Honey RadarSing The Snow Away: The Chunklet YearsChunklet Industries [2020] Honey Radar is currently one of the best lo-fi bands on the indie scene. Led by Philadelphia musician Jason Henn, Honey Radar has been on a creative hot streak with their last two records and the band continually is successful by blending sounds of 60’s … Read more
IDLES have shared “Model Village,” the latest single from their forthcoming LP ‘Ultra Mono’ (out Sept 25 via Partisan). “Model Village” decries the often-dangerous small-town fishbowl mentality, while its jet-powered instrumentation leans heavily into the band’s love of hip-hop (Kenny Beats provided additional programming on the album). The song is accompanied by an animated music … Read more
Damaged BugBug On YonkersCastle Face Records [2020] Bug On Yonkers is the new album from John Dwyer’s (Oh Sees) Damaged Bug moniker and it quite possibly may be the best listen in their catalog. The even more interesting thing about this album is that it is a set of covers from Michael Yonkers. Michael Yonkers? … Read more
Following the rhythm-wracked single “Cavehead,” Frankie and the Witch Fingers are back with another new track that seeks to siphon from the cosmic horror and wonder that lurks between the fibres of space and time. As you prepare to cast off your mortal cage and summon the cruel cosmic gods of old, the tones of ‘Sweet Freak’ strike up, … Read more
The way the blues was meant to be: LIVE! This four track EP is the first of many live efforts from GA-20 to come. These four tunes show the wide range of the group, ranging from mellow in the world of groups like The Wood Brothers to raw, electric blues more kin to early 60s … Read more
NOFX / Frank TurnerWest Coast Vs. WessexFat Wreck Chords [2020] When Fat Mike of NOFX phoned up Frank Turner and asked him if he wanted to do a split covers album the answer was a quick YES! West Coast Vs. Wessex finds NOFX filtering five of Turner’s songs through their lens while Turner pays back … Read more
Chris Taylor Born On The BeatSelf-Released [2020] Chris Taylor, a San Antonio artist, both a singer/songwriter and painter, is exemplary of how real indie rock artists (not those bands we call “indie rock” even though they’re signed to a major label) are struggling to get by, made all the more “interesting” by the current global … Read more
TFN’s AOW today has some cranking indie rock from New York with Bloody Your Hands, the many different sides of Chicago’s Spun Out and the mid-tempo melodies out of California complements of Greer. Bloody Your HandsNew York, New York Bloody Your Hands have announced the release of their sophomore album, Sunday Scaries that will be … Read more
Fontaines D.C.A Hero’s DeathPartisan Records [2020] Last year’s debut, Dogrel, rapidly launched Dublin’s Fontaines D.C. style of post-punk into the spotlight. Quickly, the 5 piece band has returned with 11 new tracks on their sophomore release, A Hero’s Death. This feels like a quick turnaround, even in these COVID days, but after spending multiple rotations … Read more
DehdFlower Of DevotionFire Talk Records [2020] Dehd, the Chicago-based trio of Emily Kempf (vocals/bass), Jason Balla (vocals/guitar), and Eric McGrady (drums), have made grand steps forward on their latest album, Flower Of Devotion. Their 2019 record, Water, was all about not surrounding the songs with extras. Simple instruments, simple singing, and simple overall compositions. The … Read more
Daniel Blumberg has shared a new video for “On&On&On&On&On,” the penultimate track from his new album On&On. It is the final rendition of the ever-evolving title song which appears four times across the arc of the record, each time cast in a new light. The self-directed video is the second in a series of films … Read more
Randy Holden Population IIRidingEasy Records [2020] Randy Holden’s Population II has had a long, tortuous road to its most recent reissue, the ins and outs of which could probably support a full-length article if not a book. After stints in various garage rock bands including Los Angeles psych rock act The Other Half, Holden briefly … Read more
Angel Olsen will release Whole New Mess, her first solo album since her 2012 debut, on August 28th via Jagjaguwar. A super intimate and vulnerable emotional portrait that shows her grappling with a period of personal tumult, Whole New Mess presents Olsen working through her open wounds and raw nerves with just a few guitars … Read more
Back in 2019 the most epic Sabbath cover band formed in NYC consisting of Angel Deradoorian (Deradoorian), Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Mick Barr (Ocrilim, Krallice), Greg Fox, and Brad Truax (Interpol). Today Famous Class Records has announced the debut release from BSCBR! The 7”, “Master of Rehearsal”, is up for pre-order now on the … Read more
Liza Anne Bad VacationArts & Crafts [2020] Georgia-based, indie rocker Liza Anne returns with her fourth album of smart pop-craft, with plenty of 80’s new wave, pop/punk and rock influences on display. Past efforts have dealt with mental health issues head on in songs like “Panic Attack” and “Paranoia,” and here she describes the inner … Read more
Fontaines D.C. have shared a live favorite new song “Televised Mind” with its heaves, drones, and churns – a perfect embodiment of the bruised and battered. It is off their new LP, A Hero’s Death which was just released via Partisan).Fontaines D.C. – “Televised Mind” (dir. by Hugh Mulhern) Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten says … Read more
I think everyone can agree that COVID-19 has changed just about every aspect of our life. Countless industries have been impacted and had to adapt while the art of making music has not been immune. That brings us to today’s video premiere from Dayton, Ohio’s Smug Brothers! After a highly productive 2019 that saw the … Read more
The Psychedelic Furs Made Of RainCooking Vinyl [2020] As influential as UK post/punk rock band The Psychedelic Furs has been in modern music circles, it’s pretty surprising to look back at their discography and realize that the entirety of their studio recordings can be found on seven albums released over eleven years, between 1980 and … Read more
TFN is excited to offer up another three artists to check out this week and we think we have quite the diverse trio. Out of Portland, you can get your full on punk out with Era Bleak, then from Montreal the fantastic vocals from Le Ren will carry you forward while the indie emo from … Read more
UK trio, Doves will release their first new album in 11 years, The Universal Want, September 11 through IMPERIAL (US) + Virgin/EMI (UK). “Carousels” has already earned critical praise and solid airplay. Turning the page onto the next chapter of a three-decade career, The Universal Want follows the Mercury-nominated albums, Lost Souls (2000) and The … Read more
Gang Of Four Anti HeroGill Music [2020] After the death of long-time Gang of Four leader and lead guitarist, Andy Gill, in February, the band released the posthumous EP This Heaven Gives Me Migraine. It included a few spoken words from Gibb, a new track that had been slated for their follow up to last … Read more
In anticipation of Serpentine Prison, the upcoming debut solo record from Matt Berninger—frontman of critically acclaimed group The National—Berninger released another track from the record, “Distant Axis,” alongside a video which he directed with his brother, Tom Berninger, and Chris Sgroi. Berninger explains about the track, which he wrote with The Walkmen’s Walter Martin, “I … Read more
Taylor Swift FolkloreRepublic Records [2020] It’s almost hard to say what’s more surprising here, that Taylor Swift dropped a surprise new album last Thursday that was entirely recorded in the months of this virus pandemic quarantine, or that you’re reading about it here on The Fire Note, where we pride ourselves by primarily focusing on … Read more
Bright Eyes is back with a long awaited tenth album, and first since 2011, Down In The Weeds Where The World Once Was, to be released on Dead Oceans on August 21st. The mesmerizing video for “Mariana Trench” was created by Art Camp. Speaking on the creation of the video, Art Camp states: “The production … Read more
Covers have long been an integral part of Whitney’s ethos. Ever since the band first formed in a Chicago apartment in 2014, tackling songs by the Everly Brothers, Allen Toussaint, and more played an important part in the songwriting process for their breakthrough 2016 debut Light Upon The Lake. Since then, their takes on NRBQ’s “Magnet” … Read more