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Articles by Allison Hussey Associate
Circuit des Yeux: -io
The French are credited with coining the phrase l’appel du vide, naming the intrusive thought of the urge to step off of high ledges. It’s an instinct supposedly born from crossed wires between the primal brain and the conscious mind—not one of self-harm necessarily, but one that reflects the conflict and chaos of human nature. Canyon edges, deep-sea trenches, black holes: They all captivate the imagination with the magnetism of being subject to nothing but gravity.
Pastor T. L. Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir: I Shall Wear a Crown
It’s a child’s question: Where does God live? In Heaven or outer space, perhaps, or maybe a house of worship right here on Earth. Asking “where” unspools the “how” and the “if,” and things only get more complicated from there. For T.L. Barrett and his followers, God lived at 5512 S. Indiana Avenue in Chicago, the address where the 23-year-old pastor stepped into the pulpit of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in 1967.
Maxine Funke: Seance
There are times when Maxine Funke’s songs feel so light, it seems as if a heavy sigh could blow them away. But hold that breath, and her curious, knotty guitar quickly takes hold. Bring them on a walk, and the songs take on a kaleidoscopic quality as the shifting improvisations of birds, neighbors, bugs, and traffic peek through her murmured melodies. On Seance, Funke’s fourth album, the New Zealand singer-songwriter charges her songs with the energy of open air just before a heavy thunderstorm.
Caroline Shaw / Sō Percussion: Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part
Caroline Shaw’s itemized accomplishments are many: she’s composed celebrated works for vocal and string ensembles, helped to shape Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo, and in 2013, she won a Pulitzer Prize in music for Partita for 8 Voices, becoming the youngest person ever to do so. Though her definitive Partita is a stunning display of human voices in motion, Shaw has never been the lead vocalist herself on an album; she appears most often as a composer, violinist, or ensemble member.
Fiver: Fiver With the Atlantic School of Spontaneous Composition
The contemporary musician’s to-do list only gets longer and more obtuse in the name of Engagement and Content: write funny tweets, gaze into the TikTok abyss, maintain a carousel of fresh photographs, sprinkle it all with carefully maintained parasocial politeness. Simone Schmidt has never really played the game. And why would they, really?
Bernice: Eau de Bonjourno
The rules of nature that keep the world in order can just as easily put it in disarray: The same physics that bring clean water pouring from the kitchen faucet are also responsible for the coffee that slides down the side of the pot and pools on the countertop. A similarly intricate force seems to power Eau de Bonjourno, the third album by Bernice.
Chuck Johnson: The Cinder Grove
Depending on the hands and feet of the beholder, a pedal steel guitar can be an instrument of ecstatic heavenly worship or honky-tonk hellraising—or both. A pedal steel is a paintbrush, a tool for filling wide-open spaces with sagebrush and starlight. In any form, pedal-steel music often suggests a sense of weightless drift, a honeyed suspension of gravity as a player glides a stout, shiny little tone bar over electrified strings.
Caroline Shaw: Narrow Sea
Few common experiences are as frightening and disorienting as getting taken out by an ocean wave. It starts with the surprise of lost footing, the sudden weightlessness followed by the panic of trying to find breath and bearings. Elbows, knees, and knuckles scrape against sand and craggy detritus as you attempt to right yourself, hoping to beat nature’s clock before another salty sheet crashes upon your head. Emerging intact can feel like a bewildering victory.
Loma: Don’t Shy Away
It can be hard to know when you’re done with a creative pursuit. There are endless ways to fuss over the details of an audio mix, the timing of a film cut, the right choice of word; more broadly, it can be just as challenging to know when to call it quits on a project. A sense of unfinished business—and a particularly flattering compliment—drew Cross Record’s Emily Cross and Dan Duszynski and Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg back together as Loma.
North Americans: Roped In
One joy of ambient music: the space it gives a listener to just be. Departing from prescriptivist emotional cues and binary thought, the genre rewards patience without demanding a verdict. A country-indebted subgenre has emerged within that universe thanks to the pedal steel guitar, a notoriously fussy and expensive instrument that delivers heavenly tones for all the trouble it demands, as suited for conjuring mystical desert landscapes as it is for adding elasticity to country classics.
Ian Wayne: Risking Illness
Grief is a shapeshifter. It looks different to everybody: a lingering ache, a temporary scrape, a heavy phantom limb. The Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Ian Wayne encountered a form of grief he’d never known before after the death of his 3-year-old nephew from leukemia in 2017. He learned about his nephew’s illness while on his very first tour, and, within two weeks, his nephew had died.
Silvia Tarozzi: Mi specchio e rifletto
For those less inclined toward astrology, celebrity birthdays can be a shortcut to understanding one’s arrival on the cosmic scene. It’s an amusing, low-stakes thought exercise: What traits do you share with a more minor kind of star? The free-improvising violinist Silvia Tarozzi found such a kinship with a fellow Italian, celebrated Milanese poet Alda Merini, who shares a March 21 birthday with the Bologna musician.
Shirley Collins: Heart’s Ease
Shirley Collins celebrated her 85th birthday on July 5, and even during the COVID-19 pandemic, her neighbors unrolled a polite but lively celebration of their local heroine. Circled by onlookers, an accordionist, and Morris dancers outfitted in bells and traditional garb, Collins sat in a shaded doorway, applauding the scene with enthusiasm. It was a fitting tribute to a woman who has dedicated her life to preserving English folk culture.
Country Westerns: Country Westerns
Almost everything that gets romanticized about crowded basement rock shows feels like a nightmare in a pandemic: sweating bodies pressed together, shouts, whoops, and spittle all trapped under a low-slung ceiling. Country Westerns were made for such an environment. Blending world-weariness into rambunctious, twangy rock, they’re a bar band for an era marked by a painful lack of both bars and bands.
Bessie Jones and the Georgia Sea Island Singers: Get in Union
Before her death in 1984, Bessie Jones’ employment included stints as a domestic worker, a cook, and a laundress. Her life’s work, however, was as a teacher whose medium was song. Growing up in the Gullah-Geechee traditions of rural Georgia, she absorbed music through her family. In adulthood, she doted on the children in her community by teaching them the stories, games, and spiritual music she’d inherited—history that was theirs, too.
Dougie Poole: The Freelancer’s Blues
Late in The Freelancer’s Blues, the second album from the could-be country singer-songwriter, Dougie Poole heaves out a confession that barely approaches hyperbole: “How sweet it would be to not have a brain.” This ability to approach mid-level malaise with empathy and a smirk sits at the heart of his songs—it’s a pleasure to witness.
Watch Justin Vernon Play a New Bon Iver Song in Isolation
Justin Vernon performed a new Bon Iver song during Bernie Sanders’ virtual town hall about the COVID-19 pandemic Saturday night. It’s called “Things Behind Things Behind Things.” Vernon also performed “Towers,” and “Blood Bank,” and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “With God on Our Side” during the broadcast. Watch it all below—Soccer Mommy performs “Circle the Drain” at the beginning, and Vernon’s performance begins at the 01:02:30 minute mark.
Marianne Faithfull Hospitalized with COVID-19
Marianne Faithfull has been hospitalized in London due to coronavirus (COVID-19). She is “stable and responding to treatment,” according to her manager François Ravard. Faithfull’s longtime friend Penny Arcade told Rolling Stone that Faithfull had checked herself into a hospital on Monday (March 30) following a few days of symptoms. She told the outlet that Faithfull had tested positive for the virus at the hospital and remains there as she recovers from pneumonia.
My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way Shares Four New Solo Songs: Listen
My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way has shared rough versions of four new solo songs: “Phoning It In,” “Crate Amp,” and “Welcome to the Hotel.” Listen to them all below. In a statement posted along with the tracks, Way said that he had been working on some of the tracks with the intention of eventually releasing them as singles. However, he said that they may not see a formal release.
Listen to Bad Bunny’s Surprise Track “En Casita”
Bad Bunny has surprise released a new song called “En Casita.” A one-off about life in self-isolation, the song features vocals from his girlfriend Gabriela Berlingeri. Listen to the track below. Bad Bunny released his second album YHLQMDLG at the end of February, and it became the highest-charting all-Spanish-language album of all time with its No. 2 debut on the Billboard 200.
SiriusXM Offers Free Streaming Amid Social Distancing
SiriusXM has announced that it is making its subscription-based radio programming free until May 15. Howard Stern shared the news in a Thursday night broadcast of his long-running eponymous talk show. No credit card is required to access the platform’s music, sports, and talk programming, though it’s limited to phones and at-home devices. See more about what’s available here.
Jamie xx Joins Headie One and Fred again.. on New Song: Listen
Headie One and Fred again.. have shared a new song that’s a collaboration with Jamie xx. Listen to “Smoke” from the duo’s new mixtape GANG below. GANG also features guest appearances from FKA twigs, Sampha, and Octavian. One track, “Tyron,” also samples slowthai. Jamie xx’s most recent solo album was 2015’s In Colour, a project he followed with the score to the 2018 Roman Gavras film The World Is Yours.
SXSW Film Festival 2020 Movies Coming to Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime Video announced that it will host a handful of titles that were set to screen at this year’s SXSW film festival. The SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection will be open to all users with an Amazon login in the United States, not just those with a Prime subscription, for ten days. A launch date for the online festival has yet to be announced. See more details about the program here.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Announce New Concert Film and Album
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have announced a new concert film. Chunky Shrapnel was recorded on the band’s 2019 tour of Europe. It arrives April 17 with a live-streamed premiere, accompanied by a double-LP release of the live album. Check out the trailer below. “Chunky Shrapnel was made for the cinema but as both concerts and films are currently outlawed, it feels poetic to release a concert-film digitally right now,” said frontman Stu Mackenzie in a statement.
Record Union Shares Mental Health Resource Kit for Musicians
The digital distributor Record Union has shared a new toolkit of resources to help artists manage their mental health. The Wellness Starter Pack focuses on five elements to maintaining good health: nutrition, mindfulness, positivity, exercise, and sleep. Find introductory videos below. Learn more at the Wellness Starter Pack website. “Traditionally, the music industry has defined success on commercial grounds; it has always been money first.
Tierra Whack Shares Isolation Song “Stuck”: Watch
Tierra Whack has shared a new song dedicated to those stuck inside during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s called “Stuck,” and Whack puts a stay-at-home spin on Lisa Loeb’s 1994 hit “Stay (I Missed You).” Watch her in a Loeb-inspired look below. Tierra Whack released her debut album Whack World in 2018.
Primavera Sound Postponed Due to Coronavirus Concerns
This year’s Primavera Sound festival has been postponed over ongoing concerns about the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Originally scheduled to take place June 3-7, the annual Barcelona festival will take place August 26-30. Ticket sales have been put on hold for now, but tickets already purchased before the hold will be honored for the new dates. Organizers have also stated that details about NOS Primavera Sound Porto 2020 are forthcoming. Find the full announcement here.
I Break Horses Share New Song “Neon Lights,” Announce New Album Warnings: Listen
I Break Horses, the pop project led by Maria Lendén, has a new album due later this spring. It’s called Warnings, and it’s her first record in six years, following 2014’s Chiaroscuro. Listen to “Neon Lights” from the album, which arrives May 8 via Bella Union/PIAS, below. Leading up to the record’s announcement, Lendén shared two other new songs in February: “I’ll Be the Death of You” and “Death Engine.” She also recently made a playlist for Brooklyn Vegan of songs to ease time in isolation.
Duck Sauce Share New Song “Captain Duck”: Listen
Duck Sauce, the house duo of A-Trak and Armand Van Helden, have released their third new song of the year. Take a listen to “Captain Duck” below. Duck Sauce returned from a long hiatus in January with “Smiley Face,” which was their first new piece of music since their 2014 album Quack. They released another new track, “Get to Steppin’,” at the end of February.
Beatles’ Iconic Abbey Road Crosswalk Gets Repainted Because Nobody Is Outside
A London municipal crew was able to repaint the crosswalk in front of Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles shot the cover to their 1969 album. The area’s usual heavy foot traffic—which you can watch live on a webcam—has been drastically reduced by the city’s social-distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which made the update possible according to NBC reports. Check it out below.
Listen to “Vanishing Twin” by Blake Mills
Blake Mills accomplished a sleight of hand on Look, his 2018 album, by processing layers of guitars through vintage Roland synthesizers. “[Look] has more guitar on it than any other record I’ve made, but for people who care about that, it’s going to be so disappointing when they hear how un-guitar-y it is,” he told Pitchfork that year.
M.I.A. Shares New Song “OHMNI 202091”
M.I.A. has shared her first new song in three years. Take a listen to “OHMNI 202091” on her Patreon page, and read the lyrics below. In a tweet, she introduced the song by calling it “free music to get you the fuck up outta bed.” The song is available for free via her Patreon account, which was launched in January. She launched the page with the promise that fans would get access to music, livestreams, Q&As, and more.
Blake Mills Announces New Album Mutable Set, Shares New Song
Blake Mills has a new album on the way, and he’s shared a new song called “Vanishing Twin” along with its music video. Mills co-wrote “Vanishing Twin” with Cass McCombs. Check out the video, directed by Justin Daashuur Hopkins, below. Mutable Set is out May 8 via Mills’ New Deal label. It follows Mills’ 2018 instrumental album Look.
Listen to JPEGMAFIA’s New Song “Covered in Money!”
JPEGMAFIA has surprise released another new track. This one’s called “Covered in Money!” and you can check out the video for it below. “Covered in Money!” follows “BALD!,” which JPEGMAFIA dropped in late February. He had teased the track earlier in the week with a tweet of a screenshot. Last year, JPEGMAFIA issued his latest album All My Heroes Are Cornballs.
Lucinda Williams Shares Song From New Netflix Movie Lost Girls
Lucinda Williams has shared a new song that she wrote for the new Netflix movie Lost Girls. Her track, produced by her husband Tom Overby and recorded at Hollywood’s Capitol Studios, is called “Lost Girl.” The song plays over the end credits of the film. Hear “Lost Girl” below. “We were very lucky with the amazing band that we were able to put together on very short notice,” Williams in a statement.
Watch FINNEAS’ New Video for “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night”
FINNEAS has shared a new video for his song “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night.” He leads a rooftop dance routine in the visual, directed by Sam Bennett. Watch below. “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night” is from FINNEAS’ debut solo EP *Blood Harmony, which he released in October 2019.
Swamp Dogg: Sorry You Couldn’t Make It
Jerry Williams Jr. knows how to tell a colorful story because he’s lived one. Ever since a revelatory psychedelic experience in the late 1960s, the 77-year-old musician and producer has issued some two dozen volumes of far-out funk and soul explorations as his larger-than-life alter ego, Swamp Dogg.
Rage Against the Machine Postpone Reunion Dates Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
Rage Against the Machine have postponed their first round of reunion tour dates with Run the Jewels, citing public health concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. They’ll postpone their spring dates in the United States and Canada with plans to resume the tour as planned after May 20. See the band’s announcement below. Rage Against the Machine announced in January that they were reuniting at this year’s Coachella, which was delayed until October on Tuesday.
Jay Electronica Drops New Album A Written Testimony
After years of waiting, Jay Electronica has finally released his debut album. Listen to A Written Testimony—which reportedly features contributions from Travis Scott, The-Dream, Swizz Beatz, and AraabMuzik—in the live stream from his studio session below.
Deradoorian Announces New Album, Shares New Song: Listen
Deeradoorian has announced that her second full-length solo album is coming later this spring. It’s called Find the Sun and it’s out May 22 via her new label home, ANTI-. Listen to the first taste of the new album, “Saturnine Night,” below. A few weeks before she releases her record, Deradoorian will go on tour with Stereolab. Find those dates below. Get tickets here.
Hamilton Leithauser Announces New Album, Shares Song
Hamilton Leithauser, formerly of the Walkmen, has announced a new album due next month. It’s called The Loves of Your Life and it’s out April 10 on Glassnote. He’s also shared the record’s second track, “Isabella,” which he teased with a funny, haircut-focused video starring Maggie Rogers. Hear the song and watch the video below. “Isabella” follows February’s “Here They Come,” which came with a video that featured Ethan Hawke.
Lil Uzi Vert Releases New Album Eternal Atake: Listen
Lil Uzi Vert has released his new album, Eternal Atake. The Internet’s Syd makes a guest appearance on “Urgency,” and Lil Uzi Vert had previously said that “Chrome Hearts Tags” is set to a beat that Chief Keef made. Take a listen below. Eternal Atake is the first new album from Lil Uzi Vert since 2017’s Luv Is Rage 2. The project has been in the works for over a year, with the rapper first announcing that it had been completed in December 2018.
Chromatics Share New Song “Famous Monsters”: Listen
Chromatics have shared another new track. Take a listen to “Famous Monsters” and its instrumental counterpart below. "Famous Monsters” is the second new song from Chromatics this year, following February’s “TOY.” The band dropped their album Closer to Grey, their first record since 2012’s Kill for Love, by surprise in October.
CupcakKe Returns With “Lawd Jesus”: Listen
CupcakKe is back with a new track. It’s called “Lawd Jesus.” Take a listen below. “Lawd Jesus” is her first release since she announced that she was quitting music last September. On Instagram Live, the rapper said that she was ending her tour early and that she felt like she was a bad influence on young listeners. She deactivated her social media accounts but eventually returned to social media with the announcement that she was no longer planning to retire.
Wu-Tang Clan Lullaby Album Announced
The music of Wu-Tang Clan has been adapted into a new infant-friendly album that’s out later this spring. Lullaby Renditions of Wu-Tang Clan arrives on vinyl for Record Store Day on April 18, with a CD and digital release following on April 24. Lullaby Renditions of Wu-Tang Clan is part of the Rockabye Baby! series, which has also released lullaby versions of music by Snoop Dogg, the Beatles, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beyoncé, and several others.
Listen to Rina Sawayama’s New Song “XS”
Rina Sawayama has shared another new song from her album SAWAYAMA. Listen to “XS” below. Sawayama said in a statement: “XS” is a song that mocks capitalism in a sinking world.
William Tyler Details Soundtrack for New A24 Movie First Cow
William Tyler has announced the details for his soundtrack to the upcoming A24 film First Cow. Tyler’s Music From First Cow will arrive digitally on the movie’s release date, March 6. It’ll be available on CD and vinyl on July 31 (via Merge). Check out the tracklist and album cover below. Directed by Kelly Reichardt, First Cow follows a cook and a Chinese immigrant who go into business together as they seek fortune and a fresh start on life in the young Oregon Territory.
Damien Jurado Announces New Album and Tour, Shares Song: Listen
Damien Jurado has announced a new album. It’s called What’s New, Tomboy?, and it’s out May 1 via Mama Bird. Listen to the song “Birds Tricked into the Trees” below. Find physical editions of What’s New, Tomboy? at Rough Trade. (Pitchfork may earn a commission from purchases made through affiliate links on our site.) Along with news of the album, Damien Jurado has announced a slate of tour dates. He has shows in the United States and Europe coming up this spring and summer.
Thom Yorke Announces Rare Solo Acoustic Performance
Thom Yorke has announced that he’ll perform a rare acoustic solo set at the London festival All Points East. He’ll open for Massive Attack (who invited him to play) on Sunday, May 24. The set will features performances of Yorke’s solo work as well as some Radiohead songs. See the full lineup below. Yorke released his third solo album ANIMA in June, and accompanied it with a short film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
Lil Uzi Vert Shares New Song “That Way”: Listen
Lil Uzi Vert has shared a new track titled “That Way.” The song interpolates and seems to sample the Backstreet Boys hit “I Want It That Way.” Have a listen below. “That Way” is Uzi’s first new single since “Futsal Shuffle 2020.” Since releasing Luv Is Rage 2 in 2017, the rapper has appeared on numerous collaborations with Lil Baby, G Herbo, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Young Thug, Yo Gotti, Chief Keef, and others.
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