New Music Friday - November 22, 2024

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

Essential Full-Length Releases

	Kendrick Lamar - GNX Listen: "gnx" Listen: "wacced out murals"
	Kim Deal - Nobody Loves You Move Watch: "Crystal Breath" Watch: "A Good Time Pushed"
	Michael Kiwanuka - Small Changes Watch: "Lowdown" Watch: "Floating Parade"

Other Full-Length Releases

Boldy James & Harry Fraud - The Bricktionary Watch: "SHRINK WRAP" (with Babyface Ray) Listen: "Speedy Gonzales"

Father John Misty - Mahashmashana Watch: "Screamland" Watch: "She Cleans Up"

Yesness - See You at the Solipsist Convention Listen: "See Through Wolf Costume" Listen: "Occasional Grape?"

Singles, EPs, Soundtracks, etc.

Amber Mark - Loosies Watch: "Sink In" Watch: "Won’t Cry"

Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom - A Peace of Us Watch: "Pretty Paper" Watch: "Snow Is Falling in Manhattan"

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & Joe Goddard - Neptunes Watch: "Neptunes" Watch: "Around You"

Lifted - Trellis Listen: "Open Door" Listen: "Warmer Cooler"

New Order - Brotherhood (Definitive Edition) Listen: "Salvation Theme" Listen: "Paradise" (Robert Racic Remix)

Nilüfer Yanya - My Method Actor Remix EP Listen: "Just a Western" (Boy Harsher Remix) Listen: "Call It Love" (Jam City Remix)

Transa Watch: Sade - "Young Lion" Listen: Moses Sumney - "Is It Cold in the Water?" (featuring ANOHNI)

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)

Upcoming Album of the Week (Ending April 8)

The 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held last night. Included in this year's class were ELO, Joan Baez, Journey, Pearl Jam, Yes, and Tupac Shakur! We'll see if the honor leads any of the still-living acts to release new music. If it does, you can check them out at my Upcoming Releases page!

It looks like we may be getting a new Kendrick Lamar album very soon!

It's been two years since Lamar released the masterpiece To Pimp a Butterfly, and one year since untitled unmastered, a demos album way better than demos are expected to be. This year, he started releasing new songs, beginning with "The Heart Part 4" two weeks ago and following that up last week with "HUMBLE.", which came bundled with an incredible music video.

Yesterday, a new album from Lamar was made available for preorder on iTunes, currently just titled ALBUM. Details are scant right now, but here's what we know (or can presume):

1. He's working again with Anna Wise
2. Other collaborators include U2, BADBADNOTGOOD, and James Blake
3. "HUMBLE." will appear on the record
4. It will be released on April 14

Also announced this week:

Amber Arcades - Cannonball (June 2)
Beth Ditto - Fake Sugar (June 16)
Chastity Belt - I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone (June 2)
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - On the Echoing Green (June 16)
Kurt Vile - So Outta Reach EP Reissue (May 19)
Kurt Vile - Square Shells EP Reissue (May 19)
Showtime Goma - Smiley Face (June 16)

New Music Friday - March 4, 2016

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

Essential Full-Length Releases

Fatima Al Qadiri - Brute Fatima Al Qadiri is a Kuwaiti producer and artist who has built to strong solo career for herself starting with a 2010 mixtape for DIS Magazine under the name Ayshay. Last year, she partner with three other musicians as Future Brown and released a self-titled album with them. Incorporating sounds from protests, her sophomore album was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and her own experiences with demonstrators clashing with authority. Listen: "Battery" Listen: "Oubliette"

Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered Kendrick sure loves his surprise releases; last year's opus, To Pimp a Butterfly, was released in March with little forewarning and this follow-up is no different. The album consists of demos from the recording of To Pimp a Butterfly and contains many of the same themes. None of the tracks have names, they are just identified by a datestamp.

Loretta Lynn - Full Circle Loretta Lynn is a strong enough songwriter-singer (that's the order she prefers it) that I can overlook some questionable political endorsements. The legendary country star is 83 years old and in her sixth decade of creating music. She's slowing down just a little bit, this is her first album in 12 years, but she still shows the same prowess in the songs she's created. Listen: "Everything It Takes" (featuring Elvis Costello) Listen: "Who’s Gonna Miss Me?"

Poliça - United Crushers United Crushers comes after a bit of a whirlwind period for Poliça, and especially members Channy Leaneagh and Ryan Olson who got married and had a child last year. Through all of that, the band finished writing and recording the album. This is another record inspired by protest, as protests were erupting in the band's home city of Minneapolis as they were preparing the album. Watch: "Wedding" Watch: "Lime Habit"

Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - A Man Alive Thao & The Get Down Stay Down's fourth album was produced by tUnE-yArDs' frontwoman Merrill Garbus. It's a move that marries Garbus' signature idiosyncratic funk with Thao Nguyen's unique brand of folk. The album is also a more personal outing for Nguyen, who has often tackled social issues in her music. Here, she deals with her own past and her relationship with her father. Watch: "Astonished Man" Watch: "Nobody Dies"

Other Full-Length Releases

Big Ups - Before a Million Universes Watch: "National Parks" Listen: "Hope for Someone"

Carter Tanton - Jettison the Valley Listen: "Through the Garden Gates" Listen: "Twentynine Palms" (featuring Sharon Van Etten)

The Coral - Distance Inbetween Watch: "Chasing the Tail of a Dream" Watch: "Miss Fortune"

Guerilla Toss - Eraser Stargazer Listen: "Diamond Girls" Listen: "Grass Shack"

Kano - Made in the Manor Watch: "3 Wheel-ups" (featuring Giggs) Watch: "Endz"

The Knocks - 55 Watch: "I Wish (My Taylor Swift)" (featuring Matthew Koma) Listen: "Best for Last" (featuring Walk the Moon)

La Sera - Music for Listening to Music To Watch: "10 Headed Goat Wizard" Watch: "I Need an Angel"

Låpsley - Long Way Home Watch: "Love Is Blind" Watch: "Cliff"

Lionlimb - Shoo Watch: "Bored Today" Listen: "Just Because"

M. Ward - More Rain Watch: "Girl from Conejo Valley" Watch: "Confession"

Melaena Cadiz - Sunfair Watch: "At the Symphony" Listen: "Last Night in My Dream"

Miike Snow - iii Watch: "Genghis Khan" Watch: "Heart Is Full"

Nada Surf - You Know Who You Are Watch: "Rushing" Watch: "Cold to See Clear"

Prince Rama - Xtreme Now Listen: "Bahia" Listen: "Now Is the Time of Emotion"

Ray LaMontagne - Ouroboros Watch: "Hey, No Pressure" Listen: "In My Own Way"

Robert Pollard - Of Course You Are Listen: "My Daughter Yes She Knows" Listen: "Of Course You Are"

Samiyam - Animals Have Feelings Listen: "Dartgun" Listen: "Mr. Wonderful" (featuring Action Bronson)

Sound of Ceres - Nostalgia for Infinity Watch: "Bryn Marina" Listen: "My Spiral Arm"

Tiga - No Fantasy Required Listen: "Planet E" Listen: "Don’t Break My Heart"

TOKiMONSTA - Fovere Watch: "Put It Down" (featuring Anderson .Paak & KRNE) Listen: "Giving Up" (featuring Jonny Pierce)

Violent Femmes - We Can Do Anything Watch: "Memory" Listen: "Issues"

Wussy - Forever Sounds Watch: "Dropping Houses" Watch: "She’s Killed Hundreds"

Singles, EPs, Soundtracks, etc.

The Big Pink - Empire Underground EP Watch: "Hightimes" Listen: "Beautiful Criminal"

Day Wave - Hard to Read EP Listen: "Stuck" Listen: "Hard to Read"

et aliae - Rose EP Listen: "Sober" (featuring D∆WN) Listen: "Only U"

Innerspace Orchestra - "One Way Glass" Listen: "One Way Glass"

Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation - "Sunny Afternoon" Watch: "Sunny Afternoon" Listen: "Lucid Sapphire"

The Little Flames - The Day Is Not Today Listen: "The Day Is Not Today" Listen: "Close My Eyes"

The Long Road Listen: Robert Plant - "The Blanket of Night" Listen: Kindness - "A Retelling"