In an exciting comeback, the Jack Antonoff-led ensemble Bleachers have unveiled their latest musical offering, “Modern Girl.” The release is now available through the band’s new label, Dirty Hit and comes with an accompanying music video. Hours before its release, the song was cryptically teased by Antonoff over three messages on Twitter; he wrote, “ok ready?” followed by “missed you horribly … been waiting so long to say this …..” and finally, “BLEACHERS ARE FUCKING BACK.”
The official announcement for “Modern Girl” offers a glimpse into what lies ahead on the forthcoming Bleachers album, which is currently shrouded in mystery, awaiting its official unveiling.
Notably, the accompanying music video for this track has been masterfully directed by Alex Lockett.
The upcoming release follows Bleachers’ LP, “Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night”, which was released July 2021. Since then, in recognition of his exceptional musical prowess, Antonoff secured the prestigious Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, not once but twice.
Additionally, since the debut of Bleachers’ last full-length project, Antonoff has embarked on an impressive journey of collaboration with some of the music industry’s brightest stars. He has graced projects by the likes of Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, the 1975, Florence and the Machine, and Maren Morris. Additionally, he also played a pivotal role in crafting the soundtrack for the animated sensation Minions: The Rise of Gru.
BLEACHERS Jack Antonoff Mikey Freedom Hart Evan Smith Michael “Riddles” Riddleberger Sean “Hutch” Hutchinson Azemobo “Zem” Audu
Crumb and Melody’s Echo Chamber have teamed up for a new single entitled “Le Temple Volant.” The psych-pop bop features the former group’s signature blend of dusty drum loops and jazz-inspired spontaneity, while Melody Prochet offers up a delightful near-falsetto that gives the song the feeling of floating through the clouds. Later on, Crumb vocalist Lila Ramani provides melodic support.
The song was co-written by Melody and the band, and is accompanied by a DIY home video-inspired visual directed by Phil McGill which, funnily enough, documents the first face-to-face meeting between Crumb and Melody (they recorded their performances for the track separately).
Both acts reflected on the collaboration, with Melody having said, “I remember the first time I heard Crumb’s music, it was the song ‘Locket’ that blew my mind.” The band added, “[Melody’s] music feels deeply nostalgic and so intertwined with that tender period of first starting the band.”
Despite the individual song writing powers exhibited time and again by its three members, nobody could’ve predicted the year boygenius has had since releasing their debut record “therecord” back in March. In addition to the increasingly stadium-filling—and increasingly antic-filled—tours Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus have embarked on, one member has now been featured on two separateLPs by The National in 2023, one was briefly enlisted by Turnstile, and the other has directly addressed former President Obama as a war criminal when he listed “Not Strong Enough” on his summer playlist.
The trio are hitting the road for one last set of headlining shows alongside pals like MUNA, Sloppy Jane, and Palehound. Before then, though, they’ve shared an animated music video for their song “Cool About It” is a beautifully melancholic and piercing song that puts words to feelings often unexplained,
the video’s director Lauren Tsai shared. “It is an absolute dream to collaborate with the genius that is boygenius. I made animated videos on YouTube when I was 11 and I cannot imagine something I’d lose my mind over more if I could go back in time and tell myself.”
Jenny Owen Youngs has released the third single from her forthcoming album, “Avalanche“, out September 22nd. Jenny Owen Youngs’ staggering new album “Avalanche”, the songwriter dives into stories of trauma and heartbreak, recovery and new love. The songs on “Avalanche” are deliriously catchy, with singles like “Knife Went In” almost betraying the seriousness of their subject matter thanks to Youngs’ ability to spin an earworm hook.
“’Everglades’ is concerned with the truth, and lies, and whatever grey area might exist in the cracks between the two,” Youngs offers of the song. “I wrote this song with Christian Lee Hutson when I was living in Altadena, the most Narnia-esque neighborhood in L.A. County. I had a home studio in my basement with a hobbit-sized door that led out to the driveway. I liked to work with the door open and just the screen closed, for the breeze, and it wasn’t uncommon for the neighborhood troupe of peacocks to swing by and stand just outside, honking and clucking.”
It’s an album of intense intimacy that still works on a macro level because of Youngs’ ability to aptly describe moments of individuality in relatable language. Beneath her voice lies ramshackle instrumentation, loosely tied together like the best homespun records are.
1. “Avalanche”
An avalanche is an extreme force—it can cause great harm, and when it’s over, you can be certain things will be different than they were before. When it came time to name the album, this song leapt forward as the title track because the unifying theme of this body of songs, to me, is the idea of moving from destruction to restoration, traveling through pain to possibility.
I wrote it with Madi Diaz, an incredible artist and songwriter. The first time we met, we sat down to write and instantly found ourselves on the same wavelength. The writing is mostly a blur, but I remember it feeling easy, natural, like the song wanted us to find it. At the time I was standing in the light at the end of a very long tunnel, having undergone some massive life changes (divorce, falling in love again, relocating from Los Angeles to a small town in coastal Maine, getting married again) and basking in the relief of coming out on the other side, somehow still in one piece. It is a prayer of thanks for my wife, and for the ability to start over.
2. “Knife Went In”
Common ground is the backbone of human relationships; the easiest things to understand about another person are the things that you share in some way. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of meeting someone and discovering that their scars match your own, so to speak; this can create the opportunity for accelerated intimacy. This song is concerned with reveling in that closeness.
When we started recording this one, Josh Kaufman created a drum loop that became part of the first layer of the song, and I played nylon-string guitar; those became two of the recurring elements that helped form the sonic palette of the album. I also tracked my guitars and vocals at the same time on almost the entire album, which was something Josh suggested and something I’d never really done. I was pretty nervous about it at the beginning. But it got easier as we went along, and I think the album breathes in a really lovely way because of that.
3. “Goldenrod”
This is one of the oldest songs on the album; I wrote it around 2014, but held off recording it, waiting for the situation to feel just right. Sometimes a song needs a very particular environment and set of circumstances to bloom correctly. When I sent Josh a batch of worktapes and demos to check out in advance of our recording dates, this was the first song he singled out as one that sparked for him. That was thrilling to me, because Josh “getting” this song made me feel even more sure that he was the right person to produce the album. We kept the arrangement simple; my acoustic guitar is the backbone, with Josh weaving in and out on a couple different guitars, bass, and piano.
It’s also one of the rawest songs on the record, one of two that deals directly with death. I wrote it about a friend who was killed suddenly in a terrible accident. He was someone I’d been close with, then estranged from, then reconnected with shortly before he died. He’d turned me on to Cat Power, Pavement—a lot of music that was formative for me. I don’t like funerals; I mean, who does? They’ve never felt like the way I want to say goodbye. This song is my attempt at finding another way.
4. “Everglades”
People say there are three sides to every story: your side, my side, and the truth. I’ve discovered through trial and error that further subdivisions can emerge when you’re not entirely honest with yourself. “Everglades” is concerned with the truth, and lies, and whatever gray area might exist in the cracks between the two.
I wrote this song with Christian Lee Hutson when I was living in Altadena, the most Narnia-esque neighborhood in LA County. I had a home studio in my basement with a hobbit-sized door that led out to the driveway. I liked to work with the door open and just the screen closed, for the breeze, and it wasn’t uncommon for the neighborhood troupe of peacocks to swing by and stand just outside, honking and clucking.
5. “Bury Me Slowly”
This one is an exhumation song in which I dig up the decaying past and put it under the emotional microscope before laying it to rest permanently. I grew up with an alcoholic stepdad, who grew increasingly violent over the course of his time in my life. It’s not something I ever wrote about until I was very much an adult. I’m not sure why; maybe distance made it easier, maybe my footing became more solid as I grew up, maybe I had to figure some things out before I could commit this part of my life to song. Whatever allowed me to finally write it, I’m thankful for the musical exorcism. This house is clean.
Matt Barrick plays drums on this song, as well as the rest of the album. When Josh and I were having a pre-production talk in advance of getting together to make the album, he suggested Matt could be a great person to bring, describing him “the saddest drummer [he’d] ever heard.” That pitch sold the hell out of me, and Matt absolutely lived up to the mournful hype.
6. “Next Time Around”
When I started writing this song, I was partially inspired by an episode of The X-Files in which Mulder and Scully discover through hypnotic regression therapy that they’ve known each other—and been importantto each other—across many different lifetimes. It made me think about the people in my life, and what it could mean to know them later, or to have known them before. It feels like the tree falling in the forest; if you knew someone in a previous life, but you don’t know that you did, does it have an impact? Can it mean anything? If there are infinite parallel universes stretching out to the right and left of us, how are my relationships configured therein? Who are the people that remain close and vital to me across various realities? The mind reels!
About halfway into writing the song, my tires got stuck in the mud, and I turned to my friend and frequent collaborator Bess Rogers to help get me unstuck. Bess is incredible at seeing songs from angles I’ve missed entirely, and together we found our way to the end of the story.
7. “It’s Later Than You Think”
I wrote this song with Peter Silberman of The Antlers. When we got together to write, I was feeling particularly preoccupied with my relationship to my phone, social media, and the internet in general. It was the summer of 2021 and the world still felt a ways off from returning to any semblance of social normalcy. I had also moved away from the city where most of my friends lived to a quiet coastal town on the opposite side of the country. My phone felt like my tether to life as I had known it. But scrolling is a slippery slope and it’s easy to overdo it; it’s engineered that way. This song is a reminder to myself that my time on this planet is finite and precious, and that I want to spend it wisely on what matters. (Most of the time.
8. “Salt”
This is a deep, dark break-up song, a song for terrible rendings and harrowing disentanglements. It’s the third song I’ve written with Christian for one of my releases, alongside “Everglades” on this album and a song called “Living Room” on my EP “Night Shift”. It’s always an adventure with Christian; there’s a certain geographical or locational element that seems to work its way into songs that we write together. This song spans the eastern half of the United States.
When Josh listened to the demo I’d made of this song, he recognized Christian’s voice right away. It turned out Christian had played some guitar on the first Bonny Light Horseman record. We asked him to record some harmonies remotely after we’d wrapped principle tracking, and they came out eerie and beautiful. In what had begun to emerge as Kaufman’s grand tradition of getting me to try (and inevitably embrace) things outside of my comfort zone, we ended this song on an extended instrumental section which ultimately fades out nice and slow.
9. “Set It on Fire”
I wrote this song with Mikky Ekko on the day we met. In a way, it’s the dark sister to the title track “Avalanche.” The latter song is about coming out the other end of a trial and stepping back into the light; “Set it On Fire,” on the other hand, is the jumping-off point, the beginning of the quest. It’s my soundtrack for leaping into the abyss. It was Mikky’s idea to subvert the melody in the second verse, which I love so much, and which feels right in line with the foundational idea of the song, that sometimes you have to change course in order to stay true.
10. “Now Comes the Mystery”
When I got together over Zoom with S. Carey to see if we might be able to write a song together, I had recently lost a family member. It wasn’t a surprise, as she’d been dealing with a number of health struggles for years, but it was still a shock. Sean and I sifted through these feelings of loss and grief together. It felt futile to write about death (which offers zero answers, just endless questions) but also impossible not to. Writing a song together is always an intense way to get to know someone, but this one in particular was a wild, vulnerable ride.
I wasn’t sure this song would make the record. Josh and I didn’t decide exactly which songs we’d record before we started; we took it a song at a time. When we had around seven or eight songs cooking, we started looking for any that felt very different from what we had up to that point. This one fit the bill. We kept it spare, and given the finality of the subject matter, it felt like the right way to close out the album.
Jenny Owen Youngs – the album “Avalanche” out 22nd September on Yep Roc Records
Following on from the release of their highly-praised 2020 LP “Darkness Brings Wonders Home”, which was applauded by the likes of Mojo, Clash Magazine, Q and many more, alt-folk duo Smoke Fairies return once again to release their sixth studio album “Carried In Sound”. Continuing to pursue more of that warm and ethereal aesthetic the pair have cultivated since their earliest beginnings, lead cut “Vanishing Line” makes for a wonderfully warm and emotive introduction to their next full-length release.
Accompanied by a cinematic video, the new offering tackles the difficult and intimate feelings loss and grief can have on a person and those around them.
A sense of inner strength dominates the new record. In keeping with the times that bore it, ‘Carried In Sound’ isn’t afraid to discuss darkness – but everywhere there is a longing for light. “Although the album has themes of sadness on there, it’s looking at those things from a place of strength,” says Jessica.
On “Carried In Sound” the duo prove themselves to be utterly self-reliant, moving through a pandemic, home recording, and true independence to forge something completely faithful to their ambitions. Recorded in a terrace house with the volume dialled down to protect the neighbours, the results have a curiously intimate, hushed appeal. A record that feels remarkably self-contained, ‘Carried In Sound’ is truly special, marked by audio invention, and a desire to speak nothing but the truth. A break from their former work, the album carries a very unique form of magic.
“We’re really excited to announce a new record, carefully home crafted to represent our core sound, with notes of reflection, grief and joy, we hope you find it an emotive, rewarding experience to listen to.” To celebrate the release of ‘Carried In Sound’, Smoke Fairies will also embark on an intimate five-date tour across the UK taking in spectacular churches and ruins.
Smoke Fairies UK Tour Dates: 21st Nov – Portsmouth, Square Tower [Sold Out] 22nd Nov – Nottingham, Metronome 23rd Nov – London, St Matthias Church 24th Nov – Leeds, Hyde Park Book Club 25th Nov – Manchester, St. Michael’s
Lime Garden are a Brighton four-piece who, whilst growing into adulthood together, are writing coming of age indie-rock with the influence of the modern pop culture that surrounds them Horrifying and brilliant in equal measure, Lime Garden’s video for new single ‘Love Song’ dropped earlier this week at your peril! Last week, the band announced that their debut album ‘One More Thing’ will be released next February and they’ll be going on a big ol’ UK tour so they can bring all your favourite newbies to life.
The debut album “One More Thing” is the band’s love letter to the indie music they surrounded themselves with in their formative years, as well as a statement of love, fear, gratitude and embracing imperfections.
The songs on this album challenge societal norms, breathe life into the mundane and they dream big. “One More Thing” is ambitious in its song-writing as well as its themes. Lime Garden welcome new technologies to help their traditional guitar sounds flourish into pop songs for the here and now.
The Breeders have shared a previously unreleased version of their “Last Splash” song “Divine Hammer,” featuring Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis on vocals, fittingly titled “Divine Mascis.” It will appear on their 30th Anniversary reissue of the seminal album, which comes out this Friday, September 22nd, via 4ADRecords.
“At the time, J Mascis was the guitar god… we sent him the tape to put guitar on, so when it came back and he’s got rid of our voices and just put his vocal on, we were like, ‘Wha?!’ But it’s really cute,” Kelley Deal told Uncut. “There’s a freshness to it, and it’s just so weird. I like his voice and the idiosyncratic way he sings and delivers lines. So I thought it was really neat.”
Kim Deal, Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim Macpherson played their first show together on Friday 19th June, 1992, in a snooker hall behind Warrington Rugby Club in the north of England. Two days later, they supported Nirvana in Dublin and Belfast, and then played at Glastonbury. Back in the US, after playing 27 sold-out shows, they made their way to San Francisco to record “Last Splash”.
Released on August 30th 1993, reviewers described “Last Splash” as, “effervescent,” “blistering,” and “incoherent.” At its centre is the infectiously appealing, instantly recognisable ‘Cannonball’. Propelled in part by the video directed by Kim Gordon and Spike Jonze, the song was voted Single Of The Year by NME. “An alt-rock classic” (Pitchfork’s Top 100 Records of 1990s) upon release, the album quickly attained Platinum status in the UK and the US.
For the reissue of “Last Splash” which has been remastered from its original analogue tapes, and it arrives with two unearthed archival songs, including “Go Man Go.” Back in 2013, the Breeders rang in the 20th anniversary of the LP with the LSXX reissue. To commemorate the 1993 album’s big year, the Breeders are playing the record on tour with support from Belly, Screaming Females, and Horsegirl. Once that wraps up, the Breeders are to perform eight shows with Olivia Rodrigo on her Guts World Tour,
The new version of “Divine Hammer” appears on the band’s 30th anniversary reissue of “Last Splash”
Since his recording debut as Choir Boy in 2016, Adam Klopp mined a sound swirls 1980s synth noir with captivating, cinematic songs sweeping with pensive sorrow and glowing hope. As a former member of the Mormon faith, Klopp spent his youth both in the pews of his place of worship, but also churning through DIY punk venues, before leaving the sect in the thick of a mission in Tahiti. The duality of faith and fiction are central to the lush explorations on his debut album “Passive With Desire”.
Recorded at Studio Studio Dada, the album’s tracks permuted as bedroom sketches, awash with camp, the sting of loss, and allusions to halcyon days of nocturnal, electronic driven pop. Retaining elements of Klopp’s original demos, “Passive With Desire” was recorded with a full band and polished with trumpet, strings, as well as archival samples calling back to Klopp’s hazy youth.
Engineered by Klopp, Bret Meisenbach, and Stephen Cope, “Passive With Desire” is the entry point to Choir Boy’s world of emotive wit, novella kissed lyricism, and bouncy, synth-forward takes on traditional song writing bound by the universal themes of loss, desire, evolution, and exploration.
We’re pleased to announce the Autumn repress of Choir Boy‘s celebrated album “Passive With Desire” is up for preorder on new limited colorway and restocked on black. Shipping November 13th.
Prolific songwriter and guitar virtuoso David Tattersall presents 11 new songs on themes of memory, dreams, loneliness and love, featuring nylon-string guitar improvisations in the vein of gypsy jazz legend Django Reinhardt. The David Tattersall Group are old friends who rehearsed together for months in a small, smoky, sweaty room, before recording the album on a huge red boat moored on the River Thames, all vintage microphones and wooden walls inside. Friendship is a vital part of the record’s magic. Stylistic influences include Ronnie Lane, after whom one song is named, and the nylon-string guitar work of Jonathan Richman and Willie Nelson. A pastoral mood prevails, with swells of melancholic violin and Spaghetti Western harmonica, backed by honky-tonk piano and the dry drum sounds of Neil Young’s Harvest period, while the golden voice of Holly Holden adds a touch of glamour to proceedings. David’s process includes much musical improvisation and stream-of-consciousness writing, but his end goal is to couple classic songwriting with the collective chemistry of musicians playing live in the studio.
“My Lovely” certainly whets the appetite for the rest of the record.l’m intrigued by any song called “Bluebird”, but suspect it won’t be football-related.Still, something to look forward to October for, which is unusual for someone who usually wishes he could hibernate when the clocks go back…and perhaps a few live dates?
His lyric influences include Tom Verlaine, John Cooper Clarke and the New York School of Poets, particularly James Schuyler. The vinyl comes with a downloadable version featuring two covers of Townes Van Zandt and Jimi Hendrix.
Taken from The David Tattersall Group’s self-titled album released October 6th 2023 via Bella Union
R.E.M. has announced a 25th anniversary reissue of their 1998 album, “Up”, set for release on November 10th. Craft Recordings celebrates the 25th anniversary of R.E.M.’s bestselling 11th studio album, “Up”, with a series of expanded and remastered reissues, all of which are available for pre-order today and set for release on November 10th.
The collection includes a newly remastered version of the album, plus a previously unreleased 11-song set taken from the band’s 1999 appearance on the TV show “Party of Five2. There are also new interviews with the members, music videos and more.
“The intersection of visual and musical art is always interesting, so it was cool to be a part of TV,” bassist Mike Mills recalled in a press release. “There are dozens of great R.E.M. live sets out there, but nothing quite like this up-close oddity,” Josh Modell writes in the set’s liner notes. “Loose and happy, the band runs through a good chunk of “Up” in front of a small crowd. … Stipe is chatty, telling stories about accidentally ripping off Billy Corgan (and telling Corgan about it), playing with the Human League on a funny stage at that very venue and more.”
R.E.M.’s appearance on the hit TV series “Party of Five” was filmed on February 17th, 1999 at Los Angeles’ Palace Theatre (with “At My Most Beautiful” airing in an episode). While taping, the band decided to perform an impromptu set in front of a crowd populated by R.E.M. fan club members, cast and crew. The intimate concert served as an opportunity for the band to rehearse their latest Up material – plus their hits – ahead of touring.
The Deluxe 2-CD/1 Blu-Ray edition offers a wealth of material for fans, including the band’s previously unreleased set from their guest appearance on the hit TV series, “Party of Five“. Captured in 1999, the performance includes an 11-song setlist (including enduring hits like “Man on the Moon,” “Losing My Religion,” and “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)”), plus a spoken-word introduction. The accompanying Blu-ray features HD music videos from the 1998 album (“Daysleeper,” “Lotus,” “At My Most Beautiful”), a six-song performance from the era (titled Uptake), recorded in a London studio, the album’s original EPK, plus stunning hi-resolution and 5.1 surround sound audio. Housed in a 32-page hardcover book, the collection also includes new liner notes from journalist and Talkhouse Executive Editor Josh Modell (A.V. Club, SPIN, Rolling Stone, Vulture), featuring new interviews with the band members. The expanded reissue, which features the album, plus the “Party of Five” performance in its entirety, can also be found on 2-CD, digital, and hi-res configurations, while the 14-track, 2-LP album will be reissued on 180-gram vinyl. A limited-edition pressing on Green Marble vinyl is also available exclusively at R.E.M.’s official store along with special Up merchandise. All reissue formats feature newly remastered audio by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering.
The 25th Anniversary Edition of R.E.M.’s UP, coming soon from Craft Recordings.
The Fat Angel Sings 