On the newly sponsored New Music Experience (shout to Tennessee Brew Works!) we share some surprise drops from a few “heavyweights” in the indie world including Sufjan Stevens, Courtney Barnett, Strand of Oaks and Angel Olsen. We also have some surprise finds from Nashville’s expanding and intertwining indie pop and indie hip hop scenes in Julia Gomez and Terry Presume. Celia Gregory shares some thoughts on the elegant new symphonic soul track from Nashville’s Alanna Royale and Marquis Munson tells us why we need to believe the hype around the new album by Vince Staples. And we share a fascinating song told by a moonlighting attorney who pulls off the incredible trick of telling two stories at the same time in his new video weaving the tales together like the challah bread he’s baking.  

We start with a heavy song delivered with a light touch by an anonymous artist. Blood Cultures have been making music without showing their faces or revealing their names for several years. We know that at least one of the songwriters is a first generation American of Pakistani origin. And we know their new album LUNO takes on big topics and shifts sonically from track to track. Atwood magazine calls the song we chose “Set It On Fire” a “behemoth” and a “multi-faceted experience that explores a lifetime all within five minutes.” 

1. Blood Cultures “Set It On Fire”
2. Courtney Barnett “Rae Street”
3. Jackie Hayes “Have Fun”
4. Vince Staples “Are You With That?” (Marquis Munson pick)
5. Angel Olsen “Gloria” (Emily Young pick) 
6. Terry Presume “None of this Alone” (Nashville artist) 
7. Julia Gomez “Grapefruit” (Nashville artist) 
8. St. Lenox “Arthur is at a Shiva” 
9. Strand of Oaks “Galacticana”
10. Alanna Royale “Fall in Love Again” (Nashville artist, Celia Gregory pick) 
11. Orla Gartland “You’re Not Special, Babe”
12. Sufjan Stevens and Angelo DeAugustine “Olympus”
13. Damon Albarn “Polaris”