The Fat Angel Sings

Shearwater have announced a new album, “The New World”, and shared two new songs from it: “Daydream Unbeliever” and “More and More.” We preferred “Daydream Unbeliever,” but “More and More” makes our honorable mentions list.

Now they have shared the album’s third single, “Slugs in the Marigolds,” via a music video.

Shearwater is led by Jonathan Meiburg (also of Loma), and also includes Emily Lee and Dan Duszynski. “Daydream Unbeliever” features Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart, who contributes strings and also smashed a gong. The album also features, as a press release puts it, “instrumental wizard Shahzad Ismaily, saxophonist and clarinetist Doug Wieselman, qanunist Farouz Zriek, guitarist Leo Abrahams, ngonist Mamadou Kouyate, percussionists Mahamadou Tounkara and Moctar Kouyate (of Malian group Ngoni Ba), and the unclassifiable drummer Thor Harris.”

In the past quarter-century, those in the know have watched Shearwater slyly become one of the most distinctive and adventurous American bands. Led (as always) by songwriter and natural historian Jonathan Meiburg, “The New World’s” nine immersive songs find the group farther afield than ever, and in rare company: along with Meiburg’s fellow Shearwaters Emily Lee and Dan Duszynski,

(There’s even a surprise visit from a certain L. Anderson.) That might sound like a lot of passengers, but they’re all ideal company for a headlong journey through joy, confusion, reverence and defiance, with Meiburg’s voice as a graceful yet elusive guide. Both spare and ornate, “The New World” is absorbing in a way few albums are; it’s hard not to listen to the end once you drop in.

“Daydream Unbeliever” featured Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart, who contributed strings and also smashed a gong. 

The band crowdfunded and produced the album themselves, recording it in London, Berlin, New York, and the band’s native Texas. Duszynski was the chief engineer on the album, with additional production by Leo Abrahams and Danny Reisch (the latter mixed the album with the band in Los Angeles).

“If you’re like us, you wake up feeling like the world’s on fire, and hoping you could reckon with it if you knew where to begin,” says Meiburg of the new singles. “‘Daydream Unbeliever’ and ‘More and More’ come from this uneasy place. If they help you feel a little less insane, welcome home.”

“This was a band favorite on “The New World,” Meiburg says in a press release. ”We liked how its loose, sunny feeling plays against the lyric—and we loved how Doug’s sax slithers up beside you.”

Meiburg had this to add about the song’s video: “This was one of those rare videos where everything just fell into place. The idea came to me on a walk in the woods, near the spot where I found our slug hero. Forty-eight hours later, after a grand day out with photographer Jason Benson, I put the slug right back where they came from, with a little extra lettuce to chew on. It’s my favorite Shearwater video since ‘Quiet Americans.’”

In 2022 Shearwater released “The Great Awakening“, their first album in six years.

“The New World” is due out on July 31st via the band’s own Polyborus label (in partnership with Secretly Distribution).

The Talking Heads spawned a number of worthy side projects and spinoffs—David Byrne & Brian Eno’s “My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts”, Jerry Harrison’s “The Red And The Black” — but none were as funky, danceable, and flat-out fun as Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth’s Tom Tom Club. Conceived as something of a larkish break from the grandly realized intellectual and artistic pretensions of the Heads’ “Remain In Light” record, the duo’s self-titled 1981 debut was recorded in Barbados with Weymouth’s sisters and Adrian Belew and Steven Stanley from the “Remain In Light” band, and not only spawned a couple of hit singles in “Genius Of Love” and “Wordy Rappinghood” but also became, in its own way, enormously influential.

Get ready to anchor your groove with “Let There Be Love”, a brand-new boxed set collecting all six legendary studio albums from the architects of dancefloor rhythm, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth.

This was the sound of downtown New York talking, listening, and rapping to the burgeoning hip hop movement, a hybrid heard in a whole host of acts in the ‘80s and ‘90s, from Madonna to Mariah Carey to the Beastie Boys and beyond. Weymouth and Frantz went on to record several more albums under the Tom Tom Club moniker, but the debut remains the classic.

The bubblegum smack of synth that introduces “Genius of Love” holds a special place in the hearts of Tom Tom Club fans. Bold and assertive, the instrumentals scorn the group’s debut self-titled record, trailing the typewriter clicks and subsequent ring of new waves beckoning to early hip hop trends asserted on “Wordy Rappinghood.” Now, 45 years after their debut, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth’s Tom Tom Club project is gearing up for the release of the three-decade boxing of “Let There Be Love” via Rhino – a 7LP and 6CD collection arriving July 24th. 

The new set pulls from Tom Tom Club records such as Tom Tom Club (1981), Close to the Bone (1983), Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom (1988), Dark Sneak Love Action (1991), The Good, the Bad, and the Funky (2000), plus Downtown Rockers (2012). As a compilation, it provides a path for listeners to experience a near-complete oeuvre that links ’80s new wave tendencies to the inception of hip-hop’s dynamic flow. 

Frantz, Weymouth, and Talking Heads started recording 1978’s “More Songs About Buildings and Food” and 1980’s “Remain in Light” “at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, a place Tom Tom Club returned to during the David Byrne-cited project’s ensuing hiatus a year later. It was there that Frantz and Weymouth began playing with Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Uzziah “Sticky” Thompson, and Tyrone Downie as the Compass Point All Stars – while also tapping Adrian Belew and vocalists Lani, Laura, and Loric Weymouth.

The Rolling Stones Star In The Latest Issue Of MOJO!

As The Rolling Stones get ready to release their new album “Foreign Tongues”, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood speak exclusively to MOJO about the making of the record, the Stones’ rich history, recent jeopardy, and why they’re not done yet. “You’ve got to be really tough to survive…” they tell Will Hodgkinson.

Also in the issue: Janis Joplin – her whirlwind rise; 50 years of The Fall – Music; The Waterboys revisit “Fisherman’s Blues”; The Beatles unseen in ’66; the dub reggae revolution; Lenny Kaye – we salute you! Plus: Deep Purple; Deaf School; Dexys and Dexys Midnight Runners; The Cramps; Echo & The Bunnymen; Japan; Bruce Springsteen; Yoko Ono; Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy; Frank Zappa; Wednesday; Ron Carter; Sonny Rollins; Panda Bear & Sonic Boom… and all

This month’s covermount CD is The Waterboys: “Abandonment And Love – Lost. Rare. Live. 1986-1989”. Amazing unreleased music from the “Fisherman’s Blues” sessions, plus revelatory live versions of And “A Bang On The Ear” and Dylan’s “New Morning”.

The new MOJO is on UK newsstands from Tuesday June 16th 

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of their first-ever acoustic performances, Spiritualized are set to perform four rare Acoustic Mainlines shows in the UK this December. Tickets are on sale tomorrow at 10am so set your alarms

Conceived around the time of the making of the “Songs In A&E” album, and after J Spaceman had survived serious illness, the shows originally grew out of an appearance at a Daniel Johnston show at the Barbican where Spaceman and Spiritualized guitarist, Tony Doggen Foster, performed covers of Johnston’s Devil Town, Funeral Home and True Love Will Find You In The End. As Spaceman later recalled: “I was under weight and battered and this was a gentle way of getting back on stage. It wasn’t my show for a start, and it was small, and it was beautiful. Originally, it was just going to be the two of us, but we ended up getting the strings and the choir and because it worked so well, it led to other things.”

The Acoustic Mainline shows that followed featured songs from across the Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized catalogues as well as various cover versions. The same will be true this time round – and once again, J Spaceman will be accompanied on all dates by a string quartet, gospel singers and Spiritualized guitarist Tony Foster.

“Frozen Charlotte” – the 7th studio album from Jack White shows the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer at his best; backed by an incredible band (Patrick Keeler on drums, Dominic Davis on bass, Bobby Emmett on keys) whose collective hand is scorching hot after coming off a tour of universally-acclaimed performances. Instead of resting on a ‘job well done,’ they went straight to work in the studio and laid down what became “Frozen Charlotte”.

“Recorded in White’s Third Man Studio in Nashville, this album shows Jack carrying on the same raucous, raw, and frenetic energy from his lauded 2024 album, “No Name”. 13 tracks of distinct feel and tone, “Frozen Charlotte” is an intense rock and roll punch with never far behind blues underpinnings…all of which fits right at home with long time fans while leaving an inviting open door to newcomers alike.

Titled “Frozen Charlotte”, the album is scheduled for release July 10. It features a total of 13 tracks, including a pair of recent singles: “G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs” and “Derecho Demonico.”

Collective hand is scorching hot after coming off a tour of universally-acclaimed performances. Instead of resting on a ‘job well done,’ they went straight to work in the studio and laid down what became “Frozen Charlotte.”

Jack White announced the release of his forthcoming seventh studio album, “Frozen Charlotte”, arriving via Third Man Records on Friday, July 10th. Alongside the announcement, White released the new single “Dollar Bill” which is available on all DSPs and streaming services. The album will be available on black vinyl; a limited-edition “Zug Island Blue” as the Third Man Records exclusive vinyl; a limited-edition “Chrome” for the Jack White tour and webstore; and a limited-edition “Ice Blue” for independent record stores. 

The Gaslight Anthem frontman has announced “Not Bad For New Jersey”, his first solo album of original material in more than five years. The 12-track collection arrives digitally on September 10th via Fallon’s Lesser Known Records, with physical editions following a day later.

Leading the announcement is the newly released single “Pearls,” a reflective heartland rock anthem that finds Fallon grappling with privilege, perseverance and self-worth. “I do think there’s real value in overcoming the odds stacked against you,” he says. “Getting to the point of feeling like you’re actually worth something is one of the toughest mountains to climb.”

Produced by longtime collaborator Butch Walker at his Nashville-area studio, “Not Bad For New Jersey” finds Fallon leaning into a bigger, more exuberant sound than some of his previous solo outings. Drawing inspiration from classic radio staples like Bryan Adams’ “Run to You” and the Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” the album blends power pop hooks with the blue-collar romanticism that has defined much of his songwriting career.

The record also boasts an impressive supporting cast. The Killers’ Brandon Flowers appears on “Love at the End of the World,” while Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen, celebrated avant-garde player Marc Ribot and Grammy-winning songwriter Lori McKenna contribute elsewhere across the album. Walker himself played multiple instruments throughout the sessions, joined by drummer Eric Slick of Dr. Dog.

Elsewhere, Fallon takes inspiration from one of punk rock’s most enduring figures. “Nobody Likes You in New York City” is described as a surprisingly tender tribute to Ramones bassist Dee Dee Ramone, written from the perspective of his former wife, Vera Boldis.

The new album arrives after a particularly active period for Fallon. In 2023, the Gaslight Anthem returned from a lengthy hiatus with “History Books”, their first studio album in nine years, followed by an extensive international touring schedule. Last week, Fallon performed Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” during Music America: The Songs That Shaped Us, a celebration tied to the opening of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music at Monmouth University in New Jersey.

“I Built You a Tower” marks Ben Gibbard’s return to the studio after years touring the anniversaries of albums from his acknowledged heyday with Death Cab for Cutie and the Postal Service. With John Congleton on production, he and the band composed the new album as a sort of mission statement for a new era, conjuring up synthpop anthems like “Riptides” while waging war on the lyrical crutches that have made Gibbard a patron saint of cardigan-clad, emo-leaning indie kids for decades.

“The fact that I enunciate, arguably too much, means that I can’t get away with the kind of stuff that Matt Berninger gets away with,” he told The New Yorker. “I’ve been making a conscious effort to break out of a couple of the jails that I built for myself lyrically.”

Hooks aplenty, and Ben Gibbard is still one of the premier indie lyricists even 20 years out from transatlanticism Death Cab for Cutie is one of the definitive indie-rock bands of the century.

After twenty-odd years in the major label system, the band returned to their indie roots and signed with ANTI- Records and they’re back with a brand- new eleventh album titled, “I Built You A Tower”. 

“I Built You A Tower” is the sound of loss, compartmentalization, and then grief bursting out from the seams. It’s also the sound of the growth that comes after falling apart, of acknowledging pain without letting it destroy you. “I see the tower existing on your emotional horizon,” Ben Gibbard states. “You don’t always have to look at what’s inside it, but it’s a reminder that it happened. You know it’s there. You have to face it.”

The band is set to hit the road in the US this summer, kicking off in July and includes a two-night run at The Greek in Los Angeles. This comes on the heels of a historic, sold- out global tour marking the 20th anniversary of the album “Transatlanticism” , and the release of their universally acclaimed, 2022’s “Asphalt Meadow”.

Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band is composed of Ben Gibbard, Nick Harmer, Jason McGerr, Dave Depper, and Zac Rae. They have been nominated for eight Grammy Awards. The band’s new album ‘I Built You A Tower’ is out now on Anti Records. 

released June 5th, 2026

After a chaotic start caused by daunting weather conditions, Primavera rallies for a weekend of standout sets spanning every genre, one band Geese. The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain, when it seems to mainly fall on the rock band Geese. “Qué bonita lluvia” (What pretty rain!), drawls Cameron Winter, Geese’s rakish, tracksuit-wearing frontman, as the first drops of water fall on Primavera Sound’s Occident stage. An hour later, the band are drenched, water pooling on the floor and coating the instruments and musicians. Their set meets the epic ferocity of the conditions: this is an immensely impressive, technically emphatic gig from a young band who justify all hype.

Faced with an hours-long downpour and pernicious winds, Primavera’s infrastructure falters.

Geese have stopped playing and masses of people are breaking apart, scattering in different directions. A torrential downpour has beset the first day of Barcelona’s Primavera Sound 2026, but groups of devoted fans are still gleefully singing the band’s choruses: a “Like a sailor” here, a “Doctor! Doctor!” there. Nobody knows it yet, but Geese have, in effect, become the day’s headlining act, as every set that was supposed to follow over at the main stages will be cancelled

If there was a whiff of disaster about Primavera’s first big night, then by morning it mercifully dissipates. Another standout was Rilo Kiley are an early Friday highlight, the American indie rockers having reunited a year ago, nearly two decades after disbanding. There’s an amiable middle-agedness to their vibe these days, playing songs written by their younger selves; their sound is crisp and unfaded. Jenny Lewis, in yellow sunglasses, radiates New Age cool.

Ty Segall has maintained an inexhaustible release schedule for nearly two decades now, and he’s just announced yet another addition to his behemoth catalog with “Chrome”, his 18th solo studio album. Following last year’s detour into nostalgic pop-rock on “Possession”, Segall’s latest is billed as one of the garage-psych destroyer’s heaviest records yet, and that comes through on the ripping lead single “Black Paint.”

The album is out on Aug. 28th via Drag City, and just for kicks he’ll also drop a new EP, “Love Fuzzz“, on the same day.

Where Segall performed, recorded and mixed “Possession” alone, he flipped the script for “Chrome”, enlisting his tried and true touring band of Mikal Cronin, Emmett Kelly, Ben Boye and Evan Burrows and Bitchin’ Bajas’ Cooper Crain to track the album live. Wand drummer Burrows is credited for some songwriting apart from the full-band tracks, alongside other returning collaborators Matt Yoka and Ty’s wife Denée.  

On “Black Paint,” Segall submerges the bright melodies of his last dispatch in thick, dark riffs. In keeping with the meticulous production standard that he’s sharpened since last year with work for White Fence, Annabelle Chairlegs and Upchuck, every screech and sputter in the flood of distortion hits hard. The same head-banding sessions gave rise to the “Love Fuzzz” EP, which includes a slowed stoner metal take on the song of the same name from 2012’s “Twins” and “My Pet Guru,” billed as “hypnotic art psych fried-kraut air.”

Ty Segall is back with the whole band on board, and their rocksplosion is too vast for just one album! That’s why there’s a full-length called “Chrome” LP AND an EP called “Love Fuzzz” dropping at the same instant! They hail from oppositional planes from the rock and roll spectrum – one a spiffy pop-and-punk rock album and the other, a slo-mo, doom ‘n dirge EP. If tend toward fragility, focus on which side of the universe you want rocking your world, but if you’re ready to roll with your rock, have we got a bundle for you! “Chrome” and “Love Fuzzz” united as one! Before you tie one on, you might want both Ty’s in hand. Together they’ll take you through a dark night of the soul you’ll never forget. 

Ty Segall, precleared for flight in full rock congress with the band (Ben Boye/Evan Burrows/Mikal Cronin/Emmett Kelly), shifts “Chrome”. Songs of massive riffs, swung, tightly arrayed lines of fuzz and distortion, twin-guitar attack-and-parry, endopic keyboards kicking, precise and thudding power, a rhythmic core on the march in full band energy. The songs are lyrically allusive trips, dark passages in the labyrinth, everything in the air bristling collectively, as minds collide.

Jeff Tweedy performing live in the KEXP studio. This lineup just keeps getting better every time I see them perform, and the songs from TO seem to keep evolving in the live setting. KEXP always has such a top notch sound mix. Worth watching!!!! In my opinion the songs from “Twilight Override” really have to be seen live. Really great performances.

Recorded April 2nd, 2026.

Songs: One Tiny Flower 00:41 New Orleans 06:39 Out In The Dark 10:30 Lou Reed Was My Babysitter 14:35 Jeff Tweedy – Guitar, Vocals Spencer Tweedy – Drums, Vocals Sammy Tweedy – Synthesizer, Vocals Macie Stewart – Guitar, Strings, Vocals Sima Cunningham – Bass, Vocals Liam Cunningham – Guitar, Vocals