Beatopia by Beabadoobee
Critically acclaimed, an award-winning icon for her generation, Beabadoobee returns with second studio album Beatopia. Beatopia is a fantastical yet deeply personal world formed in the imagination of a 7-year-old beabadoobee and has been carried with her ever since. Housing Bea's most impressive work to date, Beatopia marks a huge progression, in 14 songs, she traverses fuzzy rock, classic singer-songwriter, psychedelia, midwest emo, and outright pop while remaining undeniably herself throughout. To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, or purchase on Bandcamp.
Source: Dirty Hit
New Pleasures by ARP
Composer/producer Alexis Georgopoulos’ (Arp) new album New Pleasures sculpts angularities into fresh, alluring shapes, expanding and contracting song form into brain-teasing sound design. The music's sensation is almost rubbery; it makes you feel like you could flex, bend and squeeze your body inside out – a vivid, deconstructed take on high-definition pop, avant-garde, and dance music forms. Drawing on the promise of futurism, New Pleasures reflects the slipperiness of time, the multidirectional, non-linearity of memory; how our minds shift millisecond to millisecond from past to present to future and back again. To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, or purchase on Bandcamp.
Source: Mexican Summer
MEMO by Kota The Friend
Since the bursting onto the rap scene in the 2010s, Kota The Friend has amassed a die-hard fanbase because of his unique rap flow, signature lofi production, and vulnerable lyrics. His third studio album, MEMO continues down this path. Rather than a casual listening experience, MEMO plays like a intimate reflection of the Brooklyn native’s tumultuous past few years in the public eye.To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, or Apple Music.
Source: FLTBYS LLC
Hellfire by black midi
black midi present their third album and second in two years, Hellfire. Hellfire sees the London three piece at their most direct. Written in isolation in London in 2021 almost immediately after it’s predecessor Cavalcade - no band can quite build their own universe like black midi. Hellfire picks up right where Cavalcade left off. Where Schlagenheim was much more based on ‘jams’ and collaboration, Cavalcade a mixture of isolation and collaboration, Hellfire falls on the other side of the spectrum of working in isolation. Musically, Hellfire builds on the brutality and intensity of Schlagenheim while also drawing on the more melodic elements that weave through Cavalcade. Lead-singer Geordie says “If Cavalcade was a drama, Hellfire is like an epic action film,” that delves into overlapping themes of pain, loss and anguish. To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, or purchase on Bandcamp.
Source: Rough Trade Records
Before I Let Her Go by Phabo
With one of top ranked R&B releases of 2021, singer and songwriter Phabo proves yet again why he’s be dubbed the hardest working independent artist based in Los Angeles with new EP Before I Let Her Go. Although the theme of heartbreak and his buttery smooth vocals mirror that heard on Soulquarius, the gritty songwriting makes for a pleasant surprise. Phabo blends together the boldness of Hip-Hop and the suave of traditional R&B music. To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music.
Source: Phabo
WASTELAND by Brent Faiyaz
Beloved for his shamelessness, Brent Faiyaz on his second album, WASTELAND he leans all the way into that. Opening with a collage of clips that address his reputation, he sets out on a quest in search of honesty—an answer to the question, “what purpose do your vices serve in your life?” But the cost can't be known until it's known, and so Faiyaz barrels towards romantic oblivion. All of his sweet talk comes affixed with disclaimers. But to only appreciate the persona of the music is to miss the atmospheric details that give it shape and helps to keep listeners off balance and cultivate an air of mystery that furthers the impact of his lyrics and brings the lothario to life. To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music.
Source: Lost Kidz
This Must Be the Place by Apollo Brown
This Must Be the Place is Apollo Brown’s first instrumental project since 2014’s grimy Thirty Eight. This Must Be the Place finds the prolific Michigan producer deftly flipping, chopping, and looping samples from a group of elite sound designers. Earlier this week, Brown released the first single, “It Just Is.” Brown pairs cavernous drums and shimmering keys to create a beat that could soundtrack midnight in a neon-lit metropolis. Like the rest of the album, “It Just Is” knocks harder than everything on your lo-fi playlist. To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, or purchase on Bandcamp.
Source: Mello Music Group
Slingshot by Jay Wood
Feeling disconnected from his past and ancestry after the death of a parent, JayWood made a conscious effort to better understand his identity and unique Black experience living in the predominantly white province of Manitoba. Through a year of self-reflection and reconnection with his roots, JayWood has made the biggest leap forward by simply looking back. Slingshot is a self-portrait of JayWood at his surface and his depths, merging fantasy scenarios, personal anecdotes, and infectious pop and dance instrumentals. To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, or purchase on Bandcamp.
Source: Captured Tracks/Royal Mountain Records
The Curse of the Inevitable 2 by Lloyd Banks
New York rap legend Lloyd Banks returns with his gritty second album installment, The Course of the Inevitable 2. The 14-track project which features guest appearances by Conway the Machine, Benny the Butcher, Jadakiss, Vado, Dave East, and former G-Unit affiliate Tony Yayo is a robust showcase of the wide range of the New York music scene. To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music.
Source: Money By Any Means/EMPIRE
