Upcoming Album of the Week (Ending June 23, 2018)

I've been watching a lot of Queer Eye on Netflix lately and noticed that the food and wine expert, Antoni, seems to be a pretty big fan of The National. So far, I've counted him rocking the band's shirts three times. Maybe in exchange for the publicity, the band should compile a soundtrack for the show! If that happens, I'll have it over at Upcoming Releases page!

This week, Beyoncé not only announced a new album, but went ahead a released it, as well. Her latest surprise release, EVERYTHING IS LOVE, was a collaboration with her husband, recorded as The Carters.

hotnewhiphop.com

At this point, I would be more surprised if Beyoncé were to release an album on a more standard roll-out schedule, i.e. announce an album, release a few singles and perhaps videos, go on tour, then release the album. Her previous two records, Beyoncé and Lemonade, were also surprise releases.

This latest seems to serve as an end to a trilogy for the Carters, one that began with Lemonade and continued with Jay-Z's 4:44. Each record has referenced the couple's relationship. The record was released last Saturday, along with a video for the single "APESHIT".

Also announced last week:

Bermuda Triangle - “Till the End of Days” (out now)
Buddy - Harlan & Alonda (July 20)
DJ Muggs - Assassination Day (June 29)
DJ Shadow - Live in Manchester: The Mountain Has Fallen Tour (July 13)
Elvis Presley - Where No One Stands Alone (August 10)
Foxing - Nearer My God (August 10)
Freddie Gibbs - Freddie (out now)
KIN: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (August 31)
Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains the Same Reissue (September 7)
Mass Gothic - I’ve Tortured You Long Enough (August 31)
Menace Beach - Black Rainbow Sound (August 31)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Distant Sky - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Live in Copenhagen (September 28)
Paul McCartney - Egypt Station (September 7)
Purling Hiss - “Out Tonight” (out now)
Restorations - LP5000 (September 28)
Saintseneca - Pillar of Na (August 19)
Steve Hauschildt - Dissolve (August 3)
Underworld & Iggy Pop - Teatime Dub Encounters (July 27)

New Music Friday - June 30, 2017

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

Essential Full-Length Releases

Jay-Z - 4:44 In case you didn't know, Jay-Z is married to Beyoncé. Last year, she released, Lemonade, which seemed to reference his infidelity. 4:44 serves in part as a response to that record, owning up to those transgressions. Similar to records released by his wife and sister-in-law last year, the album mixes the laying bare of personal issues with a broader community message. It also features some surprising collaborators, particularly James Blake, who also worked on Lemonade. Watch: "The Story of O.J." Watch: "Moonlight"

Moon Diagrams - Lifetime of Love Moon Diagrams is the project of Deerhunter drummer Moses Archuleta. He's recorded his debut over the course of a decade. To construct the record, he chose thrifted LPs, based only on their covers. He took samples from the records, broke them apart and put them back together. Finally, he layered vocals on top, but never pulls away from the unique tapestry created with his ransom samples. Watch: "Bodymaker" Listen: "End of Heartache"

Public Enemy - Nothing Is Quick in the Desert Though no longer the most immediate group to come to mind in the modern hip hop landscape, Public Enemy has been going strong for more than 30 years and have reliably released new music every few years. The 14th studio album follows their 2015 effort, Man Plans God Laughs. Time has made them no less political, though this is not Chuck D's only channel of rage. He has also recently joined with former members of Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave and B-Real from Cypress Hill as Prophets of Rage. Listen: "Yesterday Man" Listen: "Toxic"

Terry - Remember Terry Terry is a supergroup of sorts. The Melbourne, Australia-based indie pop band consists of members from UV Race, Total Control, Eastlink, and Dick Diver. Remember Terry is their sophomore album, following last year's TERRY HQ. Watch: "Take Me to the City" Watch: "Glory"

Other Full-Length Releases

Baio - Man of the World Watch: "PHILOSOPHY!" Watch: "Man of the World"

Calvin Harris - Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 Watch: "Feels" (featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry, and Big Sean) Listen: "Prayers Up" (featuring Travis Scott & A-Trak)

Lapalux - Ruinism Watch: "Rotted Arp" (featuring Louisahhhh) Watch: "Flickering" (featuring JFDR)

Washed Out - Mister Mellow Watch: "Get Lost" Watch: "Instant Calm"

Singles, EPs, Soundtracks, etc.

The Beach Boys - 1967 - Sunshine Tomorrow Listen: "Aren’t You Glad" Listen: "All Day All Night" (Whistle In)

Beach House - B-Sides and Rarities Watch: "Chariot" Listen: "Baseball Diamond"

Clams Casino - Instrumentals 4 Listen: "Wavey" Listen: "Summertime"

The Coathangers - Parasite EP Watch: "Captain’s Dead" Listen: "Parasite"

Echo & the Bunnymen - It’s All Live Now Listen: "Crocodiles" Listen: "She Cracked"

Nots - Cruel Friend/Violence 7” Listen: "Cruel Friend" Listen: "Violence"

of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? Reissue Watch: "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean" Watch: "Gronlandic Edit"

Trouble - "Snake Eyes"/"Mother’s Gone” 7" Listen: "Snake Eyes" Listen: "Mother’s Gone"

New Music Tuesday - 07/09/2013

New Full-Length Releases

Hebronix - Unreal I was heartbroken to hear that Daniel Blumberg quit as the lead singer of Yuck. The band had been one of the better to come out of the 90s-style indie rock revival a couple of years ago. My fears were salved, somewhat, upon discovering that both sides would be continuing on. The band would continue under the same name and Daniel under the name of Hebronix. The project takes a slightly different direction than that of his former band, but it's still apparent that this is a Blumberg project. Listen: "Unreal"

Jay-Z - Magna Carta Holy Grail Jay-Z took a very different approach to the release of this album. Samsung purchased one million copies of the record at $5 a pop and released it for free to subscribers. It was a boon to Jay-Z, he had a platinum record before it was even out. It didn't work as well for Samsung, though. The app crashed and there were numerous privacy concerns. It's a fairly new approach, so Samsung will live and learn. Although, it is disconcerting to think of the corporate influence involved. Listen: "Holy Grail" (featuring Justin Timberlake)

Robert Pollard - Honey Locust Honky Tonk Holy crap, this dude is prolific! He is the lead singer of Guided By Voices, who released three albums last year and already have an album and EP out this year. As a solo artist, he's put out two albums every year since 2006. I guess that he has a lot to say (or nothing else to do). Listen: "Airs"

Sweet Valley - SV Nathan Williams, of Wavves, started this side project with his brother Kynan last year. They released three albums for free that year, but this is their first release this year. They released the albums in a fairly short time frame last year, so expect more from them soon! Listen: "Kingdom of Heaven"

Other New Releases

Beck - "I Won't Be Long" Beck will be releasing a new acoustic album later this year (the exact date hasn't yet been announced). In the meantime, he is releasing a series of singles that are definitely not acoustic, so I'm guessing these won't be on the album. This is the second this year, following "Defriended." Listen: "I Won't Be Long"

Moderat - "Bad Kingdom" Moderat (the combination of Modeselektor and Apparat) are releasing an album later this year, creatively title Moderat II. "Bad Kingdom" is the first single released from that album. I haven't been very familiar with either artists' work, or their work together. But, if this is the sound they have, I'm pretty psyched for the album! Listen/Watch: "Bad Kingdom"

Regina Spektor - "You've Got Time" It's only been a little over a year since Regina released her most recent album, What We Saw from the Cheap Seats. This single does not come from that album however. I'm not sure if this heralds a new album later this year, but I like this sound from her, it's a bit like early Yeah Yeah Yeahs! Listen: "You've Got Time"

Thriftstore Masterpiece: Trouble Is a Lonesome Town Thriftstore Masterpiece is a music project dedicated to honoring lesser-known records from the past. This edition is dedicated to Lee Hazlewood's 1963 debut album, Trouble is a Lonesome Town. The album features covers from Black Francis (of the Pixies), Art Brut and Isaac Brock (of Modest Mouse), among others. Listen: Isaac Brock - "Railroad"

Woods - "Be All Be Easy"/"God's Children" The latest single from Woods features a re-recorded version of a song from their second most recent album, Sun and Shade. The B-side of the single features a cover of a song by The Kinks. Listen: "Be All Be Easy"