As we get ready for a lot of highly anticipated new music to be released in the next few weeks, today has plenty to offer as well as April comes to a close. Tomberlin is the main attraction this week and her new album, i don’t know who needs to hear this…, is not one to miss. Led by the excellent single “taps,” this is one for the folk rockers at heart and it’s without question her strongest work to date.
Bloc Party are back with their first album in six years and judging my the singles, this one feels like a return to their frantic, post-punk classic Silent Alarm. Kelly Lee Owens also returns with a new one of mostly instrumental electronic pieces that add glowing textures to her previous vibrant albums.
Industrial hip-hop veterans Dälek have a new record out this week as well which continues their intense and genre-pushing approach towards metal influenced rap. There’s also the latest from Future who is set to headline Rolling Loud in Miami this summer along with Kendrick and Ye.
Fred again.. delivered a somewhat surprising EP this week changing up his usual rave-ready bangers in exchange for some elegant piano ballads. It demonstrates quite the range in the sonic templates he’s mustered up and expands on his strengths as a songwriter.
Earlier this year, Jens Lekman’s albums Oh You’re So Silent Jens and Night Falls Over Kortedala were ceremoniously removed from streaming services as well as online stores making their existence only possible for those who had already purchased them. We’ve now learned those records were removed due to samples not being fully cleared. In return, Lekman went back and partially re-recorded those albums, giving them a new existence. The first re-recording is out now and the reissue of Oh You’re So Silent Jens is called The Cherry Trees Are Still in Blossom.
Arcade Fire shared the second single from their new album, WE, which is out next week. This one doesn’t have quite the same pomp and bombast as “Lighting I, II” but still goes back to their classic sound and it was a crowd favorite at Coachella so perhaps it will have some staying power over time. Angel Olsen also offered up another song from her new record and this feels like her most straightforward country track to date.
Mogwai released a one-off single that was left off of last year’s great As the Love Continues and continues to find the band flexing their post-rock muscles and hitting their mark with ease. Real Estate frontman Martin Courtney also shared a single from his forthcoming solo record and it has the same breeziness you’d expect from his main project.
Iceage announced a tour with Doom Metal icons Earth for this fall and shared a new song that was written for their 2018 record Beyondless but never made the cut. METZ frontman Alex Edkins continues to drop songs ahead of his debut solo record under the name Weird Nightmare and this one features grunge rocker Bully.
Last week, Wilco announced a massive reissue of their landmark record Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and this week they’re back to announce a new record, a sprawling 21-track double-album that finds them embracing their country side. It’s out next month and it’s called Cruel Country.
Albums:
Tomberlin | i don’t know who needs to hear this…
Future | I NEVER LIKED YOU
Kelly Lee Owens | LP.8
Bloc Party | Alpha Games
Dälek | Precipice
Toro y Moi | MAHAL
Girlpool | Forgiveness
Let’s Eat Grandma | Two Ribbons
CZARFACE | Czarmageddon!
The Reds, Pinks and Purples | Everything Holy [EP - Live at the BBC]
Fred Again.. | Actual Life 2 Piano EP (February 2 - October 15, 2021)
Faye Webster | Car Therapy Sessions [EP]
Jens Lekman | The Cherry Trees are Still in Blossom [Reissue]
Songs:
Mogwai | “Bolfort”
Martin Courtney | “Corncob”
Angel Olsen | “Big Time”
Wilco | “Falling Apart (Right Now)“
Kevin Morby | “A Random Act of Kindness”
Iceage | “All the Junk on the Outskirts”
Arcade Fire | “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)”
Weird Nightmare | “Wrecked” (ft Bully)
Cave In | “Blood Spiller”
Dehd | “Empty in My Mind”
Tegan and Sara | “Fucking Up What Matters”
Ty Segall | “Hello, Hi”
The Range | “Urethane”
The Big Pink | “No Angels”
If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2022) here!