The majority of the country is under a heat warning so it’s a great time to stay inside and get down with some new music. For each of her last two studio albums, Carly Rae Jepsen has released a companion collection of b-sides and following last year’s The Loneliest Time, she’s back this week with The Loveliest Time. As a flip to some of the sadder themes of the last record, this one focuses on the positive.
Despite his concert at the Pyramids of Giza being postponed (shock) and news that his new feature film isn’t actually produced by A24 (he just put their logo on it?), Utopia, the long-awaited and majorly-hyped new album from Travis Scott is here and sure to be one of the biggest releases of the year.
Jazz visionary Terrace Martin released a new album just last month in addition to one with his band Dinner Party earlier in the year, but this week he’s back with a another new record. Named after his father, the album represents the musical lessons his father gave to him.
Long-running post-punk act Bush Tetras are releasing just their third actual studio album in their storied career and for the first time on record, the band includes Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth on drums. Given the reputation of their recent live shows, this should be a classic sounding album from the group. On her first solo record after Best Coast, Bethany Cosentino keeps her sound strong and stands firm with punk melodies and indie riffs, continuing to be a generational voice as she establishes the next phase of her career.
Electro-R&B artist Jessy Lanza drops her new album today, full of high-gloss electronics, deep beats, and clubby rhythms, it’s a late-night dance party that’ll get you grooving. The enigmatic electronic wizard Aphex Twin is back today too with a new EP, his first release in five years, which was lead by one of his most playful and energizing songs to date.
Two live albums close us out this week and the first comes from Grizzly Bear singer Daniel Rossen from his tour last year in support of his latest solo record, one that is sure to strike with any fan of his main band and confirms his talents as a songwriter remain firmly intact. The second comes from folk legend and hero Joni Mitchell’s surprise return at last year’s Newport Folk Festival, easily one of the most iconic concerts of the past twenty years.
Post-punk trio Patio announced their sophomore album will be out this fall and with the announcement they shared their new single “Sixpence,” a sharpened and raw track about facing the excess of glamour and finding the confidence in what you have. We’re getting closer to the release of the new album from the reunited Be Your Own Pet and this week they dropped yet another ripping new single that calls for on-demand free abortions and takes no prisoners in its rocking execution.
Following last year’s return-to-form record Time Skiffs, Animal Collective has already announced the follow-up will be out in September. Written shortly after the last album and recorded back in 2021, it features the new single “Soul Capturer” as well as the recent twenty-minute epic “Defeater” and will be their longest record to date.
Mitski also announced a new record this week and it’s lead by the stark and powerful “Bug Like an Angel,” which also serves as the album’s opening track. The acoustic guitar and gentle piano are punctuated with a towering choir that interjects at strategic intervals making for what the artist has called her wisest release yet. Contemporary free jazz collective Irreversible Entanglements, lead by poet Moor Mother on vocals, announced they’ve signed with the legendary label Impulse! and shared their forthcoming album’s lead single, the luscious “Free Love.”
Brooklyn alt rock duo Locations are back with another sweltering single called “Gold Ole Same Ole,” ahead of a new EP due this October, and it’s a powerful tune with mighty riffs and bellowing drums. It’s a multi-part rocker that moves with fused dexterity as grooves interlock over powerful chords and heavy fills. Per usual, Locations is once again using their latest release to promote a cause they believe in and an action their fans can take: RepresentUs, the bipartisan anti-corruption pro-voter movement, is fighting for the policies to fix the American political system.
Earlier this year, Jessie Ware released the phenomenal album That! Feels Good! which includes the track “Freak Me Now.” This week, Ware dropped an updated take featuring Róisín Murphy (!) who is also gearing up to release a sparkling dance record of her own. It’s a deliriously fun song that somehow sounds even sparklier than before. Soccer Mommy has been known to drop a good cover song fairly often and this week Sophie Allison tore-up Sheryl Crow’s classic song for the summer, “Soak Up the Sun.” It’s a fuzzed-out take on the pop tune, but Allison makes it her own while still serving up a proper tribute.
Albums:
Carly Rae Jepsen | The Loveliest Time
Travis Scott | Utopia
Terrace Martin | Curly
Bush Tetras | They Live In My Head
Bethany Cosentino | Natural Disaster
Jessy Lanza | Love Hallucination
Beverly Glenn-Copeland | The Ones Ahead
Aphex Twin | Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760 EP
Daniel Rossen | Live In Pioneertown & Santa Fe
Joni Mitchell | AT NEWPORT [live album]
Songs:
Patio | “Sixpence”
Animal Collective | “Soul Capturer”
Be Your Own Pet | “Big Trouble”
Mitski | “Bug Like an Angel”
Irreversible Entanglements | “Free Love”
Shamir | “The Beginning”
Jungle | “Back on 74”
Lol Tolhurst / Budgie / Jacknife Lee | “Los Angeles” (ft James Murphy)
Woods | “Weep” / “Another Side”
Buck Meek | “Cyclades”
Locations | “Good Ole Same Ole”
Jessie Ware | “Freak Me Now” (ft Róisín Murphy)
Soccer Mommy | “Soak Up the Sun” [Sheryl Crow cover]
If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2023) here!