Cal Fish’s upcoming album Less Than Three is an ambitious project, and yet it’s so much more. To call it an “album” feels like a bit of a misnomer, as the multi-media release does indeed include an album, but also encompasses a clothing line, a visual record, and a remix album, all released simultaneously by the Brooklyn based artist.
Tijuana Panthers have been at it long enough to earn veteran status, and Halfway To Eighty, the band’s sixth full length record makes good on all that mileage. Due out June 24th via the band’s long-term home at Innovative Leisure, the band describe as the album as a dedication to a lifetime of making music.
“Almost Everybody” is the record’s second single, one of the album’s most laid back moments, embracing fuzzy pop and hooky alternative rock. The band move from one hook to the next, with the kind of energy to land every big rock ‘n’ roll moment. The video, directed by Shannon Wiedemeyer, is where it really comes together.
Set to release the third Golden Apples album today, via Lame-O Records, Russell Edling continues to turn tension and resolve into artful indie pop on the self-titled record. In celebration of the release, we’re sharing both the band’s Live at the Bunk session and a track-by-track guide to the album, courtesy of Edling.
The duo, comprised of Violetta Del Conte-Race (Primo!) and Jake Robertson (Alien Nosejob, Ausmuteants), are set to release their self-titled full length debut on May 13th via Anti Fade Records, a triumph of slow dripped disco and mutated synth pop. It’s a gorgeous record, avoiding pastiche to slink along with their own unique vision.
Chicago’s Babe Report return with their debut EP, The Future of Teeth, out April 22nd. The band, led by former FCKR JR members Ben Grigg (Geronimo!) and Emily Bernstein, recently expanded their line-up to include Peter Reale (Yeesh) and Mech, building on the thick fuzz and syrupy melodies with burly distortion and pop simplicity.
The accompanying music video follows Krystal Maynard through a bungalow with the band members individually appearing in random locations of the home. The camera glides through the house in a single shot, and as Maynard goes about her daily activities, she sings to the camera with an expressive performance.
The quartet return with their second album, the appropriately titled, II, due out once again via Feel It Records on May 13th. Stretching out with nearly eighteen minutes of music this time around, the band keep the formula the same, but expand with exaggerated immediacy, the occasional harmony, and maybe a bit more force.
Naomi Alligator’s gentle folk music is beautifully composed, wrought with feeling but a calming presence. There’s a maturity ingrained in Alligator’s songwriting, even when her sense of humor comes shinning through as playful. It’s in that ability to mix absurdity into her poignant music that separates her from the endless pack of singer/songwriters.
Crime of Passing, a tight quintet that has been kicking around locally in Cincinnati for the past five years, are set to release their upcoming self-titled full length debut on April 22nd via Feel It Records. The band pull us deep into the murky waters, embracing coldwave and elements of industrial pop into the shadowy post-punk formula.
Following the dreamy disorientation of lead single “Fuck It Up,” the band whip things into a frenzy with “Hand That Looks Like Mine,” a song Langdon wrote about having thoughts of self-distrust, warranted or not, but Button interpreted to be about the act of performing, giving it a duel meaning to go with the band’s shared vocals.
“Flying White Nimbus” is not the only song off the band’s succinct and exuberant new album, 10 Colours, that sounds like it starts in the middle—as if you just stumbled upon a passionate rehearsal. Today the Alberta-based trio have dropped a new video for the song, collaborating with animator and multidisciplinary artist Helen Young.
Hailing from Adelaide, Twine are set to release their second single, “Same Old Problems” on April 1st, a song that’s built on tension. The band’s sound is best described as a mix of emotional post-hardcore and atmospheric arrangements, bringing to mind a place somewhere between We Were Promised Jetpacks and Dirty Three.
New Brunswick’s Motherhood are back. The Canadian outfit’s just-announced Winded follows up 2019’s Post Trash-approved Dear Bongo. Today, we’re excited to premiere the video for “Ripped Sheet,” the upcoming record’s most clear cut punk number that follows lyricist Brydon Crain’s progression toward sobriety, happiness and “dry land.”
With the band set to hit the road next month together with Protomartyr, seems the time is right for a new record, which brings us to Cheap Things. Due out April 8th, the album was written years ago while on tour in the US, but due to moves across Ireland and life getting the way, Niall Murphy and co. never released the record… until now.
With four singles out in the world already, from the haunting “Core” and the breezy “Fool,” to the acoustic sweetness of “Maya” and the emotional heft of “Leo,” the album makes a great case for sonic diversity and the fragility of life, but perhaps all the album’s themes are best captured on the record’s title track, “I Saw The Egg”.
