Category: Worldwide

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 sophomore album from Fontaines DC, a new single from Angel Olsen, and the return of pop-punk kings Motion City Soundtrack. Check out the rest of the best new indie music below.

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Fontaines DC — A Hero’s Death

Just over a year after the release of their blistering debut Dogrel, Irish poet-punks Fontaines DC have returned with the brooding, reflective A Hero’s Death. “It’s an album that is not scared to look within and into the deepest and darkest aspects of individual humans and humanity,” guitarist Carlos O’Connell told me in a lengthy interview. “And you find the light at the very end. Not from the outside world, but that light is within and just needs to be found hiding down deep.”

Le Ren — Morning & Melancholia

On her debut EP, Lauren Spear has collected a handful of meditations on love and death and the variety of emotions — often conflicting — that come with both scenarios. Morning & Melancholia is only four tracks, but they showcase Spear’s pertinent knack for evocative instrumentation and introspective songwriting.

Cutler Station — Meat, No Sides

Ohio four-piece Cutler Station are back with a new album, a collection of power pop tunes that bristle with energy and nostalgia for a simpler time. Interestingly, the inventive instrumentation also features a pedal steel guitar that gives each track a unique zest of twang. Cutler Station has been around for some time now, and they are ready to experiment with their sound, making Meat, No Sides a welcome addition to the playlist.

Angel Olsen — “Whole New Mess”

Angel Olsen’s All Mirrors was one of our favorite albums of 2019. Without the ability for a victory lap due to the pandemic, Olsen is already slated to release the new album Whole New Mess, and has shared the title track. Where All Mirrors employed some of Olsen’s grandest productions to date, Whole New Mess sees her hearkening back to the simplicity of her earlier records, and the title track is a somber acoustic number that revels in the ashes of a breakup.

Nicholas Braun — “Antibodies (Do You Have Them?)”

What more needs to be said about Succession star Nicholas Braun’s debut single “Antibodies (Do You Have Them?)”? The epic quarantine anthem is a modern pop-punk number inspired by Blink-182 and Papa Roach. While the single itself presents as a joke, Braun has stated that he will be donating all of the proceeds to the organizations Partners In Health And Cope. Partners In Health is a global organization that helps people in communities that don’t receive adequate healthcare and Cope is a non-profit assisting the Navajo nation in the midst of the pandemic.

Lomelda — “It’s Infinite”

The second single from Lomelda’s forthcoming album Hannah is a bit more reserved than the album’s first offering. “It’s Infinite” is a beautiful, lo-fi affair that finds Hannah Read’s warbling vocals floating above a simple guitar line accented by rolling pianos and percussion with increasing intensity. Right when the song hits its peak, the extra instrumentation cuts out, leaving just the acoustic guitar.

Motion City Soundtrack — “Crooked Ways”

Motion City Soundtrack announced in 2016 that they would be breaking up. That didn’t last very long as the band was back on the road by 2019. Now, they have released their first new music since 2015’s Panic Stations. “Crooked Ways” is a reminder of what made the Minnesota rock band so exciting and long-lasting. The track opens with relatively standard emo fare before diving into a chorus hook that will be sure to have fans screaming along if live music ever returns.

Mike Huguenor — “Evening Light Seen Through A Window”

You might be familiar with Mike Huguenor through his work with Jeff Rosenstock, and now he’s ready to release music on his own. “Evening Light Seen Through A Window” previews Huguenor’s experimental new album X’ed, which is constructed entirely out of sounds from guitars. You read that right — every note of music on this album was played, in some way, by a guitar. Who said that guitar music was dead?

Knot — “The World”

Earlier this summer, members of the beloved band Krill reunited to form a new project called Knot and shared their debut single. Knot’s self-titled debut is just around the corner, set for release later this month, and now they have shared its second single in the form of “The World.” The track is a unique emo-inspired rocker that features intricate guitar noodling and snappy production to keep your attention locked.

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

Sarah Paulson and Ryan Murphy just can’t quit each other, and the American Horror Story vibe is still alive with the actress’ latest turn for the showrunner in an upcoming Netflix TV series. Ratched is a prequel of sorts to One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Next, and in this trailer, Paulson (as the title character) is informing the world what will happen if they dare to swipe her peach from the break room.

Don’t do that! And don’t tell Ratched to put her name on the peach, either. She’ll dream up all manner of revenge, and of course, Paulson must have had a ball while putting her spin on the iconic villain originally portrayed by Louise Fletcher. This origin story of the fearsome asylum nurse looks to have plenty of fanciful Murphy touches while also promising to give you nightmares. From the synopsis:

In 1947, Mildred arrives in Northern California to seek employment at a leading psychiatric hospital where new and unsettling experiments have begun on the human mind. On a clandestine mission, Mildred presents herself as the perfect image of what a dedicated nurse should be, but the wheels are always turning and as she begins to infiltrate the mental health care system and those within it, Mildred’s stylish exterior belies a growing darkness that has long been smoldering within, revealing that true monsters are made, not born.

Ratched streams on September 18.

The Los Angeles Clippers are 1-1 to start the seeding round in the NBA Bubble, having narrowly lost the the Lakers in the opener and then bouncing back to trounce the Pelicans in their second game. On Tuesday, they will take on the incredibly hot Phoenix Suns, as they look to maintain their advantage over the Nuggets (also 1-1) for the 2-seed in the West.

Some good news arrived on Tuesday morning for a Clippers team that has had three key contributors miss time in the bubble due to family emergencies, as Lou Williams will make his seeding round debut after finally clearing his 10-day quarantine after his excursion to Magic City for wings while in Atlanta for an excused absence, as his agent informed Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Williams’ visit to the Atlanta establishment has been the topic of plenty of conversation, but after 10 days in his Orlando hotel room, he’s back in the lineup and has cleared all of the necessary tests with negative results to be able to play in Tuesday’s game. In their opener against the Lakers, it was almost jarring to see the struggles of the Clippers bench, which is among the best offensive bench units in the league, without Williams and Montrezl Harrell, who remains away after the death of his grandmother.

Getting Williams back will give L.A. another on-ball creator and shot-maker, something that will be a welcome sight for Paul George and Kawhi Leonard who have carried the load in that area through two games. One would expect Williams’ minutes to be relatively limited given its his first game back, but it’ll be good for the Clippers to get him back on the court and into rhythm with the team once again.

Bobby Shmurda, the Brooklyn rapper still best know for his 2014 hit “Hot N****,” may be returning home soon, according to a report from Complex positing that his parole hearing has been scheduled for just about two weeks from now on August 17. The news comes on Bobby’s 26th birthday — today — and while better gifts could probably be devised, it’s certainly cause for excitement for both the rapper born Ackquille Pollard and his fans, who’ve been eagerly awaiting his release since 2016.

Complex reports that a Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) official said, “Mr. Pollard is currently scheduled to appear before the Board of Parole the week of August 17, 2020. The Board of Parole has two weeks from the date of the interview with the incarcerated individual to render a decision.” If the outcome is positive for the rapper, his earliest parole eligibility date is December 11, 2020, meaning he might be home for Christmas.

Of course, there’s always a possibility that the parole board renders a different decision, in which case the latest he could be released is December 2021. Bobby pled guilty in 2016 to weapons possession and conspiracy charges after he and his GS9 cohorts were scooped up by authorities in a gang investigation. His own songs, “Hot N****” and “Bobby B*tch,” were used against him as evidence by the prosecution. Bobby’s most recent musical release was ironically a feature on Tekashi 69’s 2018 single “Stoopid.”

Most viral petitions are bad, but most viral petitions aren’t for Eric Andre to become the next host of the The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Over the past few weeks, Ellen DeGeneres has faced accusations of fostering a “culture of fear” with employees saying “they faced racism, fear, and intimidation.” So it’s no wonder that #ReplaceEllen trended on Twitter for much of Monday, with users suggesting who should take over for Ellen if she leaves/gets fired from her daytime series. One popular suggestion is someone with talk show experience: Eric Andre.

The “Make Eric Andre the host of the Ellen Show” petition has only been up for a day, but it’s already been signed thousands of times by Legalize Everything fans and received a coveted show of support from Andre himself. “With the recent scandals plaguing Ellen Degeneres, we the people of the world hereby nominate and elect Eric Andre to become the new permanent host of The Ellen Show,” it reads. “Fans have been lining up outside of NBC Studios, Adult Swim, The White House, and for some reason my house too… all chanting: ‘Get Eric Andre to replace Ellen, keep show format the same. Also don’t change the name!!’ These fans keep me up at night, please… for the love of god sign the petition and make Eric Ellen.” Sign it for the Photoshop alone.

Eric Andre gave birth to jazz. Now you can give birth to Andre as the host of Ellen.

(Via Change.org)

In the last month, Kanye West has been continuously making headlines. The rapper re-joined social media, publicly dissed his wife, announced an album named after his mother which has already been delayed, and lastly, launched a presidential campaign. In the past, the rapper has been a vocal Trump supporter but said he was distancing himself from the Republican Party to instead run as in Independent. Despite his Independent affiliation, West is reportedly working closely with several members of the GOP.

A recent report from The Intelligencer shows West has campaign ties with Republican Party members as he attempts to get his name on the ballot in several states ahead of November’s election. Per the report, one of West’s electors in the state of Vermont as well as his campaign’s Arkansas point of contact are known members of the Republican Party.

Chuck Wilton, who will serve as one of West’s electors in Vermont, was also elected in May by the Vermont Republican Party to serve as a Trump delegate at this year’s Republican National Convention. When questioned by The Intelligencer, Wilton said he had been connected to West through “political contacts” and denotes that West similarly falls “center right” on the political spectrum. As for the second Republican contact in his campaign, West has invited Gregg Keller to be his point-of-contact in Arkansas. Keller has previously worked on the campaign for other Republican Party members like Mitt Romney and successfully assisted West in getting his name on the Arkansas ballot.

If West did succeed in getting his name on the ballot in more states, the rapper would still have a number of hurdles to jump before further participating in the race. West still needs to hold 270 electoral votes in order to participate in the presidential debates as well as have a 15 percent support in the polls. So far, West is falling short of 15 percent, as his July polling numbers saw just 2 percent support.

One of the oddest new performers taking advantage of the “anything goes” climate produced by social media and streaming is Atlanta rapper 645AR. Emerging from seemingly out of nowhere with viral hits “Bible And A K” and “Crack,” 645AR’s most distinguishing quality is his double take-inducing delivery — an ear-piercing squeak that takes Young Thugs vocal-rending approach to an out-of-the-box extreme. Today, he’s delivering the most attention-getting feature of his burgeoning career in FKA Twigs on the new single, “Sum Bout U.”

Somehow, it’s a collaboration that is shocking yet unsurprising, making sense even as it twists the boundaries of the genre with unconventional appeal. FKA Twigs is already pretty well-known for riding on the cutting edge of pop and soul with tracks like “We Are The Womxn” and her appearance on Ty Dolla Sign’s “Ego Death” with Kanye West. Here, she adopts a reflection of 645AR’s straining falsetto delivery, making for an aurally intriguing approach to the usual trap antics of 645AR’s Atlanta compatriots.

As Twigs is a little under a year removed from her outstanding album Magdalene and 645AR is garnering more and more attention with his unusual vocal tic, the pairing offers a chance for both to raise their respective profiles — especially at a time where new music releases have slowed down considerably in response to an ongoing pandemic

Listen to FKA Twigs and 645AR’s “Sum Bout U” above.

Many of us are itching to press the reset button on what’s proven to be a generally horrendous year. It turns out, living amidst widespread civil unrest, a global pandemic, and a political environment that seems to get more insane with each passing day is the perfect recipe for absolute exhaustion. So perhaps there’s never been a better time to live in a place so chill it’s actually called the Isle of Rum.

The island, off of Scotland’s west coast, is currently looking for both individuals and families to join its small population of between 30 and 40 to call the island home for the next two years. Maybe even longer. And they’re making it very cheap to do so.

According to Matador Network, the island’s community trust is currently seeking new residents to occupy four two-bedroom eco-homes that were recently built outside the island’s only settlement, the village of Kinloch. The eco-homes sport “clear and sweeping views” of the Rum Cuillin ridge and come equipped with high-quality fiber broadband. For a cool $590 a month (the price of a closet in LA), prospective residents can join a small community and help shape future events on the island.

The island is actively looking for currently self-employed applicants in the fields of catering, farming, mountain and marine tourism, fishing, and child care, as well as anybody with construction experience, including household maintenance — though anyone is welcome to apply regardless of skills, especially those willing to commit to staying on the island for up to two years.To download the application and see some pictures of the homes, head to the Isle of Rum’s website.

The deadline to submit your application is August 28th. Though… if you hear “rum” and think “tropics,” you may want to spend five minutes learning about the island’s climate before filing your application.

Richard Sherman has long been an outspoken advocate of individuals educating themselves further and, in particular, becoming more aware of how to manage their money.

The All-Pro corner, now entering 10th season in the NFL and third in San Francisco, was among the leaders in the NFLPA as the union currently negotiated with the league on health and safety protocols for returning to football amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s also launching an online video series titled “Adulting with Richard Sherman” on Million Stories, with new episodes dropping each Tuesday offering free, quick videos that he hopes can advance the public’s financial literacy and give them a baseline of understanding of some basic, key elements of being financially healthy.

Last week, Sherman spoke with Uproxx Sports by phone about his new series, how it came about, the status of the league and union’s talks on health and safety, and why he thinks the U.S. education system is “broken” and in desperate need of reform in terms of addressing real life skills people need to understand.

You were among the many players to point out the issues with the NFL’s lack of a testing and health and safety plan. Do you feel like the league is getting closer to addressing the player concerns on this and what do you need to see to feel comfortable going into camp?

Well yeah, they’re addressing it much better than they were addressing it before. Obviously this is unique territory and unprecedented circumstances, but at the end of the day the safety of our players is a paramount concern for us as a union and we need to make sure they are doing everything and making sure that if anything happens that they’re prepared for every scenario that can occur with regards to players getting sick and the virus spreading in the locker room or within the front office or whatever the case may be. I think they’ve tried their best to address those concerns that we’ve had, but it’s still an on-going process.

Like you said, this has been an incredibly unique situation. What has this offseason been like for you and how have you been trying to keep up with your training?

You know, it’s been pretty simple for me. I’ve always treated my offseason the same. Get on the bike, do my workouts — I usually workout alone anyways, so it didn’t change much for me — but I’ve gotten a lot more time with my kids, you know, they haven’t had to go to school. So we’ve hung out and taken them places, but outside of that it’s been pretty normal. I wasn’t planning on going to OTAs this year anyways, so it’s just made it simpler for me, I guess.

You’ve got the “Adulting” series that just started launching on Million Stories. Where did the idea for this come from and why was it important for you to get involved with this?

Well, it’s something I’ve always been passionate about, you know, helping simplify and have the uncomfortable talks. Obviously, in my community growing up there’s very low financial literacy of any kind, you know, not even as simple as budgeting or how to pay bills. I have friends who still to this day don’t know how to pay bills or what their credit score means or how its figured out or how to use a credit card. It’s just simple things, and I felt like with this series we could open more eyes and educate more people to make them more comfortable in this space.

You mention there’s a lot of people who don’t have financial literacy. Is that something you think should get greater emphasis in the U.S. educational system? Because it’s not something you learn in high school and it’s not something you’re taught, and if you come from a place that doesn’t have the resources or the background it’s just something that’s difficult to learn on your own.

Yeah, it’s a deep rabbit hole going down talking about the education system, because I think it’s beyond broken, and there are way more negative things I have to say than positive. But yeah, I think teaching real skills in school — real life skills in school — would be time better spent than us teaching kids calculus and trigonometry, or partial U.S. history. Information that unless you’re going to school to study math or economics or whatever you’re not going to use the skillset, and if they plan to go to school for that they can take those classes.

But I think there’s more general education things that need to be taught in our schools to help people manage their money better. To understand when you’re getting a paycheck where do the taxes go, how do you file taxes at the end of the year. And if you buy a home, this is a down payment and this is a first-time home buyers program that technically everybody would qualify for, and etc., etc. Because those are things that would help improve people’s quality of life, you know. I don’t think necessarily learning U.S. history in the way that they teach it, where it only teaches you part of the history that they want to show you, it really helps people in their every day lives.

Absolutely. I know this is something you’ve been passionate about, because like you say in the budgeting episode, when you come into the league you hear the stories about 78 percent of the league goes broke. What has to happen, specifically within football, to help these guys understand these things, like you said, paying your taxes at the end of the year, knowing what comes out? What do you tell guys and what are steps the league can take to take to help that or do you think they have begun doing that more?

I think the league has taken steps in that space, but I think it’s up to each individual to take accountability and responsibility for their own finances and to educate themselves. I think sometimes the league has conversations about that and has programs, but guys kinda go glass-eyed through them. They sit there and sit on their phones and don’t really absorb the information being presented, so then it’s pointless. So, I think at the end of the day it’s up to each individual to learn the information and want to be better in this space, and I think that we’re doing what we can as veteran players to tell them the stories, tell them the good, the bad, the places we made mistakes. Places that we felt were beneficial and to save their money.

Obviously saving your money seems like a novel concept, but for a lot of these guys, their families are their worst enemies. They give a lot of the money to their family thinking, ‘Hey, if I give this to them now, I won’t have to give it to them later,’ not understanding that their families aren’t financially literate. So it just perpetuates the cycle. Then they spend the money they’ve never had in a way that isn’t productive or beneficial in any way, and now you’re stuck either frustrated and giving them more money or not giving them anymore money and then it’s been a waste. It’s just been a bad learning lesson, and those are stories you hear every day.

You have episodes up now on budgeting and choosing health insurance. What are some more topics you’ll be diving into as new episodes come out every Tuesday?

Well, we’ll try to address some of those issues — the simple things. Paying bills, taxes, credit cards, you know, buying homes, real estate. I’m trying not to go too in depth in terms of complexities of certain investments, because then you dilute the message, and then once again people go glass-eyed and don’t absorb the information. So we’ll try to keep it fun and keep it simple and keep it entertaining for people, so they want to come back and want to see the next episode.

This week in pop music saw the return of some major artists that have earned Uproxx’s best new pop stamp of approval. Billie Eilish shared a reflective tune, Sam Smith linked with singer Burna Boy for a smooth single, and Jorja Smith shared a poignant protest anthem.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop releases. Listen up.

Billie Eilish — “My Future”

Billie Eilish’s debut LP When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go? catapulted the young singer into stardom. Ever since the singer has been taking her recent songs in a moodier direction, as seen on her best new pop single “My Future.” According to Eilish, she wrote and recorded the track in just two days: “For me, I’m sure you know, I take f*cking forever to get a vocal take that I like, and I do like a billion takes. And this one… I just, I don’t know, there was something about this one take that I did, and I was like, ‘This is the only way that it can be.’”

Sam Smith — “My Oasis” Feat. Burna Boy

It’s been three years since Sam Smith released their sophomore album The Thrill Of It All but earlier this year, the singer ushered in a new era with the Demi Lovato collaboration “I’m Ready.” Smith has now returned once again, this time tapping singer Burna Boy for the slow-burning track “My Oasis.”

Jorja Smith — “By Any Means”

Jorja Smith is back after adding her own spin on the jazz classic “Rose Rouge” last month, and this time it’s for another compilation record. In a statement about “By Any Means,” Smith says the song is a protest anthem: “The inspiration behind ‘By Any Means’ really came from going to the Black Lives Matter protest and leaving thinking, what can I do to keep this conversation going? It’s not just a post on social media, it’s life.”

Dominic Fike — “Cancel Me”

Dominic Fike shared his highly-anticipated debut record What Could Possibly Go Wrong this week and with it came the earworm “Cancel Me.” A tongue-in-cheek critique of cancel culture, Fike sings that he hopes the internet will try to cancel him so that he can dedicate more time to his family.

Mxmtoon — “Bon Iver”

After her EP Dawn debuted back in April, Mxmtoon is now ushering the effort’s counterpart, Dusk. “When we think of nightfall, we often associate it to the ‘end’ of something,” Mxmtoon wrote alongside “Bon Iver,” which announced the upcoming EP. “The ‘Bon Iver’ music video is meant to counter that notion, and to spark thought over the possibilities that are ahead instead. A day does not just end when the sun goes down, you continue to find wonder and joy despite the dark, and a whole other world awaits you as the moon glides overhead.”

Amy Allen — “Difficult”

After taking up the opportunity to write songs for some of today’s biggest stars like Harry Styles and Halsey, Amy Allen is ready to write music for herself. That’s where “Difficult” comes in. “As a woman, I’m often referred to as ‘Difficult,’” she said in a statement. “Difficult for advocating for myself. Difficult for wearing my ambition on my sleeve. Difficult for prioritizing my dreams. Every woman I know has had this term weaponized against her. I wrote Difficult after I realized this word, which I used to take as an insult, is actually something I own. I’m proud to be Difficult and want to reclaim the word.”

Ava Max — “Who’s Laughing Now”

Though she’s been sharing her music for years, Ava Max is now gearing up for her debut album. Announcing the LP Heaven & Hell, the singer debuted the track “Who’s Laughing Now” as a revved-up preview. “I’ve been holding onto this secret for so long and am so excited I can finally talk about my debut album Heaven & Hell,” Max said. “I put my heart and soul into making it and cannot wait to share my music with everyone.”

Alexander 23 — “Caught In The Middle”

Alexander 23 has cultivated a name for himself in the bedroom pop genre, touring with the likes of Mxmtoon, Alec Benjamin, and Omar Apollo, and even having a song go viral on TikTok. Now, the singer continues his catalog with the nostalgia-inducing number “Caught In The Middle,” which showcases his far-reaching vocals over a resounding guitar.

Somegirlnamedanna — “Seriously Just Stop”

With “Seriously Just Stop,” Somegirlnamedanna announces her debut EP Twenty One, Twenty Two. About her music on the upcoming EP, the singer said she hopes to dismantle the pristine image of someone’s life that social media can create. “I think it’s easy to forget that people are not living the perfect lives portrayed on social media, and these songs were inspired by the real challenges and downswings that many of us face behind the screen. I want people to remember they are not alone in these times and I hope we continue to display our vulnerabilities and traits that make us human in popular culture.”

Prep — “On And On”

This British indie-pop four-piece announced a self-titled debut album with the hypnotic number “On And On.” Aimed at curing summertime sadness, the track is a taste of Prep’s feel-good tunes and offers a preview of their synth-heavy catalog.

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