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Kaytranada - Timeless
On Timeless, Kaytranada blends disco, electronic, R&B, hip-hop, house, and more for some sweet sounds. Appearing on the album are A-listers Childish Gambino, Anderson.Paak, Thundercat, Pink Pantheress, Don Toliver and Dawn Richard, all assisting in this album of romantic tension, instrumentals, and some dance floor BPMs. “Hot-handed to say the least, Kaytranada continues to refine his sample-laced mixture of house, hip-hop, and other cross-continental styles of dance music with Timeless” ~ Andy Kellman at
allmusic.com.
Hotline TNT - Raspberry Moon
Hotline TNT's third full-length and second on Third Man Records is the romantic and fuzz-tone-drenched Raspberry Moon. It's a shift away from the drum machine and one-man band approach that marked both 2021's Nineteen in Love and 2023's Cartwheel. Consequently, there's an organic grit and live in-studio immediacy to Raspberry Moon that seems to jibe with the band's tube amp and stomp-box energy. It's a throwback vibe, evoking the flannel-laden days of '90s underground pop guitar groups like Dinosaur Jr., Sloan, and Teenage Fanclub; unabashed touchstones for lead singer/guitarist Will Anderson whose work on Raspberry Moon believably lives up to the comparisons. Cuts like the opening "Was I Wrong?," "Julia's War," and "Letter to Heaven" are euphoric slacker anthems, full of romantic ennui and a screw-it sense of underdog decency that Anderson maintains throughout the whole album. It's a rapturous vibe he encapsulates on "Candle," proclaiming, "I wanna try/Get butterflies." With Hotline TNT's Raspberry Moon, it's all butterflies.
Turnstile - Never Enough
Turnstile's third album, Glow On, broke them out of the hardcore scene and into the mainstream, earning near-universal acclaim, a Grammy nomination, and prominent chart placements around the world. Arriving four years after Glow On and weighted with expectations is Never Enough, the group's fourth full-length. Produced by frontman Brendan Yates with assistance from hardcore specialist Will Yip, this is the sound of a band in their creative prime, undaunted -- and quite possibly ignited -- by the spotlight now trained on them. It's their first release without founding guitarist Brady Ebert, who is replaced by new member Meg Mills, and even if the change is subtle, Turnstile have turned a corner here. Without abandoning their hardcore roots, they embrace a definitively more melodic sound that visits all sorts of locales, from lush dream pop and electronica to pristine, funky alt-rock and thrashy nu metal, all of it played with confidence and finesse. satisfaction. ~Timothy Monger allmusic.com
Stereolab — Instant Holograms on Metal Film
On their first album in 15 years, Stereolab don't pretend that time stood still after 2010's Not Music. Instead, Instant Holograms on Metal Film presents a Stereolab fit for the era to which they returned. Yes, the album's quintessentially Stereolab title may come from a 1970 issue of Electronics Australia, and yes, some of its fondly familiar sounds echo the likes of Margerine Eclipse and Emperor Tomato Ketchup ("Immortal Hands"' pensive chamber pop could be a distant cousin of Ketchup's "Monstre Sacre"). More importantly, the band's energy is dynamic in a way that it hasn't been in some time -- a product of their steady touring that also recalls the charged atmosphere of their earliest singles. On each of Instant Holograms on Metal Film's billowing, exploratory songs, they rise to action, even if they don't do it in obvious ways. The morphing grooves and blasts of Ben LaMar Gay's cornet on the standout "Melodie Is a Wound," for example, come closer to the interplay between a jazz ensemble's members than a straightforward climax. Their pursuit of "higher frequencies" on "Transmuted Matter" is transportingly lovely, as is "Vermona F Transistor," a twinkling baroque-funk statement of empowerment where vocalist Laetitia Sadier declares, "I'm the creator of this reality." When she directs listeners to "explore without fear" on the finale, "If You Remember I Forgot How to Dream, Pt. 2," it sounds like a message of encouragement that an alien society sent from across the stars. Capturing the inspiring spark in bygone visions of what the future could be is one of Stereolab's greatest strengths, and the brilliant ways they do this on Instant Holograms on Metal Film don't just live up to their legacy -- they push it forward. ~Heather Phares, allmusic.com
Aesop Rock - Black Hole Superette
Aesop Rock's fourth album of the 2020s, Black Hole Superette, is thematically similar to his previous release, Integrated Tech Solutions, which addressed technology's effect on humanity. This time, though, it's more about individual details that make up our daily existence, including the commanding forces of algorithms and advertising, as well as anything else related to consumerism. Like many of Aesop's other efforts, it's also a riveting showcase for his expert storytelling skills, filled with personal anecdotes and tall tales alike. Aesop handled all of the album's production himself this time, and it mainly consists of abstract synth funk and psychedelic boom bap, with the percussive "Movie Night" inspired by go-go. Similar to the way his rhymes seem to go on endless tangents yet remain specific, his beats are a bit abstract but stay on target, and they complement the raps perfectly. Black Hole Superette is yet another successful Aesop Rock record which artfully details and comments on the remarkable aspects of everyday life. ~Paul Simpson, allmusic.com
Ty Segall — Possession
Ty Segall has a restless musical mind that makes him hard to pin down. Apart from his bread-and-butter, amped-up, and unhinged garage punk, he's liable to pop up playing heavy metal, synth pop, folk/rock, or even make a record that's only percussion, like 2024's Love Rudiments. Possession is something a little different than anything this sonic chameleon has made yet, even as it contains many elements of his core sound, like overdriven guitars and hearty vocals. The main thing that sets the record apart is the river of steady confidence that runs through the music like iron bars. The record is built around a base of acoustic guitars strumming out the rhythm, electric guitars slashing across the bow, bass and drums providing a solid foundation, and Segall flying over the top with his best Bolan croon. Every song sports multiple hooks, whether they're the Bowie-esque horns on the title track, the strutting glam riffs of "Buildings," the slinky soft rock electric piano that makes "Fantastic Tomb" a treat, or the tricky interplay between strings, keys, and guitars on "Hotel," that shows all the psychedelic pretenders what a headswirl really feels like. It wouldn't be right to say that everything he's done up to this point was leading to this one particular album, but it also doesn't seem all that wrong, either. It's definitely a milestone and a career highlight, as well as a release that anyone who likes real, live breathing and bleeding rock & roll should enjoy. ~Tim Sendra, allmusic.com
