Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 22
September 3, 2025
SÉBASTIEN TELLIER RETURNS WITH NEW SINGLE “REFRESH” OUT NOW
SÉBASTIEN TELLIER
NEW SINGLE “REFRESH”
OUT NOW
LISTEN TO "REFRESH" HERE
VISUALIZER HERE
© Jean-Baptiste Mondino
A key figure of the French Touch and a modern dandy with a thousand lives, Sébastien Tellier opens a new chapter in his career with “Refresh”, five years after his last album, Domesticated, and his first release since signing with Because Music.
Twenty years after the release of “La Ritournelle” on Politics, a track that has become emblematic and was recently performed at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, the artist reaffirms his visionary status. Composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, Tellier has continuously navigated between pop, electronic, and folk, building a discography studded with classics (“Universe”, “L’Amour et la violence”, “Divine”, “Cochon Ville”…).
With “Refresh”, co-written with his long-time collaborator Amandine de la Richardière and elevated by the contributions of SebastiAn and Oscar Holter (The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry), Tellier delivers an ode to renewal. Balancing vocal sophistication with danceable energy, the track embodies that fertile tension between human and machine, a hallmark of his ever-evolving creativity.
For his return, Tellier entrusted his visual universe to Jean-Baptiste Mondino and artificial intelligence, who together composed imagery that is both offbeat and refined, reflecting a singular tension: will the artist with the legendary beard ever dare to part with it?
Sébastien Tellier explains: “It’s a track about renewal, rebirth, failures, and the ceaseless cycle of starting over. It’s about changing internal processes at certain moments in life in order to keep moving forward, to reinvent oneself, to continue existing—like an animal shedding its skin, or like reprogramming computer software to survive inner chaos. And always rolling the dice again, over and over.”
"REFRESH" OUT NOW
About Sébastien Tellier:
We last saw him with the synthetic storytelling of the album Domesticated, in 2020. Since then, Sébastien Tellier has hardly been idle: working on three original film scores, releasing two EPs, producing for some of his peers, and delivering one of the most stunning performances at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games with his timeless Ritournelle. Twenty years earlier, the release of that track on his second album Politics, featuring Tony Allen on drums, had already established Tellier as one of the most charismatic artists of the 21st century.
A gifted multi-instrumentalist, he has explored diverse territories across pop, folk(s), and electronic music. This has resulted in numerous cult tracks: “Universe”, “L’Amour et la violence”, “Divine”, “Roche”, “Cochon Ville”, “Fingers of Steel”, “A Ballet”… all while maintaining a signature look: long hair and beard, cap, and dark sunglasses. Enough to earn him regular collaborations with major fashion houses, drawn to Sébastien Tellier’s not-so-tamed dandyism.
Follow Sébastien Tellier
Instagram // TikTok // YouTube // Facebook
The Inspector Cluzo release new song "Thoreau" ahead of Europe/UK fall tour
ANNOUNCE NEW SINGLE THOREAU
OUT ON 3RD SEPTEMBER 2025
WATCH VIDEO HERE
10TH ALBUM LESS IS MORE OUT NOW AVAILABLE HERE
HEADLINE EU/UK TOUR THIS AUTUMN
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE
The Inspector Cluzo performing in Austin as special guest to Clutch
"Beau et Savage" (Wild and Beautiful)
– Rolling Stone France Album Of the Month
"ragged yet tight, laser-focused riffage, roaring vocals and fiery attacks on the rampant materialism and screen-gazing habits endemic to today...Their live shows are brilliant, well worth catching..."
- Louder
"Two organic farmers from Gascony making an album ... that swaggers like a rough mix of The White Stripes and early Clutch. Inspired by naturalist Henry David Thoreau and philosopher Guy Debord, this extraordinary scream of social consciousness is the kind of record that will make the hairs at the back of your neck salute."
- Classic Rock UK
“The sound is powerful, hard, perfectly calibrated between hard rock and rock blues.”
- Classic Rock Italy
2025 is shaping up to be a landmark year for The Inspector Cluzo. Earlier this year, the organic farming rock duo from Gascony released their critically acclaimed 10th studio album, Less Is More, earning praise from around the world. Hot on the heels of the album’s success, TIC joined the legendary Neil Young for seven European dates, followed by a North American tour as special guests of Clutch. Today, The Inspector Cluzo are thrilled to share their new single, Thoreau. The band will hit the road again for the remainder of the year, making stops across Europe and the UK. All tour dates and up to date information can be found at https://theinspectorcluzo.com.
The Inspector Cluzo’s 10th LP Less Is More is out now via F. The Bass Player Records/Virgin UK International.
The band's 10th album was once again recorded with Vance Powell (The White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys, Seasick Steve) in Nashville in 2024. It was recorded completely live in four days and mixed in three. Powell succeeded in catching the band's tracksless, no-playback organic live energy which has made the band such a live tour de force. For a singing guitarist and a drummer, the band makes a huge sound.
The album deals with the band's very real concerns about Post-Growing that they apply at their organic Farm and also in the music business economy. Self-financed at 100% refusing to sign with any major or any hedge funds for touring. They mirror these farming principles in their dealings in the music business – such as making efforts to balance their carbon footprint.
From the discordant album opener "We Win Together I'm Losing Alone" (a call to arms for the whole album) to the epic "Almost Cut My Hair", from the heavy funk riff of "The Greenwashers" to the call to arms of "Workers" ("Workers of the world / Unite), this is an
album that perfectly showcases this band's unique vision. Innovative in their minimalism, a heaviness that belies their numbers and a fascinating lyrical vision.
For more info:
MASMA DREAM WORLD Announces New EP & Shares New Single "KALA"
MASMA DREAM WORLD
WIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2025 COVER STAR
ANNOUNCES NEW EP
OUT SEPT 26TH VIA VALLEY OF SEARCH
SHARES LEAD SINGLE “KALA”
US & EU TOUR DATES THIS FALL
Press Photo by Mike Gustafson
Early Praise for Masma Dream World:
“A matrix of lucid electronics.. On PLEASE COME TO ME, Masma Dream World plumbs the abyssal depths of the divine feminine, charting a path of devotion to the Mother Kali” - The Wire ‘Cover Story’
"music rooted in drones and ritual rhythms..like a visitor probing a dark cavern, occasionally knocking something loose that clatters noisily into the void" - The New York Times
"a strange, discomfiting document of the singer-composer’s energy..tangles together traditional African sounds and rhythms with Western electronic styles ranging from ambient to harsh noise" - The FADER
"a divine, spectral source of unease..“mother” is the only lyric in the song, but it hits you like a paragraph, rummaging through your skin until it crawls" - Paste Magazine
"The astonishing new record from Masma Dream World obliterates all genres to arrive at something haunting, potent, and powerful." - Bandcamp Daily
“by turns meditative, tortured, and exultant, it transmutes the abyssal language of devotion and the divine feminine through cavernous electronics, spine-chilling noise, and a powerful voice” - Our Culture
“a striking and viscerally powerful experience” - Outside Left
Today, Masma Dream World has announced her new EP, A GRAVE IN A LUCKY SITE, due out Sept 26th via Valley of Search. A limited-edition cassette release of PLEASE COME TO ME will also feature the 3 new tracks. To preview the collection, she’s shared “KALA,” a transportative reverie of atmospheric drones and vocal chants. The EP’s three songs are culled from the same sessions that yielded PLEASE COME TO ME, her sophomore album released earlier this year to critical acclaim, including a coveted spot on the cover of The Wire Magazine. The album was born from an extensive period of time spent deepening her spirituality through meditation, Hindu mysticism, and Advaita Vedantic texts.
“Knowledge is a destination beyond the thick veil of suffering, a treacherous path that treads lifetimes on different timelines, always reaching for the divine,” she shares. “You travel it until you meet a death that is final, and you realize that you were never born.”
Masma Dream World is the experimental project led by Bhakta artist, producer and healer Devi Mambouka. With roots in Gabon and Singapore, Mambouka is a child of the world. She recalls rainforest rituals and the presence of ghosts and spirits throughout her childhood in Gabon before immigrating to The Bronx. Here, instead of forests, she lost herself in record stores and began a spiritual, educational journey, DJing and immersing herself in NYC’s nightlife. She studied religions of all kinds but found her guides in magic, maternal Hindu ancestors, the Black Madonna and Kali, the Hindu goddess of creation and destruction, and the mother of the forgotten ones.
Her father was from the indigenous Bahoumbou tribe of Gabon, while her mother is Bengali and Cantonese from Singapore. Her influences are global in scope. The mystical experiences of her travels are incorporated into the music, like the church bells on today’s single, or spontaneous singing inspired by a visit to La Vierge Noire (the Black Madonna) in Rocamadour, France. While walking through a cave, the spirits led her to record her voice, so she pulled out her phone. That recording appears on “The Island Where the Goddess Lives” and the sound is echoey and distant, reversed language going back through time. There are field recordings from her visits with her family in Singapore and the temples and rice paddy fields of Bali.
In the isolation of a bitter Wisconsin winter surrounded by the Northwoods, her connections to the spiritual unseen world deepened. When she returned to her mother’s apartment in New York City, she stumbled upon old, damaged tapes of spiritual lectures from her late aunt’s collection and saw it as a sign to begin work on the album.
WATCH “KALA” OFFICIAL VISUALIZER
Masma Dream World turned heads with her 2020 debut Play at Night, a record that established the multi-instrumentalist as a singular voice, combining field recordings, throttling bass, skittering electronics and traditional Gabonese rhythms for an awe inspiring, transportative sound.
Her album from earlier this year, PLEASE COME TO ME, was preceded by singles “O, Dark Mother,” “Pordeno Me,” “PLEASE COME TO ME,” & “Ancient DNA.” Devi graced the cover of Wire Magazine this month, and the singles were praised by The FADER, Paste Magazine, Bandcamp Daily, and The New York Times, among others.
Those who have experienced Masma Dream World live know it’s unparalleled, a haunting combination of field recordings, performance art, and awe inspiring vocal performances. In two weeks she’ll perform in New York’s Ridgewood neighborhood before heading to Europe for a run of festival appearances, and returning for shows in Philadelphia and New Hampshire. Tickets available HERE.
TOUR DATES
Sept 19th - Ridgewood, NY @ Intercom
Oct 1st - Zagreb, HR @ ZEZ Festival
Oct 25th - Innsbruck, AT @ Positive Futures Festival
Nov 1st - Belgium, BE @ La Botanique w/ SUNN
Nov 20th - Philadelphia, PA @ The Rotunda (Fire Museum Presents)
Nov 21st - State College, PA @ Manny’s Live Performance Space
Nov 22nd - Keene, NH @ Nova Arts at Brewbakers
Twin Shadow shares new single "Awkward Backward"
TWIN SHADOW SHARES NEW SINGLE
“AWKWARD BACKWARD” – LISTEN
SEVENTH ALBUM CADET
ARRIVES THIS FALL VIA DOM RECS
Photo by Coco Real
Fresh off playing a string of shows in Southern California on the Georgie Goes West Tour, including a sold out show at Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown, Twin Shadow has unveiled “Awkward Backward,” the second single off his seventh album Cadet, which arrives this fall via Dom Recs. “Awkward Backward” pushes and pulls between moments of confusion and clarity as he navigates self-doubt in relationships, with each twisting synth bringing him closer to a resolution. Of the song, he shares:
“‘Awkward Backward’ is a song about insecurities—about always needing to be the first to figure out what’s going on in a relationship, to predict who’s going to jump ship first. It’s about dodging bullets and trying to get the upper hand, all in the name of protecting your own ego. But beneath that defensiveness lies an admission: these are my shortcomings. The song is a confession and an invitation to go deeper, to ask if maybe it’s finally time to stop running and truly connect.”
To create the single’s cover artwork, he welded 12 extra rearview mirrors onto his motorcycle.
LISTEN TO “AWKWARD BACKWARD”
Cadet follows Twin Shadow’s intimate sixth album, Georgie, which was released in March of this year. Dedicated to his late father, Georgie explores themes of grief, memory, and introspection through stripped-back and dreamy instrumentation. Cadet sees Twin Shadow back in his drum machine bag with punchy drumbeats and heated warping synthesizers.
About Twin Shadow:
George Lewis Jr., better known by his stage name Twin Shadow, is a Dominican-born American musician, director, producer, and actor. He has released six studio albums to date: Forget (2010), Confess (2012), Eclipse (2015), Caer (2018), Twin Shadow (2021), Georgie (2025) & his seventh album Cadet is coming soon.
# # #
For more information on Twin Shadow, please visit:
The Heavenly States Share "My Sloop" Single + Video | New Single Out 9/3 via LBM Recordings
Read Mundane Mag, Americana Highways,
Psychedelic Baby Mag and Vents Features
New Single Out Now via LBM Recordings
Photo Credit: Larry RatnerLISTEN/WATCH & SHARE: The Heavenly States - "My Sloop"
Stream | Watch
LISTEN/WATCH & SHARE: The Heavenly States - "Fifth of July"
Stream | Watch
LISTEN/WATCH & SHARE: The Heavenly States - "Little Dominoes"
Stream | Watch PRAISE FOR THE HEAVENLY STATES
"Combining the scruffy shocks of guitar and dyspeptic swagger of pre-grunge rockers like Agitpop and Pavement with a layered, late-’90s indie-pop aesthetic best associated with Dave Fridmann, Bay Area quartet the Heavenly States find an appealing balance"
-Alternative Press
"one of America’s fearless music outfits, flying the flag for self-determination and intelligent, energetic rock ‘n’ roll."
-KUTX
"The Heavenly States repeatedly hint at things you’re familiar with, yet always sound distinctly themselves."
-Pop Matters
"Sometimes gentle, often furious, always elemental. Their music reads like coded letters from the margins, filled with bruised idealism, political static, and aching, melodic persistence."
-Psychedelic Baby Mag
"a punk-inflected take on '80s college rock melody"
-KEXP
"It’s this balance—mythic in scope, intimate in execution—that has made The Heavenly States one of America’s most fearless underground bands for over two decades."
-Mundane Mag
A Bay Area fixture and cult favorite since the early 2000s, The Heavenly States formed in Oakland in 2002. In 2010, the band relocated to Austin, TX, with members now split between Austin and Atlanta. Last month, the beloved alt-rock outfit returned with timely new single, “Fifth of July,” via LBM Recordings.
Today, the band shares “My Sloop,” a haunting and melancholy ballad that unravels into a dissonant, defiant cry with a powerful message. Where “Fifth of July” leaned into New Wave urgency, “My Sloop” trades in those shoes for something more expansive and theatrical — a near-classical piece that builds over six minutes. Within it are echoes of dirge, Russian classical music, lounge, and even hints of musical theater à la Bernstein. The song explores what feels like a reckoning: supernatural beings judging human failure from afar, wrestling with the cost of detachment.
On the idea behind the track the band shares, "Let us insist on the responsibility of each human to hold it down for all the living. The easier task would be to walk off the set of the parodic “Anthropocene”— such a fashionable thing to do – to think that to go on strike as a human is an honorable choice. Isn’t it rather a pretense to invulnerability though? Imagine supernatural beings, surrogates for nature, sitting in judgment, in the collateral damage of what humans have wrought. Humans (even the ones pretending to be post-human) shall not be permitted to walk off the job and settle down to a feast of caviar and video games. The human is deeply indebted. And worse, we are fully capable of paying our debt, yet choose not to. Only the worst parts of the human are bearing fruit – the best in us waits, fading in sun-shocked fields. The faeries have had enough. This is a song from outside us, about us, trying to get free of us."
Led by core songwriters Genevieve Gagon (keys, violin, vocals) and Ted Nesseth (guitar, vocals), the group is joined by a powerhouse roster of Austin talent: John Olrech and Erik Grostic on bass, and Danny Piccuirro and Jason Toll on drums. Genevieve and Ted first crossed paths with Erik years ago at a shared bill during Austin’s late punk and indie heyday, reconnecting during the COVID lockdown. From there, the band began piecing together new material in a DIY home studio — building gear from scratch, tracking parts across different rooms and neighborhoods, and leaning into creativity through limitation.
The resulting sound is deeply rooted in transition — a document of musicians who’ve witnessed Austin’s cultural transformation firsthand, before, during, and after its evolution.
Described by KUTX as “one of America’s fearless music outfits” and often compared to Pavement and The Replacements, The Heavenly States have maintained their sharp songwriting and distinctive sonic identity across three acclaimed albums and two decades. Their 2011 track “Berlin Wall” (from Oui Camera Oui) was named an NPR All Songs Considered favorite and earned praise from Consequence of Sound, Exclaim!, and a live performance slot at The Kennedy Center.
The Heavenly States captures the difficulties and madness of American life without melancholy or nostalgia. They have always sung with many voices, maybe because they have two singer-songwriters onboard but maybe also because the singular “I” has proven inadequate to depict the autobiographical."My Sloop" is out September 3rd via LBM Recordings.
MY SLOOP
Single Art
THE HEAVENLY STATES BIO:
Joining core band members/songwriters Genevieve Gagon (keys, violin, voice) and Ted (Theodore) Nesseth (guitar, voice) on the EP are a cadre of some of Austin TX’s finest players: John Olrech and Erik Grostic (bass), and Danny Piccuirro and Jason Toll (drums). Genevieve and Ted had met Erik years ago at a shared show on tour in Austin’s late punk and indie days, and then wildly, at a bowling alley in Australia. During the covid lockdown in Austin, they sent tracks around with the idea that someday maybe they’d all be in a room together again to record. Early versions of the songs were pieced together in a makeshift home studio, and the band experimented with ways to communicate. They had to build the field as they were inventing the game – finding and building gear on a shoestring budget, discovering a way to keep things live and creative from separate rooms around town. When the lockdown started to let up, Ted and Genevieve invited a neighbor they met at lockdown street parties to sit in on bass – John Olrech. Soon after, John recruited his former bandmate Jason Toll to try out on drums, expanding the THS family. The limitations posed by the covid crisis inspired the band to develop new tools and procedures for recording. Working at home allowed them more time to think about how they wanted to present the new material, and this led to Ted tinkering with some of his existing gear and finally deciding he needed to build something altogether new. The new instrument-machine for live performance is coming soon to musicians and other presenters/creators.
Made during a transitional period, this is a record born of people who lived in Austin before, during and after its transformation. The city’s marks and scars on the songs tell of a larger shift, of things that were and are no more, with scenes howled by a pack of loners, then spied and made legend by a chorus of fierce faeries. In fact, THS brought back child singers Angus and Lucy from the 2015 album Hiss (track “Nevermind”), for a couple of songs to fill out the faerie chorus.
The Heavenly States formed in 2002 in Oakland, CA. Their history in the papers includes a misbegotten attempt to influence the course of war with a tour to Libya and Egypt in 2005 during Muammar Gaddafi’s regime and years of reviews and features from Newsweek to Rolling Stone to NPR (see their extensive PRESS KIT for more). They’ve performed live on radio KUT (Austin), KEXP (Seattle), The Current (Minneapolis), WXRT (Chicago), KFOG (San Francisco) and others. They’ve toured Australia, the US and Europe. They’ve played The Onion holiday party in San Francisco and music festivals (Sasquatch, Noise Pop). They have collaborated with artists and filmmakers to produce several videos including “Berlin Wall” which was featured in Rolling Stone. “Berlin Wall” the song was voted Favorite Song by Bob Boilen’s “All Songs Considered” staff in a blind poll. A video for “The Race” was chosen by Lincoln Mercury’s 2009 Grammy Artist campaign and aired during the Grammys, sneaking the indie band through the back door of that palace. They were also invited to play at the Kennedy Center (2012). Among their best moments was the collaboration with Bay Area film legend Ernie Fosselius (Hardware Wars, Porklips Now) who created puppets for the video “Car Wash.” Other video highlights include the animated “Pretty Life” and Bay Area production “My Friends” shot in the Bay Area and Mono Lake. They have worked with producers/engineers John Agnello, Bob Power, Bob Weston, Scott Mathews, Mike McCarthy, Bill Lefler, Colin Gagon, Paul Oldham, Bond Bergland, and Jeff Saltzman and toured/opened for many fine artists (Mike Watt/The Secondmen, Smog/Bill Callahan, Bonnie Prince Billy/Will Oldham, EZT, Spoon, X, The Minus 5, Portastatic, Eugene Mirman, Marc Maron, and others). A Bay Area fixture and favorite for years, they made Austin, TX home in 2010 and now reside in Austin and Atlanta.
THS started out on vinyl with Elephants From Ants (under the moniker Fluke Starbucker, a story in itself) followed by a split single as The Heavenly States with Coldplay and The Postal Service in 2003. Other releases include The Heavenly States s/t (2003), Beyond the Great Beyond (Australian single 2004), Black Comet (2005), King Epiphany/Monument (with hidden track, 2005), Delayer (2008), Little Drummer Boy (single, 2008), Oui Camera Oui (EP, 2011 feat. Britt Daniel of Spoon and Eugene Mirman), Hiss (vinyl-only, 2015). HISS is a triple LP with a custom embossed trifold snakeskin-inspired jacket and full-color printed interior. The jacket includes three full-color printed inner sleeves featuring photographs of five paintings by Genevieve Gagon, lyrics and candid photos. In 2025, the band released Hiss digitally for the first time in celebration of its 10-year anniversary.
Their new EP previews songs from an upcoming double album that captures a time of embattlement and disappointment along with blueprints for healing.
Website | Youtube | Spotify | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
Keren Ann, Singer-Songwriter Set To Release New Album, Paris Amour on September 12
Out September 12, Paris Amour Explores a Range of Emotions and Memories Through Exquisitely Crafted Neo-Folk and Noir-Pop Songs
Paris Amour is not an album about Paris, but it is very much an album of Paris. For singer, songwriter, composer and producer Keren Ann, every song that she writes represents a chapter of her life and takes on an identity deeply entwined with the place in which it was created. Very often one album can contain snapshots from several continents, reflecting her homes in France and New York City and her travels across the globe. Paris Amour, performed in French, is unique in having been crafted entirely in her home in Paris’ Montmartre neighborhood.
“After years of writing songs,” Keren Ann says, “I find that the environment in which you write tends to become a big part of the project. Many of the songs on this album have nothing to do with Paris – many of them travel to the seaside – but all of them feel like horizons viewed from my living room.”
Out September 12, 2025 via her own Bring Back Music label, Paris Amour is Keren Ann’s tenth solo album, a stunningly diverse and deeply personal collection of songs that captures a range of emotions with the vibrancy and nuance of a film score, produced by the composer herself.
Pre-Save/Pre-Order Paris Amour HERE and pre-order (CD/Vinyl) HERE
Three preview tracks from the album, “Paris Amour,” “La Sublime Solitude,” and “La Musique À Fond” are available now on all DSPs. LISTEN HERE
She has also released a music video for “La Musique À Fond” and lyric videos for “Paris Amour” and “La Sublime Solitude.” WATCH HERE This homecoming arrives 25 years after Keren Ann Zeidel released her debut album, La Biographie de Luka Philipsen, in 2000. She made her English-language debut in 2003 with the critically acclaimed Not Going Anywhere. That album, as well as her next three were released in the US by the iconic Blue Note Records. The New York Times wrote, “Her clear, calm voice is one of serene mystery and subtle melancholy: cool but never detached.” The Guardian hailed her “meticulously crafted songs, at once languorous and eerie.” She has also been featured in profiles and reviews by NPR, Pitchfork, The New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, and many others.
Keren Ann’s songs have been performed by an impressive array of artists including, Iggy Pop, Anna Calvi, Jane Birkin and Henri Salvador, and she counts among her collaborators David Byrne, Questlove of The Roots, and the Icelandic musician Barði Jóhannsson, with whom she formed the duo Lady & Bird.
Situated on a hilltop in the 18th arrondissement, Montmartre offers expansive views of the City of Lights. Keren Ann sees herself as an observer on that hill, viewing Paris and telling its myriad stories in song. She is in many ways a citizen of the world – but Paris, and Montmartre in particular, has always been home. The album’s title track is a direct love letter to that home, while the album, for all its varied subjects and impressions, is inevitably shaped by the experience of living there.
The album opens with “La Sublime Solitude” (The Sublime Solitude), a celebration of seclusion, the importance of spending time with oneself. The singer reveals, “I’ve been blessed with love in my life and I love couplehood, but I, as a writer, need my own space. That’s why the album begins with this song about the beauty of solitude.”
The pulsating urgency of “La Musique À Fond” (Loud Music), with its repeated entreaties in English (“Wake me up / Hit me up”), is a delectable homage to the power of music. It offers an escape of sorts from the album’s more melancholy themes, exulting in the transcendent power of a song to overcome pain and heartbreak.
The album ends with the striking “LÉcho des Tirs” (The Echo of Gunfire), a collaboration with Israeli-born jazz trumpeter Avishai Cohen, a longtime musical partner. Cohen’s trumpet screams and whispers over Keren Ann’s agitated electronic groove, lamenting the aftermath of violence with a steadfast refusal to abandon hope.
“Some of the subjects that I speak about can be very dark,” Keren Ann admits. “But for me, there is something very luminous about this record.” Indeed, Paris Amour contains joy and mourning, sensuality and yearning, passion and loneliness, amour and musique – all the emotions and sensations that thrive in a city with the richness and pulse of Paris.
Follow Keren Ann Facebook Instagram X
September 2, 2025
AMERICA PROVES THEY’VE ALWAYS LOVED OASIS
AMERICA PROVES THEY’VE ALWAYS
LOVED OASIS
ELECTRIFYING STADIUM SHOWS IN
CHICAGO AND NEW JERSEY KICKOFF A
TRANSCENDENT RETURN TO THE US
Billboard “Oasis have nothing left to prove. Their songs have, and do, stand the test of time.”
The Washington Post “Oasis is back. And this time, the whole world is singing along.”
The Hollywood Reporter “Oasis ’25 is just the largest-scale demonstration this season of what Americans have been consistently telling entertainment companies for a while now: We like feeling wildly human emotions, and we like feeling them together.”
Rolling Stone “The response to the whole of Oasis's catalog, as well as the remarkable amount of twentysomethings in the crowd, made the case that the band has grown a whole new fanbase across the Atlantic.”
Billboard “They have mastered the art of turning a football stadium into a pub sing-along with 60,000+ of their closest fans.”
Chicago Sun-Times “Oasis rewrites history with unified performance signaling second coming of Britpop band.”
Consequence of Sound “It’s everything an Oasis fan could want.”
USA Today “New best friends were made – at least for 120 minutes on a rainy weekend night – as beers were hoisted and lyrics were shouted.”
Variety “The concert felt less like a rehash of the greatest hits of the 1990s, more like witnessing a band still at the peak of its powers.”
Variety “The show was over, but another encore of sorts occurred on the 30-minute commute back to New York City, as train cars buzzed with Oasis fans belting out the choruses to ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger,’ ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Live Forever’ a capella. There were older couples who had traveled from overseas, fans in their 20s and 30s who never thought they’d see Oasis live, and children wearing ‘Live Forever’ shirts that were born after the band broke up in 2009.”
Stereogum “The overwhelming takeaway from this gig was that, at long last, Oasis have conquered America.”
Liam Gallagher & Noel Gallagher at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on September 1st, 2025
Courtesy of Big Brother Recordings
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025, New York, NY – On announcement of the globe shattering news of their return to North America, Oasis challenged, “America, you have one last chance to prove that you loved us all along,” and upon touching down in Chicago’s Soldier Field last Thursday, Rolling Stone confirmed, “Oasis finally conquer America at first U.S. show in 17 years.”
The band have since played two sold-out shows at East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium where The Hollywood Reporter testified it was “a jolt of spiritual energy,” while Billboard
declared the show “proved that Oasis had won the game, whether or not they’d ever really played it.”
On the first night of the East Rutherford shows, Liam proclaimed, “...we love coming here. It’s fucking beautiful.”
Before the crowd took over singing “Don’t Look Back In Anger,” Noel asked them, “How many people here are seeing us for the first time? This is why we’re doing it. You may have wondered what it might be like to sing this next song with 60-70,000 of your fellow Oasis fans. Well you’re about to find out what that feeling is like.”
As the final notes of the show rang through the stadium, Liam said, “Thank you for helping us put this band back on the map again. In all these beautiful stadiums. Look after yourselves, stay safe and beware of knobheads.”
The band will continue their US run in Los Angeles, CA where they will play back-to-back sold out shows at Rose Bowl Stadium before concluding the North American leg with two sold-out shows at Mexico City’s GNP Seguros Stadium.
Ahead of the North American kickoff, Oasis released “Bring It On Down (Live from Edinburgh, 9 August ‘25).” The track was recorded live on Saturday, August 9th, at the second of three sold-out nights at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium where they performed to a total over 204,000 fans. “Bring It On Down (Live from Edinburgh, 9 August ‘25)” follows “Slide Away (Live from Cardiff, 4 July ‘25),” “Cigarettes & Alcohol (Live from Manchester, 11 July ‘25),” and “Little By Little (Live from London, 2 August ‘25).”
Also released in the lead up to North America was the limited-edition Oasis “Complete Studio Album Collection” box set – including all seven studio albums plus iconic B-sides album The Masterplan on vinyl and CD formats. Available HERE.
(What’s The Story) Morning Glory? Deluxe 30th Anniversary Edition will be released on October 3rd with limited-edition formats featuring new unplugged versions of classic tracks. Pre-order HERE.
BAND MEMBERS
Liam Gallagher (vocals), Noel Gallagher (guitar, vocals), Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs (guitar), Gem Archer (guitar), Andy Bell (bass) and Joey Waronker (drums).
ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS
Christian Madden (keyboards), Alastair White (trombone), Steve Hamilton (saxophone), Joe Auckland (trumpet).
OASIS LIVE ‘25 U.S. SETLIST
“Hello”
“Acquiesce”
“Morning Glory”
“Some Might Say”
“Bring It On Down”
“Cigarettes & Alcohol”
“Fade Away”
“Supersonic”
“Roll With It”
“Talk Tonight” (Noel lead vocals)
“Half The World Away” (Noel lead vocals)
“Little By Little” (Noel lead vocals)
“D’You Know What I Mean?”
“Stand By Me”
“Cast No Shadow”
“Slide Away”
“Whatever”
“Live Forever”
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”
“The Masterplan” (Noel lead vocals)
“Don’t Look Back In Anger” (Noel lead vocals)
“Wonderwall”
“Champagne Supernova”
OASIS LIVE ‘25 TOUR DATES
Saturday, September 6 – Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles, CA (SOLD OUT)
Sunday, September 7 – Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles, CA (SOLD OUT)
Friday, September 12 – Estadio GNP Seguros, Mexico City, MX (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, September 13 – Estadio GNP Seguros, Mexico City, MX (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, September 27 – Wembley Stadium, London, UK (SOLD OUT)
Sunday, September 28 – Wembley Stadium, London, UK (SOLD OUT)
Tuesday, October 21 – Goyang Stadium, Seoul, South Korea (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, October 25 – Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan (SOLD OUT)
Sunday, October 26 – Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan (SOLD OUT)
Friday, October 31 – Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Australia (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, November 1 – Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Australia (SOLD OUT)
Tuesday, November 4 – Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Australia (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, November 7 – Accor Stadium, Sydney, Australia (SOLD OUT)
Sunday, November 8 – Accor Stadium, Sydney, Australia (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, November 15 – Estadio River Plate, Buenos Aires, Argentina (SOLD OUT)
Sunday, November 16 – Estadio River Plate, Buenos Aires, Argentina (SOLD OUT)
Wednesday, November 19 – Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, November 22 – Estadio MorumBIS, São Paulo, Brazil (SOLD OUT)
Sunday, November 23 – Estadio MorumBIS, São Paulo, Brazil (SOLD OUT)
Follow Oasis:
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Street Eaters 'Opaque' LP out this Friday | “No Excuse” Single | US Tour
Street Eaters
Opaque LP out this Friday, September 5 via Dirt Cult Records
Share New Single, “ No Excuse ”
US Tour Continues
Tour dates below + here
“Street Eaters Sling Powerful Post-Punk” – SPIN
“catchy, skull-crushing buzz” – AV Club
“channels the raw approach to rock ‘n’ roll once taken by ’70s and ’80s
innovators such as Wipers, Gang of Four, and X.” – BUST
"Feedback whips and howls, [they] coil and snap like their Bay Area forebears in the Dead Kennedys, and they wrap themselves in atmosphere like Savages." – FLOOD
“rattled post-punk energy” – Post-Trash
"[Opaque] brims with cathartic energy...Few bands embody punk’s radical
spirit of resilience like Street Eaters" - AudioFuzz
Singles: “
Tempers
” “
Spectres
” “
No Excuse
”
Credit: Heather Frienkel
Oakland post-punk rockers Street Eaters will release their brand new studio album Opaque this Friday, September 5 via Dirt Cult Records. Earning acclaim spanning Post-Trash, NPR “Into Music”, Glide Magazine, Decibel Magazine MAGNET Magazine, New Noise Magazine, Punknews,org, Tour Stories with Joe Plummer podcast and it is a powerful seven track collection that thrums with both rage and redemption. Since their last album in 2017, not only did they weather a global pandemic along with the rest of us, frontwoman Megan March also had a child. While becoming a mother was, as she puts it, “an incredible joy and opportunity to rewire emotional pathways and deep wounds,” childbirth was both a traumatizing and transformational experience. Ironically born on the Fourth of July, her baby immediately entered a world steeped in bureaucracy, as the hospital was so understaffed that Megan was neglected until the last moment, forced to endure an emergency C-section.
New single “No Excuse” clatters in next like a rusty tank — eerily appropriate for these times. “It’s about seeing all of these near-apocalyptic military situations that we keep careening toward over and over and over again,” No says. “The toxic idea of war where you don't even realize that you could blow up the whole world just for these political distractions that result in genocide,” March adds.
On Opaque co-founders Megan March (drummer/vocalist) and John No (bass/vocals) are joined by guitarist Joan Toledo since 2019, a refugee from transphobic family and government in Florida, former editor of Maximum Rocknroll Magazine and radical union organizer at City Lights Books in San Francisco. The new collection attempts to stitch up the bloody wounds of their past — a meditation on birth and death, excavated trauma, and trying to find steadfast kin in a world that’s becoming more and more splintered and cruel. It is almost like a body in the process of healing: messy, broken, beautiful, and nevertheless alive.
“Opaque is a record that gets deep into the stark and beautiful reality of growth and transition from trauma and loss,” says March. “What does it mean to wake up one day and realize you are living the way you have always demanded to live — yet with all those jagged piles of emotional, physical, and social/political baggage still slicing through the veil?” Still, the album isn’t just confrontational — it’s complicated. A grasping toward identity, understanding, a place in the world in the process of being curated. “It’s a transition into finding peace with the world — a resonant connection with community and chosen family, getting beyond a lot of the pain and hurt,” No says. “We're trying to suture up wounds at this point and create something that’s healthy.”
The band have toured extensively with Screaming Females and Jawbreaker among others, and now fans will have more chances to experience their fierce live show with a slew of dates that kicks off later this month!
Website | Facebook | X | Instagram | TikTok
Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Street Eaters tour dates - TICKETS
9/11: Silver Spring, MD @ Quarry House
w/ Sensor Ghost, Vampyres From Africa
9/12: Philadelphia, PA @ God’s Automatic Body
w/ HIDE, Pinkwash
9/13: Brooklyn, NY @ Hart Bar
w/ Discreet Charms, Weegee
9/15: San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
w/ Unwound
Lady Wray shares titular track from forthcoming new album + North American tour starts September 28
LADY WRAY SHARES TITLE TRACK FROM FORTHCOMING ALBUM
COVER GIRL OUT SEPTEMBER 26TH
VIA BIG CROWN RECORDS
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR BEGINS SEPTEMBER 28
Lady Wray by Shervin Lainez
"takes listeners back to the roots of R&B"
Billboard
“that kind of irresistible, honey-dipped voice one can only be born with”
The New York Times Magazine
"Nicole Wray's solo act shepherds '60s and '70s R&B styles into the present"
NPR
“Cover Girl”
https://lnk.to/LadyWrayCoverGirlSingleAlbumPreOrder
Cover Girl
(September 2, 2025) - Lady Wray shares the final advance offering from her forthcoming new album, releasing its title track. “Cover Girl” serves as the dominant message behind Nicole’s upcoming album, written as a reminder to herself of what’s most important in life as she’s watched her daughter grow up. A stripped down, heartfelt ballad, the song defies the importance placed on modern beauty standards and materialism, and chooses an uplifting message of self empowerment. Nicole’s new album Cover Girl, is out September 26th via Big Crown Records.
Cover Girl elevates Wray’s artistry as the latest product of her decade-spanning partnership with Grammy Award winning producer Leon Michels (Clairo, Norah Jones, Freddie Gibbs). Together, Wray and Michels have crafted a joyful, revitalized vision of Wray’s sound, which draws from several of her formative musical influences, ‘60s and ‘70s-inspired soul and disco, ‘90s hip-hop and R&B, and gospel. Cover Girl also captures Wray turning the focus of her writing inward, looking back fondly on herself as a little girl as she’s grown as a mother in the years since 2022’s Piece of Me, living vivaciously with the same warmth she sees watching her daughter grow up.
Lady Wray’s North American tour begins September 28th in Kingston, NY, and she’ll be playing shows across the continent including dates in New York City, Toronto, Chicago, and LA, before concluding in Austin, Texas on November 22nd. Remaining tickets are available at ladynicolewray.com.
Following a series of industry road bumps and the doubts that can come with finding your footing when beginning a career in music at just 16, Lady Wray reclaimed the spirit she first brought to music singing in her hometown church choir. Her two previous albums on Big Crown Records, 2016’s Queen Alone and 2022’s Piece of Me, saw her reimagine her identity as a musician exactly how she wanted to be seen, and the latter of which led to her late night TV debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (performing “Come On In”) and perform a rousting NPR Tiny Desk Concert. With Cover Girl, Nicole is letting her hair down, continuing her decade-spanning partnership with Leon Michels to infuse the raw soul and gospel power in her voice with a self-assured collection of contemporary R&B, soul and funk songs that speak to her joy and the revived bliss of this stage of her career.
Listen to “Cover Girl” above, see below for Lady Wray’s upcoming North American tour dates and more album details, and stay tuned for more from Lady Wray coming soon.
Lady Wray 2025 Live Dates
9/28 - Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s
9/29 - Washington, DC @ Union Stage
9/30 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry
10/2 - New York, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10/3 - Hamden, CT @ SPACE Ballroom
10/4 - Amherst, MA @ The Drake
10/5 - Portland, ME @ Oxbow
10/7 - Montreal, QC @ Bar le Riz
10/8 - Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
10/10 - Louisville, KY @ Whirling Tiger
10/11 - Nashville, TN @ Fogg Street
10/13 - Milwaukee, WI @ High Noon Saloon
10/14 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
11/6 - San Diego, CA, CA @ Quartyard
11/7 - Riverside, CA @ Farm House Collective
11/8 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
11/9 - San Francisco @ The Chapel
11/11 - Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
11/12 - Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl
11/14 - Bend, OR @ Volcanic Theater Pub
11/15 - Boise, ID @ Shrine Social Club
11/16 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
11/18 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
11/20 - Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips
11/21 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
11/22 - Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn
SHONEN KNIFE announces expanded "Our Best Place (2025 Edition)" on vinyl and first reissue of debut cassette ever! On Tour This Month!
Legendary Japanese Punk Band
ANNOUNCES OUR BEST PLACE (2025 EDITION) ON VINYL
AND THE FIRST REISSUE OF THEIR LEGENDARY DEBUT
MINNA TANOSHIKU ON CASSETTE
Only Available Initially at Merch Table
at their Everyone Happy U.S. Tour This Fall
Sponsored by Momokawa Sake
SHONEN KNIFEphoto credit: Tomoko Ota
SEPTEMBER 2, 2025 [NEW YORK, NY] -- In advance of Shonen Knife’s EVERYBODY HAPPY U.S. Tour (their first North American dates since 2019!) which is sponsored by Momokawa Sake, the Japanese punk legends are announcing the release of Our Best Place (Expanded Edition) on September 19, 2025 via Good Charamel.
Originally released digitally and on CD on February 15, 2023, the expanded edition will be officially released on vinyl and will initially be available only at the merch table on their tour (it will be made available at the Good Charamel online store once the tour has concluded at the end of October).
“Our Best Place which was released in 2023 became a representative album of Shonen Knife,” says Naoko, founding member and lead vocalist. “It includes many of our punk pop songs. The 2025 vinyl version has fabulous embroidered artwork and will a collector’s item for our fans! “Not only that, I hope this vinyl release will be a good opportunity for other people to know our music!”
In addition to the original album’s 10 songs, four new songs have been added to the tracklisting: “Nice Day (‘60s Mix),” “The Story of Baumkuchen (Japanese Version),” “Girls Rock (2023 Japanese Version)” and “Green Tea (2025 Naoko Vocal Version).” Considered an immediate critical classic upon its release, Our Best Place found the trio returning to the quirky punk-pop flavor that fueled their first four albums and made fans out of Nirvana, Redd Kross, and Sonic Youth (among many, many others). All Music included it in their “Favorite Rock Albums of 2023,” praising “Into their fifth decade, the Japanese trio sound as happily hooky as ever as they tackle punky pop and poppy punk with joyous abandon.” SPILL Magazine noted "the playfulness of their early sound with the hard rock influence that they’ve adopted as of late… make this an eagerly anticipated return to their roots, especially for long-time fans.” The Punk Site added, “there’s something timeless, life affirming and comforting knowing they will always be there if you need a pick me up.”
“We played songs from Our Best Place during our European, U.K. tour and Japanese tours since it was released and the reaction of the audience is always very good which made me recognize it is a fun album! It also has an essence of early Shonen Knife.”
In addition to the release of Our Best Place (2025 Edition), Shonen Knife is also reissuing Minna Tanoshiku, their extremely rare and much sought after debut cassette. Retaining the original’s D.I.Y. aesthetic and format, their reissue will only be made available on cassette for purchase at the merch table at the band’s concerts. Released in 1982, Minna Tanoshiku (translated from Japanese to mean “Everybody Happy”), only 70 copies of the original 13 songs were made (50 were released by the band themselves and an additional 20 copies were pressed by Zero Records before the band requested duplication to be ceased). The cassette was never reissued in any format… until now!
“I was so happy when we released Minna Tanoshiku,” beams Naoko. “Our friends suggested we release a cassette album when they saw our show in 1982.” Recorded at home, the band even dubbed the cassettes themselves! “Songs and lyrics are very keen like a knife. Our original bassist Michie liked to read books and she wrote very artistic avantgarde lyrics [for this album]. The basic attitude of my songwriting policy has always been the same from the beginning, but these early songs are so unique, interesting and fun. It's hard to put into words but once you listen to it. You will be surprised at the worldview on it that defies common sense!” Retaining the original’s format on cassette, Naoko adds, “The cassette tape will be a tiny mysterious treasure box and a time capsule of Shonen Knife.”
About their upcoming tour of the U.S., Naoko says, "We're so excited to bring our music to fans across North America and celebrate together with delicious sake. Shonen Knife is about fun, friendship, and happiness, and we can't wait to share that with everyone."
The Everyone Happy U.S. Tour promises to be an unforgettable experience, blending Shonen Knife’s iconic sound with the joy of cultural tradition. Whether longtime devotees or new listeners, fans will be treated to a vibrant, energetic show that celebrates the band's legacy and the simple joy of music… With exclusive releases in the vinyl version of Our Best Place (2025 Edition) and the first reissue of Minna Tanoshiku on cassette in over 40 years only available at the merch table on these tourdates, attendance is mandatory!
