"A nihilistic, nocturnal brand of psychedelia: mechanistic krautrock rhythms, guitars overdriven into furiously combusting engines, a detached delivery that alternated between slithering and swaggering" - Stereogum says about San Francisco psych-band's seventh album. This time around, the band is "looking back to ’70s funk and disco", with songs feeling "almost like circles".

Actor and singer David Hasselhoff has released a cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain’s 'Head On'. 'Baywatch' star has enlisted the Cars guitarist Elliot Easton for his revved-up version of the track (listen below), and it comes out this Friday on his forthcoming album 'Open Your Eyes', Pitchfork reports. The record is full of seemingly strange covers - […]

The newest album by Swedish prog-metal band Opeth, their first entirely in Swedish, "is an exquisite exercise in perpetual contrasts that, while familiar, demonstrates how much Opeth can still intrigue and impress after so many years" PopMatters says in review (9 of 10 stars). They conclude: "Their most wicked record of the decade, signifying that […]

Acclaimed American rapper CupcakKe has announced she's quitting music and has deleted her Twitter and Instagram accounts, XXL reports. 22-year old author of songs like 'Cum Cake' and 'Best Dick Sucker', in an Instagram video said she feels like she's corrupting the youth - "When I made those songs I was 16, 17 and I […]

DJ Shadow has a new album 'Out Pathetic Age', coming out in November, and it's starry affair - Nas, Pharoahe Monche, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, De La Soul, Run the Jewels and more are featured, Fact Magazine reports. The album has 23 tracks, it is split into two sections, the first 11 songs are […]

In a surprise announcement, Nick Cave said that the Bad Seeds‘ new album ‘Ghosteen’ will be arriving next week. Answering fan's question on his Red Hand Files blog, Cave said it is a double album, with part 1 comprised of eight songs, and part 2 consisted of two long songs, linked by a spoken word […]

New Nigerian pop-culture movement, mostly music, but not just, is fusing R&B, soul, raps, Afrobeats, and indie-rock. Alté puts creativity, individuality and a sense of rebellion in its core – qualities at odds with Nigeria’s conservative culture, where, in a country dominated by Christian and Muslim values, those who go against the grain are often […]

"New album has them sounding like a fired-up, hungry band" - Brooklyn Vegan writes about Swedish post-metal band's new album. "It’s got plenty of familiar Cult of Luna elements, from towering sludge metal to soaring post-rock to hints of psychedelia, but they do all of that and more in ways that don’t just feel like […]

Radiohead frontman was the latest guest at BBC Radio 4’s 'Desert Island Discs' where he chose eight musical recordings, a book, and a luxury item that he would take with him to a desert island, Consequence of Sound reports. So, he's survival essentials are: Talking Heads’ 'Born Under Punches', Neil Young’s 'After The Goldrush', R.E.M.’s 'Talk […]

The 11th album by the folk-rock band Hiss Golden Messenger is "a fantastic sounding record, which doesn’t appear to be solely the result of the playing or the production" the Guardian says in review. "The mixes are uniformly fantastic, with electric guitar foregrounded, but not so much it swamps anything, and the folkier elements are […]

An excellent article in The New Yorker about a tendency of American courts to use rap lyrics and videos as evidence against rappers. The latest such example is a testimony of Brooklyn rapper 6ix9ine. Before him, there were Texas rapper Tay-K, Florida rapper YNW Melly, and California rapper Drakeo the Ruler, whos videos and lyrics […]

The Michael Jackson estate has grown by $1.7 billion since the superstar’s death in 2009. Jackson has left behind $500 million in debt at the time of his passing, and "as of December 31, 2018, the Estate generated gross earnings exceeding 1.7 billion dollars,” Jackson’s estate attorneys informed the courts. The Blast...

"The rhythmic energy... The joyful nature of Afro-pop... Whirlwind of head-bopping, dance-inducing melody" - the latest album by the Super Furry Animals' frontman is, seems so, exactly what the Quietus likes these days. "An album which represents optimism, cross-culturalism and the erasing of borders in favour of creativity and collaboration, is a breath of fresh […]

"A wide-eyed, curious creature, willingly alert to the world" - Guardian says about the new album by UK folk-rock band Red River Dialect. Other critics like it a lot as well: "Thoughtful compositions that mix straightforward observation with naturalistic imagery & philosophical inquiry" – Uncut Magazine: "Beatific [but] thrillingly combustible. Morris’s earnest tones crack with loss. A […]

"She’s as gloriously weird as ever. Hence her excellent new Madame X tour, a testament to the genius in her madness" - Rolling Stone says about Madonna's new tour. Instead of big shows, she’s performing in intimate venues, starting with 17 nights in Brooklyn, with the show being "messy", which is good, Rolling Stone says […]

A posthumous Leonard Cohen album 'Thanks for the Dance' of previously unreleased music has been announced, NPR reports. It's "an unexpected harvest of new songs, exciting and vital, a continuation of the master’s final work”, the press release said. In big part it is a work of Cohen's son Adam - the father had asked […]

"A reminder that we're not made to do life by ourselves" - Norwegian/Welsh folk-pop duo Firewoodisland says about their newest song 'Hollow Coves' (listen below). PopMatters says their music stands alongside the chamber/indie/folk pop-rock excellence of artists like Bon Iver, Of Monsters and Men, and Passenger. It comes out on band's 2nd album 'Firewoodisland', in 2020.

A session Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash recorded in Nashville in 1969 is set for release in the 15th installment of Dylan’s Bootleg Series, Rolling Stone reports. The 3xCD set 'Travelin’ Thru, 1967 – 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 15' compiles their session where they laid down 'Girl From the North Country', jammed with Carl […]

DJ Premier let the word out this week that he is working on a new album of unreleased material from Gang Starr, his iconic collaboration with the late MC Guru, Consequence of Sound reports. Yesterday, we get our first taste of the surprise effort with the song 'Family and Loyalty' featuring J. Cole.

"The album is named after Howard’s sister, who died at 13 after being diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer. It was Jaime who first taught Brittany to write a song, and now she’s writing her most unyielding and vulnerable ones, songs about coming to terms with personal identity, guarded secrets, spiritual and social […]

A pretty context, and, finally, a pretty song. Toni Cornell wrote the song 'Far Away Places' when she was just 12 (she turned 15 on Wednesday). Chris Cornell produced it for his daughter, as one of the last songs he will record before his death in May 2017, Billboard reports. It is featured in a […]

Electro-pop producer and singer KUČKA is the newest artist at the Scottish independent label LuckyMe, and she came there with a present - her new single 'Drowning' (watch below). KUČKA, aka Laura Jane Lowther, has collaborated and co-written with an array of high-profile artists, including SOPHIE, Vince Staples and A$AP Rocky, Fact Magazine reports.

London rapper Dave has won the 2019 Mercury Prize with his debut album 'Psychodrama', a critically acclaimed concept album about mental health, relationships and social conditions. This year the Mercury shortlist was just great: 1975‘s 'A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships', slowthai‘s 'Nothing Great About Britain', black midi‘s 'Schlagenheim', Little Simz‘s 'GREY area', Foals‘ 'Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1', Nao‘s 'Saturn', IDLES‘ 'Joy as […]

Pianist and singer Kodi Lee, who is blind and autistic, has won the America’s Got Talent show competition, season 14. Lee has been the favourite since he appeared at the show, and won after a string of stirring performances at the piano. Billboard reports. The award: $1 million grand prize and a headlining show in Las Vegas, at […]

Singer/rapper Sampa The Great released her first solo debut album "the breathtaking 'The Return'. On it, she manages to fuse the music and cultures of just about all the places she’s lived. There’s traditional South African folk, tribal music, and slang, along with Afrobeat, American hip hop, jazz, soul, funk, R&B, spoken word, and more"; she […]

"I've never really considered myself so much Mr. Guitar. To me, playing guitar was a means to an end. I needed to play something" - former Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore says in a PopMatters interview about himself and his latest project. It's a box set, named 'Spirit Counsel', with three instrumental pieces spanning nearly […]

An excellent interview in the Quietus with Andrew Falkous from the newly reformed UK indie-punks Mclusky*, with a great introduction. Now that they're playing again "it's the first time I haven't lived month-to-month since I was 18", Falkous says, "I basically don't have to worry about money for a while. And I get to go […]

Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard has shared new single '13th Century Metal', a groovy-jazzy song with powerful lyrics - "Every day I am alive I am given opportunity to become that which I admire most of others. I am nonviolent/I am a master student and my spirit will never be stomped out'” (watch the live version below). […]

"It’s a bold, confident new introduction to an already-established band, and it’s not everyday that you see a band drastically reshape their sound and get heavier in the process" - Brooklyn Vegan says in review of Microwave's new album. They went from indie-rock from their first two albums to alt-rock at their newest, and - "the depth […]

Amazon has launched a high definition, “lossless audio” service Amazon Music HD with 50 million songs available in CD quality. The service is available now in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan for $14.99 per month, or $12.99 a month for Amazon Prime subscribers. This makes Amazon the first of the three streaming titans to offer high-fidelity […]