Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 143
March 4, 2025
TUNDE ADEBIMPE NEW SINGLE “GOD KNOWS” OUT NOW
Acclaimed TV On The Radio frontman and multi-hyphenate talent Tunde Adebimpe has released a new song “God Knows,” from his highly anticipated debut solo album, Thee Black Boltz. The album is set to be released on April 18th via Sub Pop Records.
“God Knows” delves into the complexities of a bittersweet breakup, showcasing Adebimpe’s distinctive vocals and introspective lyrics. The song captures the raw vulnerability of heartbreak as Adebimpe sings, “You’re the worst thing I ever loved, And you’re bad news but I still want to give you my love.”
Of the latest single, the TV on the Radio frontman says “Breaking up is hard to down dooby doo down do”.
Tunde Adebimpe has also announced an intimate record release show at Los Angeles’ Zebulon on Thursday, April 17. Tickets are on sale now and are available HERE.
This announcement comes on the heels of the vivid and introspective “Drop” earlier this year and last year’s lead single “Magnetic”. Thee Black Boltz is produced by Tunde Adebimpe & Wilder Zoby, and executive produced by Zoby, with additional production and contributions from Jaleel Bunton & Jahphet Landis (of TV on the Radio), and more. Showcasing visionary soundscapes, the album is a nod to Adebimpe’s propensity to write and sing about the human condition – in all its forms, under all its stressors, both big and small. Pre-order the record HERE.
“…Adebimpe is strutting back into the spotlight with style.” - Consequence
“Adebimpe is plagued with the state of the world, as he muses on the human race, love, tenderness and how to fly above it all. He whistles, claps and yelps—in all the ways that made TV On The Radio songs so compelling and mesmeric—but with a progressive voice that sounds fresh and thrilling in 2024.” - Paste
“‘’Magnetic’… It’s an apt name for the track, which opens with a reflective, melancholic lyric (‘I was thinking about my time in space’) before the propulsive instrumentals drop in and never let up.” - AV Club
“Tunde Adebimpe had quite the 2024, stealing scenes in Twisters and reuniting with TV on the Radio to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes. The front man will get a little more “me” time this year with his first solo album via Sub Pop.” - Vulture’s “Albums We Can’t Wait to Hear in 2025”
Watch Video For “Drop” HERE
Watch Video for “Magnetic” HERE
Thee Black Boltz is not a TV On The Radio album. But in a lot of ways, the excitement of doing something on his own for the first time ignited a similar spark in him as during the early TV On The Radio days. The songwriting process is the same, he says, but with his TVOTR bandmates, Adebimpe knows he doesn’t always have to complete his ideas. “I’ve been doing this thing with this group of people for so long, that I can just have a vague sketch of a concept and I know Jaleel or Kyp will have five brilliant ideas on where it can go,” he says. “But for Thee Black Boltz, I didn’t have that scaffolding to hang on. That was both terrifying and exhilarating.”
At the heart of the album is its title. It is his response to the macro unease of a post-pandemic world careening towards violent authoritarianism and the personal grief that has come from loss in recent years, specifically the sudden passing of his younger sister while making it. Thee Black Boltz is Adebimpe’s desperate grasping of small moments of joy amidst the dissonance and sadness, any way he can. Making this album, he says, was his way of processing everything: “It was my way of building a rock or a platform for myself in the middle of this fucking ocean.”
And thus, Thee Black Boltz. As he writes in his notebook, “The sparks of inspiration/motivation / hope that flash up in the midst of (and sometimes as a result of) deep grief, depression or despair. Sort of like electrons building up in storm clouds clashing until they fire off lightning and illuminate a way out, if only for a second.”
“Also,” he adds. “it’s a good name for a cool metal band, and I think that most people would describe me as akin to a very cool metal band.”
1. Thee Black Boltz
2. Magnetic
3. Ate The Moon
4. Pinstack
5. Drop
6. ILY
7. The Most
8. God Knows
9. Blue
10. Somebody New
11. Streetlight Nuevo
JakoJako Shares New Track "Kumquat" || New Album 'Tết 41' Out 4/25 On Mute
JAKOJAKO SHARES NEW TRACK “KUMQUAT”
NEW ALBUM TẾT 41 OUT 4/25 ON MUTE
Photo credit: Katja Ruge
Today Berlin-based modular synthesist JakoJako (aka Sibel Koçer) has shared a new track from her forthcoming album, Tết 41, out on limited edition vinyl and digitally on April 25, 2025.
The new track, “Kumquat”, full of bright searching melodies working across polyrhythmic beats, expands on themes explored across the album. The album was recorded in Vietnam during the Tết Lunar New Year celebrations where kumquats are ubiquitous as a key symbol of Tết, bringing prosperity and abundance.
Listen to “Kumquat” HERE.
Tết 41 is, in many ways, a distillation of ideas Koçer has been exploring for many years. Tapping into a deep understanding of machine-based music and illuminated by references to her heritage, Tết 41 reflects on notions of rebirth and the pursuit of a sonic core. The album was created with a minimal hardware set up and from this simplicity emerges some of her most expansive, unworldly compositions to date.
Koçer explains, “I wanted to collect the atmospheres of Vietnam, and strip it back to my language - electronic music. I don’t have huge ties to the traditions of my Vietnamese family, so being able to experience them with my mother and then bring the Lunar Celebration - the colorful flowers, food and customs - back to Europe through music has helped me realize how important this side of my heritage is.”
The new track follows “Lì xì”, named after the small red envelopes gifted at Lunar New Year, which was described by Clash magazine as “…a dose of Pointillist electronics that utilises undulating synth work to craft a heady dose of electronic world-building".
A big part of her production process lies in searching for spontaneity, which was heightened during the creation of this album, on just a Eurorack and a Waldorf Iridium Core. While normally she would have a computer to mix and arrange the record, the effects and sequencers of the gear became her tools. She expands: “The more you play with a single machine the more you get to know it. You’ll get muscle memory and play it more like an actual instrument, instead of treating it as a tool.”
Opening and closing with field recordings taken during the Lunar New Year celebrations, she uses the space in between to cast new frameworks, allowing melodic cycles to flow autonomously. Rhythmic fragments weave between analogue processing and harmonic distillations, swirling in organic cycles of warehouse maximalism and sonic minutiae that speak to the somatic and spectral in equal measure.
Engaged in a constant dialogue around the use of hardware in music, JakoJako’s artistic output is informed by the tension and release of techno, but ultimately propelled by ever-expanding forms and structures that play with the contours of the genre. A producer, live artist and DJ who has held a residency at Berghain while touring some of the world’s most respected electronic music institutions, she delves into the mathematical patterns of arpeggios and loops, locating kinetic energies that convert into moments of dancefloor catharsis.
Infinitely curious about the threads that connect different genres, as opposed to the rigidity of genre itself, Tết 41 is driven by a desire to document the potentials of analogue and modular synthesis, and to consider new contexts within which these could exist. It’s also a bold and generous vision of new sonic worlds.
JakoJako’s Tết 41 is out on Mute on limited edition vinyl and digitally on April 25, 2025.
Pre-order it HERE.
JakoJako DJ and live dates can be found HERE.
Tết 41 album art
Track listing:
1. Xin chào
2. Kumquat
3. Lì xì
4. Hoa đào
5. Ghi-Ta
6. Đà Nẵng
7. Dragon Bridge
8. Chim sẻ
9. Gió
10. Cảm ơn
CONNECT WITH JAKOJAKO:
WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | SOUNDCLOUD
CONNECT WITH MUTE:FACEBOOK | BLUESKY |TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | TIK TOK | WEB
Suzanne Vega's "Flying With Angels" due 5/2 on Cooking Vinyl, new single "Speakers' Corner" debuts today
photo credit: Ebru YildizMarch 4, 2025—Widely regarded as one of the foremost songwriters of her generation or any other, Suzanne Vega is set to release her first full-length album of new music in over a decade. Flying With Angels is due May 2 on Cooking Vinyl. The record is produced by Vega’s longtime collaborator and guitarist Gerry Leonard (David Bowie, Rufus Wainwright, Laurie Anderson, Duncan Sheik), see below for a complete track listing. Flying With Angels is available for pre-order HERE .“Each song on the album takes place in an atmosphere of struggle,” notes Vega. “Struggle to survive, to speak, to dominate, to win, to escape, to help someone else, or just live.”The album’s new single “Speakers’ Corner” acknowledges the increasingly political nature of communication today, when the ability to speak one’s mind is easier than ever on social media, and yet that privilege is often misused. Vega elaborates, “That’s something you don’t want in democracy: the shutting down of the Speakers’ Corner where people get a say. This is a moment in time when people are saying a lot, but sometimes they’re not making sense or not telling the truth. People should be accountable for what they say. They can’t just lie. One would think that that would be self-evident.” The new single is accompanied by an animated lyric video directed by artist/animator Michael Arthur; stream/share the single HERE and watch/share the video HERE .In celebration of the forthcoming album Vega will tour throughout North America and Europe, performing an evening of career-spanning songs as well as showcasing material from the new album. Newly announced shows include New York’s Town Hall with special guests Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche as well as the Lincoln Theatre in Washington, D.C., World Café Live in Philadelphia and the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh. Vega and Leonard will be joined on stage by cellist Stephanie Winters. See below for a list of dates; tickets for all upcoming shows are available for purchase at suzannevega.com/tour.Of Vega’s performances The New York Times notes that she “is attentive to the realm of the unseen.” Finding Connecticut lauded a recent concert as “nothing short of mesmerizing, weaving tales through her soulful songs in a cozy setting that allowed for a deep connection with the audience.”Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s. Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has written and recorded numerous songs that have become part of the contemporary music vernacular, including “Luka,” “Marlene on the Wall” and “Tom’s Diner,” an a cappella piece that was remixed by U.K. electronic dance duo DNA and became a major club hit. It remains an oft-sampled and covered standard by artists across the musical spectrum. Her albums, including her self-titled debut, follow-up Solitude Standing and 99.9F have sold millions of copies worldwide.
album artSUZANNE VEGA
FLYING WITH ANGELS1. Speakers’ Corner
2. Flying With Angels
3. Witch
4. Chambermaid
5. Love Thief
6. Lucinda
7. Last Train From Mariupol
8. Alley
9. Rats
10. GalwaySUZANNE VEGA TOUR DATESMarch 6—East Greenwich, RI—Greenwich Odeum
March 7—Turners Falls, MA—The Shea Theater
March 8—Homer, NY—Center for the Arts of Homer
March 10—Buffalo, NY—Asbury Hall
March 11—Toronto, ON—Lula Lounge
March 12—Toronto, ON—Lula Lounge
March 15—Minneapolis, MN—Dakota
March 16—Minneapolis, MN—Dakota
March 19—Chicago, IL—Old Town School of Folk Music
March 20—Bloomington, IL—Castle Theatre
March 21—St. Louis, MO—The Sheldon Concert Hall
March 23—Chicago, IL—Old Town School of Folk Music
March 24—Indianapolis, IN—The Tobias Theater
June 8—Pittsburgh, PA—Three Rivers Arts Festival
June 10—Washington, DC—Lincoln Theatre
June 11—Philadelphia, PA—World Café Live
June 13—Amagansett, NY—The Stephen Talkhouse
June 14—New York, NY—Town Hall*
June 15—Ridgefield, CT—Ridgefield Playhouse
September 30—Amsterdam, NL—Royal Theater Carré
October 2—Rotterdam, NL—Nieuwe Luxor
October 4—Munich, DE—Isarphilharmonie
October 6—Hamburg, DE—CCH Saal Z
October 8—Berlin, DE—Kammermusiksaal Philharmonie
October 10—Brussels, BE—Bozar
October 12—Antwerp, BE—Queen Elisabeth Hall
October 13—Esch-sur-Alzette, LU—Rockhal Club
October 15—Offenbach, DE—Capitol
October 16—Koln, DE—Theater am Tansbrunnen
October 19—Gateshead, UK—Sage Gateshead (The Glasshouse Int’l Centre for Music)
October 20—Manchester, UK—Bridgewater Hall
October 21—Glasgow, UK—Royal Concert Hall
October 23—Edinburgh, UK—Usher Hall
October 25—Liverpool, UK—Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
October 27—Cambridge, UK—Corn Exchange
October 28—Brighton, UK—Dome
October 30—Bristol, UK—Bristol Beacon
October 31—Birmingham, UK—Symphony Hall
November 1—Stoke, UK—Regent Theatre
November 3—London, UK—Royal Albert HallBold dates are newly confirmed.
*with special guests Suzzy Roche & Lucy Wainwright Roche
Lucius debuts new song “Impressions” featuring Madison Cunningham
SELF-PRODUCED ALBUM OUT MAY 2 “THE GOLD RUSH TOUR” CONFIRMED
Photo credit: Tyler Del ContMarch 4, 2025—Acclaimed indie-pop band Lucius’ new song, “Impressions,” featuring special guest Madison Cunningham is out today. Listen/share HERE and watch a video vignette HERE. Of the track, Lucius’ Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe share, “We wrote ‘Impressions’ in Ethan Gruska’s home studio in Los Angeles. Together with Madi, we were exchanging ideas and feelings about the changes in our lives and how to reckon with them. The choice as to what to keep with you, and what to let go of, as we grow and evolve. And the questioning of yourself when you’re living a life you don’t recognize anymore.”“Impressions” is the latest track unveiled from the band’s highly anticipated new self-titled album, which will be released May 2 via Fantasy Records (pre-order/pre-save here). Throughout their acclaimed career, Laessig and Wolfe have become some of the most sought-after collaborators in popular music, having performed and recorded with artists such as Joni Mitchell, Brandi Carlile, John Legend, The Killers, Harry Styles, Sheryl Crow and many more. Now, with the release of Lucius, they’re poised for a long-overdue breakout, as they return with a record that cements them as a musical force entirely on their own. Produced by Lucius’ Dan Molad, the new album marks a full circle moment for the group (Laessig, Wolfe, Molad and Peter Lalish) as they return to their roots, writing and recording without seeking outside influence—their first time doing so since their debut over a decade ago. Across these eleven tracks, including the previously released songs “ Gold Rush ” and “ Stranger Danger ,” Lucius explores deeply personal topics, such as relationships, grief and life’s complexities, with a vulnerability only made possible due the familial nature of the band. Watch video vignettes for “Gold Rush” and “Stranger Danger.” Lucius was recorded between Los Angeles’ Altamira Sound and Molad’s home studio, Sounds Like A Fire, which has since become inoperable after being impacted by the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area earlier this year. Reflecting on the project, Lucius shares, “Our fourth studio album is the four of us, just as we first started recording together as a band. It’s raw and honest and feels like coming home; something that resonates deeply in this moment of our lives. We are home in so many senses of the word; in the last couple of years we’ve started setting roots, finding life partners, building families, growing gardens. We got dogs, (you can hear them in the background if you listen close). We wrote songs about life and relationships. We recorded them in our home studios. We saw the beginnings and endings of life cycles while making this record, the beauty and fragility of the human experience. So it’s only fitting that this album is self-titled, it’s our story, who we are now and how we got here. Welcome to our living room.” In celebration of the new music, Lucius will embark on “The Gold Rush Tour” this spring, which includes stops at Brooklyn’s Brooklyn Paramount, Los Angeles’ The Wiltern, Philadelphia’s Union Transfer, Chicago’s The Salt Shed, Denver’s Ogden Theatre, Seattle’s Showbox, San Francisco’s The Warfield and more. See below for complete tour itinerary. Full details can be found at www.ilovelucius.com. In addition to Cunningham, Lucius features collaborations with The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel (“Old Tape”) and Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith (“Stranger Danger”) as well as contributions from Luke Temple (electric guitar, “Do It All For You”), Rob Moose (strings, “At the End of the Day”) and Evan Smith (flutes, “At the End of the Day”).
Photo credit: Dana Trippe // album cover art, photo by Jack DavisonLucius, their fourth studio album, follows the band’s acclaimed 2022 record, Second Nature, which was produced by Brandi Carlile and Dave Cobb. Released to overwhelming acclaim, the Los Angeles Times praised, “dazzling…Second Nature mines an ’80s-pop sound with lush synths and sleek disco grooves under the women’s laser-guided vocals,” whileVariety declared, “with Second Nature…they’re no longer 20 feet or even a couple of yards from stardom, but re-claiming the spotlight for themselves” and Relix proclaimed, “stunning…a 10-song, smart-pop masterpiece.” Most recently, Lucius celebrated the 10-year-anniversary of their debut album, Wildewoman, with the release of Wildewoman (The New Recordings)—an expanded version of the record that features new versions of the 12 original tracks, including collaborations with friends Carlile, Marcus Mumford and Devon Gilfillian. LUCIUS TRACK LIST1. Final Days2. Gold Rush3. Do It All For You4. Mad Love5. Stranger Danger6. Hallways7. Old Tape (feat. Adam Granduciel)8. Impressions (feat. Madison Cunningham)9. Borderline10. Orange Blossoms11. At the End of the DayLUCIUS CONFIRMED TOUR DATES May 6—St. Louis, MO—Delmar Hall*May 7—Iowa City, IA—The Englert Theatre*May 9—St. Paul, MN—Palace Theatre*May 10—Madison, WI—Majestic Theatre* (SOLD OUT)May 11—Detroit, MI—The Majestic*May 13—Pittsburgh, PA—Mr. Smalls Theatre*May 15—Brooklyn, NY—Brooklyn Paramount*May 16—Washington, D.C.—Lincoln Theatre*May 17—Carrboro, NC—Cat’s Cradle*May 19—Charlotte, NC—Neighborhood Theatre*May 20—Richmond, VA—The National*May 22—Philadelphia, PA—Union Transfer*May 23—Woodstock, NY—Bearsville Theater* (LOW TICKETS)May 24—Boston, MA—Boston CallingJuly 19—Ottawa, ON—Ottawa BluesfestJuly 22—Deerfield, MA—Tree House Brewing Company+July 23—Portland, ME—The State TheatreOctober 17—Indianapolis, IN—The VogueOctober 18—Chicago, IL—The Salt ShedNovember 11—Phoenix, AZ—Crescent BallroomNovember 12—Santa Fe, NM—The LensicNovember 14—Denver, CO—Ogden TheatreNovember 15—Salt Lake City, UT—The DepotNovember 17—Seattle, WA—ShowboxNovember 18—Portland, OR—Wonder BallroomNovember 20—San Francisco, CA—The WarfieldNovember 21—Los Angeles, CA—The Wiltern*with special guest Victoria Canal
+with special guest Neal Francis www.ilovelucius.com
LAKE shares new single/video ahead of new LP, full North American tour & SXSW
WATCH & STREAM: "Love Is Deeper Now" (feat. Daisy Jaberi of Suver) -
YouTube / Streaming Services
LAKE, a band rooted in both the lush landscapes of the Puget Sound and the sprawl of Los Angeles, recently announced a new LP, Bucolic Gone, out March 7 - you can pre-order it HERE. It will be the band's first release for Don Giovanni Records. Today the band shares the third single and video from the album, "Love Is Deeper Now," which you can watch HERE. The song and video feature guest vocalist Daisy Jaberi of the band Suver. In addition to the recently announced full spring tour of North America, today the band is also sharing their full SXSW schedule - see full details below.
“Love Is Deeper Now” is LAKE’s third single from Bucolic Gone (Don Giovanni Records). Featuring the voices of Ashley Eriksson of LAKE and special guest Daisy Jaberi (Suver,) the song unfolds as a duet, exploring transformative journeys of love from two unique perspectives. Live drum loops propel airy, syncopated marimbas, reminiscent of Arthur Russell’s 80s disco trance pop and harmonies that flow along like the Cranberries’ 90s classic, “Dreams.”
***
After a five-year absence following 2020’s creative elevator-punk exploration Roundelay, Ashley Eriksson, Eli Moore, and Andrew Dorsett of LAKE return with Bucolic Gone, a mature and polished album that is at once groovy, upbeat, meditative, and slow-rolled. As LAKE’s 10th official full-length release, Bucolic Gone is a cohesive work of sophisti-pop that embodies an adult, contemporary sound—intimate, serene, mournful, and hopeful in equal measure.
The multi-instrumental trio is joined by an impressive lineup of collaborators, including guest vocalists Nicholas Krgovich on “Glad Rags” and Daisy Jaberi of Suver with original lyrics on “Love Is Deeper.” Frequent contributors also make appearances: Karl Blau delivers standout shredding on “Ferrari,” Mark Buzard of The Format provides guitar textures across multiple tracks, and New York jazz musician Eric Vanderbuilt-Matthews contributes intricate woodwind arrangements. Steve Moore (Earth, Sunn O))), First Aid Kit, Sufjan Stevens) adds trombone to “Love Is Deeper,” while legendary Canadian singer Jenn Grant lends her unique vocals to the outro of “Ferrari.”
From the sorrowful depths of “Blue Horizon” and “My Dear Brother”—written the day Eriksson lost her brother to COVID-19—to the clarity of self-soothing and healing in “Airplane” and “Love Is Deeper Now,” the emotional arc of Bucolic Gone moves from darkness to light. A heartfelt ABBA singalong pays tribute to Eriksson’s family and brother, while Moore reflects on his life as an artist in “Wonderful Sunlight,” mining uplifting memories for clues to life’s complexities. The album concludes with a breezy, surfy reprise of their cult hit “No Wonder I,” famously BMO’s favorite song in the popular international animated series, Adventure Time.
Recorded at The Anacortes Unknown Recording Studio by longtime collaborator Nicholas Wilbur and in the band’s own home studios, Bucolic Gone marks another step forward for Eli Moore in production and mixing. His meticulous attention to arrangement and balance—alongside an arsenal of distorted “whatchamacallits”—creates a rich, layered sound.
Celebrating 20 years of ethereal, yearning pop songs, LAKE’s latest effort is their most produced but also most intimate album. Now signed to Don Giovanni Records, the band is ready to continue delivering jams. While the world has changed since LAKE’s last official release, Bucolic Gone shows that time has been on their side.
TOUR DATES:
03/08/25 - Los Angeles, CA - 2220 Arts (Record Release Show)
03/10/25 - Tucson, AZ - Slow Body Beer
03/12–15/25 - Austin, TX - SXSW
04/15/25 - Butte, MT - Carpenter’s Union Hall
04/17/25 - Fargo, ND - Parachigo
04/18/25 - Minneapolis, MN - Cloudland
04/19/25 - Milwaukee, WI - Sky High
04/20/25 - Chicago, IL - Hideout
04/21/25 - Ypsilanti, MI - Ziggy's
04/22/25 - Toronto, ON - Garrison
04/23/25 - Ottawa, ON - Rainbow Bistro
04/24/25 - Montreal, QC - Cabaret Fouf
04/25/25 - Catskill, NY - The Avalon
04/26/25 - Brooklyn, NY - Baby's All Right
04/27/25 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
04/28/25 - Washington, DC - Pie Shop
04/30/25 - Durham, NC - The Pinhook
05/01/25 - Asheville, NC - Static Age
05/02/25 - Nashville, TN - DRKMTTR
05/03/25 - Athens, GA - Flicker
05/04/25 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
05/14/25 - Bellingham, WA - Odd Fellows Temple Room
05/15/25 - Vancouver, BC - KW Studios
05/16/25 - Portland, OR - The Showdown
05/17/25 - Everett, WA - Fisherman's Village Festival
05/18/25 - Seattle, WA - Madame Lou's
05/19/25 - Whidbey, WA - Bailey’s Corner Store
Press Inquiries: Daniel Gill / daniel@forcefieldpr.com
LAKE
Bucolic Gone
(Don Giovanni)
Street Date: March 7, 2025
Pre-order it here
Track Listing:
Side One
Bucolic Gone
Ferrari
Airplane
Glad Rags
Love is Deeper Now
Side Two
Blue Horizon
My Dear Brother
The Way Old Friends Do
Wonderful Sunlight
No Wonder I
LAKE LINKS:
Bandcamp
Instagram
Twitter
Don Giovanni Records
Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hütz Announces NYContinuity Vol.1: New New York Does Old New York
Grace Bergere (Feat. Thurston Moore) Cover Of The Velvet Underground’s “All Tomorrow’s Parties” Out Now
Record Release Party @ Bowery Ballroom On April 5:
Puzzled Panther, Grace Bergere, Mary Shelley, Vera Farmiga's The Yagas & More
Tuesday, March 4 - Ukrainian frontman Eugene Hütz of the international punk band Gogol Bordello has announced NYContinuity Vol.1: New New York Does Old New York - a new cross-generational compilation album out April 4 on his Casa Gogol Records. The first single out today is a mesmerizing cover of The Velvet Underground’s “All Tomorrow’s Parties” by Grace Bergere ft. Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth.
"All Tomorrow's Parties": Watch / Listen
The dialogue continues between NYC’s new wave of bands and their heroes, with Puzzled Panther’s cover of Sonic Youth’s “Dirty Boots” (produced by Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley and drums by Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Brian Chase), Pons’ manic tribute to Suicide, Mary Shelley’s Bushwick rooftop version of Talking Heads’ “The Great Curve” (produced by David Byrne's American Utopia music director Mauro Refosco) and more.
Original tracks are also featured, including a new one from Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Eugene Hütz, a Grace Bergere remix by Mr. Pharmacist a.k.a. Gregg Foreman (Alan Vega and Cat Power), and Puzzled Panther’s “Fractured,” from their upcoming EP STING OF IODINE, channeling all their favorite NYC dance punk influences while referencing Television and “rocking you like Lydia in retrograde.”
The project will culminate with a show at Bowery Ballroom on April 5 with some of these artists, plus Twowayradio and special guest Vera Farmiga and her band The Yagas - tickets here.
Gogol Bordello also just announced a European tour here, with support from “one of the most exciting bands in the world right now,” English punk duo Bob Vylan. “Enraged anew by world atrocities, Gogol Bordello is coming your way with new material developed in collaboration with the king of post-punk groove Nick Launay (Nick Cave, Amyl and the Sniffers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Refused). Feels like the salvaging of a massive bell,” says Hütz.
The album is part of Casa Gogol's mission to preserve, perpetuate and accelerate NYC’s sonic culture – fostering generational cross-pollination, and uniting punk and hardcore artists to sustain the genre’s legacy of identity and belonging.
“Arriving in NYC in 1997, I no longer felt like a marginal freakaholic,” explains Eugene Hütz. “The city took me under its wing, picked me up, and pinned me straight into the lineage where I belonged. NYContinuity is dedicated to preserving and perpetuating NYC’s unique ability to define the blueprint the world will inevitably copy for the next 15–20 years.”
“Music comes from a generational cross pollination. The greatest thing about punk rock was that it had an unprecedented mix of people of all backgrounds and all ages striking new sparks out of each other.”
NYContinuity Vol.1: New New York Does Old New York
SIDE A
1. Grace Bergere (feat. Thurston Moore) - “All Tomorrow’s Parties” (The Velvet Underground)
2. Puzzled Panther - “Fractured”
3. Mary Shelley - “Bourgeois de Ville”
4. Pons - “Fast Money Music” (Suicide)
5. Puzzled Panther - “Dirty Boots” (Sonic Youth)
6. Mary Shelley - “The Great Curve” (Talking Heads)
7. Karen O & E. Hutz (Merc Yes Mix) - “Raven”
SIDE B
8. Crazy & The Brains (Freak Mods and Hutz Remix) - “Punk Rocker” (Teddybears ft. Iggy Pop)
9. Abazaba (feat. Eugene Hutz) - “Isolation” (Joy Division)
10. Mary Shelley (Freak Mods Remix) - “Bourgeois de Ville”
11. BKGD Audio - “Fun” (Murphy’s Law)
12. Grace Bergere (Mr. Pharmacist aka Gregg Foreman Remix) - “A Little Blood”
13. Gogol Bordello - “You Know It’s Dark When Atheist Starts to Pray” (Jesse Malin)
Eugene Hütz - Photo Credit: Willy Somma
ABOUT EUGENE HÜTZ / GOGOL BORDELLO
Eugene Hütz is a Ukrainian-born artist, songwriter, and frontman of the International punk band Gogol Bordello – a rare musical force raucously illuminating stages alongside System of a Down, Rancid, and Dropkick Murphys, dueting with Regina Spektor and cutting albums with Rick Rubin & Steve Albini. A lifelong lover of the punk scene growing up in Ukraine, Hütz found himself where he felt he belonged, in New York’s Lower East Side in the late 90s, where he went to shows and later performed at the legendary CBGB. Crashing at friends’ apartments and playing acoustic sets in NYC Ukrainian bars, his group steadily grew to an 8-piece multicultural band, combining Eastern, Western, and Latin traditions. Hütz is a tireless advocate for Ukrainian solidarity, partnering with Nova Ukraine and ArtDopomoga, as well as putting together benefits with Patti Smith, The Hold Steady, Suzanne Vega, Magnetic Fields, Matisyahu, and more. Hütz has also appeared in arthouse films such as Liev Schreiber’s Everything Is Illuminated with Elijah Wood, Filth and Wisdom helmed by Madonna, and this year’s Vice documentary Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story (Executive Producer Liev Schreiber).
MORE FROM GOGOL BORDELLO:
TX shoegazers GLARE share crushing single / video "Nü Burn"
TX Shoegazers GLARE share crushing single / video
"Nü Burn"
Sunset Funeral LP out April 4th // See GLARE on tour with Superheaven in N. America this spring
Photo by: Sam Tellez | Hi-res here
When you hear music like Glare's—the wild, loose and woozy drags of guitar; the impossible beauty of it all—what kind of landscape presents itself in your mind? Vistas big enough to be forgotten in. Deserts which stretch back to the beginning of time. Infinite horizons melting into pink bokehs. It’s Texas, isn’t it?
Sunset Funeral, the band’s debut LP (out April 4 on Deathwish Inc. + Sunday Drive Records) is a fog of dreamy grief, where feeling supersedes language. On first listen, the album—which scans as vast as desert sand—may overwhelm the senses. But look closer, and you’ll find a multiplicity of heavily crushed textures, treasures.
Their latest single, "Nü Burn," is a crunchy and lilting number that harkens back to the band’s grittier hardcore roots. But even when they deign to go hard, you can hear a softening in Glare’s sound compared to any of their previous releases, as well as an attempt to lean into more traditional pop song structures. The music drifts heavenward, to be sure, though it’s still tethered down by steady foundations. It’s beautiful. It’s humid. It’s delirious. It’s music made by people whose feelings speak louder than their words.
The band shares: "'Nü Burn’ is about how it feels like the world stops when you’re grieving. 'I’ll find you in a new sun, feel a new burn' means finding those we lost in the warmth we feel... it's a big, explosive song and probably our heaviest. When we finished writing it we immediately knew it’d be a single."
Listen / share / playlist "Nü Burn" on DSP's
Watch / share "Nü Burn" on YouTube
Formed in 2017 in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, Glare aren’t so much genre traditionalists as they are painters of wide realms and intense moods. The four-piece band has already accumulated a large audience, both in the flesh with their reputation for sell-out shows, and on the internet, a place where people go to short-circuit feelings through their screens.
An album that’s been years in the making, Sunset Funeral is a document of unspeakable grief, charting the process of mourning and how it travels through our subconscious and dreams.
Pre-order Sunset Funeral here and see Glare on tour in North America supporting Superheaven this April and May.
Glare, on tour with Superheaven:
Apr. 26 Louisville, KY - Triple Crown Pavillion
Apr. 27 St. Louis, MO - Delmar Hall
Apr. 29 Denver, CO - Summit Music Hall
May 01 Las Vegas, NV - Fremont Country Club
May 02 Los Angeles, CA - The Belasco
May 03 Berkeley, CA - The UC Theatre
May 04 Pomona, CA - The Glass House
May 06 Phoenix, AZ - The Nile
May 08 Austin, TX - Emo's
May 09 Dallas, TX - Ferris Wheelers Backyard + BBQ
May 11 Chicago, IL - Metro
May 13 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
May 14 Toronto, ON - The Opera House
May 16 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
May 17 Boston, MA - Royale
May 20 Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel
Sunset Funeral, cover art:
Sunset Funeral, track list:
Mourning HazeKiss The SunSaudade2 Soon 2 TellChlorine HouseNü BurnTurquoise DreamGutsSun GraveDifferent HuePANIK FLOWER spotlight digital dependence on new single "ocd"
PANIK FLOWER SPOTLIGHT DIGITAL DEPENDENCE
ON NEW SINGLE “OCD” — STREAM
FRENETIC OFFICIAL VIDEO CUTS FROM CHAOS TO
STABILITY, BACK TO CHAOS — WATCH
THE DREAMGAZE FIVE-PIECE’S
NEW EP REARVIEW
SET TO ARRIVE ON APRIL 30 — PRE-SAVE
PLAYING NYC’S NEW COLOSSUS FEST THIS WEEK
Press photo by Ivan Alexander
“The echoing and haunting vocals of Sage Leopold are truly epic, and demonstrate a big part of why PANIK FLOWER is going to be a big name before you know it.”
“...a wall of surfy and washed-out guitar, driving bass lines and dynamic drums that squanders and builds momentum in tight, catchy turns, steering the audience from a place of silent awe to a mass communal headbang.”
“What’s clear, for me, is that the five-piece… have found their home in a hauntingly emotive, achingly evocative space where sound itself blankets not just the ears, but the mind and the soul.”
NYC dreamgaze band PANIK FLOWER today releases their new single and video “ocd.” The single is the second track from rearview, their sophomore EP that arrives on April 30. “ocd” rolls off of vocalist Sage Leopold’s tongue as the pointed, yet syrupy, “obsessive consumption diet.” With a guitar riff floating in outer space, the song remains shackled to earth by a formidable rhythm section. Haunting and anxiety-ridden, “ocd” is an unending loop of cyclical bingeing — Stream “ocd” / Pre-save rearview.
“The song explores the obsessive and addictive relationship we have with media consumption in today’s world and how that shapes us as individuals,” shares Leopold. “It has a complete chokehold on our daily functions living in the modern world even when you’re aware of how toxic it is. The chorus really drives this point home with the repetition of the lines ‘you catch yourself but you can’t catch a break, you catch yourself but you can’t look away.’”
“ocd” single artwork by @amyam_y
Today’s single arrives with an erratic official video directed by Aji Bass. Filmed primarily at Porter Studio in Brooklyn, with additional footage shot in upstate NY, the video is a visual juxtaposition between stability and disorder — Watch.
Bass shared that, “For the ‘ocd’ music video, we wanted to lean into a grungy ‘90s aesthetic and let the themes of the song guide the edit. The more composed wide shots of the band represent ‘reality;’ a typical PANIK FLOWER rehearsal or performance. The video quickly devolves into an implied destabilized mental state by the first chorus. Intrusive thoughts make their way into the video in the form of quick, frenetic cuts and teasing a mysterious silhouetted figure who continuously appears and disappears. The structure of the song lends to this juxtaposition, between chaos and stabilization then back to chaos, until we end where we started: wide on the band, back to their reality, maybe just a little more disheveled than before but still standing.”
Guitarist Jordan Buzzell continues, “Visually, we were inspired by classic 90’s grunge videos like Sonic Youth’s ‘Bull In the Heather’ and Garage’s ‘Stupid Girl.’ We wanted the ‘ocd’ video to exist across time periods and serve as an homage to the early days of rock music video making.”
At the beginning of the year, PANIK FLOWER announced rearview with the release of their first single “alkaline.” Through a lush soundscape that careens into driving hooks, the song is filled with a sense of desire and longing. The track received nods from New Noise, Atwood Magazine, Vanyaland and more.
Formed in 2022, PANIK FLOWER has another EP under their belt titled Dark Blue. While their previous project was primarily focused on the complexity of romance and relationships, their upcoming EP, rearview, is rooted in internal matters. It explores identity, namely the double-sided nature of uncertainty and self-acceptance. It transcribes this self-exploration into a plush and emotive soundscape. The new EP was produced, mixed, and recorded by James Duncan (Taraneh, Nara’s Room, Dead Tooth, Raavi) and mastered by Carl Saff (Drops Nineteens, Dr. Dog, Sonic Youth). rearview will be available everywhere on April 30.
Bringing their all-consuming, elevated and raw style to the main stage, PANIK FLOWER are set to perform at New York City’s New Colossus Fest on March 7th at Arlene's Grocery and March 8th at Berlin.
ABOUT PANIK FLOWER:
Through a chain of chance introductions and long-time friendships, PANIK FLOWER materialized within the New York music scene. Mirroring the push and pull of their city’s intensity, the band instinctively began pairing atmospheric dream-pop with a restrained use of well-timed punchiness. Their soundscape of soft harmonies, hard-hitting instrumentals and cutting lyricism evoke the hazy nostalgia of distant memories — ones of love, loss and identity that have captivated audiences from NYC, to the Southeast, and onward.
The majority of the band’s members are native New Yorkers, and PANIK FLOWER’s sound is inherently reflective of the ever-changing city; one that shifts and melds, yet stays rooted in its identity. PANIK FLOWER is made up of co-collaborators Sage Leopold (vocals), Mila Stieglitz-Courtney (guitar/vocals), Jordan Buzzell (guitar), Max Baird (bass) and Marco Starger (drums). The knot of circumstances that binds PANIK FLOWER together isn’t something that can neatly be untangled. It’s a gnarled, kinked path, but one that was always fated to play out. With their second EP rearview arriving on April 30, the band’s strongest work to date sees them marrying a shoegaze sensibility with post-punk undertones, grounded in their ethereal, DIY roots.
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For more information on PANIK FLOWER, please visit:
Website | Instagram | Spotify | YouTube | Apple Music | Bandcamp
March 3, 2025
LAUREN MAYBERRY @ The Belasco 03.02.25 // THE PORTABLE INFINITE
All photos taken by Martin Worster
CULT OF VENUS @ The Belasco 03.02.25 // THE PORTABLE INFINITE
All photos taken by Martin Worster
