After ending March with the unavoidable discourse surrounding the event that is the album Cowboy Carter, April kicks off with albums that might not rattle the internet, but make statements nonetheless. Fabiana Palladino has been working with Jai Paul and his institute for quite some time and after a few dazzling singles, she’s arrived with an album full of chic R&B jams that hit with high energy and club-ready rhythms.
Vampire Weekend are back with their twisted-groove-laden new album Only God Was Above Us that reprocesses their sound for an updated version of their indie-pop tunes. A natural evolution for the band that finds them embracing more abstract sonic templates without straying from the essence of what’s at their core.
If middle of the road rock is your thing, the new album from the Black Keys delivers on their usual take on bluesy guitars and thick drums that stays firmly in its lane, never challenging things beyond their safety zone, but putting their standard sound into cruise control.
The fact that the Libertines haven’t self-imploded since reuniting in 2014 is almost as shocking as their consistency to still churn out invigorating garage rock revival songs that don’t sound dated, but like the extension of their career that was robbed from us when they couldn’t keep it together on the first go around. They’ve matured slightly in sound, but still pack the ramshackle punch that gave their tracks the needed swing along with the powerful riffs that made them the once and future kinds of brit-rock.
Industrial techno producer Container is back with a new album called YACKER and it’s full of the revved-up beats and hard-hitting rhythms that make his music so intense yet still accessible. It’s dance music to the extreme.
Just ahead of their upcoming spring tour, Woods released a surprise EP Five More Flowers comprised of tracks from the sessions that produced last year’s album Perennial.
TOPS lead singer Jane Penny drops an EP this week as well and it’s full of shimmering disco-pop with dreamy synth undertones that sparkle with delight, giving off warm senses and velvety touch points meant to underscore the clinking of cocktail glasses under a shining mirror ball.
A leader of the new jazz vanguard, Kamasi Washington is set to release his new album Fearless Movement next month, but this week he shared the stunning new song “Dream State,” a song truly meant to serve as a score to its name, and it features ambient new jazz’s latest sensation, the one and only André 3000.
On their first single in eight years, Empire of the Sun return with a synth-pop gem that picks up right where they left off and hits with a big chorus and steady beats that are primed for the dance floor. French act L’Impératrice have another funky single out this week that is complete with killer hooks and solid grooves that crush with surging heat.
After lighting up the international electronic music scene with a smattering of EPs, producer Peggy Gou has finally announced her debut album and it’s led by the single “1+1=11,” a twitching club track that is sure to bring the heat.
Extreme band Candy blend hardcore and metal into one dose of heavy music that also complies elements of shoegaze, noise, and electronic effects. Their latest track “eXtenZ” is yet another brusing tune from the band that wastes no ime getting down to business.
Albums:
Fabiana Palladino | Fabiana Palladino
Vampire Weekend | Only God Was Above Us
Lil Wayne & Wheezy | Weezy Vs Wheezy
The Black Keys | Ohio Players
Khruangbin | A LA SALA
The Libertines | All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade
Kehlani | After Hours
Container | YACKER
Mount Kimbie | The Sunset Violent
Phosphorescent | Revelator
Woods | Five More Flowers EP
Jane Penny | Surfacing EP
Songs:
Kamasi Washington | “Dream State” (ft André 3000)
Chappell Roan | “Good Luck, Babe”
Pedro the Lion | “Modesto”
Candy | “eXistenZ”
Empire of the Sun | “Changes”
Peggy Gou | “1+1=11”
L’Impératrice | “Danza Marilù” (ft Fabiana Martone)
Iron & Wine | “Anyone’s Game”
Locations | “Moves” (Live at Main Drag)
Orville Peck / Willie Nelson | “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other” [Ned Sublette Cover]
If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2024) here!