It’s the last full week of April and as we really start to shift towards (much needed) warmer weather, we’re treated with a continued abundance of big new releases. This week, Annie Clark leads the charge with her seventh album as St. Vincent and it’s been heralded as a return to form. She’s enlisted big names to help her out on this one and the singles do suggest that she’s back in her sweet spot after the varied and uneven Daddy’s Home. Although there seem to be some questionable lyrics on “Sweetest Fruit,” here’s to hoping Clark can land the punch on this go around.
It’s been a long time since bloghouse juggernauts Justice hit us with their brutalist-EDM injected club bangers and while this one has some interesting pairings, the Tame Impala collab is underwhelming, there are some classic sounding tracks on here that are sure to be amplified when presented in a live setting which is really the best way to enjoy this duo.
For the first time in seven years, there’s a new solo studio record from Iron & Wine. Led by the excellent single “All in Good Time,” which is a duet with the icon Fiona Apple, this is sure to resonate with long-time fans who’ve been hankering for more nuggets from this indie folk hero and his soft croon and acoustic strums are sure to be a lovely soundtrack as we blissfuly shift towards a new season.
Slowcore band Hovvdy have steadily been releasing records over the past few years, but their newest, self-titled, album is perhaps the best summation of their sound and one that will make a great entry point for anyone looking for chilled-out guitar music with solid rhythms to boot.
Blackened death metal outfit Inter Arma are back with their punishing new record full of deep growls and primordial riffs that will set your speakers ablaze with their relentless and smoldering sound. There’s also the new one from Full of Hell which also brings the heat, ready to scorch your ears with their wicked blast beats and crushing guitars.
Announced only this past Monday, Thom Yorke has shared a new soundtrack for the Italian film Confidenza by Daniele Luchetti and while physical copies will follow shortly, the score is now streaming. It’s a different sound and scope than the work he’s released with his primary bands Radiohead and the Smile, but explores more of his piano-driven music that is more contemplative and intimate than the expressive and often larger than life tones of his usual work.
On her first new song since her 2022 album PAINLESS, Nilüfer Yanya shared a one-off single called “Like I Say (I runaway).” It’s a standard rock tune that goes hard for the chorus, slamming on the distortion for some shoegaze-indebted walls of sound.
In honor of Earth Day, Thurston Moore released “Rewilding,” a new song which he says is leading to a new album that should be released this year. This track digs in to a solid rhythm with washes of psychedelic haze and looping drum beat that chugs along with endless grooves.
Following last year’s Dream in Dream, Cornelius has announced a new album and the lead single is an ethereal composition of spaced-out melodies and warm, comforting electronics made for more intimate moments of deep introspection. Dreamy producer vines (not the Australian garage rock act) released the great album Birthday Party last year and this week the multi-instrumentalist Cassie Wieland delivered an ambient instrumental track called “being loved isn’t the same as being understood.”
Doom metal heavy hitters Pallbearer will release their new album next month and this week they dropped the colossal new track “Endless Place,” a song that’s not quite endless, but does clock in at over ten minutes and features a blown-out saxophone solo. 200 Stab Wounds are also packing the intensity this week with their blown-out new song “Hands to Eternity” which powers up to brilliant intensity before breaking down with total force and blistering heat.
Hardcord band GEL have been making waves over the past few years and their new single “Mirage” is a towering track full of pure aggression and dazzles with an extreme guitar solo near the end that is begging you to tear things up in the pit.
On the third single for her upcoming record, Bat for Lashes serves up the strongest of the set so far. Kicking off with her rather isolated vocals, the track builds into a lush tune with a pulsing beat. U.K. jazz band Ezra Collective’s latest is another skronking tune with a full rush of energy and a commanding brass section.
Albums:
St. Vincent | All Born Screaming
Justice | Hyperdrama
Iron & Wine | Light Verse
Hovvdy | Hovvdy
Bullion | Affection
Inter Arma | New Heaven
Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werliin | Ghosted II
Full Of Hell | Coagulated Bliss
Thom Yorke | Confidenza [soundtrack]
Songs:
Nilüfer Yanya | “Like I Say (I runaway)”
Thurston Moore | “Rewilding”
Cornelius | “Sketch for Spring”
Ezra Collective | “Ajala”
vines | “being loved isn’t the same as being understood”
Pallbearer | “Endless Place”
Crumb | “The Bug”
Amadou & Mariam | “Mogolu”
200 Stab Wounds | “Hands to Eternity”
Bat for Lashes | “Home”
CANDY | “Love Like Snow”
GEL | “Mirage”
Cults | “Crybaby”
Sunny Day Real Estate | “Grendel” [live]
If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2024) here!