New album: Named after Billy Wilder’s 1959 hit comedy film, which is also centred around three musicians and lead characters (two male, one female) the London indie-rock trio return, gig-hardened from extensive touring, with a stylish, dynamic release filled with tales of strange romance, lust, identity, self-destruction, emotional vulnerability and modern-life mayhem
Read moreDavid Byrne: Who Is The Sky?
David Byrne: Who Is The Sky?
New album: With his first since 2018’s acclaimed American Utopia and its performance film, the ex-Talking Heads frontman’s new LP is an antidote to dark times - brilliantly joyous, optimistic, catchy, variously eccentric and profound, accompanied by Brooklyn’s Ghost Train Orchestra and guests including St Vincent, Paramore’s Hayley Williams and The Smile drummer Tom Skinner
Read moreWater From Your Eyes: It's A Beautiful Place
Water From Your Eyes: It's A Beautiful Place
New album: Indie Brooklyn-based duo Nate Amos and Rachel Brown unleash a highly original fusion of experimental art-rock, pop, and shoegaze, mixing musical dynamism with the vocally deadpan abstract through thematic portal of otherworldly science fiction
Read moreCar Seat Headrest: The Scholars
Car Seat Headrest: The Scholars
New album: This first album in five years by the band fronted by Virginia singer and songwriter Will Toledo is a flamboyant, grandiose concept piece, a galloping, epic, theatrical, dynamic, multifarious rock opera inspired by the likes of The Who’s Tommy, but set in a fictional Parnassus University campus, each song representing a character and perspective in the story
Read moreJulien Baker and TORRES: Send A Prayer My Way
Julien Baker & TORRES: Send A Prayer My Way
New album: The American singer-songwriter, guitarist and, one-third of Boygenius joins withTorres, aka indie singer-songwriter Mackenzie Scott in a long-planned collaboration in musically straight pedal-steel country narrative love songs, but threaded with queer narratives
Read morePerfume Genius: Glory
Perfume Genius: Glory
New album: The shapeshifting, enigmatic US singer-songwriter Mike Hadreas returns with his distinctive brand of polished, beautiful chamber pop, with themes of the body and its decay, of domesticity and love, identity, and also features a guest appearance by Aldous Harding
Read moreCircuit des Yeux: Halo On The Inside
Circuit des Yeux: Halo On The Inside
New album: Dark, vivid, pagan, hedonistic, carnal goth-dancefloor experimental electronica and more by the Chicago-based multi-disciplinary superbly alternative artist Haley Fohr and her otherworldly, mesmerically rich, four-octave voice
Read moreDARKSIDE: Nothing
DARKSIDE: Nothing
New album: Filled with infectious, mystifying oddball but at times brilliant grooves across a range of styles – krautrock, funk, Latin, indie, psyche, prog rock, warped pop, contemporary classical and jazz among others, this third LP by New York’s Nicolás Jaar and Dave Harrington sees an expansion of their eclectic experimentation now joined by drummer and instrument designer Tlacael Esparza
Read moreHorsegirl: Phonetics On and On
Horsegirl: Phonetics On and On
New album: Minimalistic, pithy, nostalgically twangy, wistful, undersyated indie-folk-pop by the Chicago/New York trio of Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein, and Gigi Reece in this second LP with a refreshing sound produced by Cate Le Bon
Read moreThe Hard Quartet: The Hard Quartet
The Hard Quartet's debut LP
New album: This seasoned pro supergroup of Stephen Malkmus (Pavement and Jicks), Matt Sweeney (Chavez), Emmett Kelly and Jim White create a marvellously muscular debut collection of indie, rock, blues punk, but also beautiful Byrds-like numbers
Read moreMdou Moctar: Funeral For Justice
Mdou Moctar: Funeral For Justice
New album: After 2021’s acclaimed Afrique Victime album, the brilliant Tuareg guitarist and band band from Agadez, Niger, return with explosive, powerful, emotive numbers, impassioned songs about his culture and social wrongs, wrapped in a frenzy of drums, guitars, bass and vocals
Read moreKim Gordon: The Collective
Kim Gordon: The Collective
New album: Dark, crashing, whispering, abstract, deadpan internal monologues, dreamlike off-beat poetry, trip beats, crunchy electronica and industrial grunge-guitar noise, the ex-Sonic Youth frontwoman, bassist and visual artist’s new LP is a challenging, truly innovative release
Read moreFavourite albums of 2023 Part 1: Anna B Savage to Young Fathers
Part 1 selection of 2023 favourite albums
Welcome once again to the annual tradition of Song Bar’s favourite album releases of 2023. This is Part 1, and Part 2 is also out here. There’s no such thing as a chart rundown or ‘best of’ here, and these come in no particular order. This is all about quality and innovation …
Read moreQueens of the Stone Age: In Times New Roman
Queens of the Stone Age’s eighth LP, In Times New Roman
New album: After a six year absence, Josh Homme and co return with an eighth blistering, brutally brilliant, meaty loud rock LP, returning to more to their roots too – dark, powerfully emotional, ironic, sharp, witty and powerful, here with some elements of Scary Monsters-era Bowie, Cream, epic glam rock, and all fuelled by various personal tragedies
Read moreWater From Your Eyes: Everyone's Crushed
Water From Your Eyes: Everyone's Crushed
New album: Uncategorisably ear-catching, experimental indie-pop by the Brooklyn duo Rachel Brown and Nate Amos, in a fifth LP filled with oddball, interweaving sounds, textures and landscapes, electronica to distorted guitar rock, absurdist clever lyrics and melodies
Read moreYo La Tengo: This Stupid World
Yo La Tengo: This Stupid World
New album: Nearly four decades into the New Jersey trio’s prolific career, Ira Kaplan Georgia Hubley and James McNew’s 17th studio LP one of their best, mesmeric, krautrock-inspired, semi-improvisational, shoegaze indie
Read moreBelle and Sebastian: Late Developers
Belle and Sebastian’s 12th album Late Developers
New album: Recorded during the same period as late year’s LP A Bit of Previous culminating in a batch of 30 songs, this 12th LP and follow-up brings further likeable, wistful, bittersweet indie pop by the longstanding Glasgow band
Read morePerfume Genius: Ugly Season
Ugly Season, by Perfume Genius
New album: The alias of American composer and high-voiced performer Mike Hadreas returns with profound, strange, compelling experimental pieces, ranging from ambience to electronica to pop with range of instruments and styles including chimes, Mellotron, celeste, guitarrón, and reggae syncopation
Read moreHorsegirl: Versions of Modern Performance
Horsegirl
Debut album: Warmly engaging debut of shoegaze from the Chicago indie-rock trio of Penelope Lowenstein (guitar, vocals), Nora Cheng (guitar, vocals), and Gigi Reece (drums) in this album produced by John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth)
Read moreBelle and Sebastian: A Bit of Previous
Looking back to look forward: Belle and Sebastian’s 10th album
New album: The tenth studio album by the Glasgow folk-pop band is their first for seven years, and the first recorded in their home city since Fold Your Hands Child in 1999, sounding very much their usual wistful, gently melancholy but catchy selves
Read more