NEW Singles & Videos + Release Announcements + Brand New Signings
EARTH TONGUE share new single ‘Grave Pressure’ | Check out Earth Tongue
Hot off the heels of performances supporting Queens of the Stone Age and captivating audiences in the US, Earth Tongue, the dynamic fuzz rock duo release their second single, ‘Grave Pressure,’ from their highly anticipated album Great Haunting, set for release Friday 14 June 2024, via In The Red Records. Described by Rolling Stone AU/NZ as having “electrifying guitar riffs and dynamic drum beats,” their debut single ‘Bodies Dissolve Tonight’ served as a thrilling teaser for what fans can expect from the upcoming 9-track LP. Now, with ‘Grave Pressure’ the duo continue to deliver with the heavy hitting second single.
BONNY LIGHT HORSEMAN announce new album & share new song | Listen to 'I Know You Know'
Bonny Light Horseman–the acclaimed trio of Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson, and Josh Kaufman–today announced their third full-length and Jagjaguwar debut, the double album Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free, will be released on June 8th, 2024. They’ve also shared lead single ‘I Know You Know’ alongside their first-ever music video. Anchored by Mitchell and Johnson’s always-entrancing harmonies, the song demonstrates the band’s keen ability to lace emotional devastation with a pop sensibility as its feel-good, breezy arrangement and anthemic chorus belie its wrecking refrain.
DARTZ release beer soaked new video and kick of NZ tour | Check out the new video
NZ rockers DARTZ have released a music video for the title track of their #1 NZ chart-topping album Dangerous Day To Be A Cold One.
DARTZ’s typically chaotic and beer-soaked new video comes directed by Tom Grut, and features the band attempting to hunt down a life-sized anthropomorphic giant bottle of their beloved Lion Brown, played by renowned thespian Dangerous Day-Lewis aka longtime friend Jake Love.
MRCY announce debut project with new single, ‘R.L.M’ | Check out 'R.L.M'
MRCY have today shared new single ‘R.L.M’ alongside news of their debut project, VOLUME 1, which will be released on Dead Oceans on May 11th. ‘R.L.M’ is an instant-MRCY-classic, both the first song the band ever wrote and the mission statement for a group whose work is as timeless as it is culturally timely. Fusing Barney’s heady production with Kojo’s soaring vocals, ‘R.L.M’ is a reminder to find the magic even in the most everyday places
LEYLA MCCALLA shares album title track 'Sun Without The Heat' | Listen now
Leyla McCalla’s new album and fifth studio recording, ‘Sun Without the Heat’, is playful and full of joy while also holding the pain and tension of transformation. Throughout the record’s ten tracks, McCalla achieves a balance of heaviness and light with melodies and rhythms derived from various forms of Afro-diasporic music including Afrobeat, Ethiopian modalities, Brazilian Tropicalismo, and American folk and blues. Today she is sharing the album’s title track ‘Sun Without the Heat’
AARON FRAZER announces new album & shares lead singles | Check out 'Payback' & 'Into The Blue'
Aaron Frazer — the Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and member of the acclaimed group Durand Jones & the Indications — announces his sophomore solo album, Into the Blue, out June 29th via Dead Oceans, and shares visuals for two lead singles: ‘Payback,’ with its accompanying video directed by Eliot Lee, and the album’s title track, ‘Into The Blue,’ it’s video directed by Marielle Co.
NZ vocalist & producer LOLA releases new single | Check out 'Portal'
Growing up between the lush, native forests and rivers of New Zealand’s rural South Island and the medieval landmarks and well-worn streets of North East England – Lola’s creative identity was shaped from this state of duality. The now Tāmaki Makaurau based producer and vocalist creates dark experimental pop music draped in multimedia visuals that drinks deeply from the wellsprings of the avant-garde, queer club culture and fashion runway music. Lola’s brand new track ‘Portal’ is an ode to the early stages of love and relationships. Opening like a beckoning heartbeat, Lola’s transcendental vocals invite the listener to venture ‘beyond’.
ARCHITECTS release new single 'Curse' | Listen to 'Curse'
Once again enthralling listeners with their signature sonic brutality, acclaimed British metalcore outfit Architects kick off 2024 with an explosive new single, ‘Curse.’ Produced by Jordan Fish, the track is available everywhere via Epitaph Records. Instantly grabbing attention with a guttural scream by frontman Sam Carter, ‘Curse’ is rife with blast beats, massive guitar riffs, and Carter’s impressive vocal range as he switches between aggressive verses and a melodic chorus.
MADI DIAZ releases new single ft. Lennon Stella | Check out 'One Less Question'
Nashville musician, songwriter and performer Madi Diaz just wrapped her headline tour in support of her “magnificent” (Forbes) new album, Weird Faith, further establishing Diaz as “one of our most important songwriters” (Paste). Bold in its honesty, Weird Faith highlights the human experience of spinning out on the fall into love. She now returns and further explores these ideas with ‘One Less Question’ featuring multi-hyphenate Lennon Stella. Together, Diaz and Stella debuted the song last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, marking Diaz’s return to the show.
GOAT GIRL release new track 'motorway' | Check out the very styley video
Goat Girl – Lottie Pendlebury (she/her), Rosy Jones (they/them) and Holly Mullineaux (she/her) are excited to announce their second track ‘motorway’ taken from their forthcoming third album Below the Waste which is being released on Rough Trade / Remote Control Records on June 7th. The album was co–produced by the band and John Spud Murphy (Lankum & black midi). The video for ‘motorway’ was directed by world famous choreographer and director Holly Blakey who has worked with Florence & The Machine, Harry Styles and Rosalia amongst others. The dancers are dressed in archival Vivienne Westwood pieces, styled by notable stylist Matthew Josephs.
KATE DAVIS returns with new song | Listen to 'Cunty Bang Bang'
Fresh off two performances opening for Bar Italia in the Pacific Northwest, Kate Davis is following up her critically acclaimed 2023 album ‘Fish Bowl’ with the new track ‘Cunty Bang Bang’ today. “ “Cunty Bang Bang is for the girls,” Davis explains. “Get cozy. Get psychological. How high do sharks fly? Produced, imagined, and almost entirely played by my musical hero, Micah Preite.”
COLD HART shares post-punk song| Listen to 'Bag of Hearts'
Today Filipino-American artist and producer Cold Hart unveils a brooding new single titled ‘Bag of Hearts’, another preview of his new album ‘Pretty In The Dark’ out on May 18th. Embracing a new mindset that finds the beauty lurking in the darkness,the Long Island based creative draws inspiration from goth icons such as The Cure and Lebanon Hanover for his most vulnerable collection of songs yet. A morbid profession of infatuation with themes of the occult, ‘Bag of Hearts’ sonically references industrial post-punk with dark atmospheric production that fusesa heavy low end and layered melancholic melodies.
PEGGY GOU announces debut album & shares new song | 1+1=11
Artist, producer, DJ and cultural trailblazer Peggy Gou announces details of her long-awaited debut album. One of the most hotly-anticipated debut records in recent years, I Hear You will be released on 7th June 2024 via XL Recordings. To celebrate news of the album, Peggy Gou today releases a new single ‘1+1=11’, a festival-sized anthem that signifies “togetherness” and is set to unify dance floors around the world. ‘1+1=11’ is accompanied by the first-ever music video from acclaimed Icelandic-Danish artist, and Gou’s longtime friend, Olafur Eliasson.
THE DRUMS announce ‘Jonny (DELUXE)’ | New track alert!!!
The Drums are announcing ‘Jonny (Deluxe)’, an expanded version of last fall’s intensely intimate and critically acclaimed new album that now includes twenty-one songs. Get a peek at the additional music by listening to new song ‘The Impossible’ …
MASTER PEACE teams up with Princess Superstar for remix | Check out 'I Might Be A Fake-Arr'
New wave indie artist Master Peace drops ‘I Might Be A Fake-Arr’ Princess Superstar remix, after the huge success of his debut album earlier this month. As he continues to take the UK alt scene by storm, he also taps into the world of electro-dance music with this booming indie-meets-dance version of ‘I Might be Fake’, bringing a whole new edge to his already eclectic, transformative style.
KAMASI WASHINGTON unveils new single ft. Andre 3000 |Check out 'Dream State'
Kamasi Washington unveils a new song, ‘Dream State’ featuring André 3000, today alongside a official visual—watch here and listen here. The track is taken from his new album, Fearless Movement, set for release May 4 via Young. Pre-order/Pre-save Fearless Movement here. Speaking on the new single, Kamasi Washington said “Dream State is a celebration of life and the opportunity it gives us to explore new possibilities. We created this song together instantaneously as we improvised off the music we made in the moment. It was such an honor to work on this song with one of my heroes, the great André 3000. And what an amazing experience André 3000, Brandon Coleman, Tony Austin, Mono/Poly and I had gliding freely through this world of sound not knowing where we would end up, but joyful in the journey itself.”
DEATH LENS share revolution anthem | 'Disturb The Peace'
Originally forming as an instrumental project to express themselves solely through sound, the path for LA based Death Lens quickly evolved as they began using their platform to speak on the injustices facing minorities and the immigrant communities they grew up in. Ahead of their new album Cold World out on May 3rd, today they share their latest single ‘Disturb The Peace’: “A song written for the people, inspired by the people, and for my people – like my immigrant parents who came to the chaos of America to give us a better life and opportunity,” says vocalist Bryan Torres.
CHARLOTTE DAY WILSON shares new single| Listen to 'Canopy'
The Toronto-born-and-raised singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Day Wilson releases ‘Canopy’, the third single from her highly-anticipated sophomore album, Cyan Blue out May 3rd via Stone Woman Music / XL Recordings. Premiering today on Apple Music’s New Music Daily with Zane Lowe, ‘Canopy’ is stripped and poignant, addressing the shadowy burden of animosity. “It’s like a canopy all that hate, I’m above it, can’t live that way,” Wilson sings in her understatedly elegant, brooding vocals on the song’s hook. The piercing single comes alongside an equally sleek and monochrome video, filmed by cinematographer Sylvain Chaussée and styled by Mellany Sanchez. The video features Wilson, a star hockey player in her own right, skating with a hockey stick in hand across vast expanses of ice.
SAM MORTON announce debut album & share new single | Listen to ‘Let’s Walk In The Night’
SAM MORTON, the musical duo comprised of singer, songwriter and acclaimed actor and director Samantha Morton and music producer and co-songwriter Richard Russell, has announced details of their highly-anticipated debut album. Titled Daffodils & Dirt, the album will be released on 14 th June via XL Recordings. To celebrate the news, SAM MORTON today also release new single, ‘Let’s Walk In The Night,’ from the album. A kind of spectral, otherworldly reimagination of UK street soul, ‘Let’s Walk In The Night’ is accompanied by a video directed by Samantha Morton herself.
MDOU MOCTAR release new single and video | Check out 'Imouhar'
Mdou Moctar have released new single and video ‘Imouhar’, taken from the group’s forthcoming album, Funeral For Justice, out May 3rd on Matador. A hypnotic rock song building to a feverish crescendo, ‘Imouhar’ calls on the Tuareg people to which the band belong to preserve their Tamasheq language – it’s at risk of dying out, and Moctar is one of the few in his community who knows how to write it.
ANASTASIA COOPE shares 2nd single from upcoming album | Listen to ‘Woke Up and No Feet’
Anastasia Coope shares her second single ‘Woke Up and No Feet’ off her forthcoming debut album, Darning Woman, out May 31, 2024 via Jagjaguwar. Watch the music video directed by Louisa Tantillo here. Last month she released her first single ‘He’s On His Way Home, We Don’t Live Together’ that FADER, Paste, NYLON, and more included in their “Best Songs of the Week” while Stereogum praised her “strange sonic realms” as “bright and weirdly ominous.”
New Albums & EPs Out Now
MASTER PEACE shares debut album |Check it out - 'How to Make A Master Peace'
Master Peace, the alternative maverick taking the UK by storm, today shares his much anticipated debut album How To Make A Master Peace, via PMR. On a mission to shake up the UK independent music landscape, and inject some anarchic mischief along the way, Master Peace is a burst of energy, redefining what a superstar can mean today – the critically acclaimed record is the culmination of all of Master Peace’s incredible talent and hard work.
Produced by Matt Schwartz, Julian Bunetta and Matt Zara, Master Peace says of the record, “The last few months gearing up to release my debut album have been relentless, dropping new music every few weeks – I’m really excited for everyone to hear the whole thing. Album of the year? I hope so. I think it stands up as a cohesive and fresh piece of work and it sounds great live, having tested it on the road with The Streets and Bilk as well as my last headline tour. I definitely know which tracks are crowd favourites! I just cannot wait to see a room full of maniacs going nuts to GET NAUGHTY ! and all of the other anthems. It’s definitely going to be one to remember.”
BABEBEE shares new single & video +new EP out now |Get your EP today!
Evoking escapism by way of lush electronic soundscapes, idiosyncratic beats and breathy vocals, Atlanta born, NYC-based artist Babebee (they/them) unveils their soul bearing self-produced EP ‘whatislove2u?’ out now via Epitaph Records. Exploring various attachment styles as they reflect on destructive cycles within past relationships, the five song EP chronicles their quest to finally feel “secure” in themselves; whether that is alone or in a partnership. Co-directed by Evan Deng, Babebee also shares the music video for their song ‘HAPPY ENDING’-a cathartic EP closer that symbolizes the ending of a relationship while marking the beginning of a new one with oneself.
New album from KHRUANGBIN A LA SALA out now|Check out focus track ‘Hold Me Up (Thank You)
Khruangbin have released their first album in four years–A LA SALA–via Dead Oceans. A gorgeously airy album, it was made only in the company of the group’s long time engineer Steve Christensen, with minimal overdubs. It is a porthole onto the bounties powering Khruangbin’s vision, a reimagining and refueling for the long haul ahead. A LA SALA scales Khruangbin down to scale up, a creative strategy with the future in mind. The band has shared the video for ‘Hold Me Up (Thank You),’ a song with familial sweetness in its spare lyrics, feeding off the rhythm section’s sturdy funk shuffle, and a chorus on which the guitar evokes both sides of the Atlantic in confident unshowy rhythm.
Fabiana Palladino's self-titled debut - Lorde says it's "the year's best"
“I implore you to listen to this album, to my ear the year’s best. That it’s a DEBUT ALBUM is surreal to me” – Lorde
Fabiana Palladino has released her self-titled debut album via Paul Institute / XL Recordings. Over 5 years in the making, Fabiana Palladino sees the UK vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, transcend expectations with a 10-track full-length of shapeshifting sonics that draws inspiration from the big R&B, Soul, Pop and Disco studio productions of the 80s and 90s and filters them through a modern lens. Made in the wake of the end of a long relationship, it’s an intimate record that sees Fabiana Palladino confront complex questions about love, loneliness and normativity in relationships. The album features previously released singles ‘I Care’ with Jai Paul, ‘Stay With Me Through The Night’ and ‘I Can’t Dream Anymore’.
Tours, Events and Festivals
SHAPESHIFTER 25 - Celebrating 25 Years Of Shapeshifter | Pre Order Your Limited Edition Vinyl!!!
In celebration of their 25th anniversary, Shapeshifter are thrilled to announce exclusive limited edition reissues of all seven Shapeshifter studio LPs and Shapeshifter Live. This will be the first time ever, Shapeshifter Live and Real Time will be available on vinyl! Don’t miss your chance to secure these rare gems. Now, Shapeshifter is inviting their fans to join them in celebrating their 25th anniversary through three extraordinary shows. Don’t miss out on SHAPESHIFTER25. Celebrating 25 years of Shapeshifter – with support from longtime friends, hip hop soul star, LADI6 and the legendary Sunshine Sound System. General on-sale for tickets is Friday, 5th April – 16:30pm.
DIRTY THREE return with the announcement of new album | Hoorah!!
Emerging once again from the unending waves crashing upon our fragile time-craft (adrift on the eternal ocean, and taking on water), Dirty Three are (a) back, (b) tangled in seaweed, rank with saltwater, and (c) not wasting another minute – as nothing is guaranteed. For their first album in over a decade – yep, it’s been ten years since 2012’s Toward the Low Sun – they flew in, got together and started playing. End of story. What else is there to say or do but that? Music’s their language, their true love; they never stop listening to that. And like the title says, Love Changes Everything. Arriving physically on Friday, 14th June and digitally on Friday, 28th June, Love Changes Everything expands on their rumbling, wide-open instrumentals that pull you in like oil-painted landscapes.
Love It Live
SLOW PULP make TV debut on CBS show | Check out the live performance
This past weekend, Slow Pulp made their television debut on CBS Saturday Morning to perform an array of highlights from Yard, one of 2023’s most beloved records. The Chicago-via-Madison quartet composed of vocalist Emily Massey, guitarist/producer Henry Stoehr, bassist Alex Leeds, and drummer Teddy Mathews released Yard last fall to a warm embrace from critics and fans alike, leading to features in Variety, Billboard, The FADER, Washington Post, and more.
On CBS Saturday Morning, the band played three standout tracks from Yard – ‘Slugs,’ “a gentle and insistent…sugared, summery indie track”(Paste), the “punky”(The FADER)“Doubt,” and the “cozy and lilting”(Stereogum)“Broadview.”
BAR ITALIA- London’s enigmatic post-punk trio coming to NZ
Strange News Touring & Banished Music proudly present an intimate one-off show for UK indie darlings bar italia, playing Sunday, 2 June at Karangahape Road’s underground haunt Neck of the Woods. The London based three-piece of Nina Cristante, Jezmi Tarik Fehmi and Sam Fenton are finally set to bring their inimitable and intriguing sound to Aotearoa, plucking tunes from their Dean Blunt-released early work to the two full length 2023 releases The Twits and Tracey Denim (Matador).