got it immediately and said, ‘OK, this is going to be great.’ Th...
Grimes Drops Shares New Song “Delicate Weapon” from Cyberpunk 2077: Stream
Cyberpunk 2077, one of the most hyped video games of the year, finally came out this week, which means gamers can interact with the character Lizzy Wizzy, a fictional alt-pop star voiced by the very real alt-pop star Grimes. To celebrate the game’s release, Grimes is sharing a new song she wrote for the soundtrack called “Delicate Weapon”, which you can stream below. The first volume of the Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack is out today and features Grimes’ previously released single “4ÆM”, but the second volume — which includes “Delicate Weapon” — won’t be out until December 18th. Grimes must have been too excited to keep it quiet because she debuted the contribution early today on an Apple Music mix. Musically, “Delicate Weapon” sounds like a spacious early Grimes cut that could have appeared on...
Steve Earle Shares Cover of Justin Townes Earle’s “Champagne Corolla”: Stream
Steve Earle has shared a new cover of the Justin Townes Earle single “Champagne Corolla”. It’s the latest preview of J.T., the tribute album he’s releasing next year in honor of his late son. “Champagne Corolla” was originally written by Justin for his 2017 album Kids in the Street. It’s a bold number that lets his wobbly electric guitar riffs snake over bass drum and explosive horns. Throughout, he sings about a mysterious girl who drives the eponymous car, a vehicle choice that he believes gives her an air of brains, charm, and logic. For his cover version, Steve Earle takes a similar approach with help from his bandmates The Dukes, who appear on the rest of the album as well. After turning down the rhythm section and turning up his vocals, Earle drags out his southern drawl, giving each...
Chris Cornell’s Estate Releases New Covers Album No One Sings Like You Anymore: Stream
On behalf of Chris Cornell’s estate, the late rocker’s wife Vicky Cornell and her children, Toni and Christopher, have released a new album of cover songs recorded by Cornell. It’s called No One Sings Like You Anymore and it’s available to stream right now via Apple Music and Spotify below. No One Sings Like You Anymore is a collection of 10 cover songs handpicked by Cornell himself. The Soundgarden singer recorded and sequenced the tracks back in 2016 as a way to honor the artists who inspired him, such as John Lennon, Janis Joplin, Harry Nilsson, and Electric Light Orchestra. A physical release is expected to drop on March 19th, with pre-orders currently ongoing. The album includes several staples from Cornell’s solo career, like his take on Lorraine Ellison’s “Stay With Me Baby” for the...
Haley Williams Shares Stripped-Down Version of “Simmer” from New Acoustic EP: Stream
Hayley Williams is following up one of our favorite albums of 2020, her debut solo record Petals for Armor, with a new three-song EP called Petals for Armor: Self-Serenades. Today the Paramore singer is previewing the effort with an acoustic rendition of one of the year’s best songs, “Simmer”. The original take on the track features all sorts of cool percussion and layered vocal harmonies, but this stripped-back version is pretty much the complete opposite. The extremely stark performance contains just light guitar plucks and Williams’ whispery croon, which builds nicely toward the end but never raises to a genuine belt. In fact, it’s so quiet that Williams’ dog Alf even made an accidental guest appearance on the recording. “If you listen closely you can hear Alf sigh dramatically in the o...
