Yesterday (April 30), Lorde announced her next album, Virgin. The immediate assumption for many after hearing that title is that the project has at least some focus on sex. Perhaps that’s true, but it appears that it covers more than that, too, as Lorde has offered some context.
On her Instagram Story today (archived by Pop Crave here), Lorde shared a few different meanings of the word “virgin” (screenshots from websites, seemingly), presumably implying that they apply to her mindset behind the album. One reads, “The word ‘virgin,’ some say, was derived from a Greek word that meant ‘not attached to a man, a woman who was ‘one-in-herself.’ Goddesses like Ishtar (Assyrian-Babylonian), Diana (Roman), Astarte (Greek) and Isis (Egyptian) were called ‘virgins’ not because they were inexperienced but because they were strong and independent.”
Another says, “There is also evidence that the word ‘virgin’ derived from the combination of the Latin words ‘vir- (for man, as in ‘virile) and-gyne’ (for woman, as in gynecology) – a man-woman or androgynous person.” Lorde’s third and final one reads, “What does virgin metal mean? Pure metal obtained directly from ore.”
Lorde previously wrote of the project, “I was trying to see myself, all the way through. I was trying to make a document that reflected my femininity: raw, primal, innocent, elegant, openhearted, spiritual, masc. I’m proud and scared of this album. There’s nowhere to hide. I believe that putting the deepest parts of ourselves to music is what sets us free.”
Virgin is out 6/27 via Republic Records. Find more information here.
Last month, Wet Leg announced that they have a new album, Moisturizer, coming out in July. Today (May 1), the five-piece group founded by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers shared the dates for a coinciding tour.
The North American Moistourizer 2025 Tour (the “typo” is intentional) will hit 19 cities in September and October, including stops in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Wet Leg will be joined by Marry In The Junkyard.
The artist pre-sale for the North American Moistourizer 2025 tour begins on Wednesday, May 7, at 10 a.m., followed by the promoter presale at 12 p.m. local time and the Spotify presale and venue presale at 2 p.m. local time. Meanwhile, the general on-sale begins Thursday, May 8, at 10 a.m. local time. You can find more information here.
Check out the complete tour dates below.
Wet Leg’s 2025 Tour Dates: The North American Moistourizer 2025 Tour
09/01 — Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
09/03 — Vancouver, BC @ Malkin Bowl
09/05 — Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
09/09 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
09/10 — Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed
09/12 — Toronto, ON @ HISTORY
09/13 — Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
09/14 — Boston, MA @ Roadrunner
09/15 — Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
09/17 — New York, NY @ Summerstage in Central Park
09/19 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
09/21 — Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees
09/30 — Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
10/03 — Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre
10/07 — Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion
10/14 — El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace
10/17 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
Hip-hop these days is as adventurous as it’s ever been, and even in this creative space, recent Sound Check guest Rico Nasty stands out as a special innovator. Case in point: Her upcoming album Lethal is set for release on Fueled By Ramen. The label’s best known for its pop-punk-leaning roster, but Nasty is just undeniable (not to mention, there’s some actual pop-punk influence on the project).
Today (May 1), she starts the month with a preview of the album, “Butterfly Kisses.” The song arrives alongside the “surprise B-side” “Can’t Win Em All.” Zack Fox is on board, as a voice note from him kicks off the track.
Nasty previously said of the project, “This album is about being confident and saying f*ck everybody else. It’s about getting doors slammed in your face and people telling you to try it their way again and again, and you stay true to yourself and it works. That’s what this project is. It’s an ode to yourself.”
She also told Uproxx in 2024, “I’m an artist. I want to try sh*t. I want to do stuff I never did before. I’m living my life. I’m going places I’ve never been before, eating sh*t I never ate before. I’m around people I’ve never been around before. Of course, sh*t is going to be different. Because I’m a rapper, I’m going to rap, but sometimes a girl wants to have fun. Sometimes I just want to make music that’s c*nt. What’s wrong with that?”
Listen to “Butterfly Kisses” and “Can’t Win Em All” above.
Lethal is out 5/16 via Fueled By Ramen. Find more information here.
Each week our staff of film and television experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish shows available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.
15. Dying for Sex (Hulu)
fx on hulu
Based on the acclaimed podcast, Dying for Sex follows Molly Kochan (Michelle Williams) who decides to leave her husband (Jay Duplass) after being diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer in order to explore her sexual desires for the first time. She’s joined on her journey of exploration by her best friend Nikki (Jenny Slate). The heart-tugging comedy-drama series was created by Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether, who also created New Girl.
Get a load of the cast for Black Mirror season 7: Rashida Jones, Chris O’Dowd, Tracee Ellis Ross, Siena Kelly, Rosy McEwen, Ben Bailey Smith, Issa Rae, Awkwafina, Emma Corrin, Harriet Walter, Peter Capaldi, Lewis Gribben, Michele Austin, Paul Giamatti (!!!), Patsy Ferran, Cristin Milioti, Jimmi Simpson, Billy Magnussen, Milanka Brooks, and Osy Ikhile, as well as Will Poulter and Asim Chaudhry returning from Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Not bad!
In the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale, June (Elisabeth Moss) is pulled back into the fight to take down Gilead. She’s joined by Luke (O-T Fagbenle) and Moira (Samira Wiley), while Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) attempts to reform society. It’s a story of hope, courage, and resilience in the pursuit of justice — timely! There’s also a sequel series on the horizon.
The last time we checked in with Hacks, Deborah (Jean Smart) succeeded in her life-long dream to become a late-night host — but not without betraying her friend and writing partner Ava (Hannah Einbinder), who holds a secret over Deborah. And she’s not afraid to use it. Season 4 finds tensions between the two rising while working on the show.
The Last of Us season 2 picks up five years after the season 1 finale, when Joel (Pedro Pascal) killed a bunch of Fireflies to save Ellie (Bella Ramsey), and then (to put it vaguely) lied to her. Now, they’re “drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.” Get ready for more Clickers, more heartbreak, and the introduction of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), one of the more polarizing characters in video game history.
The Rehearsal, the most brilliantly deadpan show on TV, stars Nathan Fielder as a man on a mission to reduce the uncertainties of everyday life. In season 2, the urgency of his project grows as he puts his resources toward an issue that affects us all: commercial aviation. It’s good to see that laptop harness again.
An action movie from the guy who made The Raid starring Tom Hardy? Yeah, that’ll do. Gareth Evans’ Havoc follows a detective (Hardy) who must fight his way through the criminal underworld. There’s drug deals gone wrong, crooked politicians, and bone-crushing violence. Can I get a “let’s f*cking goooooooo”? (Let’s f*cking goooooooo.)
Étoile is the new show from Gilmore Girls and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. Set in New York City and Paris, the ballet drama follows the dancers and staff of two fictional ballet companies, Le Ballet National in France and Metropolitan Ballet Theater in the United States, as they embark on an ambitious plan to save their storied institutions by swapping their most talented stars. It’s a world ASP knows well: she used to be a dancer before focusing on her writing career.
Sorry, Cardi B, but this is the final season of You. You can read all about what’s in store for Joe here, but let’s give it up for the latest addition to the cast, Madeline Brewer. The actress, who plays free-spirit bookseller employee Bronte, kills (no pun intended?) it in everything she’s in, especially The Handmaid’s Tale and Cam. “I think they do it really, really beautifully,” Brewer said about the final season of You, “I also think that the finale episode is one of the best things I’ve ever been a part of. I’m so proud of it.”
Here’s something unexpected: Joshua Oppenheimer, the director behind the Oscar-nominated documentaries The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence, made a musical. But The End is no ordinary musical. Set 25 years after the Earth becomes uninhabitable, the film follows a mother (Tilda Swinton), a father (Michael Shannon), and a son (George MacKay) who are confined in a bunker. They distract themselves with their monotonous routines, until a stranger (Moses Ingram) upends things. You had me at a musical with Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon.
You might not know the name Antonin Carême now, but you will after watching Carême. He’s been described as the world’s first celebrity chef, and this Apple TV Plus series follows his journey (portrayed by Benjamin Voisin) to culinary stardom. As per the logline: “His talent and ambitions attract the attention of renowned and powerful politicians, who use him as a spy for France. Determined to escape poverty and fulfill his dream, Carême can choose revenge, or he can have it all — women, wealth, fame — but at what cost?” Soufflé orders are about to skyrocket.
Andor is not only the best Star Wars show. It ranks high among the Star Wars, well, anything — movies, books, video games. The politically-charged series takes place as war draws near and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) becomes a key player in the Rebel Alliance. Here’s more: “Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound.” We know how the story ends, but it’s been a blast(er) getting there.
Black Bag is a fun, sexy spy movie from Steven Soderbergh that stars Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Marisa Abela (Yas from Industry!), Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Regé-Jean Page, and Pierce Brosnan — and it didn’t even make its budget back at the box office? Come on, America. Do better! You’re out of excuses now that Black Bag is on streaming. It’s one of the year’s best.
The Four Seasons comes from the all-star team of Tina Fey (30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, etc.), Tracey Wigfield (30 Rock, the canceled-too-soon Great News, Peacock’s shockingly good Saved by the Bell), and Lang Fisher (the sweetly funny Never Have I Ever). Based on the 1981 movie of the same name, it follows three married couples — Kate (Fey) and Jack (Will Forte), Nick (Steve Carell) and Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver), and Danny (Colman Domingo) and Claude (Marco Calvani) — across spring, summer, fall, and winter. It’s a breezy and heartfelt good time.
Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively are back for Paul Feig’s Another Simple Favor. In the sequel to the 2018 film, Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Lively) reunite on the island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to an old-money businessman. But there’s murder afoot! Well, murder and more extravagant outfits worn by Lively.
How long can Slow Horses keep riding on Apple TV+? Author Mick Herron has amassed eight full-length Slough House books (and a ninth on the way), so the Gary Oldman-starring spy series could easily keep going for many more years. Currently, the show also qualifies not only as one of the most best spy series on TV (alongside the likes of Black Doves) but also one of the most popular (within the ranks of The Night Agent).
Slow Horses, however, is a truly unique beast in the streaming world. Not only does the show manage a relative breakneck pace (after surfacing in 2022, the upcoming season has been done and dusted for months), but this show has the devil in it (both from the brilliant spymaster and those surround him), so let’s not waste any more time and talk about the fart-cloaked season to come.
Plot
Apple TV+
This season will adapt Herron’s London Rules novel, and first, it’s important to note that Gary Oldman stressed to Radio Times that Apple has been wonderful about “writing the cheques” for this series, and although Netflix will swiftly cancel shows, “Apple will not do that. We’re working on writing number six. Now, I don’t know whether we’ll eventually end up doing it, but we’ve filmed five and there’s eight books altogether.” Also, Herron wrote a ninth book, Clown Town, that is due out in September, so fingers are crossed that these spies-in-purgatory can continue after the sixth season, which will adapt both the Joe Country and Slough House.
Oldman has teased that the fifth season will contain tidbits about Jackson Lamb’s previous spy adventures, and of course, there will be food-related shenanigans to keep the spy-thriller vibes from overriding the sheer pleasure of witnessing the characters. This silliness will, according to showrunner Will Smith, include Jackson Lamb eating “too much cake” that will prompt “a sugar rush,” and this cannot be great for his digestive tract. And I cannot wait.
Apple TV+
Meanwhile, hints have dropped from Christopher Chung (who portrays Roddy Ho). He recently told Radio Times that his insufferable techie character (and this question has been asked on social media) will keep evolving, and in the fifth season, “[H]e becomes a little bit louder and a little bit more self-assured, even more so than he already is, but I think you’ll be in for a bit of a surprise.” This will add up to Roddy having a larger role, and “because London Rules has such a heavy focus on Roddy, I was hoping we would get to season 5.” Also according to Chung, the new Roddy happenings include a “glamorous new girlfriend” that nobody at Slough House trusts.
Now onto the actual plot details, which will include how the fourth season finale suggested that River Cartwright’s (Jack Lowden) allegiance has become clear due to that pub visit with Jackson. Despite a mercenary job offer from his dad, Frank Harkness (Hugo Weaving), but River should still be hanging with the Slough Horses. The London Rules novel synopsis, however, highlights the mayhem and trauma to come:
At MI5 headquarters Regent’s Park, First Desk Claude Whelan is learning the ropes the hard way…. Meanwhile, the country’s being rocked by an apparently random string of terror attacks.
Over at Slough House, the MI5 satellite office for outcast and demoted spies, the agents are struggling with personal problems: repressed grief, various addictions, retail paralysis, and the nagging suspicion that their newest colleague is a psychopath. Plus someone is trying to kill Roddy Ho. But collectively, they’re about to rediscover their greatest strength—that of making a bad situation much, much worse.
Cast
Apple TV+
Gary Oldman wants to portray Jackson Lamb until acting retirement, and nobody is arguing with him. Additionally, Jack Lowden ^^^ will be back as River Cartwright with Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho. Other returning cast members include Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner, Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy, and James Callis as Claude Whelan.
Release Date
Even though Apple TV+ has been hanging tight on a precise release date, Slow Horses is guaranteed for a 2025 return. This will probably happen no later than August 2025 since the previous seasons landed less than a year apart (with the last one in September 2024). Take that, Severance.
Trailer
Although we’re not lucky enough to have seen footage or a trailer yet, Gary Oldman talking about how James Bond won’t fart never goes out of style.
The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports is gearing up for its 151st running, and that means we’re in prime Mint Julep season. The big race is taking place this Saturday, May 3rd, so you’re going to want to stock up on the best bourbon for Mint Juleps ahead of the weekend — but that begs the question: what is the best bourbon for making a Mint Julep?
Woodford Reserve is the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby, so it makes sense to go with that, but does that mean the contest is already decided? There’s only one way to find out: by pitting it against some of the other top bourbons on the market in a blind taste test!
The field below includes several selections directly connected to horse racing, if not the Kentucky Derby itself. We’ve got a few classic Kentucky bourbons in the pack, along with newcomers, which should make for an exciting time that will definitely take me more than two minutes to mix and drink.
Each of these bottles is delicious on its own, but they’ll be jockeying for a different type of crown when used as the base of The Run for the Roses’ most iconic cocktail.
We used a pretty standard recipe:
1/4oz of Simple Syrup
Six muddled fresh mint leaves
2oz of bourbon
That’s it!
Now, let’s dive in and find the best bourbon to use in a Mint Julep for the 151st Kentucky Derby!
The first sip of this Mint Julep is…almost peachy. It begins with some light mint, and it has great body and balance. This is sweet and refreshing without being overpowering, and it has the added benefit of some restrained spice notes. This is A1 stuff, and for those keeping score at home, it has about a 7/10 on the sweetness scale.
I absolutely love this one.
Taste 2
Frank Dobbins III
Tasting Notes:
This Mint Julep recipe starts off really juicy and fruity like a red berry explosion with a little vanilla and restrained mint, plus a bit of black pepper. Despite that initial boldness, on the second sip, this one becomes fairly cloying with a sweetness level of about 9/10.
If you’re really into sweet drinks, this might be for you, but I won’t be having another.
Taste 3
Frank Dobbins III
Tasting Notes:
Hello, beautiful. This is a very sweet and red-berry-forward Mint Julep, but it’s also balanced with vanilla and mint featured just as prominently. It’s juicy and fairly refreshing with some cinnamon bark appearing on the back end. Yup this is damn good.
This is an 8/10 on the sweetness scale, and, overall, this feels like a straight-up baseline Mint Julep.
Taste 4
Frank Dobbins III
Tasting Notes:
This spin on a Mint Julep features the freshest taste of red berries so far, with a bit of red apple, too. It’s incredibly refreshing, and the mint balances out the fruit impressively, but there are some really good black pepper notes too. This comes across as classic but elevated. For those who prefer a slightly sweeter Mint Julep, this one lands at an 8/10.
This strikes me as the most crowd-pleasing of the lot thus far.
Taste 5
Frank Dobbins III
Tasting Notes:
Hey now! This is the most minty and herbaceous Mint Julep so far, but with an impressive, understated sweetness to balance it out. The sweetness is only a 6.5/10, but this is a refreshing riff that will hit the spot for folks who like a more herbal take on the Derby’s classic cocktail.
Taste 6
Frank Dobbins III
Tasting Notes:
Whoa! This Mint Julep brings a bunch of unexpected nuttiness and blends that with some surprising milk chocolate. The mint is there too, so it’s like a mint milk chocolate julep — that’s amazing. The sweetness is even-keeled at about a 7/10, but this is the most unique of them all.
If you’re into milk chocolate (and who isn’t?), this will be your jam.
Taste 7
Frank Dobbins III
Tasting Notes:
Interesting! This one is distinctly bubble gummy at first. The second sip highlights more mint gum with some decent black pepper in the mix, too. The sweetness level is moderate at about a 7.5. This is the least exciting Mint Julep of the bunch, but it’s not bad at all, just a bit bland.
Taste 8
Frank Dobbins III
Tasting Notes:
Well, that’s weird. This one has some of the bubble gumminess of the last one and some of the nuttiness of sample 6. There’s also some brown sugar and red berries. This one is really interesting, and I could see myself sitting with it for a long time just to appreciate the various layers of flavor.
It isn’t outstanding in any one way, but it is perhaps the most curious and complex of them all, with a sweetness of about 8.5/10.
To call Elijah Craig a classic bourbon is to echo what’s been said about it 100 times over. Named after a famed Baptist preacher, Reverend Elijah Craig is credited, by the brand at least, as the “father of bourbon.”
Bottom Line:
The fact that my beloved Elijah Craig Small Batch was bringing up the rear in this tasting definitely surprised me. Despite the fact that standard Elijah Craig isn’t all that sweet, this Mint Julep featured the most cloying and overpowering sweetness of the lot, which left me craving water more than another sip.
I’m going to stick to drinking Elijah Craig in Old Fashioneds or neat, because this Mint Julep didn’t do it for me at all.
Green River, aged for five years with a mash bill of 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley, is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The brand has a history dating back to 1885, and this revival is under the Bardstown Bourbon Company umbrella.
Bottom Line:
This is a Mint Julep that I thought would have more pep in its step, but ultimately it just fell a little flat. I could see Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Origin Series High Rye Bourbon having a bit more zip, and I’ll definitely be experimenting with that one, but this Green River Bourbon Mint Julep just didn’t have any of the giddy-up I was hoping for.
Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon blends four of the brand’s recipes: OBSK, OESK, OBSO, and OESO, to create one product. The whiskeys are aged for six to seven years before being blended, cut with soft Kentucky water, and bottled.
Bottom Line:
Despite being near the back of the pack, I had absolutely no complaints about this Mint Julep recipe. If anything, it was a step behind others on this list simply because it nailed the baseline flavor of the cocktail without really presenting anything outstanding of its own.
If you want a bang-up, standard Mint Julep then this is the one for you.
One of the most polarizing and hyped bourbons in all of the land, Blanton’s is the original single-barrel bourbon. Launched in 1984, each bottle of Blanton’s is the product of a single barrel, an idea hatched by Buffalo Trace’s then Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee.
Bottom Line:
I actually thought this one would fare better in the blind tasting, but that’s not to say it isn’t excellent. The herbaceous notes and restrained sweetness really worked well together to create a deeply intriguing and complex cocktail that will be the top choice of folks who tend to eschew more sugary mixed drinks.
I can see this being someone’s favorite, but given the stiff competition, it just wasn’t my preference.
Pinhook’s flagship bourbon is produced in super small batches to help dial in the desired flavor profile. Aged for at least three years in new, charred oak barrels, you can typically expect notes of banana bread, butterscotch, red apple, and hazelnuts in this expression.
Bottom Line:
This makes a Mint Julep for folks who love theirs on the sweeter side. That intriguing mint bubblegum note kept me coming back to the glass to give this one my full attention.
It isn’t your typical Mint Julep, but damn it, it does the job better than most.
As one of the original members of the Jim Beam Small Batch Collection, Knob Creek 9-Year is an absolute classic in the world of bourbon. This whiskey utilizes Beam’s low-rye mash bill and features a small batch of barrels mingled together and then proofed to 50% ABV before bottling.
Bottom Line:
I was thoroughly impressed by how unique and milk chocolatey this Mint Julep was. As someone who really enjoys that flavor profile, I can definitely see myself opting for this one above all others at times throughout the weekend. I can also easily see someone who prefers it more than I do absolutely crushing these all summer long.
This is the Kentucky Derby in a bottle. This year’s commemorative bottling to honor the 151st Run for the Roses was designed by artist Humberto Lahera and showcases Woodford Reserve’s iconic bourbon at its finest.
Bottom Line:
It turns out that you really have to hand it to the classics. I was pretty skeptical that this tried-and-true Mint Julep base would really rise to the top, but you can’t argue with the results of a blind taste test.
A Woodford Reserve Mint Julep is pretty much as good as it gets.
Blackwood Distilling’s newly launched 105-proof bourbon is an absolute delight. Like all products under the brand’s belt, this one was finished in custom toasted casks to add complexity, nuance, and depth. At its core, however, this is an 8-year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, finished in coveted charred and toasted barrels from Kelvin Cooperage.
Bottom Line:
Talk about a dark horse! Blackwood Distilling’s Bourbon is the newest expression on this list, and one we’ve been digging since it was first released earlier this year. Given the brand’s close ties to horse racing, it’s great to see this one outpace the pack to claim the top spot.
Without a doubt, this was the best bourbon we’ve found for making Mint Juleps. Now, grab a glass and get to mixing; this dark horse is ready for the winner’s circle.
Max knew it had a good thing going after getting Noah Wyle and a stethoscope back together again. The Pitt‘s audience grew week by week until Dr. Robby ended his 15-hour shift in surprisingly calm spirits, given what Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital’s crew endured together. Many of them will return for another shift set for a Fourth of July weekend, which is sure to bring plenty of firecracker-fueled drama with tensions running high.
The show’s 24-style real-time framing will continue, and here’s some even better news: this series will not get bogged down by a multi-year wait (the absence of dragons sure helps there) between seasons. And in the words of series creator R. Scott Gemmill within a TV Line interview, the trauma unit’s staff will be back onscreen after about 9-10 months have passed for them, too, which brings us to a necessary question.
Does The Pitt Have A Season 2 Release Date Yet?
Sort of. Look for the medical drama to return in January 2026 with a specific date TBA.
HBO and Max content chief Casey Bloys has revealed that bringing back the show “a year later” will be possible, paradoxically, because “[t]his model of more episodes cuts down on the gap between seasons.” He added, “What I love about something like The Pitt is, I can get 15 episodes in a year. That’s a really great addition to what we’re already doing on the platform. And I’d like to do more shows in this model.” Please.
Noah Wyle has further revealed to Variety that the next season revisits Dr. Robby when he is “no longer is able to pretend to himself that he doesn’t need help.” Oh boy, should be a doozy.
It’s almost time to press “Play” on Ed Sheeran‘s new album.
The “Azizam” singer has announced that Play, his first album since 2023’s Autumn Variations, is coming out on September 12.
“Play was an album that was made as a direct response to the darkest period of my life,” he wrote in a statement. “Coming out of all of that I just wanted to create joy and technicolour, and explore cultures in the countries I was touring. I made this record all over the world, finished it in Goa, India, and had some of the most fun, explorative creative days of my life. It’s a real rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish, it encapsulates everything that I love about music, and the fun in it, but also where I am in life as a human, a partner, a father.”
He continued, “Going into this album campaign I said to myself ‘I just want everything I do to be fun and playful’ – so that’s why we are building pubs for folk jams, doing gigs on open top busses and singing in pink cowboy hats on bars. The older I get the more I just want to enjoy things, and savour the moments that are mad and chaotic. You can preorder play now, many many more playful things to come before it’s out.”
You can listen to first single “Old Phone” above, and check out the Play album cover and tracklist below.
Keeping track of all the new albums coming out in a given month is a big job, but we’re up for it: Below is a comprehensive list of the major releases you can look forward to in May. If you’re not trying to potentially miss out on anything, it might be a good idea to keep reading.
Friday, May 2
Andy Bell — Ten Crowns (Crown Recordings Limited)
Black Honey Cult — Black Honey Cult (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Blondshell — If You Asked for a Picture (Partisan Records)
Briston Maroney — JIMMY (Atlantic)
Car Seat Headrest — The Scholars (Matador Records)
Carriers — Every Time I Feel Afraid (Brassland)
Clem Snide — Oh Smokey (Cloverdale Records)
Club Night — Joy Coming Down (Tiny Engines)
Eric Church — Evangeline vs. The Machine (UMG)
Esther Rose — Want (New West Records)
The Flower Kings — LOVE (InsideOutMusic)
Gentle Giant — Playing The Fool: The Complete Live Experience (Chrysalis)
Hardy — Country! EP (Big Loud Records)
James Krivchenia — Performing Belief (Planet Mu)
Josh Groban — Gems (Reprise)
Key Glock — Glockaveli (Republic)
Lael Neale — Altogether Stranger (Sub Pop Records)
Låpsley — I’m a Hurricane and I’m a Woman in Love (Her Own Recordings)
The guiding principle for John Mulaney’s musical guests on his Netflix talk show Everybody’s Live seems to be “why not.”
Why not have Kim Gordon and Kim Deal perform together as The Kims? Why not let Mannequin Pussy play on a church-themed set? Why not let a violinist do his thing in the same episode where comedian Stavros Halkias asked the former acting solicitor general of the United States if he masturbates?
It’s a good show, and in the latest episode, The Velvet Underground legend John Cale was paired up with arena headliner Maggie Rogers to sing “Shark-Shark,” a fun song from his 2024 album Poptical Illusion. Why? Why not?
Cale and Rogers also sat down for an interview with Mulaney. “Hip-hop is the new avant-garde,” Cale said. “You find so many strange and wonderful things are going on in the recording department.”
Elsewhere in the episode (which also featured Molly Shannon, Marc Maron, Ronny Chieng, and anesthesiologist Dr. Emily Methangkool to discuss if major surgery can be fun), Mulaney finally answered the question that’s been on everyone’s mind: What if Seinfeld was Phish? It would look something like this.
You can watch John Cale and Maggie Rogers on Everybody’s Livehere.
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