The Stills were a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 2000 and disbanded in 2011.
The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the plural moniker. Although he remains the core member of the band, he has worked with a variety of collaborators over time, including bassist and vocalist Peter Hughes, drummer Jon Wurster, multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas, singer-songwriter Franklin Bruno, bassist and vocalist Rachel Ware, singer-songwriter/producer John Vanderslice, guitarist Kaki King, and multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark.
Sufjan Stevens is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nominations.
The National is an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1999. The band consists of Matt Berninger (vocals), twin brothers Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner, as well as brothers Scott Devendorf (bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). Carin Besser, the wife of Matt Berninger, is not a band member but has written lyrics for the band alongside her husband since its 2007 album Boxer.
Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's current line-up consists of Longstreth, alongside Mike Daniel Johnson (drums), Maia Friedman, Felicia Douglass and Kristin Slipp.
Devonté Hynes, also known as Blood Orange and formerly Lightspeed Champion, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and director based in New York City. From 2004 to 2006, Hynes was a member of the band Test Icicles, playing guitar, synth, and occasionally performing vocals. They released one full-length album in 2005. Hynes went on to release two solo studio albums as Lightspeed Champion and subsequently five more as Blood Orange, between 2008 and 2019.
No Age is an American noise rock duo consisting of guitarist Randy Randall and drummer/vocalist Dean Allen Spunt. The band is based in Los Angeles, California, and was signed to Sub Pop records from 2008 to 2013. No Age's fourth studio album, Snares Like a Haircut, was released by Drag City on January 26, 2018. Drag City also released Goons Be Gone, their fifth studio album, on June 5, 2020, and their sixth studio album People Helping People in 2022.
Chaz Bear, known professionally as Toro y Moi, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer. He is often recognized as a spearhead of the chillwave genre in the 2010s, alongside contemporaries Washed Out and Neon Indian, although his music has explored various styles since. His stage name is a multilingual expression consisting of the Spanish words toro and y and the French word moi.
Death Grips is an American experimental hip hop group formed in 2010 in Sacramento, California. The group consists of producers Zach Hill (drums) and Andy Morin (keyboards), and vocalist Stefan Burnett, also known as MC Ride. Though he is not the group's frontman, Hill has been credited with being the driving creative force behind the project. Drawing from punk rock, electronic, noise, and industrial styles, the band's innovative and often difficult-to-categorize sound has earned critical acclaim and a cult following, while their aggressive performance style and cryptic interactions with their fans and the media have gained widespread notoriety.
Trevor Powers is an American musician from Boise, Idaho. Powers was initially active as Youth Lagoon from 2010 to 2016, after which he announced that he was retiring from the project. He returned to music with a self-titled project in May 2018. In 2022, he took Youth Lagoon out of retirement with the announcement of a new album Heaven Is a Junkyard. Powers' music has been described as electronic and experimental with elements of pop.
Wondrous Bughouse is the second album by Youth Lagoon, the stage name of American musician Trevor Powers. The album was released on March 5, 2013 on the independent record label Fat Possum Records. It peaked at No. 76 on the Billboard 200, No. 12 on the Independent Albums chart and No. 26 on the Top Rock Albums chart.
Run the Jewels, also known by the initials RTJ, is an American hip hop duo composed of Brooklyn-based rapper and producer El-P and Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike. They released their critically acclaimed self-titled debut studio album as a free download in 2013 and have since released the follow-up albums Run the Jewels 2 (2014), Run the Jewels 3 (2016), and RTJ4 (2020), all of which have been released for free and received critical acclaim.
Caroline Elizabeth Polachek is an American singer, producer, and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek co-founded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late-2000s Brooklyn music scene with the sleeper hit "Bruises".
Scary Hours is the second extended play by Canadian rapper and singer Drake. It was first released on January 19, 2018 by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records. It contains the single "God's Plan", which also appeared on Drake's fifth studio album Scorpion (2018). The EP was revealed to the public via social media shortly before its release. A sequel, Scary Hours 2, was released March 5th, 2021; another follow-up, For All the Dogs Scary Hours Edition, was released on November 17, 2023.
Safe in the Hands of Love is the third studio album by American experimental electronic music artist Yves Tumor. It was released on September 5, 2018 by Warp Records.
Mulberry Violence is the fourth studio album by American musician Trevor Powers, and his first release under his real name. It was released on August 17, 2018, via Baby Halo. Recording sessions took place at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas. Production was handled entirely by Powers with additional production from Jason Kingsland and Tim Friesen.
Katie Dey is an Australian experimental pop musician.
A surprise album or surprise release refers to the release of an album with little or no prior announcement, marketing or promotion. The strategy contrasts traditional album releases, which typically feature weeks or months of advertising in the form of singles, music videos, tour announcements and album pre-sales. Often, the release of a surprise album is the formal announcement of its release. This strategy developed in part due to the prevalence of album leaks on the Internet during the 2000s and became popular by the mid-2010s among high-profile recording acts.
Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix is an American musician and composer. She is best known for her work as creator, lead singer, and guitarist of black metal band Liturgy.
Heaven Is a Junkyard is the fourth studio album by Boise, Idaho-based musician Trevor Powers' Youth Lagoon project. It was released on June 9, 2023, by Fat Possum Records. It marks Trevor Powers' return to the moniker after announcing the end of Youth Lagoon in 2016. It is his first album since recording two albums under his own name — 2018's Mulberry Violence and 2020's Capricorn.
