Friends and neighbours, I’ve got a theory. My thinking is this: pop songs, when executed to such a high degree we can basically round up to saying they’re perfect, achieve a level of embedded, canonised love in the minds of the public that no other genre can really hope to accomplish, partly due to pop’s pre-established advantage of being ever-present on radios and TV. In other words: perfect pop songs are better (or at the very least, more effective) than perfect songs of other genres. Of course the very thing that gives good pop songs their boost is the same thing that makes bad ones so insufferable – the fact that radio will pound them into the ground for months after release, their seemingly simplistic or shallow arrangements, and the ability (if not explicit goal) to stay stuck in your head for days on end. Pop has maybe the largest gap of any genre between its good stuff and its “Shape Of You”‘s, and this dichotomy is what causes ‘pop’ to be a dirty word in the minds of many even in the year of our Lorde 2017. But when a tune is done perfectly, with respect to the form and real feeling, it can become a symbol to represent entire periods of time, feelings or entire sub-cultures of people in a way that puts other genres to shame. Go on and have a small list of perfect pop songs, then, and tell me how hard you disagree.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 14, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
– List of Releases: July 14, 2017 –
Bloodclot: Up In Arms
Genre: Metal/Hard Rock // Label: Metal Blade Records
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Boris: Dear
Genre: Drone/Doom Metal // Label: Sargent House
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 7, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
–Featured Release: Broken Social Scene – “Hug of Thunder”–
Genre: Indie Rock/Experimental // Label: Arts & Crafts
Background:
After a seven year layover, Broken Social Scene has returned with all fifteen of its original members. Hug of Thunder marks the follow-up to 2010’s Forgiveness Rock Record, as the band reunites for what Kevin Drew summarized as “…since we’re an anthemic band, we wanted to bring the celebration…It was important for all of us to come together because it’s the only thing we can politically do at this moment in time.” To date, four songs from the record have been officially released, but you can now also stream the whole album via NPR [see below link].
Here’s a list of major new releases for the weeks of June 16-30 of 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
16 June
Alison Moyet: Other
2 Chainz: Pretty Girls Like Trap Music
Arcadea: Arcadea
Bad Cop/Bad Cop: Warriors
Barb Wire Dolls: Rub My Mind
B Boys: Dada
Beth Ditto: Fake Sugar
Big Boi: Boomiverse
Broadside: Paradise
Carach Angren: Dance And Laugh Amongst The Rotten
Cavernlight: As We Cup Our Hands And Drink From The Stream Of Our Ache
Chief Keef: Thot Breaker
Chuck Berry: Chuck
CKY: The Phoenix
Com Truise: Iteration
Currents: The Place I Feel Safest
Dead Head: Swine Plague
Doll Skin: Manic Pixie Dream Girl
The Drums: Abysmal Thoughts
Elegy of Madness: New Era
Entrails: World Inferno
Fleet Foxes: Crack Up
Gaytheist: Let’s Jam Again Soon
House and Land: House and Land
Hundredth: Rare
Iced Earth: Incorruptible
Igorrr: Savage Sinusoid
Impetuous Ritual: Blight Upon Martyred Sentience
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma: On The Echoing Green
Kevin Morby: City Music
Lorde: Melodrama
Matthew Sweet: Tomorrow Forever
Michael Nau: Some Twist
Oh Wonder: Oh Wonder
Palehound: A Place I’ll Always Go
Peaking Lights: The Fifth State Of Consciousness
Portugal. The Man: Woodstock
Ride: Weather Diaries
Royal Blood: How Did…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 9, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
–Featured Release: Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dressner, Nico Muhly, and James McAlister – “Planetarium”–
In 2013, Sufjan Stevens joined up with Nico Muhly, James McAlister, and The National’s Bryce Dressner to create a composition thematically centered around our solar system (I guess he is too big for states now). To date only performed in a live setting (the piece was debuted at Brooklyn Academy of Music over a multi-night span), it is finally being released as an official recording on June 9 via 4AD. It’s pretty much the most hipster thing ever.
Listen to the project’s single “Mercury”:
– Full List of Releases: June 2, 2017 –
Agent Blå: Agent Blue
Genre: Indie/Lo-fi // Label: Kanine Records
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Anathema: The Optimist
Genre: Progressive Rock/Doom Metal // Label: kscope
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Barrabus: Barrabus
Genre: Hard Rock/Metal // Label: Undergroove
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 2, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
Alt-J have become one of indie-rock’s surging experimental acts, thanks to their extremely well-received debut An Awesome Wave as well as their more divisive – but equally impressive – sophomore effort This Is All Yours. If the singles are any indication, RELAXER will further the band’s legacy as innovators within their genre, expounding upon the brand of downtempo art-pop that illuminated sections of 2014’s This Is All Yours. It feels like a defining moment for a band that continues to stretch the confines of its own comfort zone, joining a rather exclusive arena of indie’s most respected, forward-thinking artists. Sink into the record’s lead single, ‘3WW’, for a taste of what is on the horizon.
Listen to Alt-J’s “3WW”:
– Full List of Releases: June 2, 2017 –
Adrenaline Mob: We The People
Genre: Hard Rock/Heavy Metal // Label: Century Media
Broken Social Scene’s “Skyline” is serenely pleasant, even if it’s a little watered down.
Euphoria. That’s the word that keeps coming to mind with each new song released in advance of Broken Social Scene’s comeback record Hug of Thunder, set to drop on July 7th. We heard it on “Halfway Home”, which sounded like a “we are back” statement with layered vocals in the chorus and its twin guitar assault. Despite being somewhat generic in overall structure, it was simply a rush to hear these guys back in their element making music together. The title track, in case you missed it, slowed things down a bit and showed a more vulnerable side to the album – but with “Skyline”, they’re back to the aforementioned wave of euphoria that is now appearing to be the unifying aura behind Hug of Thunder.
Broken Social Scene have worked with more complex and creative concepts before, but that’s not a totally scathing indictment. Yes, all three of the tracks revealed so far tone down their experimental reputation in favor of more commonplace indie-rock aesthetics, but the results have never been so listenable or utterly pleasant. The acoustic guitars wash over your ears, like you’re standing a few hundred feet away from a massive waterfall and just letting the mist hit you in the face. Like with “Halfway Home”, the vocals are very much a gang effort, but the contrasting styles blend together so smoothly that you’ll wonder…
Compared to this time in 2016, when Ariana Grande had just unleashed Dangerous Woman, it feels like 2017 is lagging a little bit behind in the department of fun, carefree summer jams. I believe it is a necessity to have these kinds of songs: these melodic, sunny anthems of youth that remind us why it’s okay to pull our ears away from the emotional depth of our favorite indie record or the technical precision of the best new metal song out there. Just as it is important to have those bands that comprise our musical foundations, it’s also valuable to occasionally indulge in surface-level pop that allows us to dismount from our collective high horse and simply let loose. That’s Carly Rae Jepsen’s niche, and she delivers as strongly as ever with her latest synth-pop offering.
“Cut To The Feeling” is just one of E•MO•TION‘s purported 250 tracks. We heard eight that failed to make the cut via Emotion: Side B, but that still left a pretty large void for those who felt the 2015 album was…
Thousands upon thousands of albums, EPs, mixtapes, compilations, and songs are released weekly. You might not be aware of the existence of 99% of those releases, but they’re there. So when each song released to the public is simply a drop in a pool that dwarfs even the Pacific Ocean, it can be hard to navigate the current music scene: it’s always moving and impossible to keep up with its speed. That’s where Share Some Singles comes into the picture. This series was formed to highlight songs released in 2017 that might not have been discovered by other listeners otherwise. I, alongside other Sputnikmusic users, have pulled together dozens of singles released in the recent past that we felt needed to be heard by the world. Or at least the Sputnik reader base.
Artists are listed in alphabetical order with corresponding YouTube, Soundcloud, and/or Bandcamp links. A Spotify playlist is also embedded below if the singles are available through that service. Enjoy! –wtferrothorn
Algiers – “The Underside of Power”
On their self-titled debut, Algiers came through with a blend of genres that was a breath of fresh air, but definitely could have been improved upon with later releases. That’s exactly what happened here: Franklin James Fisher’s soulful vocals are as passionate as ever, and this time around, his vocal style meshes with the punk…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of May 26, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
– Full List of Releases: May 26, 2017 –
8kids: Denen Die Wir Waren
Genre: Hard Rock/Metal // Label: Napalm
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Alestorm: No Grave But The Sea
Genre: Power Metal/Folk // Label: Napalm
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The Charlatans [UK]: Different Days
Genre: Alternative Rock // Label: BMG Rights Management
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Collide: Color of Nothing
Genre: Electronic/Industrial // Label: Independent
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Danzig: Black Laden Crown
Genre: Doom/Gothic Metal // Label: Nuclear Blast
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Dream Evil: Six
Genre: Power/Heavy Metal // Label: Century Media
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Evo: Warfare
Genre: Punk/Metal// Label: High Roller
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Football, etc: Corner
Genre: Emo/Indie-Rock // Label: Community Records
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of May 19, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
–Featured Release: Linkin Park: “One More Light”–
Genre: Pop // Label: Warner Bros.
Background:
If you ever – whilst wandering the halls of your middle school in 2000, blasting “Papercut” into one of your earbuds – wondered what Linkin Park would sound like in the year 2017, you would have likely envisioned every scenario except what we’re actually presented with here. A transition away from nu-metal and into straightforward rock? Seems plausible. Electronic experimentation? Sure, why not. Melodic pop…Ehh what? Linkin Park are using their seventh full-length LP to explore the boundaries of their pop abilities, and regardless of the fact that this will in all likelihood be really good or really bad – with little wiggle room in between – One More Light is sure to be the talk of most musical circles this week for better or worse. It’s entirely possible that the members of Linkin Park resurrect their stagnant musical careers with this 180 degree departure, but it had better be damned good. Otherwise, it will be all too easy for them to plummet from stagnant to the laughingstock of…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of May 12, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
–Featured Release: Paramore: “After Laughter”–
Genre: Pop-Rock/Punk // Label: WEA/Fueled by Ramen
Background:
2013 saw what many claimed to be the demise of Paramore: their pop-leaning, self-titled fourth LP Paramore that was also the first to forego the presence of the Farro brothers. Even though the pair left on less-than-amicable terms back in 2010 following the release of Brand New Eyes, drummer Zac Farro has returned to reconcile the new trio consisting of Hayley Williams, Taylor York, and Zac Farro. The homecoming has sparked some optimism around the future of the band, despite the fact that they continue to push mainstream pop frontiers as their pop-punk roots fade even further into the rear view mirror. Like it or not, this is very much Hayley Williams’ band and regardless of the dismay that Paramore was met with among longtime fans, the record was a commercial success. They have no reason to alter their course for After Laughter; expect a solid pop-rock record (heavy on the pop) with a handful of earworm singles to bolster it on the radio. …
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of May 5, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
–Featured Release: The Afghan Whigs: “In Spades”–
Genre: Indie-Rock/Grunge/Alt-Rock // Label: Sub Pop Records
Background:
The Afghan Whigs returned to the scene after 16 years back in 2014 with Do To The Beast, an album that proved the band’s return was more than just a feel-good reunion. Playing some of their best music, the record found its way onto many rock fan’s best of 2014 lists. With In Spades, the band keeps that momentum rolling with what feels like an even bigger record. The Afghan Whigs’ latest sees them hitting their stride full speed, creating a through-and-through rock album with plenty of eastern influence. The band has been around long enough now to know when to use restraint, and In Spades feels like the ideal balance of riff-filled, in-your-face rockers and quieter, more reserved ballads. Modern rock bands everywhere should take note of The Afghan Whigs, because this is what the genre should sound like in 2017.
He needs no introduction. But here’s the quick and dirty: Anthony Fantano, aka TheNeedleDrop, is one of the most prevalent music resources on the net. He has nearly a million YouTube followers. He’s been blogging for a decade, and vlogging for roughly eight years. Fantano has an impressive output, and uploads videos at a voracious pace. He’s a busy man. I reached out to him for a few words.
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Tristan: Kicking off with the burning question: did Sam Hyde ever get around to beating up your dad?
Anthony: Nah, he pussed out. Sam is a lotta bark, but not a lotta bite. He’s a big softy beyond his abrasive, disorienting outer shell. His odd behavior is more like a test to see who is truly with the shit. It’s like he’s testing you for a fight club that exists in his mind. It’s all as a means to weed out the normies who can’t take his bullshit, and entertain himself by attempting to take the piss out of any situation he finds himself in. It’s all harmless fun for him. However, I wouldn’t wanna be there to witness the moment Lena Dunham makes him feel like he’s in physical danger.
That being said, there are ideological views Sam holds that I vehemently disagree with, but I personally don’t see that as a reason to trash or silence his artistic endeavors. There have been much bigger scumbags to climb up…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of April 28, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
It’s been 7 years since Gorillaz dropped Plastic Beach and The Fall, and the demand for a new record from these guys probably couldn’t be any higher than it is at this point. With a handful of new tracks already released to varying levels of acclaim, the virtual quartet seems primed to cast all other mainstream releases under its shadow this week. With Humanz – an album that paints a fresh gleam on the group’s core sound – has them entering the chaotic and uncertain times of 2017 sounding both vibrant and purpose-driven. Time will tell if it lives up to the best Gorillaz albums, but no matter what it will be an interesting listen worthy of just about anyone’s time.
Listen to “Ascension” below:
– Full List of Releases: April 28, 2017 –
Aethere: Adrift
Genre: Death/Progressive Metal // Label: Tragic Hero
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All That Remains: Madness
Genre: Metalcore // Label: Razor & Tie
![Times Infinity Volume Two [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51X4L4k96iL._SS500.jpg)
![Nightmare Future [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/612Qz-FyAyL._SS500.jpg)
![Agent Blue [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51W-WBvh91L._SS500.jpg)
![Barrabus [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41ywLrFDfoL._SS500.jpg)
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![Last Young Renegade [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/612F1RQte3L._SS500.jpg)
![Black Laden Crown [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61ZiKzrISyL._SS500.jpg)
