PRESS PLAY: New Albums out November 17th
Surprising creative twists from beloved artists highlight this week’s new releases
Whatever you had on your 2023 ‘New Music Bingo’ card (New Rolling Stones? New Beatles?!), you might as well tear your expectations to shreds. A year after her well-deserved (though somewhat reluctant) induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, country treasure Dolly Parton embraces a glamorous and playful persona on Rockstar. For New Blue Sun, his official solo debut, OutKast’s André 3000 eschews spitfire bars in favor of exploratory flute-based instrumentals; Philadelphians may recall spotting André improvising around town while filming Dispatches from Elsewhere in 2019. Texas choral rock collective The Polyphonic Spree arrives with Salvage Enterprise, their first collection of new originals in nearly a decade. British ska-pop lifers Madness pair their signature nuttiness with a narration by actor Martin Freeman on their showy 13th album, Theatre of the Absurd Presents C’est La Vie.
Reflecting on the music of his own childhood, Carolina Chocolate Drops member Luther Dickinson offers homespun fun on Magic Music for Family Folk. Indie Rock Hit Parade session veterans (and Low Cut Connie collaborators) SUSU shake the rafters on their long-awaited debut, Call Susie. Following four decades of bouncy hits with Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and Erasure, Vince Clarke makes his stately solo debut with Sound of Silence, a suite of haunting instrumentals. An offshoot of his long-running project, The Music Tapes, Julian Koster’s Orbiting Human Circus packs whimsical charm into adaptations of Berlin and Gershwin on Quartet Plus Two. Continuing her celebration of ‘70s rock and pop icons, Juliana Hatfield follows previous tributes to The Police and Olivia Newton-John with Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO.
PRESS PLAY on these new releases below. Listen for spotlights on new records like these (and more) every Friday on the XPN Morning Show and Indie Rock Hit Parade.
Dolly Parton – Rockstar
CHECK OUT: “Let it Be (feat. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr)” “World on Fire”
André 3000 – New Blue Sun
CHECK OUT: “I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a ‘Rap’ Album But This is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time” “Ants to You, Gods to Who ?”
The Polyphonic Spree – Salvage Enterprise
CHECK OUT: “Section 44 (Galloping Seas)” “Section 48 (Shadows on the Hillside)”
Madness – Theatre of the Absurd Presents C’est La Vie
CHECK OUT: “If I Go Mad” “C’est La Vie”
Luther Dickinson – Magic Music for Family Folk
CHECK OUT: “Are You Sure” “Beulah Land (feat. Allison Russell)”
SUSU – Call Susie
CHECK OUT: “Mine” “Dark Angel”
Vince Clarke – Sound of Silence
CHECK OUT: “White Rabbit” “The Lamentations of Jeremiah”
Orbiting Human Circus – Quartet Plus Two
CHECK OUT: “I Cover the Waterfront” “How Long Has This Been Going On?”
Juliana Hatfield – Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO
CHECK OUT: “Don’t Bring Me Down” “Telephone Line”
FURTHER LISTENING:
Airto Moreira and Flora Purim – A Celebration: 60 Years – Sounds, Dreams & Other Stories, Ali Sethi + Nicholas Jaar – Intiha, Bob Dylan – The Complete Budokan 1978, Bryan Ferry – Mamouna (Reissue), Daft Punk – Random Access Memories (Drumless Edition), Daniel Bachman – When the Roses Come Again, Deafheaven – Sunbather (10th Anniversary Remix/Remaster), Emeli Sandé – How Were We to Know, Fred Schneider – Destination… Christmas! (Reissue), Goo Goo Dools – It’s Christmas All Over (Again) (Deluxe Edition), halfnoise – City Talk, HR – Let Luv Lead (The Way), Iron & Wine – Who Can See Forever, Jewel – Spirit (25th Anniversary Edition), Josh Groban – Closer (20th Anniversary Edition), Julie Byrne – Julie Byrne with Laugh Cry Laugh EP, The Kinks – The Journey – Part 2, Kishi Bashi – Music from the Song Film: Omoiyari, Kurt Vile – Back to Moon Beach EP, MJ Lenderman – And the Wind (Live and Loose!), Mo Troper – Troper Sings Brion, MUSE – Absolution XX, Neil Hamburger – Season Depression Suite, Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday 2, Olivia Newton-John – Totally Hot (Reissue), Pearl Jam – Vs. (30th Anniversary Edition), Rosanne Cash – The Wheel (30th Anniversary Edition), Smoke Fairies – Carried in Sound, Soars – Repeater, Speedy Ortiz – Major Arcana (10th Anniversary Edition), Thin Lizzy – Vagabonds of the Western World (50th Anniversary Edition), TV Erased – if you get, I want, Unknown Mortal Orchestra – II (10th Anniversary Edition), Water from Your Eyes – Crushed by Everyone (Remixes), Various Artists – The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Music From & Inspired By)
