Month: June 2024

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week, we got new music from Nilüfer Yanya, This Is Lorelei, Wishy, and more.

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This Is Lorelei – Box For Buddy, Box For Star

What if bluegrass musicians were also into making ‘80s-indebted synth-pop? For Nate Amos, the man behind This Is Lorelei, this fun thought experiment comes to life. From the outset, the NYC musician tactfully switches from twangy folk on opener “Angel’s Eye” to syncopated electro-pop on “Perfect Hand,” setting the stage for the rest of his first “proper” solo album, Box For Buddy, Box For Star. Here, everything comes together, and Amos is the great artistic unifier behind it all.

Nilüfer Yanya – “Method Actor”

On Nilüfer Yanya’s latest single, the quasi-title track of her upcoming album, A Method Actor, the British indie rocker practices emotional distance. Even as grungy, crunchy guitars come spilling into the mix, Yanya disassociates from the central conflict like a seasoned method actor. “But I mean it, and I don’t feel it,” she sings in the chorus, outlining the double-edged difficulties of feigning indifference. Yanya’s music, however, has always said otherwise. Like her other music, “Method Actor” is emotionally riveting, but she’s dialed up the intensity, leading to a song rife with dualities: quiet and loud; near and distant; heartbroken and impassive.

Spirit Of The Beehive – “Let The Virgin Drive”

Spirit Of The Beehive are secretly one of the most influential bands of the 2020s thus far. They mix their outsized, experimental edge with a melodic tunefulness, like if earworms and tapeworms coexisted. “Let The Virgin Drive,” the lead single of You’ll Have To Lose Something, is a microcosm of what the Philly trio do best. Auto-Tuned vocals, gentle acoustic guitars, and soft synths lull you in like a siren song, beautiful and disconcerting all at once. The brief screaming in the background, sampled from a news clip, scans like a warning: Despite the winsome songwriting, there’s menace lurking in the shadows.

Midwife – “Killdozer”

As Midwife, Madeline Johnston makes tender, spellbinding music that she herself has dubbed “heaven metal,” a term that accurately encapsulates her proclivity for murmured vocals, spectral soundscapes, and barely audible guitars. So it might be a surprise to learn that Johnston penned her new single, off the forthcoming No Depression In Heaven after the infamous Killdozer. In 2004, small-town muffler repair shop owner Marvin Heemeyer went on a murderous spree with a bulldozer shortly before taking his own life, and Johnston uses this true story to explore the parasitic effects of gentrification. It’s a haunting, quiet song that resounds with the volume of industrial metal.

The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die – “Auguries Of Guilt”

Emo bands aren’t known to shy away from grand, sweeping theatricality and earnest ambition. By that metric, The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die might just be the most emo band of all time. Their most recent LP, 2021’s Illusory Walls, closed with a 15-minute song followed by a 20-minute song, and there was still room for nine other tracks preceding them. The six-piece is back with “Auguries Of Guilt,” an epic, colossal return that, as the band’s David Bello puts it in a press release, “tries to smudge historical and present-day conflicts with the emotions of loss and vengeance.” Suffice it to say that TWIABP largely succeeds on this front.

Wishy – “Triple Seven”

There have been a lot of AI-generated music videos lately. Most often, they’re predictably horrible and un-chic at best and a bleak omen for the future at worst. For Wishy, however, the video for “Triple Seven,” the excellent title track of their forthcoming new album, is an AI video parody that’s as excoriating as it is hilarious. Featuring lead vocals from Nina Pitchkites, the Indianapolis band’s summery, Sundays-esque take on indie-pop is another stellar preview of a promising debut.

Anohni And The Johnsons – “Breaking”

Anohni And The Johnsons are back in full swing, and it’s a welcome return. Following last year’s masterpiece My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross, she’s taking her classic backing band on a North American tour for the first time in 15 years. To coincide with that tour is the one-off single, “Breaking.” It’s a sparse song ornamented with nothing save for Anohni’s mesmerizing, commanding vocals, minimalist guitar, and a flute that fades in around the halfway mark.

Toro y Moi – “Tuesday”

Chaz Bear is the king of genre-hopping. From 2019’s clubby Outer Peace to 2022’s psychedelic Mahal, Toro y Moi allows for a kind of genre agnosticism that speaks to larger themes of omnivorous listening habits and the flattening of musical categorizations that become more prominent by the day. Just take a look at the guest list for Hole Erth, Chaz’s new album out Sept. 6. He has recruited Ben Gibbard, Don Toliver, Porches, and Kevin Abstract, amid many others. “Tuesday,” its lead single, is an indie-pop banger with blown-out, trap-influenced drums and fuzzed-out guitars. His vocal tone evokes the radio-ready, mathematical slickness of Rivers Cuomo but without all the schlock. It’s an exciting new song from a perennially exciting artist.

Fax Gang & Parannoul – Scattersun

Parannoul is the master of the 10-minute song, not the 10:01-minute song, nor the 9:59-song; 10 minutes is exactly what the anonymous Seoul-based shoegaze artist aims for. “White Ceiling,” from the mononymous musician’s 2021 debut LP, packed stacked MIDI guitars and alarm clocks into a sprawling opus. “Scattersun,” the title track of Parannoul’s new collaborative record with the alt-hip-hop collective Fax Gang, pulls off something similar. As the penultimate cut on Scattersun, it feels like a summation of everything you’ve previously heard, like a victory lap through all the worlds you’ve visited at the end of a lengthy JRPG. Pulling from digicore, shoegaze, post-rock, and cloud rap, Fax Gang and Parannoul seamlessly merge their disparate sounds.

Enumclaw – “Change”

Even though Enumclaw broke through with their 2022 debut Save The Baby, worked with Toro Y Moi on their 2023 EP, and have now signed with revered Boston label Run For Cover, the Tacoma, Washington group haven’t changed. “Change,” the lead single off their upcoming sophomore album, Home In Another Life, presents the PNW indie rockers in their purest form, with ’90s alt-rock guitars, frontman Aramis Johnson’s laid-back yet emotive vocals, and a towering, infectious chorus. “Would you want me to change,” Johnson asks in the refrain. That’s a no for me: Enumclaw are perfect just the way they are.

If you are a pop music fan, odds are good that over the past year, you either went to a concert, went to a movie theater to see a concert, or watched a concert live on TikTok. So now that everything revolves around concerts and pop stars, it’s only natural for the horror movie trope to follow!

Smile 2, the sequel to the unexpected horror hit Smile will head to theaters this fall, and this time, the elusive smiling demon will target a major pop star, played by Naomi Scott. Not to be confused with the other pop-star horror film by M. Night Shyamalan.

After the gruesome conclusion of the first film, the demonic entity is still claiming everyone in its path, and the latest target is the pop singer Skye Riley. The gist of the Smile demon is this: someone smiles (creepily) then kills themselves in front of an innocent bystander, the curse is passed to them and the cycle starts again, presumably until everyone is dead. Kyle Gallner returns from the first film, while Lukas Gage, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Dylan Gelula also star. Hopefully the MLB will also get involved again.

Director Parker Finn said that he wanted the sequel to have a different feel than the first installment. “The last thing I ever want to do is just directly repeat myself or retread ground that I’ve already gone over,” he told Den of Geek in 2022. “I want it to feel very unexpected and exciting and fresh in a way that might catch audiences off guard, and make sure that the film has a brand-new bag of tricks up its sleeve.” Those tricks include a choreographed dance number and some new pop songs sandwiched in between the brutal deaths. Are you smiling yet?

Smile 3 hits theaters on October 18th. Check out the trailer above.

Back in 2021, Sweet Tooth overcame the odds of being a series that largely revolved around a virus and went forth to be a justified streaming hit during pandemic times. Of course, that’s not the only obstacle that the Team Downey Netflix show tossed into the garbage. The Sweet Tooth comic book, after all, had been summed up as “Mad Max Meets Bambi,” and the show (starring Christian Convery as Gus and Nonso Anozie as Jeppard) turned out to be about much more than that catchphrase would suggest.

The third season arrived on June 6 amid a sea of Bridgerton fanfare but still emerged in the upper half of the current Top 10 English-speaking TV shows. Viewers who have finished the show (and have seen who survives) will likely want to know whether there will be more post-apocalyptic adventures for Gus and his hybrid friends. However, the answer to that question would be “nope.”

Netflix previously announced that the third season of Sweet Tooth would be the final batch of episodes. Showrunner Jim Mickle further explained why he felt that the latest New Zealand-shot season delivered a proper conclusion:

“At the beginning, I think you set out to tell these landmark pieces of Gus’ story and the big pieces of the comic book, but the beauty of long-form storytelling and Gus’ journey over 24 episodes is the characters themselves tell you what they want to be. The crew and cast bring so much depth and point of view to who the characters are and where they’ve come from and where they’re going.”

If you want to see more of Christian Convery and Nonzo Anosie, however, you are in luck. Nonso can be seen his TV roles everywhere from Game of Thrones to The Mandalorian to Ted Lasso, and Convery also has a lengthy list of credits, including Cocaine Bear and the upcoming Frankenstein and an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Monkey.

Sweet Tooth three seasons can now be streamed on Netflix.

The Boston Celtics put a bow on the NBA Finals with an 18-point win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 on Monday night, ending their 16-year championship drought and adding an 18th banner to their collection.

With their entire playoff rotation signed for at least one more year, many wonder if this will be the start of a dynasty run and an end to the NBA’s recent era of parity, where six different teams have won the last six titles. There are more than a few teams that hope to challenge Boston’s basketball supremacy next season, including the 2023 champs in Denver, who will feel like they let an opportunity slip away with their Game 7 collapse against Minnesota in the second round.

Denver has some work to do to round out the roster and get a bit more trusted playoff depth, but when you have the three-time MVP in Nikola Jokic on the roster, you’ll always have a puncher’s chance. As is the case every summer, Jokic is back in his hometown of Sombor, Serbia, where we get videos regularly on social media of him enjoying life at the race track or singing and dancing at a local bar.

What we don’t always see in the summer is Jokic putting in work on the court, as he is not the type of basketball player to post photos or videos of him “in the lab” during his offseason training. However, on Tuesday, video popped up on Twitter of Jokic getting some light reps on the court in the form of a 3-on-3 game at a park in Sombor with what appears to be a random group of guys playing pickup.

Jokic is clearly not going full speed here, but I would never stop talking about it if I was the guy that got a bucket on Jokic here. I also have to shoutout Jokic’s teammate who refuses to play a two-man game with Jokic, dribbling straight past him and waving him off before launching a three that bricks. That’s what pickup ball is all about and I’m glad the over-confidence of random guys in the park doesn’t change even when you have literally the best basketball player in the world out there on your team.

The cross-section of hip-hop and the game of golf is expanding significantly. Artists like Schoolboy Q and Tyler the Creator can be seen hitting the links or embracing the lifestyle, and let’s face it — that alone makes golf cooler than ever. Utilizing that newfound cool factor for a great cause that helps musical artists means uniting two worlds that often seem at odds.

Enter 300 Entertainment and Malbon. No brand on Earth exists at the nexus of club-and-ball culture and hip-hop’s stylish, forward-thinking ethos like Malbon, and they recently had a chance to flex those bonafides at the 3rd annual 300 Entertainment x Malbon Golf Tournament, which took place last week at New Jersey’s Alpine Country Club.

300 Entertainment is the mega-successful label behind artists like Fetty Wap, Gunna, Hunxho, and Young Thug. That success, of course, starts at the top with their co-founder and CEO, Kevin Liles. Along with the golf apparel’s founder, Stephen Malbon, Liles delivered opening and closing remarks and hosted the star-studded affair, which saw celebrities like Anthony Anderson, Jim Jones, and Ja Rule teeing up alongside NBA Champion J.R. Smith and World Series Champion CC Sabathia.

The tournament, a four-person-per-team scramble, was not just a game but a platform to support a significant cause. It was organized to benefit the Free Our Art charity, which champions nationwide legislation defending creative freedom and expression. This cause holds a special place for the 300 Entertainment family, given the highly publicized RICO case against Young Thug, where his song lyrics have been frequently cited in court as he seeks to defend his innocence.

The partnership between Malbon and 300 is a powerful testament to their joint effort to protect First Amendment freedoms and ensure all artists have equal rights under the law.

The event also featured a 4:20 friendly installation hosted by Weed Maps, whiskey and refreshments provided by Bushmills, and additional sponsored support from Sprayground, Lexus, the NBA, King Construction, Hustle Butter, the LPGA, and JBL Audio. To cap off the proceedings, guests were treated to an exclusive performance by 300 breakout group WanMor during the award ceremony and closing reception. Ultimately, these efforts will help integrate hip-hop into country club culture, making it a cool, cutting-edge creative endeavor. But the larger fight for artists’ protection isn’t as simple as a hole-in-one.

With 300 Entertainment and Malbon giving voice to concerns that affect artists around the country and doing so in style, they’re helping to push the cultural conversation forward and create tangible change. By uniting hip-hop royalty and the innovative minds behind Malbon, both brands stand to amplify key voices and leverage their shared audience to raise awareness for an important cause and come together to help shape the future. Hopefully, with continued efforts like this, the protection of black art will become par for the course.

Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.

Since the last update of this weekly R&B column, we’ve received plenty of music and news from the genre’s artists.

Victoria Monét finally released her video for “Alright” and Kehlani unveiled her Crash album tracklist which features Jill Scott, Young Miko, and Omah Lay. Janelle Monáe joined Reneé Rapp and Muna as headliners for the All Things Go festival in New York City. The Weeknd interviewed an AI version of his 10-year-old self. Elsewhere, Chloe Bailey revealed her long-term relationship with veganism came to an end.

Here are some new releases from the past week that you’ll enjoy:

Normani — Dopamine

It’s been a longtime coming, but finally, Normani released her debut album Dopamine. Its 13 songs and features from Starrah, Gunna, James Blake, and Cardi B represent a new era of liberation and freedom for the 28-year-old. Normani is confident, provocative, and bold on Dopamine which makes it completely worth the wait and listen.

NxWorries — Why Lawd?

It took almost eight years, but NxWorries (Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge) are finally back with their second album Why Lawd?. With contributions from Thundercat, HER, Snoop Dogg, Earl Sweatshirt, and more, Why Lawd? excels thanks to Knxwledge’s rugged grooves and .Paak waxing poetic about heartbreak, picking yourself up, and moving on through its 19 songs.

Khalid — “Adore U”

It’s official: Khalid’s third album is finally on the way. His latest single “Adore U” is confirmation of that as the Texas singer prepares the soundscape of his upcoming album with a record backed by ethereal melodies and lush vocals that togther delivers a sweet promise of what’s to come next.

Fana Hues — MOTH

Fana Hues is doing everything right nowadays. The singer is weeks away from a gig as the opening act for Lucky Daye’s The Algorithm Tour, but first we have her third album Moth. “Moths fly through darkness constantly searching for light even at the risk of harm,” Hues says about the album which presents 13 songs and a feature from Bam Marley. “I’m always en route on a journey to find the reason for a feeling in its purest form, even if it hurts.”

Lekan — So You Know

With his debut project So You Know, Lekan simply wants to introduce himself to the world. The Nigerian singer by way of Ohio delivers his six-track with his soothing baritone on full display beside a pen that proves to get sharper with each song. “I consider this EP to be a very beautiful introduction to me – both sonically and creatively, and how I process things like love, heartbreak, and joy,” he says about the project in a press release. “It’s the perfect homage to paint the picture of where I’m from, how far I’ve come as a man, and acknowledge the direction in which I’m growing.”

Lily Rayne — “Floating” Feat. Phabo

Rhode Island-born LA-Based singer Lily Rayne goes coast-to-coast on her new track “Floating” with Phabo. Together, the singers account for their eventful lives that have them constantly on the move. You can either move with them and enjoy the fun or step aside and not distract them from their grind.

Shaé Universe — “OOTW”

With Love Letters (Deluxe) set to drop later this summer, Shaé Universe begins its rollout with the sultry and inviting “OOTW” (“Order On The Way”). “OOTW is for the real lovers and yearners. It’s time to bring back shameless romance and submission!” Shaé said about the song. “No ego, just passion and freedom.”

Dylan Sinclair — “Lemon Trees”

It’s been a little while since we heard from Toronto singer Dylan Sinclair, but thankfully he’s back with “Lemon Trees.” The breezy track finds Sinclair diving into the alternative R&B lane with a lovely blend that also pulls from 2000s R&B. “I am excited to start the summer off with ‘Lemon Trees,’ Sinclair said about the song. “This is one you want to play with the windows down and feel that same energy.”

DUCKWRTH — “Grey Scale”

DUCKWRTH has something special on the way that we can assume is a project of some sorts, but until we know what that is we can enjoy his new single “Grey Scale.” The tender songs captures a fiery love between DUCKWRTH and his partner who seems to push the limits of right and wrong, living comfortably in the grey area and its boundaries they created.

Jon Vinyl — “Closure”

For his third single of the year, Jon Vinyl prepares to conclude a failed relationship with the honest “Closure.” The Toronto is blunt and gets straight to the point in speaking to his ex, singing, “I don’t wanna spend a moment with you,” before later adding, “We don’t ever need to make this right.”

Lyfe Harris — “Sicko” Feat. Jahkoy

Atlanta singer Lyfe Harris offloads his second single “Sicko” with help from Toronto singer Jahkoy. The duo explore the troubles they found in their attempts to move on from a past lover while still being emotionally attached to them. It’s the thrill of new love meets the comfort and nostalgia of an old love.

Check out this week’s R&B selections as well as favorites from past weeks through our Best New R&B Songs Of The Week playlist.

We are deep into spirits competition season, and the awards and accolades keep rolling out! This is great news for anyone who has ever found themselves at the liquor aisle puzzled about which bottles to buy. If you don’t have a friend who is deep into tequila (I’m hurt, are we not friends?) then spirit competitions, despite their flaws, are a pretty safe bet for recommendations.

What I love about the London Spirits Competition is that in addition to scoring a bunch of great bottles of every type of liquor, they are one of the few spirit-tasting competitions out there to assign a “Tequila of the Year.” I like the organization’s ability to put its foot down and say “this is the best tequila you can buy”… even if I don’t always agree.

This year, the winner of Tequila of the Year is Cierto with their silver-label Reserve Collection Añejo. This is a premium bottle of tequila that’ll cost you north of $200 at most retailers. But does it live up to the hype?

Well, we’ve tasted it, and we have a lot of thoughts on the matter!

Before we get into what this stuff tastes like, here is a little bit about how the London Spirits Competition judges each spirit. The organization gives a score for three categories:

• Quality, which is assessed based on the appearance, aroma, body, taste, and aftertaste of the liquid.
• Value, how good the quality is for the price.
• Packaging, which looks at how creative the design is, the quality of the label, and the back-bar/store shelf appeal.

The judges are a mix of spirits buyers, consultants, and experts, be it fine dining curators, tequila lovers, or people in the hospitality industry. You ready to hear our thoughts? Good, let’s drink!

Cierto Reserve Collection Añejo — 93 Points “Tequila of the Year”

ABV: 40%
Price: $249

The Tequila:

It’s not as if the London Spirits Competition discovered Cierto Reserve, this bottle of añejo has been snagging awards left and right since its release a few years ago. This bottle has garnered over 100 awards, showing up in every prestigious tasting competition worldwide. But still, being awarded the “Tequila of the Year,” by the London Spirits Competition is a big deal, and before we get to the tasting notes, everything points to this being a great bottle on paper.

Cierto Reserve is produced at NOM 1146, the famed Tequileña distillery, home to other great brands like ArteNOM Selección, Tears of Llorona, and my personal favorite from this distillery, Don Fulano. It is made from single estate agave that is cooked in a low-pressure autoclave and roller mill extracted, made with natural spring water, fermented in stainless steel tanks, and twice distilled through a copper pot.

To reach its añejo state, it is aged for 18 months in French Limousin Oak. It’s also certified additive-free by Tequila Matchmaker, so, this tequila has a lot going for it.

But what does it taste like? Let’s get into it.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: A delectable mix of perfectly caramelized agave, wet oak, rich chocolate and warm inviting toffee waft from a pour of this rich liquid.

Palate: At first taste, this presents itself as a mix of butterscotch and vanilla. As it crosses the palate, there are some juicy dark cherry and chocolate notes and a hint of spice that dances on the tongue.

Finish: The roasted agave appears on the finish, resulting in a surprisingly bright finish for an aged tequila. There is also a long smokey flavor that sticks to the tongue on the aftertaste, which creates a sense of smoothness without tasting muddled like “smooth” tequila often does.

The Bottom Line:

I really like this. Is it the tequila of the year? For me, a die-hard blanco fan, it’s not… but that’s not to say that this isn’t any good. In fact, it’s astounding. Especially if you love the deep and complex journey of flavors that an añejo provides.

This is luxury tequila at its finest, one of the few bottles over $200 with a liquid that justifies the price. Tequila in this range has a tendency to be all flash, be it great bottle design or a palate-pleasing flavor smoothed out to the point you can’t taste any agave. Cierto Reserve is not that. Sure, it’s smooth, but not to the point where it doesn’t taste like agave.

There are plenty of dessert-like vanilla and caramel tones here to come across as luxurious, while still offering lightness and a bit of that bright agave bite.

The Despicable Me franchise epitomizes mainstream pop culture; thus, Pharrell’s “Double Life” from the Despicable Me 4 soundtrack automatically qualifies as pop. Elsewhere, Tanner Adell continue to break genre barriers, and Remi Wolf cruised closer to her Big Ideas album release.

Check out all of that and more in Uproxx’s Best New Pop Music roundup below.

Pharrell — “Double Life”

“Double Life” is the more mercurial sibling of “Happy.” The song may very well be for Despicable Me 4, cemented by a Gru name-check, but the lyrics have real-life application. Produced and written by Pharrell, Pharrell also sings about someone keeping secrets — yes, “the thrill of the double life” — and warning them about dirt coming to light (“You’re running out of time / Don’t you see that everything is on the line? / So, I’m sorry, but you have to choose a side / You’ll never know when it’s your time to go”). Actually, “Double Life” is pretty existential for an animated movie.

Remi Wolf — “Motorcycle”

Remi Wolf’s Big Ideas album is shaping up to be one of the richest albums of the year, and we’re still weeks away from its July 12 release. “Motorcycle” lingers in the mundane. She loves her motorcycle, water colors, and mariachi, and her assured contentment is emphasized by a pleasantly lackadaisical soundscape. But Remi Wolf has also bigger dreams — bigger ideas, if you will — as she sings, “Five in the morning / We could get a house, we could get a dog / When we’re waking up in the early morning / I could kiss your forehead / Send you down the doorstep / Say goodbye and get right on my motorcycle.”

Tanner Adell — “Too Easy”

Tanner Adell was a featured artist on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, so the surging country artist has every reason to be the utmost confident, and it oozes through the screen in her “Too Easy” video at a cowboy bar. Adell dances, rides a mechanical bull, and delivers flawless vocals: “Too easy, boys are too easy / Easy, got ya sippin’ my sweet tea.” The charged song is from Twisters: The Album, the soundtrack for the forthcoming movie starring Glen Powell. And in case anyone wonders whether Adell’s confidence in the video was an act, she posted, “Someone tell Glen Powell I’m coming to the premier.”

Tove Lo & SG Lewis — “Heat”

Tove Lo and SG Lewis released Heat, their four-track joint EP, and the title track is deserved of the title. “You’re staring at me,” Tove Lo sings in the scintillating dance-pop rager. “Staring is free / I already know / You can’t take the heat.” I mean, you have to verify your age before YouTube will allow you to watch the official “Heat” music video, so, as Paris Hilton once said, “That’s hot.”

Kygo & Plested — “Me Before You”

Kygo will release his self-titled album on Friday, June 21, which he shared he’d worked on for the past two years. The album promises to be reflective, considering Kygo waited a decade before indulging a self-titled moment. But “Me Before You” was a collaborative, outsourced effort.”[Mike Wise] & I literally wrote this song 6 weeks ago,” Plested wrote on Instagram. “I loved it so much that I posted the chorus here on [Instagram]. Kygo then messaged me asking to work on it and of course I said YES.” Plested is already teasing an acoustic version, which would officially qualify “Me Before You” as a first dance wedding song.

Jelly Roll — “I Am Not Okay”

Jelly Roll is decidedly country. “I Am Not Okay,” his latest acoustic-rooted ballad, does not deviate from his established country vein. But Jelly Roll has also undoubtedly entered the zeitgeist, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that “I Am Not Okay” somehow gets pop airplay. The song is strikingly vulnerable, with Jelly Roll singing, “Some days, it ain’t all bad / Some days, it all gets worse / Some days I swear I’m better off / Layin’ in that dirt.” As the best songs do, “I Am Not Okay” bookends that vulnerability with a hopeful universal message: “I’m not okay / But it’s all gonna be alright.”

JORDY — “Sex With Myself”

Somehow, JORDY managed to be even more direct than Tove Lo and SG Lewis. “Sex With Myself” is the title track from the pop provocateur’s third studio album, and JORDY leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination, singing, “I’ll just have sex with myself / I’m obsessed with myself.” The accompanying video is even more unambiguous and unashamed — a video years in the making, in a roundabout way. “I’m exploring myself and my sexuality,” JORDY said in a statement. “It’s still JORDY, but these are subjects I wasn’t comfortable enough to tackle in the past.”

Leigh-Anne — “Nature”

Last month, Leigh-Anne introduced herself as a solo artist by releasing her debut EP, No Hard Feelings, which was co-written with Khris Riddick (Ariana Grande, SZA), Danja (Britney Spears, Mariah Carey), and Tayla Parx (Grande, Justin Bieber, Normani). The Little Mix member tacked on “Nature” last week, writing on Instagram, “As a thank you for all your love & support so far, I’m adding a BRAND NEW SONG to the project. It’s called ‘NATURE,’ and it’s available RIGHT NOW. Nothing beats performing it live for the first time at my first headline show last night. This is another really special song that came from my writing camp in Jamaica, and I’m super proud of it.” The Bajan and Jamaican influence is ripe, and it works. “Nature” should be played on a loop during a remote island vacation with a lover.

Flor — “Tethered”

Alt-pop darlings Flor have done the public service of releasing a song suited to supplement delusional, fantastical daydreaming during the drive home after a first date — preferably at dusk in the summer. “Surprise, surprise, another flor love song,” Flor vocalist Zach Grace said in a statement. “It’s a good thing love has so many facets to discover and explore or else I wouldn’t have anything to write about. I love the imagery of being connected by a link, invisible or otherwise, to the person who is made for you. How every life and every timeline couldn’t separate you from the person you are meant to be with. It’s a comforting thought to me.”

Catty — “I Wish I Gave You Hell”

Catty will experience a slice of heaven by way of opening for Stevie Nicks at BST Hyde Park on July 12, but the London-based alt-pop singer-songwriter indulged the inverse reality on her latest single, “I Wish I Gave You Hell.” (Of course, it was inspired by Nicks.) The rock-charged, frenetic revenge song finds Catty venting about what she wished she’d done to “the worst damn person alive” who “did the things you said that you wouldn’t,” including (but not limited to) keying a card and exposing them on the internet.

The last time Julien Baker embarked on a solo tour was 2022, but that’s about to change: Today (June 18), she announced a solo tour across North America, which will take place over the course of a month in September and October.

Tickets for the tour go on sale starting Friday, June 21 at 10 a.m. local time. Find more information about that here.

Baker’s most recent solo album is 2021’s Little Oblivions. While there isn’t currently any news about a new album from her, perhaps the tour announcement indicates that something new from Baker is on the horizon.

She spend last year busy with Boygenius things, as the supergroup that also features Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers released a new album, The Record, in 2023 and toured behind the project as well. The future of the band is currently unclear: At their last performance of the year, Dacus said, “This is our last show, and we’re feeling it.” Another band member also reportedly said, “We’re going away for the foreseeable future.”

Check out Baker’s tour dates below.

Julien Baker 2024 Tour Dates

09/23 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
09/24 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
09/25 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
09/27 — The Atlantis @ Washington, DC
09/28 — Columbia, MD @ All Things Go Music Festival *
09/29 — Forest Hills, NY @ All Things Go Music Festival *
10/01 — Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall
10/02 — Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall
10/21 — San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s 365 Club
10/22 — San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s 365 Club
10/23 — San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s 365 Club
10/25 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether
10/26 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether
11/19 — London, UK @ EartH
11/20 — London, UK @ EartH
11/21 — London, UK @ EartH

* festival date

When Solitary Man Walton Goggins isn’t explaining that Justified non-feud lately, he’s been fielding questions about his Fallout transformation into The Ghoul. One of the more charming pieces of information that he has dropped includes his admission that he needed to just be alone with his Ghoul-self for a awhile after first experiencing that oddness in the mirror.

While recently speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Goggins did want to clarify that spending hours in the makeup chair is “not torture” because he’s “an actor, these are prosthetics,” and as everyone realizes, there are much worse ways to earn a living. Still, he surprisingly found another aspect of his Fallout gig to be even more unsettling than being The Ghoul. That would be appearing on Fallout as non-irradiated version of his character’s self. Hey, nukes change everything, man:

“The thing I was most surprised about was the first day I played Cooper Howard,” Goggins tells Entertainment Weekly in a video interview, referring to the Ghoul’s pre-radiated self before he underwent a nuclear transformation. “I was only in the chair for five minutes, but when I walked out, all of a sudden I felt like I didn’t have my superhero costume on.”

He then elaborated, “I felt very vulnerable, to be quite honest with you.” Although it might appear that Goggins would find that experience freeing, he did find “it difficult initially to just be a civilian” rather than “to be in the head of the Ghoul.” The good news, however, is that Goggins will find himself back in the makeup chair for many more hours for the second season of Fallout. Something to look forward to for sure.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)