Category: Live Footage

Live Footage: Kim Gordon Performs “PLAY ME” on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”

The legendary Kim Gordon released her third solo album, the Justin Raisen-produced PLAY ME on earlier this year through Matador Records. PLAY ME is reportedly distilled and immediate, and sees Gordon expanding on her sonic palette to include more melodic beats and the motorik drive of krautock. 

“We wanted the songs to be short,” Gordon says of her continued collaboration with acclaimed, Los Angeles-based producer Justin Raisen. “We wanted to do it really fast. It’s more focused, and maybe more confident. I always kind of work off of rhythms, and I knew I wanted it to be even more beat-oriented than the last one. Justin really gets my voice and my lyrics and he understands how I work—that came forth even more on this record.” 

PLAY ME is the follow-up to 2024’s critically applauded sophomore album The Collective, which featured the two-time Grammy-nominated single “BYE BYE.”  PLAY ME sees Gordon processing in her imitable way, the collateral damage of the billionaire class: the demolition of democracy, technocratic end-times-like fascism, the A.I.-fueled chill vibes flattering of culture — where dark humor voices the absurdity of our moment. But despite its frequent outward gave, the album is essentially an interior effort, one in which heightened emotionality pulses through physical jams, while rejecting definitive statements in favor of an inquisitiveness and curiosity that keeps Gordon searching — and ever in process. 

Amid PLAY ME’s rabbit-hole reality bricolage, pitch-shifted vocals and shadowy layers of dissonance, the album’s material are clear-eyed about the attention they pay to a world that would rather you be distracted and rage-baited into oblivion. “I have to say, the thing that influenced me most was the news. We are in some kind of ‘post empire’ now, where people just disappear,” Gordon says, echoing the title of one of PLAY ME’s tracks.

PLAY ME will feature the previously released “NOT TODAY,” and “DIRTY TECH,” as well as the album’s third single, album title track “PLAY ME.” “PLAY ME” may arguably be the most hip-hop influenced track of the entire album with the song anchored around a swaggering DJ Premier-like production tweeter and woofer rattling beats paired with a meditative, modal jazz trumpet line. Gordon’s imitable croon takes on a subtle staccato, hip-hop like flow to match.

Yesterday, Gordon and her backing band performed “PLAY ME” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She finhishes her NYC vist with a surprise, sold-out show tonight at Night Club 101. And because of overwhelming demand, she added a second show at Warsaw on September 16, 2026. Check out the rest of the tour dates below.

New Audio/Live Footage: Two from Expanded Edition of Still Blank’s Self-Titled Debut

Rising, transcontinental duo Still Blank — Kaua’i, HI-born, Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Jordy and Manchester, UK-based guitarist Ben — have quickly established a difficult to pigeonhole, often minimalist yet emotionally rich sound that draws from shoegaze, grunge and folk. 

The duo’s unique sound comes from other unlikely roots: Jordy grew up immersed in the natural rhythms of island life in Hawaii, gigging at weddings and fundraisers by the time she was in her early teens. Her early musical efforts drew inspiration from Hawaiian traditions and Kaua’i’s solitude. Ben, who ,was raised steeped in Manchester’s rich and deep musical legacy, played some of his earliest gigs in pubs with his dad’s band. He developed a love of ambient textures, citing The Durutti Column and Vini Reilly as formative influences. 

The duo’s unlikely meeting in the UK sparked a lightning-in-a-bottle creative partnership that started as casual jam sessions in a Liverpool basement and quickly evolved to sessions ranging from stripped-back recordings on a broken, classical guitar to long studio sessions fueled by long walks through rural Wales and a shared commitment to imperfect perfection. 

As a band, the transcontinental duo’s work seemingly echoes the mood and vibe of acts like Yo La Tengo, Big Thief and Cat Power paired with lyrics informed by people-watching, dreams, nature, introspection and existential observation. 

The duo released their highly-anticipated, full-length debut last fall through National Anthem/Capitol Records. The album included their debut single, “What About Jane,” “Ain’t Quite Right,”and “Same Sun.” The duo recently released an expanded edition of their full-length debut that features two new singles “Fever Dream” and “love/guilt.” But instead of tacking the new tracks at the end, as a sort of after thought, the acclaimed duo changed the tracklisting to properly accommodate the new songs.

Placed after “Desert,” the duo’s latest “Fever Dream” serves as a bit of cool down. Built around shimmering guitars, shuffling rhythms and burst of reverb soaked, dubby keys, the song’s arrangement serves as a swirling and lush bed for Jordy’s seductive siren-like vocal selling a Faustian bargain to the listener: you get stardom for a very specific price — complete submission.

“love/guilt” opens the expanded edition of their self-titled debut and is a chugging, Alice in Chains-like anthemic rocker that showcases Jordy’s powerhouse delivery and a big, arena rock take on their sound. The new single is accompanied by a live session, which was filmed in Jordy’s gorgeous Kaua’i, HI.