NEW ALBUMS
BLACK MOUNTAIN – DESTROYER
Vancouver’s Black Mountain have returned with a new lineup and a renewed vitality. Album #5, entitled Destroyer, is named after the 1985 Dodge Destroyer.
According to the band’s bio on BlackMountainArmy.com:
Destroyer is structured around that first time behind the wheel of a hot rod. The fat, charging “Living After Midnight” riffs of opener “Future Shade” is, according to (band leader) McBean, “Straight outta the gates. FM radio cranked.” The song, and all of Destroyer for that matter, seems to exist at that crucial nexus of the early-to-mid 80’s Los Angeles when a war between punk and hair metal was waged.
COLD KINGDOM – INTO THE BLACK SKY
Minneapolis’ Cold Kingdom has not lost a step. With Dividing Eden‘s Elissa Pearson taking over on lead vocals, they remain a strong and very solid band.
Their brand new album, Into the Black Sky is out today.
EARTH – FULL UPON HER BURNING LIPS
Dylan Carlson’s Earth has returned with another slice of ambient drone metal.
Full Upon Her Burning Lips is Earth’s first new album in 5 years, and their 9th overall since the band began back in 1989.
HOT WATER MUSIC – SHAKE UP THE SHADOWS
Hot Water Music are celebrating 25 years as a band with a tour and brand new EP, Shake Up the Shadows.
HUNDRED WATT HEART – TURBULENT TIMES
Sixteen years after joining The Roots, guitarist “Captain” Kirk Douglas has released his debut solo album.
Released under the moniker, Hundred Watt Heart, Turbulent Times is inspired by politics and Prince. Based on lead single “I Used to Be in the Circus”, there’s more than a dash of Led Zeppelin to boot.
MIDDLE KIDS – NEW SONGS FOR OLD PROBLEMS
Australia’s Middle Kids have quickly followed up their stellar 2018 debut album with a solid 6-song EP entitled New Songs for Old Problems.
MORRISSEY – CALIFORNIA SON
The former singer for The Smiths has released a full album of covers. The songs on this effort are all older songs by legendary songwriters like Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell and more. It features guest appearances from Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear, Ariel Engle of Broken Social Scene, Sameer Gadhia of Young the Giant and more.
Check out Morrissey‘s cover of The 5th Dimension‘s “Wedding Bell Blues” featuring guest vocals from Green Day‘s Billie Joe Armstrong.
SEBADOH – ACT SURPRISED
Sebadoh have released Act Surprised; their first new album since 2013, and only their third album in the last 20 years.
NEW SINGLES
DEMON HUNTER – “MORE THAN BONES”
Demon Hunter have released SEVEN singles in the last 5 months. That’s because they followed up their solid 2017 effort, Outlive, with TWO albums back in March of this year.
The aggressive War and the more melodic Peace. This week, they debuted the official music video for Peace‘s third single, “More Than Bones”.
EZRA FURMAN – “CALM DOWN aka I SHOULD NOT BE ALONE”
Ezra Furman has released a good many albums since he started out in 2006. Whether it’s with Ezra Furman & the Harpoons, Ezra Furman & the Visions, Ezra Furman & the Boy-Friends, or just simply as Ezra Furman.
Furman has announced that the follow up to 2018’s Transgelic Exodus will be a raw, “naked”, punk affair.
This is our punk record. We made it in Oakland, quickly. We drank and smoked. Then we made the loud parts louder. I hurt my voice screaming. This was back in 2018, when things were bad in the world. The songs are naked with nothing to hide.
New album, Twelve Nudes, arrives August 30
GIANTS IN THE TREES – “STAR MACHINE”
Giants in the Trees released their second album, Volume 2, back at the end of March.
This week, the group (featuring Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic) released a video for their latest single, “Star Machine”.
MOON TOOTH – “MUSKETEERS”
Moon Tooth‘s sophomore album, CRUX, is one of the best metal/hard rock albums of the year!
Yesterday, the band premiered the official video for their latest single, “Musketeers”. Get to know them!
PELICAN – “COLD HOPE”
In two weeks, the Chicago instrumental post-metal quartet, Pelican, will be releasing Nighttime Stories; their first new album since 2013, and their sixth overall.
This week, we get another taste of what to expect as they release “Cold Hope”, which is the second single from the forthcoming album.