The S.L.P. is the latest project by Sergio Lorenzo Pizzorno, the songwriter and creative force behind Kasabian. The instant “Nobody Else” throws his rulebook out the door, for a breezy, memorable, roll-down-the-car-windows exploration that’s perfect piano ballad meets sun-kissed house.

“I’ve been making a new Kasabian album every couple of years since 2004, I have my routines and I have the way I like to work, and I just think I felt I needed a re-set, so that I could approach the next Kasabian album from a different place. It’s so important, that innocence of just exploring and experimenting, when you’ve got that little part of you going ‘can I get away with that?’ When you ask yourself that, you’re probably on the right track, because it means you’re doing something interesting. It’s like the album cover, I’ve got this mad glitter make up on, but it’s spread all my face like you would when you were a kid – it reminds you that playing is important.” –Sergio Lorenzo Pizzorno (S.L.P.)

The thing is, says Sergio Pizzorno, he didn’t intend to make an album like SLP at all. After he finished touring behind 2017’s “For Crying Out Loud” – Kasabian’s fifth number one album in a row – he simply liked the idea of doing a solo record.

He thought that his solo album would sound… well, like you might think a Sergio Pizzorno solo album would sound. He is, after all, famed not only as Kasabian’s chief songwriter, but a man dedicated to pushing esoteric influences – from MF Doom to Bulgarian psychedelia to avant-garde electronica – into the sonic framework of a mainstream, stadium-filling rock band. A solo album, you could reasonably expect, would be a chance for Pizzorno to let his freak flag fly, unencumbered by the need to make music fit to headline festivals and huge gigs.

“To begin with, I thought it was going to be way more experimental and I thought it was going to be way more odd in terms of the length of tracks and what people, even myself would maybe expect: going more into that sci-fi, Krautrock kind of thing,” says Pizzorno. “But what I found happening was that I was listening to a lot of Tyler The Creator and Mac Miller. I was in that world. I sort of got rid of all my synths and guitars and just sort of had phones and laptops and just picked out sounds. And it turned out like it did, and I thought it just felt right. In a way, it’s probably a bit more of a psychedelic move for me to do this than just to make the record I expected.”

In fact, it’s fair to say that SLP isn’t an album that anyone could anticipate: an intriguing, unprecedented split between filmic instrumentals – audibly partly inspired by Roy Budd’s iconic soundtrack to the 1970 British gangster flick Get Carter – and richly melodic songs influenced by hip hop and grime.

“I just liked the idea of that cartoonish sort of thing, you know: ‘meanwhile, in the Batcave…’,” Pizzorno continues. “People see me in a band, they think: that’s what does and that’s what he is, so the idea behind them is that meanwhile, he’s completely someone else, doing this other thing. And in between them, it was just a matter of exploring, turning everything up, just to see where it took me: experimenting with the way I sang, with different rhythms, with things that I’ve always wanted to do.”

Listen: The S.L.P. – “Nobody Else” (radio edit)

The S.L.P. – “Nobody Else” (radio edit)

IF CLIMBING, then what do you do? Tim Williams plans to answer just that with his new project, and which we’re Elated to unveil via the new single “The Good Parts”!

Tim has been around the musical block quite a few times with 6 full-length albums worth of songs credited solely to his name. (3 under Soft Swells, 3 under Tim Williams). From multiple national tours, to packed venues across the pond, Tim has been making a name for his songs that Nylon has called “refreshing” and Stereogum has called “Magical. ”

This all brings us back to IF CLIMBING, the songs of which have been inspired by the Brit-Pop bands he grew up obsessed with, Tim is reaching deeper than ever before, crafting emotive earworms that hook you with every verse, and sink you with every chorus.

Listen: If Climbing – “The Good Parts”

If Climbing – “The Good Parts”

Displaying an unapologetic attitude and a more liberated sound than ever before, Marika Hackman reveals “the one”—the second single from her forthcoming album “Any Human Friend” (out 8/9!). Co-produced by David Wrench (The xx, Frank Ocean) and Hackman herself, layered synthesizers, Marika’s signature new wave guitar fretwork and Blondie-style delivery, make this the new album’s most unexpected musical turn.

The first song written for Any Human Friend, “the one” is “probably the poppiest song I’ve ever written” she says. “ I loved the idea of inhabiting this ridiculous arrogant rock star character who has totally fucked their career by writing too many sad songs.” To that end, it features a riot grrrl Greek chorus hurling such insults at her as “You’re such an attention whore!”

Marika Hackman is a ‘Rid of Me’-era PJ Harvey for the inclusive generation: unbounded by musical genre, a preternatural lyricist and tunesmith who isn’t afraid to go there. Hackman’s 2015 debut, “We Slept at Last,” was heralded for being nuanced and atmospheric. She really found her footing with her last release, “I’m Not Your Man,” and its exceptional, swaggering International hit “Boyfriend”, which boasts of seducing away a straight guy’s girlfriend.

“a blistery pop scorcher….’the one’ is strange, absurd and fun. Jagged guitars, webs of clipped harmonies and bright, pop-stained percussion bounce around as Hackman shouts bizarre lyrics into the ether: ‘You’re such an attention whore!'”–PASTE

“‘The One’ sounds like four or five different songs smashed into one, going from glowering sadsack to glitzy confidence with a snap.”—Stereogum

Listen: Marika Hackman – “The One” (clean radio edit)

Marika Hackman – “The One” (clean radio edit)

Coming off a successful, and in Most cases sold out headlining Spring tour, Brooklyn duo Foreign Air follow up their sun-soaked last single to radio  “Everything Is Good Now” with their Next reveal off their upcoming album, and in the unequivocal feel-good, drum-driven anthem that is “Wake Me Up.”

Jesse Clasen and Jacob Michael are ready to get inside of your minds. The duo call themselves Foreign Air and are a different breed from all the other acts that are out there. The two currently split their time between New York (Clasen) and Washington DC (Michael) – initially establishing their friendship while playing in different bands.

“One night, I watched Jesse perform and I was really intrigued by his voice and some of the stuff he was doing. We kept in touch and got to know each other over the years. We became really good friends.” Jesse followed up by saying, “With Jacob, we played just one show and it went really well. We kept in contact with each other. Over the years, it just developed into a friendship. We shared music online through Dropbox. Whenever I was in D.C. playing with different bands, he would come and hang out. Whenever he was around my area we would go to shows together. Sleep on each other’s couches. This project just kind of happened.”

“Transcendent Indie-Rock-Meets-Electronica with a penchant for forceful guitars and haunting vocals.”—Billboard

+ Spins On SiriusXM’s ALT Nation

+ Spins On Beats 1 (Zane Lowe & Ebro)

+ Top Tier Apple Playlists (A-List Alt, Breaking Alt, Indie Anthems, 2.2Mil + streams)

+ Top Tier Spotify Playlists (Indie Pop, Feel-Good Indie Rock, Ultimate Indie, 1.2Mil + monthly listeners)

+ 146K Shazam Followers

+ 1.1Mil Pandora Spins

Listen: Foreign Air – “Wake Me Up”

Foreign Air – “Wake Me Up”

Kyle Craft & Showboat Honey’s impending new long player “Showboat Honey” just cracked the Top 5 Albums at SubModern specialty this week thanks to your support! The New Single “Broken Mirror Pose,” is a glammy, ‘70s-style anthem with a soaring chorus, and which is accompanied by a new video shot by the band themselves (below).

“We shot ‘Broken Mirror Pose’ at Moonbase Studios, which is where we tracked the entire record ourselves! This one was 95% DIY, much like the album. I build out a room inside of the main studio and my pal, Bryson Cone, showed me how to edit afterward, letting me take the wheel once I had a little know how.”—Kyle Craft

“Showboat Honey” was recorded and produced by Kyle Craft, Kevin Clark, and Billy Slater at their own Moonbase Studios in Portland over 2018. The album was mixed by Trevor Spencer (Father John Misty) and mastered by April Golden at Golden Mastering.

You can catch Kyle Craft & Showboat Honey on tour starting next month and as he kicks things off with a hometown show in Portland (See Our Tour page and let us know your wants and needs!)!.

Listen: Kyle Craft & Showboat Honey – “Broken Mirror Pose”

Kyle Craft & Showboat Honey – “Broken Mirror Pose”

“For better or worse, I tried to make a record about how absurd it has felt to be alive over the past few years, that sounds like how it feels to build a life while the world you were promised changes,” says Walker Lukens, describing the broad premise behind his third album “ADULT”. “I also wanted to make a record that made people dance…so, here ya go.”

Lukens took creative inspiration from work like Bob Dylan’s famously wide-ranging double LP “Blonde on Blonde” as well as Frank Ocean’s “Blonde” while writing and recording “ADULT”. “That, to me, is the trick – making something personal and political that doesn’t try to make sense of itself,” he says.

“I’ve never wanted to be one of those songwriters who compartmentalizes what part of their lives comes out in their songs,” Lukens says. “I wanted to deal with Trump, and Charlottesville, and the ‘Me Too’ movement alongside things like breaking up and falling in love.”

“ADULT” was produced by Jim Eno from Spoon.

Walker Lukens has become well known for embracing contradiction, “blending genres and techniques” (Billboard) into an addictive sound that’s hard to pin down. NPR’s All Songs Considered described him as a “rhythmic sound effect master” who creates “curious, textured music.”

Listen: Walker Lukens – “We See U”

Walker Lukens – “We See U”

Following up the recent #1 SubModern Specialty Single “Satellite”, The Get Up Kids offer up “The Problem Is Me” from their new album “Problems” (their first in 8 Years!). “The Problem Is Me” is an exploration of embracing your own romantic dysfunction.

Following up TGUK’s triumphant return to SXSW, you can See Our Tour Page for a full itinerary for a set of newly announced upcoming dates (more to come!).

“The song is about a friend’s second divorce and about taking responsibility in a relationship. For me, the song is about self care. Acknowledging personal faults and trying to work on them.”—Matt Pryor/TGUK

“Problems,” The Get Up Kids‘ sixth studio album, was recorded with Grammy award-winning producer Peter Katis, best known for his lasting work with The National and Interpol, and more recently Kurt Vile’s latest. Peter was an old friend of the band’s, dating back to when he was the assistant engineer on “On A Wire” (2002). The band wrote most of these songs during last year’s “Kicker” EP cycle, building on the band’s newfound mission statement of leaning into your strengths. The result is one of their most inspired albums to date, a true return to form and will go down as one of their finest efforts.

“The track’s punchy and precise, a wave of keys and stumbling momentum.”—Stereogum

“the punchy, punky sound of their classic 1999 album Something To Write Home About but revising it and adding in the maturity that’s inevitable after 20 more years of age and experience.”—Brooklyn Vegan

Listen: The Get Up Kids – “The Problem Is Me”

The Get Up Kids – “The Problem Is Me”

Seven years into a career defined by collapsing masculinity, Celtic mysticism, provocation, eroticism, wanton violence, joy, radical empathy, narcissism, hog-like indulgence, personality defects and a fondness for both extreme left and right-wing aesthetics – and some of the best musical performances the UK has ever witnessed – South London-spawned Fat White Family return, clean(ish) and serene(ish).

“Serfs Up!” could be called a career-defining moment, were the Fat Whites – always a drug band with a rock problem – to ever have considered this a career. It’s not. It’s so much more. It’s struggle. It’s survival. Potential, finally, has been realised, the odds have been defied, and the Fat White Family’s greatness can no longer be denied.

At the close of 2016 celebrating their largest headline show at the Brixton Academy after four years of touring, FWF were running on fumes. They were just about held together by singer Lias Saoudi who had led, Rommel-like, from day one. Despite hinting at a more streamlined direction on the motoric death disco of “Whitest Boy On The Beach” (chosen by Danny Boyle to feature on ‘T2 Trainspotting’), their second album “Songs For Our Mothers” was the product of psychically-incinerated, part-feral men, an undernourished musical morass described by the band at the time as “going to the extremes.”

With the smoke now cleared and the battlefield-free of casualties, FWF now re-emerge triumphant. The results on “Serfs Up!” offer something utterly sensual. It’s a lush and masterful work, lascivious and personal. Tropical, sympathetic and grandiose. It invites the listener in rather than repel them through willful abrasion. FWF have broken previous default patterns of behavior, and as such their third album heralds a new day dawning for a new world.

Where once they soundtracked a grubby Britain of vape shops, defrosted dinners and blackened tin-foil, FWF now inhabit another cosmos entirely. “Serfs Up!” is the product of a band of outlaws reborn. Few but themselves could have forecast it: Fat White Family survived. Fat White Family got wise. Fat White Family got sophisticated.

Listen: Fat White Family – “When I Leave” (radio edit)

Fat White Family – “When I Leave” (radio edit)

CINDERS’ rowdy acoustic pop is on full display during their first single to radio, with the feel-good energy of “Tree House” adhering itself immediately to your brain, Then setting up long term residence there.

CINDERS’ indie vocals sit atop acoustic textures and catchy melodies, all delivered with the frenetic live energy you might only find at a punk show.

++ Added to Apple Music’s Breaking Alternative playlist ++

“Looking Forward to Looking Back,” CINDERS’ newly released and ambitious sophomore full-length, comes with darker themes combined with an explosive energy, serving as a fitting juxtaposition to the breezy, care-free optimism of their self-titled debut.

On the new album, CINDERS embodies the complexity of contradiction, yet never losing with the urgent, sing-along sense of wonder that makes the band a stand out. We couldn’t be more excited to deliver them to you first!

The Salt Lake City, UT-based band formed in 2015 by high school buddies Jordan Zabriskie (Vocals / Acoustic Guitar), Montana Smith (Vocals / Electric Guitar), Adrian De La Cruz (Bass), and future friends Brad Bennett (Drums), and Austin Harris (Keyboard / Multi-instrumentalist), with Chelsey Powell (Saxophone / Vocals) completing the six-piece lineup in 2017.

Listen: Cinders – “Sleep Walking”

Cinders – “Sleep Walking”

The New Weyes Blood single “Everyday” chronicles the chaos of modern love and dating, short attention spans, restlessness and the continuous crusade (and carnage) to find some kind of all-encompassing soul mate. The lead single comes from her upcoming fourth album and Sub Pop debut “Titanic Rising”—the cover was shot in a bedroom submerged fully underwater (zero CGI!).

“Titanic Rising,” written and recorded during the first half of 2018, is the culmination of three albums and many years of touring: stronger chops and ballsier decisions. It’s an achievement in transcendent vocals and levitating arrangements, conversational lyrics and thoughtful commentary on the modern condition of our souls.  Like the Kinks meet WWII (or is it Bob Seger meets Enya?) “Titanic Rising” manages to ride that line between classic songwriting and post-apocalyptic futurism.

Weyes Blood has also scheduled an intergalactic headlining tour starting the spring of in support of the upcoming album, and which she’s dubbed the ’True Love Is Making A Comeback Tour 2019′ (see our Tours page!).

“There are complicated influences mixed in with more relatable nostalgic melodies. In my mind, my music feels so big, a true production. I’m not a huge, popular artist, but I feel like one when I’m in the studio. But it’s never taking away from the music. I’m just making a bigger space for myself.”—Natalie Mering (aka Weyes Blood)

Listen: Weyes Blood – “Everyday” (radio edit)

Weyes Blood – “Everyday” (radio edit)