Thursday Music News

09/03/2015

Janice Headley

Longtime KEXP faves Low return with their 11th album, Ones and Sixes, on September 11th via Sub Pop. The latest from the pride of Duluth, MN was co-produced by the band themselves along with engineer BJ Burton at Justin Vernon’s April Base Studios in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Stream the full-length below, via NPR Music. Low return to Seattle, playing Saturday, November 21st at The Crocodile. [Consequence of Sound]

EL VY -- the new collaboration between Matt Berninger of The National and Menomena/Ramona Falls’ Brent Knopf -- share a video today for their track "I'm the Man to Be." The clip was filmed in Los Angeles by Matt's brother Tom Berninger, and features the duo at the Santa Monica Pier amusement park. Berninger says the song was originally inspired by the Schoolboy Q song "There He Go" which samples the Menomena track "Wet and Rusting." In a press release, he explains, "I thought it would be funny to re-sample the same sample and do it from the perspective of a pathetic self-aggrandizing rocker alone in a hotel room. Something I know a lot about. That's how it started but then Brent took the sample out and we wrote an entirely new song." EL VY's debut, Return to the Moon, hits stores October 30th via 4AD, and the duo play a sold out show Wednesday, November 4th at Neumos. [Under the Radar]

Heavenly Beat (the project of former Beach Fossils bassist John Peña) will self-release a new album, Designer, later this year. Get a taste of it now with the track "Intent" below. The full-length was recorded in Peña's Brooklyn apartment and features more of the breezy electro-pop sound we heard from his previous album, Talent. Heavenly Beat play Seattle on Wednesday, September 16th at Barboza with Teen Daze. [Stereogum]

Irish post-punk group Girl Band share a fantastic new video for the track "Pears For Lunch," a highlight from their forthcoming full-length Holding Hands With Jamie, out September 25th via Rough Trade. Watch below. Director Bob Gallagher says in a press release, "In a way, the ‘Pears’ video continues a theme from Paul, the idea of wearing one face that is at odds to how you actually feel. In this case, it’s more about aspiration towards a paradigm of self-improvement or fulfillment. There’s this idea that if you present an image of yourself that people buy into, you might actually become that person. There’s an honesty to the song that’s very stark, and it’s a refreshing when most of the time we’re just presenting the best possible versions of ourselves to everyone around us." [Spin]

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