The week between Christmas and New Year’s is very quiet in the music world, but it’s not a total dead zone. A handful of singles, surprise albums, and other miscellaneous forms of new music dropped over the holidays, and here’s a roundup of other 20 new releases you may have missed…
ÑENGO FLOW x BAD BUNNY – “GATO DE NOCHE”
After releasing one of the biggest and best albums of 2022 (but before tossing a fan’s phone in the water), Bad Bunny capped off his huge year with one last banger, “Gato de Noche” with Ñengo Flow.
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††† (CROSSES) – “ONE MORE TRY” (GEORGE MICHAEL COVER)
Just a few weeks after releasing their new Permanent.Radiant EP, Chino Moreno and Shaun Lopez’s duo ††† (Crosses) released their third-annual holiday season cover song. This one’s of George Michael’s “One More Try,” which they give an eerie, atmospheric twist.
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REDVEIL – “2DASIDE”
redveil is one of our favorite new rappers and released one of our favorite albums of 2022 with learn 2 swim, and he wrapped up his breakthrough year with one more song, “2daside.” It’s a melodic, soulful rap song that instantly sounds as great as everything on learn 2 swim.
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ZACH BRYAN – ALL MY HOMIES HATE TICKETMASTER (LIVE FROM RED ROCKS)
Zach Bryan spent 2022 skyrocketing to the top of the country music world and riding high off the strength of his great new album American Heartbreak (as well as the EP and two-song single he released after that), and he celebrated Christmas with one last release, a live album from Red Rocks called All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster. He shared it along with a message about unfair ticket prices, and said he’d be playing some limited shows in 2023 with ticket prices “as cheap as possible and to prove to people tickets don’t have to cost $450 to see a good and honest show,” and while you wait for that, this album gives you a very good taste of how good and honest a Zach Bryan show can be.
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MOUNT EERIE – “HUGE FIRE”
After releasing his first new album as The Microphones in 17 years, Microphones in 2020, Phil Elverum has shared a noisy new Mount Eerie track, “Huge Fire,” as part of a 20th anniversary compilation from Tokyo’s 7e.p. Records, COLORS.
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SONDRE LERCHE – “ANTI HERO” (TAYLOR SWIFT COVER)
Sondre Lerche usually ends the year with a cover of a big pop hit and for 2022 he chose Taylor Swift’s “Anti Hero.” He notes, “Just a little over a year and a half ago we recorded «Avatars Of Love», the title track from my album, right here in this studio. Among the albums I mention in that song were «folklore» and «evermore» by Taylor Swift, along with a myriad of songs and artists I deeply appreciate and admire. So please accept this strange full circle in the form of this year’s holiday offering. And gratitude to Taylor Swift for keeping it coming and for indulging (or suing) us.”
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UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA – “SB-10”
Unknown Mortal Orchestra continued their annual SB series of ambient-instrumentals with “SB-10,” a nearly 45-minute track that features UMO main man Ruban Nielson’s brother, Kody, on drums and Jake Portrait on bass.
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MOBY – ‘AMBIENT23’
To kick off 2023, Moby has released ambient23, “2 and 1/2 hours of analog ambient music.” Moby adds it was “Made to help anxiety (my own, and hopefully yours, too). For 2023 may we all be less anxious (and may we all stop looking for validation from a culture we don’t respect…).”
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ASTREL K – “SAY” (CAT POWER COVER)
astrel k, aka Ulrika Spacek frontman Rhys Edwards, closed out his 2022 (which included the release of his great debut album under this name), with a lovely, twinkling cover of Cat Power’s “Say” which he calls “A song that has haunted me for many years and recently felt right to record a version of.”
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ICE SPICE – “IN HA MOOD”
Rising rapper Ice Spice released two of 2022’s best singles — “Munch (Feelin’ U)” and “Bikini Bottom” — and her Christmas gift to fans was one more instantly-satisfying track, “In Ha Mood.”
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COMA REGALIA – IL EVECTES
Screamo staples Coma Regalia capped off 2022 with a new album, il evectes. We’re still processing it, but it already feels up there with the year’s best screamo releases.
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ETERNAL SLEEP – DESPERATE PRAYER BLUES
While many of us were tuned out because of the holidays, Pittsburgh metallic hardcore band Eternal Sleep (whose vocalist Joe Sanderson also fronts Unreal City) quietly released their first album in six years, Desperate Prayer Blues. It was produced by Arthur Rizk, and it’s as badass as you’d hope.
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RAE SREMMURD – “TORPEDO”
Rae Sremmurd have been dropping new singles as they gear up for their first album since 2018, and “Torpedo” is classic Sremmurd.
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SKEE MASK – B
German electronic musician Skee Mask celebrated Christmas by dropping a new Bandcamp compilation, B, which features previously unreleased songs recorded between 2017 and 2020.
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MATTACHINE & MIKAU – “UNLUCKY CHANNEL”
Mattachine and Mikau, two metalcore bands that both share members with the great screamo band Infant Island, rung in the new year with a collaborative track. It’s a synth-infused metalcore banger and it’s full of socially conscious anger.
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DARK SKY BURIAL – INFERUS
Napalm Death’s Shane Embury celebrated New Year’s Eve with a new album from his electronic/dark ambient project Dark Sky Burial.
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HAEST – “SOMEONE ELSE HAS PISSED MY JEANS”
UK punks Haest are releasing their new album Belabour on January 13 via TNSRecords and No Time Records, and here’s a new ripper from it that came out on December 28.
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THE HOLY GHOST TABERNACLE CHOIR – “THINKING ABOUT THE IMMORTALITY OF THE CRAB”
The hard-to-define Savannah heavy band The Holy Ghost Tabernacle Choir shared this track on Bandcamp, which was initially recorded as part of a Fest split with Gillian Carter, Machinist!, and Cursed Birth.
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DANDELION – DANDELION
Don’t let the pretty springtime plants fool you; this new EP is four slabs of brutal metallic harcore.
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JEFF MARKEY – SPORTS & LEISURE (ft. BILLY WOODS, PREMROCK, FATBOI SHARIF, DEFCEE & MORE)
Producer and longtime Backwoodz collaborator Jeff Markey put out this album on Christmas. It’s largely instrumental, but also features guest verses from billy woods, PremRock, Fatboi Sharif, Defcee, and other rappers.
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SHRAPKNEL – “MESCALITO REMIX” (ft. BILLY WOODS, prod. DJ HARAM)
More Backwoodz: ShrapKnel put out a new remix of “Mescalito” from this year’s Metal Lung. It was produced by DJ Haram (700 Bliss) and it features Backwoodz label head billy woods.
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LAYBACK – SIT DOWN AND LAYBACK
South London hardcore band Layback dropped a tough-as-nails new EP via Quality Control HQ.
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MATRIARCHS – “ALL HAIL THE UNDERDOG” (ft. AARON HEARD OF JESUS PIECE)
Metalcore band Matriarchs (members of Ruckus, Hoods and The Faceless) dropped a new track and it features guest screaming from Jesus Piece vocalist Aaron Heard.
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CAPTIVE – “END OF A ROPE” & “RUBBERNECK”
Cleveland hardcore band Captive kicked off 2023 with a two-song promo on Delayed Gratification Records, and both songs rip.
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BLEMISH – SWARM & DECAY
NJ death metallers Blemish are releasing their debut full-length this year, and they’re prefacing it with this new EP, which features one new track, two re-recorded songs from their 2021 demo, and a Jerome’s Dream cover.
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JIGSAW YOUTH – “DEEPER”
Staten Island’s grungy Jigsaw Youth left a big impression when we saw them open for Pinkshift in the fall, and they continue to churn out early ’90s vibes on new single “Deeper.”
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FIREWORKS – HIGHER LONELY POWER
Fireworks surprise-released their first album in nine years on New Year’s Day. We’ll have more to say about it soon, but for now, check it out and read a little bit more about it here.
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Looking for even more new songs? Browse the New Songs archive.
