Featured New Releases for
June 18, 2021

Kings of Convenience

Peace or Love

EMI / Virgin

Pop/Rock

The acoustic duo's first album in 12 years is an impeccable return to form highlighted by a pair of duets with Feist.

— Marcy Donelson

Angélique Kidjo

Mother Nature

Decca / Universal / Verve

International

With a transcontinental cast of younger collaborators, the Beninese singer and songwriter makes a case for Africa as the engine of global pop.

— Thom Jurek

Gucci Mane

Ice Daddy

Atlantic / Guwop Enterprises

Rap

One of his best, this expertly produced 15th set from the trap godfather is packed with catchy anthems and guest stars.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Cola Boyy

Prosthetic Boombox

MGMT Records / Record Makers

Pop/Rock

Shimmering neo-disco jams and laid-back soft rock ballads coalesce into something meaningful and magical in Matthew Urango's hands.

— Tim Sendra

Squarepusher

Feed Me Weird Things [Bonus Tracks]

Warp

Electronic

Remarkable, audacious full-length debut from Squarepusher, displaying his technical prowess as well as a wide range of contrasting emotions. Reissued with two bonus tracks.

— Paul Simpson

Blue Lab Beats

We Will Rise

Decca

Electronic, Jazz, R&B, Rap

Five tracks of humid, hopeful, summery grooves from the Brit-jazz hip-hop duo and their guests.

— Thom Jurek

The Mountain Movers

World What World

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

The eighth album from this New Haven experimental rock ensemble ornaments rural psychedelia with a rainbow of abrasive guitar tones.

— Fred Thomas

Amy Helm

What the Flood Leaves Behind

Renew Music

Pop/Rock, Folk

On her third outing, the singer/songwriter returns to her late father's Woodstock studio and emerges with a poignant, life-affirming set.

— Thom Jurek

Yumbo

The Fruit of Errata

Morr Music

Pop/Rock

Stunning collection of gently experimental and happily twee chamber pop recorded over a 20-year span by the undersung Japanese collective.

— Tim Sendra

Francis Lung

Miracle

Memphis Industries

Pop/Rock

A lovingly crafted blend of low-key, singer-songwriter power pop that falls somewhere between Emitt Rhodes and Elliott Smith.

— Timothy Monger

Peter Holsapple / Chris Stamey

Our Back Pages

Omnivore

Pop/Rock

The dB's founders team up for another duo album, this time taking a fresh look at their history as songwriters.

— Mark Deming

Styx

Crash of the Crown

Universal

Pop/Rock

Styx continue the neo-retro hot streak they began with 2017's The Mission.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Kid Millions / Jan St. Werner

Imperium Droop

Thrill Jockey

Electronic

Vivid soundclashes edited from several gigs and studio sessions by the Oneida drummer and the Mouse on Mars co-founder.

— Paul Simpson

The Catenary Wires

Birling Gap

Shelflife / Skep Wax Records

Pop/Rock

The former Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, and Tender Trap founders explore bittersweet indie pop with middle-aged perspectives on their third album.

— Marcy Donelson

Raoul Vignal

Years in Marble

Talitres

Pop/Rock

The third album from the French guitarist/vocalist is a collection of masterfully controlled, exceptionally understated chamber folk, heavy on unflashy atmosphere.

— Fred Thomas

Azure Ray

Remedy

Flower Moon

Pop/Rock

On their first new LP since 2012, this influential, atmospheric indie duo turns in songs as heartbreakingly beautiful as ever.

— Fred Thomas

Body Breaks

Bad Trouble

We Are Time

Pop/Rock

Debut from this Canadian takes conventional slacker pop to new places with the addition of warped-sounding microtonal guitar leads.

— Fred Thomas

Harold Land

Westward Bound!

Cellar Live Records

Jazz

Archival collection featuring the tenor saxophonist playing live at Seattle's The Penthouse in the early '60s.

— Matt Collar

N0v3l

Non Fiction

Tin Angel

Pop/Rock

The debut album from this Vancouver post-punk collective dials back the nonstop energy of their first EP in favor of more dynamic and unpredictable songs.

— Fred Thomas