Images from left: The Hives Forever Forever The Hives (Play It Again Sam); Geese, Getting Killed (Partisan Records); The Swell Season, Forward (Masterkey Sounds)
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?
“In The Heart Of The Mountain” is the third single and title track from Lucero frontman Ben Nichols’ upcoming sophomore solo album. It’s quietly lovely; an acoustic country ballad that Nichols described in a press release as a “wife-appreciation song.” He explained, “My wife and I have been together for over ten years now and I realize how much she keeps me sane. We can often be our own worst enemies and having someone who keeps us from getting too wrapped up in the devils and demons of our own making is a truly wonderful thing.”
Back in April, Swedish garage rockers The Hives kicked off the promotional cycle for their upcoming seventh album, The Hives Forever Forever The Hives (out August 29), with the joyous fuck-you anthem “Enough Is Enough.” And they’re not done stirring up trouble: Their latest single, “Legalize Living,” opens with the sound of a police siren, which eventually leads into a chorus in which singer Howlin’ Pelle declares, “See me ride into the sunset / See me vanish in the sea / I’m doing wrong and I ain’t done yet / I won’t take part, you know what I mean / Ain’t gonna follow the law until they legalize living.” In other words, The Hives have clearly still got it.
Geese, “Taxes”
Geese, the New York-based post-punk band who were barely out of high school when their sophomore album, Projector, garnered critical acclaim in 2021, is back. “Taxes” is the first single from Getting Killed, their just-announced fourth album. The version in the music video is slightly different than the album version; in the music video, the first half of the song is heavily toned down and distorted; in the album version, there’s no distortion. But, in both instances, the track shifts gears as frontman Cameron Winter sings, “If you want me to pay my taxes / You’d better come over with a crucifix / You’re gonna have to nail me down.” The guitar shifts to a poppier melody and the bass kicks in, giving the second half of the song a much more cathartic feeling than the first.
Wet Leg, moisturizer
Wet Leg’s sophomore album, moisturizer, sees the band refining the sound they originated on their 2022 self-titled debut. Frontwoman and band co-founder Rhian Teasdale still delivers lyrics that fuck over too-cool-for-school instrumentals, but everything is appreciably sharper: The words more pointed, the instrumentation more complex. NPR also just dropped a Tiny Desk Concert with the band in support of moisturizer.
The Swell Season, Forward
Forward is the first album in 16 years for The Swell Season, the folk rock duo consisting of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. And even though it’s been a while since the two made music together, it’s not just a nostalgia trip. In a press release, Irglová said, “It felt right to title the record ‘Forward‘ because it’s a reunion of sorts, but we’re not going backwards. Both of us have grown and changed; we’re in different places and getting to know each other again as the new people we’ve become.”
Clipse, Let God Sort Em Out
It’s also been sixteen years since the last album from Clipse, the rap duo consisting of brothers Pusha T and Malice. Their new album, Let God Sort Em Out, sees them reunite with longtime producer Pharrell for 13 new tracks that prove they haven’t missed a step in their time apart. Clipse bet on themselves after Def Jam, which is owned by Universal Music Group, pressured them to remove Kendrick Lamar’s guest verse on “Chains & Whips.” Instead, they bought out their contract, signed a distribution deal with Roc Nation, and kept the song intact. It’s one of the album’s standout tracks.
