Category: News

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 the anticipated new album from Car Seat Headrest, a riotous track from Pup, and a dance-ready number from Jessy Lanza. Check out the rest of the best new indie music below.

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Hovvdy – True Love

Hovvdy’s fourth studio album simultaneously sounds like their past work and a fresh look to the band’s future. Recorded with esteemed indie producer Andrew Sarlo, True Love is a more polished affair than we’ve heard from the Austin duo, but with the same beautiful melodies and exciting song structures that we’ve come to know and love. “True Love is the perfect album to throw on a fall drive with the windows down, hearing the leaves crunch under your car tires,” I wrote in a recent interview with the band. “It’s the soundtrack for a walk around the neighborhood when you find yourself in awe of our planet’s natural ability to create beauty, for now at least. You get the idea.”

Strand Of Oaks – In Heaven

After a string of increasingly impressive singles, the new album from Tim Showalter’s Strand Of Oaks is finally here. Showalter said that he set out to create a record that was “a momentary space for reflection, joy, catharsis, and whatever else someone might be looking for in their life,” and the resulting effort is what “might very well be his best work since 2014’s classic Heal,” according to Steven Hyden in a recent Indie Mixtape newsletter

Illuminati Hotties – Let Me Do One More

Where a lot of modern indie rock’s relatability is centered around topics of anxiety, depression, romantic failure, existential doom, Sarah Tudzin’s Illuminati Hotties manage to elevate her songwriting by tackling the same topics with “plenty of absurdist humor and bubblegum pop hooks,” writes Steven Hyden for Uproxx.

Couplet – LP1

Tanner Jones’ first new music since the dissolution of his band You Blew It! was born out of years spent leading a life outside of music. The ability to take a step back from the constant grind and financial uncertainty of a career in music allowed Jones to approach LP1, a new project under the name Couplet, with a refreshing sense of ease. The resulting effort is more experimental and genuinely relaxed than anything Jones has written to date, put to tape with the help of Into It. Over It’s Evan Weiss and Sincere Engineer’s Adam Beck.

Phoebe Bridgers – “That Funny Feeling” (Bo Burnham cover)

After fans pointed out that Bo Burnham’s sardonic track “That Funny Feeling” felt like a Phoebe Bridgers tune, Bridgers took the hint and regularly covered the song throughout her summer headlining tour. Now, she’s released an official studio version of the cover, recorded in LA with Tony Berg, Ethan Gruska, Christian Lee Hutson, Harrison Whitford, Rob Moose, Sebastian Steinberg, Marshall Vore, Nate Walcott, and Maria Taylor. All proceeds from the cover on Bandcamp will go toward Texas Abortion Funds.

Courtney Barnett – “Write A List Of Things To Look Forward To”

With her new album Things Take Time, Take Time due in just a few days, Courtney Barnett has shared its final single. “Write A List Of Things To Look Forward To” is a classic Barnett track in its thoughtful, stream of consciousness delivery as she tries to pull herself out of a dark place by listing things that should keep her going.

Bedouine – “It Wasn’t Me”

Unfortunately, this is not a Shaggy cover. Fortunately, Bedouine (aka Azniv Korkejian) has a knack for crafting such beautiful songs that you’ll be quick to forget about Shaggy. Korkejian originally wrote “It Wasn’t Me” nearly 15 years ago, during her earliest stages of demoing music in her bedroom, and the song serves as a time capsule for the person and artist that she was at that time.

Wet – “Far Cry”

With their new album, Letter Blue, just a few weeks away, NYC electro-pop trio Wet have shared “Far Cry,” a new song produced by Toro Y Moi’s Chaz Bear. The new track is another promising taste of what’s to come from the album, described by Rachel Brodsky for Uproxx as “a grooving R&B-inspired song, with a mid-tempo beat, flowing guitar melody, and electronic accents.”

Ian Sweet – “F*ckthat”

Ian Sweet can’t seem to stop making new music. Just a few months after releasing the stellar LP Show Me How You Disappear, Jillian Medford has returned with “F*ckthat,” a defiant new track that Rachel Brodsky describes for Uproxx as “an ultra-catchy pop banger, complete with shimmery synths, echoing drum machines, and Medford’s breathy vocals.”

Mom Jeans – “What’s Up”

California punk outfit Mom Jeans have been making waves in the pop-punk/emo scene since their 2016 album Best Buds. Now, the band is prepping a new quasi-conceptual record called Sweet Tooth. The album is prefaced by “What’s Up,” a shimmering and self-deprecating pop-punk track that is very easy to fall in love with.

Scruffpuppie – “Paint”

Earlier this summer, Scruffpuppie was announced as the latest signee to Phoebe Bridgers’ label imprint, Saddest Factory. Now, JJ Shurbet has shared their second single for the label, “Paint,” which is a piano-based ballad that showcases Shurbet’s vocal and songwriting talents as they describe their relationship with drugs and how they controlled other relationships in their life.

Angel Du$t – “Truck Songs”

With the new album Yak: A Collection Of Truck Songs due out later this month, hardcore-turned-folk-punk outfit Angel Du$t have shared the album’s quasi-title track, “Truck Songs.” The new track oscillates between the band’s two personas, with twangy and bright guitars driving the track alongside glimpses of a more thrashing sound. About halfway through the track, the latter sound takes over the track for a distorted guitar solo. It’s a really cool look at the full spectrum of what this band is capable of.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

While Keanu Reeves is no stranger to bringing iconic comic book characters to life, this year marks the first time the actor created one himself and, with all the success he’s seeing, it’s safe to say the multi-talented man is a natural. Back in March, Reeves, writer Matt Kindt, and illustrator Ron Garney released BRZRKR, a gruesome comic book series about a man doomed to a life a violence. Two week after the first issue hit shelves and sold a whopping impressive 615,000 copies, Netflix announced they were partnering with Reeves and Boom! Studios to create not one, but two adaptations of the instant-hit series.

According to reports, Netflix is currently working on both a live-action film and anime series based on BRZRKR. While neither Netflix nor Reeves have said much about the projects since they were announced (well, other than Reeves naturally expressing interest an playing main character “B”), a recent interview with Reeves published over at Collider shed some more light on what the studio is doing with the property, as well as revealed The Batman co-writer Mattson Tomlin (Project Power, Little Fish) has been attached to the film.

“We’re working with Netflix who have been very cool,” Reeves explained. “They’re going to let us do an R-rated story which is cool. My ambition or hope is not to do a filmed version of the comic book so that they’ll have things in common, definitely the main character and his kind of rule set, but that we can take it to other places as well. We’re talking to a couple of different animation companies and trying to figure that out. And, again, for me I’m hoping to be inspired and influenced…there are some rules to the story, but I also want other creators to do their version of it. So I’m hoping to do a different version of a metaverse where in the sense having different storytellers with one set of rules but go other places with it. We’re working on trying to set up a company with the animation and we’ve hired a writer for the film Mattson Tomlin. He’s been cool and just starting to put things together. That’s where we’re at.”

For those wondering what BRZRKR is about, the mature comic book saga follows an immortal warrior, simply referred to as “B,” who ultimately is doomed to live a life of bloodshed. Across his 80,000 years on Earth, the demi-god finds himself more and more drawn to committing violent acts at the cost of his sanity, until an opportunity to do the U.S. government’s dirty work in exchange for the truth about his condition arises. After years of senseless killing, the offer to fight for a purpose is just what “B” needs — as well as the information on how to end his grim and gory existence. The first issue of the 12-issue series was released earlier this year on March 3. The first volume, which collects issues #1-4, is available as of today.

Sora from Kingdom Hearts has finally joined the Super Smash Bros. series. He is the final member of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster, and what a finale he is. Not only is he representing the incredibly popular Kingdom Hearts series, but he feels like a perfect addition to the Nintendo crossover fighting game. That sentiment was generally agreed upon by gamers, as the response to Sora joining the series has been overwhelmingly positive.

While there were, inevitably, some folks who wished the final spot went to someone else, Nintendo wrapped up its list of DLC characters with a huge hit, one that had a streamer saying this is proof of a higher power.

Putting Sora in Smash Bros. also marks the end of one of the most impressive crossover games we’ve ever seen. The roster for Ultimate will end at 86 characters spanning decades of games, with a number of series represented.

Speaking of crossovers, that’s another point in Sora’s favor. Kingdom Hearts is a crossover series between Disney and Final Fantasy, meaning Disney can now say it has a character in Super Smash Bros., while Final Fantasy has had representation in the series ever since Cloud joined.

Of course, the popularity of Kingdom Hearts rivals even Smash Bros. at times, so combining the two led to some pretty spectacular reactions from fans of both series.

It wouldn’t have been a new character for Super Smash Bros. without memes, and we had plenty.

At the end of the day, Sora’s a great addition to the roster and it was really exciting to see him join it the way he did. Everyone seems happy Nintendo making this a simple and clean addition to the Smash Bros. universe. Now, we begin the countdown for news on the next game in the series.

After debuting last month, Squid Game has rocketed to the top of Netflix charts all over the globe. The dystopian drama is putting up record numbers for the streaming company, and it’s on track to be Netflix’s biggest show ever (as well as fully dominate Halloween this year). Turns out making people compete in children’s games to the death is the key to a guaranteed genre hit. However, Squid Game almost never saw the light of day, and a new report reveals that the show’s creator spent over a decade trying to convince network execs to take a chance on the dark drama.

While living with his mother and grandmother, Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk developed the idea over a decade ago, and the show’s treatise on class warfare took on a personal meaning as Hwang was forced to sell his laptop while writing the now international juggernaut. Unfortunately, Hwang couldn’t get anyone on board with the series because it was deemed too unrealistic, but that all changed when Netflix stepped in and basically agreed that, yup, actually the world is messed up enough that Squid Game makes total sense. Via The Wall Street Journal:

Back then, potential investors and actors bristled at the brutal killings and implausibility of individuals competing to the death for money. But two years ago, Netflix thought the class struggles outlined in “Squid Game” spoke to reality.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the global economy, it exacerbated the disparity between the rich and the poor, said the 50-year-old Mr. Hwang. Even vaccine rollouts vary greatly based on whether a country is wealthy or not, he said.

“The world has changed,” Mr. Hwang said. “All of these points made the story very realistic for people compared to a decade ago.”

And there you have it. The world got dark and depressing enough that a game show where contestants risk getting shot in the face for a million dollars doesn’t sound crazy at all. It’s the feel-good story of the year.

(Via Wall Street Journal)

The Weeknd recently wrapped up his After Hours era, and since then, he’s been looking forward. There’s been talk of a new album, and now the Weeknd says it’s “complete.”

The Weeknd — who has been referring to his upcoming album as the “dawn,” although it’s unclear if that is the actual title of the project — said on the October 4 episode of his Apple Music show Memento Mori:

“Some exciting features coming out in the fall before the album drops. We’ll slowly be unraveling that info in the next couple months. Some dawn updates: Album is complete. Only thing missing is a couple characters that are key to the narrative. Some people that are near and dear to me, some people that inspired my life as a child, and some that inspire me now. More to come in the following months.”

The Weeknd’s upcoming music was described in greater detail in an August profile in GQ. It reads, “The music hit the studio like a Mack truck. The new project is packed with party records. Like real-deal, illuminated-white-tiles-on-the-floor party records. Quincy Jones meets Giorgio Moroder meets the best-night-of-your-f*cking-life party records. Not anachronistic disco stuff. (Not ‘cosplay,’ as Abel put it.) That sort of retro thing is having a moment right now in pop music, but these records are new. Sweaty. Hard. Drenched-suit, grinding-on-the-girl/boy-of-your-dreams party records.”

As a child actor and recent hit maker who was briefly the subject of a media-fueled scandal over a teen love triangle, Olivia Rodrigo knows all too well what it’s like to exist in the public eye as a teenager. That’s why she’s expressed her support of the #FreeBritney movement, an online social media campaign to release the pop singer from her 13-year-long conservatorship.

Rodrigo applauded all the developments in Spears’ legal battles in a recent interview with Teen Vogue, which took place just before Spears’ father was removed as her co-conservator. “I’m so excited to see her making leeway in her case,” Rodrigo said. “I think it’s a step in the right direction. I’m so happy that Britney’s case is getting so much attention, and I just hope that she gets all the justice she deserves and lives the best life she possibly can.”

The singer continued to note the pressures place on young women in the spotlight. “It’s one example of this culture that so often tears down women in the spotlight for sport,” she said. “As a society we definitely have to reexamine the way we treat women in the entertainment industry, and not just for ourselves — it’s unhealthy for young girls to be looking at all that stuff in the media. It paints a bad picture.”

It’s not the first time Rodrigo has showed her support of Spears. In the recent video alongside her track “Brutal,” Rodrigo poses the question: “Who am I if not exploited?” She asks this while sporting the same Roberto Cavalli dress that Spears wore to the 2003 American Music Awards, an ice blue Tinkerbell-inspired look adorned with sequins.

Read Rodrigo’s full interview with Teen Vogue here.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen is continuing to reveal disturbing information about the social media company she used to work for.

After leaking documents to the Wall Street Journal, alleging that Facebook is actively choosing profits over the best interest of its users, and giving an interview to CBS’ 60 Minutes that detailed how the company is hiding its shortcomings from investors, Haugen appeared before the Senate subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security to expand on her view of how Facebook (and Instagram) is harming young children.

After WSJ reported on the negative side effects that Instagram and Facebook have on young people’s mental health, the Senate decided to launch an investigation into the company’s practices when it comes to protecting its youngest users. Haugen was brought on as a product manager on Facebook’s civic misinformation team after she witnessed someone close to her become radicalized while spending a lot of time on Facebook. But during her time there, as Haugen told the subcommittee, she saw Facebook’s products “harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy.”

“The company’s leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer,” she continued. “But won’t make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people.”

Haugen also addressed the company’s blackout on Monday in her opening statement:

“I don’t know why it went down,” she said. “I know that for more than five hours Facebook wasn’t used to deepen divides, destabilize democracies and make young girls and women feel bad about their bodies.”

She testified before the subcommittee that Facebook needs more regulation if we hope to see its culture change.

“As long as Facebook is operating in the dark, it is accountable to no one,” she said. “We have financial bankruptcy because we value people’s lives more than we value money. Facebook is stuck in a feedback loop they can not get out of. Hiding this information because they feel trapped. They need to admit they did something wrong and they need to help solve these problems. That’s what moral bankruptcy is.”

(Via NBC News & ABC News)

Longtime ESPN host Sage Steele has made headlines in recent days after an appearance on “The Uncut with Jay Cutler” podcast in which she made several comments that generated controversy, including saying that Disney’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its employees “is sick and it’s scary to me in many ways.” Beyond that, Steele questioned the Blackness of former president Barack Obama, saying in reference to his identifying as Black on his Census forms, “I’m like, ‘Well, congratulations to the president, that’s his thing.’ I think that’s fascinating considering his Black dad was nowhere to be found, but his white mom and grandma raised him, but hey, you do you. I’m going to do me.”

Steele said she is sorry that her comments “created controversy for the company,” while ESPN said that it was in the midst of direct conversations with the SportsCenter anchor. In the aftermath, Front Office Sports reports, Steele won’t be on the air for at least the next week and will miss out on the espnW: Women + Sports Summit, where she was previously scheduled to appear as a host.

While it is unclear if this is directly in response to what she had to say — which Front Office Sports reports got a ton of heat within the walls of the Worldwide Leader, which did not specific if this was “due to internal discipline or possible suspension” — Steele’s absence will, in part, be due to the fact that she tested positive for COVID-19.

Steele has tested positive for COVID-19, according to sources. But her not appearing on air goes beyond her diagnosis.
…
Her critical comments about Disney did not over well in Bristol or Burbank. Both ESPN and Steele thought it was appropriate for her to take some time off, said sources.

Steele explained to Cutler that did receive the vaccine in accordance with ESPN’s mandate.

Cristobal Tapia de Veer composed the music for HBO’s Hawaii-set breakout hit The White Lotus, but the anxiety-causing voices were originally meant for Kanye West.

“I went to his place where he works” in California, Tapia de Veer revealed on the Broken Record podcast, “and then I was trying to understand what he wanted.” But because West is “always talking about a million things at the same time,” he didn’t know what he was there for. It had something to do with Nike and a prototype for a new shoe and “how this Nike shoe relates to music,” so Tapia de Veer started to work on something “really striking” on his laptop. He continued:

“I had those voices and I tried to find a way to play melodies that is really striking, and this happened by accident and I was like, at that point I knew that this was like gold. And I was like, ‘OK, this I’m going to show to Kanye.’ I was there for like a week and I had to leave, and there was problems, and Kanye started firing people and his lawyers and everything was too long… It was a mess”

This was, Tapia de Veer notes, a month before all the Trump stuff.

Anyway, West never called Tapia de Veer back, so when The White Lotus came up, he knew “those tribal voices” would be perfect for the show. “So I went back to my system and started finding the right melody,” he said. Tapia de Veer found it: creator Mike White said that he wanted “music that makes you feel like there’s gonna be some kind of human sacrifice at some point… Cristobal nailed that — and then some.”

You can listen to the Broken Record episode above.

Ed Sheeran has one of the most distinctive and beloved voices of the past decade. So, it’s not that surprising, then, that he has signed on to play a role in the current season of The Voice, the show’s 21st. It was announced today that Sheeran will serve as a “Mega Mentor” to help contestants prepare for the upcoming Knockouts Rounds.

Sheeran joins an esteemed list of artists who have made guest appearances in advisory roles on the voice, a list that includes Taylor Swift, Mariah Carey, Chris Martin, Snoop Dogg, Rihanna, and many others. Sheeran himself was also previously involved with the show, during its fifth season in 2013.

While Sheeran is cool with The Voice, he’s not as keen on other music TV broadcasts. He recently spoke disparagingly about American award shows, saying, “The room is filled with resentment and hatred towards everyone else and it’s quite an uncomfortable atmosphere. In England, our awards shows are just like, everyone gets drunk and no one really cares who wins or loses. It’s just sort of like a night out. All of the artists are sweet people, but they’re surrounded by entourages that want them to win too, so it’s one artist surrounded by ten people and another artist surrounded by ten people, and everyone is kind of giving each other the side eye. […] It’s just lots of people wanting other people to fail and I don’t like that. It’s a really horrible atmosphere to be in. I always walk away feeling really sad, and I don’t like it.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.