Somehow, it’s October and we’ve hit the final quarter of 2021. As we approach peak fall weather, we have new albums to help us embrace the season. Tirzah’s second album, Colourgrade, is a big one for me this week. Her dizzying beats and vocal delivery continue to amaze and after a long rollout plenty of singles, I’m excited to check out the whole thing.
Black Dice are back with a new album as well and this time they’ve signed to FourFour after their long tenure with DFA. There’s a bit of drama going around regarding their old label. Long-time partner Jonathan Galkin shared his side recently where he had the locks of the offices changed on him over night. James Murphy shared his version with Pitchfork as well.
Explosions in the Sky have shared the soundtrack for an upcoming TV special and Neil Young continues his remarkable journey into his own past with the first edition of his Bootleg Series and it’s a live show from Carnegie Hall in 1970.
Courtney Barnett shared another new single from her upcoming album, due in November, and celebrates the deep relationships she’s rediscovered in the pandemic. Arca also dropped a new banger, flexing their rapping skills, and continuing to push the electronic boundaries we’ve come to expect. We also got a rockin’, head-bangin’ new one from Bat Fangs!
In recent months, Phoebe Bridgers has been covering Bo Burnham’s “That Funny Fealing” from his excellent Netflix special, Inside. Today, she’s made the cover available in honor of this month’s Bandcamp Friday. Proceeds from the song will go to various organizations working against Texas’ recent ban on abortions.
The NFL announced that Dr Dre would headline the Super Bowl half-time show and feature Snoop Dogg, Mary J Blige, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar. It marks the first time that hip-hop artists would be the headliners for the event. Huge shoutout to the NFL’s Director of Entertainment, Seth Dudowsky, for making that happen!
Ending this week’s newsletter with some good news: Britney Spears’ father has been removed as her conservator effective immediately and Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 announced he was cancer-free this week!
Albums:
Tirzah | Colourgrade
Illuminati Hotties | Let Me Do One More
Strand Of Oaks | In Heaven
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett | Love For Sale
Black Dice | Mod Prog Sic
Cindy | 2:1
GLOK | Pattern Recognition
Bartees Strange | Live Forever [Deluxe Edition]
Explosions In The Sky | Big Bend: The Wild Frontier Of Texas [Soundtrack]
Neil Young | Carnegie Hall 1970 [Live Album]
Songs:
Courtney Barnett | “Write a List of Things to Look Forward To”
Bat Fangs | “Action”
Circuit des Yeux | “Vanishing”
Helado Negro | “La Naranja”
Arca | “Incendio”
Tori Amos | “Speaking with Trees”
Empath | “Born 100 Times”
Phoebe Bridgers | “That Funny Feeling” [Bo Burnham cover]
Johnny Cash | “Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright” [Bob Dylan cover]
Mastodon | “Teardrinker”
If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2021) here!