It’s another strong week for new indie rock releases with fresh albums from the Black Lips, Arctic Monkeys, Cults, F*cked Up, Dawes, Hooray For Earth, Almost Free, Hospital Ships, Givers, and many others. There’s no shortage of great indie releases this week, so we hope the singles will help you decide which albums you want to add to your collection.
We liked the Cults the first time we heard them, but here’s where the proverbial ‘indie question’ comes into play. Now that the Cults have signed to Columbia – one of the major record labels (considered for years as the ‘enemy’ by some musicians and music lovers, and as result, helped spawn the indie, or ‘independent,’ music movement, even though few people agree nowadays exactly what is and isn’t ‘indie’) – some fans are not exactly happy with the band’s decision.
The same question can be applied to so many bands. The Decemberists started out really indie, if you will, and then signed to Capitol. But some people still consider them to be ‘indie,’ while others have called them ‘sell-outs.’ It is a bit hard to ignore the fact that one of the most popular indie bands of the past decade have signed to a major record label.
That aside, here are the top 25 MP3 singles from new releases out this week. It must be said that we are not really ‘feeling’ the new Arctic Monkeys‘ of recent years – we absolutely love the old guitar-blazing riffs, roaring drum playing, excited bass thumping and overall rawness of AM pre-2009 back. Also, the album cover for The Coathangers‘ new album is definitely likely to turn some heads and get people talking, but we’d rather not showcase it prominently because it is a bit scandalous. If the band or label intended to do so to create some chatter regarding the band, then, kudos to them.
“Modern Art” – Black Lips from Arabia Mountain
“Don’t Bother Me Now“ – Almost Free from In/Out (self-released)
“Trailer Park Boneyard “ – The Coathangers from Larceny & Old Lace
“Abducted” – Cults from Cults
“123 Stop” – The Postelles from The Postelles
“Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair” – Arctic Monkeys from Suck It and See
“The Other Shoe” – F**ked Up from David Comes To Life
“Blacklight Horses” – Matt Bauer from The Jessamine County Book of the Living
“Two Matchsticks” – The Wooden Birds from Two Matchsticks
“Satellite” – Brute Heart from Lonely Hunter
“Activate!” – Atari Teenage Riot from Is This Hyperreal?
“Fragilebird” – City and Colour from Little Hell
“Up Up Up” – Givers from In Light
“Ice Cream” (featuring Matias Aguayo) – Battles from Gloss Drop
“Woods – The Rosebuds from Loud Planes Fly Low
“If I Wanted Someone” – Dawes from Nothing Is Wrong
Hundreds of Sah-Weet MP3s: View, listen to and download from all the latest Best New Releases and Fresh Tracks posts.
“Everything Must Spin” – Ryan Driver from Who’s Breathing?
“No Love” – Hooray For Earth from True Loves
“Love or Death” – Hospital Ships from Lonely Twin
“Prisoner of Love (featuring Antony Hegarty)” – Jessica 6 from See the Light
“There Is No Safe Side But The Side Of Truth” – Jóhann Jóhannson from The Miners’ Hymns
“Clutching Stems” – Ladybug Transistor from Clutching Stems
“Deceptacon” – Le Tigre from Who Took The Bomp? Le Tigre On Tour
“Left Side Rock” – Brian Olive from Two of Everything
“Horizon (edit)” – Oneida from Absolute II
“Dracula’s Casket” – The Poison Control Center from Stranger Ballet
“Grampa Carl” – The Warped 45s from Matador Sunset
Best New Releases Listing for Week of June 7
Arctic Monkeys – Suck It and See
Battles – Gloss Drop
Bedouin Soundclash – Light the Horizon
Black Lips – Arabia Mountain
Bruce Hornsby – Bride of the Noisemakers/Live
Cults – Cults
City and Colour – Little Hell
Daniel Isaiah – High Twilight
Dawes – Nothing Is Wrong
Diane Schuur – The Gathering
Duncan Sheik – Covers 80
Esmerine – La Lechuza
Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones
Garland Jeffreys – The King of In Between
Givers – In Light
Grayson Capps – The Lost Cause Minstrels
Jill Andrews (The Everbodyfields) – The Mirror
Joe Ely – Satisfied at Last
Lauren Shera – Once I Was A Bird
Mary Bragg – Tattoos and Bruises
Matthew Barber – S/T
Mechanical Bride – Living With Ants (U.K.)
Nick 13 (Tiger Army) – Nick 13
Patrolled By Radar – Be Happy
Paul McCartney – McCartney I, II (Expanded)
Paul Simon – Expanded Catalog Reissues
Peter Murphy (Bauhaus) – Ninth
Ronnie Dunn – Ronnie Dunn
Sam Phillips – Solid State
Sheryl Crow – Miles From Memphis: Live @ The Pantages Theater (DVD)
Sisters 3 – Coruscate at the Meadow Gate
Sondre Lerche – Sondre Lerche
Tedeschi Trucks Band – Revelator
The Farewell Drifters – Echo Boom
The Ladybug Transistor – Clutching Stems
The Rosebuds – Loud Planes Fly Low
The Vines – Future Primitive
The Wooden Birds – Two Matchsticks