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
BEYONCE – “Cowboy Carter”
[Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia]
pop, rnb
Second chapter of the trilogy that began in 2022 with “Renaissance”. It’s not a country record, it’s a record of Beyonce The author is keen to point out… we have the elements in hand, title, cover, the presence of Willie Nelsona cover of Dolly Partonthe single “Texas Hold ‘Em” which dominates the Billboard Hot Country chart, we believe little in it and rather think of an attempt at a Lana Del Rey: musically you conquer the States with country music.
RIDE – “Interplay”
[Wichita/PIAS]
shoegaze, alternatives
Produced by the band together with Richie Kennedy and mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer“Interplay” arrives almost five years after its predecessor “This Is Not A Safe Place“ and connects all the dots of Ride’s career, taking the frenetic guitar attacks, hypnotic grooves and dreamy melodic hooks of their early works and placing them in a more expansive sound model, inspired by 80s pop gems like Tears For Fears, Talk Talk and first U2. Thematically, the album combines Ride’s classic lyrical traits, such as escape, dreams and the dissatisfaction of modern life, with a sense of resilience and perseverance that comes from the implosion, then reforming and finding a way out to the second peak.
ED HARCOURT – “El Magnifico”
[Deathless ]
songwriter
12 unreleased songs, including the magnificent first single “Strange Beauty”, entirely recorded and produced by himself Ed Harcourt at Wolf Cabin Studios.
HIGH LLAMAS – “Hey Panda”
[Drag City]
alternative, indie, pop
Sean O’Hagan brings his team back on track High Llamas announcing the project’s eleventh studio album, the first since “Here Come the Rattling Trees” was released in 2016. In “Hey Panda” O’Hagan collaborate with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billywith whom he had attempted a cover with a few years ago Billie Eilish, Rae Morris and daughter Livvy.
CHASTITY BELT – “Live Laugh Love”
[Suicide Squeeze]
indie-rock, alternative
Four and a half years after their self-titled fourth LP, le Chastity Belt they return with a record recorded in Los Angeles together with Samur Khoujawho had already worked with them for the previous album, and mastered by the expert hands of Heba Kadry (Bjork, Slowdive).
THE TROISI PAINTING – “The comedy“
[42records]
electronics
“The comedy“, new project work by Eva Geist (Andrea Noce) And Donato Dozzy (Donato Scaramuzzi), to which it is now added on a permanent basis Pietro Micioni, it also marks a decisive step forward towards the song form and an even more authorial and personal musical language. A unique, seductive and elegant music, which escapes definitions and, at the same time, embraces them all. An album that is a real gem and reiterates the relevance of The Troisi Painting in the international music scene. This is also demonstrated by the extremely important collaborations with which the album is populated: Suzanne Ciani, Aimée Portioli, Fiona Brice, Francesca Colombo, Stefano Di Trapani, Daniele Di Gregorio And Tommaso Cappellato.
THE CHURCH – “Eros Zeta and the Perfumed Guitars”
[Communicating Vessels]
rock
A few months after their 26th studio album, “The Hypnogogue”, the historic Australian psych rock band today releases the new “Eros Zeta and the Perfumed Guitars”, a work largely born during the sessions of its predecessor.
SHERYL CROW – “Evolution”
[The Valory Music Group]
pop rock
“Evolution” is the eleventh studio album of the singer-songwriter who declares in this regard:
This music and lyrics were born by sitting in silence and writing from a deep place of the soul. I said I would never make another record, I thought it didn’t make sense. But this music comes from my soul. And I hope that anyone who listens to this record can feel it. With streaming everything is more song oriented and making an album is a huge undertaking. I started by just sending a couple of demos to Mike, but the songs kept coming and it was pretty obvious that this was going to be an album.
SHABAZZ PALACE – “Exotic Birds of Prey”
[Sub Pop]
alternative hip-hop
Mini album of seven pieces for the creature of Ishmael Butler. In “Exotic Birds of Prey”, which we welcome a few months after the latest studio work “Robed in Rareness” we find contributions from Stas Thee Boss, Irene Barber, Japreme Magnetic, OCNotes, Cobra Coil, Purple Tape Nate And Wash the Starr.
KELLY MORAN – “Moves in the Field”
[Warp]
electronics
After a six-year absence, the pianist, producer and composer from New York returns with a new work Kelly Moran.
GESAFFELSTEIN – “Gamma”
[Columbia]
electronics
The last studio album, “Hyperion”, was dated 2019, today “Gamma” marks the return of the iconic French producer.
GGLUM – “The Garden Dream”
[Secretly Canadian]
bedroom pop
Ella SmokerLondon singer-songwriter, signs for the excellent Secretly Canadian and debuts today with this “The Garden Dream”:
At the time I was writing this record I had so many nightmares… I think it was my subconscious telling me I had things to deal with, a lot of the mistrust I’ve had since I was a teenager. It was strangely good timing, because I’m now at a point in my life where I’m actually quite happy and I’m in a good position to look back.
AA.VV. – “Funk.BR – São Paulo (NTS)”
[NTS]
funk
The funk scene of Sao Paulo, Brazil, documented in a new compilation curated and created by NTS the legendary radio station and media platform based in Hackney, East London.
VIAL – “Burnout”
[Get Better]
indie, punk rock
Indie-punk from Minneapolis.
REYNA TROPICAL – “Malegría”
[Psychic Hotline]
songwriting, world, tropical
The debut album of Reyna Tropical is a contemporary celebration of various cultural traditions – from Congolese, Peruvian and Colombian rhythms to groundbreaking artists like the lesbian guitarist-singer Chavela Vargas – these influences come together through the distinctive lens of the Texan guitarist, singer-songwriter and activist Fabi Reyna.
ARUSHI JAIN – “Delight”
[Leaving]
electronics
New work for the Indian artist and composer Arush Jain. “Delight” is inspired by Raga Bageshri, particular rhythmic structures typical of Indian musical culture usually used to express the desire to reunite with the loved one.
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