Keep Shelly in Athens, now fronted by new singer (and novelist) Jessica Bell, are set to release Philokalia on September 29th. Their third album overall and follow-up to 2015’s Now I’m Ready, the effort is today being previewed with a fresh track called “Seattle”.

Channeling the Washington city’s bustle as well as the gloom of its overcast skies, the Greek synthpop outfit ponder the passing of time with both melancholy and nostalgia. The longing for yesteryear is also present in the music itself, with the track playing out like something of a kindred spirit to Cyndi Lauper’s 1983 hit “Time After Time”.

Hear it down below.

For more, check out Philokalia’s lead single, “Leave in Silence”.

“Seattle” Artwork:

Philokalia Tracklist:
01. Leave in Silence
02. Marionette
03. Game Over (Daniel’s Scene)
04. Seattle
05. Philokalia
06. We Want More
07. Dark Light
08. Believe

Photo by David Brendan Hall

Okovi, the forthcoming album from Zola Jesus, looks to be one of her darkest pieces yet, drawn from a place of “loss and reconciliation.” While putting together the LP, she “endured people very close to me trying to die, and others trying desperately not to. Meanwhile, I was fighting through a haze so thick I wasn’t sure I’d find my way to the other side.”

Death lurked around every corner of Okovi’s lead single, last month’s “Exhumed”. On the follow-up track, “Soak”, the Grim Reaper is now the star of the show. According to Zola, the industrial and unnervingly dark song is written from the perspective of a serial killer’s victim that’s about to be drowned.

“I was thinking about this crucial moment inside the victim’s mind, when she knows she’s going to die,” Zola explained in a press statement. “She thinks back at her life and the futility of the decisions she made, when, in the end her life would be cut short against her will.”

“What’s the point of trying to navigate life if you don’t even get to choose how it ends?” continued Zola. “Instead of letting her fate be determined by someone else, she takes back control and turns it around, so instead, in her mind, she is choosing to die. She lets the killer assist her in suicide, as she gets tossed into the water and slowly drowns. Through writing this song the story evolved within me, and I saw how it mirrored my own feelings inside.”

Stream it down below.

Okovi, the follow-up to 2014’s Taiga, arrives September 8th via Sacred Bones.

Okovi Tracklist:
01. Doma
02. Exhumed
03. Soak
04. Ash to Bone
05. Witness
06. Siphon
07. Veka
08. Wiseblood
09. NMO
10. Remains
11. Half Life

Lorde appeared on Monday’s edition of Late Night with Seth Meyers in continued support of her excellent sophomore album, Melodrama. With the help of a choir outfitted in LP-branded tracksuits, the New Zealand pop singer performed a stripped-down but still dynamic version of single “Perfect Places”. Replay it all up above.

(Read: Top 25 Songs of 2017 (So Far))

Elsewhere during the episode, Lorde recounted the first time she and Meyers met (backstage at a fancy Kanye West fashion show, where Drake was also in attendance) and discussed how her synesthesia works. Also, she talked about her love of the New York City subway (bless her heart), where she often worked on the new album and which helped “reintroduce me back to society.” Find clips of her interview below.

Previously, Lorde performed “Perfect Places” and admitted to Onion Ring-gate on Fallon. She’s slated to tour North America behind Melodrama in 2018. Arcade Fire covered her hit “Green Light” during a session for BBC Radio 1 last week.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, a.k.a OMD, are set to return September 1st with their 13th full-length album, The Punishment of Luxury (via 100% Records). The follow-up to 2013’s English Electric has thus far been previewed with two singles, “Isotype” and “La Mitrailleuse”, and now a third listen has come via the album’s title track.

“The Punishment of Luxury” is an addicting jolt of bright ’80s synthpop, replete with Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys’ pristine harmonies. As sugary sweet as it all is, however, there’s something ominous in its allure, rumbling down there in the lower end of the mix. It’s a reflection of the song’s themes about the false sense of happiness our consumption culture has given us. “Lazy girl/ Dirty boy/ Surrounded by your broken toys/ And you don’t know how to make the pain just go away,” goes one verse.

“Most people in the western world are materially better off than their predecessors ever were and yet we are unhappier,” McCluskey explains to Consequence of Sound. “Now we have many possessions that we don’t need because we’ve been persuaded to buy. This is the punishment of luxury.”

The song comes to us via its neon-lined video. Instead of taking inspiration from the actual artwork for which the track was named — as OMD did with the “La Mitrailleuse” clip — the “Punishment of Luxury” video takes its visual cues from the repetitive, glowing nature of modern pleasures. There are twirling strippers, raining dollars, and an infinite number of Like buttons. There’s even a rotoscoped snippet of 45, because what would commentary on our current consumerist culture be without a reference to the President of the United States?

Check out the video above. You can also catch OMD when they kick off their 2017 tour later this month.

OMD 2017 Tour Dates:
07/28 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
07/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Microsoft Theater
07/30 – Tijuana, MX @ El Foro
08/02 – Mexico City, MX @ Pepsi Centre
08/05 – Punta Cana, DO @ Hard Rock Cafe
10/23 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
10/24 – Belfast, IE @ Mandella Hall
10/29 – Liverpool, UK @ Empire
10/30 – Bristol, UK @ Colston Hall
11/01 – Southend, UK @ Cliffs Pavilion
11/02 – Ipswich, UK @ Regent
11/03 – Cambridge, UK @ Corn Exchange
11/05 – Leicester, UK @ De Montfort Hall
11/06 – Nottingham, UK @ Royal Concert Hall
11/07 – Sheffield, UK @ City Hall
11/09 – Reading, UK @ Hexagon
11/10 – Southampton, UK @ Guildhall
11/11 – Guildford, UK @ G Live
11/13 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
11/15 – Bexhill, UK @ De La Warr Pavilion
11/17 – Manchester, UK @ Academy
11/18 – York, UK @ Barbican
11/19 – Glasgow, UK @ Royal Concert Hall
11/21 – Birmingham, UK @ Symphony Hall
11/22 – Gateshead, UK @ Sage 1
11/25 – Erfurt, DE @ Traum Hits Festival
11/26 – Hamburg, DE @ Grosse Freoheit
11/28 – Berlin, DE @ Huxleys
11/29 – Liepzig, DE @ Taus Auenesse
11/30 – Munich, DE @ Tonhalle
12/02 – Offenbach, DE @ Stadhalle
12/03 – Dusseldorf, DE @ Mitsubishi Electric Hall
12/05 – Tilburg, NL @ TBD
12/06 – Antwerp, BE @ De Roma
12/08 – Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks

Earlier this month, Cut Copy returned with their first single in four years, the soaring and psychedelic “Airborne”. Now, the Melbourne-based outfit led by singer Dan Whitford has uploaded the track’s official music video.

Directed by Gerson Aguerrie (The Vaccines) of the Spanish production company CANADA, the clip follows a hungry Whitford as he looks for the perfect late-night snack. However, unbeknownst to him, the city around him is undergoing a a cosmic phenomenon that’s causing some freaky and magical side effects. Watch it up above.

“The video for our song ‘Airborne’ is probably the most interesting and most challenging that I’ve ever been involved in,” Whitford shared in a press statement. “It was shot in Barcelona, all through the night for three days running and culminated with a final scene with me having not slept for 24 hours and playing a piano on the back of a moving truck. To say it was a once in a lifetime experience is no understatement! Despite the sleep deprivation, Gerson and his team at CANADA did a fantastic job bringing this surreal story to life.”

“Airborne” is presumed to be the first taste of a new Cut Copy album, the follow-up to 2013’s Free Your Mind. Along with the visual, the Grammy-nominated synthpop group has announced two more US headlining dates for October.

Cut Copy 2017 Tour Dates:
07/19 – Sydney, AU @ The Metro
07/20 – Melbourne, AU @ The Croxton
07/21 – Byron Bay, AU @ Splendour in the Grass
09/30 – Darlington, MD @ Luna Lights Festival
10/01 – San Diego, CA @ CRSSED Festival
10/03 – El Paso, TX @ Tricky Falls
10/05 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Jones Assembly
10/07 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Music Festival

Photo by Carson Davis Brown

Today marks the 5th anniversary of Purity Ring’s dreamy debut album, Shrines. In celebration, the synthpop duo has returned with a new song, “Asido”.

The ethereal track premiered on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 show and is the Canadian group’s first original material in two years. Singer/lyricist Megan James’ vocals blend expertly with Corin Roddick’s twinkling, layered synths and throbbing bass, showing they haven’t missed a beat. According to a press release, the song is a “standalone gift” to fans while the band works on their upcoming album.

“It has astoundingly been a long and short 5 years since we released our debut album, Shrines,” Purity Ring further elaborated via Instagram. “As we work at our own pace on the third Purity Ring album, we wanted to celebrate with all of you this monument in time. And so, we share with you ‘Asido’, a parable that holds nothing before and nothing after. Thank you for both your kindness and your patience. Have a graceful outrageous day.”

Hear “Asido” below.

In April, Purity Ring announced they were taking a break from touring to work on new music. Recently, they tweeted out a photo taken in the studio, but haven’t shared any further information about their next album beyond the statement above.

Purity Ring’s most recent album was 2015’s Another Eternity. Since then, they’ve remixed songs by HEALTH, Katy Perry, and Mew. They also co-wrote and produced three songs on Perry’s latest album, Witness.

Photo by Jean Claude B

Over the weekend, Passion Pit frontman Michael Angelakos posted a series of tweets that suggested he and the band were calling it quits. “Until it is safer and healthier for us to be advocates, to be a writers, producers, and performers, I simply cannot continue making music,” he wrote. Now, in a new statement provided to Consequence of Sound, Angelakos has clarified that he will continue to make music, but would be taking a break from what he calls “being a commercialized artist.”

“I cannot continue to operate in this space, this industry, due to the way that it functions and treats people that work for it or create within it,” he explains. “It does nothing to promote the health required in order to produce the work it sells. The risks associated with being a commercialized artist and embarking on a typical album release, like endless promotion and touring, have nearly killed me.”

“People often throw these words around casually as well, but when I say that these requirements have nearly killed me, have killed many people, and continue to kill people; I am stating facts. I am speaking from a very real and personal place. I live this, and I watch other artists struggle with the friction between their health and their art.”

Earlier this year, along with promoting the latest Passion Pit album, Tremendous Sea of Love, Angelakos raised $250 million in startup money and launched The Wishart Group, an advocacy company whose mission is to support musicians by providing them with legal, educational and healthcare services. As he steps away from being a “commercialized artist,” he intends to devote more time to developing the company. “It requires my full attention,” says Angelakos.

“Artists (just one example of a working class) have never been truly taken care of,” he adds. “Music is a luxury. We are so lucky to have it. And if it is not a luxury, as people are telling me otherwise, saying it is absolutely essential to our culture, then I’d like to see systems in place that reflect this sentiment, not just financially. Protecting health is the first step in maintaining a culture’s artistic output.”

In the past, Angelakos has been open and honest about his struggles with bipolar disorder and depression. He was honored for his efforts in mental health awareness in 2013.

Read Angelakos’ full statement below:

Contrary to the headlines, I am not really on hiatus. That might be a bit of a casual word to use in this scenario. I make music every day, it’s part of my life. I just played a show and I am about to officially release an album. The proceeds from the album are going entirely to psychiatric scientific research at The Stanley Center/Broad Institute. I was an artist before I was signed and working within this industry, and (as confusing as it may be to many people, myself included) I am continuing to be an artist with or without the industry.

What I am actually doing — what I have said I am going to do — is all the work required in the development of the Wishart Group. It requires my full attention, which means taking time away from being a commercialized artist. It requires me to explain this because the idea that we can do several things at once and really create change, especially in the realm of mental health, is clearly not working. It’s just not enough, though I wish it were.

I cannot continue to operate in this space, this industry, due to the way that it functions and treats people that work for it or create within it. It does nothing to promote the health required in order to produce the work it sells. The risks associated with being a commercialized artist and embarking on a typical album release, like endless promotion and touring, have nearly killed me. People often throw these words around casually as well, but when I say that these requirements have nearly killed me, have killed many people, and continue to kill people; I am stating facts. I am speaking from a very real and personal place. I live this, and I watch other artists struggle with the friction between their health and their art.

I only have a certain amount of attention, so it should be used carefully. I started the Wishart Group and will be focusing full time on its developments. I will be advising other industries, and doing any work that is required at this current juncture until I have achieved certain goals and helped build a new system. We need better systems, systems that can actually contain and tend to workers, like artists who
want to and have been contractually signed into deals to make music for people. I want to create more levels of security because I know that everything we are discussing today is truly about security — often, it is how much we are lacking it. Artists (just one example of a working class) have never been truly taken care of. It subtly or aggressively defies logic like so many other things, until suddenly someone presents something logical, perhaps in the form of a suggestion or solution. To connect artists and create a real community for them, to empower them, is to set an example for them and the myriad of other systems we care about. This is a priority; one of many priorities. We should prioritize work that can set an example.

Music is a luxury. We are so lucky to have it. And if it is not a luxury, as people are telling me otherwise, saying it is absolutely essential to our culture, then I’d like to see systems in place that reflect this sentiment, not just financially. Protecting health is the first step in maintaining a culture’s artistic output. The music won’t go away and will only improve when there is health and we must stop believing that we must suffer for art — life is hard enough and we all know it. Tremendous Sea of Love is being released this week, along with the official foundation of several first steps in achieving the goals of The Wishart Group – goals that should speak to many people, not just artists. Gossamer (Reduced), a stripped-down remixing of Gossamer, will also be released in the near future, as well as the reissuing of my first EP and two full-length records on vinyl.

Passion Pit isn’t on hiatus, it’s just evolving, like anyone and everything else. On its fifth birthday, the message behind Gossamer would remain lost if I were not to act on all that I’ve been speaking about since releasing that record. I think it’s important to show people that if we think something can be fixed, then it’s worth at least the attempt to fix it. Rather than talking about it endlessly, which will just reify the feeling we feel day-in and day-out – that it won’t change or that it’s only going to get worse. I certainly understand the feeling, I’ve felt it frequently these past few months, but, no, we’re not doing enough. There’s more that I can do, so I’m going to do it.

Photo by David Brendan Hall

As our own Philip Cosores said of Phoenix while reviewing their show at the Hollywood Bowl last month, this “current incarnation might be the band’s best self.” The French outfit’s latest album, Ti Amo, may not be built on radio-ready hits, but it’s given the band plenty of ammo for incredible live shows. Fans in North America will get another chance to catch the band in concert this fall, as they’ve just announced a new run of tour dates.

(Read: The 25 Most Anticipated Tours of Summer 2017)

After running around Asian and European festivals to close out summer, Phoenix will return to the US with a show on October 10th in Columbus, Ohio. They’ll then hit up Detroit and Montreal before a three-date East Coast jaunt and a pair of Mexican festivals. In November, they’ll embark on a South American tour. Check out their complete itinerary below.

Phoenix 2017 Tour Dates:
08/11-12 – Bali, ID @ Sunny Side Up Festival
08/11-13 – Jakarta, ID @ We The Fest
08/15 – Manila, PH @ Araneta Coliseum
08/19 – Tokyo, JP @ Summer Sonic Festival
08/20 – Osaka, JP @ Summer Sonic Festival
09/02 – Dublin, IE @ Electric Picnic
09/29 – Paris, FR @ AccorHotels Area
09/30 – London, UK @ Alexandra Palace
10/10 – Columbus, OH @ Express Live!
10/11 – Detroit, MI @ Fillmore Detroit
10/13 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
10/15 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
10/16 – Washington, DC @ Anthem
10/18 – Providence, RI @ Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
10/20 – Guadalajara, MX @ Coordenada Festival
10/21 – Monterrey, MX @ Live Out Festival
11/09 – Lima, PE @ Explanada Parque De La Exposición
11/11 – Santiago, CL @ Fauna Primavera
11/15 – Sao Paulo, BR @ Popload Festival
11/17 – Bogota, CO @ Soma
11/19 – Mexico City, MX @ Corona Capital

Below, watch Phoenix’s video for “J-Boy”:

From the very first notes of their debut album — those gleaming wind-chime like synths, the chugging guitar, the regal piano — Arcade Fire became one of those remarkably few life-changing, era-defining bands in indie rock history. Their songs soared, creaked, ached, and roared, breathing vibrant, triumphant life and passion.

For nearly a decade and a half, the Montreal-based band have continued to push and challenge themselves, drawing from their own confrontation with personal crisis and giving us access to things we might have been ignoring within our own lives. But always retaining the emotional core, their “us against the world” anthems, and their arena-propelling hooks.

Retaining the title of indie champion is a difficult thing, however, and on the back of less-than-stellar reports of their soon-to-be-released fifth album (and a since-refuted dress code for their live show, not to mention the increasingly noxious marketing campaign), the naysayers have turned out in full force. Though we won’t be ranking the songs of Everything Now particularly high on this list, to write off the album, let alone the band’s catalogue as a whole, would be a serious mistake.

In fact, looking at their entire catalogue reveals the commonalities between the satirical maximalism of Everything Now and their austere debut Funeral and everything in between. There are so many themes, tropes, and sounds that have recurred over the years, tying everything together in one grand package. It’s certainly been a joy unraveling it.

–Lior Phillips
Associate Editor

__________________________________________________________

Later this summer, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are set to return with a new album named The Echo of Pleasure. In anticipation, the New York-based outfit has revealed a music video for second single “When I Dance With You”. It takes a cue from the fun, ’80s-inflected dance pop cut, boasting colorful animations mixed with performance footage. Check out the Ralph Fuller-directed clip up above.

The Echo of Pleasure arrives digitally on September 1st (September 15th on physical formats). The band will support the LP with tour dates in North America and Europe.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart 2017 Tour Dates:
09/09 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Hangar *
09/22 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret ~
09/23 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern ~
09/24 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge ~
09/26 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel ~
09/27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom ~
09/28 – San Diego, CA @ The Loft UC ~
10/11 – Zaragoza, ES @ Fiestas Del Pilar
10/13 – La Coruna, ES @ Playa Club
10/14 – O Grove, ES @ Fiesta Del Marisco
10/15 – Madrid, ES @ Joy Slava
10/16 – Córdoba, ES @ Sala Hanger
10/17 – Granada, ES @ Lemon Rock
10/18 – Granada, ES @ Lemon Rock
10/19 – Valencia, ES @ La Rambleta
10/20 – Barcelona, ES @ Bikini
10/21 – Santander, ES @ Escenario

* = w/ Charles Bradley, Kilo Kish
~ = w/ The Prids and The Courtneys

Photo by Chuck Grant

BØRNS is back after 2015’s popular Dopamine with “Faded Heart”, a new track released through Interscope Records. The song marks the first single to drop off his forthcoming sophomore album due January 2018. While we’re still a few months away, 2017 is shaping up to be even more of a breakthrough for the platinum selling indie pop artist aka Garrett Borns, who hails from coastal Michigan. After selling out his headlining theater tour in 2016 and performing at numerous festivals including Lollapalooza, Coachella, Hangout, Sasquatch, and Bonnaroo, BØRNS has taken his talents to the catwalks of New York and Milan’s fashion week.

The massive run of big-name shows might make it seem easy to latch onto Borns’ massive pop hooks, but he’s so much more than that. “Faded Heart” proves that this artist has a soaring talent for mixing love, poetry, and melody. The song fits comfortably in BØRNS wheelhouse: It’s a vivid poppy tale, an entrancing balance of the glitz and glam of LA (where he wrote his debut album), the restorative mantra of a ‘60s classic coo (“So call me your Romeo”), and the cheeky sass of The Stooges who also always wanted to be your dog (“You got me howling like a dog in the heat”).

The track benefits further from the mix by Tony Maserati — whose previous work with the likes of Lady Gaga, Beyonce, James Brown, and more — capturing just the right sense of glitzy wonder. That said, all the shine still doesn’t make him sound like an insider and rightfully so; if you’re going to write a pop song about your “Heart in the trenches/ Head in the heavens,” fitting somewhere between Perfume Genius and Queen, the music and spirit should back it up just like this.

Take a listen below.

Below, BØRNS shares the three songs that influenced him when he wrote “Faded Heart”.

“A Teenager In Love” by Dion And The Belmonts

“Why must I be a teenager in love?” is kind of like asking, “Why does the ’50s chord progression work every damn time?” The answer being: “That’s just the way it is.” So I gave it a shot.

“Search and Destroy” by The Stooges

It’s important to consume a healthy amount of dirt and electric fuzz daily. This song is a solid dose that inspired the guitar tones of Tommy English on “Faded Heart”.

“Girl in the Thunderbolt Suit” by T. Rex

Well if the title “Girl in the Thunderbolt Suit” doesn’t shoot down your spine like it does mine, then the “doo-doops” will definitely slap you silly. This song inspired me to pass along the love taps.

BØRNS will perform “Faded Heart” on the Late Late Show with James Corden on Monday, August 7th at 12:37 AM ET/11:37 PM CT.

Photo by Autumn Andel

Earlier this year, Michael Angelakos offered up the newest Passion Pit album, Tremendous Sea of Love, for free in exchange for tweets about science. Today brings the album’s proper release on all streaming platforms. Apple Music and Spotify users can hear it in full below.

Tremendous Sea of Love is Passion Pit’s fourth full-length to date and the follow-up to 2015’s Kindred. In an open letter from March, Angelakos noted the material included on Tremendous Sea of Love was “quickly rendered, or written the night before it was uploaded, was mixed to the best of my ability.” Additionally, Angelakos said the songs “were not perfect, but they were honest. Honestly is important because clearly we can, as humans, detect falsehoods and yet today we are discussing ‘alternative truths.’”

To coincide with the album’s release, Angelakos launched The Wishart Group, an artist advocacy group. The frontman recently said that he plans on stepping away from the spotlight as a “commercialized artist” in order to devote more time to the project, which especially addresses mental health issues in the artistic community.

“The risks associated with being a commercialized artist and embarking on a typical album release, like endless promotion and touring, have nearly killed me,” he told Consequence of Sound. “Music is a luxury. We are so lucky to have it. And if it is not a luxury, as people are telling me otherwise, saying it is absolutely essential to our culture, then I’d like to see systems in place that reflect this sentiment, not just financially. Protecting health is the first step in maintaining a culture’s artistic output.”

In his review of the album, Tyler Clark wrote:

“Tremendous Sea of Love finds Michael Angelakos combining his own personal evolution with a return to no-stakes music-making that first earned him acclaim with that Valentine’s gift years ago. The record is neither a grasping reinvention nor a back-to-basics overcorrection, but rather another tremendously personal sonic journal of an artist eager to show the world even more of his real self.”

Tremendous Sea of Love Artwork:

Tremendous Sea of Love Tracklist:
01. Moonbeam
02. Somewhere up There
03. Hey K
04. To the Other Side
05. Tremendous Sea of Love
06. I’m Perfect
07. You Have the Right
08. Inner Dialogue
09. Undertow
10. For Sondra (It Means the World to Me)

Back in February, not long after receiving approval from the Pharrell Williams, rising songwriter Maggie Rogers released her debut EP, Now That the Light is Fading. She promoted the well-received project with a performance of “Alaska” on The Late Late Show the following month. On Tuesday evening, Rogers returned once again to James Corden’s program to offer up another EP track in “On + Off”. Mirroring the nature of the bubbly, spacious single, Rogers bounced about on stage, her colorful top flowing behind her like a cotton candy cape. Watch it up above.

Tycho recently remixed “Alaska”. Rogers has a few US dates in the near future, including festival appearances at Osheaga in Montreal and Lollapalooza in Chicago.

Maggie Rogers 2017 Tour Dates:
08/04 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival
08/06 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
08/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Outside Lands
08/13 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands
08/16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
08/17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel

Zola Jesus is prepping her new album, Okovi, for a September 8th release. In anticipation, she’s unveiled the music video for lead single “Exhumed”, directed by Jacqueline Castel.

Drenched in harsh black and white hues, the jarring clip draws on the album’s themes of loss and death, as Castel explains in a press statement:

“Exhumed was personally conceived of and created whilst processing death – of family members and of relationships – and much like Okovi’s core themes, it is a reflection on loss, heritage, and the often painful personal growth we must harness in the face of life’s constant evolution. Shot intimately in one day, in the exhausting heat within the woods surrounding Nika’s Wisconsin home, we sought to capture personal apocalypse, utilizing experimental shooting techniques to further our emotional goals. Practically and metaphorically, we fought to find the light in the darkest of forests.”

Watch the full thing up above.

In related news, September 8th also marks the coming of Stridulum, a new release collecting Zola Jesus’ pair of 2010 EPs, Stridulum and Valusia.

Lorde returned in a big way this summer with a triumphant performance on the Coachella main stage and the release of her excellent sophomore album, Melodrama. Now, ahead of her performance at Lollapalooza this evening, the Kiwi singer has dropped a music video for the anthemic second single, “Perfect Places”.

(Read: Top 25 Songs of 2017 (So Far))

Directed by Grant Singer, the clip ominously opens with Lorde wielding a machete before switching over to a beautiful beachfront view. From there, Lorde performs the song from various “Perfect Places”, including a beach, scenic mountain cliffs, waterfall, and rainforest. At one point, she even shoots down some coconuts with a rifle. Perhaps the most visually striking scene is when she joyfully dances in a green room while batting around a light bulb which also doubles as a microphone. Watch it above.

Lorde is currently finishing out a string of festival appearances before trekking across Europe and closing out the year in Australia and her native New Zealand. Next March, she’ll embark on a North American arena tour. Find the full itinerary here.

Earlier this week, Maggie Rogers appeared on the Late Late Show to perform her latest single, “On + Off”. Now, just a few days later, the rising singer-songwriter is back with more for her fans: an in-studio cover of The xx’s “Say Something Loving”.

Filmed as part of triple j’s “Like A Version” cover series, the rendition finds the sweet spot where Rogers’ and The xx’s music meet. Like the original, there’s a warmth to Rogers’ take, but with an extra bit of breathing room and a different sense of fluidity. “I love this song for making me feel all the feelings about feeling all the feeling,” she wrote in an accompanying tweet. Watch footage of the cover up above.

Rogers’ debut EP, Now That the Light is Fading, is out now. “Say Something Loving” is taken from The xx’s acclaimed third album, I See You, which is also out on shelves; the LP was recently nominated for the prestigious 2017 Mercury Prize.

Photo by John Michael Fulton

In February, TOKiMONSTA dropped a fresh single with Yuna called “Don’t Call Me”. Turns out the R&B-infused track is off a much larger project, the Los Angeles producer’s newly announced album.

Titled Lune Rouge, it’s due out October 6th through TOKiMONSTA’s own Young Arts Records imprint. Along with the aforementioned song, the Fovere follow-up effort includes collaborations with Joey Purp, Isaiah Rashad, and IO Echo. Said to be “her most personal body of work to date,” it also comes with “We Love”, a glimmering, summer-ready single featuring MNDR, which can be heard below.

Lune Rouge Artwork:

Lune Rouge Tracklist:
01. Lune
02. Rouge
03. Thief (feat. SAINTS)
04. I Wish I Could (feat. Selah Sue)
05. We Love (feat. MNDR)
06. Bibimbap
07. NO WAY (feat. Isaiah Rashad, Joey Purp & Ambré Perkins)
08. Don’t Call Me ft. Yuna
09. Rose’s Thorn
10. Early to Dawn (feat. Selah Sue)
11. Estrange (feat. IO Echo)

In support, TOKiMONSTA will be playing throughout Asia, Europe, and North America for the next few months on her “The Lune Rouge Experience” world tour.

TOKiMONSTA 2017 Tour Dates:
08/04 – Shanghai, CN @ Arkham Shanghai
08/05 – Beijing, CN @ Yugong Yishan
08/06 – Seoul, KR @ TBA
08/09 – Sydney, AU @ TBA
08/11 – Kuala Lumpur, MY @ The Bee
08/12 – Bali, IN @ Torque
08/25 – Reading, UK @ Reading & Leeds Festival
08/26 – Leeds, UK @ Reading & Leeds Festival
09/15 – Portland, OR @ Holocene
09/16 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox
09/19 – Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall
09/20 – San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine
09/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
09/24 – Las Vegas, NY @ Life is Beautiful Festival
09/26 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
09/28 – Albuquerque, NM @ El Rey Theatre
09/29 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Thrival Festival
09/30 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
10/03 – Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room
10/04 – St. Louis, MO @ Old Rock House
10/05 – Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall
10/07 – Detroit, MI @ El Club
10/10 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
10/13 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
10/14 – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall
10/27 – New Orleans, LA @ Voodoo Music + Arts Experience

This past June, Saint Etienne triumphantly returned with Home Counties, their first album in five years. Now, just some months later, they’re already prepped to release a follow-up EP.

Titled Dive, it’s a four-track collection featuring three new songs (“A Distant Sun”, “Doods Brow”, “Obvious”) and the title track, which originally appeared on Home Counties. The English natives are also offering up a remix CD and 12-inch that comes with new “Dive” mixes helmed by the likes of Colorama & Shawn Lee, Greg Wilson & Derek Kaye and Matt Berry.

In a statement about “Dive” and “Obvious”, the band’s own Sarah Cracknell said:

“I started writing ‘Dive’ with Carwyn Ellis in early 2016, we’d worked on my solo album together and were on a bit of a roll. I love the final result, it reminds me of care free summer days growing up in Home Counties Windsor fooling around on the Thames.

My favourite song on the Dive EP is ‘Obvious’ which is about leaving your hometown and boomeranging back later in life. It’s something that didn’t happen to me but so many of my old friends have returned to Windsor or infact never left. I envy the fact that they meet up together in the same pubs we used to hang out in our teens. That would be a welcome treat right now as I’m missing my recently departed friend Mick Bund. This release is dedicated to him.”

To preview the forthcoming project, Saint Etienne have shared Greg Wilson & Derek Kaye’s reworking of “Dive”. Hear it below (via BrooklynVegan).

Along with the EP, September marks the beginning of Saint Etienne’s first US tour since 2012. Their full itinerary can be found here.

Dive EP Artwork:

Dive EP Tracklist (CD):
01. Dive
02. London Like A Distant Sun
03. Doods Brow
04. Obvious

Dive Remixes Tracklist (CD):
01. Dive – Colorama & Shawn Lee Remix
02. Dive – Greg Wilson & Derek Kaye Remix
03. Dive – Matt Berry remix

Dive 12” Tracklist:
01. Dive – Edit
02. Dive – Colorama & Shawn Lee Remix
03. Dive – Greg Wilson & Derek Kaye Remix
04. Dive – Matt Berry remix

Photo by Jimmy Fontaine

Last month, Melbourne’s Cut Copy returned with their first single in four years, the soaring and psychedelic “Airborne”, which they soon followed up with an accompanying music video. Now, the Grammy-nominated synthpop group has announced its upcoming album, Haiku From Zero, out September 22nd through Astralwerks.

“So much of this album is about this mosaic of information, images that we’re surrounded by on a day-to-day basis,” singer Dan Whitword shared in a statement about the album. “Sometimes it feels like overload, but there’s a weird random beauty in it. The idea of squeezing poetry form chaos was where the title of the album came from—the idea of finding something poetic in the overload.”

As another preview for the Free Your Mind follow-up, Cut Copy has shared “Standing in the Middle of the Field”. It shares similar disco vibes with “Airborne” and features more rising synths. A 7-inch of the track with an exclusive B-side will come with each Haiku From Zero vinyl pre-order. Take a listen below.

Haiku From Zero Artwork:

Haiku From Zero Tracklist:
01. Standing in the Middle of the Field
02. Counting Down
03. Black Rainbows
04. Stars Last Me a Lifetime
05. Airborne
06. No Fixed Destination
07. Memories We Share
08. Living Upside Down
09. Tired to the Weather

Cut Copy has also announced a North American headlining tour in support of the album. Check out the full schedule below.

Cut Copy 2017 Tour Dates:
09/30 – Darlington, MD @ Luna Lights Festival
10/01 – San Diego, CA @ CRSSD Festival
10/03 – El Paso, TX @ Tricky Falls
10/05 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Jones Assembly
10/07 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Music Festival
11/09 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Club
11/12 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
11/14 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
11/15 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
11/16 – Lawrence, KS @ Granada
11/17 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
11/18 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
11/21 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
11/22 – Montreal, QC @ Virgin Mobile Corona Theatre
11/24 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
11/26 – Boston, MA @ Royale
11/30 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
12/01 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
12/02 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
12/03 – Charleston, SC @ Music Farm
12/05 – Orlando, FL @ The Plaza Live
12/06 – Miami, FL @ North Beach Bandshell

Decades is a recurring feature that turns back the clock to critical anniversaries of albums, songs, and films. This month, we dial it back to the top 25 songs of 1987.

Fine Brothers Entertainment, better known as YouTube channel FBE, has been making reaction videos for more than a decade now. One of their most popular segments features people of different ages trying to identify and make sense of pop-culture or technology from before their time – or aimed at a different demographic. For instance, they might ask grandparents to listen and respond to a new Beyoncé single, or young children raised on Blu-Rays might be tasked with guessing the function of an old VCR. The results are usually a comical mix of kids (or whomever) say the darndest things and a reminder that time marches on with or without us.

In several episodes, I’ve seen kids or teens (those born this millennium) challenged to listen to songs and name the artist – several of whom appear on this list. Given the generation gap and that failed attempt to ID a VCR, I gave the young people little hope. And, for the most part, I was proven decidedly wrong. If kids couldn’t name the artists, they had at least heard the songs before and knew some lyrics. And certain artists, like Michael Jackson, they all knew. When we speak of timelessness, it’s one thing to be remembered. It’s quite another thing to continually be discovered again and again.

Looking at this list, many of these artists – as well as their albums and songs – likely will be both remembered and discovered long after we become eligible to take part in the FBE grandparent reaction videos. Some of these songs sound “so ‘80s,” but they defined the ‘80s. They couldn’t have been produced at any other time, and yet in any other time, including now, they still make us smile, dance, and bang our heads. It’s why timelessness and music matter. Because music brings us, among so many other things, joy, hope, solace, solidarity, inspiration, and wisdom. Should succor come all the way from the ‘80s or a song that tops the charts later this year, I’ll gladly welcome it. We need all the help we can get.

So, here are 25 songs that have managed to survive 30 years to meet us in the present. They come from kings of pop, lads from Dublin, and Jersey girls. Packed and preserved carefully so that we can remember or discover them as they were and as they are. So, click ahead and make sure you know as many of these songs as possible. After all, you don’t want to be outsmarted by some sweet, little brat on YouTube, do you?

–Matt Melis
Editorial Director

__________________________________________________________

25. Starship – “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”

No Protection

At 46, Grace Slick became the oldest woman to have a No. 1 single with Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”. (A feat that would later be broken by a 52-year-old Cher and her single “Believe”.) You wouldn’t know it, though, as the former Jefferson Airplane crooner is so ensconced in ’80s production that it sounds like it’s coming from Sheena Easton. That shiny nugget of trivia is kind of crucial, though, and almost serves as a meta parallel to the song’s overarching themes of unthinkable triumphs. The song already cuddles the heart like a warm Teddy Ruxpin, but knowing it came from a singer who’s pushing 50 and arguably floating around in the latter half of her career is unquestionably awesome. In hindsight, it makes this single feel less like a rote nostalgic soundtrack hit for an Andrew McCarthy movie and more like an anthem for any woman struggling to survive an ageist and sexist industry. On the other hand, it’s also just a blast to sing along to on those not-so-sunny days. –Michael Roffman

__________________________________________________________

24. The Jesus and Mary Chain – “April Skies”

Darklands

After blowing minds with their seminal 1985 debut, Psychocandy, which took sweet pop melodies and strangled them with barbed wire before drowning them in abandoned swimming pools of feedback, The Jesus and Mary Chain returned two years later with Darklands, a collection of gloomy, glowing pop unrolling across an infinite expanse. And, as we know, that somehow worked, too. Lead single “April Skies” shrugs along moodily atop drum machine beats – drummer Bobby Gillespie having left to front Primal Scream – as William Reid’s working-class chug and Jim Reid’s aloof, boy-girl melodrama (“making love on the edge of a knife”) politely mingle. But then that darkening sky finally cracks, and the listener feels as if they’ve crawled out of an underground cave and into the open and can see a million miles in every direction. It’s a liberating, transcendent song that never raises its pulse and lends an emotional dignity to the troubles of the adolescent heart. –Matt Melis

__________________________________________________________

23. Sonic Youth – “Schizophrenia”

Sister

Rolling and echoing, the lyrics to Sonic Youth’s “Schizophrenia” become your reality, even if just for a few minutes. Thurston Moore’s calm and confident delivery prods you to remember and feel the faint prick of nostalgia over a calm and steady rhythm section, making his memories seem almost matter of fact — as if they’re your own. But these seemingly humble beginnings give way to the track’s true peak — essentially, the song’s turning point — when Kim Gordon lightly sings, “My future is static/ It’s already had it.” The music grows frenzied, mirroring its namesake, epitomizing Sonic Youth’s more mainstream approach to the avant-garde — complex and vast without being unlistenable. Though not radio-ready or powerfully anthemic, per se, the track’s power is in its control. In only four minutes and 38 seconds, “Schizophrenia” contains a lifetime. –Carly Snider

__________________________________________________________

22. Aerosmith – “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)”

Permanent Vacation

The fairytale had come to an end by the late ‘70s for Boston bad boys Aerosmith. With a string of five platinum albums and an arsenal of singles that are still played on classic rock stations today in their back pockets, the band found themselves strung out and falling apart – guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford each exiting for a time. Little could they have known that sobriety, a hip-hop duo, and a titular dude in drag would be the fairy godmothers who would grant them a second life. After finding the limelight again with a hit remake of their own “Walk This Way” alongside Run-D.M.C., a sober Aerosmith hired producer Bruce Fairbairn, scored some songwriting help, and recorded Permanent Vacation, their true comeback album. And it was second single “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” – the band’s funkiest and funniest song in years – that transformed Aerosmith back into stars overnight. Either inspired by a night out with Vince Neil or by the appearance of the Mötley Crüe frontman himself, this song about getting a little more than you bargained for in a pretty face featured a rejuvenated Perry and Steven Tyler, devil horns, and one of the catchiest finish-this-line choruses in rock history. At a time when alt-rock and grunge were beginning to mobolize, Aerosmith proved there was still room for a blues rock band to dominate the world. Thirty years later, we’re still not worthy! –Matt Melis

__________________________________________________________

21. George Michael – “Faith”

Faith

It’s hard to separate “Faith” from its music video (the close-up on his wiggling butt was pre-GIF, but considering the number of times I’ve seen those few seconds loop in the 30 years since would seem to suggest otherwise). There’s so much leather and hairspray and swagger, but yet also so much genuine passion; stepping out from Wham!, George Michael needed to show some edge while upholding the stellar grasp on pop music and hearts that got him where he was to begin with. Michael’s first few singles pushed boundaries, “Faith” did so while also delivering an all-time classic hook. The iconic tambourine keeps things moving (the layered, shuffling percussion is a symposium in simplicity), but it’s Michael’s wide-ranging vocal sensuality that is the effortless star of the show and the reason it remains a karaoke mainstay. –Lior Phillips

__________________________________________________________