Monday Music News

Last night, Sufjan Stevens graced the world with a whisper-sung performance of his beautiful song "Mystery of Love" as the 2018 Oscars ceremony. The incredibly short performance saw the indie darling in a typically unsubtle striped dragon suit jacket flocked by a team of high-profile musicians: St. Vincent, Moses Sumney, and Chris Thile. Casey Foubert, James McAlister, and Thomas Bartlett also joined them on stage. "Mystery of Love" was nominated for Best Original Song but lost to "Remember Me" from Coco. [ Stereogum ]

Neko Case hasn't released a solo album since 2013's The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You but based on a new teaser, released yesterday, she has a new album on the way. The New Pornographers contributor released a strange video of herself lying on the ground, covered in tarantulas, while a few seconds of new musicplay in the background. Some super-sleuths were able to find out more information on the New Zealand version of Apple Music. According to the listing, Case's new album is titled Hell-On and will be released June 1 from Anti-. The music in the teaser clip comes from the album’s opener and first single, title track “Hell-On.” Catch Neko Case at the Sasquatch Music Festival on Sunday, May 27. [ SPIN ]

Long-running Brooklyn-based indie band The Hold Steady have released a pair of new tracks, "Eureka" on the A-side and "Esther" on the flip. The songs are available on Bandcamp until March 12, when they'll be released to digital and streaming platforms via Frenchkiss Records.  The proceeds from the songs on Bandcamp will be donated to the K+L Guardian Foundation, which benefits Unified Scene founder “Jersey” Mike Van Jura’s children after he suddenly passed away in 2012 at age 36. The songs follow another pair of songs "Entitlement Crew" and "A Snake In The Shower," which were released late last year and the band's first new material in three years. [ Paste ]

Seattle-based solo artist Mike Hadreas has shared three new Perfume Genius songs, quietly uploaded to YouTube. "Jory," "Lulla," and "Onscreen" are quiet meditations that harken back to his Put Yr Back N To It era, stepping away from baroque pop productions of his recent work on 2017's No Shape and 2014's Too Bright. The songs are accompanied by very NSFW footage of vintage porn. No word on whether these songs are going to be included on a forthcoming album. [ Pitchfork ]

North London four-piece Wolf Alice have unveiled the video for "Sadboy," off their 2017 album Visions of a Life. The nightmarish video features frontwoman Ellie Rowsell attend a costume party gone wrong, with Rowsell coughing up a massive amount of blood and then getting stuck in some sort of dark dimension. Visions of a Life is the band's sophomore album and acquired enough critical acclaim to land them a nomination at the Brit Awards for Best British Group. [ Under the Radar ]