Tuesday Music News

Veteran indie trio Yo La Tengo are releasing their fifteenth album, There's a Riot Going On in a couple of weeks. Leading up to its release, the band has shared a number of singles, including "You Are Here," "Shades of Blue," "She May, She Might," and "Out of the Pool." Today they've shared the fifth single, "For You Too." In typical Yo La Tengo fashion, the song is soft and hypnotic. There's a Riot Going On is out March 16 via Matador. The band will be playing in Seattle for two nights, Thursday, May 31 and Friday, June 1, both at the Neptune. [ Under the Radar ]

A new iPhone ad has been released today, featuring Australian singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett covering the INXS hit "Never Tear Us Apart." The ad supports marriage equality, featuring a number of same-sex couples on their wedding day, shot entirely on iPhone X. Barnett's version of the '80s hit is an emotional, acoustic recording. All the way back in 2012 Barnett covered INXS' 1987 album Kick in its entirety for a show in Melbourne. She has a new album on its way calledTell Me How You Really Feel, to be released on May 18. [ Pitchfork ]

Last night, MGMT stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to give a slinky performance of Little Dark Age track "Me and Michael." The stage was set like an '80s disco, with hazy smoke flowing around the members. The Late Show producers even went as far as to put a filter on the performance footage, making it appear like a VHS recording. For the online-only performance, MGMT took us back a decade and performed "Electric Feel" from their hit debut Oracular Spectacular with Colbert’s house band Jon Batiste and Stay Human. Little Dark Age is out now on Columbia. MGMT are doing a two-night stint at Showbox SoDo on Saturday, May 12 and Sunday, May 13. [ Rolling Stone ]

Alt-folk singer/songwriter Laura Veirs has teamed up with Sufjan Stevens for a song called "Watch Fire." It comes from Veirs' upcoming album The Lookout, out April 13 on Raven Marching Band Records. The album is said to include a number of guests, including My Morning Jacket's Jim James, Steve Moore, and Karl Blau. Veirs explains the album, saying: “The Lookout is about the need to pay attention to the fleeting beauty of life and to not be complacent; it’s about the importance of looking out for each other. I’m addressing what’s happening around me with the chaos of post-election America, the racial divides in our country, and a personal reckoning with the realities of midlife: I have friends who’ve died; I struggle with how to balance life as an artist with parenting young children." Veirs will play Fremont Abbey on Friday, May 18 with The Hackles and Sufjan Stevens will perform at the Oscars ceremony on Sunday, March 4. [ Consequence of Sound ]

Unknown Mortal Orchestra came back a few weeks ago with their first song off their upcoming album Sex & Food called "American Guilt." They're now following that up with a very minimal, synth-driven track called "Not In Love We're Just High" that comes accompanied by an animated video directed and animated by Greg Sharp. Sex & Food is out April 6 via Jagjaguwar. UMO will stop by Seattle on their upcoming tour on Monday, May 7 to play the Moore Theatre. [ SPIN ]