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Jun 10, 2022 By Mark Redfern (with Joey Arnone)

Welcome to the 23rd Songs of the Week of 2022. We settled on a Top 11 this week, in a list more populated with veteran artists than newcomers, including two solo songs from artists who became stars as the frontmen of ’90s Britpop bands.

In the last week we posted interviews with Shearwater and Sinead O’Brien.

In the last week we also reviewed a bunch of albums.

Covers of Covers, our first album, came out at the beginning of March on CD and digitally via American Laundromat. You can stream it here. You can also buy it directly from American Laundromat, via Bandcamp, or on Amazon.

Don’t forget to pick up our new double print issue, our 20th Anniversary Issue (which is out now).

To help you sort through the multitude of fresh songs released in the last week, we have picked the 11 best the last week had to offer, along with highlighting other notable new tracks shared in the last seven days. Check out the full list below.

1. Metric: “What Feels Like Eternity”

On Wednesday, Metric shared a video for their new song, “What Feels Like Eternity.” It is the third single from their forthcoming album, Formentera, which will be out on July 8.

Upon announcement of the album in April, the band shared the album track “All Comes Crashing,” which was one of our Songs of the Week. Then they shared its second single, the 10-minute long “Doomscroller,” which we somehow neglected to post about and would have surely been one of our Songs of the Week if we hadn’t slept on it. Their previous album, Art of Doubt, came out in 2018 via MMI/Crystal Math Music.

Formentera is named for an island off the coast of Spain, near Ibiza. The island was discovered by the band in a travel book sitting on the desk of their recording studio and inspired them in the midst of pandemic lockdowns, when they couldn’t actually travel there.

“We had been living in our imaginations for a long time, because we couldn’t physically go anywhere else,” explains guitarist and co-producer Jimmy Shaw in a press release. “When you listen to the album from beginning to end, you start with this immediate feeling of tension building, of being stuck in a loop, and then there’s this intense release that happens… you’re swept off your feet into the title track ‘Formentera’ and it’s like you escaped.”

Frontwoman Emily Haines continues: “We came to this realization that it wasn’t even about an actual place anymore, it was about creating an escape for yourself in your mind because you’re powerless over so many things.” By Joey Arnone and Mark Redfern

2. Laura Veirs: “Eucalyptus”

On Wednesday, Laura Veirs shared a new single, “Eucalyptus.” It is the latest release from her forthcoming album, Found Light, which will be out on July 8 via Raven Marching Band.

Veirs elaborates on the song in a press release: “This is a song about the community love I felt when I went through my divorce. It’s also about new love and rediscovering myself as a solo person post-divorce. I reminisce here about ‘finding the old girl I was’ back when I visited my brother in California when he was in college, where they have lovely eucalyptus trees. Some eucalyptus trees will drop their branches suddenly on you, though, so those are the varieties you don’t want to plant in your backyard.”

“This was the trickiest song to record on the new album,” she continues. “My co-producer Shahzad Ismaily and I tried many different drum and bass ideas on this track before we landed here. I recorded the rain sounds spontaneously with my phone while sitting outside Shahzad’s studio in Brooklyn when we recorded the record last September. I love the unexpected places this song goes.”

Upon announcement of the album in April, Veirs shared its lead single “Winter Windows.” She later shared the album track “Seaside Haiku.” Her most recent album, My Echo, came out in 2020 via Raven Marching Band and Bella Union. By Joey Arnone

3. Gaz Coombes: “Sonny the Strong”

On Wednesday, Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes shared a new solo song, “Sonny the Strong.” Coombes says it is taken from his latest studio sessions, but there’s no word on a new album or EP. For now it’s a standalone single.

Coombes has released three well-received solo albums, the most recent being 2018’s World’s Strongest Man (which was our Album of the Week).

Supergrass were one of the leading lights of the mid-1990s Britpop movement and they reunited a few years back and have been touring. In May they returned to American TV to perform their 1997 hit “Richard III” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, ripping through the song and displaying what an amazingly tight band they remain, even all these decades later. The song is from their second album, In It For the Money, which got the expanded reissue treatment last year. Supergrass are Coombes, Mick Quinn, Danny Goffey, and Rob Coombes. They originally broke-up in 2010 after releasing six albums, but they reformed in 2019.

Read our 2021 interview with Supergrass on In It For the Money.

Read our 2017 Artist Survey interview with Gaz Coombes.

Read our 2018 interview with Gaz Coombes on World’s Strongest Man. By Mark Redfern

4. Katie Alice Greer: “Captivated”

On Monday, Katie Alice Greer (formerly of Priests) shared a video for her new single “Captivated.” It is the latest release from her forthcoming album, Barbarism, which will be out on June 24 via FourFour.

In a press release, Greer states: “This is a creepy song, in my mind, and I wanted to lean into that for both the production and the video’s narrative. In the video, a woman is intermittently experiencing time in reverse. She sees a plane fly overhead in a field and moments later, it flies backwards. She carries a suitcase full of money and now wonders where it came from. After experiencing time in reverse, she questions whether or not her experiences ever happened at all; she wonders whether she is in the present moment, caught in a daydream or a memory. In the video we are experiencing her mind’s chopped and shuffled versions of both, none of what she’s seeing or remembering (wandering at night, a woman in a yellow skirt, a gloved hand reaching for her in the field) makes any sense to her anymore. She is losing her sense of reality, and simultaneously trying to piece it back together with the few and unreliable clues she has left.”

Upon announcement of the new album in April, Greer shared the song “FITS/My Love Can’t Be.” She later shared the album track “Dreamt I Talk To Horses.” By Joey Arnone

5. Spacemoth: “Waves Come Crashing”

On Tuesday, Spacemoth (the project of Maryam Qudus) shared a video for her new single, “Waves Come Crashing,” which has a bit of a Broadcast vibe. It is the latest release from her forthcoming debut album, No Past No Future, which will be out on July 22 via Wax Nine.

“‘Waves Come Crashing’ was written during a period when I was haunted by the idea of losing my partner,” states Qudus in a press release. “I would lay awake at night and all I could think of was what if something happens to them tomorrow? While I was unable to shake these thoughts, I slowly realized my time spent worrying about loss was consuming the time we have together.” By Joey Arnone

6. Tim Burgess: “Typical Music”

On Monday, Tim Burgess of The Charlatans announced the release of his sixth solo album, Typical Music, which will be out on September 23 via Bella Union. Burgess also shared a video for the album’s title track. View the album’s tracklist and cover art here.

Burgess discusses his new album in a press release: “OK, we all know about double albums, right? Historically, they’ve been thought of as indulgent. But I came to the conclusion that what I was doing was the opposite of that. I wanted to give people everything that I’d done. Every idea was treated as if it was the best thing and had to be treated with extreme care. I wanted to give everything of myself. That was it.”

He adds: “I fell in love with the world again. During COVID, I read a pile of books, got better on guitar. I had new perspective. I wanted to learn how to be Tim Burgess who makes solo records. People have a vision of me as the singer in The Charlatans. That’s not going to change. Then there’s me as the Twitter guy. But I just fell in love with the world again and wanted the world to take me with them.”

Typical Music was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire, Wales, and features musical contributions from Daniel O’Sullivan and Thighpaulsandra.

In April, Burgess shared the album track “Here Comes the Weekend,” which was one of our Songs of the Week.

Last September, Burgess released the book The Listening Party, written about his Twitter listening parties.

Check out our interview with Burgess about his Twitter listening parties, along with our COVID-19 Quarantine Artist Check-In interview with him from 2020. By Joey Arnone

7. Cass McCombs: “Unproud Warrior” (Feat. Wynonna Judd and Charlie Burnham)

On Wednesday, Cass McCombs announced the release of a new album, Heartmind, which will be out on August 19 via ANTI-. He also announced a tour, and shared a video for the new album single “Unproud Warrior,” which features Wynonna Judd and Charlie Burnham. View the album’s tracklist/cover art and a full list of tour dates here.

McCombs states in a press release: “I made this album as a way to handle the loss of some close friends. Their memories guided me throughout and hopefully they live through the music. Strange to realize, it wasn’t them who were lost, it was me.”

Heartmind features co-production from Shahzad Ismaily, Buddy Ross, and Ariel Rechtstaid. It was mixed by Rob Schnapf. The album also features musical contributions by Cactus Moser, Joe Russo, Kassa Overall, Danielle Haim, The Chapin Sisters, Frank LoCrasto, and Nestor Gomez.

McCombs previously shared the album single “Belong to Heaven” in April. His last album, Tip of the Sphere, came out in 2019 via ANTI-. In 2020, he shared the song “Don’t (Just) Vote,” an updated version of his 2011 song “Don’t Vote.” By Joey Arnone

8. Soccer Mommy: “newdemo”

Yesterday, Soccer Mommy (aka Sophie Allison) shared a new single, “newdemo.” It is the latest release from her forthcoming album, Sometimes, Forever, which will be out on June 24 via Loma Vista.

Allison elaborates on the new song in a press release: “I didn’t want to make something super depressing without any sense of magic. We played around with the space to make the song feel vast, so ‘newdemo’ had a huge transformation in the studio. It’s one of my favorites off of the record.”

Previously released singles from the album are “Shotgun,” which was one of our Songs of the Week, “Unholy Affliction,” and “Bones,” also one of our Songs of the Week. Her most recent album, color theory, came out in 2020 via Loma Vista. By Joey Arnone

9. Moor Mother: “Woody Shaw” (Feat. Melanie Charles)

On Wednesday, Moor Mother (aka Camae Ayewa) announced the release of a new album, Jazz Codes, which will be out on July 1 via ANTI-. She also shared a video for a new album track “Woody Shaw,” featuring Melanie Charles. View the album’s tracklist and cover art here.

Ayewa’s most recent album, Black Encyclopedia of the Air, came out last year via ANTI-. By Joey Arnone

10. Danger Mouse and Black Thought: “Because” (Feat. Joey Bada$$, Russ, and Dylan Cartlidge)

On Wednesday, Danger Mouse and The Roots frontman Black Thought shared a new single, “Because,” featuring Joey Bada$$, Russ, and Dylan Cartlidge. It is the latest release from their forthcoming album, Cheat Codes, which will be out on August 12 via BMG.

Joey Bada$$ states in a press release: “I’ve always been a big fan of Black Thought and Danger Mouse. I think Black Thought is one of the greatest rappers ever, so when they asked me to get on this record, it was a no-brainer, plus the record is fire! I still remember the first time I heard ‘You Got Me.’ The video was shot on my great-grandmother’s block and I was actually there that day when I was a child. It changed the way I looked at music. I’m very honored to be a part of this track. We’re making history!”

Russ adds: “Being able to collaborate with one of the greatest lyricists of all time is an honor and to do it in unison with Danger Mouse is something I’m just really proud to be a part of.”

Upon announcement of Cheat Codes, Danger Mouse and Black Thought shared the album track “No Gold Teeth,” which was one of our Songs of the Week. By Joey Arnone

11. Shearwater: “Empty Orchestra”

Shearwater released their first new album in six years, The Great Awakening, today via Polyborus/Secretly Distribution. Today they also shared a video for the album track “Empty Orchestra.” Stream the new album here, and check out our new interview with Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg here.

In a press release, Meiburg states that “Empty Orchestra” is “about leaving the place you’ve always lived, knowing that you’ll have to abandon a part of yourself to do it. And finally being ready to pay that price.”

Upon announcement of the new album in March, the band shared the song “Xenarthran,” which was one of our Songs of the Week. They later shared the album track “Aqaba,” which was also one of our Songs of the Week. The last pre-release single was “Laguna Seca,” also one of our Songs of the Week. Their previous album, Jet Plane and Oxbow, came out in 2016 via Sub Pop. By Joey Arnone

Honorable Mentions:

These songs almost made the Top 11.

Belle and Sebastian: “A Bit of Previous”

The Black Angels: “El Jardin”

Martin Courtney: “Sailboat”

Editors: “Karma Climb”

Elf Power: “Soft Trash”

girlpuppy: “I Miss When I Smelled Like You”

Jesca Hoop: “Hatred Has a Mother”

Marci: “Terminal”

Pixies: “There’s a Moon On”

Sam Prekop and John McEntire: “A Ghost at Noon”

Here’s a handy Spotify playlist featuring the Top 11 in order, followed by all the honorable mentions:

Other notable new tracks in the last week include:

Courtney Marie Andrews: “Satellite”

The A’s: “He Needs Me” and “Why I’m Grieving”

Katie Bejsiuk: “Olive, NY”

Rachel Bobbitt: “What About the Kids”

Boris: “Question 1”

Bonny Light Horseman: “California”

Doe Paoro: “All My Life is a Ceremony”

Dummy: “Mono Retriever” and “Pepsi Vacuum”

JB Dunckel: “Shogun”

Horse Jumper of Love: “Sitting on the Porch at Night”

Ibibio Sound System: “All That You Want (Joe Goddard Remix)”

Irreversible Entanglements: “Down to Earth” and “All You Can Do Is All You Can Do”

Jimmy Eat World: “Something Loud”

Lissie: “Flowers”

PHONY: “SUMMER’S COLD”

SASAMI: “Tried to Understand” (Feat. J Mascis)

Regina Spektor: “Loveology”

Jack White: “If I Die Tomorrow”

Zola Jesus: “Into the Wild”

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