We’ve got a great roundup of new music for you in this week’s instalment of What’s Going On. Hot new releases from bands The Offspring, The Horrors, and Little Suspicions, the latest offering from pop phenom Conan Gray and a really important music video with a message commissioned by The Center for Cultural Power. As always, if you dig what you’re hearing, be sure to stream and follow these artists.
The Offspring – Come out and play, The Offspring have announced their first new album in nearly a decade, Let The Bad Times Roll, which will be released on April 16 via Concord Records. If you enjoyed The Offspring’s last two albums (Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace and Days Go By), you’ll be pleased to know that the band is still working with superstar producer Bob Rock. The first single, the title track “Let The Bad Times Roll,” is the sort of biting and irreverent punk that we’ve all come to love from The Offspring. Describing how the recent political climate inspired the track, the band’s frontman and primary lyricist Dexter Holland says: “I feel like we’re in a unique period in history where instead of our world leaders saying ‘we’re doing our best’ it’s more like they’re saying ‘fuck it’ and its really scary.”
Listen to The Offspring’s new single “Let The Bad Times Roll” below.
Conan Gray – Rising pop superstar Conan Gray is out with “Overdrive,” his new single via Republic Records. Coming off the huge success of his debut album Kid Krow in 2020 and garnering praise from the likes of Elton John, Paper, The Fader, Forbes, MTV, and I-D, fans around the world have been clamoring for new music from the Texas native. “Overdrive” is the sort of big, bright, and optimistic pop track that we all so desperately need right now. On how the pandemic inspired his new single, Conan Gray says: “I wrote “Overdrive” to escape reality. I’ve spent the entire past year moping around alone in my house, I wanted to make something to get me to dance around my house. Something to belt into the showerhead and lose your worries to.”
Listen to Conan Gray’s new single “Overdrive” below.
Tommy Shepherd and Dame Drummer – As part of the Black Fathers Project, The Center for Cultural Power has put together a music video “Black Daddy” that aims to uplift true narratives around Black fatherhood. “Black Daddy” is a powerful collaboration between Tommy Shepherd (Alphabet Rockers, Campo Santo, Antique Naked Soul) and Dame Drummer (Fantastic Negrito, Los Rakas, Liv Warfield) – two major creative forces coming together to change the narrative about Black dads. Directed by Salvatore Fullmore, the video shows Black fathers learning, loving, and laughing with their sons – sadly images we don’t see often enough in the media. On top of all that, the song itself is a feel-good track that just adds to the replay value.
Watch Tommy Shepherd and Dame Drummer’s music video for “Black Daddy” below.
The Horrors – At last, The Horrors have returned! “Lout” is the English band’s first new single in nearly four years. A sonic departure from what they did on albums V and Luminous, the new single has a more industrial and harder-edged sound that’s more akin to what the band was doing on their debut album Strange House. Intense, nasty, and loud. It’s also the title track of the band’s new 3-track EP which will be out on March 12 via Wolf Tone. On what “Lout” is about, frontman Faris Badwan says: “”Lout” is about the relationship between choice and chance, compulsive risk-taking and pushing your luck. As a band, particularly live, we’ve always had an aggressive side and as we began writing new songs it became clear that we were heading in that direction.”
Listen to The Horrors’ new single “Lout” below.
Little Suspicions – Kent band Little Suspicions are out with “Limes,” their first new single of 2021. The relatively new band consisting of members Moritz Meyns, Craig Barden, Joey Lyon, and Conor Toner are quickly cementing themselves as ones to watch in 2021. To put it simply, “Limes” is a beautiful track that melds throwback sounds of the 60s with modern indie. Moritz Meyns’ vocals stand out in particular, giving the song a lived-in feel while simultaneously sounding fresh and cutting edge. Explaining the new single, the band says: “”Limes” follows the thoughts of the narrator’s nervousness while falling in love. It describes his experience of becoming hopelessly distracted when he thinks of his crushes’ green eyes, of which have become his Achilles heel.”
Listen to Little Suspicions’ new single “Limes” below.
