Where did February go?? Here are the last new releases for this shortest (but mightiest) of months. After initial songwriting and recording sessions left her unsatisfied, Deep Sea Diver’s Jessica Dobson started from scratch and let youthful energy guide her band’s fourth album, Billboard Heart. Noax Lennox’s seventh solo LP as Panda Bear, Sinister Grift offers a shimmering cache of swirling melodies and contributions from each of his Animal Collective bandmates. Los Angeles mainstay Miya Folick spreads her wings on Erotica Veronica; the album was assembled quickly during a break from touring and film score composing. Across two EPs last summer, Aloe Blacc explored the oft-unseen bridges between hard rock and soul music; with Stand Together, he returns with a set of uplifting, socially conscious pop.
On Constellations for the Lonely, their second album since returning from hiatus, UK trio Doves present a dark portrait of internal and societal turmoil. XL Recordings honcho Richard Russell invites a variety of voices, from Florence Welch and Sampha to Noah Cyrus and Steeleye Span’s Maddy Prior, to his third Everything is Recorded album, Temporary. Their first studio release since adding live drummer Tlacael Esparza to the lineup, Nothing is the gripping third LP by Nicolás Jaar and Dave Harrington’s adventurous electronic project Darkside. 45 years after their signature hit, “Turning Japanese” (and now nearly a decade into their second act), The Vapors’ Wasp in a Jar is a victory lap for the veteran new wave/power pop combo.
PRESS PLAY on these new releases
Deep Sea Diver – Billboard Heart
CHECK OUT: “Billboard Heart” “Shovel”
Panda Bear – Sinister Grift
CHECK OUT: “Ferry Lady” “Ends Meet”
Miya Folick – Erotica Veronica
CHECK OUT: “This Time Around” “Erotica”
Aloe Blacc – Stand Together
CHECK OUT: “Don’t Go Alone” “One Good Thing”
Doves – Constellations for the Lonely
CHECK OUT: “Renegade” “A Drop in the Ocean”
Everything is Recorded – Temporary
CHECK OUT: “Never Felt Better (feat. Sampha & Florence + the Machine)” “Porcupine Tattoo (feat. Noah Cyrus & Bill Callahan)”
Darkside – Nothing
CHECK OUT: “S.N.C” “Are You Tired? (Keep on Singing)”
The Vapors – Wasp in a Jar
CHECK OUT: “Hit the Ground Running” “The Words”