featuring MIKE, Standing On The Corner, Knifeplay & MORE
An overwhelming amount of music is released daily, and we're here to help you weed through it all. Every week, we share select releases we are all looking forward to and personalized picks from a few of our editors.
Welcome to our New Releases to Check Out guide featuring the most notable music released the week of November 29.
And don't forget to check out our YouTube, where DeVán reports on the latest music news every Friday.
BLIGATORY Picks
MIKE - "You're the Only One Watching"
Chipmunk Soul, Drumless
via 10k
write-up by Atticus Deeny
It is crazy to see yet another album announcement from MIKE, with the upcoming Showbiz! set to be his fifth project released in just over two years. The new project reveal was tucked within the YouTube description of the “You’re The Only One Watching” music video, which dropped on November 29th.
The production is classic from dj blackpower (aka MIKE himself), with a barren retro soul sample filtered in and out with emphasis on the groovy bassline. MIKE’s compressed vocal is overlapped by the pitched-up vocal at times—an unusual choice for mixing a lead vocal that adds to the rawness of the simple one-verse structure of the song—another common trait of MIKE’s music.
Back in October, MIKE shared a tour poster with 70 dates… an astonishing amount that may have fans worrying for the future of the artist’s vocal chords based on past performances. If these years are his prime, he is by no means wasting them.
Standing On The Corner - "Ghost Friend 6★"
Abstract Hip Hop, Experimental Hip Hop
Self-Released
write-up by Peter Doherty
By clicking on a button that reads "Click here, New sh*t!" on standingonthecorner.com and entering your email, you shall receive the new Standing on the Corner track, "Ghost Friend 6☆." You shall also receive a hand-drawn lyrics sheet and artwork for the track. The papier-machê approach to music through which the Standing on the Corner collective enter into the music game is still as fresh as it has always been. Their hypnagogic twist never seems to lose its contorting vigor.
We're still hoping for a follow-up to 2017's masterpiece Red Burns. "Ghost Friend 6" may be the beginning of a more solidified hope.
Atticus' Picks
SAGA BOUY - "Scary"
Pop Rap, Alt. R&B
via ATOLI / Bloom Entertainment
Dominick's Picks
Fat Earthers - If You Don't Like the First One You Won't Like the Rest
Garage Punk
via Wight Sound Records
Raw, scrappy, and punchy garage punk from the UK. Under the scuzz is a sense of humor and attitude similar to bands like Citric Dummies, Cruelster, Ausmuteants, etc. If those names mean anything to you, give this one a shot.
Knifeplay - Spirit Echo (EP)
Indie Folk
Self-Released
Spirit Echo is the new EP/double-single from Philly group Knifeplay. Clocking in at just over 13 minutes, “Spirit Echo” crashes like waves, beckoning the listener in with 9.5 minutes of swaddling indie folk. On the B-Side, “Cry Babies” is a beautiful rendition of an Elvis Depressedly song.
Turkey - Clock Tower
Hypnagogic Pop, Progressive Breaks, Synth Punk
via Vada Vada
Turkey is the pairing of Fletcher Shears (aka Puzzle and 1/2 of the Garden) and William Sipos, a director/editor who has worked with The Garden, Cowgirl Clue, Mac DeMarco, and other similarly associated acts. Clock Tower is the second album (they’ve also got a S/T EP) from the duo, as their debut The Queen’s Dairy came out last year. This is my first introduction to the two, and I’m always on board for new work from either of the Shears twins and/or the many Vada Vada-associated acts.
BAMBARA - "Pray To Me"
Post-Punk Revival, Noise Rock
via Wharf Cat Records / Bella Union
Brooklyn (via Athens, GA) trio Bambara announce their new album Birthmarks. Their first album in five years—the foilow-up to 2018’s Stray—is led by the gloomy and pulsating single “Pray To Me.”
About the track, Bambara’s Reid Bateh says this:
“A one-eyed man arrives at a country karaoke night with a knife in his pocket and a plan to win over Elena, the object of his obsession. His fantasy unravels when he sees her kissing a stranger—her boyfriend—at the bar. The music barrels along with a raucous mania, mirroring the one-eyed man’s spiraling psyche as it begins to whirl toward a murderous climax.”
Birthmarks was recorded with Bark Psychosis member and These New Puritans producer Graham Sutton. It’s out March 12 through Wharf Cat Records and Bella Union.
Delivery - "The New Alphabet"
Post-Punk, Indie Rock
via Heavenly Recordings / Play It Again Sam Records
“The New Alphabet” is the latest sampling of Force Majeure, the upcoming sophomore album by Melbourne band Delivery. It’s accompanied by a very fun and silly video that sees the band don some cheap-looking alien costumes and enjoy some light-hearted shenanigans.
About the latest single, guitarist-vocalist James Lynch elaborates:
“Weirdly and unintentionally, ‘The New Alphabet’ is something of a spiritual twin to ‘The Complex’ from our first album; both tracks come in at number six on the record, are built around wonky guitars over a slightly loosened groove, and both share a similar lyrical concept that I sometimes revert back to for Delivery. Which is, taking on the perspective of a character who thinks they’re top shit, when it’s glaringly obvious that they’re not.”
Preceded by the previous singles “Only A Fool,” “Operating At A Loss,” and “Digging The Hole,” we’ve now heard a third of the record so far. Force Majeure is out in full on January 17 via Heavenly Recordings / Play It Again Sam.
The Men - "Pony"
Garage Rock, Garage Punk
via Fuzz Club Records
Veteran NYC noise rock/garage rock group The Men bring news of their upcoming 15th album alongside new single “Pony.”
Talking about the new song, The Men’s Mark Perro says:
“This one picked up the name Pony cuz it felt a little sugary and sweet. It was one of those things that just came out when we talked about the song and it stuck. I'm really happy with the fuzz tones we got on here, and the harmony vocals from Nick [Chiericozzi] and Jess [Poplawski] take this to another level. Lyrically, it's about that transitional moment - when the jig is up.”
Buyer Beware is out February 28 via Fuzz Club Records.
Peter's Picks
Cloth - "Polaroid"
Dream Pop, Indie Rock
via Rock Action Records
Glaswegian two-piece Cloth dip their dreamy toes back into the pool of warm lushness with their first bits of new music since their 2023 album Secret Measure. The duo is comprised of twin siblings and partners in Dream Pop crime Paul and Rachael Swinton. It makes sense when you hear their music, with an organic feel of 'I know exactly where the other half is going with this' emanating from their sound. A mind-swirling sense of calm sits centre to their latest track "Polaroid."
"Polaroid" is out now via Rock Action.
Shady Nasty - "CAREDBRAH"
Post-Hardcore, Rap Rock
Self-Released
Aussie three-piece Shady Nasty moved onto my radar in 2020 with the release of their Bad Posture EP. Their mix of hip-hop etiquette and post-punk/hardcore leanings, as well as their cheeky-sounding Aussie inflections, caused a stirring of an uncaring kind of caring. A stern love, one which would melt the hearts of those if only they were in reach.
"Always knew you cared brah."
Shady Nasty's debut album TREK releases February 21.
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