8 New Albums You Should Check Out
Every Friday a wave of new music is released. With so much music at our fingertips and around us, choosing what to listen to can become overwhelming. But fret not, below are 8 new albums, released within the past two weeks, that you should listen to:
Arcade Fire: WE
WE is Arcade Fire’s first full length album in five years. WE returns to Arcade Fire’s signature melodic sound and incorporates themes of isolation, love, anxiety, and confusion. Relatable lyrics, swaying synths, and moving harmonies capture frontman Win Butler’s description, “Perfection is boring.” The 10 track album is an epic storyteller with four songs that have multiple parts and extensions. Top tracks include, “Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole),” “The Lighting I,” and “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid).”
Toro Y Moi: Mahal
Toro Y Moi, a chillwave/indie composer and producer, released Mahal three years after his critically acclaimed and commercially successful Outer Peace. Mahal captures a new sound in Toro Y Moi’s career with psychedelic guitars and an increased number of featured artists on the album. Such features include, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Salami Rose Joe Louis, Sofie Royer, and The Mattson 2. Top tracks include, “Deja Vu,” “The Loop,” and “Magazine.”
Sharon Van Etten: We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong
Sharon Van Etten’s sixth full length album, We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong, follows her genius 2019 release, Remind Me Tomorrow. Van Etten’s latest album is a reflection on the pandemic and the flawed world she is raising her son into. As Van Etten stated, “These 10 songs are designed to be listened to in order, at once, so that a much larger story of loss, longing, and resilience can be told.” We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong beautifully captures that story with top tracks that include, “Darkness Fades,” “I’ll Try,” and “Mistakes.”
William Basinski & Janek Schaefer: “… On Reflection”
William Basinski and Janek Schaefer combine forces in “… On Reflection”, an ambient electronic album that took eight years to create. Basinski and Schaefer collaborated individually and then combined works to create the album. “… On Reflection” constructs a calming and self-reflective atmosphere through five tracks which include, “… On Reflection (Three),” and “… On Reflection (Four).”
Tomberlin: i don’t know who needs to hear this…
i don’t know who needs to hear this… is Tomberlin’s second full length album and follows her 2018 debut, At Weddings. With its twangy guitars, intimate vocals, and emotional lyrics, i don’t know who needs to hear this… is a self-reflective, heavily acoustic, indie-folk album. As Tomberlin described, “The theme of the record is to examine, hold space, make an altar for feelings.” Top tracks include, “tap,” “unsaid,” “stoned,” and “happy accident.”
Maria Chiara Argirò: Forest City
Forest City is London-based composer and producer Maria Chiara Argirò’s fourth full length album. Argirò captures the “duality of nature and city,” in her new album, which mixes jazzy organic sounds with rhythmic and dizzy synths. “Greenarp,” a top track, was described by Argirò as “experiencing a beautiful natural scene and a reoccurring dream of being in nature. The dream is blurred together with the reality of waking up.” Top tracks include, “Greenarp,” “Blossom,” and “Clouds.”
Kikagaku Moyo: Kumoyo Island
Kumoyo Island is Tokyo-based psychedelic band Kikagaku Moyo’s fifth and final album. Kikagaku Moyo described the album as “best suited for counting stars, looking at the ocean, and dancing in one’s daydream.” Kumoyo Island creates a dreamy guitar led contemporary psychedelic world with top tracks such as, “Monaka,” “Yayoi, Iyayoi,” “Meu Mar,” and “Daydream Soda.”
Congotronics International: Where’s The One?
Where’s The One is a collaborative album between 19 musicians from around the world that combines traditional Congolese music with contemporary experimental rock sounds. Artists on the album include Deerhoof, Kasai Allstars, Juana Molina, Wildbrids and Peacedrums, and many others. Top tracks include, “Where’s The One?”, “Kule Kule Redux,” “The Chief Enters Again,” and “Guiyome.”
Other notable releases:
The Stroppies: Levity
Ibeyi: Spell 31
Future: I NEVER LIKED YOU
Dana Gavanski: When It Comes
Otoboke Beaver: Super Champion
Kelly Lee Owens: LP.8
Ghost Power: Ghost Power
Jack Harlow: Come Home The Kids Miss You
Let’s Eat Grandma: Two Ribbons
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever: Endless Rooms
