Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 32
August 19, 2025
Greg Freeman Shares "Salesman" Single + Video via FLOOD
Announce US West Coast Dates + UK/EU Tour,
October Grandaddy Dates
Read Perfectly Imperfect Feature
Burnover LP Out August 22
via Transgressive/Canvasback Records
Credit: Stevie GibbsPRE-SAVE: Greg Freeman - BurnoverPre-save
LISTEN/WATCH & SHARE: Greg Freeman - "Salesman"
YouTube | Stream
LISTEN/WATCH & SHARE: Greg Freeman - "Gallic Shrug"
YouTube | Stream
LISTEN/WATCH & SHARE: Greg Freeman - "Curtain"
YouTube | Stream
LISTEN/WATCH & SHARE: Greg Freeman - "Point and Shoot"
YouTube | Stream
LISTEN & SHARE: Greg Freeman - I Looked Out
Stream PRAISE FOR GREG FREEMAN
"Greg’s also a natural-born songwriter; a vivid, observant lyricist with an ability to capture little snapshots of life and turn them into hummable refrains. There’s substance to his songs, layers of depth that go beyond the twangy embellishments on the surface."
- Brooklyn Vegan
“ A captivating set of off-kilter country-rock from a new Americana eccentric”
- MOJO
"Some musicians make you wonder if what they’re doing is some sort of ironic mischief. Not Greg Freeman. He really means every word, bashing away on his electric guitar as bandmates on bass, drums, saxophone, and pedal steel guitar add rich colors to his visions."
- Rolling Stone
"There’s a certain Vermonter who made a really tremendous singer-songwriter record in 2022, and his name is Greg fucking Freeman—he also happens to be one of the best guitarists alive. I Looked Out is dripping with feedback, distorted by the reliquary of Florida men, sobering, end-times-ridden folklore and a Holy War of the interpersonal woven into the God-fearing and mysterious."
-Paste
Greg Freeman today has released his new track "Salesman," the final single before his highly anticipated LP Burnover, out August 22nd via Transgressive Records/Canvasback Music. The track is accompanied by a Guy Zozak-directed video and follows singles "Gallic Shrug," "Curtain," and "Point and Shoot," which earned early praise and support from Rolling Stone, Stereogum, Paste, Brooklyn Vegan, Consequence, and more.
"'Salesman' is technically a serious song about something sad," Freeman explains. "But also one of the more upbeat songs on the album. It's also the only one we recorded pretty much fully live, and with my touring band."
Freeman recently played a show with This Is Lorelei at NYC's Knockdown Center, and has a busy year of touring ahead–he's embarking on an August EU headlining tour, and then will cap it off with an October U.S. tour supporting Grandaddy, and a headlining West Coast tour in December.
When Freeman quietly released his debut LP I Looked Out in 2022, it had no PR campaign, label, or music industry promo, but still garnered praise from notable critics, with Steven Hyden of UPROXX calling it “my favorite album of 2022 that I discovered in 2023,” and Paste Magazine naming it among the 25 Best Debut Albums of the 2020s. The word-of-mouth success of that release had Freeman on a relentless tour schedule.
"Salesman" is out today. Burnover is due for release August 22nd via Transgressive/Canvasback.
Greg Freeman - "Salesman"
Greg Freeman Live:
Aug 30 - Dorset, UK - End of the Road Festival
Sept 1 - Brighton, UK - The Albert
Sept 2 - London, UK - The Lexington
Sept 3 - London, UK - Rough Trade East
Sept 5 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
Sept 6 - Glasgow, UK - The Hug and Pint
Sept 7 - Dublin, IE - The Workmans Club
Sept 9 - Manchester, UK - YES
Sept 10 - Cardiff, UK - Clwb Ifor Bach
Sept 11 - Birmingham, UK - Hare and Hounds
Sept 13 - Utrecht, NL - Ekko
Sept 14 - Cologne, DE - Blue Shell
Sept 15 - Hamburg, DE - Molotow
Sept 17 - Stockholm, SE - Bar Brooklyn
Sept 18 - Copenhagen, DK - Vega
Sept 19 - Berlin, DE - Lark
Oct 8 - Minneapolis, MN - First Ave #
Oct 9 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall #
Oct 10 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrew’s Hall #
Oct 11 - Toronto, ON - Danforth #
Oct 13 - Montreal, QC - Le Studio TD #
Oct 14 - Boston, MA - Royale #
Oct 15 - New York, NY - Brooklyn Steel #
Oct 18 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer #
Dec 1 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada
Dec 2 - Austin, TX - 29th Street Ballroom
Dec 4 - Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar
Dec 5 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
Dec 6 - San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop
Dec 8 - Seattle, WA - Barboza
Dec 9 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
Dec 11 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
Dec 13 - Denver, CO - Globe Hall
Dec 15 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway
Dec 16 - Nashville, TN - The Blue Room at Third Man Records
# supporting Grandaddy
Dandy Warhols and Kula Shaker co-headline Fall tour
Kula Shaker and Dandy Warhols co-headline tour: * indicates Kula Shaker only / ^ indicates Dandy Warhols only Sept 16 - Chicago, IL @ Metro *Sept 18 - Toronto, ON @ Opera House *Sept 19 - Montreal, QC @ Le Studio TD *Sept 21 - Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall *Sept 22 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza *Sep 22 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall ^Sep 23 - Denver, CO @ Washington's Foco ^Sep 25 - Dallas, TX @ Longhorn BallroomSep 26 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk (Levitation 2025)Sep 27 - Houston, TX @ The Heights TheaterSep 29 - Santa Fe, NM @ The BridgeSep 30 - Phoenix, AZ @ MarqueeOct. 2 - Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory OCOct. 3 - San Diego, CA @ Humphrey'sOct. 4 - Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet'sOct. 6 - Los Angeles, CA @ BellwetherOct. 8 - San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
Halima shares "november like u" + debut album due 9/19
HALIMA SHARES NEW SINGLE & MUSIC VIDEO “NOVEMBER LIKE U”
DEBUT ALBUM SWEET TOOTH DUE SEPTEMBER 19TH VIA DRINK SUM WTR
PERFORMING HEADLINE NY ALBUM RELEASE SHOW OCT 7TH
Photo Credit Bellamy Brewster
“At once bustling and tender”
The FADER
“Halima channels otherworldly R&B forces”
Clash
“an expansive blend of genres”
Under The Radar
"november like u"
LISTEN:
https://drinksumwtr.lnk.to/Halima-november-like-u
WATCH:
SWEET TOOTH
PRE-ORDER:
https://drinksumwtr.lnk.to/Halima-SWEET-TOOTH
(Aug 19th, 2025) - Today, Halima returns with "november like u," a steely, pitch-shifting slow jam outlining an imperfectly perfect love. Halima describes the song as, “A queer fairytale, or at least my version of one.” The song is another taste off her forthcoming debut album, SWEET TOOTH, arriving September 19th via drink sum wtr. The single also comes alongside a Alain Gr-Polanco-directed video.
Speaking about filming the music video Halima shares, “For ‘november like u’ Alain (the director) and I leaned into the cheekiest side of SWEET TOOTH - sweet and playful but still rich like the rest of the project. We pulled from iconic childhood staples that felt magical and a little over the top, like Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim, A Cinderella Story. We wanted to bring back that same nostalgic rush, but make it deliciously queer. In post, we got to really play with VFX: I shrink into a miniature version of myself, eat myself in pure SWEET TOOTH gluttony, and Samantha multiplies on screen to match the “like u like u like u” hook. Alain went absolutely bonkers with it.”
Upon the upcoming album release Halima will be performing her headline NY album release show on October 7th at Night Club 101.
Framed as one long night out - from twilight anticipation to the quiet clarity of sunrise - SWEET TOOTH is a cinematic debut tracing years of self-discovery and emotional reckoning. The album includes previous single / video “cocoa body,” a hot and hazy dance club track with choreography by Roy Garzon and Jordan Kaya, and “eau de vie,” an intimate anthem that’s all breath and yearning. Across the album, Halima creates a world where sultry club bangers meet deep ballads, in a hybrid of honeyed Afro-pop and scorched R&B. Not genre-less - but genre-full!
Halima co-produced the album with a sharp range of producers, including Mikey Freedom Hart (A$AP Rocky, Dev Hynes/Blood Orange, Empress Of), and the album explores desire, transformation, and the complexity of sweetness. "Sweetness on my terms,” Halima offers - a mantra for reclaiming softness without surrendering strength. “The album is about returning to yourself through chaos, and loving the parts of the journey that hurt - the pleasure and the pain”
Though SWEET TOOTH marks her full-length debut, Halima calls it an epilogue:
"Am I the person that I wanted to become? I think so. I've given myself permission to be bold, to be free. To take up space."
SWEET TOOTH follows her XYZ EP and EXU, Halima’s first release via drink sum wtr, where she seamlessly wove together UK soul, Garage and experimental R&B.
Listen to "november like u" above and stay tuned for more from Halima coming soon.
Track artwork
Upcoming Shows:
10/7/25 - New York, NY @ Nightclub 101
10/17/25 - London, UK @ Barbican w/ Touching Bass & Illnoledge
10/18/25 - Bristol, UK @ St. Dunstans House w/ PRVNA and LEXXI
Halima
SWEET TOOTH
September 19, 2025
drink sum wtr
1. omoge
2. eleven eleven
3. eau de vie
4. oops
5. sweet tooth
6. wasting my body
7. cocoa body
8. feel about it
9. laundromat
10. november like u
11. callum
Connect with Halima
Instagram | TikTok | Soundcloud | Bandcamp
London art-rock outfit Cherry i emerge with 'The Arsonist' – produced by Ali Chant
Introducing London band Cherry iWar, myth, and memory collide on art-rock dirge 'The Arsonist' - produced by Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Youth Lagoon, Soccer Mommy)
Watch video HERE
Hi-Res Assets HERE
Photo credit: Zosia KibaloWATCH 'The Arsonist':
https://youtu.be/zeE7lUtI7B0
STREAM 'The Arsonist':
https://ffm.to/cherry-i-thearsonist(19th August) London outfit Cherry i emerge today with their unsettling and cinematic new single ‘The Arsonist’, produced by Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Youth Lagoon, Soccer Mommy).
A slow-creeping art-rock dirge that draws from myth and modern conflict, the single reframes harrowing events through a cryptic, surrealist lens: a divine arsonist trapped inside a dog, prowling the streets of Kyiv.
Built on detuned guitars and submerged percussion, ‘The Arsonist’ drifts through the liminal space between The Smile’s unsettling surrealism and King Krule’s shadowy melancholy, with glints of Portishead’s brooding atmosphere and Beth Gibbons’ fragile intensity. The result is vivid and enigmatic - anchored by singer Nikol’s spectral delivery, her voice carrying a distinctive, quivering lilt that shifts between whisper and lament.
On the release of 'The Arsonist' - Nikol said:
“The lyrics came out of a very tough time. I wanted to take a fairy tale or Greek myth-style approach to something too difficult to look at head-on. Some of our band members are Ukrainian refugees, so the song became a way to process those feelings, by creating distance without losing the truth. It revolves around themes of processing the trauma of war, displacement and loss. The lyrics themselves take on a more vague approach consisting of a fairytale-like reimagining of events wherein The Arsonist is this Greek god type destructive force, trapped inside a dog wreaking havoc on the streets of Kyiv."
Recording with Ali Chant in January was, Nikol says, “a dream come true. He knows how to listen for what’s missing or what might be clogging up a moment. And he’s just lovely to be around - whenever I get sad I picture myself back on that couch in the studio.”
Visually, ‘The Arsonist’ extends into a Lynchian lyric video, deepening its mystic and eerie qualities, with Nikol adding: “I’m proud of the atmosphere we’ve created. I think it conjures something really vivid and a succinct representation of our vision for the band."
Cherry i’s ethos is rooted in connection - with each other, their London scene, and the audiences they hope to move. They’ve built a reputation as one of London’s most intriguing new live bands, with frequent appearances at cult venues such as The Windmill and The George Tavern. As Nikol puts it: “If people are excited by our music and feel it’s a worthy soundtrack to their lives, that’s all I can hope for.”
New single 'The Arsonist' is out now. Cherry i play FarmFest on 23 August and Sebright Arms on 31 August.
Cherry i are: Nastya (guitar, vocals), Nikol (lead vocals, guitar), Slava (bass), Ant (drums)
LIVE DATES
23rd August - FarmFest, Rickmansworth
31st August - Sebright Arms, London
'The Arsonist' - single artworkFollow Cherry i
Instagram: @cherryiband
TikTok: @cherryi.band
August 18, 2025
Patrick Wolf Releases 'Better Or Worse' EP Today - USA + Canada Fall Tour
Patrick Wolf Releases Better Or Worse EP TodayCrying The Neck Out Today via Apport / Virgin Music USA/Canada Fall Tour
August 18, 2025 - New York, NY: Following universal acclaim for his new album Crying The Neck , released in June, Patrick Wolf announces the release of the 6-track Better Or Worse EP, available today via Apport / Virgin Music. The EP houses new versions, re-imaginings and remixes of 'Better Or Worse' alongside two new tracks: 'Hymne D’Étranger', the first French language song Wolf has written, and 'She Didn’t Dance, a cover of the Irish folk song. To accompany today’s announcement Wolf is sharing 'Mejora O Empeorar', a new production and Spanish language version of 'Better Or Worse'. Listen to 'Mejor O Empeorar' On YouTube:
Commentating on the EP Wolf says: “Better or Worse is a short, but as powerful as I could write, little anthem of empowerment and healing that I began writing on my mountain dulcimer for my best friend who was going through a brutal divorce and lost her mother to cancer three years after I lost mine. The writing turned into advice from both our mothers in the end. All the folklore of the east Kent tradition of The Hooden Horse and its metaphor of resurrection sits as the core mythology of the song. Spanish is a language I’ve always adored listening to in music and speaking since I was a teenager when I first learnt it, I've got my own tutor now to get to the place I would love with speaking and singing. For my birthday this summer I went on an art mission to visit the work of the painter and poet Jose Moreno Villa in Malaga and “Better or Worse” was on my mind the whole journey, so much so that I began translating it slowly over my stay. It was also my challenge while there to make my first dance alone and sober after reaching my five year recovery birthday, but generally for many nights out I was busy making notes on and falling in love with Spanish language dance and pop music production and songwriting, so my new translation and re-production of Better or Worse ‘Mejora O Empeorar’ Is what I came home with, signed off by my tutor!”
Better Or Worse
EP tracklist:1. Better Or Worse2. Hymne D'Étranger3. She Didn't Dance4. Mejora O Empeorar5. Better or Worse (Instrumental)6. Better or Worse (El Lobo remix) Wolf returns to North America for the first time in thirteen years starting the tour in Vancouver on September 17 and wrapping up in Washington DC on November 19. Full dates below. 
Acclaim for
Crying The Neck
"A cleansing, literary, and intricate album, Crying the Neck not only feels like a rebirth for one of this century’s most unique artists, but perhaps the melancholy statement we need to meet these difficult times.” SPIN
"Crying the Neck is a mystical and grand return for one of the great art-pop auteurs of the aughts, hopefully back to stay.” The Needle Drop
“...he’s an incredibly compelling record maker and songwriter, a true world-builder in the finest fashion of one-man-studio-savants.” Spectrum Culture
“Beautiful... The album swings between the tender and the bruised throughout, with Wolf’s voice going from a whisper to a soar, all resulting in a most welcome return for this most singular artist.” Uncut – 8/10 “A song cycle drawing a line between Rufus Wainwright maximalism and The Waterboys... Breathtaking.” MOJO – 4 stars **** “Epic comeback from the prince of orchestral art-pop. It’s as widescreen as anything he’s done.” Record Collector – 4 stars **** “Monumental... genius... A cathartic, erudite, and complex work that serves as the beginning of a new chapter for Wolf.” The Quietus (Album of the Week) “A complex treatise on seasonal life in Britain... At the heart of it all is a hopeful study of overcoming grief, wrapped in the language of folkloric ritual.” The Times – 4 stars **** “Utterly sumptuous... Some of the prose here is as astounding as it is heartbreaking... It demands your attention” God is in The TV – 9/10 “A ravishing song cycle... this is a bold, inventive and life-affirming return.” The Sun – 4 stars **** “An album of startling beauty... A glorious return from one of our most distinctive artists.” MusicOMH – 4 stars **** (Album of the Week) “Crying The Neck is fabulous and quite remarkable.” Rock’n’Reel – 4 stars **** “A riveting record rich with cathartic honesty, Crying The Neck marks a truly emphatic return.” Clash “Staggeringly beautiful... A collection of intensely personal songs detailing addiction and the loss of his mother while also looking outwards and making the personal political...A remarkable collection which may be his best work to date.” NARC – 9/10 “Glorious... One of the finest singers of the modern generation... This album is a really accomplished feat of studio brilliance and lovingly crafted melodies.” Echoes and Dust “Wolf remains one of the most gifted artists of his generation... he’s at the peak of his powers... Crying The Neck finds him getting into his stride again.” The Line Of Best Fit “Dramatic, emotionally charged, powerful chamber pop... this is inspirational and passionate work.” The Song Bar
The aftermath of addiction, crisis, bankruptcy, recovery and survival shaped The Night Safari , Patrick Wolf’s 2023 return to music after ten years lost to creative impasse and personal upheaval. Now, with seventh studio album Crying The Neck , the 41-year-old has created a confident and hopeful record inspired by the transfiguring power of grief at the death of his mother, rehabilitation, local folklore and the East Kentish landscape. Crying The Neck , his first new album in thirteen years and the first in a planned four album series, was written and recorded in the Kent coastal town of Ramsgate that Wolf now calls home. Here, he has a peaceful studio in the garden, the place in which he was able to find his voice again. In a period of rebuilding, Crying The Neck was entirely written, composed, produced and arranged by Wolf himself, with Brendan Cox brought in as co-producer and engineer in the last three years to help finish an album a decade in the making.
The complexity of nationhood, personhood and grief that Crying The Neck embraces is summed up by the appearance on the album of a the recording of the writer Vita Sackville-West reading the line “faith, doubt, perplexity, grief, hope, despair”, from her poem ‘The Land’. “The quote is important because it’s acceptance and acknowledgement,” says Wolf. Crying The Neck finishes on the Foreland peninsula, looking out over the North Sea, reflecting on the transience of life, but also progress. “I wanted a song of experience at the end, a preparation for a shift into a more urgent mortality,” Wolf explains. “I do feel like I have a certain amount of time left, to do the work that I want to do, and a certain amount of time left to not do the work as well, and to live.” About Patrick Wolf:Patrick Wolf is a visionary singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose songs inhabit a world between the mythic and the deeply personal. Emerging with his debut Lycanthropy (2003), he quickly established himself as an artist of rare originality, blending folk, electronic, and classical influences into a sound entirely his own. Albums such as Wind in the Wires (2005) and The Magic Position (2007) showcased his gift for marrying emotional candor with sweeping, often orchestral arrangements. Renowned for his striking stage presence and ever-evolving aesthetic, Wolf has built a career on constant reinvention and remains one of the most distinctive voices of his generation.
Live Dates: September 17 - Vancouver, Canada - Fox CabaretSeptember 20 - Seattle, WA - Woodlawn HallSeptember 24 - Portland, OR - Mission TheatreSeptember 27 - San Francisco, CA - Regency Lodge October 7 - Los Angeles, CA - Lodge RoomOctober 9 - San Diego, CA - The CasbahOctober 12 - Las Vegas, NV - The GriffinOctober 16 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge October 19 - Denver, CO - Bluebird TheatreOctober 23 - Kansas City, MO - The Record BarOctober 25 - Davenport, IA - Raccoon MotelOctober 28 - St Paul, MN - Amsterdam HallOctober 30 - Milwaukee, WI - X-Ray ArcadeNovember 1 - Chicago, IL - Gman TavernNovember 3 - Ferndale (Detroit), MI - The Magic BagNovember 6 - Toronto, Canada - Longboat HallNovember 10 - Somerville, MA - Center of The Arts ArmoryNovember 13 - New York, NY - Adler HallNovember 15 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cage Live LoungeNovember 19 - Washington, DC - Pearl StreetDecember 2 - Valencia, Spain – La RambletaDecember 3 - Madrid, Spain – Teatro Lara
Photo credit: Furmaan AhmedSite: http://www.patrickwolf.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patrickwolf/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patrickwolf/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/patrickwolfTwitter: https://twitter.com/_patrick_wolfSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6s92YZUPkTK1HL1WIGrPKE
Dijon announces fall tour + 'Baby' out now
DIJON ANNOUNCES HEADLINE TOUR
BEGINNING OCTOBER 25TH IN SAN DIEGO
NEW ALBUM BABY OUT NOW
Dijon by Zachary Harrell Jones
"a full-blown commercial force"
Billboard
“A revelation”
The FADER
"an overstuffed sonic fun house"
The New York Times
"a thrilling, demanding listen"
New Yorker
“A once-in-a-generation artist”
Pigeons & Planes
"spectacular new vision of soul, pop, and R&B”
Pitchfork (Best New Music)
Baby
TICKETS
https://www.dijondijon.com/tour
(August 18th, 2025) - Following the release of his sophomore album, Baby, Dijon announces his international headlining tour. The tour, promoted by Live Nation, will begin in North America this October, hitting 23 cities across the U.S. and Canada, with dates in the UK and Europe coming in 2026.
Tickets will be available starting with an artist presale beginning Wednesday, August 20 at 10AM local time. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on sale starting Friday, August 22 at 10AM local time at dijondijon.com/tour.
With no single offerings ahead of the album and a one-week countdown, the album's release has sparked widespread praise and adoration for Dijon from musical peers and critics alike. Friday’s release saw an outpouring of support from the likes of The New York Times, Billboard, Complex, The FADER, Stereogum, Rolling Stone, and Pitchfork, which awarded it Best New Music in their review.
Though he’s remained largely quiet with solo material since his groundbreaking 2021 debut album Absolutely, 2025 has already been a standout year. Dijon contributed to Bon Iver’s acclaimed album SABLE, fABLE, and played a large role in Justin Bieber’s SWAG, co-creating standout tracks like “DAISIES,” “DEVOTION,” and more. Most recently, he unveiled his appearance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film One Battle After Another, where he’s pictured in the most recent trailer alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.
Baby was made at home, mostly in isolation with his new family, along with musical kindred spirits Andrew Sarlo, Henry Kwapis, and Michael Gordon. The album represents another defining body of work from Dijon that will once again shift the sound of contemporary music. At its core, Baby retains the deliberate introspection of what fans have come to expect from a Dijon album. Examining new fatherhood and how rapidly his life has changed since Absolutely, the album is a collection of songs that represent the mania of domesticity. From song-to-song, Dijon captures the moments of ecstasy and tragedy that inevitably follow life-altering changes.
Upcoming Tour Dates
10/25 - San Diego, CA @ SOMA
10/28 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
11/1 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
11/2 - Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
11/3 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
11/5 - San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
11/8 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
11/10 - Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
11/13 - Austin, TX @ Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater
11/14 - Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom
11/17 - Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
11/18 - Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
11/20 - Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
11/21 - Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
11/23 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia presented by Highmark
11/25 - Toronto, ON @ HISTORY
11/28 - Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia
11/29 - Boston, MA @ Citizens House of Blues
12/1 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount
12/2 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount
12/5 - Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
12/7 - Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed^
12/10 - Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
12/12 - Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore Minneapolis
1/23/26 - London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton*
1/25/2026 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
1/27/2025 - Cologne, DE @ Calrswerk Victoria
1/28/2025 - Berlin, DE @ Columbiahalle
1/30/2026 - Paris, FR @ Le Bataclan*
^Co-Promoted Date
*Non-Live Nation Date
(Baby artwork photo by Kristina Loggia)
Baby
Dijon
August 15th, 2025
1. Baby!
2. Another Baby!
3. HIGHER!
4. (Freak It)
5. Yamaha
6. FIRE!
7. (Referee)
8. Rewind
9. my man
10. loyal & marie
11. Automatic
12. Kindalove
Connect with Dijon:
Bret McKenzie’s Freak Out City Is Out Today Worldwide From Sub Pop
Freak Out City is a fresh collection of songs Bret developed while performing live across New Zealand and the United States with his band The State Highway Wonders. The influence of his musical heroes Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman resonates again on this record, where Bret playfully weaves humour and heart into his songs.
Recorded in both Los Angeles and New Zealand, the album was co-produced by Bret and his long-time collaborator, Mickey Petralia. It was also mixed by Michael Harris at EastWest Studios and mastered by Ruairi O’Flaherty at Nomograph Mastering in Los Angeles. The musicians on the record are a mix of LA-based players Leland Sklar, Dean Parks, Drew Erickson, Chris Caswell, and Joey Waronker, as well as New Zealand musicians Ben Lemi, Leo Coghini, Jacqui Nyman, Moana Leota, Iris Little, and Justin Clarke.
Bret and his live band, The State Highway Wonders, have scheduled international headline dates for October 2025 in support of Freak Out City - Bret’s first since 2022. The variety-style live show will feature selections from the new album, as well as his Sub Pop debut, Songs Without Jokes, alongside various tracks from Bret’s work in TV and film.
In October, Bret will hit select cities in the US and UK, including Los Angeles’s Largo at The Coronet (Oct. 10th), Washington, DC’s Miracle Theatre (Oct. 14th), New York’s Le Poisson Rouge (Oct. 17th), and London’s Bush Hall (Oct. 21st + 22nd). Tickets for these shows are on sale now. https://bretmckenzie.os.fan/
Bret and his live band will join The Infinity Sessions, a live streaming event hosted by Neil Finn and featuring “some of Aotearoa’s exciting musicians all to ‘Make Us Feel Good About Life’ (or MUFGAL for short).” Fans can watch his performance on Sunday, August 24th from 7:30 pm NZT on YouTube / Facebook Live. Bret will also support The Beths in Los Angeles at The Wiltern on November 7th. Please find a current list of headline dates below.
Fri. Oct. 10 - Los Angeles, CA - Largo at the Coronet
Tue. Oct. 14 - Washington, DC - Miracle Theatre
Fri. Oct. 17 - New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
Tue. Oct. 21 - London, UK - Bush Hall
Wed. Oct. 22 - London, UK - Bush Hall
Freak Out City is available now on CD/LP/all streaming services from Sub Pop. LP purchased from megamart.subpop.com in North America, MegaMart Europe in the UK + EU, Bret’s live shows, and your local record store, will receive the limited Loser Edition on Glacial Blue (NA) or Light Rosé (UK/EU) vinyl (all vinyl color editions whilst stock lasts!).
Bret McKenzie is a Grammy and Academy Award-winning musician who is most well-known for his band Flight of the Conchords and their eponymous television show. He is internationally renowned for singing and writing funny, strange, and unique songs primarily for film and television.
Bret’s songs have been featured in The Muppets, The Simpsons, and most recently, with the song “Could This Be Love” in the box-office hit, A Minecraft Movie. His songs have also been sung by Celine Dion, Lizzo, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brittany Howard, Homer and Lisa Simpson, Fred Armisen, Miss Piggy, Amy Adams, Jason Segal, Ricky Gervais, Benee, Isabela Merced, Spongebob Squarepants, Tony Bennett, Mickey Rooney, and more (read full bio at Sub Pop).
What People Have Said About Bret McKenzie Freak Out City:
“McKenzie is becoming his own man…an ear for a deft chorus.” MOJO
“Delicious.” “Album of The Week,” Mail on Sunday
★★★★ The Sun
“Wonderful songwriting, and that’s no joke” ★★★★ Far Out
“A softly beguiling introduction.” [“All I Need”] CLASH
“A joyful, carefree celebration of love…” [“All I Need”] EXCLAIM!
Bret McKenzie
Freak Out City
Tracklisting:
1. Bethnal Green Blues
2. Freak Out City
3. The Only Dream I Know
4. All the Time
5. That’s the Way the World Goes ‘Round
6. All I Need
7. Eyes on the Sun
8. Too Young
9. Highs and Lows
10. Shouldna Come Here Tonight
August 15, 2025
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs @ Lodge Room Highland Park Friday August 15th 2025 // THE PORTABLE INFINITE
All photos taken by Alexander Laurence
The Paranoyds @ Lodge Room Highland Park Friday August 15th 2025 // THE PORTABLE INFINITE
All photos taken by Alexander Laurence
José González' Shares Portico Quartet Rework Of "Broken Arrows" || Announces "Heartbeats" 7" || Touring North America In November
JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ
SHARES PORTICO QUARTET REWORK OF “BROKEN ARROWS”
EUROPEAN TOUR CONTINUES
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR STARTS IN NOVEMBER
photo credit: Kalle Gustafsson
Today José González has shared a rework of “Broken Arrows” by Portico Quartet, a cinematic, genre-blending reinterpretation of his original track.
Portico Quartet’s remix preserves the hushed understatement of the original “Broken Arrows” but transforms its mood, replacing the intimate guitar lines with soft, resonant piano and weaving in offbeat vocals and layered instrumentation that gently and meditatively pull the listener in. Portico Quartet are a London-based ensemble group whose music blurs the lines between jazz, electronica, and ambient. They are known for utilizing the hang drum in their dynamic compositions.The rework is part of a series which features contributions from a small group of carefully-selected artists reimagining tracks from his debut album, celebrating the final chapter of the 20th anniversary of González’s acclaimed debut album, Veneer.
In addition, he has announced a “Heartbeats” 7”, which features the original track and a Logic1000 remix, that will be released on October 17, 2025.
Listen to “Broken Arrows (Portico Quartet Rework)” HERE.
Pre- order the “Heartbeats” 7” HERE.
José is amidst a European tour that will carry throughout the summer and into early Fall.
Additionally, José’s October 2024 US tour, which he was unfortunately forced to cancel due to illness in the family, has been rescheduled and will start in November 2025. If you had tickets for the October 2024 tour, they will be valid for the rescheduled 2025 show in your city. The tour will see González visit many cities that he has not performed in for over a decade and will span his entire career and catalog. Full dates are listed below.
Veneer had a lasting impact on a generation of artists by channeling the emotional authenticity of folk music through a more modern, rhythmic, and less purist lens. Everything about it felt quietly radical, from its stark, minimalist artwork, to the reverse-engineered brilliance of José’s cover of The Knife’s “Heartbeats.” It was fresh and forward-thinking, despite being built almost entirely around a single classical guitar and one voice.
In a 2024 interview for the Life of the Record podcast, which explored the making of Veneer, José spoke about wanting “to do something more repetitive and linear, inspired from, sort of dance music.” He was consciously drawing from electronic and minimal influences, inspired to write songs that could be “really easy for someone to do a remix [of] by just adding a house beat underneath.” The crossover potential was further highlighted in 2006, when Ministry of Sound included “Heartbeats” on Volume 9 of their acclaimed Chillout Sessions compilation series. This move - along with endorsements and collaborations with the likes of DJ Tiësto, Zero 7, and British tastemaker Giles Peterson - helped place José in the unlikely position of being both a revered figure in the folk/alternative world and a genre-crossing outlier, soundtracking both late-night DJ sets and the post-club drift of the early hours. His music anticipated the genre-fluid listening habits that platforms like Pitchfork began to champion in the early 2010s, as the boundaries between indie, electronic, and R&B worlds began to dissolve.
José is currently in the studio working on new material for what will become his fifth studio album, his first full-length collection of original songs since Local Valley in 2021.
2025 TOUR DATES:
EUROPEAN TOUR DATES:8/15/2025 - Bodø, NO - Parkenfestivalen
9/25/2025 - Istanbul, TR - Zorlu PSM
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:
11/10/2025 - Oklahoma City, OK - Tower Theatre
11/11/2025 - Little Rock, AR - Robinson Performance Hall
11/13/2025 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
11/14/2025 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
11/15/2025 - Durham, NC - The Carolina Theatre
11/16/2025 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
11/18/2025 - St. Louis, MO - The Hawthorn
11/19/2025 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre and Ballroom
11/20/2025 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
Tickets can be found HERE.
“Broken Arrows (Portico Quartet Rework)” art
Watch the Mikel Cee Karlson-directed creative documentary about José, A Tiger In Paradise, HERE.
CONNECT WITH JOSE GONZALEZ:
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | WEB
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | BLUESKY | INSTAGRAM | WEB
