Lonnie Holley unveils the new single, “That’s Not Art, That’s Not Music,” from his new album, Tonky, out March 21st via Jagjaguwar. Following Holley’s “deeply moving, genre defying” (NPR Music) single “Protest With Love,” “That’s Not Art, That’s Not Music” is about Holley’s early experiences in the art world and larger institutions’ apprehension in accepting Black self-taught art as fine art. Holley is once again joined by Jacknife Lee, The Legendary Ingramettes, Kelly Pratt, and Jordan Katz. Budgie also contributes here. Atop atmospheric horns, flute, and marimba, Holley sings: “Gathering our arts / Gathering our music / Incorporating it into song / Us being rejected / They were saying, ‘That’s not good enough’/Not good enough / That’s not art / That’s not music.”
Tonky is a work born out of the delight of finding a sound and pressing it up against another found sound and another until, before a listener knows it, they are awash in a symphony of sound that feels like it stitches together as it is washing over you. The layers of sound found on Tonky are the result of decades of evolving experimentation. Tonky takes its name from a childhood nickname that was affixed to Holley when he lived a portion of his childhood life in a honky tonk. Lonnie Holley’s life of survival and endurance is one that is required – and no doubt still requires – a kind of invention. An invention that is also rich and present in Holley’s songs, which are full and immersive on Tonky.
Portions of this press release are pulled from the Tonky bio written by Hanif Abdurraqib.
Last month, Population II announced their new LP Maintenant Jamais, their third full-length album, which is due out on March 28th via Bonsound. The album was announced with a single calledLe thé est prêt” (French for “The tea is ready”), which saw an immediate positive response, earning praise from outlets like Stereogum and BrooklynVegan for a sound that “shimmers, shakes, and soars” (Stereogum).
Today, on the heels of their recent European tour and ahead of their upcoming appearance at SXSW, Population II are back to share a second single from the album, a track called “Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai)” that is premiering today via FLOOD.
Layered with synthesizers and fuzz-saturated guitars over pulsating drums, “Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai)” unfolds with finesse, somewhere between krautrock and psychedelic pop. The track exemplifies the refinement and textural depth Population II have found on their latest LP, which was recorded with the help of producer Dominic Vanchesteing (Marie Davidson). It’s a sophisticated rock album that surprises with its languorous pace (as heard on “Le thé est prêt”), while staying true to the band’s renowned raw power.
About Population II
Population II is a band dedicated to its disengagement, constantly refining their imposing, yet unpretentious sound. The trio of musicians (singer/drummer Pierre-Luc Gratton, guitarist/keyboardist Tristan Lacombe and bassist Sébastien Provençal) are masters at improvised madness and sophisticated composition. They deliver heavy psychedelic rock infused with feverish funk rhythms, a hint of jazz philosophy, a burst of early-punk energy, and a love of minor scales that harkens back to heavy metal roots. The band is reinforced by Pierre-Luc’s unique voice and his introspective, offbeat lyrics.
Their sources of inspiration are diverse and not limited to music. They include the Detroit garage rock and psychedelic funk scenes of the late 60s, the Canterbury scene of the same period, the German experimental rock of the 70s, and Miles Davis’ electric era. They bind all this together with the swampy landscape of Pointe-Calumet (their hometown), and the deep friendship and undeniable chemistry of its three members.
The roots of Population II go back a long way and are inextricably linked to their teenage memories. After years of jamming, to the point of developing a sense of telepathy, the trio began recording a handful of independent releases that soon caught the attention of the independent label Castle Face Records. Thus was born À la Ô Terre, their first label-released album, which came out in 2020. They returned in 2023 with Électrons libres du québec, this time released on Bonsound. A little more straightforward than its predecessor, the record reflects a natural progression of the sound the trio established on their previous releases, showing a sharp sense of songcraft and the undeniable expertise of their instruments. Many tours have followed since then, including several dates opening for Osees.
On a creative spree, Population II struck again the following spring with their EP Serpent Échelle, and then in the fall with a split single with local punk act Mulch. After this prolific sequence of releases, the band laid the groundwork for Maintenant Jamais, a third full-length album that stirs up their formative influences with sophistication, resulting in fourteen catchy, transgressive tracks.
Autogramm, synth-driven power-poppers from Seattle, Chicago and Vancouver, have just released their latest single on Dirt Cult Records and Germany’s Goodwill Records. The vinyl seven-inch single features the band’s newest composition “Randy” and is backed with the song “Jenny’s In A Sleep World” by Toronto’s punk legends The Diodes. Originally released in 1979, The Diodes enthusiastically endorsed the synthed-up cover version of the song. The new single follows Autogramm’s tradition of crafting sing-along new wave anthems, but this time with a humorous twist. “Randy” was originally slated to be released as part of their latest album Music That Humans Can Play, but was omitted as the subject of the lyrics became inaccurate. Being a self described “cat band” they naturally – after some deliberation – decided to re-record the vocals and dedicate the content of the lyrics to their drummer’s cat, Randy.
DrummerThe Silo explains the lyrics he penned for the song. “It’s a letter to a good friend, in need of a little confidence push. Everyone needs an ego boost sometimes. Even if they’re a cat.” Listeners will delight in lines like “If you think you wanna jump up on that countertop, well baby you’ve got the tools. The world’s looking for a pretty cool dude, and maybe that dude is you.” “Randy” will remind listeners of DEVO, with tick-tack rhythms, motorik basslines and a quirky bounce that subtly points to influences like The Dead Milkmen and The Cars. Guitarist Lars Von Seattle aptly describes the new release as, “Nuevo juevo punk pop for allergic feline lovers. Blazing guitars, squiggly synths, bumping bass, and deftly thrashing drums collide in a spirit of uplift for the irrepressible Randy in all of us”. The new Autogramm single comes in conjunction with the announcement of their Spanish tour dates this March.
LIVE IN SPAIN MARCH 2025
Sat March 22 COX – TNT BLUES
Sun March 23 GRANADA – PLANTA BAJA
Mon March 24 SPAIN – TBA
Tue March 25 SEVILLA – EVEN
Wed March 26 CÓRDOBA – HANGAR
Thu March 27 VALLADOLID – CIENTOCERO
Fri March 28 SPAIN – TBA
Sat March 29 MADRID – FUN HOUSE
The Spanish tour will also be in support of their latest album Music That Humans Can Play released on vinyl and digital formats world-wide on Stomp Records (and Beluga Records EU). The album has already graced the pages of international press like Paste, Exclaim, Under the Radar, Goldmine, Austin Town Hall, Visions (DE), Musik Express (DE), Happy Mag (AU), and Rock ‘n’ Roll Army (ES). With their new album Music That Humans Can Play the band dedicated themselves to bringing in sounds from influences like The Fixx, David Bowie, Cheap Trick, The Boys, The Dickies, Jay Reatard, and Prince. The result is a decisively cohesive album that will fit in easily to the 80s section of your record collection, with songs so well-crafted they probably deserve to be on the soundtrack of Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Last month, Kinlaw announced her new album gut ccheck, which will be released on 3/21 on Bayonet Records, and shared its first single “HARD CUT” along with its accompanying video. The album is the follow up to her 2021 debut The Tipping Scale, which earned comparisons to Jenny Hval, FKA twigs, and Cate le Bon from Pitchfork, and was described by Interview as “a pop-meets-electronica reflection on the beauty of the ordinary.”
Her new album,gut ccheck, is a sharp and thrilling alloy of pop, electronica, trap, and industrial music that creates a new horizon for art pop that she built from motion, to breath, to sound, to song. Today, she is sharing the album’s second single, a track called “SPIT,” which arrives with a video created with Caroline Polachek, Eartheater, and 070 Shake collaborator 91Rules.
Kinlaw has been living and working in New York City for over ten years, popping up as a member of several notable musical projects, but music is far from her only artistic outlet. Concurrently with the growth of her profile as a musician, she has earned significant acclaim as a choreographer and performer, earning commissions for her movement work from institutions like the MoMa Ps1, Pioneer Works, and the New Museum, and working on performance pieces scored by SOPHIE, Caroline Polachek and Dev Hynes among others.
For Kinlaw, movement or gesture is often a way into the writing process for an album. Kinlaw spent two years as a resident at Bell Labs, working in its famous anechoic chamber. It is one of the quietest places on the planet. “I wanted to know what role the brain and the body played in how we hear, and I wanted to concentrate more on silence than how to fill it,” she says. There’s not a better place to do that than in a room that is so silent your brain and body freaks out. People have been known to have panic attacks and even aural hallucinations as a response to the room. This research pushed Kinlaw to obliterate any divide between anatomy and the process of writing and perceiving sound. A performer by nature, this quickly turned into a deep dive on how to use choreography as a way to write.
“Almost every time I dealt with anger around language and writing, my fix was to move,” she explains. Kinlaw writes in a non traditional way because it is intuitive to her. “I don’t trust traditional ways of working,” she says, “I hold on fiercely to what feels good to me, what makes me feel awake.”
From this, gut ccheck becomes an album that has its genesis in perspective, in interrogating what a moment or a feeling or an opinion can become. Using this process, Kinlaw worked with producer/collaborator Carlos Hernandez (Ava Luna, Carlos Truly) to build the sonic landscape of the album.
“‘SPIT’ is one of the songs where the influence of my choreography is most palpable, it’s breathy and yearning at 110%.
Kinlaw says of the track: “As someone who came into music making as a vocalist first, I have the impulse to always hold everything in my voice. It was just how I started to make music. For so long, I felt this responsibility to give all information by ways my voice would move, soar, or show intensity. And there’s something so rewarding for me at this stage, in practicing restraint. But with this song, it’s also a different approach. It’s about letting this feedback be the front-runner. It’s chaotic. It’s shrill, it’s uncontrollable.”
“Spit starts off with guitar feedback. Controlled feedback is a theme in this one. Feedback can’t be controlled. Those two words don’t make a hell of a lot of sense next to each other, but it’s captured chaos that builds the foundation of this track.”
She adds of the video: “You should have seen this motion control camera! Part of this process was working alongside parameters of the equipment, so I wouldn’t get smashed in the face by the lens. It really heightened the stakes during each take. I wanted the shots to feel fierce and free, but needed to stay extremely specially aware while this camera soared all around my face and body. Wild experience.”
A cornerstone of their live shows, and charged with test plan’s distinctive blend of hypnotic guitars, growling bass and delirious vocals – landing, according the band’s own mantra “somewhere between dancing and moshing” – “My Teeth” puts us in the shoes of a religious figure losing their grip, their sanity and their teeth.
Written and recorded in their North London rehearsal space with the help of producer Darren Jones (Fat Dog, Gorillaz), the new single is released in anticipation of a debut trip to the states for New York’s New Colossus Festival, as well as a tour of Europe in May. Staying true to their independent spirit and DIY ethos, the track comes with a chaotic music video, directed, as ever by drummer / vocalist Max Mason.
Centered around the track’s classically nightmarish central image, on the video the band say: “Inspired by the late great David Lynch, Gasper Noe, and Michel Gondry, the video offers a surrealist collage of religious imagery and dream logic. It’s also the most ambitious and complex video we’ve created so far, chronicling a tooth having a very bad day. Close friends, including members of For Breakfast, DAAY, Burden Limbs, and Black Bordello, helped design and craft the costume, filmed, set designed, acted and appeared as extras. It was exciting to have so many people come together and pour their energy into the shoot.”
Their first release of the year comes following a breakthrough 2024 which earned them a landmark support slot for cult-legends A Place To Bury Strangers, debut trips to EU for Paris’ Supersonic Block Party and Rotterdam’s Left Of The Dial (the latter inviting them back for their NYE celebrations), as well as the fulsome backing of Anthony Fantano (The Needle Drop), who placed spring single “Walking In A Vacuum” in his top 50 tracks of 2024. This bolsters previous support from key UK tastemakers So Young, John Kennedy (Radio X) and Still Listening Magazine.
Today, Fire Talk Records debuts set dressing, a new side project from Mandy, Indiana, “one of the decade’s best new bands” (Bandcamp). set dressing expands upon Mandy, Indiana’s “transfixing blend of violence and transcendence” (Pitchfork), translating the “visceral and strange” (The Quietus) industrial palette for one of swathing instrumentals.
set dressing is not credited to any individuals and is represented only by an avatar. The debut single “class valedictorian” sets a deeply atmospheric introduction and soundtracks a venture into the dark unknown. Written, recorded and produced by set dressing, the instrumental “class valedictorian” is haunted by droning synths that instantly transport listeners somewhere uncanny and preternatural. It’s an extension of the distinct world building displayed across i’ve seen a way — Mandy, Indiana’s acclaimed debut, named one of 2023’s best albums by The New York Times, Pitchfork, Guardian, Loud & Quiet, Crack, DIY, UPROXX, Line of Best Fit and more — and marks the beginning of an unsettling journey.
set dressing will make their live debut in Manchester on April 12th at 𝐏𝟑𝑨𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝑬𝒗𝒆 {formerly 𝑶! 𝑷𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅} (Basement), followed by a performance at Sounds From the Other City Festival in Salford on May 4th. Be on the lookout for more from set dressing this year via Fire Talk.
set dressing Tour Dates Sat. April 12 – Manchester, UK @ 𝐏𝟑 𝑨𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑬𝒗𝒆 {formerly 𝑶! 𝑷𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅} (Basement) Sun. May 4 – Salford, UK @ Sounds From the Other City Festival
Keep your mind open.
[You’ll be a valedictorian in my eyes if you subscribe.]
Austin-based electronic-synthpop artist Claude9presents ‘Clouds So Low’, the soulful first single from his forthcoming‘Chords of Love’ album, slated for release on March 28 via indie imprint New Human Music. This chill feel-good offering tastefully blends Enoesque ambient music and downtempo trip-hop.
Encapsulating the dreamy, rhythmic energy that defines much of the album, ‘Clouds So Low’ serves as a perfect introduction to this relaxing 9-track sonic journey. Claude9 also offers a newly-recordedmini-live set a sneak-peak of ‘Chords of Love’.
“‘Clouds So Low’ is a funky, breakbeat-driven downtempo track that was inspired by the surreal low-hanging clouds I encountered during a drive to the studio for the song’s first session. Combining vocoder effects with soulful live vocals and melodic lines from my electric melodica, the track offers a playful and atmospheric vibe. With its lighthearted energy, it evokes a sense of wonder, reminiscent of The Orb’s iconic ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’,” says Claude9.
“This was the first track I began for this album, originally envisioned as a collaborative project with my friend Alec Ash. However, shortly after the first session, COVID hit, and the album evolved into a solo endeavor. The inspiration for this track came from my deep love of downtempo trip-hop acts like Massive Attack and The Orb.”
Claude9 has been involved in the Austin music scene for several decades, both as a live performer and recording artist. As a keyboard player and singer, he has worked with Reggae acts Pressure, the Killer Bees, and Raggamassive, cutting his teeth to become a sought-after keyboard player. From there, he joined forces with hiphop-funk act Afrofreque, Supercreeps and Hail Marley.
Emerging in the late 90s as one of Austin’s first electronic producers, Claude9 was involved in several well-received House music collaborations in the early 2000s. His background as a live musician brought authenticity to the dub and funk elements in his electronic compositions and, more recently, to his collaboration with Noëlle Hampton (the Belle Sounds) and Ken Christensen (East Coast Boogiemen) in synth pop band XANIMAL.
“The lyrics for ‘Clouds So Low’ were sparked by a vivid moment on my drive to Lockhart, TX, for that initial session. The clouds that day hung incredibly low in the sky, and as I crossed a high overpass, it felt as though they were close enough to touch. I found myself imagining stepping out of the car and walking on them—a whimsical thought that became the core idea for the song,” says Claude9.
“I already had the breakbeats I wanted to use, and once I arrived at the studio, the rest of the track came together surprisingly quickly. It turned out almost exactly as I had envisioned, which is a rare occurrence for any artist. The track brings together many of my favorite elements: crisp breakbeats, lush pads, a heavy bass synth, melodica melodies, and a blend of vocoder and “real” vocals.”
As a producer at Claude9 Studios, Claude continues to produce and record internationally recognized music in the House and Downtempo genres, while still pushing limits and being an influential member of the ever changing Austin music community.
‘Clouds So Low’ is out everywhere digitally, includingApple Music, SpotifyandBandcamp. Now available for pre-order, the ‘Chords of Love’ album will be released – on vinyl and digitally – on March 28.
mclusky, masters of razor-sharp wit, jagged riffs and unrelenting energy, return with their first new album in 20 years: the world is still here and so are we (may 9, ipecac recordings).
Today, mclusky previews the 13-song album with a two-song digital single: “way of the exploding dickhead” and “unpopular parts of a pig.” a cheeky video for “way of the exploding dickhead” (https://mclusky.lnk.to/exploding) directed by remy lamont, was released simultaneously. with a blistering mix of tightly wound aggression and wry humor, mclusky’s edge is as sharp as ever.
Andrew Falkous: “With a title modeled on/ripped off a formative video game (the way of the exploding fist on the zx spectrum), and lyrics inspired by the huge excitement caused by the surge pricing on tickets to see a band play well in the distance, ‘way of the exploding dickhead’ is a modern parable, without the parable bit.”
It’s important to state that the world is still here and so are we is the fourth mclusky album (no qualification being needed). they had an asterisk next to the name for a bit – out of respect for past band members and the precious memorial glue of teenage musical crushes – but fuck that, in for a penny, in for a pound. lyrically it touches on subjects as rich and as varied as work-it-out-yourself and impenetrable-inside-joke-for-the-band, but one thing is clear, all of the songs have different words. all hilarious joking aside, the best songs are about things without being precisely about them. mclusky endorse this sentiment. they positively insist on it.
Album pre-orders are available now (https://mclusky.lnk.to/world) with the world is still here and so are we available on multiple limited-edition vinyl variants (marble vinyl and 180 gram black vinyl), an indie store exclusive clear vinyl, as well as a standard blue vinyl. The release is also available on CD and digital formats.
mclusky tour dates:
May 8 – Wrexham, UK The Rockin’ Chair
May 18 – Brussels, Belgium Les Nuits Botaniques (w/ The Jesus Lizard)
May 23 – Manchester, UK Gorilla
May 24 – Leeds, UK Brudenell
May 29 – London, UK Electric Ballroom
May 31 – Bristol, UL SWX
Tickets for all shows are on-sale now with links available via ipecac.com/tours.
Keep your mind open.
[The subscription box is still there, waiting for you.]
Oklahoma-based band Broncho announce Natural Pleasure, their first new album in six years, out April 25th, and present two singles, “Funny” and “Imagination.” Broncho – Ryan Lindsey (vocals, guitar), Ben King (guitar), Penny Pitchlynn (bass), and Nathan Price (drums) – has always been synonymous with reinvention, and Natural Pleasuremarks their boldest transformation yet. This long-awaited follow-up to 2018’s Bad Behavior dives headfirst into lush atmospheres without abandoning the raw, gritty energy that made them a household name in indie rock. This is an album meant to be savored with headphones—a long-playing experience with rich textures and hypnotic soundscapes.
Since their breakout hit, “Class Historian,” in 2014, Broncho has been at the forefront of indie innovation, finding fans in legends like Josh Homme, Jack White, and Hayley Williams. Their music—equal parts gritty rock and dreamy psychedelia—has been featured in TV shows like Girls and Reservation Dogs, further cementing their status as cultural touchstones.
Natural Pleasure was recorded primarily at Blackwatch Studios in Norman, Oklahoma, with Chad Copelin, and completed at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas. Tulsa remains their spiritual home, a city whose musical lineage—from Leon Russell and JJ Cale to The Flaming Lips—infuses every note they play. The album balances spontaneity with careful craftsmanship. Lindsey’s unmistakable vocal delivery is a phenomenon in its own right. His lyrics are often enigmatic, delivered in a way that feels like an instrument of pure emotion rather than straightforward storytelling. At first listen, it may be impossible to catch a single word, yet the emotional intensity he summons is undeniable. It’s a rare and uncanny ability—one that connects listeners to the music on a visceral level before the lyrics fully reveal themselves.
From the opening tracks “Imagination” and “Funny,” Natural Pleasure sets the stage for a sonic journey defined by playfulness and introspection. “Imagination” envelops listeners with layered production and Lindsey’s understated yet captivating vocals, pulling them into a divine haze of possibility. The track “was written in the early hours of a pandemic morning in my garage. I imagine the whole neighborhood might have heard me writing that one,” says Lindsey. “Funny” follows with its offbeat charm and infectious groove, encapsulating the duality of self-reflection and levity that defines the album. In Lindsey’s words, “although none of our songs are written about any one subject, funny is loosely based on my ability to steal my girlfriends jokes.”
Listening to Natural Pleasure is a sensory journey—a plunge into a dimension where reality blurs into something more fluid and profound. With this record, Broncho reaffirms their status as indie rock stalwarts, delivering a masterpiece that’s alive, unpredictable, and deeply human.
L-R Bobby Markos (Bass), Doyle Martin (Lyrics, Guitar), Tim Remis (Drums) Photo By Vin Romero
Cloakroom’s new single, “The Story of the Egg”, is concise and boundless all at once. Sonically a duality, Cloakroom’s influence of punchy and downpicked punk of the late 70s / early 80s is matched with lush and amorphous compositions. The single is about “the new found anxiety and stress from the alertness that comes with finally feeling the otherwise positive effects of a full night’s rest,” drummer Tim Remis explains. “There was a phenomenon of feeling anxious after working with a sleep doctor, realizing I spent most of my adult life without getting rest, had dulled my human sensations. Upon getting some deep sleep and rest, my new, heightened senses were overwhelming and I was left with a different feeling of anxiety.”
The Indiana three return next month with their next studio album, Last Leg of the Human Table – the follow up to 2022’s post-apocalyptic space western Dissolution Wave, and label debut for Closed Casket Activities. Each song showcases Cloakroom’s genre-bending capabilities and seemingly vast array of influences; whether it be the sampling of the post-disco Detroit group Was (Not Was) or the lifted NASA recording of the humming of Saturn’s rings. Recorded in December of 2023 at Electrical Audio in Chicago and Rec Room Recording in Des Plaines, Illinois, engineer Zac Montez (Whirr, Turnover) aided in smoothing out the rough and turning up the quiet.
For Cloakroom the world of modernity is in polycrisis and America has lost its soul. Narrative fetishism is all too usual of a literary mechanism for Cloakroom. If you listen closely you can hear the concern; not just for the teetering social structure but for what it means to be human and the high cost of the human experience.
Pop, shoegaze, doom, post-punk, folk only scratch the surface on Cloakroom’s shortest yet most essential release to date. Its title Last Leg of the Human Table may sound sardonic in its nature, but this group has always found some wonder in the scurrying chaos of modern life. In 37 minutes, the album imbues a sense of responsibility to the listener as if one leg were to falter, the whole table will fall.
Cloakroom have announced a headlining North American tour which kicks off in the Midwest next month. The run hits both coasts and includes dates with support from Null and performances at Slide Away 2025 in Los Angeles and New York City. See below for a full list of dates. For tickets and updates, follow Cloakroom on Instagram here.
Cloakroom Live Dates:
Mar 21: Paw Paw, MI – Lucky Wolf Mar 22: Detroit, MI – Edgemen Mar 23: Toronto, ON – Monarch Mar 24: Montreal, QC – Bar le Ritz PDB Mar 25: Kingston, NY – Tubby’s Mar 26: Boston, MA – Deep Cuts Mar 28: Philadelphia, PA – Ukie Club Mar 29: Washington, DC – DC9 Mar 30: Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506 Apr 01: Asheville, NC – Eulogy Apr 02: Atlanta, GA – The Earl Apr 03: Pensacola, FL – The Handlebar Apr 05: Birmingham, AL – Saturn # Apr 06: Knoxville, TN – Pilot Light # Apr 08: Louisville, KY – Nachbar # Apr 09: Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups # Apr 11: Milwaukee, WI – Cactus Club # Apr 12: Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle # (Album Release Show – Tickets) Apr 25: Brooklyn, NY – Slide Away 2025 at Market Hotel (Opening Show) May 25: Los Angeles, CA – Slide Away 2025 at The Echoplex (Closing Show)
