Rubblebucket are back with the latest single from Earth Worship, the new album we announced last month. “Cherry Blossom” splits the difference between the bouncey pomp of “Morning In The Sun” and the locked groove of the title track: think the impossible genre of “country-disco”. Its video works in a similar way, marrying the homespun dance moves of “Morning” with the trippy adventure of “Earth Worship.” But with 100% more killer bugs.

“This bright breezy happy go lucky number is a simple love song that suggests the ineffable union of flowers and sunlight reaching for eachother, challenging each other, making meaning of each other,” says Rubblebucket’s Kalmia Traver. “We are guided to a place where lovers hold hands and run down lanes, pausing to pull out their magnifying lenses and inspect insects on the greenery they pass. In the bridge the repeated phrase “I know what’s underneath” (referring to passers by “with their masks on”) points to an playfulness and vulnerability the main characters share, perhaps aided by the lushness of their environment, but the line also sharpens an edge: what are the ways in which we hide ourselves from the world? And alternately, what are the ways in which we use masks to tell important stories that aid in our survival and evolution.”

This morning, the band also announced a handful of winter dates, “December Soirees,” on sale this Friday. Rest assured, there will be additional live shows on the horizon beyond this list soon.

Stay tuned.

Jordana is only a few months removed from her new album Face The Wall, but the twenty-two year old songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist never sleeps and is, unsurprisingly, already back with more. “Is It Worth It Now” is everywhere today – all fading stars, whirring synths & guitars and relationship scars, the kind of song that borrows a bit of plucky charm from Something To Say To You’s laid back indie rock and marries it with Face The Wall’s heartbreak pop. “It’s a song I wrote about taking control of your life mentally and emotionally,” says Jordana. “About questioning decisions and leaving self-pity and excuses behind.”

The new music also comes amidst a seemingly non-stop slate of live shows. Tours with Local Natives and Wallows are already in the books. Later this month she’ll hit Firefly , before she heads back out on the road with Remi Wolf in October and over to the UK & Europe in November for Pitchfork London and Paris. Tickets for all announced dates over in our tour section.

More soon.

Today Native Sun have announced their forthcoming EP, Off With Our Heads, set for release on October 14th. A six-song rumination on the state of the world, a love letter to downtown New York, and a surprising mixture of garage rock, stoner breakdowns, and Gallagher Brother bombast. It was produced by NYC rock royalty Walter Schreifels (Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand, etc.), engineered by Jeremy Snyder (Fontaines, IDLES), and comes with a classic newspaper-inspired package courtesy of POND Creative. Available to pre-order now on Bandcamp on limited edition 12″ (shipping late Feb 2023), cassette, or in a bundle including a poster, pins & stickers.

The announcement is paired with the release of a music video for new single “There’s Revolution.” Shot by the band’s longtime visual collaborator Kevin Condon, it’s a statement visual that finds the band delivering an incredible performance in a church where throngs of fans are more engrossed by the TV feed. The single follows “Sister,” which was released earlier this year.

Charlie Martin, one half of our very own Hovvdy, is set to release a deluxe edition of his 2021 debut solo album, Imaginary People, featuring 4 alternate piano versions of songs from the record. You’ll have to wait until October 7th for the full release (available digitally, on CD & cassette), but today, Martin shares “Swirl (Piano Version),” which stopped us in our tracks the first time we heard it.

“Piano was the first instrument I ever learned, but it still kinda scares me,” says Charlie. “Certain pianos sound so beautiful it’s hard to even approach them with a voice; and the one I recorded for Imaginary People is like that — this pristine Steinway from the 1930s — probably the most amazing instrument I’ve ever touched. When I found myself in Mississippi for the summer, where the piano lives, I immediately started on these new versions. So many of the songs on Imaginary People (like ‘Daisy’ and ‘June’) I wrote on piano, so it was exciting to focus on the heart of it, just piano and melody. And for other songs (like ‘Swirl’ and ‘Madison’) it was a joy to reimagine them entirely.”

Charlie has also announced a fall tour with Ichiko Aoba and is currently on tour with Teethe. All dates over in our tour section now.

Today TOLEDO share another pair of new singles: “Flake,” a devastating ode to broken homes and hating guts, and  an instrumental Hanukah love letter called “What Happened To The Menorah?” “Flake”, like any good song about deadbeat dads, hits its climax as TOLEDO harmonizes on the heartbreaking, empowering line; “I fucking hate your guts right now.” The new single traces the path to finding yourself from beneath the weight of generational trauma.

Of “Flake”, TOLEDO says; “It’s one step forward, two steps back. Sometimes when you feel like you’re heading in the right direction, you slip up and fall back into old habits. You only have yourself to blame, but aren’t your parents to blame for how you end up? It’s really a fuck you to myself and my dad. Our legacy of shit. Sonically it’s Barenaked Ladies meets Fleetwood Mac. And that’s Twitch live streamer Dakotaz in the opening of the song! Accidentally caught in the recording crossfire.”

The video for the song continues the narrative that began on “Climber,” with our pool protagonist returning with his family. And the accompanying visualizer for “Menorah” also takes place int he same universe as the more narratively-driven videos for How it Ends.

There’s a moment on every Rubblebucket record where you realize you’ve been invited to the best, weirdest, sweatiest, most joyful party in the world.

On their new album, Earth Worship, that moment comes as soon as the opening line hits: “I’ve been coming a thousand years / you could call me the endless fuck.” With their latest record, there’s a renewed shimmer on top of what Alex & Kal are doing, showcasing Rubblebucket’s intricately sparkling beats, hushed-yet-hooky vocals, and irresistible melodic complexity. Ultimately the album is a celebration of togetherness, environmental curiosity, and the pleasure in doing what you love. And it’s just an impossible amount of fun. Its announcement arrives today with a music video for the aforementioned album-opening title track “Earth Worship,” directed by Haoyan of America. Watch it above.

The record, which also features June’s “Morning In the Sun,” isn’t out until October 21st but is available to pre-order now. You can get it on limited edition Blue Swirl vinyl over at the band’s webstore or our Bandcamp. If pink is more your bag, you can find a copy in your local record store. Options, options, options below.

In other news, while additional touring will be unveiled soon, the band has announced a special NYC release party at Public Records in Brooklyn on November 2nd. A very cool, but very small space, this one will sell out fast. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10am ET. Snooze at your own risk.

How It Ends is the debut album from TOLEDO. They made it themselves. We’re simply honored to say it has our little name on it.

You might have discovered the Brooklyn duo back in 2021 on the strength of their Jockeys of Love EP like us, or you may have first encountered them when we released “L-Train” last month. Either way, today Dan & Jordan have released a duo of songs from the record: the chiming 90s folk rock of “Climber” & the moody come-down of “Leopard Skin.” The video for “Climber,” a nervy day beside the pool for a kid with a lot on his mind, also arrives today. It was directed by Matt Hixon, who Grand Jury fans might remember as the mind behind Samia’s mind-bender “Waverly.”

You can pre-order the album starting immediately. It’s available on solid ivory vinyl at Bandcamp or Rough Trade (US, UK). Or you can get it on coke bottle clear at your local record shop. Standard editions, CDs and a small run of cassettes are available at Bandcamp or wherever you buy your music.

2018’s Sun Machine is a standout in the Grand Jury catalog – probably the most joyful release to bear the G and the J. With joy in such short supply over the past few years, new Rubblebucket feels more vital than ever. They return with the self-produced single, “Morning In The Sun,” a classic Rubblebucket song which finds Alex Toth and Kalmia Traver exploring co-dependency (and breaking free from it) atop a trademark groove. Sonically it plays with elements of bubblegum soul, party funk, indie dance and everything in between.

Artwork for the single was created by Clare Byrne, using photography from Shervin Lainez. The self-directed music video feels like the world’s smallest flash mob, with Rubblebucket taking over BK park benches and roof tops and writhing to the beat.

More soon.

Say hi to TOLEDO, the newest member of the Grand Jury family.

Today we’re delighted to release “L-Train,” the Brooklyn duo’s first new music of 2022, along with an animated video directed by the wonderful Kohana Wilson. That’s the art below – like the front page photo, it comes courtesy of our friends over at POND Creative.  As far as first impressions go, this one is pretty damn strong. “L-Train” might sport a breezy arrangement, ambling banjos and soft falsetto, but that’s all hiding a rumination on the sort of “how did I end up here?” hangover that leads to tough realizations.

We fell in love with the band’s music when we first heard 2021’s Jockeys of Love EP, a six-song release that somehow managed to be both spare and lush all at once. It was an alchemic sleight of hand on both the production and songwriting side and it drew us in immediately. Then, of course, we fell in love with the human beings behind that magic: Dan Álvarez de Toledo and Jordan Dunn-Pilz. They’ve been playing music together since they were kids in Newburyport, Mass. And while that lifetime hangs in the air on every song, their closeness hangs in the air with practically everything the band does. Watch one show, one IG story, or have one conversation. It’s like a third member, the uniquely charming interplay between the two.

We could go on and on (and we will in the future), but suffice it to say: the fact they trust us to help deliver their music into the universe is pretty humbling. A few chances to catch them live in July – tickets over in the tour section. Some other very special things on the way, and we can’t wait to be a small part of it.

Front Page Photo Credit: Alec Castillo

Native Sun are back with a new single: “Sister.” It was produced by NYC legend Walter Schreifels of Gorilla Biscuits & Quicksand (and Rival Schools and Youth of Today and like a million other insanely influential bands). It was engineered and mixed by Jeremey Snyder, who has worked alongside IDLES & Fontaines DC in the past. If you can find a sweet spot between all of those reference points, it sounds a little something like this. The song operates as a warts-and-all love letter to the band’s adoptive home of NYC, calling on Schreifels history to build a sonic bridge through decades of downtown skuzz.

“Dedicated to the experiences, real moments, and eternal characters of after-hours New York City – directionless and constantly searching for some sort of unknown,” the band writes about the song. “Grabbing the senses of a time and a place with the realities of streetwise independence that forever shape the individual. The urban landscape changes and decays, the emotions remain the same.” 

Artwork, courtesy of Alec Basse below. 

And if you’re in NYC next week, don’t miss your chance to catch Native Sun and their storied live show at Music Hall of Williamsburg with A Place To Bury Strangers. Tickets here. Don’t forget your earplugs, folks.