Sudan Archives, aka Brittney Denise Parks, released her debut album, Athena, this week. Also this week, the artist, who I found out is from Cincinnati, sat down with Stereogum to discuss the story behind each of the album's 14 songs.
Vince Staples has a new show, aptly called "The Vince Staples Show," which has served as his vehicle for new music. This week, he released the second single tied to the project, "Sheet Music." As always, his lyrics are amazing.
Sleigh Bells got their start making blown-out, high-octane music, but have reigned it in considerably since their 2008 debut. Their latest song takes on a blues feel, large due to it being a cover of Leadbelly's classic, "Where Did You Sleep Last Night." The song was recorded for The Rhythm Section's soundtrack.
I am somewhat fascinated by Igor, the character Tyler, The Creator, created for his latest album of the same name. The characters has shown up in a couple of interesting music videos already, and last week, Tyler released another video for a track from the album, "I THINK," featuring the character.
The New Pornographers released a new album just a couple of short months ago. That album was the second that did not feature long-time member Dan Bejar. I assumed his absence was due to him working on the latest album from his other major project, Destroyer, and this week that seems to be confirmed. He announced Have We Met, due on January 31 of next year.
Check out my Upcoming Releases page for more new music to come and see a list of other newly-announced albums below:
Algiers - There Is No Year (January 17)
Amy Klein - Winter/Time (November 22)
Andy Shauf - The Neon Skyline (January 24)
Banoffee - Look At Us Now Dad (February 21)
Ben Watt - Storm Damage (January 31)
Billy Corgan - Cotillions (November 22)
Burial - Tunes 2011-2019 (December 6)
Clams Casino - Moon Trip Radio (November 7)
CocoRosie - Put the Shine On (March 6)
Coldplay - Everyday Life (November 22)
Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar (January 31)
Dan Mangan - Nice, Nice, Very Nice 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (November 15)
Earl Sweatshirt - Feet of Clay (out now)
Empty Country - Empty Country (February 14)
Frances Quinlan - Likewise (January 31)
Hannah Diamond - Reflections (November 22)
The Innocence Mission - See You Tomorrow (January 17)
Juana Molina - Forfun (out now)
Kesha - High Road (January 10)
Mura Masa - R.Y.C. (January 17)
Pinegrove - Marigold (January 17)
Squirrel Flower - I Was Born Swimming (January 31)
Tame Impala - The Slow Rush (February 14)
TNGHT - II (November 12)
Torres - Silver Tongue (January 31) Uncut Gems (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (December 13)
Wire - Mind Hive (January 24)
When a band is named for the location of one of the first anti-colonialism struggles, you know their music is going to be politically-tinged. The Atlanta-born band released their debut album in 2015 in the midst of race struggles here in the U.S. Events over the intervening two years have only served to bolster their anger, but also focus their music. They serve as the perfect post-punk/gospel voice to all of our collective anger.
Bedouine is Azniv Korkejian, a Syrian-born, Saudi Arabia- and U.S.-raised singer and songwriter who immigrated to the United States as a child. With a folk sound reminiscent at times of Joni Mitchell or Nick Drake, she sings both of her childhood in Syria and Saudi Arabia, and also responds to the current climate in her country of birth. This incredible album has made Korkejian one of my favorite newcomers of the year!
Halo is an electronic artist from Ann Arbor, Michigan, influenced in part by the techno scene in nearby Detroit. She's released three albums (including this one) on the influential Hyperdub label, all of them earning her high praise. She often works with artists from a variety of disciplines, including John Cale and Julia Holter.
Love Theme is the new project from Alex Zhang Hungtai, formerly of Dirty Beaches. The new project is in collaboration with Austin Milne and Joshua Frank. The project is far from being Hungtai's only undertaking since ending Dirty Beaches. Two years ago, he released a music video as Last Lizard; last year, he released a record, Knave of Hearts, under his own name; and just earlier this year, he appeared on "Twin Peaks" as a member of the band Trouble with David Lynch's son, Riley.
Vince Staples released an incredible debut album, Summertime '06, in 2015. While no doubt a modern hip hop album, it was reminiscent (to me, at least) to West Coast hip hop from the mid-90s. His follow-up is a more experimental album, pulling styles from club music and techno. He also brings an impressive list of guests to this album, including Kendrick Lamar and a returned favor from Damon Albarn (Staples appeared on Gorillaz' latest album, Humanz).
It's been one heck of a week. I've been working on a new house and work has been crazy. You may have noticed that I'm falling even further behind that I already have been on this blog, and for that, I apologize. I did manage to finally update my Upcoming Releases page, so check that out!
This week, Vince Staples announced his second EP, Prima Donna.
Kendrick Lamar may have gotten most of the attention lavished upon the world of hip hop last year, but it was Vince Staples who shone brightest for me with his debut album, Summertime '06. It was, by far, my favorite hip hop album of 2015, as well as one of my favorites overall.
On Monday, just a little over a year since that album, he announced the new EP. He hasn't released any of the songs from the EP, but has revealed the tracklist. It has a pretty exciting list of featured artists, including Kilo Kish, A$AP Rocky, and James Blake.
The Prima Donna EP is set to be released on August 26.
Also announced this week:
American Wrestlers - Goodbye Terrible Youth (November 4)
Cory Hanson - The Unborn Capitalist (November 18)
Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition (September 30)
Dawes - We’re All Gonna Die (September 16)
Frank Ocean - Blond (out now)
Frank Ocean - Endless (out now)
Jagwar Ma - Every Now & Then (October 16)
Low - The Exit Papers Reissue (September 30)
Marching Church - Telling It Like It Is (October 28)
Mike Mills - Concerto for Violin, Rock Band and String Orchestra (October 14)
Sporting Life - Slam Dunk Vol. 1 (August 26)
Jaill released an album in 2010, That's How We Burn, that has remained one of my favorites year over year. This isn't their first follow-up to that record; that would be 2012's Traps, but I was never able to get as much into that album. This latest record comes following some changes for the band; they were dropped from their label, Sub Pop, and much of the band left soon after. They're starting anew, but trying to hold to their unique sound.
Vince Staples may be the most interesting and exciting young voices in an era of hip hop dominated by the younger guys. Not content to rap about girls and parties, he hearkens back to earlier days of LA hip hop (he's from LA, by the way) by referencing his life and his community, often discussing the crime and violence that he is exposed to. He has made good on the excitement built with his excellent debut mixtape, Hell Can Wait, with one of the best-reviewed albums of the year.
Nathan Williams is keeping himself very busy this year. He released an album with a new band, Spirit Club, earlier this year, contributed to yet another soundtrack for GTAV, and is set to release a new album with Wavves later this year. In addition to all of that, Wavves has partnered with another young rock band for a collaborative album. Wavves and the Cleveland-based Cloud Nothings may not seem to have much in common on paper, but they sound pretty awesome together.
When: April 3, 2015 Where: Bogart's in Cincinnati, OH
The Show:
Aside from sets at music festivals, live hip hop is not something that I've had much of an opportunity to experience over the past few years. It's been somewhat infrequent that an artist that I really wanted to see was coming around this way. So, when it was announced that Earl Sweatshirt, who has been a favorite of late, was playing in Cincinnati, I bought my ticket right away.
Remy Banks, a young rapper out of New York was the opening act of the night, backed by DJ Black Noi$e. While he had good energy and rapport with the crowd, he was my least favorite of the three artists that night. I was not surprised to find that he's not yet released any studio albums or EPs as nothing he performed felt like a fully fledged out thought. I'm sure he's very talented, but I couldn't get a handle on anything he performed that night. He had a, thankfully, short set and it was just a few minutes of transition before Vince Staples came out.
I am not as familiar with Staples as I would like to be, but have been keeping an eye on him ever since his extremely well-received 2014 EP, Hell Can Wait. Perhaps because he's been a rising name over the past year and has studio recorded material out, he commanded the crowd much better than Remy. He performed several songs from that EP and with each one, the excitement in the crowd swelled; especially with the tracks "Hands Up" and "Blue Suede."
There was no wait time in the transition between Staples and Earl Sweatshirt. Sweatshirt came out the end of Staples' set to perform a few tracks with him, including a personal favorite, "Hive." After those few songs, Staples left Sweatshirt to do his thing. The young rapper easily showed why he was the headliner of the show. He interacted with the audience extremely well and even had the entire crowd singing along with some of his songs' repeated refrains, though some were questionable (such as informing the mostly white audience that during the show and only while singing along, they were allowed to use the n-word).
Aside from some of those *awkward* moments, it was one of the most enjoyable shows that I have been to; credit to both the musicians and the audience for that.
