Grammy-nominated Irish five-piece Fontaines D.C. have announced their debut release on XL Recordings, Romance. Their fourth album and the follow-up to their acclaimed 2022 LP Skinty Fia arrives on Aug. 23, and the music video for intense lead single “Starburster” is out now. The London-via-Dublin quintet—Grian Chatten (vocals), Carlos O’Connell (guitar), Conor Curley (guitar), Conor Deegan (bass) and Tom Coll …
London’s Lava La Rue Announces ‘STARFACE,’ Shares Silky Lead Single “Push N Shuv”
West London-based psych-soul artist Lava La Rue has announced their full-length debut STARFACE, coming June 21 on Dirty Hit. Lead single “Push N Shuv” is out now with a self-co-directed music video. Our first preview of the much-anticipated album, “Push N Shuv” pays affectionate homage to iconic ‘80s new-wavers Tom Tom Club, with a bubbly funk groove that sounds like …
Annie Dukes Have a Hankering for “Cherry” on Hot-Blooded New Single
Femme-fronted Jacksonville rock outfit Annie Dukes are marking this International Women’s Day with a blistering new single, “Cherry.” Cassidy Lee (bass, vocals), Emma Moseley (guitar, vocals), Callie Johns (keys, vocals) and Mike Monahan (drums) describe their sound as “Black Sabbath meets Fleetwood Mac,” and on “Cherry,” the foursome hew to the heavier end of that spectrum. The dynamic track evokes …
Jalen Ngonda Falls in Unrequited Love on “Illusions”
Just months after releasing his debut album on Daptone Records, London-via-D.C. soul singer-songwriter Jalen Ngonda is back with a brand new single, the bittersweet, Motown-inspired “Illusions.” A talented purveyor of time-warp soul a la Leon Bridges, Ngonda’s distinctive voice is his most valuable asset, a nimble falsetto that evokes explosive joy and eats high notes for breakfast. On “Illusions,” however, …
DIIV Announce North American Tour, Share (Totally Real) ‘SNL’ Stage With Fred Durst
The fourth album from New York City shoegazers DIIV is on the way, and ahead of Frog in Boiling Water’s May 24 release via Fantasy Records, the band has unveiled a North American tour and a new music video, both with ties to the Sunshine State. After announcing their new album earlier this month, DIIV—Zachary Cole Smith, Andrew Bailey, Colin …
L.A. Siren Jessica Pratt Calls Listeners to the Orchestral Rocks with New Single, “Life Is”
The debut single from Jessica Pratt’s forthcoming fourth album Here in the Pitch, the song “Life Is” is an impressive mix of baroque pop-psychedelia. Underpinned by a symphonic albeit subdued production sheen, Pratt targets lovelorn listeners with a type of haunted and haunting lyricism (“Life is, it’s never what you think it’s for / and I can’t seem to set …
Shannon & The Clams Announce ‘The Moon Is in the Wrong Place,’ Share Title Track
Out of unimaginable loss comes the latest — and most personal — album from Shannon & The Clams. Produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, The Moon Is in the Wrong Place is the garage-psych quartet’s seventh full-length, and their third to be released via Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound. In August 2022, just weeks before their wedding, frontwoman Shannon Shaw’s …
Dehd Set ‘Poetry’ in Motion on Lovestruck Lead Single “Mood Ring”
Surefire Chicago rock trio Dehd are back with their fifth album, Poetry, coming May 10 on Fat Possum Records, and they’ve released the starry-eyed single “Mood Ring” as a first preview of the record. Dehd took songwriting on the road after the success of their acclaimed fourth full-length Blue Skies, leaving the Windy City in search of inspiration for the …
Duval Jazz Great Ulysses Owens Jr.’s Latest with Generation Y is an Impressive Merger of Mentorship and Music
The new release from Jacksonville-based drummer-educator Ulysses Owens Jr. and his ensemble Generation Y is an immediate reminder of the joy, nuance and innate humanness of jazz. Over the course the nine tracks of A New Beat, Owens Jr. and Generation Y deliver a rapturous set of hip standards and also originals penned by the assembled players. Originally written by …
Does André 3000’s ‘New Blue Sun’ Signal a New Dawn for Musical Expression?
Fans of both Outkast and André 3000 have been begging for new music from the duo’s idiosyncratic cofounder. And in late November with New Blue Sun – his first album of new music in 17 years – André 3000 delivered. Sort of. Though it’s probably not exactly what we’d all been pining for, André 3000’s flute-forward, ambient, instrumental album is …
New Max Roach Documentary on PBS Highlights the Music and Life of Pioneering Jazz Drummer
When Max Roach died in 2007 at age 83, the iconoclastic musician had truly lived a life that beat to the tune of a different drum. Roach seemed to move upstream, regardless of the tides. He was an early adherent to the DIY indie-ethos. While still in his twenties, in 1952 Roach and Charles Mingus founded Debut Records, after the …
L’Rain Previews New Album ‘I Killed Your Dog’ With the Playful “Pet Rock”
L’Rain — aka Brooklyn-based experimental singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer and curator Taja Cheek — has announced her third album, the confrontationally titled I Killed Your Dog (Oct. 13, Mexican Summer). Our second preview of the “anti-break-up” record after June’s standalone single (and, it turns out, I Killed Your Dog’s closer) “New Year’s UnResolution” is the technicolor “Pet Rock,” out now alongside …
SPELLLING Reworks “Hard to Please (Reprise)” in Grand, Gorgeous Fashion
Those unfamiliar with Chrystia Cabral’s SPELLLING are being gifted the ideal entry point: The Bay Area art-pop pathfinder is breathing new life into her output to this point on her forthcoming fourth album, the self-produced SPELLLING & The Mystery School, coming Aug. 25 on Sacred Bones. Our latest preview of the career-spanning LP is “Hard to Please (Reprise),” a revitalized …
Wilco Drop “Evicted,” the First Single from a New Album Produced by Cate Le Bon
Through the years, I’ve developed a ritual for every new Wilco release. Before I press play, I ask myself: which Wilco do I want to hear? Am I hoping that their alt-country roots will come through the soil, or would I rather hear electronica reminiscent of their 2002 hit record Yankee Hotel Foxtrot? Am I craving something with complex piano …
Stephen Steinbrink Shakes Free of Meaning on “Poured Back in the Stream”
In August, veteran Bay Area singer-songwriter and producer Stephen Steinbrink returns with his first new album in five years, and our latest preview of Disappearing Coin (Aug. 18, Western Vinyl) has arrived in the form of the zenned-out “Poured Back in the Stream.” In press materials, Steinbrink says that Disappearing Coin “feels like an integration of all of my past …
On ‘Sunburn,’ Multi-Talented Florida-Bred Superstar Dominic Fike Shines Bright
Over the last few years, Naples-native Dominic Fike has found himself in rarified air: A bonafide, Florida-bred superstar. Perhaps more widely recognized for his role as Elliot on the HBO original Euphoria, before Fike was acting, he was making music here in the Sunshine State. In July, Fike released his third full-length album, Sunburn. Over the course of the record’s 15 …
Rahill’s ‘Flowers at Your Feet’ is a Sunny, Experimental-Pop Trip
You may already be familiar with the work of multi-disciplinary artist Rahill Jamalifard, a founding member of Brooklyn garage-rock faves Habibi. That familiarity, however, won’t likely prime you for the enjoyably avant-garde pop on Rahill’s debut solo LP, Flowers at Your Feet. Through the development of Habibi’s music to her solo debut, the 2022 EP Sun Songs, Rahill has displayed …
Killer Mike at the Top of the Mountain
“I’ve never really had a religious experience, in a religious place,” the Atlanta rapper Killer Mike says to begin the title track of his 2012 album, R.A.P. Music. “Closest I’ve ever come to seeing or feeling God is listening to rap music. Rap music is my religion.” The intent in his voice doesn’t read as blasphemy. It’s more a confession: …
On new single “Respectfully,” Jacksonville Singer-Songwriter Ebonique Moves with Purpose
Ebonique has returned, in dominance mode no less, with a new single called “Respectfully.” Over nimble guitar work and a hissing drum machine, the Jacksonville-based R&B and soul singer-songwriter states what she notices about how others intentionally gravitate to her for clout. In doing so, she clearly lays down the guidelines of what her purpose is. The confidence and competence …
Retro L.A. Rockers Allah-Las Return with Vintage Glam-Rock Bop, “The Stuff”
Notable Crate-diggers, Los Angeles retro-rockers Allah-Las are back with “The Stuff,” an enjoyably simple mid-tempo taste of Zuma 85 (out October 13 via Calico Discos / Innovative Leisure), the group’s first full-length album since 2019’s LAHS. A sarcastic – although by-and-large unoffending – lamentation of the state of modern music in the form of a glam rock bop, sonically “The …
On the Easy-Going ‘Joy’all,’ Jenny Lewis Defiantly Preaches the Pursuit of Happiness
“I once knew someone who said that he didn’t believe in the pursuit of happiness,” Jenny Lewis recently said in an interview about Joy’all, her new solo album. “And I thought, wow, how unfortunate.” The comment sums up a kind of wry wisdom that seems to characterize Lewis’ music: the belief that happiness isn’t a given but must be pursued …
On ‘Brand New Life,’ Jazz Harpist Brandee Younger Traces the Dorothy Ashby’s Influence and Charts Her Own Path
Within the jazz idiom, there are only a few harpists that have caught my attention — two of them are incredible Black women. Alice Coltrane, the wife to the iconic John Coltrane, is probably the instrument’s best known acolyte. Detroit born harpist Dorothy Ashby is the another. Ashby, a playwright and public-school educator, was a pioneering harpist, and wrote many …
On “Foreign Rain,” Jax Goth-Rockers Glass Chapel Channel ’80s Synth-Pop
The new single from Duval goth-rockers Glass Chapel is ‘80s dourness to the max. Band member Jake Phillips acknowledges that “Foreign Rain” is “inspired by Gary Numan and Cold Cave.” And from the icy keyboard tones, disaffected vocals drenched in reverb, not to mention a definite Peter Hook-infused bass-guitar outro, the tune surely paints within the parameters of dark wave …
Four Things I Learned at Shaky Knees 2023
In May, I got to cover the Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the biggest indie-inclined fests in the Southeast. The festival was celebrating its tenth anniversary, bringing in headliners like The Killers, Muse, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Flaming Lips; Shaky Knees’ first-ever headliner, The Lumineers, also returned. And, for the first time in the festival’s …
On “Howlin’,” Jacksonville’s Halfway Hounds Unleash a Primal Yowl
The calamitous hindrances of musicians owning their own recording studios remain unheeded, even though the barbarous words are carved on the massive headstones that populate the graveyard of CD-ROM boxed sets and DAT tapes. On the flip, the freewheeling merits of that same boon/curse gave us the Halfway Hounds. The product of not one, but two, accomplished musicians who are …
On “Hazy,” Gainesville Garage Rockers bed bug guru Share a Dreamy Pummel of Fuzz
Any song with fuzz bass guitar is invariably better than a song without fuzz bass. Let’s get that cosmic truth front and center. The new single from Gainesville-by-way-of-Jax garage rockers bed bug guru features some guttural fuzz bass—heard prominently in the song’s apparent bridge—yet “Hazy” offers up more than just sadistic 30Hz frequency. A dreamy pummel of lock-and-hammer electric guitars, …
JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown are Here to Blow Up your Function
On the rap internet, “scaring the hoes” has become code for a certain type of hip-hop: anything abrasive or weird or super-lyrical, designed for repeat close listening. More broadly, the phrase has evolved into a euphemism for any rap considered unfit for a party or similar social setting. To play Death Grips at the function is to scare the hoes. …
Why Frank Ocean’s Long-Anticipated Coachella Performance was a Mixed Bag
The elusive R&B star Frank Ocean, known for avoiding the spotlight, performed on the largest stage at Coachella on Sunday night. Ocean was a headliner this weekend alongside Bad Bunny and BLACKPINK — forming one of the most diverse line-ups in the music festival’s history. In his set, Ocean performed reworked versions of some of his most iconic songs like …
Duval Hip-Hop Artist Mecca thA Marvelous gets Contemplative on “Relapse”
Jacksonville-based hip-hop artist Mecca thA Marvelous faces his audience, and more so himself, on “Relapse,” a reflective song from his new full-length album Jane Doe. Finnish producer SBLMNL’s beat extends Mecca the opportunity to be vulnerable, as the young rapper uses the soundscape as a canvas for painting reminders to himself of the perils of falling victim to the jones. …
Feist holds a mirror up to her ‘Multitudes’
The commercial machinations of the music industry detest stepwise maturation. Consider the constant chatter about what is young and novel, as if real excitement, engagement and even insight can flow only from the hitherto unknown. Yes, it is totally intoxicating to believe you are experiencing culture’s bleeding edge with every incoming tide pool of best new artists; it is demoralizing, …
Wednesday’s ‘Rat Saw God’ is Fearlessly, Chaotically, Grimly American
There was “a tear in every word,” is how longtime producer Billy Sherrill once described Tammy Wynette’s singing voice. It was the first lady of country music’s signature: a trembling, anguished voice that seemed to hold a teardrop in each note. Wynette had the ability to sell songs like “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” or “I Don’t Wanna Play House,” ’60s suburban melodramas as …
Yves Tumor’s disruptive pop-cultural synthesis
The latest Yves Tumor album begins with a scream and ends with a call to lock eyes. A project with the koan-like title Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) might seem like it’s obscuring or even deliberately thumbing its nose at meaning, but the carnal bookending of a scream and a …
Jacksonville Saxophonist and Improvisational Musician Jamison Williams’ Peels Away the Brass on the 38-Minute “Mary Blair”
Saxophonist and multi-reed polymath Jamison Williams continues to uncover a vast realm contained in the proverbial small world within the greater corpus-universe of Walt Disney. Williams is amassing a daunting body of work: dozens of massive and miniature projects, released in various formats from limited-edition lathe cuts and hardcopy books to direct downloads. Recorded in NYC, “Mary Blair” is his …
On “On Your Line,” Jax’s Rambler Kane Dispenses Honky-Tonk Allegory Over a Country-Rock Stomp
“On Your Line,” the latest from Jacksonville singer-songwriter Rambler Kane is a three-minute stomp of country-rock choogle that serves up facets of the form—a relentless rhythm section in two-four, rolling finger-picked acoustic, and some tasty Hank Garland-style electric soloing—and Kane’s winning lyrics that are a honky-tonk allegory about fishing in the neon bar lights, and getting caught up; hook, line, …
On ‘Endings That Are Beginnings’, UNF Grad and Emerging Jazz Star Kelly Green Finds Salvation in Music
Endings That Are Beginnings is the third album by Kelly Green, an Orlando native and UNF graduate who’s been making a name for herself on the highly competitive New York jazz scene during the last eight years she’s resided in the city. Green is probably best known for her classic trio with Alex Tremblay (bass) and Evan Hyde (drums). The …
Jake Blount’s ‘The New Faith’ is a Cautionary, Clarifying Afrofuturist Tale
Generations ago, gospel giants Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Mahalia Jackson each sang the rhetorical question, “Didn’t it rain, children?” and bent time with the emphatic answers they supplied. “Just listen how it’s rainin’,” they urged, adopting present tense, “all day, all night.” Their ebullient, imaginative readings of the scriptural event of the Great Flood testified to past divine judgment and …
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