3 new songs and 3 new albums to check out this weekend
Pulp's first album in 24 years is officially on the way.
Images from left: Pulp, More (Rough Trade Records); Justin Vernon (Graham Tolbert); Murder By Death, Egg & Dart (courtesy Murder By Death)
Welcome to our weekly music post, where we spotlight our favorite new songs and albums. Hop in the comments and tell us: What new music are you listening to?
Pulp, “Spike Island”
Even though Pulp’s 2011 reunion eventually resulted in a new single, 2013’s “After You,” it never built to a whole new album, leaving 2001’s We Love Life as the legendary Britpop band’s last full-length LP. So while it was exciting that they reunited and started touring again in 2023 and even started playing some new songs at those gigs, no one dared to speculate about a new album. We just gratefully accepted that Pulp was back in our lives to any degree at all and kept our hopes for new Pulp music to ourselves. This week, though, Pulp surprise-dropped a new single, “Spike Island,” along with the announcement of their new record, More (out June 6). Beyond anything else, it just feels so good to hear a new Pulp song after all these years.
Murder By Death, “Wandering”
At least we’re getting one final album from Murder By Death before the band’s retirement. Their upcoming record, Egg & Dart (out June 13), is “an album of goodbye songs,” according to a press release, and the first single, “Wandering,” is bound to be bittersweet for fans. “We’re releasing ‘Wandering’ first because it’s the song that is most directed to the fans and about my experience with this band,” frontman Adam Turla said. “It’s a ballad, and not a typical single—not even the single we plan to push for this record. But the heart of this band is our fans and I wanted to share this with you first.” It’s a beautiful sentiment and a beautiful song, which makes it even harder to say goodbye to this band and their music. Leave it to MBD to hit us right where it hurts with a track that is ostensibly a love song.