Father John Misty Evokes James Taylor on Second 'Pure Comedy' Single "Ballad of the Dying Man"

Having once cut a festival set short to share his pessimistic assessment of the world with his audience, Father John Misty now continues his line of questioning more musically, asking, "And had he successively beaten back the rising tide / Of idiots, dilettantes, and fools?"

"The Ballad of the Dying Man" follows "Pure Comedy" as the second single from forthcoming album Pure Comedy (due out April 7 via Sub Pop) and narrates the death of a critical man and how his commentary and analysis of the world and its politics fade into obscurity. The song's subtle instrumental pairs piano melodies and acoustic guitar rhythm as well as any Carole King-James Taylor collaboration while Josh Tillman's lyricism provokes a reassessment of cultural values and political practice. Listen below.

Taken from the new album Pure Comedy, due 7th April 2017 on Bella Union Pure Comedy is available on limited edition deluxe coloured 2LP with a free bonus 7", Standard 2LP & CD via the Bella Union store...

Future Islands Return to the Present, Announce New LP 'The Far Field,' Drop First Single "Ran," Tour

Future Islands just got a little closer to the present. The Baltimore-based band has announced The Far Field, their fifth full length, which is due out April 7 via 4AD.

The good news comes along with a taste of what's to come, with lead single "Ran" offering every bit of kinetic energy the name implies. Rolling bass, starry synths, and Samuel Herring's gorgeous growling croons combine in that perfect formula the three-piece has rightfully propelled to indie myth status in recent years.

The record features live drums from touring percussionist Michael Lowry for the first time, production from John Congleton (David Byrne, St. Vincent, Wild Beasts), and the surprise addition of vocals from Blondie's Debbie Harry on "Shadows." It's also revealed that Future Islands play-tested the album at a series of secret shows under fake names over the last year, which is sure to make you regret every time you turned down a night out in 2016 because you didn't know enough of the lineup (and also goes to show that even during the rare moments Future Islands aren't on tour they are, in fact, still on tour).

Curiously, in addition to the normal formats, the record is also available as a "mini-LP," which is apparently a "replica of an actual LP [that] does not actually play" (but does come with a download code). Listen to "Ran" and see the cover art, tracklist, and tour dates below.

'Ran' by Future Islands, from new album "The Far Field": http://smarturl.it/The_Far_Field http://www.future-islands.com/ https://www.facebook.com/FutureIslandsMusic/ https://twitter.com/futureislands/ https://instagram.com/futureislands/

The Far Field

1. Aladdin
2. Time On Her Side
3. Ran
4. Beauty Of The Road
5. Cave
6. Through The Roses
7. North Star
8. Ancient Water
9. Candles
10. Day Glow Fire
11. Shadows
12. Black Rose

Mac DeMarco Announces New Album 'This Old Dog,' Tour, and Releases First Two Singles

Mac is back! Adding to the staggering list of beloved artists returning in 2017, DeMarco and his band will be releasing a new LP titled This Old Dog, due out May 5 via Captured Tracks, and embarking on an international tour lasting at least from March through November.

The gap-tooth goon has always been a gracious giver, and DeMarco has blessed us with not one but TWO singles from his forthcoming record including the title track and "My Old Man." They may be short and sweet, but it seems ol' Mac is already feeling the weight of time; The lovely and lazy tunes delve into staying true to a lover forever and the coming-of-age realization that one has begun to increasingly resemble their own father, respectively.

So click play, revel in the digital ripples on the curious videos below, and check out the This Old Dog's cover art and tour dates underneath that.

"This Old Dog" is from Mac DeMarco's forthcoming album, This Old Dog, out May 5th, 2017, on Captured Tracks. All iTunes pre-orders come with Instrumentals of This Old Dog and instant grat downloads of lead singles, "My Old Man," and "This Old Dog."

"My Old Man" is from Mac DeMarco's forthcoming album, This Old Dog, out May 5th, 2017, on Captured Tracks. All iTunes pre-orders come with Instrumentals of This Old Dog and instant grat downloads of lead singles, "My Old Man," and "This Old Dog."

Listen to Tennis' Third 'Yours Conditionally' Single, "Modern Woman"

Don't let the '70s aesthetic and affinity for boats that still use sails fool you, Tennis' Alaina Moore is a modern woman. In their newest song, the third single and penultimate track from the band's forthcoming fourth LP Yours Conditionally, Moore and her partner Patrick Riley combine shimmering guitar with angelic vocals for a delicate sort of power that seems to capture it perfectly.

Lyrically, "Modern Woman" is addressed to a woman called Kate as the speaker reaches out to repair a damaged relationship. When the offer sounds this lovely it's hard to deny.

Yours Conditionally is due out March 10 and is slated to be the first release from Tennis' own newly formed label, Mutually Detrimental. Listen and check their tour dates below.

Father John Misty Announces 'Pure Comedy' LP, Releases Music Video and Short Film

What do Donald Trump, Pepe the Frog, and the cruel, cruel miracle of birth all have in common? A six-plus minute music video from Father John Misty, of course.

Waxing philosophical on the existential absurdity of the human condition as only Joshua Tillman can, "Pure Comedy" combines idiosyncratic observationalism with soulful detachment in a way that is simultaneously earnest and composed.

Tillman takes the obligatory stabs at politics (Where did they find these goons they elected to rule them? / What makes these clowns they idolize so remarkable?) and religion (They worship themselves yet they're totally obsessed / With risen zombies, celestial virgins, magic tricks, these unbelievable outfits), but isn't afraid to start at the very beginning (The comedy of man starts like this / Our brains are way too big for our mothers' hips).

So appropriately his forthcoming record begins with this meandering title track. Pure Comedy is due out April 7 via Sub Pop, and so far it sounds every bit of the quasi-preachy-satirical masterpiece you would expect. Tillman explains,

“Pure Comedy is the story of a species born with a half-formed brain. The species’ only hope for survival, finding itself on a cruel, unpredictable rock surrounded by other species who seem far more adept at this whole thing (and to whom they are delicious), is the reliance on other, slightly older, half-formed brains. This reliance takes on a few different names as their story unfolds, like ‘love,’ ‘culture,’ ‘family,’ etc. Over time, and as their brains prove to be remarkably good at inventing meaning where there is none, the species becomes the purveyor of increasingly bizarre and sophisticated ironies. These ironies are designed to help cope with the species’ loathsome vulnerability and to try and reconcile how disproportionate their imagination is to the monotony of their existence.

Something like that.”

The music video with its aforementioned eclectic cast features cartoons from Matthew Daniel Siskin and is accompanied by a 25 minute companion film directed by Tillman and Grant James. See both, along with the album art (also by Siskin) and tracklist, below.

Vid by Matthew Daniel Siskin, and everyone in America. Father John Misty's album Pure Comedy will be released April 7th, 2017 on Deluxe 2xLP / 2xLP / CD / DL / CS in Europe through Bella Union and the rest of the world from Sub Pop.

Father John Misty's album Pure Comedy will be released April 7th, 2017 on Deluxe 2xLP / 2xLP / CD / DL / CS in Europe through Bella Union and the rest of the world from Sub Pop.

Pure Comedy

1. Pure Comedy
2. Total Entertainment Forever
3. Things It Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution
4. Ballad of the Dying Man
5. Birdie
6. Leaving LA
7. A Bigger Paper Bag
8. When the God of Love Returns There’ll Be Hell to Pay
9. Smoochie
10. Two Wildly Different Perspectives
11. The Memo
12. So I’m Growing Old on Magic Mountain
13. In Twenty Years of So

See more by Father John Misty here.

Arcade Fire and Mavis Staples Benefit ACLU With New Track "I Give You Power"

Arcade Fire have returned after two years of silence with a timely released anti-Trump anthem, "I Give You Power." The soulful call and response of the track features music icon Mavis Staples and continues the dark rattle and groove of the band's last LP Reflektor.

It remains to be seen if the track will appear on the full length record Arcade Fire have recorded and poised for release later in the year, though it appears to be a one off according to Win Butler's statements during the premiere on Zane Lowe's Apple Music’s Beats 1 show:

“The song was made to come out now. That’s one of the beautiful things about the times we’re in — you can just put something out. It’s the eve of the inauguration and I think it’s easy to get sucked into sitting on the couch and checking your news feed and watching things on CNN, and we’re just musicians and the only thing we really have to offer is our music. I talked to Mavis last night and she said now more than ever we just need to hold onto each other. For us it’s a feeling of solidarity — to not feel powerless and focus on what we can do as individuals and try to do our part.”

All proceeds from "I Give You Power" go to benefit the American Civil Liberties Union.  Listen below.

It's never been more important that we stick together and take care of each other. Love, Mavis Staples and Arcade Fire All proceeds go to ACLU https://www.aclu.org/

Gorillaz Return After Six Years With Politically Charged Single "Hallelujah Money" on Inauguration Eve

In an age of campaign finance and special interest lobbying dismantling the fabric of Democracy we can at least find some respite and gentle comfort in the jarring reminder of "We are still human" nestled in the vocoder bridge of Gorillaz' first track in six years.

"Hallelujah Money" features the Mercury Prize winning Benjamin Clementine spinning a gloriously irregular (and not unlike Belave) gospel-turned-spoken-word delivery on Trumpian politics backed by choral chemtrails. From references to the refugee strawman as "Scarecrows from the far east" to comparing wall building to unicorns, it's the poetic truth to power only a cult virtual band could procure.

According to their Twitter and YouTube description, the Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett project drops this "lightning bolt of truth in a black night" "on the eve of the Inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump to serve as commentary on a politically-charged, historical moment. #wearestillhumanz" The accompanying visual directed by the band along with Giorgio Testi depicts La Candelaria brotherhood imagery and more projected on Clementine.

They say bad elections result in good art, and while healthcare could probably bring about that end far better, here we are. We'll take all of this that we can get.

Gorillaz are set to release a new record this year, though "Hallelujah Money" will not be on it.

Gorillaz returns after six years with the apocalyptic "Hallelujah Money" video, the first taste of their new record which is coming later this year. The band has issued this song on the eve of the Inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump to serve as commentary on a politically-charged, historical moment.

Spoon Announces New Album 'Hot Thoughts,' Drops Title Track

The idea of a new Spoon record is a hot thought indeed, and following their top quality 2014 release They Want My Soul, Spoon has returned to "old friends" Matador Records to give us just that.

Due out March 17, the watercolor covered LP Hot Thoughts has a tracklist and title track available now, and, while there are no full tour details yet, they have announced a residency at their hometown SXSW festival in the days leading up to the release as well.

"Hot Thoughts" sees Spoon continue co-production with Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT, Tame Impala) for a jangly yet tight single unafraid to embrace danceability at no expense to rock sensibility. Listen below.

SPOON - HOT THOUGHTS. ALBUM OUT MARCH 17 ON MATADOR RECORDS. All Pre-Orders Instantly Receive Title Track - http://smarturl.it/spoon_Hot_Thoughts Get all the details at http://www.spoontheband.com

Hot Thoughts:

1. Hot Thoughts
2. WhisperI’lllistentohearit
3. Do I Have to Talk You Into It
4. First Caress
5. Pink Up
6. Can I Sit Next to You
7. I Ain’t the One
8. Tear It Down
9. Shotgun
10. Us
    

The Orwells' Fourth 'Terrible Human Beings' Single Is a Tribute to Pixies Frontman Black Francis

Photo by Yam G-Jun

Charles Thompson IV, 51, also known as Frank Black— formerly known as Black Francis— has finally been granted a song in his namesake, joining his fellow cult heroes Alex Chilton and Grant Hart. After ascending to indie-rock royalty as the potato-shaped Pixies frontman, he infamously faxed his bandmates their walking papers and quickly released two mammoth solo albums, 1993’s Frank Black and 1994’s incomparable Teenager of the Year. (As is tradition, these masterpieces have received only a fraction of the worship they deserve, but that’s another story.)

There are few better candidates for a Black Francis tribute song than Elmhurst garage-rockers The Orwells. The two-and-a-half minute dedication, like many of the band’s songs, has a very Pixie-esque flavor. However, it’s very clearly an Orwells song, right down to the celebration of youthful debauchery (“We should hit it / I think they called the cops”) and the catchy, melodic guitar lines.

“Felt long overdue that we paid him some direct respect,” guitarist Matt O’Keefe explains. “We’ve been ripping him off for years, hopefully this chips away at the massive debt we’ve got to him.”

Fans of The Orwells are hungry as hell - It’s been two years since the solid Disgraceland came out, and one can only spin “Let it Burn” and “Who Needs You” so many times. Thankfully "Black Francis" and the other three singles from their forthcoming LP Terrible Human Beings (due out February 17 via Canvasback/Atlantic), promise more lighthearted ass-kicking is on the way.

It’s about time.

Pre-order The Orwells' new album "Terrible Human Beings" to get "Black Francis" and 3 other songs instantly: http://smarturl.it/terriblehumanbeings Stream: http://smarturl.it/THBStream Merch Bundles: http://smarturl.it/theorwells.store Terrible Human Beings Available February 17th ► Subscribe to the channel: http://goo.gl/H6pxGr ► Follow on Tumblr: https://www.theorwells.com ► Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theorwellsband ► Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheOrwells

Listen to WHY?'s Second 'Moh Lhean' Single, "Proactive Evolution"

WHY? has followed their first Moh Lhean single "This Ole King" with a new lyric video for "Proactive Evolution" today, bringing us another step closer to the Yoni Wolf-led act's 6th LP which is due out March 3 via Joyful Noise.

The predominately percussive track is impeccably produced, the ending of which sees rolling electric guitar give way to a headful of Department of Eagles-esque background chatter. See tour dates and the video below.

From the album "Moh Lhean", released on Joyful Noise Recordings 3/3/17.