Laufey | photo by Rebecca Cabage, courtesy of the artist
PRESS PLAY: New Albums out August 22nd
Get swept away by this week’s new releases…
Summer may be winding down, but the schedule of new albums is heating up. Stylish pop sensation Laufey’s third album, A Matter of Time, couples the singer’s nimble voice with lavish arrangements by The National’s Aaron Dessner. Ahead of his XPNFest debut, cosmic troubadour Daniel Donato shows off lightning licks and road-tested favorites on Horizons. With production by Jason Isbell and Gena Johnson, Kathleen Edwards’s Billionaire sees the Canadian songwriter following up a covers collection with a set of confident originals. Decorated composer and bandleader Jon Batiste thunders back from a classical-influenced side quest with Big Money; a lively blend of jazz, hip-hop, and soul, the album features a rare cameo by Randy Newman.
An in-demand guitarist for The War on Drugs, Perfume Genius, and Kevin Morby, Meg Duffy’s fourth LP as Hand Habits, Blue Reminder, showcases their gifts for songwriting, performances, and production. Recent Free at Noon guest Greg Freeman’s Burnover is an ambitious and fully realized batch of outsider Americana anthems. In 2010, North Carolina indie heroes Superchunk reemerged from an extended hiatus with their blistering ninth album, Majesty Shredding; a similar urgency and energy courses through LP13, Songs in the Key of Yikes. Acclaimed for their 1993 debut and its breakout hit “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia),” British jazz-rap collective Us3 deliver instrumental prowess on their first album in over a decade, the lively Soundtrack.
Listen for spotlights on new records like these (and more) every week on the XPN Morning Show and Indie Rock Hit Parade.
PRESS PLAY on these new releases
Laufey – A Matter of Time
CHECK OUT: “Silver Lining”
“Lover Girl”
Daniel Donato – Horizons
CHECK OUT: “Broadside Ballad”
“Better Deal Blues”
Kathleen Edwards – Billionaire
CHECK OUT: “Save Your Soul”
”Say Goodbye, Tell No One”
Jon Batiste – Big Money
CHECK OUT: “Big Money”
“Lonely Avenue (feat. Randy Newman)”
Hand Habits – Blue Reminder
CHECK OUT: “Wheel of Change”
”Jasmine Blossoms”
Greg Freeman – Burnover
CHECK OUT: “Curtain”
“Gallic Shrug”
Superchunk – Songs in the Key of Yikes
CHECK OUT: “Is it Making You Feel Something”
“Bruised Lung”
Us3 – Soundtrack
CHECK OUT: “What Have We Done?”
“Resist the Rat Race”
The PRESS PLAY-list
FURTHER LISTENING
Adrian Sherwood – The Collapse of Everything, Anand Wilder – Psychic Lessons, Asleep at the Wheel – Riding High in Texas, Blake Mills & Pino Palladino – That Wasn’t a Dream, Bobby Osborne, C.J. Lewandowski, & Friends – Keep On Keepin’ On, Case Oats – Last Missouri Exit, Dean Johnson – I Hope We Can Still Be Friends, Deftones – private music, Delicate Steve – Luke’s Garage, The Division Men – Hymns and Fiery Dances, Double Wish – Double Wish, Earl Sweatshirt – Live Laugh Love, Emma Louise & Flume – DUMB, (Exit) Knarr – Drops, Glitterfox – decoder, Hunx and His Punx – Walk Out on This World, John Fogerty – Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – Gush, Kerala Dust – An Echo of Love, Kingfishr – Halcyon, Lissie – Promises EP, Los Campesinos! – So Close to Heaven (Live at Troxy), Mac DeMarco – Guitar, Radio Free Alice – Empty Words EP, Ray Charles – Come Live with Me (Reissue), RNIE – FULL NEPTUNE, Royel Otis – hickey, Scree – August, Smashing Pumpkins – Machina/The Machines (Reissue) / Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music (Reissue), Spaceface – Lunar Manor, SQUANDERERS – SKANTIAGO, SunYears – The Song Forlorn, The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die – Dreams of Being Dust, TOPS – Bury the Key, Tullycraft – Shoot the Point, Water from Your Eyes – It’s a Beautiful Place, Winter – Adult Romantix, Wolf Alice – The Clearing, Zachary Good – Lake Heritage