As unprecedented flooding sweeps through the Southeastern United States, a slew of music’s biggest artists have come together to contribute their talents to aid those folks affected by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. Three NC natives have organized 135-track album, Cardinals At The Window, featuring Angel Olsen, Fleet Foxes, Jason Isbell, Little Brother, MJ Lenderman, R.E.M., The War On Drugs, and more, with proceeds from the download-only project going directly to three organizations benefitting the impacted communities. They are BeLoved Asheville, Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, and Rural Organizing and Resilience.
The project’s organizers are musician and community organizer Libby Rodenbough, New Commute founder David Walker, and music journalist Grayson Haver Currin, while Shirlette Ammons, Martin Anderson, Anna Morris, Cory Rayborn, and Rusty Sutton provided “critical support,” according to a press release. Sylvan Esso’s Nick Sanborn and Clay Blair engineered the project for free, while Hunter Savoy and Ryan Gustafson launched the Cardinals at the Window direct funding campaign. Rodenbough who was on tour in Massachusetts with The Dead Tongues when the hurricane hit, said, “There were just so many folks who, like us, had witnessed the destruction of these holy places from the outside and felt their hearts trying to break out of their chests. It was instant, the way people signed on. They also feel what I feel, that these mountains are the cradle of some deep and ineffable magic.”
You can find more info about Cardinals At The Window on the campaign website, and download the album on BandCamp.
Just last week Harry Styles debuted not one but two new songs during his Friday night Coachella set. Both “Boyfriends” and “Late Night Talking” are likely singles off his upcoming album, Harry’s House, but for now, “Boyfriends” is definitely the crowd favorite. So much so that indie rocker Angel Olsen has done her own cover of the track, though it hasn’t even been officially released yet. Gearing up to release a new album of her own, Big Time, on June 3, Olsen uploaded her spare rendition of Harry’s tune to her TikTok channel.
Does this mean a slew of “Boyfriends” covers will be unleashed in the coming days and weeks? Too soon to tell, but if there’s one thing this man seems to understand, it’s just how frustrating men can be. For his set during last night’s second weekend, Harry brought out Lizzo to do some One Direction classics, which is probably not comparable to the iconic appearance of Shania during the first weekend, but at least he mixed it up so fans got something different.
The Adult Swim Festival went virtual in 2020, and the event is returning in the same way this year: It was announced today that the fest is set to go down on YouTube and HBO Max on November 12 and 13, and a bulk of a lineup was also revealed.
It’s a multi-faceted event, but on the music side of things are previously unseen performances from Lil Baby, 21 Savage, Flying Lotus, Angel Olsen, Alessia Cara, Karol G, Kelly Lee Owens, The Armed, and Sheer Mag, with more artists set to be announced ahead of the show.
Meanwhile, there will also be livestreams and panels from Adult Swim favorites like Rick And Morty, Squidbillies, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Beyond that, episodes of shows like Rick And Morty, The Eric Andre Show, Robot Chicken, Joe Pera Talks With You, Metalocalpyse, and others will be broadcast, accompanied by live chats featuring surprise guests.
Adult Swim has long had its own specific presence carved out in the music world: For years now, the network has teamed up with (mostly alternative) artists to share new music, and they’re staying strong on that front. Just last month, for example, Soccer Mommy and Kero Kero Bonito shared a collaboration, “Rom Com 2021,” as part of the Adult Swim Singles series.
Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.
Whatever you might be into, each month brings a new slew of vinyl releases that has something for everybody. Some stand out above the rest, naturally, so check out some of our favorite vinyl releases of May below.
Amy Winehouse — Amy Winehouse At The BBC
Island/UMe
Before her passing, Amy Winehouse was a mainstay at the BBC and gave many performances over the years. Now, they’ve been collected on one stunning vinyl collection, which includes the audio-only versions of performances previously heard on A Tribute To Amy Winehouse By Jools Holland and BBC One Sessions Live At Porchester Hall. Other goodies from Winehouse’s career here include her first-ever TV performances and her earliest BBC Radio sessions.
My Bloody Valentine — Isn’t Anything, Loveless, EP’s 1988-1991 And Rare Tracks, and mbv (Reissues)
Domino
My Bloody Valentine’s material isn’t necessarily always the easiest to track down, but Kevin Shields and company have finally treated their fans on that front. A couple months ago, they announced their signing to Domino and subsequent reissues of their entire discography, so everything from the debut album Isn’t Anything to the newer mbv can now be enjoyed on crisp new vinyl.
Paul and Linda McCartney — Ram (50th Anniversary Reissue)
UMe
Paul and Linda McCartney only made one album together on which they were both given primary credit, and to celebrate Ram‘s 50th anniversary, a fresh new vinyl pressing has been released. This release should be about the best this album has ever sounded, thanks to the half-speed mastering process the album underwent for this edition.
St. Vincent has been strongly pushing the 1970s aesthetic here in the Daddy’s Home era, so it’s only appropriate that the album gets a slew of different vinyl editions. Of them, the deluxe LP is the most fleshed out, as it includes treats like an iron-on patch, an 11″ by 22″ poster, and an exclusive 20-page photo zine.
Fountains Of Wayne — Welcome Interstate Managers (Reissue)
Real Gone Music
Following the death of Adam Schlesinger in 2020, Uproxx’s Jason Tabrys wrote of the now-newly reissued Welcome Interstate Managers, “What stands out most about Welcome Interstate Managers is the diversity of the material. Nothing sounds like ‘Stacy’s Mom,’ but none of the other tracks really sound like each other either. Instead, Schlesinger and Collingwood pull inspiration from Tom Petty, The Beatles, The Cars, The Beach Boys, Linda Rondstadt, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, U2, and even country music. The end result stands out as an interesting and evocative collection of songs that too many people shruggingly dismissed as the filler around a one-hit-wonder. Because we’ve always had more content than time to appropriately assess and appreciate it.”
Songs from Phoebe Bridgers’ album Punisher didn’t need to be re-worked by any means. That said, a handful of them took on a fascinating new life through her more string-focused Copycat Killer EP. In April, Bridgers announced the collection would be getting a vinyl release, and here in May, the Copycat Killer vinyl is out now.
As of 2021, Violent Femmes have been around for 40 years. What better way to celebrate than with a retrospective collection? Earlier this month, the band re-released the compilation album Add It Up (1981–1993). This time, though, they’ve added things like live recordings, demos, B-sides, interstitial voice recordings, and other rarities.
Angel Olsen — Song Of The Lark And Other Far Memories
Jagjaguwar
Angel Olsen’s two latest albums, 2019’s All Mirrors and 2020’s Whole New Mess, didn’t end up being released as a single double album as intended. The releases have been brought together, though, on a new box set, Song Of The Lark And Other Far Memories. But wait, there’s more: The collection also includes Far Memory, a collection of new songs, alternate versions, and remixes.
The Shins — Oh, Inverted World (Vinyl Me, Please Reissue)
Vinyl Me, Please
Vinyl Me, Please always comes through with the fantastic rereleases, and the aesthetics are always on point as well. Their repressing of The Shins’ classic Oh, Inverted World comes on a beautifully subtle but still standout “Coke Bottle Clear” vinyl, not to mention the lovely inverted cover art, which the record wonderfully pairs.
Ben Schneider and the rest of Lord Huron dropped their latest stunner, Long Lost, this month. They also released a vinyl edition of it that makes it look like the cover art was made with these colored pressings in mind. The album art features a head that looks like it’s been replaced with a sunset, and the “custard & blue sky” double vinyl pressing is a beautiful complement.
