Hello and happy New Music Friday! Today is an especially stacked Vendredi with records from several indie rock favorites including Kevin Morby and The National frontman Matt Berninger (his solo debut, at that). We’re also finally getting to hear the full-length debut from TikTok-sensation and singer/songwriter beabadoobee, as well a new folk EP from Tomberlin, the first album from Canadian indie-pop singer Helena Deland and a sort-of surprise new bluegrass record from country star Sturgill Simpson. See all of that and more below.
1. beabadoobee: Fake It Flowers
Indie-pop rising star Beabadoobee—the project of 20-year-old Bea Kristi—has released her debut album Fake It Flowers via Dirty Hit. Earlier this year, Paste featured Beabadoobee in our list of 15 British Acts You Need to Know in 2020. Kristi opened for Clairo in the U.S. last year and was due to join The 1975 on their 2020 arena tour, which was canceled due to COVID-19. —Danielle Chelosky
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2. Hayden Thorpe: Aerial Songs
Hayden Thorpe, former singer in Wild Beasts, has released a new EP titled Aerial Songs via Domino Records. The EP was written and self-produced by Thorpe with additional production from Nathan Jenkins (aka Bullion), Richard Formby and Fabian Prynn. It was composed while Thorpe was an artist in residence at Aerial Festival, an arts, music and performance event in his native Cumbria. —Lizzie Manno
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3. Helena Deland: Someone New
We had the pleasure of seeing Montréal’s Helena Deland open for Connan Mockasin at the 2019 Montréal Jazz Festival, where Deland’s deft lyricism and sonic edge left a lasting mark. For her debut album, she’s signed to Chris Cantallini’s (of timeless indie blog Gorilla vs. Bear) Luminelle Records, and her dreamy sound slots nicely next to label mates like Anemone, Hana Vu and Jackie Mendoza. On songs like “Someone New” and the spectacular “Truth Nugget,” Deland expands on themes of interpersonal dynamics and identity in powerful ways. She is undoubtedly one of the best new talents to emerge from the robust Montréal indie scene. —Adrian Spinelli
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4. Holy Motors: Horse
Estonian outfit Holy Motors have shared their second album Horse. Like other album cuts, “Trouble” packs twang and sparkle. Eliann Tulve’s dreary vocals cascade over warbling vibrato guitars, and it’s clear that this is a song of the night, but not one of playful roguery—this is for stargazing and cycling through one’s hopes and fears. —Lizzie Manno
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5. Jeremy Ivey: Waiting Out The Storm
Country-rock singer/songwriter Jeremy Ivey is today releasing the follow-up to last year’s The Dream and the Dreamer. On this new effort, he addresses some political themes—but, as Ivey himself puts it, these songs “could also be true 30 years from now.” He wrote much of the album with his collaborator (and wife) Margo Price. “I work so quickly that I just wanted to not have to get anyone else involved,” he said. “I trust her, and it’s good to have her there to reassure me.” And it’s good to have this album to reassure us. —Ellen Johnson
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6. Kevin Morby: Sundowner
After five solo albums, Kansas City singer/songwriter Kevin Morby hasn’t missed a beat, and his sixth entry Sundowner continues that hot streak. Sundowner is perhaps less ambitious than his 2019 double album and spiritual escapade Oh My God, but any time Morby invites you on a lowly, dusty folk rock journey, you better get moving because it’s always worth it. If you’ve had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with Morby’s vocal, melodic and guitar quirks, you’ll find many of those here, along with his breathtaking intimacy and thoughtful pastoral tales. —Lizzie Manno
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7. Matt Berninger: Serpentine Prison
Matt Berninger of The National has released his debut solo record Serpentine Prison via Book’s Records. The single “One More Second,” released last month, follows the release of the album’s title track and “Distant Axis.” “I wrote ‘One More Second’ with Matt Sheehy with the intention for it to be a kind of answer to Dolly Parton’s ‘I Will Always Love You,’ or sort of the other side of that conversation,” Berninger says. “I just wanted to write one of those classic, simple, desperate love songs that sound great in your car.” —Paris Rosenthal
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8. Mipso: Mipso
There’s nothing like a near-fatal car accident for resetting a person’s perspective. Two years ago, not long after the release of Mipso’s fourth album, Edges Run, three members of the indie-Americana quartet—vocalist and guitarist Joseph Terrell, vocalist and fiddle player Libby Rodenbough, and touring drummer Yan Westerlund—got in a car accident that left Terrell bloodied on the asphalt. Their new record Mipso puts Terrell front and center for the most part but accords more space to Rodenbough, mandolinist Jacob Sharp, and bassist Wood Robinson, the chief players in the North Carolina four-piece. Even when they’re on lead, they share the spotlight with their peers, which means that harmony takes on the fullest meaning of the word over the course of the album. Terrell, Rodenbough, Sharp and Robinson sing in accordance with each other, sure, but they’re also singing about their collective shock and grief at having come so close to suffering losses, whether from breaking up or losing their lives. —Andy Crump
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9. Sturgill Simpson: Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1: The Butcher Shoppe Sessions
Sturgill Simpson unveiled earlier this week that he’d be releasing his first solo bluegrass album Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1: The Butcher Shoppe Sessions today. The LP release was intended to be a surprise, but appeared on streaming sites where fans discovered it listed, as Rolling Stone shared. “Welp,..was hoping to surprise everybody on Thursday but somebody somewhere (Germany) got all excited and just couldn’t hold their horses,” Simpson posted on Instagram. “And yes,..this is actually the album cover.” The album features 20 songs and bluegrass remasters of tracks from his first three albums. —Lexi Lane
10. Tomberlin: Projections
Tomberlin has shared her new EP Projections (co-produced by Alex G) via Saddle Creek. It’s the follow-up to her 2018 debut album At Weddings. Previously released single “Hours” features a light guitar and percussion backing and Tomberlin’s quiet-but-powerful voice. The song details both the hope and tragedy that comes with love, as she sings lines like “If the flower cries or fire dies / Would you stay? / For an hour.” —Lexi Lane
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