It’s no secret that two of the world’s biggest pop vocalists have new albums out this week. Once you give TS and CRJ their due, have a listen to some (or all) of these records that arrive this week: Following the release of their memoir, and the subsequent adaptation of said memoir into a new streaming series, Tegan and Sara‘s tenth album Crybaby sees the long-running sister duo continue their streak of thrilling, personal pop. If you’re expecting Arctic Monkeys to make a return to their ragged roots on The Car, think again: orchestral swells and dramatic melodies make for a theatrical listening experience.
On their first album in nearly a quarter century, North Carolina indie legends Archers of Loaf make up for lost time on their confident and eclectic fifth LP, Reason in Decline. Led by writer/monologist Florence Shaw, South London’s Dry Cleaning draw inspiration from grief, long-distance friendships, and a tortoise named Gary on their second full-length, Stumpwork.
After a five year break (a relative eternity for the prolific musician), Robyn Hitchcock returns with the self-described “proper pop album” Shufflemania!. New York beat craftsman Nick Hakim experiments with weaving his voice into the atmospheric textures of his third solo album, Cometa. Murky shoegaze and organic noise make Animal Drowning, the second full-length from Philly combo Knifeplay, an unpredictable and exciting listen. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Sleater-Kinney‘s landmark Dig Me Out, Corin and Carrie recruit friends and fans like Courtney Barnett, Wilco, and St. Vincent to recreate the album’s iconic tracks.
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.
Tegan and Sara – Crybaby
CHECK OUT: “Yellow” “Smoking Weed Alone”
Arctic Monkeys – The Car
CHECK OUT: “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am”
Archers of Loaf – Reason in Decline
CHECK OUT: “In the Surface Noise” “Aimee”
Dry Cleaning – Stumpwork
CHECK OUT: “Don’t Press Me” “Gary Ashby”
Robyn Hitchcock – Shufflemania!
CHECK OUT: “The Shuffle Man” “The Raging Muse”
Nick Hakim – Cometa
CHECK OUT: “Happen” “Feeling Myself”
Knifeplay – Animal Drowning
CHECK OUT: “Ryan Song” “Lonely Sun”
Various Artists – Dig Me In: A Dig Me Out Covers Album
CHECK OUT: Courtney Barnett – “Words and Guitar” Margo Price – “Turn it On”
FUTHER LISTENING:
A Place to Bury Strangers – Exploding Head (13th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), a-ha – True North, Alice Boman – The Space Between, Andrea Bocelli, Matteo Bocelli, and Virginia Bocelli – A Family Christmas, Bibio – BIB10, Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loneliest Time, CARM – CARM II, Circuit des Yeux and Claire Rousay – Sunset Poem, Dave Harrington and Tim Mislock – Hollywood Visit, Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn – Pigments, Frankie Cosmos – Inner World Peace, Goat – Oh Death, Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard – Pioneering Women of Bluegrass: The Definitive Edition, iLE – Nacarile, Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxymore, The Libertines – Up the Bracket (20th Anniversary Edition), My Morning Jacket – MMJ Live Vol. 2: Chicago 2021, Pearla – Oh Glistening Onion, The Nighttime is Coming, Pinkshift – Love Me Forever, Rubblebucket – Earth Worship, Ruby the Hatchet – Fear is a Cruel Master, Serj Tankian – Perplex Cities EP, Simple Minds – Direction of the Heart, Siouxsie and the Banshees – All Souls, Sloan – Steady, The Soft Pink Truth – Is it Going to Get Any Deeper Than This?, Taylor Swift – Midnights, Terry and Maggie Roche – Kin Ya See That Sun, Whitmer Thomas – The Older I Get The Funnier I Was, Young the Giant – American Bollywood
