Tracks of the Week: Iceage, Kim Gordon, The XCERTS, Modest Mouse, and More!

The IINAG team has done the heavy lifting and curated this week’s essential new tracks so you don’t have to. Check out our picks below, then head over to the playlist for the full deep dive.

Iceage have always excelled at capturing the sound of a beautiful collapse, but “Star” feels like the moment the dust finally settles into something radiant. It’s a love song that doesn’t sacrifice its signature grit, and instead, it weaponises it. The sixteenth-note jangle provides a propulsive, urgent heartbeat, while the sudden arrival of handclaps add a startling, human warmth to Elias Rønnenfelt’s gravelly delivery. It’s chaotic, incandescent, and feels like the biggest high they’ve ever put to tape; a brilliant evolution for a band that continues to age like fine wine. – Katie Macbeth

Kim Gordon – PLAY ME

Sonic Youth co-founder Kim Gordon returns this week with her new album PLAY ME on Matador Records. The third and final single of the same name dropped this week and is an erratic layering of a classic American brass band underneath late-era Bowie-style vocals, which gives this experimental pop track a hint of genius. Accompanied by an arthouse music video filmed in an American shopping centre, the track teases a grumpy, sharp-toothed take on the modern world. Gordon embarks on a short tour beginning this April, including a London date on Tuesday, 14th April. – Kai Marshall

Scottish rockers The XCERTS have a storied history in alternative and indie over their career spanning two decades. On “in your eyes” their buzzing guitars are silenced, instead placing an ambient backdrop to encapsulate the agony and strain within Murray Macleod’s emphatic vocals throughout the softer track. The release in the back half is felt in every exhale and emphasised with every note, an all-encompassing cry of loss that paints its canvas with love all the same. “in your eyes” is a touching tribute and single, and one not to be missed by fans new and old. – Evan Lurie

Modest Mouse return with their first single in five years, “Look How Far…”, and it feels like they’ve barely been away. Isaac Brock’s unmistakable yelp sits front and centre over jagged, distorted guitar lines and heavy drums that are synonymous with the band’s restless sound. “Look how far we haven’t come / Oh my god we’re so fucking dumb” could be about anything, but feels uncomfortably relevant in the current climate. Clocking in at under two minutes, it’s a breathless burst of noise, an exhilarating reminder of why Modest Mouse remain one of indie rock’s most chaotic and compelling bands. – Henry Dunn

“Pacifico” is a hooky single that holds more meaning than meets the eye. CQ Wrestling are back with their second album due out in May, and while their knack for great songwriting has stayed, almost everything else has changed. For better or for worse, the group has evolved through the countless chaos of the 2020s and offers their own act of resistance through the form of music. The end result is a punchy but sincere track that promotes the unintended benefits of transformation. – Evan Lurie

The post Tracks of the Week: Iceage, Kim Gordon, The XCERTS, Modest Mouse, and More! appeared first on Indie is not a genre.