What's New: Sunflower Bean, My Morning Jacket, Faded Paper Figures, The Darcys, Free Range

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Sunflower Bean: Nothing Romantic

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This indie trio, formed in Brooklyn in the mid-teens, took a break after 2022's Headful of Sugar - "walking away with no promise of coming back, moving to different states, floating in the abyss," as the band puts it. "Yet there was also a language that pulled us back together, the dream that there was more we needed to say together." They reunited and put out an EP last year, and now follow with their fourth album, Mortal Primetime. AllMusic says the LP showcases "the group's hard-won maturity and broad musical influences, balancing guitar-heavy rock with AM pop and introspective singer/songwriter ballads."

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My Morning Jacket: Half A Lifetime

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We pull another solid track from Jim James & co.'s 10th album (annoyingly titled is). New Noise Magazine says has "upbeat and funky energy" as its lyric "dives into the longer journeys of life and all the little moments that suddenly add up."

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Faded Paper Figures: Forget All The Days We Died

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This trio is working on its seventh album of synthpop - Triangles - while balancing their "day jobs" as a physician (Heather Alden), an English professor (R. John Williams) and a composer for film and TV (Kael Alden). We've been including their music in our mix for nearly a decade, and we're happy to present this early taste of the LP due in the fall.

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The Darcys: Dreaming

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Now based in LA, this duo from Toronto released Rendering Feelings last fall, so we're late picking up this track, but it was just issued as a single. Jason Couse and Wes Marskell say this song is "about the irreversible damage we’re inflicting on the planet and how our individual efforts to create change often fall on the deaf ears of those in power. ... If anything, we probably should have called the song Nightmares."

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Free Range: Concept

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The sophomore album from this Chicago indie-Americana band, Lost & Found, is a set of songs about that time of life when you’re transitioning out of adolescence and into adulthood, grappling with self-discovery and self-acceptance, and feeling alone but seeking connection. So lead singer Sofia Jensen tells Paste Magazine. This track is one of the higher-energy, rocking numbers on the LP. 

New Music: Arcade Fire, Garbage, Valerie June, Aurora, Current Swell

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Arcade Fire: Year of the Snake

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The lead single from the just-announced LP Pink Elephant is "all about how times are weird and bad, but feeling uncomfortable can be positive," writes Stereogum. "It’s the season of change / and if you you feel strange / It’s probably good," says the chorus. Win Butler and his spouse/bandmate Régine Chassagne produced the album with Daniel Lanois at the couple’s studio in New Orleans. (Photo by Danny Clinch)

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Garbage: There's No Future In Optimism

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Ahead of a new album, Let All That We Imagine Be The Light, comes this single inspired by being in Los Angeles in the aftermath of George Floyd's killing. The lyrics, say band leader Shirley Manson, "are an action against that title. Because if we allow our fatalism or our negativity to really take over, we will crumble." (Photo by Joseph Cultice)

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Valerie June: All I Really Wanna Do

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The singer-songwriter from Tennessee, "who began her career as a blues singer, has moved pretty far away from that with her fourth album, Owls, Omens, and Oracles," writes Glide Magazine. "Call it Americana, but there are heavy tinges of pop and indie, with lighter hints of gospel and neo-soul. Here, she explores the many aspects of love but celebrates the joy of being alive." This number features "an array of keys from piano to glockenspiel to organ behind June’s layered vocals.".

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Aurora: The Flood

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The Norwegian art-pop singer follows her fifth studio album, last year's What Happened To The Heart?, with this new single. "This is a song about the invisible enemy. What brings you anger, what brings you worry and sadness. What makes you crawl into yourself instead of meeting the world fully."

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Current Swell: If You Want My Time

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This Victoria, BC-based indie-rock band returns six years after it's most recent LP, Buffalo, with this new single. Canadian Beats calls it "a heartfelt and infectious track that captures the balance between love’s deep affections and everyday frustrations. Wrapped in catchy melodies and nostalgic warmth ... Blending elements of rock, roots-rock, and indie-rock."

Brad Paisley/Dawes collab, Tunde Adebimpe, The Ramona Flowers, Krooked Tongue, Deep Sea Diver

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Brad Paisley & Dawes: Raining Inside

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The press notes about this track say country star Paisley co-wrote this song with Taylor Goldsmith from Dawes and Lee Thomas Miller in 2024. "It was initially recorded with just Brad’s vocals but turned into a collaboration after the magic of the Grammy performance with Taylor and his brother Griffin Dawes on Randy Newman’s 'I Love L.A.'"

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Tunde Adebimpe: God Knows

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Of the latest single from his new album Three Black Boltz, the TV On The Radio frontman had this to say in a press release: "Breaking up is hard to down dooby doo down do." So yeah it's a breakup song, which includes the lyric "God knows you’re the worst thing I ever loved."

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The Ramona Flowers: Human

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The Bristol-based band says this new single "is a song about learning from mistakes, letting go of guilt, and realising that every moment is a chance to begin again and grow into a better version of yourself. At the end of the day we’re all Humans, everyone on this planet makes mistakes, it’s just how you learn from those mistakes and move forward which makes the difference." (Photo by Guy Aroch)

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Krooked Tongue: Marigold

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Can we have two Bristol groups in the New Music Bin at the same time? Why not, and we're previewing this trio's new single. Vocalist/lyricist Oli Rainsford says this single "Is a love letter to the 'what might've been'. ... Most of the time when we interact with strangers, it never gets a second thought. Maybe a subtle glance, or a smile here and there ... But then there's those moments where you have instant chemistry with someone, and for a minute it's electric ... And then you never see that person again. Who knows where a split decision could've taken you."

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Deep Sea Diver: Emergency

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We dive (ahem) back into Billboard Heart, the Seattle band's fourth LP, and surface another strong track. Pitchfork says this track's "frenetic energy is kept aloft by indefatigable drumming and whining synths," as frontwoman Jessica Dobson "seems to sing the verses through gritted teeth." 

New Music: My Morning Jacket, Kilowatt Parade, Stereophonics, Mumford & Sons, Lucy Dacus

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My Morning Jacket: Everyday Magic

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The tenth album by the five-piece band from Kentucky continues its "pattern of inspired yet accessible rock music," writes Glide Magazine. "Each song has layers that build upon each other, with little guitar flourishes or pieces of percussion adding nuance to riffs that draw from funk, southern rock, and psychedelic rock." 

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Kilowatt Parade: The Minute I Wake

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This is the first release from a new project by Ottawa-based guitarist, songwriter and producer Andre Nault, who's also the artist behind Stand Up And Say No. The pitch is that he's "venturing into new musical territory with his latest indie-rock project." It's too early for us to say how different it will be, but this track seems to be in the same groove as, for example, SU&SN's "Shared Interests." 

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Stereophonics: Seems Like You Don't Know Me

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Here's a preview of the Welsh rock band's 13th album, Make ‘em Laugh, Make ‘em Cry, Make ‘em Wait. NME writes that the song takes the group "into new territory, experimenting with nostalgic synths, drum machines and acoustic guitar elements to create an eye-catching yet spacious sound. The vocals from Kelly Jones explore the nuances of relationships and the questions that arise about how well we really know one another." (Um... eye-catching sound?) 

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Mumford & Sons: Caroline

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A mixed - and very amusing - review in the Irish Times calls the new album Rushmere "spirited if uneven." It adds that the LP "is at its most enjoyable when the musicians focus on straight-ahead tunefulness, as they do on the single 'Caroline.'" And that's our choice for the New Music bin. (Do yourself a favor and read the snarky-fun review!)

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Lucy Dacus: Forever Is A Feeling

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This is the title song from the new album by this singer-songwriter from Virginia. AllMusic describes the LP as "examining 'it's complicated' relationships through an adult lens." The review calls this track "an obvious centerpiece." It includes Dacus' boygenius bandmates Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker, Blake Mills' bass, Madison Cunningham's 12-string guitar, Melina Duerte's drum programming and synths, Bartees Strange's additional drums, and more. "It temporarily changes keys and passes through several emotional contradictions" as the singer concludes she's in a relationship for the long haul.

Lucius, OK Go, Thompson Springs, Great Tide, Watchglass added to the New Music bin

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Lucius: Gold Rush

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Coming in May is Lucius, the self-titled fourth album by singers Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, their band and several guests. It will include last fall's single, "Old Tape," as well as this track the duo says is about "that addictive sweetness to love. The roller coaster highs and lows. ... It’s energy and grit: guitars wailing, heavy backbeat, dynamic vocals which flip from verse to chorus – mellow to strong – playing off the band and echoing the sentiment of the lyrics.” (Photo by Dana Trippe)

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OK Go: Take Me With You

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Here's another foretaste of the upcoming album And The Adjacent Possible, the group's first since 2014. The track is a sprightly, synth-y plea for companionship: "Oh, take / Take me with you / Whatever the mystic whispered voices tell you / I need to hear them, too."

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Thompson Springs: All My Life

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This indie band from Chicago blends rock with strains of country and blues. We've been sprinkling them into our mix since catching them in a small live show some five years ago. We hope this strong new single is a sign that an album might be in the works. In the meantime the group is about to start a tour through the Netherlands and into Belgium and Germany.

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Great Tide: Passing Fancy

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Although they're based in Norway, this quartet sounds like its heart is in the Laurel Canyon. They describe themselves as "a hard-working Americana, blues, and rock band ... bringing a timeless 70s-inspired sound with a modern edge." They cite the likes of Tom Petty, Eagles, and Fleetwood Mac as influences, and this track has us recalling Buffalo Springfield.

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Watchglass: Soda Pop Plastic

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We've just been introduced to this duo from Sydney, Australia, and their refreshingly new music, described as "equal parts melodic and hypnotic." Instrumentalist-producer Mark Vigano loves to experiment with sounds and styles, and Gina Graham adds the lyrics and the vocals. This track from their new album Long Ways Conversations is about disengaging from pop culture and social media to touch grass - literally!

New music variety: Tune-Yards, Illuminati Hotties, Chris Church, I'm With Her, The Moons Of Jupiter

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Tune-Yards: Limelight

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The duo of Merill Garbus and Nate Brenner make music that doesn't neatly fit into any genre or category - maybe a bit like Rubblebucket in that way. Their last album was 2021's Sketchy, and now they've announced Better Dreaming is due in May. This bouncy first single was inspired by the couple's dancing with their 3-year-old to George Clinton music, and the toddler can be heard vocalizing on the track. "This one almost didn’t make it onto the album because it felt trite," says Garbus. "But it kept coming back as people kept responding positively to it, in particular our own kid."

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Illuminati Hotties: 777

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LA-based Sarah Tudzin "has pulled off a lot of different sounds under the banner of Illuminati Hotties, and her new single adds another one to the mix," writes Stereogum. "Heaping mounds of distorted guitar are pulled along by a relentless undertow, with Tudzin’s gleaming vocals and screaming/dreamy guitar melodies taking turns leading the charge." The single comes less that seven months after the most recent IH album, Power.

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Chris Church: She Looks Good In Black

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The word on this Lenoir, North Carolina, musician is that he has crisscrossed genres over a three-decade career - performing, writing and recording with power-pop, prog-rock and metal bands and releasing solo albums ranging from art pop to hard rock. Church describes this track as "suggesting country-rock." Its sound and lyrics also put us in mind of Marshall Crenshaw (think "Cynical Girl").

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I'm With Her: Ancient Light

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It's been seven years since modern folkies Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, and Sara Watkins released their first album as a trio, See You Around, and now they've announced their second, Wild And Clear And Blue, is on the way. The group says this first single "sets the tone for the entire album, communing with our past and future selves."

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The Moons Of Jupiter: Dancing With Destiny

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The English duo of multi-instrumentalist Nicky Rowe and vocalist James Harris just released their self-titled debut album, which expands on their 2023 EP Ghosts. They cite classic eletro-pop bands like Depeche Mode, The Human League and Tears for Fears as influences, and add a modern darkwave overlay.

New music by Deep Sea Diver, Keeton Coffman, Gigi Perez, The Head & The Heart, Sleep Theory

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Deep Sea Diver: What Do I Know

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Vocalist Jessica Dobson, drummer Peter Mansen and their band just released their first album since 2020, Billboard Heart. We featured the title track when it came out as a single a few months ago. We'll be playing lots more from the LP, starting with this track, which Clash Music says is "full of punchy energy. Each member is given an opportunity to shine with swirling guitars in the middle section and synths also present. There is a lot going on but it never drowns in its ambition, finding the right level of chaos."

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Keeton Coffman: I Think About It

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We've had this Houston-based indie artist in our mix for a half-dozen years, and picked up his singles "Violet" and "Kathryn" last year. His new album, Coefficient of Fiction, marks a move from his earlier, guitar-based Americana style to what he calls "cinematic pop," with drum machines and synths in this mix - as on this slinky track.

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Gigi Perez: Chemistry

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This singer-songwriter's "Sailor Song" broke out in a big way last year, probably due mostly to its sexy lyrics. Its bedroom-demo sound didn't make it to our playlist, but we're giving this new single a shot - in its slightly edited but still suggestive form ("I'll never tell a soul about our secret life.") 

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The Head & The Heart: After The Setting Sun

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This single comes with word that the Seattle group's sixth album, Aperture, is on its way. Consequence of Sound reports it's "the band’s first entirely self-produced album, and their first with a brand new songwriting style. Each band member brought something different to the process, trying out new roles and centering Aperture as the work of a band, not just a songwriter and his instrumentalists." It says this track kicks off the album with "harmony-laden majesty and homespun folk."

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Sleep Theory: Stuck In My Head 

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This quartet from Memphis, Tenn., will release its debut LP this spring. Lead singer Cullen Moore says this preview single "is about someone you just can’t shake, no matter what you do. While the feeling can be more annoying than fun, we wanted to make the song both relatable and energetic."

Sam Fender, Lucy Dacus, Lily Monaghan, Since11, Adult Leisure added to our New Music bin

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Sam Fender: Arm's Length

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The title track of his new LP, People Watching, has been getting airplay for the past few months, and now the full album is out. We're choosing this song for the New Music bin - one that's less depressive than most of the tracks and features backing vocals by Brooke Bentham. The lyric suggests two people getting closer - "Arm's length, small talk, and then some company" - while being wary about opening up: "Do you have to know me inside out / To have a good time?"

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Lucy Dacus: Best Guess

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Here's the latest single from the upcoming album Forever Is A Feeling by the Virginia-born singer-songwriter who is also part of Boygenius. Northern Transmissions calls this track "Dacus’ take on a love song, an anthem of queer tenderness that captures that mix of excitement and uncertainty as two people take a romantic chance with one another."

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Lily Monaghan: Willing To Wait

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From Edmonton, Alberta, comes this singer-songwriter who cites Brandi Carlile and Hozier among her inspirations. We previously featured "On Hold" from her debut EP, and this track will be on her sophomore effort. "This song is a love letter to friends," she says. "I’m a firm believer that platonic relationships can be as fulfilling and nourishing as romantic relationships, and I am aware that I’m lucky enough to have a massive abundance in these types of relationships."

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Since11: Magic Moments For Rent

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OK this is different - Two guys from the Swiss Alps making music that, as they put it, "sounds like a cocktail on a Hawaiian beach." The lyrics of this new single evoke casual flirtation by the sea: "This game of glances, fun in the sun / Both playing it cool, not fooling anyone / Just in that moment, a beachside scene / Nothing serious, living the dream."

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Adult Leisure: Dancing Don't Feel Right

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The latest single from this Bristol, UK, band is billed as "a refreshing dose of escapism." The band says the song is "about the urge to let loose, to break out of the mould and do the bad thing."

New music from Soda Blonde, Horsegirl, The War and Treaty, Lilly Hiatt, Krooked Tongue

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Soda Blonde: People Pleaser

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The Dublin quartet that released its sophomore album Dream Big in 2023 has popped out a couple of singles since, and just dropped this one with the promise of more to come this year. Vocalist and songwriter Faye O'Rourke says the song is "an anthem for people who love too easily, lose themselves too often, and mistake validation for love."

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Horsegirl: Well I Know You're Shy

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Three years after their debut album, Versions of Modern Performance, and following a move from Chicago to New York, this group is out with its second LP, Phonetics On and On. AllMusic writes that they've moved away from noise-rock, opted for "crisp, clean production helmed by Cate Le Bon." brought the vocals to the front of the mix and slowed their pace on many of the songs. Our pick for the New Music Bin is one of the peppier tracks on the album.

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The War & Treaty: Love Like Whiskey

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The duo's new album, Plus One, opens with this "strutting, horns-punctuated country-soul" number (as AllMusic calls it), cowritten by Miranda Lambert. The lyric describe a couple in a break-up-make-up cycle - or would that be a cycle of war-and-treaty?

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Lilly Hiatt: Ghost Ship

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From the new album Forever comes this track that Americana Highways calls "a mesmerizing, hypnotic, cigarette-dangling, fast-car-driving, blurry-warm-summer-night, convertible anthem." The album as a whole combines personal, self-reflective lyrics with a rough-edged alt-rock sound (including distorted vocals that get to be too much on some of its other tracks).

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Krooked Tongue: Let 'Em Loose

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We picked up this Bristol, UK, trio's "Ember Mile" single a couple of months ago, and this latest track comes with word of a "longer body of material" (album? EP?) in the works. Vocalist/lyricist Oli Rainsford says the song is about "the technological age we found ourselves in today" and our addiction to screen time. (If you say so; frankly we can't make much sense of the lyrics.)

New from Sharon Van Etten, The Black Keys, Inhaler, Momma and (psst) Modest Mouse

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Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory: Idiot Box

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After issuing a half-dozen records as a solo artist, the singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist presents her latest album as a creative collaboration with her band. Pitchfork reports: "During rehearsals for her 2022 tour, Van Etten grew tired of her own voice and impulsively asked her band to 'just jam.' The experiment yielded two songs ... and left the singer 'feeling very inspired.' ... On Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, the frontwoman surrenders to the rhythm on a stormy, unsettled album centered on groove and mood." This track bemoans the modern impulse to replace personal interaction with electronic devices: "All these things we think we lack / All this time we can't get back."

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The Black Keys: The Night Before

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The 13th album from Dan Auerbach's project with Patrick Carney, No Rain, No Flowers, is on its way this year. This first single comes just 10 months after the duo's Ohio Players LP. It also follows a dispute with their former management company that resulted in the cancelation of their 2024 tour. Carney says: "We were already on a creative streak, and the best thing we could do, rather than sit at home, was just go back in the studio."

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Inhaler: All I Got Is You

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We previously featured a couple of the singles from Open Wide, and now with the release of the full LP, we're picking this track for the New Music Bin. Reviewers have noted more variety of styles and influences here than on the band's previous albums, with Glide Magazine hearing "touches of The Smiths and The Cure" on this number.

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Momma: I Want You (Fever)

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Ahead of the Brooklyn indie-rock quartet's next album, Welcome To My Blue Sky, comes this song of jealous love. The group says it's "about wanting to be with someone who has a girlfriend, or someone who isn’t over their ex. It’s pining after someone, but there’s also some confidence knowing that that person wants to be with you." There's not much subtlety in the lyrics: "Pick up and leave her / I want you, fever."

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Modest Mouse: Kingdom of Could'a

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Talk about a limited release: Good Music to Lift Los Angeles, an extraordinary collection of 90 tracks by as many artists, put together as a fund-raiser for California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Recovery Fund and the LA Regional Food Bank, was available for just one day (Feb. 7) via Bandcamp. The website also donated all its fees that day to MusiCares. Luckily we got the word in time to snag the bundle of originals and covers, demos, alternate takes and live recordings - including this song that we understand has popped up in Modest Mouse live sets but never had a studio release.