Gathering production influence from Brian Eno and songwriting inspiration from Leonard Cohen, solo synth act Animal Clinic aims for complexity in both sound and emotion. “I wanted to say something very personal,” says Animal Clinic’s sole musician James Scott Rubia. “I wanted to say it with detail, and I wanted listeners to be able to hopefully feel what I was …
Charley Crockett’s ‘$10 Cowboy’ Tour Comes to St. Augustine Amp This Summer
Rising Americana star Charley Crockett has extended his tour in support of his forthcoming album $10 Cowboy (April 26, Son of Davy/Thirty Tigers), adding a late-August stop in the Ancient City. Though he’s typically billed as a country artist, Crockett’s self-described “Gulf & Western” sound is far richer and more nuanced than that label may suggest. The Texas-born, New Orleans-influenced …
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds Share “Wild God,” a Worthy Addition to Their Canon of Blunt and Bluesy Theology
In the 2013 book, Faith, Hope and Carnage, Nick Cave admits: “I feel that instinctive, mysterious connection can have a deeper impact on the psyche of the listener. It feels as if it connects to the listener in a different way, as if we have stumbled upon the song and its implicit meaning together.” Culled from 40 hours of conversations …
Annie Dukes Have a Hankering for “Cherry” on Hot-Blooded New Single
Femme-fronted Jacksonville rock outfit Annie Dukes are marking this International Women’s Day with a blistering new single, “Cherry.” Cassidy Lee (bass, vocals), Emma Moseley (guitar, vocals), Callie Johns (keys, vocals) and Mike Monahan (drums) describe their sound as “Black Sabbath meets Fleetwood Mac,” and on “Cherry,” the foursome hew to the heavier end of that spectrum. The dynamic track evokes …
Nate Amos of Water From Your Eyes Announces New Solo Album as This Is Lorelei
New York’s Nate Amos is a man of many projects, from a pair of acclaimed indie-pop duos—Water From Your Eyes and My Idea, with Rachel Brown and Lily Konigsberg, respectively—to his longstanding solo project This Is Lorelei. On Monday, Amos announced what a press release calls his “first attempt at a traditional, intentionally written full-length album” as This Is Lorelei, …
Jalen Ngonda Falls in Unrequited Love on “Illusions”
Just months after releasing his debut album on Daptone Records, London-via-D.C. soul singer-songwriter Jalen Ngonda is back with a brand new single, the bittersweet, Motown-inspired “Illusions.” A talented purveyor of time-warp soul a la Leon Bridges, Ngonda’s distinctive voice is his most valuable asset, a nimble falsetto that evokes explosive joy and eats high notes for breakfast. On “Illusions,” however, …
DIIV Announce North American Tour, Share (Totally Real) ‘SNL’ Stage With Fred Durst
The fourth album from New York City shoegazers DIIV is on the way, and ahead of Frog in Boiling Water’s May 24 release via Fantasy Records, the band has unveiled a North American tour and a new music video, both with ties to the Sunshine State. After announcing their new album earlier this month, DIIV—Zachary Cole Smith, Andrew Bailey, Colin …
Duval Indie-Pop Impresario HUAN Delivers an Anthemic Takedown with “Finer Things”
Operating in a creative realm parallel to bedroom dream-pop exists Duval-based musician HUAN, aka Juan Mallorca, who throws a little nuanced neon light and electronic-soul on his DIY domain. Mallorca’s garage-rock jollies are satisfied with his project Jawberry and he’s also the mastermind behind the latin-trap entity, Chico Honey. Over a breezy riff that is smooth to the point of …
L.A. Siren Jessica Pratt Calls Listeners to the Orchestral Rocks with New Single, “Life Is”
The debut single from Jessica Pratt’s forthcoming fourth album Here in the Pitch, the song “Life Is” is an impressive mix of baroque pop-psychedelia. Underpinned by a symphonic albeit subdued production sheen, Pratt targets lovelorn listeners with a type of haunted and haunting lyricism (“Life is, it’s never what you think it’s for / and I can’t seem to set …
Erica Reese Spirals Through Shoegaze on Hooky New Single “Pretty”
Ahead of her set at this weekend’s Winterland Six music festival, Jacksonville’s own Erica Reese has shared a shoegazing new single, “Pretty,” produced by her Coastal Creature collaborator Parker Dixon. Awash in oceanic guitar tones and unflinching vulnerability, “Pretty” finds Reese’s narrator seeking external validation in what she knows deep down is a futile effort to fill some internal emptiness. …
NYC Guitar Freaks A Place to Bury Strangers Offers Up Loud-Psych Devotions on New Single, “Change Your God”
Routinely hailed as “the loudest band in New York City,” A Place to Bury Strangers — when they’re not violating sound ordinances in the five boroughs — has been issuing deceptively simple yet consistently psych-friendly guitar pummel for twenty years and counting. Founded and fronted by singer-guitarist Oliver Ackermann, the band has released dozens of multi-format records, with an apparent …
Lightning Bug Return From Oblivion With New Album ‘No Paradise,’ Lead Single “December Song”
Audrey Kang’s ethereal indie-rock project Lightning Bug have shared their first new music in nearly three years, announcing No Paradise (May 2) alongside the video for its mythic lead single, “December Song.” Press notes on the record quote the poet Louise Glück—“Whatever / returns from oblivion / returns to find a voice,” she once wrote—and describes No Paradise as the …
On “Love,” The Something Specials Offer Up a Low-Key Exit Strategy for Contemporary Romantics
The new project from St. Augustine-native Taylor Olin (of Dust Fuss fame) betrays Olin’s expatriation to her current climes of Los Angeles. “Love,” by Olin’s new band The Something Specials, evokes the aftermath and clearing haze of SoCal rock deities Fleetwood Mac, after surviving their late ‘70s radio-hit pantheism. Over an unhurried strumming chord progression, mottled with a tasty plaintive …
Babehoven Preview Sophomore Album ‘Water’s Here In You’ With “Birdseye” Video
New York state-based duo Babehoven have announced their sophomore album Water’s Here In You (April 26, Double Double Whammy) and shared the video for its lead single and opener, “Birdseye.” Maya Bon and Ryan Albert wrote and recorded the follow-up to their acclaimed 2022 debut Light Moving Time at their Hudson Valley home studio 12 Lb Genius in the winter …
Vampire Weekend Return With 2 New Tracks, North American Tour Feat. St. Augustine Stop
Indie-rock institution Vampire Weekend will soon return with their first new album in five years, Only God Was Above Us (April 5, Columbia Records), and to hold us over until then, Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio and Chris Tomson have shared two stellar new singles, “Capricorn” and “Gen-X Cops,” and announced a sprawling North American tour that features an October stop …
On New EP, Jacksonville Hip-Hop Artist Willie Evans Jr. Explores High-Level Concepts with Nuanced Cool
Prolificity, patience, and discernment are all evident in the mix-mind of Willie Evans Jr. The Duval-based hip-hop polymath has been creating music and cultivating the overall contemporary Southeastern rap scene for so long—25+ years and counting—that it seems as if he was always been present. Evans is woven tightly into the Full Plate label-scene, an imprint that has codified and …
Mini Trees Announces New ‘Burn Out’ EP, Shares “Shapeshifter”
Los Angeles “living room pop” singer-songwriter Lexi Vega this week announced her latest EP as Mini Trees, Burn Out, coming March 1 on Run For Cover Records. New single “Shapeshifter” sees Vega bring electronics to the forefront, though her alluring melodies and intimate songwriting remain entirely intact. In the late summer of 2022, Vega was essentially stepping off a rollercoaster: …
The Decemberists Share “Burial Ground,” Their First New Single in 6 Years
Early-aughts indie rock came roaring back this week with the release of “Burial Ground,” the first new song from The Decemberists in the better part of a decade, featuring The Shins frontman James Mercer. For a band with such a flair for the baroque, The Decemberists’ “Burial Ground” is surprisingly straightforward, a warm, winking guitar-pop song that scans like a …
Shannon & The Clams Announce ‘The Moon Is in the Wrong Place,’ Share Title Track
Out of unimaginable loss comes the latest — and most personal — album from Shannon & The Clams. Produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, The Moon Is in the Wrong Place is the garage-psych quartet’s seventh full-length, and their third to be released via Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound. In August 2022, just weeks before their wedding, frontwoman Shannon Shaw’s …
Dehd Set ‘Poetry’ in Motion on Lovestruck Lead Single “Mood Ring”
Surefire Chicago rock trio Dehd are back with their fifth album, Poetry, coming May 10 on Fat Possum Records, and they’ve released the starry-eyed single “Mood Ring” as a first preview of the record. Dehd took songwriting on the road after the success of their acclaimed fourth full-length Blue Skies, leaving the Windy City in search of inspiration for the …
Cuffed Up Announce Debut Album ‘All You Got,’ Celebrate the “Finer Things” on New Single
Cuffing season may nearly be over, but Cuffed Up season is just beginning. The Los Angeles rockers have announced their debut album All You Got, coming April 5 on Hit the North Records, and shared their latest single and music video, explosive album opener “Finer Things.” Listeners keen on both melodic, emotional indie rock and propulsive, tightly wound post-punk will …
Duval Jazz Great Ulysses Owens Jr.’s Latest with Generation Y is an Impressive Merger of Mentorship and Music
The new release from Jacksonville-based drummer-educator Ulysses Owens Jr. and his ensemble Generation Y is an immediate reminder of the joy, nuance and innate humanness of jazz. Over the course the nine tracks of A New Beat, Owens Jr. and Generation Y deliver a rapturous set of hip standards and also originals penned by the assembled players. Originally written by …
Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker Gives “Sadness as a Gift,” New Single From Latest Solo Album
One of the best working songwriters alive, Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker has announced her first new solo album in four years, along with a set of 2024 North American tour dates. Lenker’s sixth solo album Bright Future (March 22, 4AD) is preceded by her new single “Sadness as a Gift,” our second preview of the LP after December’s “Ruined” — …
Khruangbin Preview First New Album Since 2020 With the Idyllic “A Love International”
Vibey Texas trio Khruangbin have announced their fourth studio album, and first since 2020’s Mordechai, sharing A La Sala’s lead single ahead of its April 5 release via Dead Oceans and Night Time Stories Ltd. “A Love International” is everything we’ve come to expect from the ever-consistent Khruangbin, a mostly instrumental meditation with the sure-handed interplay of Laura Lee Ochoa’s …
DJ and Producer Jamie xx Works His Usual Magic on “It’s So Good”
Amid chatter of a new album on the way from The xx — and a forever-feeling wait for the follow-up to his 2015 solo album In Colour — English DJ and producer Jamie xx has shared his first new single in nearly two years, the entrancing “It’s So Good.” Released this week via London’s Young (fka Young Turks), the song …
Waxahatchee Previews ‘Saint Cloud’ Follow-up with “Right Back To It,” Featuring MJ Lenderman
Indie-Americana powerhouse Waxahatchee, aka Alabama-born, Kansas City-based singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield, has finally announced the follow-up to her 2020-best album Saint Cloud. Her ANTI- Records debut Tigers Blood is due out on March 22, and she announced it with a bang this week, sharing the lead single “Right Back To It,” featuring Wednesday (and solo) indie-rock star MJ Lenderman, and announcing …
Katy Kirby Considers the Pitfalls of Romantic Commitment on “Hand to Hand”
Texas-born, New York-based singer-songwriter Katy Kirby has shared a fourth (and likely final) single ahead of her forthcoming album Blue Raspberry, coming Jan. 26 on her new label, ANTI- Records. After breaking out with her irresistible 2021 debut Cool Dry Place, Kirby now returns with a second effort press notes call “an exegesis of [her] first queer relationship” that “ …
A New Six-Song EP from Duval Soul/Hip-Hop Collective L.O.V.E. Culture Maintains Their Vibrational Pull
Since 2019’s Vol. 1, the first in a series of EP’s that culminated in the January 2024 release of Vol. 3, Duval hip-hop collective L.O.V.E. Culture has made it evident that, while they were fully capable of creating dancefloor-ready songs, they were aiming for a higher aspect through lyricism, instrumentation and sonic production. While collectively the six-songs on Vol. 3 …
All Songs Considered | The best releases out on Nov. 10
On her debut studio album, Heaven Knows, the English singer and producer PinkPantheress navigates a heady mix of gothic horror and blissful solitude. It’s a record that reflects on the ways we survive trauma only to exist in a kind of uncertain purgatory — alive, unsure of the future and, ultimately, how it’s OK to not be OK. We open …
All Songs Considered | The best releases out on Nov. 3
After releasing her self-titled debut studio album in 2016, rapper and singer Tkay Maidza felt stuck. She was writing songs that, Maidza says, she didn’t even like. So she walked away from music-making and took half a year to untether herself from the things holding her back. But Maidza eventually hit reset and returned to the studio to make Sweet …
All Songs Considered | The best releases out on Oct. 20
U.K. singer-songwriter Sampha has become a go-to guest vocalist for artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Alicia Keys, Frank Ocean, Solange and Stormzy. Naturally, he’s got a distinctive, genre-blending style as a solo artist, too: Sampha’s second full-length album, LAHAI, showcases his vulnerability, growth and gorgeous vocals, which can sound both timelessly familiar and futuristic, often simultaneously. We’ve also got …
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Preview Their Umpteenth New Album With “Theia / The Silver Cord / Set”
Anyone who tells you they know what’s next for Australian experimental-rock sextet King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard is lying, with one exception: The hyper-prolific band is never not announcing a new album. This week, they unveiled The Silver Cord (Oct. 27, KGLW), previewing the synth-driven set with the lead single and video triumvirate of its album openers, “Theia / …
On “Eggman,” West Coast Psych-Rock Gadfly Ty Segall Takes a Crack at More Bad Trips
Ty Segall continues to morph and mop up the competition of current psych-rock-what-have-you. “Eggman” arrives on the heels of his recent doom-dirge single, “Void.” Over a rumbling bed of drums, octaved-electric guitar and strumming acoustic, Segall serves up cryptic lyrics (“Hey / do you hear what I say? / Would you look at your face? Your mouth’s / agape and …
Public Radio’s Favorite New Musicians Of 2023
With autumn upon us, we decided it was time to poll NPR Music’s Member station partners to find out the new musicians who caught their hosts’ ears this year. We had one question: Identify your favorite artist who entered 2023 without a full-length album. We received 13 answers, and the results spanned rock, Americana, soul, jazz and electronic music. Enjoy …
Hip-Hop Legends Little Brother Share Two New Songs, “Wish Me Well and “Glory Glory”
Little Brother, the beloved North Carolina hip-hop duo, have released “Wish Me Well” and “Glory Glory,” their first new music in four years. Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh remain the poster boys of grown-man rap. Seasoned, independent, well-respected; their rhymes serve as references for artists looking to follow suit. “Wish Me Well” finds Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh taking turns …
On “Electric Like An Eel,” The Serfs Offer to Rock and Rule the Dystopian Age
Judging by the music of the Serfs, the band’s hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio is a destroyed, post-industrial wasteland. While they are retro to the point of the antediluvian, the trio of Dylan McCartney (vocals, percussion, guitar, bass, electronics), Dakota Carlyle (electronics, bass, guitar, vocals) and Andie Luman (vocals, synths) enshroud their latest single “Electric Like an Eel” into more of a post-punk …