Every Monday, 88Nine music director Erin Wolf shares a sonic gem she found using her nearly 20 years of new-music exploration experience. You can hear all her discoveries at 2 p.m. every Sunday on What’s All This: Adventures in New Music.
Alan Sparhawk — founding member of the now-late, iconic indie-folk band Low — announced his second solo album in less than a year with a new single, “Stranger.”
His latest collaboration with fellow Duluth musicians Trampled by Turtles is a good balance of what the two have to offer (a little rock and a little folk) and sees Sparhawk sounding stronger than ever since the untimely end of his mainstay band. Even though it’s touted as a solo effort, Sparhawk comes together to form an even tighter musical bond with his longtime collaborators.
The upcoming album, Alan Sparhawk With Trampled by Turtles, was long in the making. Sparhawk recently shared the clear-sighted observation that, “When the opportunity seems right, you jump. When playing together is that powerful an embrace, why stop there?”
The full album is due May 30 from Sub Pop Records, but you can hear “Stranger” right now on this episode of What’s All This and in rotation on 88Nine. Check out the episode playlist below and listen in full by using the player at the top of the page. Then be sure to check out a fresh batch of tunes on What’s All This: Adventures in New Music at 2 p.m. Sundays on 88Nine.
Best new indie music this week
- beamin, "slow sinkin (ft. Field Medic)"
- Alan Sparhawk & Trampled By Turtles, "Stranger"
- Friendship, "All Over the World"
- Nell Smith, "Billions of People"
- Men I Trust, "All My Candles"
- Saba, No ID, "Reciprocity (ft. Ibeyi)"
- Matt Maltese, "Pined For You My Whole Life"
- caroline, "Total Euphoria"
- Lunar Vacation, "Lights Off"
- Sex Week, "Coat"
- Bibi Club, "Orgiastic"
- spill tab, "Assis"
