Kim Gordon – NOT TODAY
Kim Gordon announces “Play Me”, her third solo album, with lead single “NOT TODAY”. The record drops March 13 via Matador Records, just two years after “The Collective” earned her first-ever Grammy nominations.
“NOT TODAY” brings out a different side of Gordon’s voice. “I started singing in a way I hadn’t sung in a long time,” she says. “This other voice came out.” The track swirls with distorted guitars and atmospheric instrumentals, capturing a poetic tension that feels more melodic and vulnerable than her recent work. It’s a shift from the trap-heavy noise of “The Collective” toward krautrock-influenced beats and motorik drive.
Gordon continues her collaboration with LA producer Justin Raisen, who’s worked with her since 2015’s “Murdered Out” single. “We wanted the songs to be short,” Gordon explains. “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.”
The album tackles the collateral damage of the billionaire class—AI technology, technocratic fascism, and what Gordon calls “the chill-vibes flattening of culture.” “Subcon” takes aim at space colonizers (“You want to go Mars / And then what?”), while “Dirty Tech” addresses AI’s environmental impact. The title track lists Spotify playlist names over a trip-hop groove, critiquing how streaming has turned music into mood-based background content.
Dave Grohl plays drums on “Busy Bee”, which opens with a pitch-shifted sample of Gordon talking with Free Kitten bandmate Julia Cafritz from a ’90s media appearance. The album closer “ByeBye25!” remakes “Bye Bye” from “The Collective” with new lyrics pulled from Trump’s banned-words list—terms like “they/them,” “climate change,” “uterus,” “bird flu,” and “tile drainage.”
“I find reality inspirational, no matter how bad it is,” Gordon says. “I’m not sure what music is supposed to be. So, I’m just doing my version of it.”
The “NOT TODAY” video was directed by Rodarte founders Kate and Laura Mulleavy, featuring Gordon in a custom-made hand-dyed silk tulle dress they created for her years ago.
Tracklist:
- Play Me
- Girl With a Look
- No Hands
- Black Out
- Dirty Tech
- Not Today
- Busy Bee
- Square Jaw
- Subcon
- Post Empire
- Nail Biter
- ByeBye25!
