As we hit the end of the year, many have started to rank their best-of lists and share year-end reviews. There are still a few more weeks of new releases, so I’ll be posting mine later. This week alone, Arca has shared three new albums and Tierra Whack dropped a surprise EP. Screaming Females singer Marissa Paternoster also has a solo album out this week and electronic legend GAS returns as well.
SZA dropped a new single, her first since last year’s “Good Days.” The new song, called “I Hate U” originally appeared on her Soundcloud account earlier this summer, but finds its way to universal streaming services today.
Kim Gordon released “Grass Jeans,” her first new track since her 2019 album No Home Record. Proceeds from the song made throughout the rest of the year will benefit Fund Texas Choice, a nonprofit that pays for Texans’ travel to abortion clinics.
In a total blast from the past, mid-aught indie rock bands Bloc Party and Band of Horses shared new singles. Bloc Party gets back to a more focused guitar sound with disco hi-hats that recall their earlier work and Band of Horses sound back in their old wheelhouse as well.
Black Country, New Road shared yet another new song from their new record which is out in February. “Concorde” has a ‘90s post-rock feel to it that dips more into punk and hardcore, but with a slow build and release. Wet Leg announced their debut album and shared two more new tracks. “Too Late Now” is a tightly-gripped rocker that chugs along with post-punk rhythms.
Doom icons Boris shared a new song and announced their new album as well which will be out on Sacred Bones in 2022. Like many others Cloakroom continue to progress from metal to shoegaze and their new song, which came with their album announcement, feels much closer to melodic, heavy rock all while retaining the intensity of their past work.
Finally, Jeff Parker shared the almost title-track to his new solo guitar record, “Four Folks,” and Glen Donaldson dropped the second single from next year’s The Reds, Pinks and Purples album Summer at Land’s End.
Albums:
Arca | KICK ii
Arca | KicK iii
Arca | kick iiii
Tierra Whack | Rap?
Gas | Der Lange Marsch
Marissa Paternoster | Peace Meter
Failure | Wild Type Droid
Can | LIve in Brighton 1975
Songs:
SZA | “I Hate U”
The Reds, Pinks & Purples | “Pour the Light In”
Black Country, New Road | “Concorde”
Wet Leg | “Too Late Now”
Kim Gordon | “Grass Jeans”
The Linda Lindas | “Nino”
Kim Petras | “Coconuts”
Boris | “Drowning by Numbers”
Band of Horses | “In Need of Repair”
Cloakroom | “A Force at Play”
Jeff Parker | “Four Folks”
Bloc Party | “Traps”
If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to the best songs from 2021 here!