Happy Monday, loopers! Here are this week’s most exciting new releases (subscribe to our weekly New Music newsletter here)…
1. BJÖRK — THE GATE
Exciting news, loopers… Björk is back!! The Gate is the lead single to the Icelandic experimentalist’s upcoming 9th studio album, Utopia, which is due in November and follows up her truly breathtaking 2015 album, Vulnicura.
Here’s what Björk had to say about her new single:
“The Gate is essentially a love song, but I say ‘love’ in a more transcendent way. Vulnicura was about a very personal loss, and I think this new album is about a love that’s even greater. it’s about rediscovering love — but in a spiritual way, for lack of a better word.”
Björk recently described her upcoming album as “the Tinder album”, before going on to explain:
“It’s about that search (for utopia) — and about being in love. Spending time with a person you enjoy on every level is obviously utopia, you know? I mean, it’s real. It’s when the dream becomes real.”
To promote the new single, Björk held a special screening of her video for The Gate in London’s The Store Studios over the weekend, before releasing the official video earlier today.
The short film was directed by visual artist Andrew Thomas Huang and features Björk wearing a bespoke dress designed by Gucci’s Alessandro Michele and a headpiece by regular collaborator James Merry.
Here’s what Andrew had to say about the video:
“It is the first glimpse into Björk’s utopia. The doorway lies within the wound from Vulnicura, which now appears transformed into a prismatic portal channeled between the chests of two lovers. Not lovers in the quotidian romantic sense, but in a broader cosmological way. As a throughway into Bjork’s new album, The Gate is a declaration of hope sung by a woman refracted and re-formed into a luminous whole.”
2. PHOEBE BRIDGERS — FUNERAL
Funeral is the latest track to surface from indie-folk newcomer Phoebe Bridgers’ upcoming debut album, Stranger in the Alps, which is out September 22nd on Dead Oceans.
Here’s what Phoebe had to say about recording her latest single, which details her experience of singing at a funeral for a “kid a year older” than she was:
“It’s a different feeling going in and recording a song surrounded by all your friends. You’ll figure out you had no idea that a certain thing can bother you so much. It can be therapeutic. Sometimes I’ll sing Funeral, and think, ‘Oh shit, a bunch of people are about to feel really bad for me.’ We’re just having a pity party right now.”
Bridgers is currently on tour with Conor Oberst and will be joining The War On Drugs on their tour in October, before kicking off her own U.K. and North American tour later that month. Do yourself a favour and head over to the Concerts tab on her LetsLoop profile to grab yourself some tickets.
Stranger in the Alps will also feature the recently released Smoke Signals and the breathtaking Motion Sickness.
3. JULIEN BAKER — APPOINTMENTS
Another (not quite as new) indie-folk artist we’re very excited about is the immensely talented Julien Baker. If you want to know why, just listen to her breathtaking new single.
Appointments is the stunning lead single to the Memphis indie-folk artist’s upcoming 2nd album, Turn Out The Lights, which is out October 27th and follows up her excellent 2015 debut album, Sprained Ankle.
Julien has also announced a series of North American & European tour dates in October & November (playing with Belle & Sebastian, Ben Folds and Half Waif on select dates), so do yourself a favour and head over to the Concerts tab on her LetsLoop profile to grab yourself some tickets.
4. SHAMIR — 90’S KIDS
After nearly quitting music for good, alt-pop artist Shamir Bailey is back with a new album called Revelations and a single called 90’s Kids.
Revelations, which is out November 3rd, was recorded in just two weeks after returning home from a five day stay in a psychiatric hospital (he admitted himself after suffering a psychotic episode not long after releasing his recent Hope mixtape), where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Discussing the new album in an interview with the New York Times, Shamir claimed the songs “just flowed out, like pages of my diary”.
The album also marks a significant change in direction from the Shamir we first met in 2015, ditching the polished synthpop sound for lo-fi, guitar-based songs recorded on a four-track. He also gave up a multi-album deal with XL Recordings (Adele, Beck, Vampire Weekend, The xx) and an offer to work with big-name pop producers to focus on more of his personal, D.I.Y. rock tastes:
“A lot of people think I’m crazy. I guess I kind of am. But I also know what’s best for me, and that’s more important than fame and money.”
You can read the full New York Times interview here.
Revelations will be Shamir’s first release on his new label, Father/Daughter, and follows up his stunning 2015 debut album Ratchet. If you’d like a quick taste of the album’s highlights, check out In For the Kill, Call It Off and the infectious On the Regular.
5. IBEYI — ME VOY (FEAT. MALA RODRÍGUEZ)
Me Voy (feat. Mala Rodríguez) is the second single from Ibeyi (aka Cuban-French twins Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz)’s much-anticipated sophomore album, Ash, which is out September 29th and follows up their stunning 2015 debut album, Ibeyi.
Here’s what Lisa-Kaindé had to say about Me Voy, which is their first single sung entirely in Spanish:
“We needed to sing in Spanish to set a sensual tone for song. When women feel sensual, not only is it sexy, but really powerful and we set out to convey that in the music video”
Ash will also feature Deathless, the duo’s recent collaboration with jazz legend Kamasi Washington, and the excellent Away Away, which was released back in June.
If you’re new to Ibeyi’s unique mix of soul, electronic & hip-hop beats and want to explore more of their songs, we highly recommend Mama Says, River & Oya from their stunning debut album and their cover of Jay Electronica’s Better In Tune With The Infinite, Exhibit Diaz.
Fun fact: Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz are the daughters of legendary Cuban percussionist Angá Diaz, who won a Grammy for Best Latin Recording in 1980 with the band Irakere before going on to join Ibrahím Ferrer, Rubén González, Omara Portuondo and several other Cuban stars in Buena Vista Social Club.
6. KING KRULE — DUM SURFER
King Krule (aka Archy Marshall, aka Zoo Kid) has announced details to his much-anticipated 2nd album, The OOZ, and shared a new song from it called Dum Surfer.
The OOZ will be Archy’s first release under his King Krule moniker since his glorious 2013 debut album, 6 Feet Beneath the Moon, and follows up his most recent album, 2015’s A New Place 2 Drown, which was released under his actual name: Archy Marshall.
Archy first burst on to the scene in 2011, when he was just 16(!), with his breathtaking single Out Getting Ribs (it features on his 6 Feet… but it was originally released under his original stage name, Zoo Kid) and since then he has blown us away with songs like Easy Easy, A Lizard State & Neptune Estate, not to mention his recent guest spot on Mount Kimbie’s Blue Train Lines.
The OOZ is out October 13th and will also feature the recently released lead single, Czech One.
7. WEEZER — BEACH BOYS
It’s been 23 years since Weezer burst onto the scene with the infectious Buddy Holly and now they’re back with the Brian Wilson-inspired Beach Boys.
Beach Boys is the latest track to surface from Californian indie-rock legends Weezer’s much-anticipated eleventh album, Pacific Daydream, which is out October 27th and follows up last year’s amazing White Album.
Pacific Daydream will also feature the recently released Mexican Fender and the excellent lead single Feels Like Summer, which was first released by the band back in March.
8. FALL OUT BOY — THE LAST OF THE REAL ONES
The Last Of The Real Ones is the latest track to surface from Fall Out Boy’s upcoming seventh album, M A N I A, which is out January 19th and follows up 2015’s American Beauty / American Psycho.
The Illinois band’s new album was originally slated for release on September 15th, but was delayed because they felt it “wasn’t ready”. Here’s what frontman Patrick Stump had to say about it:
“We are pushing the record release date back to January 19th. We had some long talks and a lot to weigh about it all and collectively thought that was best. The album just really isn’t ready and it felt very rushed. I’m never going to put out a record I genuinely don’t believe is at least as strong or valid as the one that came before it and in order to do that we need a little bit more time to properly and carefully record solid performances.”
Fall Out Boy have also announced a tour (supported by Jaden Smith) to coincide with the release of the album, so head over to the Concerts tab on their profile to see if they’re playing near you. $1 from every ticket sold will go to the Fall Out Boy Fund, benefiting charities throughout Chicago.
M A N I A will also feature the recently released Champion and the excellent lead single, Young and Menace.
9. MAVIS STAPLES — IF ALL I WAS WAS BLACK
If All I Was Was Black is the lead single & title track to 78-year-old Chicago soul legend Mavis Staples’ upcoming 16th album, If All I Was Was Black, which is out November 17th and follows up 2016’s Livin’ on a High Note.
All 10 songs on the new album were written & produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, who also appears on the album’s 4th track, Ain’t No Doubt About It. Here’s what Jeff had to say about the political tone of the album:
“I’ve always thought of art as a political statement in and of itself — that it was enough to be on the side of creation and not destruction. But there is something that feels complicit at this moment in time about not facing what is happening in this country head on.”
…and Mavis added…
“You can’t stop me. You can’t break me. I’m too loving. These songs are going to change the world.”
Earlier this year Mavis teamed up with Arcade Fire on a song called I Give You Power, be sure to check it out if you missed it.
10. SOFI TUKKER — BEST FRIEND
Talk about good marketing, New York duo SOFI TUKKER just became a household name after their latest single, Best Friend, got used in the launch video for Apple’s new iPhone X.
The video is reminiscent of the old iPod silhouette ads that certainly didn’t hurt sales of The Black Eyed Peas’ Elephunk single Hey Mama and hopefully SOFI TUKKER will see a similar sales (streaming) boost too.
Here’s what the duo had to say about their new single on their YouTube page:
“This song is a celebration of our favorite thing ever: friendship. It’s about the kind of friendship where you can talk forever without anything in particular to talk about. Old friends, new friends, all friends! In the spirit of friendship, we just wanted to have some of our friends hop on a verse! We’ve been lucky enough to travel the world this past year and the best part of the journey is the friendships we have made and the friendships we have been lucky enough to revisit along the way. We (Soph and Tuck) have also become each other’s best friend over the past few years, and we are so grateful to each other!
Our friendship with The Knocks is what gave us the confidence to pursue a career in music, thank you Broc and Jpatt! NERVO, newer friends, inspire us and motivate us to push ourselves and be relentlessly positive, thank you Mim and Liv! Alisa Ueno is a brand new friend who we share a ton of mutual friends with and we are also building a new friendship with Japan. We are so looking forward to going back! This track is especially fun because now we have an excuse to perform together, shoot a music video together and generally share the joy of music with some of our favorite people.
To the friends we have had long before SOFI TUKKER, the friends we have met along the way, and the friends we have not even met yet, you all make our lives so much better: this song is dedicated to all of you! ~ Soph & Tuck”
If you’re new to SOFI TUKKER and would like to hear more, we highly recommend listening to Fuck They, Johny, Awoo, Matadora, Moon Tattoo and their stunning debut single, Drinkee.
ALSO WORTH CHECKING OUT THIS WEEK:
- Ariel Pink — Dedicated To Bobby Jameson (album)
- Blue Hawaii — Versus Game
- Craig David — Heartline
- Cut Copy — Black Rainbows
- Destroyer — Tinseltown Swimming In Blood
- Four Tet — Scientists
- Frightened Rabbit — How It Gets In, Roadless and Rained On
- Hundred Waters — Communicating (album)
- Jessie J — Think About That
- Marilyn Manson — We Know Where You Fucking Live
- NAO — Nostalgia
- Rostam (Vampire Weekend) — Half-Light (album)
- The Clientele — Everything You See Tonight Is Different From Itself
- The xx — On Hold (Jamie xx remix)
- Timber Timbre — Les Egouts
