Pixies celebrate 40 years with a handful of outtakes, Kings of Leon‘s understated 10th album, new boxset from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, first taste of next year’s Cage the Elephant LP.
CAGE THE ELEPHANT – “MAKE IT EASY”
If the first tastes of Dying in Reverse prove anything, it’s that Cage the Elephant remains one of rock’s most emotionally honest bands. The album explores recovery, resilience, and the strange process of rebuilding after difficult times, all wrapped in the band’s knack for sharp hooks and restless energy.
Matt Schultz, the band’s main songwriter and singer, experienced a multi-year psychotic break and spent some time in a mental facility to help him cope with the paranoia, panic, and delusions. You might expect the album to sound frantic, filled with those feelings of being caged in. Instead, “Make It Easy” seems to loosely float out of the speaker. There’s a languid roll to the song that’s almost hypnotic. The full album is out February 5, 2027.
Stream • Big Loud Rock • Connect: @cagetheelephant
KINGS OF LEON – O MY BELOVED
The last decade or so has seen Kings of Leon writing stadium anthems, rocking hard and loud with catchy hooks and sing-a-long choruses. Last year they had planned to head into the studio and keep riding the sound waves that have served them well. A broken foot (and a cancelled tour) from frontman Caleb Followill, and suddenly he was reflecting on things he didn’t usually take time to allow in and a more “honest” album was born, O My Beloved.
The album instantly feels more internal with a softness, and a Southern twang, that has been missing from the band’s sound since the early days. What stands out is the patience. Nothing feels rushed, and that confidence gives the songs room to breathe.
Stream • Virgin • Connect: @kingsofleon
TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS – ORIGINS 1971-1978
Most listeners know where Tom Petty ended up. Origins 1971–1978 focuses on how he got there. Spanning the years before and immediately after the formation of the Heartbreakers, this collection traces the roots of one of America’s greatest rock-and-roll songwriters.
PIXIES – “GO MAN GO”
Pixies are celebrating their 40th anniversary as a band, and must have been feeling generous, because they just released a few cutting room floor tracks to streaming.
Going back to studio time during 1987-1991 (think rejects from Bossanova and Trompe le Monde), the band has gifted us four new tracks: a Steve Albini (who recorded Nirvana‘s In Utero at Pachyderm Studio in Minnesota) version of “Dig for Fire,” a Kim Deal fronted “Go Man Go,” and lo-fi “Punk Loop,” and “Brackish Boy.” The songs are a playful reminder that Pixies can go loud, hard, and aggressive; or slow, meditative, and pulsing.
