The Weekender: listen to albums by Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Cloud Nothings (and many more…) released today

For some years now, Friday has been the day of the week dedicated to record releases. What better way then to mentally prepare for the upcoming long-awaited weekend than to review the best albums released in the last few hours?
The records awaited for months are finally among us… enjoy listening

PEARL JAM – “Dark Matter”
[Monkeywrench/Republic]
rock

The successor to “Gigaton”, released in 2020, described a few months ago by the guitarist Mike McCready heavier than expected is finally among us. Always McCready on the production entrusted to Andrew Watts (The Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osbourne, Post Malone, Miley Cyrus) he has declared:

When we were in the studio with him last year, he really kicked our ass, made us focus and made us play, song after song. It took a long time to make “Gigaton,” but this new one didn’t take that long. Andrew he told us, “You guys take forever to make records.” Let’s do it now.

it’s still:

Andrew pushed us to play as hard, melodic and thoughtful as we had been doing for a long time… I feel that the drums of Matt Cameron contains elements of what he did in the Soundgarden.

BRUCE SPINGSTEEN – “Best of Bruce Springsteen”
[Columbia]
rock

“Best Of Bruce Springsteen”, with a cover shot by Eric Meola during the “Born to Run” sessions, he brings together for the first time his favorite songs from his early days (“Growin’ Up”, “Rosalita [Come Out Tonight]”), the live workhorses (“Dancing in the Dark”, “The Rising”), the best sellers (“Hungry Heart”, “Born to Run”) and the recent releases (“Letter to You”, “ Hello Sunshine”).

CLOUD NOTHINGS – “Final Summer”
[Pure Noise]
alternative rock, noise rock

THE Cloud Nothingsfresh from signing for the Pure Noise label, today reveal the details of the new album “Final Summer” recorded together with Jeff Zeigler (Kurt Vile, Nothingetc), mixed by Sarah Tudzin of the Illuminati Hotties and mastered by Jack Callahan.

LUCY ROSE – “This Ain’t the Way You Go Out”
[Communion]
folk, songwriting

On her fifth work the British singer-songwriter declared:

I booked some time at Paul Weller’s studio which he had kindly offered me, but shortly before this happened, I was offered a last minute trip to New York to work with US rapper and producer Logic. The week I spent with Logic became completely integral to the spirit with which I approached this record. He impressed upon me the concept of ‘closed creativity’ in writing a song, and then also ‘open creativity’, where the studio experience becomes a much more open experience, with trust in the people around you.

it’s still:

When I returned to England, I wanted to get into that open creativity mode and play my music with musicians I trusted around me. We played and played until the songs sounded amazing. There was no rush, but she arrived early.

A CERTAIN RATIO – “It All Comes Down to This”
[Mute]
alternative rock, dub, post-punk

Less than a year after their last “1982”, A Certain Ratio return today with their thirteenth studio album produced by Dan Careyboss of the Speedy Wunderground label

TAYLOR SWIFT – “The Tortured Poets Department”
[Republic]
pop

New album for the undisputed queen of pop: 16 songs and a bonus track, enriched by only two guests: Post Malone And Florence and the Machine.

MELVINS – “Tarantula Heart”
[Ipepac]
alternative rock

The album, which comes out two years after the previous “Bad Moon Rising” (2022) and one after the double acoustic “Five Legged Dog”, is composed of 5 tracks for a total of 39 minutes and is presented as follows by the leader of the American trio Buzz Osborne:

The way we approached “Tarantula Heart” was different from any other album by Melvins. I asked to Dale And Roy Mayorga to play with me and Steven on some riffs, then I took those sessions and figured out which parts would work and wrote new music to fit them. This is a studio approach that we have never taken. We usually have the songs written BEFORE we start recording!

LOCAL NATIVES – “But I’ll Wait For You”
[Loma Vista]
indie rock

Less than a year after the release of their fifth LP, “Time Will Wait For No One“, i Local Natives they release a record recorded together with the producers John Congleton, Michael Harris And Danny Reisch.

PILLOW QUEENS – “Name Your Sorrow”
[Royal Mountain Records]
alternative-rock

Exactly two years after the release of their excellent sophomore album, “Leave The Light On”, Pillow Queens return with a triumphant third album which sees the Irish band at their most vulnerable and confident, while exploring the themes of queerness , of insecurity, of desire and heartbreak, as well as of the positivity and strength that can arise from pain. Produced by Collin Pastore (Lucy Dacus, boygenius) at the Analogue Catalog in Northern Ireland, the collection sees the group chart new territory and offer fans a fresh, uninhibited look at both their art and their humanity. With masterful instrumentation and raw lyricism, the quartet immerses listeners in a robust and emotionally charged sound world like never before.

BIG|BRAVE – “A Chaos of Flowers”
[Thrill Jockey]
drone metal, drone folk, massive minimalism

Just a year after the violent and noisy “nature morta”, the thunderous return of BIG | BRAVE.

BBYMUTHA – “Sleep Paralysis”
[True Panther]
hip hop

“Sleep Paralysis”, the long-awaited second album by the Atlanta rapper bbymuthamixes steady Southern beats with the UK dance/garage beats she fell in love with during a revelatory tour overseas.

BLUNT CHUNKS – “The Butterfly Myth”
[Telephone Explosion]
alternative country, folk, indie-rock

There is a deep tenderness that permeates “The Butterfly Myth”, the Canadian artist’s debut album Caitlin Woelfle-O’Brien. Each of the nine songs, unreserved in their beauty, contains strength and softness in equal measure; a delicate balance that invites the listener to feel supported and reflected. Steeped in the lowkey ballads of ’90s soul-searching alt-rock, driven by timeless r&b undercurrents and tinged with a few country touches, “The Butterfly Myth” manages to talk about pain in a way that feels warm and nurturing.

ADDICT AMEBA – “Chaosmosis”
[La Tempesta]
jazz, ethio jazz, blues, afrobeat

“Caosmosi”, album by the Milanese collective Addict Amoebawe move between desert-blues and afrobeat landscapes, with latin rock rides and ethio-jazz parentheses, involving prominent guests in the album, such as the Anglo-Nigerian poet/artist Joshua Idehen (Sons Of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming).

BLACK DRUMS – “The Night”
[42Records]
cinematic, psychedelia

Psychedelia, vocal samples, tribal dances, silences and noises, ten tracks that are a journey within a journey, made of absolute quality electronics on which very powerful images are set, ten stories that cannot leave you indifferent, like a nebula of poetry and groove. THE Black Drumsamong the most interesting projects of the Italian and international electronic underground, on its second album on 42Records.

COCA PUMA – “Panorama Olivia”
[Dischi Sotterranei/ODD Clique]
dreampop, electronics

Between electronic, dream pop, ambient and post-rock “Panorama Olivia”, debut album by Coca Pumais a record that alternates elegant productions with dreamlike and rarefied atmospheres with darker and more melancholic tracks.

CLAIRE ROUSAY – “Sentiment”
[Thrill Jockey]
folk, songwriting

The narrative arc of this debut album is guided by delicate musical gestures and artistic vulnerability, boldly synthesizing disparate and unexpected influences. Claire Rousay crafted the songs on “Sentiment” in various homes, bedrooms, hotels and other private places, the feeling of time and energy spent alone radiates from every step. The album is a collection of punchy, heartbreaking pop songs that explore universal feelings with subtlety and extraordinary vision.

CHANEL BEADS – “Your Day Will Come”
[Jagjaguwar]
indie, lo-fi

Chanel Beads is the solo project of the young New York musician Shane Lavers, with a debut born in the ashes of the pandemic during the quarantine spent alone in his apartment, surrounded only by his computer, synths and musical instruments. Lover of London club culture and his city, the project Chanel Beads he grew up among electronic influences and lo-fi indie-rock.

CADENCE WEAPON – “Rollercoaster”
[MNRK Music Group]
hip hop

With his sixth studio album Cadence Weapon launches his incisive criticism of the expansion of the Internet, a former utopian playground transformed into a capitalist landfill.

MY DYING BRIDE – “A Mortal Binding”
[Nuclear Blast]
metal

There are fourteen studio albums for the British metal band.

LORD SPIKEHEART – “The Adept”
[Haekalu]
electronic, metal

Building bridges between African heavy music and the international electronic and metal scenes, Lord Spikeheart arrives at his debut album involving various producers and artists from the bass n’ shred universe and new sound experimentation in the project.