David Byrne | photo by Shervin Lainez, courtesy of the artist
PRESS PLAY: New Albums out September 5th
Wake me up when September begins so I can listen to the first new albums of the month…
The first release day of September brings along some big ones from familiar and rising voices.
Accompanied by Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra, David Byrne is in top playful form on his ninth solo album (and follow-up to the multidisciplinary blockbuster American Utopia), Who is the Sky?. Their first outing as a trio, Big Thief recorded Double Infinity at the legendary Power Station studio with the assistance of new touring members and nearly a dozen session musicians. Coinciding with the 35th anniversary of their formation, Saint Etienne close the book on their discography with their 12th album, International; their final release is bolstered by collabs with fellow UK electronic luminaries. Atlanta singer Curtis Harding offered a stripped-down preview of his fourth LP, Departures & Arrivals: Adventures of Captain Curt, at a recent Free at Noon concert; the official recording is an ambitious collection of psychedelic soul and imaginative disco.
Australian dance combo Cut Copy don’t miss a beat Moments, their effervescent seventh album and first in five years. For their first album in 14 years, Ivy built new songs around archival recordings by late bassist Adam Schlesinger; Traces of You is both a bittersweet tribute and an engaging step forward. With glimmering production by The Lemon Twigs, Tchochke deliver energy and melody in abundance on their second album, Playin’ Dumb. Showcasing the lasting influence of songwriter Jason Molina, I Will Swim to You collects new covers of Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. favorites by MJ Lenderman, Hand Habits, Friendship, and more.
Listen for spotlights on new records like these (and more) every week on the XPN Morning Show and Indie Rock Hit Parade.
PRESS PLAY on these new releases
David Byrne – Who is the Sky?
CHECK OUT: “Everybody Laughs”
“She Explains Things to Me”
Big Thief – Double Infinity
CHECK OUT: “Incomprehensible”
“All Night All Day”
Saint Etienne –
International
CHECK OUT: “Glad”
“Take Me to the Pilot”
Curtis Harding – Departures & Arrivals: Adventures of Captain Curt
CHECK OUT: “There She Goes”
“Time”
Cut Copy – Moments
CHECK OUT: “Still See Love”
“Solid”
Ivy – Traces of You
CHECK OUT: “Say You Will”
“Fragile People”
Tchotchke –
Playin’ Dumb
CHECK OUT: “Did You Hear?”
“Poor Girl”
I Will Swim to You:
A Tribute to Jason Molina
CHECK OUT: MJ Lenderman – “Just Be Simple”
Sun June – “Leave the City”
The PRESS PLAY-list
FURTHER LISTENING
Brian Dunne – Clams Casino, Boy Commandos – Comet, Chicago Underground Duo – Hyperglyph, Elmiene – Heat the Streets, El Michels Affair – 24 Hour Sports, Fleshwater – 2000: In Search of the Endless Sky, G Flip – Dream Ride, Flyte – Between You and Me, Georgia Maq – God’s Favourite EP, grandson – Inertia, Grant-Lee Phillips – In the Hour of Dust, Hannah Delynn – Trust Fall, Hot Chip – Joy in Repetition, james K – Friend, Josh Ritter – I Believe in You, My Honeydew, La Dispute – No One Was Driving the Car, Laura Lee & the Jettes – Tough Love Paradigm, Lynyn – Ixona, Matthew Ryals – Exalge, Metronomy – Greatest Hits, Modern Life is War – Life on the Moon, Okkyung Lee, Just Like Any Other Day (어느날): Background Music for Your Mundane Activities, On the Water – Rebirth, Orcutt Shelley Miller – Orcutt Shelley Miller, Pickle Darling – Battlebots, Rob Thomas – All Night Days, Robbie Fulks – Now Then, SAADI – Birds of Paradise, SCHØØL – I think my life has been OK, Shallowater – God’s Gonna Give You a Million Dollars, Shame – Cutthroat, Shrunken Elvis – Shrunken Elvis, Street Eaters – Opaque, Suede – Antidepressants, Timothy Seth Avett as Darling – Feathe, Tom Odell – A Wonderful Life, Whitmer Thomas – Tilt EP, Wide Orbit – Introducing… Wide Orbit, Yoni Mayraz & Fly Anakin – Dogs Bark Babies Cry