Post-Punk
Posthumous Alan Vega Song “Fist” Unveiled: Stream
Last month, Sacred Bones announced the release of a long-lost solo album from the late Suicide singer Alan Vega. The record, titled Mutator, is due out next month, and today the label is releasing its second single, “Fist”. Similar to album’s initial preview, “Nike Soldier”, this cut is five minutes of grim yet playful post-punk from one of the best to ever do it. The song has a sleek and rubbery industrial groove that Vega chants “fist” over with the domineering emphasis of a comic book villain. It’s the type of song that’s equally perfect for a wild night at a steamy club or with the lights low in the comfort of your own home. Take a listen below. Vega, who died in 2016, sadly isn’t here to comment on the specific intentions of this song, but a couple of his close collaborators...
Squid Unveil the Origins of New Single “Paddling”: Stream
Our new music feature Origins gives artists the platform to provide unique insight into their latest track. Today, Squid twist the oars on “Paddling”. Four years since their formation, Brighton post-punks Squid are finally ready to deliver their anticipated debut album, Bright Green Field. Though many of the tracks on the May 7th release are brand new, day-one fans will certainly recognize the latest single, “Paddling”. With the motorik kick of a looping drum machine leading the song staggering through different psychedelic sonic shifts, it’s long been part of the five-piece’s live shows. Inspired by a scene from Kenneth Grahame’s beloved classic The Wind in the Willows, it finds Squid’s multiple sings taking differing perspectives on “the dichotomy between simple pleasures and decade...
IDLES Cover Sharon Van Etten’s “Peace Signs”: Stream
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of her 2010 album Epic, Sharon Van Etten is reissuing it as a double LP featuring a front-to-back covers album. Dubbed Epic Ten, our first sample of the reimagined tracks came from Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine’s take on “A Crime”. Today, the second single has arrived, as SVE has shared IDLES’ cover of “Peace Signs”. The British outfit keeps things as close to the original as their post-punk sensibilities will allow them, with all the familiar progressions still in place. In IDLES’ hands, however, they’re riddled with anxieties and the searing tension of shredding guitars. Certainly the screaming repetition of “Peace signs” hits different coming from Joe Talbot’s growl rather than Sharon Van Etten’s voice. Take a listen to the cov...
Horsegirl Share New Single “Ballroom Dance Scene”: Stream
Teenage Chicago noisy rock trio Horsegirl have released a new single called “Ballroom Dance Scene”. Watch its corresponding music video down below. Band members Penelope Lowenstein, Nora Cheng, and Gigi Reece wrote the song, which details the lives of various fictional characters, during the fall 2019 Chicago teacher’s strike. They created the accompanying video during this past winter break, shooting it on their phones and an old digital Canon camera. Street footage was filmed in the band’s “aux-less 2004 Buick LeSabre,” while the indoor scenes were shot in the attic of Reece’s childhood home. The song itself features layered vocal melodies and builds from restrained opening acoustic strum, bringing in swirling electric guitars midway through. “Ballroom Dance Scene” serves as an ampl...
Squid Announce Debut Album Bright Green Field, Share New Song “Narrator”: Stream
Squid have announced their debut album Bright Green Field, which is set to arrive in May. As a first look, the Brighton post-punk band is sharing a sprawling lead single called “Narrator”. Bright Green Field follows Squid’s pair of 2020 songs, “Sludge” and “Broadcaster”, as well as their 2019 EP Town Centre. This LP was produced by Dan Carey (black midi, Bat For Lashes, Hot Chip), and judging by the recording process, it sounds like they went big: a 30-person choir, a horn and string ensemble, and actual field recordings of bees. Although its title and artwork evoke a pastoral setting, drummer/vocalist Oliver Judge says that this album exists in a shadowy cityscape. “The tracks illustrate the places, events and architecture that exist within it,” he explains in a statement. ...
Arctic Monkeys’ Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not Takes Us Back to Their Garage Days
Editor’s Notes: Consequence has been around long enough that so many of the new albums that originally turned us on to music are now celebrating their first milestone anniversaries. As we begin to reflect on these records, you can catch our updated assessments here. “I just wanted to be one of The Strokes,” Arctic Monkeys’ vocalist Alex Turner sings on the opening line of Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino. It’s a somewhat ironic statement. The Sheffield indie rockers’ most recent album sounds nothing like The Strokes, especially the opening track “Star Treatment”. The 2018 record is infused with a lounge-jazz, yacht-rock persona with songs that follow Odyssean orbits rather than traditional verse-chorus patterns. With the Arctic Monkeys that fans are familiar with now, going back to their 20...
Shame Unveil New Album Drunk Tank Pink: Stream
Shame have unveiled their new album Drunk Tank Pink. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. The record marks the sophomore release from the UK post-punk band, following the 2018 album Songs of Praise. The 11-track effort was initially announced back in November of last year, and it was preceded by three very strong singles — “Snow Day”, “Alphabet”, and “Water in the Well”. Unlike other loud-mouthed British contemporaries like Sleaford Mods and IDLES, Shame’s take on The Fall-inspired rock is a little less scraggly and a bit more polished. However, these shout-along melodies and taut grooves are balanced by cerebral lyrical concepts and grandiose music videos, so they’re by no means making music that’s devoid of challenging material. Editors’ Picks Drunk Tank Pink was produ...
Black Country, New Road Unveil New Song “Track X”: Stream
The buzzy Brits of Black Country, New Road have returned with the new song called “Track X”. It’s the latest preview of their debut album For the first time, out February 5th. Like previous releases, “Track X” is understated and eccentric. Frontman Isaac Wood sings in a tone just above spoken word while brass instruments sketch butterflies around his voice. Even as the music looks forward with a heady mix of post-punk and jazz, the lyrics turn fondly backwards, remembering the place “where we fucked as kids,” and the time “I told you I love you in front of black midi.” In a statement, Wood explained how the song came together, saying, “Track X is a song we first worked on in 2018 but one that never made it out into our live performances. We decided to resurrect it during the reco...
Viagra Boys Release New Album Welfare Jazz: Stream
Swedish post-punk group Viagra Boys have just released Welfare Jazz, their new sophomore album. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. Viagra Boys made a name for themselves by putting a satirical spin on punk with their 2018 debut Street Worms, and they continue to do so here on Welfare Jazz. The record includes standout singles like “Ain’t Nice”, in which singer Sebestions Murphy comes to terms with setting the wrong goals for himself, as well as the synth-based track “Creatures” that offers a nuanced look at crude miscreants. Elsewhere, the 13-song effort boasts a surprisingly faithful cover of the John Prine classic “In Spite of Ourselves”, featuring Amy Taylor of Amyl and the Sniffers. In the studio, Viagra Boys recorded the new album with a handful of notable producers, such as ...
Viagra Boys Churn Out More Scuzzy Salvos on Sophomore Welfare Jazz: Review
The Lowdown: If you find a political message in the music of Sweden’s Viagra Boys, it wasn’t necessarily put there on purpose. At least, that’s the party line from singer and lyricist Sebastian Murphy, whose deadpan baritone and satirical send-up of hyper-macho posturing made the post-punk band’s debut, Street Worms, essential listening in 2018. In a 2019 interview with Australia’s Happy Mag, Murphy laid out his thoughts in full: “In a way, making music in itself is a political statement,” the singer said. “If the right-wing had their way, we wouldn’t be making music at all. They hate all this stuff, and they hate this kind of culture. We’re being political just by being ourselves – and in my opinion, that’s enough. You don’t need to dive any deeper than that.” Of course, plenty of people ...
Viagra Boys Release New Song “Creatures”: Stream
Viagra Boys are back with another new post-punk banger called “Creatures”. It’s the second offering from their forthcoming sophomore record Welfare Jazz, and it comes paired with an amazing music video. Back in October, the Swedish group kicked off their album cycle with the asshole anthem “Ain’t Nice”, which was a cheeky tune about proudly being a dumpy mooch with no manners. It was the sort of crude scumbaggery that you might expect from a band called Viagra Boys, but “Creatures” takes a more nuanced look at the life of a seedy miscreant. The synth-based track is a commentary on the absurdism of the class disparity that compares the lifestyle vocalist Sebastian Murphy groaned about on “Ain’t Nice” to that of the ocean’s bottom feeders. “We are the creatures that steal your copper/ We don...
The Clockworks Release Stirring New Song “Enough Is Never Enough”: Stream
Irish post-punk band The Clockworks have shared a stirring new song called “Enough Is Never Enough”. It’s the latest release from Creation 23, the new label from Creation Records founder Alan McGee, known for championing ’90s acts like Oasis, My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream early on in their careers. The London by way of Garland, IE band have only put out a handful of singles since McGee signed them back in 2019, but all of them have been incredibly promising for such a young act. That said, “Enough Is Never Enough” is definitely their best so far, as it finds a happy middle ground between the snarling post-punk of IDLES, the hollering garage rock of The Hives, and the gloomy indie-punk of early Cloud Nothings. It’s equal parts catchy and clamorous on the musical end, but it also contai...
