Following a killer start to March, this week is a bit more consolidated for new albums, but the ones dropping will surely pack a punch and we still have plenty of new songs from the week to carry into the weekend.
Following her debut solo record from 2020, the excellent No Home Record, Kim Gordon strikes back today with a new, invigorating album that hits with the urgency from earlier in her career with Sonic Youth as she continues to boldly blaze new trails and push the envelope for a true mix of physical art and music like only she knows how.
Following a healthy break from the spotlight of one of pop’s biggest names, the long-awaited return of Ariana Grande is finally here and it’ll be exciting to see if the house influences from the lead single play into the rest of the album.
It sounds obvious, but the way in which esteemed poet Moor Mother brings her spoken word delivery into rap music continues to be astounding. Whether she’s leading Irreversible Entanglements or dropping these gifts on her own, like with today’s new album The Great Bailout, Camae Ayewa cements herself as a radical performer that invokes truth and justice through thought provoking rhymes and abstract beats that puts her on a level all her own.
While his sibling Karin has long been dropping music as Fever Ray, Olof Dreijer, the other half of The Knife hasn’t been as active in sharing new tunes, but today he’s shared the new EP, Coral, another short release that finds him coming back with vibrant jams. Fresh off their strongest release in quite some time, Sleater-Kinney have shared an EP consisting of new takes from this year’s Little Rope.
Wild Pink have signed with Fire Talk Records and shared the gorgeous new tune “Air Drumming Fix You,” a glowing track that expands with pastel hues and dreamy guitar tones. Following the most abstract single “Purple Land,” the new song from Amen Dunes’ upcoming album ventures more into the pop territory and further from the more experimental side that we heard their breakthrough record Freedom.
It’s been seven years since the last solo studio album from Iron & Wine and Sam Beam will end that with a new record this April. At the moment, the highlight is without question the new duet “All in Good Time” which he sings with the one and only Fiona Apple and the two deliver a performance that instantly feels cinematic and timeless.
Astral jazz and scene-leading sensation Kamasi Washington has announced a new record that he says is a dance-inspired album and features appearances from Terrace Martin, George Clinton, and the suddenly most in demand flutist, André 3000. The new single “Prologue” incorporates an opening rhythm that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Tortoise record, once again expanding Washington’s range while still maintaining his own style and composure.
Just as EDM began to take over festivals and dorm rooms across the country, France’s Justice were playing dense dance music that hit with a force and paved the way for massive bass drops that would follow. Their new song “Incognito” harkens back to their original, blaring sound, but with a dose of disco added to the mix, lightening things ever so slightly while still igniting a groove.
The odds are often stacked against The Libertines, but time and time again the band delivers and beats all expectations. Soon, they’ll release their second reunion record and the fourth single, “Oh Shit,” all but confirms that while they may never top their debut, all of their subsequent releases are still full of excellent rock songs that smartly mix britpop and garage rock for something that never seems to get old.
Experimental guitarist Oren Ambarchi announced a follow-up to the album Ghosted he recorded with Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin. It’ll be called Ghosted II and the trio’s new single “Tre” is an extensive, meditative trip that flexes rhythms and grooves with subtle, but sublime intricacies.
Space-funk rapper Ishmael Butterfly shared a new offering from the upcoming Shabazz Palaces project featuring what may be his cosmic alter-ego Lavarr the Starr. It’s another celestial joint that keeps things icy, but with an astro flare.
Albums:
Kim Gordon | The Collective
Ariana Grande | Eternal Sunshine
Bleachers | Bleachers
Moor Mother | The Great Bailout
Dave Harrington / Max Jaffe / Patrick Shiroishi | Speak, Moment
Sleater-Kinney | Frayed Rope Sessions EP
Olof Dreijer | Coral EP
Songs:
Wild Pink | “Air Drumming to Fix You”
Iron & Wine | “All in Good Time” (ft Fiona Apple)
Kamasi Washington | “Prologue”
Amen Dunes | “Boys”
Justice | “Incognito”
The Libertines | “Oh Shit”
Blitzen Trapper | “Hello Hallelujah”
Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werliin | “Tre”
Gísli Gunnarsson | “Wings of Glass” (ft Alcest)
Jlin | “Summon”
Shabazz Palaces | “Take Me to Your Leader”
L’Imperatrice | “Me Da Igual”
Dehd | “Light On”
of Montreal | “Yung Hearts Bleed Free”
If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2024) here!