There’s little in the way of big-name album releases this week, so we’re going to concentrate mostly on singles of note.
1. Muse, Something Human
Muse has been dribbling out singles over the last year-and-a-half without giving us much direction about what they have planned in the future. Now, with the release of this new song, we’re hearing of an album entitled Simulation Theory. (Well, maybe. That’s still unconfirmed.) Matt Bellamy says the song was written during Muse’s mammoth Dones World Tour when he was anxious for it to be all over so everyone could go home. Note the retro VHS-era feel of the video.
2. Greta Van Fleet, When the Curtain Falls
After more than a year of hype-building, Michigan’s Greta Van Fleet is ready to be anointed The Next Big Thing in modern rock. Earlier this month, they played two sold-out shows in Toronto (7,500 each night!) without yet releasing a full album. There’s no title for that record yet, but it’s coming — and it’s gonna be huge.
3. Metric, Dark Saturday
Metric is being pretty coy about their upcoming 12-track seventh album (their first since 2015’s Pagans in Vegas) other than to say it’ll be available Sept. 21. Interesting note: the producer — an outside party for the first time ever — has done work for Nine Inch Nails. Whatever could that portend? What can we infer from this first single? Stay tuned.
4. Tom Petty, Keep a Little Soul
It sounds like Petty left behind quite the cache of unreleased material. A four-CD box set of previously-unreleased material entitled An American Treasure is set to come out Sept. 28. Fans can expect live recordings, unreleased studio tracks, alternate versions of well-known songs and more, all selected by his widow Dana and daughter Adria. A smaller two-CD set will also be available at the same time. This track gives us an idea of what to expect.
5. The Rolling Stones, From the Vault: No Security, San Jose 1999
Speaking of people who have plenty of unreleased material, The Rolling Stones have a new DVD/Blu-ray/double CD/triple vinyl set documenting this gig from San Jose at the very end of the 1999 North American tour.
London Calling — The KVB, Above Us
Before you ask, no, I don’t know what KVB stands for. I can tell you that their history goes back to 2010 when they started posting material online and giving out limited edition cassettes. This led to a series of record deals before they ended up with a label called Invada run by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow.
Undiscovered Gem — The Dearly Bereft, Some Devil
This Toronto outfit describes themselves as “Toronto’s first funeral band” playing “alternative ambient shoegaze dirge-pop.” And there’s more truth to that than you might realize. The group came together at the reception for the funeral of one of the member’s fathers.
Throwback Thursday — The Breeders, Cannonball
When Kim Deal when to play the opening bass lick on this song from 1993, she hit the wrong fret, resulting in notes half a step out of tune. Everyone ignored the mistake and carried on. When the take was played back, everyone remarked on how the gaffe actually added some interesting tension to the song, so they kept it. Now you’ll never hear the song in the same way, will you?
Alan Cross is a broadcaster with 102.1 the Edge and a commentator for Global News.
Subscribe to Alan’s Ongoing History of New Music Podcast now on Apple Podcast or Google Play
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