This week's album and EP releases
...Sunday isn't that far from Thursday...
...I'm sorry!
Here's a list of a lot of things that came out in this past week, mostly up through Friday. Of course, there's no way to be completely comprehensive with this and I avoided including things where information was too lacking, so feel free to mention anything that isn't on here that you think is worth mentioning. Beyond that, if you have any thoughts of any of these albums, it would be great to hear them :)
AJR - Neotheater (Electropop, Trap [EDM]) || Song.link - Spotify
Alan Parsons - The Secret (AOR) || Song.link - Spotify
Aldous Harding - Designer (Singer/Songwriter, Contemporary Folk) || Song.link - Spotify
Amon Tobin - Fear in a Handful of Dust (Electroacoustic, Progressive Electronic) || Song.link - Spotify
Aries - Juramento Mantarraya (Art Pop, Indie Pop, Psychedelic Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Awaken I Am - The Beauty In Tragedy (Post-Hardcore) || Song.link - Spotify
Bailen - Thrilled To Be Here (Indie Rock, Americana) || Song.link - Spotify
Bear's Den - So That You Might Hear Me (Indie Folk, Indie Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Billie Marten - Feeding Seahorses by Hand (Singer/Songwriter) || Song.link - Spotify
blackbear - ANONYMOUS (Alternative R&B) || Song.link - Spotify
Black Zone Magick Chant - Voyage Sacrifice (Ambient, Drone) || Song.link - Spotify
Catfish and the Bottlemen - The Balance (Indie Rock, Post-Punk Revival) || Song.link - Spotify
Chelou - Out Of Sight (Indie Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Claude Fontaine - Claude Fontaine (Psychedelic Pop, Bossa nova, Pop Reggae) || Song.link - Spotify
Co Cash - F.A.C.T.S. (Trap Rap) || Song.link - Spotify
Craig Finn (of the Holy Steady) - I Need A New War (Singer/Songwriter) || Song.link - Spotify
The Cranberries - In the End (Pop Rock, Alternative Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
The Damned Things - High Crimes (Hard Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Danko Jones - A Rock Supreme (Hard Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Delsbo Beach Club - A burger in Åkersberga (Indie Pop, Indie Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
DJ Nate - Take Off Mode (Footwork) || Song.link - Spotify
Dub Trio - The Shape of Dub to Come (Math Rock, Dub) || Song.link - Spotify
Dylan Scott - Nothing to Do Town (Dylan Scott) || Song.link - Spotify
El Momo a.k.a Mario Maher - Sueños reales (Hip Hop) || Song.link - Spotify
Ezra Collective - You Can't Steal My Joy (Jazz Fusion) || Song.link - Spotify
Farruko - Gangalee (Reggaeton) || Song.link - Spotify
Foxygen - Seeing Other People (Glam Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
George Benson - Walking to New Orleans (Rock & Roll, Rhythm & Blues) || Song.link - Spotify
The Get Ahead - Deepest Light (Americana) || Song.link - Spotify
Guided by Voices - Warp and Woof (Indie Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Hannah Cohen - Welcome Home (Art Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Hardline - Life (Hard Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Hembree - House On Fire (Alternative Rock, Indie Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Hillsong United - People (CCM) || Song.link for "LIVE/VISUAL" - for "LIVE" - Spotify
IamSu! - Its Always Pure Love (West Coast Hip Hop) || Song.link - Spotify
In the Valley Below - The Pink Chateau (Indie Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Jackie Mendoza - LuvHz (Indie Pop, Psychedelic Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Jacob Latimore - Connection2 (Pop Rap) || Song.link - Spotify
James TW - Chapters (Singer/Songwriter) || Song.link - Spotify
JJ Cale - Stay Around (Blues Rock, Country Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation - Sacred Dreams (Art Pop, Psychedelic Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Josh Ritter - Fever Breaks (Indie Folk, Folk Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Justin Garner - Imprint (Contemporary R&B) || Song.link - Spotify
Justin Moore - Late Nights and Longnecks (Contemporary Country) || Song.link - Spotify
Kelly Finnigan - The Tales People Tell (Soul) || Song.link - Spotify
Kevin Abstract - ARIZONA BABY (Alternative R&B, Pop Rap) || Song.link - Spotify
Kevin Morby - Oh My God (Singer/Songwriter, Folk Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Kiefer Sutherland - Reckless & Me (Country Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Fishing For Fishies (Boogie Rock, Psychedelic Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Lamb - The Secret Of Letting Go (Art Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Local Natives - Violet Street (Indie Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Lord Dying - Mysterium Tremendum (Sludge Metal) || Song.link - Spotify
Maddie & Tae - One Heart To Another EP (Contemporary Country) || Song.link - Spotify
Marina - LOVE+FEAR (Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Marissa Nadler And Stephen Brodsky - Droneflower (Singer/Songwriter, Ethereal Wave) || Song.link - Spotify
Matt Martians - The Last Party (Alternative R&B) || Song.link - Spotify
The Mountain Goats - In League With Dragons (Indie Folk, Singer/Songwriter) || Song.link - Spotify
NBA Big B - 5th God (Trap Rap) || Song.link - Spotify
New Years Day - Unbreakable (Alternative Metal, Alternative Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Nick Murphy (AKA Chet Faker) - Run Fast Sleep Naked (Indietronica) || Song.link - Spotify
Nils Lofgren - Blue With Lou (Heartland Rock, Singer/Songwriter) || Song.link - Spotify
Olivia O'Brien - Was It Even Real? (Contemporary R&B) || Song.link - Spotify
OLSSON - Tropical Cologne (Indie Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
OMB Peezy - Preacher To the Streets (West Coast Hip Hop) || Song.link - Spotify
Otoboke Beaver - Itekoma Hits! (Hardcore Punk) || Song.link - Spotify
P!nk - Hurts 2B Human (Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Party Favor - Layers (Trap [EDM]) || Song.link - Spotify
Peakes - Absent In Person EP (Indie Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Peter Doherty & The Puta Madres (Indie Pop, Folk Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
The Pilgrim - Walking Into The Forest (Psychedelic Rock, Folk Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Pure Bathing Culture - Night Pass (Dream Pop, Chillwave) || Song.link - Spotify
Radical Face - Therapy EP (Indie Pop, Folk Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Rob Thomas - Chip Tooth Smile (Pop Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Rodrigo y Gabriela - Mettavolution (Acoustic Rock, Flamenco nuevo) || Song.link - Spotify
ScHoolboy Q - CrasH Talk (Pop Rap) || Song.link - Spotify
Sid Le Rock - Scenic Route (Electronic, House) || Song.link - Spotify
Sneakk - SAY LESS (Contemporary R&B) || Song.link - Spotify
SOAK - Grim Town (Singer/Songwriter) || Song.link - Spotify
Spotlights - Love & Decay (Post-Metal, Atmospheric Sludge Metal) || Song.link - Spotify
The Story Changes - To Hell With This Delicate Equation (Alternative Rock, Emo-Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Sublime With Rome - Blessings (Ska Punk) || YouTube for "Light On" - for "Wicked Heart" - Spotify
SUNN O))) - Life Metal (Drone Metal) || Song.link - Spotify
Teen Daze - Bioluminescence (Chillwave) || Song.link - Spotify
Tesla - Shock (Hard Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Tiny Fighter - Tell Me EP (Indie Rock, Indie Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Trade Wind - Certain Freedoms (Alternative Rock) || Song.link - Spotify
Various Artists - For the Throne (Music Inspired by the HBO Series Game of Thrones) (Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Various Artists - UglyDolls (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Walker Lukens - Adult (Pop Rock, Indie Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
The Well - Death And Consolation (Stoner Rock, Doom Metal) || Song.link - Spotify
Winnetka Bowling League - Cloudy With A Chance Of Sun EP (Indie Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
YFL Kelvin - Neva Lookin Back (Trap Rap) || Song.link - Spotify
Your Heart Breaks - Drone Butch Blues (Indie Folk, Indie Pop) || Song.link - Spotify
Spotify Master playlist, all albums (minus the two 'various artist' sets above)
Notes:
If you spot any mistakes please let us know.
Thank you to @Cleb, @cfabbro, and @Amarok for the help!
Hillsong United - People || has two versions? live and live/visual. linked both since they have different results.
Sublime With Rome - Blessings || album not due til May 31. linked 2 youtube singles, and spotify has 4 tracks.
I predict King Gizzard will continue increasing their album release speed until they finally put out one new album a week for an entire year. This one's pretty lively, so much boogie.
Walker Lukens was a bit of a step down from his previous one. It's not bad, he's just gone more into danceable pop than I generally care for with this one.
Never listened to King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard before, just scratching the surface as we speak and i like what i hear so far. I will probably spend most of my free time today making some personal picks.
Thank you guys, you will always have my gratitude for the work you put into this weekly release list.
What exactly are the sources you use for putting these lists together @Whom? I assume you follow blogs and other news sites to add to this list every week?
I found a guide a week ago with a lot of blogs and so forth to help keep up, but i lost it. Typical me to have 100 tabs open doing 10 things at the same time.
Been waiting for Amon Tobin´s new album, after his AMA on reddit i had an idea of what it would be like, i was pretty close in my assumptions. Listening to it now i kind of expected something like this. I still had hopes in my heart that he would go back to his roots a bit :(. I love his old jazzy stuff.
progressing edits:
It´s rare i find pop/popish music that i like, this album is great!
Primarily the uproxx list (that gets most releases that get traditional media attention) and the Genius list (which has some interesting obscure picks, usually how we get a lot of hip hop and k pop on here), but we also throw in things that have been being mentioned in the music communities we hang out in. When we get into the groove with this we might try to find more sources to throw into the mix, but right now it's still kinda slow work.
Never heard of those two lists, who/whom or what organizations manage them?
Is the best way for me to contribute by comment on this thread? Like this tasty new single by Four Tet called Teenage Birdsong i just found this morning.
I listened to the King Gizzard album and I really liked it.
I also highly recommend Kevin Abstract's new album if you're into Hip-Hop at all. He has this song call Peach that features a future international superstar name Dominic Fike. Seriously, if you haven't heard of fike yet you should go listen to his EP. That kid is going to take over the pop/hip-hop/R&B blend that is currently all over the radio.
I also listened to the new Schoolboy Q album, it was ok. Not nearly as good as his previous work.
Yeah I listened to the Schoolboy Q album, and there aren't many standout tracks to me. It's an album I'd put on when I want to listen to a rap album, but probably doesn't have much place otherwise. That said, I've always liked him (despite me not being one to listen to the genre too much) so I'll probably listen several more times to fully digest.
Since you're the second top comment to mention King Gizzard, I felt obligated to have a listen. I like it, I'll definitely have to start digging into their discography!
While I was working on song.linkifying this weeks albums, I listened to The Cranberries - In the End. All Over Now had me tearing up. RIP Delores, your hauntingly beautiful music and lyrics got me through a very tough time in my youth... and your courage in openly discussing your addiction and mental illnesses helped me further still. You will be missed. :(
And [have also now] listened to Rodrigo y Gabriela - Mettavolution. It's fantastic, as expected. If two incredibly talented guitarists shredding it up together flamenco style sounds good to you, be sure to check them out. Their NPR Tiny Desk concert and KEXP session are both amazing and worth watching too IMO:
Rodrigo y Gabriela: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
Rodrigo y Gabriela - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)
Some other albums that caught my eye:
Hah... that can't be good, can it? edit: Nope, it's every bit as God awful as I thought it would be. :P
Definitely going to have to listen to that. <3 Chet Faker. Gold is one of my favs.
p.s. Rather sad note about the video for Gold; The roller skater with the green top was seriously wounded a few years ago when she was vacationing in Egypt and the bus she was traveling on got strafed by an Egyptian Military Apache helicopter. Her mother used to have a gofundme page up for her medical expenses, but for some reason I can't find it anymore... they must have shut it down recently.
Pink has always been an incredibly guilty pleasure of mine, and I love her... same with Christina Aguilera and most 90s era boy bands. ;)
p.s. Pink did a really cool video of her watching people perform covers of her songs, which is what turned me on to Davina Michelle... whose cover of "What about us" is insanely good.
I haven't listened to Sublime since Bradley Nowell died, so haven't heard anything with Rome Ramirez singing for them... and I have to say, after listening to those two singles I am not inclined to, either. Talk about bland. :/
p.s. Thanks again for continuing to do this, @Whom... these have been the highlight of my week and I have discovered so much awesome music I wouldn't have without them. :)
Kiefer's album is exactly what I expected. Milquetoast Garth-brooks era country pop/rock. It'll probably sell a shitload of copies with his name recognition. :/
IKR? It's so bad... and yet, like you said, it will probably still sell a crazy amount of copies on name recognition alone and the fact that it's country. Pop country is just the absolute worst and yet insanely popular, and I really, really don't understand the appeal of it at all. Bo Burnham nailed it, IMO.
I don't give a shit about pop country but I've always found it weird that some people need to bash other genres just because you don't like it.
Really... You have never expressed a negative opinion about something you really dislike, and/or bewilderment that it's so popular? I find that incredibly hard to believe.
Of course I have but there's a difference between saying you just don't like it and saying it's the absolute worst. I would much rather listen to someone who's exited about Kiefers new album and why than read some unoriginal comment about boohoo country is so bad nowadays but I secretly love Pink and 90s boybands because that's still cool if you keep an ironic distance to it all.
Saying it's the absolute worst is a hyperbolic figure of speech, and very clearly everything I have expressed is an opinion. Have you seriously never called something "the absolute worst" before when you merely disliked it? Again I find that incredibly hard to believe and I really don't understand where this is coming from.
And you don't have to read anything I write or take it as gospel.
Again of course I have but I try not to. No hard feelings I'm not trying to attack you. Who benefits that opinion other than you perpetuating a beating of an old horse? The more we hivemind this place from the beginning the more it becomes just another reddit and I would love to be challenged a bit more on things I might have thought I didn't like instead of tired old opinions I've heard a million times.
Amarok, the person I was talking to about this... since they share a similar opinion and we were commiserating about a state of affairs we see as sad.
And "hivemind" is just another word for "people agreeing about something", which there is nothing inherently wrong with so long as dissenting opinions are not suppressed or unduly attacked, especially if said opinion hurts no one... which hating pop country does not. Not everything expressed here needs to be a debate, challenged, unique or contrarian, people are allowed to agree on things here even if it's a popular opinion.
Well it certainly came across as if you were attempting to.... but fine, I will take you at your word.
Well your probably right so I'll shut up for now.
You don't have to shut up on my account, and believe it or not, I do understand your frustration at seeing someone flogging a dead horse... even when that person doing the flogging is me. And make no mistake, I do definitely recognize that I was flogging a dead horse. ;) But I just think your reaction was a bit over the top, is all.
Yo cfabro you ever listen to Hank William's III? Couldn't help think of Dick In Dixie while reading this conversation lol. Also, been digging the new Rodrigo y Gabriela stuff. Still haven't seen them live; I'm hoping to make that happen soon I could see that being really fun.
Nope, never heard that before... although I do know who Hank Williams I was. I like it a lot! It reminds me greatly of Bluegrass (which I listen to a ton of), even though it's apparently Outlaw Country/Cowpunk.
And yeah Rodrigo y Gabriela are fantastic. I would kill to see them live too, but unfortunately they don't come to Canada very often, from what I can tell. :(
p.s. For the record I love a lot of country music, just not modern top-40 pop country. ;)
And let's be clear here - it's the mass market commercialized trash that deserves the hate, not genres of music. Doesn't matter what genre, a mass market trend will bring out the absolute worst of it. Kiefer's album reeks of that to me - cashing in on a trend. I don't begrudge him making the money, but I'm going to be listening to Izaak Opatz rather than him.
Damn not to rub it in but I just realized they'll be in Boston in a few weeks lol. Hope I can go.
Hank 3 has a lot of good stuff. He seems to focus on the musicality of the genre rather than just creating white people soft rap which I feel like a lot of radio country is trying to be. He embraces a lot of different aspects of country, if you listen to Mississippi Mud it has a very different feel that Dick in Dixie. Most of the lyrics have that outlaw vibe.
I've always thought there's good music in (almost) every genre, you just need to be willing to look past the surface and find the quality stuff. I don't know much country so if you care to recommend some of the better stuff I'd like to check it out.
Oooh, from Boston, eh? I lived in Quincy for about 4 years. It's why I named my dog that too. :)
I generally do too... mainstream top 40 pop country is the exception though, IMO. ;)
Sure can, although I mostly listen to Indie/Singer-Songwriter/Contemporary Folk, Bluegrass/Newgrass, Southern Rock and Alt/Progressive Country so my recommendations would mostly be limited to those genres... and I mostly listen to Live music too. But with that said, here are some of my favorites, off the top of my head and quickly copied from various playlists:
William Elliott Whitmore - Hell Or High Water (Live on KEXP)
Nickel Creek: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
The Civil Wars - You Are My Sunshine (Live) (that whole concert is amazing!)
Watkins Family Hour: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert (ft. Fiona Apple)
Shawn James // American Hearts (A. A. Bondy) | Wolf Sanctuary
Joseph: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
The Marcus King Band - "Where I'm Headed" (Live at JITVHQ in Los Angeles, CA 2018
Miley Cyrus - The Backyard Sessions - "Jolene"
The Oh Hellos: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
Kaia Kater: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
Ed Sheeran - Masters of War (Bob Dylan Acoustic Cover)
Joan Shelley: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
Sufjan Stevens - For The Widows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti
Punch Brothers: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
Brother Bird - Landslide | OurVinyl Sessions
First Aid Kit - Tiger Mountain Peasant Song (Fleet Foxes Cover)
And speaking of Fleet Foxes, their self-titled Album is absolutely fantastic, I highly recommend it!
Johnny Cash - Hurt (Good Audio - HQ- High Quality)
You can't go wrong with Johnny Cash either.
Toledo - Knot | Sofar Boston
Listener - Wooden Heart
Jade Bird - "Uh Huh" | Black Box Sessions
Ray Lamontagne - Crazy (Gnarls Barkley Cover)
Haley Bonar: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
Andy McKee - Guitar - Drifting - www.candyrat.com
Shakey Graves - "Climb on the Cross" | Black Box Sessions
The Secret Sisters: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
And a few ones that I have submitted to Tildes too:
Old Salt Union - Here & Off My Mind (Jam In The Van - Live at Huck Finn Jubilee)
The Cleverly's cover Red Hot Chili Peppers "By the Way" (Jam In The Van - Live at Huck Finn Jubilee 2018)
Basia Bulat - Heart of My Own (album)<-- Canadian Folk <3 Basia
That should be enough to get you started hopefully. ;)
p.s. There was another recent topic with a lot of good recommendations for gothic country too.
Above and beyond thanks! Glad you threw in some Andy Mckee for good measure. Quick side note have you seen this video? Maybe you have since you're a candyrat dude, but that has been blowing my damn mind! How can he do this?
Cool to hear you were in Mass for a bit, and I just saw in the epic/pysonix thread that you're big into rocket league. My favorite game!
Thanks again for the links, good to have a bunch of stuff to go through at work tomorrow 👍
No prob... And yeah, Andy McKee is more contemporary folk than country but it still has a bit of that twang so I thought I would throw it in there for anyone else who checks out the list. I know you and I have talked about Candyrat and McKee a bunch before so it's not new to you. ;) And yeah, I saw that new vid from them. Their YouTube is a permanent "show all notifications" in the Bell for me. :P It was cool, but truth be told, the song wasn't really to my taste.
p.s. What rank are ya in RL? I bounce back and forth between Champ I and II these days. Still can't quite make it to Champ III or Grand Champ yet. :(
I'm a lowly platinum I. I've been playing for years but still more or less suck at the game lol. Still fun though!
Shocked to see Bailen on this list!
I've seen them a few times now. They have a really cool sound, that sort of reminds me of Simon and Garfunkel, America, and Fleet Foxes. Personally, I'll take their live performances on youtube over their album version, but I recommend to everyone to give them a listen!