featuring Machine Girl, Silverbacks, FKA twigs & 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 October 18.
And don't forget to check out our YouTube, where DeVán reports on the latest music news every Friday.
BLIGATORY Picks
Machine Girl - MG Ultra
Digital Hardcore, Hardcore Breaks
via Future Classic
write-up by Dominick Baglivo
The pairing of Matt Stephenson and Sean Kelly share their sixth full-length record—and first for Future Classic—with the release of MG Ultra.
As expected from Machine Girl, the record is predicated on a frontal assault of digital hardcore. Booming, skittish breakbeats and colorful synths collide at top speed—for frenzy-inducing purposes, of course. It isn’t the most abrasive MG record, but it very well may be the most melodic.
MG Ultra is out now via Future Classic. Starting on Halloween in Brooklyn, Machine Girl will embark on their fall tour across the US, plus a few shows in Canada.
Silverbacks - Easy Being A Winner
Indie Rock, Post-Punk, Art Punk
via Central Tones / CARGO
write-up by Peter Doherty
The six-stringed wizardry of Dublin six-piece Silverbacks continues on the band’s third studio album Easy Being a Winner.
Silverbacks bring Gilla Band's Daniel Fox on board to capture the slithery guitars, deadpan vocals, and kinetic, tightknit grooves that the band produces.
A short and sweet video documenting the making of the album titled Easy Making a Rockumentary has been posted on the Silverbacks’ YouTube.
Easy Being a Winner is out now via Central Tones/Cargo.
"WHOOO HAAA."
FKA twigs - "Perfect Strangers"
2-Step, Dance-Pop
via Young/Atlantic
write-up by Atticus Deeny
FKA twigs shares another track from her upcoming album EUSEXUA, which will kick things off for music in 2025, similar to what she did in 2022 with the eccentric Caprisongs. A capricorn herself, EUSEXUA’s January 24th release date falls just outside the earth sign’s cutoff.
“Perfect Stranger” is more accessible than the titular lead single, featuring a clear hook and bouncy, danceable drums. The lyrics focus on the traits that Twigs “doesn’t know and doesn’t care” to know about her partner, and how this actually helps the chemistry of the pair. A short-term relationship is inferred by the line “just give me the person you are tonight.” It is a more sensual, alluring approach to the “no love” sentiment of a hookup song, which twigs can sell any day of the week. The song’s production team is an all-star cast from different eras as well, with 2000’s club-boom duo Stargate joined by the beautiful minds of Ojivolta—all alongside twigs’s right-hand man Koreless.
There’s a fairly long wait until EUSEXUA releases in full, so the probability of more singles is high. In addition to the songs themselves, make sure to check out twigs’s equally creative visuals for the EUSEXUA tracks.
Atticus' Picks
Bedroom Pop, Sophisti-Pop
via R&R
Mk.gee’s newest single “ROCKMAN” was the fifth song on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist last Friday. The pure talent for songwriting, production, and performance has fast-tracked Michael Gordon to mainstream recognition after the February release of Two Star & The Dream Police. In the age of measuring ‘aura,’ Mk.gee has been a league leader this year in the stat.
His new single isn’t anything new sonically, featuring Police-esque vocal melodies with dramatic inflections and a tight, groovy guitar part, all veiled with a thin tape hiss and shimmering reverb. One standout element of the track is the simple drum machine, which adds to the vintage aesthetic of the song. Two Star is an album that utilizes drums efficiently and sparingly, rarely focusing on them and sometimes avoiding them altogether. “ROCKMAN” has mainstream appeal with its catchy hook and palatable instrumentation, but is not as strong as album hits like “Are You Looking Up,” “Alesis,” or tour fav “DNM.”
With an extremely successful U.S. tour wrapped up, Mk.gee will take on the U.K. in the coming months. There have been rumors of Gordon’s involvement with Justin Bieber, which likely sends a shiver down his gatekeepers’ spines. At this point though, there is no hope left in containing the Mk.gee hype.
454 - "BERETTA" (feat. Pig the Gemini) / "CLONES" / "MOTION SICKNESS"
Southern Hip-Hop, Plugg
via 4EVER
Kari Kira - "Lunch!"
Trap
via Beam2k
MIKE - "Pieces Of A Dream"
Jazz Rap, Abstract Hip-Hop
via 10k
Dominick's Picks
Corker - Hallways of Grey
Post-Punk, Garage Punk
via Feel It Records
With meticulously sharp and dynamic post-punk, Corker’s second album—as the name would suggest—floats somewhere in the inbetween. Shadows loom, shrouding Hallways of Grey in a gothic undertone. But for every dark cloud hanging above, Corker cut through like a lightning bolt with frenzied strikes of rhythmic post-punk.
Hallways of Grey is out now via Feel It Records.
Greg Mendez - First Time / Alone (EP)
Indie Folk, Singer-Songwriter
via Dead Oceans
After releasing his breakthrough self-titled record last year, Philadelphia’s Greg Mendez returns with First Time / Alone. With four sorrowful, lo-fi indie folk cuts, the EP is a bite-size, but incredibly filling, example of his poignant and riveting songwriting.
First Time / Alone is Mendez’ label debut for Dead Oceans and it is out now.
Porridge Radio - Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me
Indie Rock, Indie Pop
via Secretly Canadian
London band Porridge Radio share their fourth album Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me. Led by singer-songwriter/guitarist Dana Margolin, the band released the fantastic Later, Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky in 2022 and their busiest touring year to date.
When Margolin returned home and began 2023 in a quieter manner and the exhaustion began to settle in, she was left to grapple with questions surrounding family, identity, and creativity. Due in large part to reconnecting with other art forms—primarily painting and poetry—and the band’s most communal, holistic approach to the recording process yet, Margolin and Porridge Radio tap into their most inspired work yet.
There is an incredibly thoughtful and detailed write-up on the album’s Bandcamp page (also on Secretly’s website) that provides more context to Margolin and the band’s process. Highly recommend reading that in conjunction with listening.
Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me is out now via Secretly Canadian.
Spiral XP - I Wish I Was A Rat
Slacker Rock, Indie Rock, Shoegaze
via Danger Collective Records
PNW melancholic indie rock will never die. Seattle band Spiral XP share their feedback-soaked debut album I Wish I Was A Rat. Led by principal songwriter Max Keyes, the band navigate and combat the existentialism of being in your 20s under late-stage capitalism with crunchy, blissful guitars.
I Wish I Was a Rat is out now via Danger Collective Records.
Why Bother? - Hey, At Least You're Not Me
Garage Punk
via Feel It Records
Dingy, noisy garage punk via the Midwest. Mason City, Iowa’s Why Bother? share their new album, HEY, AT LEAST YOU'RE NOT ME. It’s the band’s seventh album and second of 2024. Out now via Feel It Records.
Heartworms - "Warplane"
Alt. Dance, Post-Punk
via Speedy Wunderground / Play It Again Sam
Heartworms—the solo project of London-based artist Jojo Orme—announces her debut album Glutton For Punishment alongside lead single “Warplane.” The single is produced by Dan Carey—a patron saint of London’s post-punk/avant-garde scene for a while now—and the pairing work their magic on here. It is a feverish and theatrical track that begins with a minimal synth foundation; a mere stepping stone, the groove of “Warplane” carries the listener into a grand reprise as the track reaches its peak.
Glutton for Punishment, the first full-length from Heartworms, is out February 7 via Speedy Wunderground / Play It Again Sam Records.
Peter's Picks
Chelsea Wolfe - "Place In The Sun (Unbound)"
Singer-Songwriter
via Loma Vista Recordings
Having released a full-length album—She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She—back in February and a remix EP of select tracks from said album in August, Chelsea Wolfe plans to complete the three-piece set with Unbound. Wolfe's new single "Place in the Sun" is the first offering from it.
Wolfe's Bandcamp describes the EP as:
“special, stripped-down versions of Whispers In The Echo Chamber, Dusk, The Liminal, and Place In The Sun, plus a cover of Spiritbox's Cellar Door. Wolfe strips the songs down to their raw essence—just her voice, a guitar, or piano—capturing vulnerability and unfiltered truth. The music stands exposed, stripped and skyclad, each track a rite of passage, a descent into the heart.”
Wolfe's Unbound EP is set for release on November 15 via Loma Vista Recordings.
Contour - "Reflexion” / "For Ocean”
Neo-Soul, Alt. R&B
via Mexican Summer
Charleston's Contour releases the one-two of "Reflexion" and "For Ocean." "Reflexion" is home to a grimy sound palette, while "For Ocean" moreso calms out the sonic ooze—although it certainly also packs a rugged charm.
Take off From Mercy, Contour's upcoming album, releases November 1 via Mexican Summer.
Contour has two upcoming US dates in the remainder of 2024. This Friday, October 25, Contour plays at National Sawdust in Brooklyn and on November 16 he plays 2200 Arts in Los Angeles.
2025 sees Contour tour Europe and the UK across February and March. Find all of his upcoming shows here.
lots of hands - "game of zeroes"
Slacker Rock, Bedroom Pop
via Fire Talk Records
The second single from lots of hands since signing to Fire Talk Records comes in the form of "game of zeroes.” The bedroom pop/slacker rock collective cast ghostly, through-the-ether feelings with the track. It exists in a melancholic sonic space, harbours a reflective tone and stands in an uncertain stance. In the wheelhouse of early Bon Iver, lots of hands tap into their 'cabin in the woods' era.
“Give me a sign, just show me what's right.”
Lots of hands' upcoming album into a pretty room, the band’s first album on Fire Talk, is set for release on January 17, 2025.
Panda Bear - "Defense" (ft. Cindy Lee)
Psychedelic Pop, Neo-Psychedelia, Indie Rock
via Domino Recording Co.
With the coming together of an unlikely duo in Panda Bear and Cindy Lee, "Defense" kicks off the campaign for Panda Bear's first album in five years.
A steady back-beat holds the track in place as reverb-laden, chunky chords and the odd stringed speck of guitar ring out. Lee provides an unmistakably Cindy solo akin to what you may have become familiar with on any of Patrick Flegel’s solo work under the name.
"Defense" is the closing track on Panda Bear's upcoming album Sinister Grift, which is out February 28, 2025 via Domino.
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