Wet Leg’s Debut Is an Instant-Vintage New Wave Delight: Album Review

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Rolling Loud Festival continues its expansion from Miami, New York and Southern California by announcing its Toronto installment with Future, WizKid, Dave, Migos, Lil Uzi Vert, Trippie Redd and many more. The full lineup for the festival, which takes place at Ontario Place on Sept.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCynthia Albritton, a.k.a. Cynthia Plaster Caster, the legendary artist and “recovering groupie” renowned for the plaster casts she took of many top musicians’ erect penises and other body parts, has died after a long illness, her rep confirms to Variety. She was 74.Her collection included Jimi Hendrix, Wayne Kramer of MC5, Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks, Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys as well as female breasts from the likes of Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab, Sally Timms of the Mekons, Peaches, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and many others.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMTV announced that the 2022 VMAs will air live and around the world in more than 170 countries on Sunday, August 28th from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.“We are thrilled to be back in New Jersey for this year’s VMAs live from Prudential Center,” said Bruce Gillmer, president of music, music talent, programming & events, Paramount and chief content officer, music, Paramount+. “Our 2019 show in Newark was undoubtedly one of our biggest and most successful shows yet and we’re excited to bring back the incredible fan energy for one of music’s most anticipated and iconic nights.”“New Jersey is honored to once again host the MTV Video Music Awards at one of our many world-class entertainment and sports venues,” said Governor Phil Murphy.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Smile — a trio comprising Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and Sons of Kemet’s Tom Skinner — will release their debut album, “A Light for Attracting Attention,” on May 13on XL Recordings.The 13-track album was produced and mixed by Nigel Godrich and mastered by Bob Ludwig. Tracks feature strings by the London Contemporary Orchestra and a full brass section of contemporary UK jazz players including Byron Wallen, Theon and Nathaniel Cross, Chelsea Carmichael, Robert Stillman and Jason Yarde.The group has previously released four singles: “You Will Never Work in Television Again,” “The Smoke,” “Skrting on the Surface” and “Pana-vision,” the latter of which appeared in the finale of “Peaky Blinders” — and premiere a fifth, “Free in the Knowledge,” with today’s announcement, accompanied by a video directed by Leo Leigh.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFrom the T.S.A. to the Coachella festival, from your local supermarket to your local music club, mask and vaccination mandates continue to fall across the country, in the face of all credible scientific evidence that yet another coronavirus surge is not only taking place, but raging.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLorde covered Rosalía‘s track “Hentai” during her concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall on Monday night — and Rosalia gave her a big thumbs-up for her version in her Instagram story.The song is from Rosalía’s innovative latest album “Motomami,” which has earned rave reviews almost across the board, including from Variety.Fuckin hell @lorde covering @rosalia I can die now pic.twitter.com/vANjLYG7nM— Austin Rieders (@RiedersDigest) April 19, 2022Early Tuesday, Rosalía shared footage of Lorde’s performance on her Instagram Stories this afternoon and wrote: “Lorde que bonitaaaaaa” [how beautiful].As noted by NME, Lorde raved about “Motomami” in a recent letter to fans. “I’ve listened to the Rosalía album every day since it came out, fuck, it’s so good,” she wrote.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFormat, a new festival merging the worlds of music, art and technology, will hold its premiere event on September 23-25, 2022, on the private Sugar Creek Airstrip in Bentonville, Arkansas.The three-day event will feature more than 50 music artists, including Rüfüs Du Sol, Phoenix, Khruangbin, Beach House, The War On Drugs, Nile Rodgers & Chic, the Flaming Lips, Jungle, and Herbie Hancock — along with integrated performances, installations, and art experiences from world-renowned artists including Doug Aitken, Nick Cave (NOTE: not the singer Nick Cave), Jacolby Satterwhite, Pia Camil, Marinella Senatore, Maurizio Cattelan’s Toiletpaper Magazine, John Gerrard in collaboration with Richie Hawtin, Justin Lowe & Jonah Freeman, Sissel Tolaas, Charlap Hyman & Herrero, and many more. Tickets will go on sale Friday, April 22 at www.format-festival.com.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLizzo got a workout not seen since Donald Glover did double-duty as host and musical guest on “Saturday Night Live,” performing two songs from her forthcoming album “Special,” showing impressive comic timing and stamina by appearing in nearly every sketch — she even played flute twice, once while twerking (in fact, the entire sketch was framed around an orchestra learning to twerk while playing their instruments).For the first musical performance, she introduced herself as “Ladies and gentlemen, me!,” and sang her latest single, the discofied groove “About That Time,” accompanied by a drummer, bassist and of course her dancers, the Big Grrls — who are themselves the subject of an Amazon reality show, “Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” (a commercial for which aired just before the first song).

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEarly Sunday morning, BTS announced a new album with the tagline “We Are Bulletproof” coming on June 10, in a teaser video posted on social media. The group usually releases information gradually and this is no exception, as there is no further information in the video except a series of images.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor“The only way that this could be more elegant,” said Father John Misty as he surveyed the crowd in New York’s legendary Rainbow Room, a venue that epitomizes elegance, “is if we had three tables heaped with shrimp cocktails.”He wasn’t wrong. The opulent venue, opened in 1934 and located on the 65th floor of 30 Rock, has multiple chandeliers, a sunken, circular dancefloor and a 15 or so floor-to-ceiling windows offering breathtaking views of Midtown Manhattan and beyond, with the Empire State Building’s nightly light show occasionally distracting from the performance onstage.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPhoebe Bridgers has dropped “Sidelines,” her first original song since her Grammy-nominated 2020 album “Punisher.” The moody and low-key track is from Hulu’s adaptation of Sally Rooney’s low-key blockbuster novel “Conversations With Friends.” According to the announcement, it will be Bridgers’ only new original song of 2022, although she’s released multiple covers and reworked versions of “Punisher” songs over the past few months.Bridgers will be making her first-ever appearance at the Coachella festival this and next weekend, and then will launch a long tour of North America and Europe through the end of August; dates appear below.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIndie-rock pioneers Sonic Youth have released a live album recorded in 1989 in Kyiv to support relief efforts in Ukraine, in the wake of Russia’s brutal invasion of the country.To set the context of the concert — which was recorded exactly 33 years ago — at the time, Sonic Youth were one of the first bands of their ilk to play behind what was then still known as the Iron Curtain; the Berlin Wall would come down a few months later. But at the time, U.S.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor“Moonage Daydream,” a David Bowie historical film featuring a bounty of previously unreleased footage and helmed by Brett Morgen, the director behind “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,” “Jane” and “The Kid Stays in the Picture,” will be distributed in the U.S. by Neon and internationally by Universal Pictures Content Group, with a streaming premiere on HBO and HBO Max in the spring of 2023.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorVeeps, the streaming platform founded by Benji and Joel Madden of Good Charlotte and acquired by Live Nation, has announced a new series of consumer apps and slate of concerts to go with them.Forthcoming livestreamed concerts include Kings of Leon from London’s O2 Arena, dance act Galantis from the stunning Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, the folk-rock duo Indigo Girls, Icelandic blues-rock band Kaleo), singer/songwriter LP, avant-metal singer Poppy and Guns N’ Roses’ Slash and his group with Conspirators.The new products mean that viewers can receive the stream directly in their televisions without having to cast from a phone, screen-share or connect with cables; at the same time, the phone and tablet service has been upgraded to native app quality. “We think that the future of concert streaming is fans in all corners of the globe having access to every tour, and getting concert streams natively into TVs and phones is a gamechanger for artists and their fans,” says Joel Madden.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRepublic Records is relaunching the Mercury imprint as an “extension” of the label, the company announced Monday. The move is similar to Atlantic’s relaunch of Elektra and Interscope’s of Geffen, an effort to split the parent label’s large roster so that artists receive more attention.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLorde, Mitski and Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers will headline the 2022 All Things Go Music Festival, which returns to the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland on October 1. The festival, which will host 16 artists across three stages, will also feature King Princess, Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, Maude Latour, Bartees Strange and more.Tickets go on sale Friday, April 15 at 10 a.m.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBillboards for Travis Scott’s long-delayed “Utopia” album have appeared in California, clearly aimed at the audience for the 2022 Coachella festival next weekend, which the multiplatinum rapper was originally scheduled to headline.One of the three billboards features the logo for Scott’s Cactus Jack company, another says “Looking for UTOPIA?” and a third says “WRONG WAY!” — which, since one appears on I-10 in the direction away from Coachella, could be perceived as at least a comment on the festival.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorClive Davis doesn’t do anything by half, and his 90th birthday is no exception. Not only will there be a star-studded party tonight at Cipriani in Lower Manhattan, there’s a four-part music-and-interview series on Paramount Plus culled from last year’s virtual pre-Grammy galas; a Clive Davis Gallery with personal items from across his career at New York University’s Brooklyn location; an interview on the “Rock & Roll High School With Pete Ganbarg” podcast airing April 14; a talk at the 92 St.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSZA revealed that her long-awaited sophomore major-label album, some six years in the making, is finally finished and on the way.“I just finished it up in Hawaii,” she said in answer to Variety’s question. “And it’s coming soon!” Asked for details, she said , “I think it’s my most unisex album.” Met with a slightly confused response, she continued, “I think it’s for everyone.”She also explained why she’s on crutches, which led to a rather comical moment in which she walked up the stairs to accept her first Grammy Award — on crutches with a long gown, which led to Lady Gaga holding her train for her.“I fell out of bad before I came here,” to Las Vegas for the show, she quickly clarified.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSummer Walker, Chloe Bailey, Muni Love, Cordae and Jimmie Allen delivered rousing performances and groundbreaking female rapper MC Lyte and singer-songwriter John Legend were honored at the Recording Academy’s first-ever Black Music Collective ceremony on Saturday night.“It’s been a long time coming, and I don’t feel great saying that,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told the glittering audience at Resorts World Las Vegas.