BY: JOEY REAMS
On Fridays, the world is blessed with new music from a handful of artists. To help you find your next favorite album, we’ve discovered what new alternative and indie albums have been released. This week’s notable artists include Jose Gonzalez and St. Vincent. Check out the list below:
Candlebox – Wolves
Candlebox has released its seventh studio album, Wolves, via Pavement Entertainment. This album follows their 2016 Disappearing In Airports. The band previously released “Let Me Down Easy,” co-written by Peter Cornell, Chris Cornell’s older brother. Dean Discoso produced the album in the legendary Los Angeles Henson Studios.
“It comes from where we are as humans right now and what we’ve become. Yes, there’s beauty in these wolves, but there’s the pack mentality and that lone wolf mentality on the other side,” said lead singer Kevin Martin. “The song is guttural and like ‘The Summer Of ’69’ and Bruce Springsteen tunes; it’s one of those love songs where you can feel the band just wants to take off with you the whole time.”
Daughtry – Dearly Beloved
American Idol finalist Chris Daughtry has released his sixth studio album, Dealy Beloved. It’s been three years since his last album, Cage to Rattle. The album was postponed due to the pandemic, but Daughtry released a few singles in the time before the release. Earlier this month, the band released a cover of the band Temple of the Dog’s song “Hunger Strike,” featuring Lajon Witherspoon.
Jose Gonzalez – Local Valley
Jose Gonzalez has released his fourth studio album, Local Valley, via City Slang and Mute Records. This is his first album in six years, following 2015’s Vertiges & Claws. The Swedish singer-songwriter previously released four songs before the release, “El Invento,” “Vision,” “Head On,” and “Swing.” “Line of Fire” is a re-recording of the 2013 song with the same name by Gonzalez’s other band, Junip.
“We are the apes that are starting to understand the universe and our place in it,” González said of the song in a statement. “We are changing our surroundings in an exceedingly rapid pace, so much that we’re becoming stewards of our planet whether we like it or not. As Stewart Brand said, ‘We are as gods and we have to get good at it.’ The lyrics came to me in early February 2020, just as there were more and more tweets about the possible pandemic. The topic of the song felt very timely. You can hear the birds and ambient sounds from the veranda, along with a layer of synth loops in the background.”
Thrice – Horizons/ East
Thrice has released their 11th studio album, Horizons/ East, via Epitaph Records. The California rock band previously released “Scavengers,” released on the same day of the announcement. A physical release of the album will be released on Oct. 8. This album follows the band’s 2018 Palms.
“The sense of community and pure exhilaration of live music is something we’ve missed dearly over the past year and a half, so we’re beyond excited to get back on the road and play shows again,” Thrice drummer Riley Breckenridge said.
St. Vincent – The Nowhere Inn
St. Vincent has released the soundtrack to her 2020 mockumentary, The Nowhere Inn, via Loma Vista. The album, directed by Bill Benz, featured Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney and Dakota Johnson. The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival early last year by IFC Films. St. Vincent had just released her latest studio album, Daddy’s Home, earlier this year. St. Vincent will go on tour next year in support of her new music.
“Honestly, the reason people go to see live shows is the same reason why people go to church,” St. Vincent said. “It’s to be taken some place else for an hour and a half. We’ve been cooped up for nearly two years, and we need an exorcism. I need to truly leave it all on the stage. Emotionally, we’re not even sure how much we have inside of us. It’s been a while!”