My Favorite Things of the Week

Another decade is coming to a close, which means music sites are posting lists of the best music of the decade. Pitchfork posted their 200 best albums of the 2010s this week. There's still a lot of music to come this year, so check out my Upcoming Releases page to see some of the potentially overlooked records!

Caroline Polachek has an album coming out in just over a week, and released several singles from it well before announcing the record. She released another last week, "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings," another great showcase for her otherworldly vocals.

Last week, NPR shared video snippets of their Turning the Tables concert, which sought to honor eight influential women who helped shaped popular music. The women recognized were Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Maybelle Carter, Marion Anderson, Ella Fitzgerald, Mary Lou Williams, Celia Cruz, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Contemporary females musicians were brought in to cover some of their most notable songs, including an incredible cover of "Strange Fruit" from Lizz Wright.

Finally, when he passed in 2016, Leonard Cohen was working on an album with his son, Adam. Last week, the resulting record, Thanks for the Dance, was announced. The album will include a number of guest musicians, including Beck, Damien Rice, and Feist. The first single, "The Goal," was also released.

Also announced recently:

Anna of the North - Dream Girl (October 25)
The Band - The Band 50th Anniversary Edition (November 15)
Bob Dylan - Travelin' Thru, 1967–1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 15 (November 1)
Brooke Candy - SEXORCISM (October 25)
Bryce Dessner - Tenebre (October 11)
Caroline Polachek - Pang (October 18)
Cate Le Bon & Bradford Cox - Myths 004 (November 1)
CUP - Spinning Creature (November 1)
Cursive - Get Fixed (October 11)
DaBaby - KIRK (out now)
DJ Shadow - Our Pathetic Age (November 15)
Dry Cleaning - Boundary Road Snakes and Drinks (October 25)
Field Music - Making a New World (January 10)
Frozen 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (November 15)
Georgia - Seeking Thrills (January 10)
Harry Nilsson - Losst and Founnd (November 22)
Hemlock Ernst & Kenny Segal - Back at the House (October 26)
Holy Fuck - Deleter (January 17)
Jimmy Eat World - Surviving (October 18)
Johnny Marr - Single Life (December 6)
Jonathan Fire*Eater - Tremble Under Boom Lights Reissue (October 18)
Josienne Clarke - In All Weather (November 8)
Josh Homme - Desert Sessions Vol. 11 (October 25)
Josh Homme - Desert Sessions Vol. 12 (October 25)
Lee Scratch Perry - Life of the Plants (October 25)
Leonard Cohen - Thanks for the Dance (November 22)
Little Wings - Wonderue Reissue (November 29)
LOOR - Nightland (November 22)
Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas (Deluxe Anniversary Edition) (November 1)
Mount Eerie - Lost Wisdom pt. 2 (November 8)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Ghosteen (out now)
Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York (November 1)
Pick a Piper - Sight (October 18)
Pink Floyd - The Later Years (November 29)
Pluralone - To Be One with You (November 22)
Poppy - I Disagree (January 10)
Robert Glasper - Fuck Yo Feelings (out now)
Robert Plant - Digging Deep (December 13)
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Thousands Knives Of Reissue (November 8)
Smoke Fairies - Darkness Brings the Wonders Home (January 31)
Stars - LaGuardia (December 6)
Sufjan Stevens - The Decalogue (October 18)
Teebs - Anicca (October 25)
Tei Shi - La Linda (November 15)
Ty Segall - Pig Man Lives Volume 1 (November 1)
Van Morrison - Three Chords and the Truth (October 25)
Wished Bone - Sap Season (November 1)

New Music Friday - April 14, 2017

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

Essential Full-Length Releases

Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. The surprise release has become a bit of a tired approach, but there are still a couple of artists really capable of pulling it off. One of them is Kendrick Lamar; of course, it helps when the music you put out is so incredible. He shifts his sound again on this record, moving away from the experimental funk and jazz of To Pimp a Butterfly to trap on this record. Again, there's nothing lost in the shift, he's made another spectacular album. Watch: "HUMBLE." Watch: "DNA."

Lillie Mae - Forever and Then Some Lillie Mae is one of Jack White's newest finds. The artist, who has been playing the fiddle since she was a child, was signed to Third Man Records a few years ago. Formerly a member of Jypsi, she started playing with White as a member of his all-female backing band, Peacocks, then released her first solo single on his label in 2014. Forever and Then Some is her first album. Watch: "Over the Hill and Through the Woods" Listen: "Honky Tonks and Taverns"

Little Dragon - Season High Season High is the fifth album from this Swedish band. It follows the band's most successful album, 2014's Nabuma Rubberband, which earned them a Grammy nomination. The band has become known for playing across a wide variety of genres, even shifting the style from track to track. This may be their most stylistically consistent record to date, but one that still shows their talent for creating amazing danceable music. Watch: "High" Watch: "Sweet"

Singles, EPs, Soundtracks, etc.

Billie Holiday - Platinum Collection Listen: "God Bless the Child" Listen: "Strange Fruit"

The Clash - Combat Rock Reissue Listen: "Should I Stay or Should I Go" Listen: "Straight to Hell"

The Fate of the Furious Watch: Lil Uzi Vert, Quavo & Travis Scott - "Go Off" Watch: G-Eazy & Kehlani - "Good Life"

Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below Reissue Watch: "Roses" Watch: "The Way You Move" (featuring Sleepy Brown)

New Music Tuesday - February 3, 2015

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

New Full-Length Albums

Big Noble - First Light Big Noble is the side project of Interpol's Daniel Kessler with sound designer Joseph Fraioli. Their first album takes on the interplay between "popular music and sound design" and uses field recordings, guitar, and sound manipulation. Watch: "Peg" Watch: "Stay Gold"

Bob Dylan - Shadows in the Night Bob Dylan has been active for more than half a century and, as one of our most celebrated songwriters, has seen much of his music covered by various other musicians. This time around, he is the one doing the covering. His latest record features songs originally sung by Frank Sinatra. Dylan is far from a crooner, he has his own distinctive voice, which lends a unique style to these songs. Listen: "Stay with Me" Listen: "Full Moon and Empty Arms"

Mount Eerie - Sauna Sauna is the fifth full-length album from Mount Eerie and their first in three years. The album is meant to evoke the feel of an actual sauna, stuffy and heavy, but still very relaxing. The album was recorded in a reclaimed church in Washington state. Watch: "Sauna" Watch: "This"

Murder By Death - Big Dark Love Recently, Bloomington-based band Murder By Death relocated a couple of hours south to Louisville. The band has settled into a well-established sound over their 15 years and seven albums together. Their latest sees them experimenting a bit on their sound, but still holding to their whiskey-voiced folk rock. Listen: "Big Dark Love" Listen: "Solitary One"

Ricked Wicky - I Sell the Circus The once-impossibly-prolific band Guided By Voices broke up last year, but it looks like their members will remain active on their own. Former frontman Robert Pollard is busy with a new project, Ricked Wicky. Pollard takes the name from his first made-up band name from his youth and brings in former collaborators Todd Tobias and Nick Mitchell to help. Listen: "Mobility" Listen: "A Real Stab"

Other New Releases

Billie Holiday - At Storyville The latest release from the legendary Billie Holiday was recorded at the Storyville Club in Boston in October 1951 and October 1953. More than half a century after the original recording, the music is getting a new release. Purchase: Amazon

Built to Spill - Ancient Melodies of the Future Reissue Built to Spill are getting set to release a new album in April of this year. First, they are re-releasing their fifth album which was originally released in 2001. Listen: "Strange" Listen: "The Host"

Fifty Shades of Grey Original Motion Picture Soundtrack It seems like a lot of movies that are otherwise uninteresting to me are getting really good soundtracks. Fifty Shades of Grey is the latest such film. It's unlikely I'll ever see it, but with new tracks from The Weeknd, Sia, and Jessie Ware, I may have its soundtrack on repeat. Watch: The Weeknd - "Earned It" Listen: Jessie Ware - "Meet Me in the Middle"

Hiss Golden Messenger - Southern Grammar EP Hiss Golden Messenger released his fifth album, Lateness of Dancers, in September of last year. He's following that up with a short new EP, which features two new songs, and a live version of the title track. A studio version of the title song was on his previous album. Listen: "He Wrote the Book" Listen: "Brother, Do You Know the Road?"

Hodgy Beats & Don Cannon - DENATAPE 2 Mixtape We may have already had the first Odd Future release of the year with Award Tour II last week, but Hodgy Beats is not far behind with his own follow-up mixtape. He released his first mixtape, DENATAPE, in 2009 and is releasing his follow-up to that this year, though he's released other mixtapes in the time between. Listen: "Self Titled" Listen: "Miyagi’s Prime"

Joni Mitchell - Newport Folk Festival 19th July 1969 The second-oldest live recording this week comes from Joni Mitchell and her 1969 performance at the Newport Folk Festival. The show came towards the beginning of her career and saw her performing songs that would become classics, as well as some of her rarer tracks. Listen: "The Circle Game"

Kali Uchis - Por Vida EP Kali Uchis is a Colombian singer-songwriter who has been featured on songs from Tyler, the Creator in the past. On her latest release (available as a free download from her site), Tyler returns the favor. The release also features production from Kaytranada and BADBADNOTGOOD. Watch: "Know What I Want" Listen: "Lottery"

Ty Segall Band - Live in San Francisco Ty Segall's prolific slate of new releases continues with his latest live album. The album was recorded over the course of two nights at The Rickshaw Shop and covers several years' worth of output. Listen: "What’s Inside Your Heart"