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Its a mighty-busy year for Mikaela Straussshes currently starring alongside Nicole Kidman in Hulus Nine Perfect Strangers; making her movie debut in Song Sung Blue, a film about a Neil Diamond tribute band; and releasing Girl Violence, a new King Princess album, in September. This slinky, 80s-inflected rocker (which she describes, in mild understatement, as being about a friendship with a lady that did not work out) is a hooky slab of payback, cascading with guitars and snark.
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The singles released in advance of Tyler Childerss Snipe Hunter were a head fakeintrospective and acoustic fan favorites. Then the album came out and the first track is this unhinged rave-up, which starts with Childers hunting a billionaire and literally eating the rich, moves on to bragging about his expensive watch, and winds up in the kitchen with his wife and a series of Beyonc� references. Its all delivered with a deranged vocal over a garage-rock groove and a ballpark-organ breaka wild ride, and a total blast.
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The Internet went nuts in July when Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks posted linked messages on social media. Calm down, everybody, its not a Fleetwood Mac reunion, but it was teasing exciting news. Their 1973 duo album Buckingham Nickswhich was never a hit but convinced Mick Fleetwood to bring them into the Macwill be reissued for the first time since it went out of print decades ago. The albums opening track, the Nicks original Crying in the Night, was released as a single ahead of the albums September release, and while the song is a bit generic and lacks the specificity of the best Fleetwood Mac material, its still thrilling to hear a formative version of the harmonies that would soon take over the pop world.
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Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are the only permanent members of Nine Inch Nails, and theyve been creating acclaimed soundtracks under their own names for many years. So why claim the NIN moniker for their next movie project? Apparently because this music is for the upcoming Tron: Ares filmthe third in a sci-fi series with an esteemed music history. (The 1982 original had a score by Wendy Carlos; 2010s Tron: Legacy was handled by Daft Punk.) NIN leans into the retro on As Alive as You Need Me to Be, recalling its own 90s glory days with a hammering beat, swirling synthesizers, and Reznors menacing vocals.
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Two truly virtuosic musicians, guitarist Blake Mills (Fiona Apple, John Legend, Alabama Shakes) and bassist Pino Palladino (DAngelo, the Who, John Mayer) first joined forces in 2021 for Notes with Attachments. Taka, which teams them up with monster drummer Chris Dave, is the first taste of a second collaboration titled That Wasnt a Dream. Its a slithery slab of math funk, with the three musicians kicking the lead role around like a hacky sack and playing through filters and treatments that make it a game to even figure out whos doing what.
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The Beths are an underappreciated gem. The Auckland quartet consistently deliver bright, hooky power pop thats razor-sharp but deeply felt. Their new single refers not to the hard-rock genre but to the iron in our blood thats required to keep our bodies functioning. Metal adds some extra layers of jangle to the Beths expertly crafted melody and form, pointing the way to a new chapter for a remarkable band.
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The latest single from seven-time Grammy nominee Giveon features Al Greenstyle horns and Philly Soul strings, but the young Californians voice keeps Rather Be from coming off as dusty or lazily retro. You may know his rich baritone from collaborations with Drake (Chicago Freestyle), Justin Bieber (Peaches), or Teddy Swims (Are You Even Real), or from his six-times-platinum Heartbreak Anniversary, all evidence of Giveons classic-meets-modern sensibility. The guy claims two FranksSinatra and Oceanamong his biggest influences, and on this song (from the forthcoming Beloved album), somehow you can hear them both.
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In the UK, Olivia Deans 2023 debut album Messy was a top-five hit, resulting in nominations for the Brit Awards and the Mercury Prize and a trophy as BBC Radios emerging artist of the year. She says that the playful new single Nice to Each Other is about the push and pull of exploring your independence in dating. Dean isnt a powerhouse like her obvious forebears Amy Winehouse and Adele, but Nice is breezy and sweet, a light R&B delight, with some yacht-rock-ish jazz chords underpinning her slightly throaty throwback voice.
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The press releases announcing the upcoming album Moisturizer list five members in Wet Leg, indicating that the groups three longtime touring members have officially joined the lineup alongside Isle of Wight weirdos Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers. You can hear the band feel on the stomping, unhinged CPR, with its refrain of Is it love or suicide? The filthy sound, disorienting dynamic shifts, and spoken-then-yelled lyrics mirror the notion of romance as a heart emergency and show no signs of a sophomore slump coming off Wet Legs multiple-Grammy-winning 2022 debut.
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The most important track that came out recently was, of course, the recording of Bruce Springsteens opening speech at the first stop of his European tour in Manchester, in which he spoke passionately about the current political disaster taking place in the U.S. When the convicted felon who occupies the White House went after him on social media, the Boss chose to spread his message, rush-releasing an EP containing some of that opening nights words and music. Hes been closing his concerts with the early Bob Dylan masterpiece Chimes of Freedom. Its a song Springsteen has occasionally covered over the years, but it has never been more urgent to hear this prayer for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight and the guardians and protectors of the mind. Desperate times reveal the heroes who are unafraid to step up and speak out. Let freedom ring.
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Any new music from the magnificent Fiona Apple is a huge deal. Granted, this addition to her catalog is an odd one: Its not a song that she wrote but a track she was recruited to sing for Irish stalwarts the Waterboys bonkers new project, a 25-song meditation on the outsize life of Dennis Hopper. Mike Scott gave Apple powerful lyrics to deliver, speaking for the women in Hoppers chaotic, abusive relationships, and (as always) her performance is mesmerizingvulnerable, furious, resolutely complex.
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Speaking of voices that we havent heard in a while, its been five years since the Haim sisters excellent Women in Music Pt. III. The first taste of the upcoming fourth album from Danielle, Este, and Alana is a slightly understated reentry, representing their more R&B/electronic approach rather than their more rock-based, guitar-forward work. Its sneakily alluring, bewildered but hopeful, built around an easily relatable sentimentI think Im in love, but I cant stand fucking relationships.
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And its been even longera full seven yearssince weve gotten any new recordings from the mighty Annie Lennox. Having met and bonded with Grammy-winning Americana powerhouse Allison Russell as part of the team backing Joni Mitchell for her comeback performances, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer agreed to cut an updated version of this desperate prayer for peace. Theres no God of fire and blood, pleads Lennox. If theres a God, then God is love.
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The power that music holds in evoking the past is a recurrent theme for country pacesetter Eric Church; its at the heart of such signature songs as Springsteen and Record Year. But if the premise of Hands of Timethat music can heal whatever ails yaisnt surprising, the sound certainly is. With punchy horns, gospel-inflected background vocals, a ticking clock as a rhythmic element, its maybe even a bit overstuffed, but its an exciting setup for next months album Evangeline vs. the Machine.
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The all-star bluegrass trio Im with HerSara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife ODonovanwon a 2020 Grammy for Best American Roots Song. Theyve released a few scattered songs since (including a benefit cover of Espresso) but returned with a new LP in May. The striking first single, Ancient Light, is hardly a traditional folk song; it features an airy arrangement with an odd time signature that leads into some CSN harmonies, followed by a virtuosic instrumental breakimpressively ambitious and surprising.
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At this point, the most famous member of indie/dad-rock standard-bearers the National is Aaron Dessner for his platinum-coated production work for Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Gracie Abrams (with occasional assistance from his brother Bryce). But lead singer Matt Berningers rumbling baritone is still the bands most identifiable feature, and on this first single from his upcoming second solo album, he doesnt stray far from the groups driving, rocked-up side (as opposed to its droning, atmospheric side). Its muscular and satisfying, unapologetic in playing to his strengths.
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Handing over the keys to an outside producerhotshot Brendan OBrien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen)for the first time since its 1999 debut The Tennessee Fire, Americana icon MMJ comes up with a shimmering sound that splits the difference between its extremes of triple-guitar freak-out and reverb-drenched atmospherics. Built around a jazzy piano sample, Time Waited is a mid-tempo meditation on loves ticking clock; its about how flexible time is, how we can bend and warp time, especially if we are following our hearts, according to lead singer/guitarist Jim James.
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UK soul collective Sault moves in mysterious ways. It has released 11 albums in the past five years, always with no announcement or promotion; it played its first live shows only last year; and other than producer InFlo and his magnificent vocalist wife, Cleo Sol, you can find the band members only by digging in the credits. True to form, it snuck out a new EP, Acts of Faith, over the Christmas holidays (though it had briefly been available as a single digital file last summer), and once again its a glorious, expansive, spiritual journey reminiscent of jazzy R&B like Roy Ayers or 70s-era Marvin Gaye. Its all sequenced to run together for 32 minutes, so start at the top with I Look for You, but then just let it ride.
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Isbell isnt just one of todays finest songwriters; hes also an onstage powerhouse backed by his firecracker band the 400 Unit. So his forthcoming solo acoustic album, Foxes in the Snow, and the accompanying tour will make for a vastly different experience. Judging from the imagistic first single (and the albums opening track), though, the rewards will be great; Bury Me is intimate, tough but vulnerable, more southern folk than straight country. I aint no cowboy, but I can ride / I aint no outlaw, but I been inside Isbell sings, and it sounds like a voice from American centuries past.
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This trio released their 2022 debut when they were still teenagers in their native Chicago, with a jittery sound that recalled Gang of Four and Pavement. With two of the three Horsegirls now studying at NYU, Switch Over, their third single ahead of the upcoming album Phonetics On and On (yeah, sounds like NYU students to me), is more pulsing and propulsive. Produced by Welsh experimentalist Cate Le Bon (who recently worked on Wilcos Cousin), the song is hooky but laconic, a next step forward for a band with a long road ahead.
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