In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on February 16, 2024:
Grandaddy, Blu Wav
Jason Lytle is back with a new Grandaddy abum, Blu Wav, out today via Dangerbird Records. The follow-up to 2017’s Last Place is billed as the band’s “first foray into true country,” with Lytle noting that “there’s an inordinate amount of pedal steel” throughout. Ahead of its release, the LP was previewed with the singles ‘Cabin in My Mind’, ‘Watercooler’, and ‘Long as I’m Not the One’. “I wanted people to be kind of surprised,” Lytle said in press materials, “And thrown off a little bit.”
IDLES, TANGK
IDLES have returned with their fifth album, TANGK, out now via Partisan. Nigel Godrich, the band’s Mark Bowen, and Kenny Beats produced the follow-up to 2021’s CRAWLER, which was preceded by the singles ‘Gift Horse’, ‘Grace’, and the LCD Soundsystem collaboration ‘Dancer’. Speaking about the album, vocalist Joe Talbot said: “I needed love. So I made it. I gave love out to the world and it feels like magic. This is our album of gratitude and power. All love songs. All is love.”
Friko, Where we’ve been, Where we go from here
Friko – the duo of vocalist/guitarist Niko Kapetan and drummer Bailey Minzenberger – have released their debut album, Where we’ve been, Where we go from here, via ATO. The band previewed the 9-track effort with the singles ‘Where We’ve Been’, ‘Crimson to Chrome’, ‘Crashing Through’, ‘For Ella’, and ‘Get Numb to It!’. “One of the main things we want to do as a band is talk about what’s happening right now and everything we’re feeling, with an honesty and directness that gets through to people,” Kapetan said. “I hope that our music helps everyone feel more deeply, but in a way that goes beyond just reacting to the songs. I want it to pick people up, so that they can actually go out and do something with whatever they’re feeling.” Check out our Artist Spotlight interview with Friko.
serpentwithfeet, GRIP
serpentwithfeet has released a new LP, GRIP, via Secretly Canadian. The follow-up to 2021’s Deacon features the early singles ‘Safe Word’ and ‘Damn Gloves’, as well as collaborations with Ty Dolla $ign, Yanga YaYa, Mick Jenkins, and Orion Sun. Speaking about the inspirations behind the album, the Baltimore, Maryland-born singer-songwriter said: “Going out while working on the album and seeing how people stood at the bar when ordering a drink, Are they on their phone trying to disappear from the scene? Are they flirting with the bartender? Are they writhing slowly to the music? What does it look like when a guy runs into his ex and that ex is with someone new? I’m curious about all of this.”
Lime Garden, One More Thing
Lime Garden have come out with their debut album, One More Thing, via So Young Records. “I feel like you can hear us growing up in the songs,” vocalist and rhythm guitarist Chloe Howard said in a statement about the album, which was produced by Ali Chant. Drummer Annabel Whittle added, “I think because we’re so close it creates a very open environment to make music where we can say whatever we want, and we won’t be judged.” The singles ‘Nepotism (baby)’, ‘Love Song’, ‘I Want to Be You’, ‘Mother’, and ‘Pop Star’ arrived ahead of the LP.
Laura Jane Grace, Hole in My Head
Laura Jane Grace has dropped a new album, Hole in My Head, her first solo release since 2021’s At War With the Silverfish EP. Previewed by the singles ‘Dysphoria Hoodie’, the title track, and ‘Cuffing Season’, the LP was recorded at Native Sound in St. Louis with producer David Beeman, and over half of it features Drive-By Truckers bassist Matt Patton. “St. Louis really opened its arms to me and I just have such a great time when I’m there,” Grace shared in a statement. “It’s a really special city. To me, it feels like the way every city in America felt when I first started touring in the late-‘90s, and this crazy mix of fun and adventure, but danger and possibility.”
Omni, Souvenir
Omni – the Atlanta trio of guitarist Frankie Broyles, singer/bassist Philip Frobos, and drummer Chris Yonker – are back with their first album in five years, Souvenir, via Sub Pop. The Networker follow-up was engineered by Kristofer Sampson, and features a guest appearance from Izzy Glaudini of Automatic on the early single ‘Plastic Pyramid’. The singles ‘Exacto’, ‘INTL Waters’, and ‘Compliment’ also preceded the record.
Chromeo, Adult Contemporary
Adult Contemporary, Chromeo’s first proper LP since 2018’s Head Over Heels, has arrived. It spans 14 tracks, including the previously shared singles ‘Words With You’, ‘Replacements’, ‘(I Don’t Need A) New Girl’, and ‘Personal Effects’. “On this album, P and I we’re like, ‘Let’s take it back to the days of being your mom’s basement, let’s just do everything ourselves and go back to how we used to do it’,” Dave 1 said in an interview with NME. “I was able to find my voice again but it’s different now because I’m more comfortable singing and I’ve had more experience. What came out of that were just these songs about relationship topics that people our age deal with.”
Other albums out today:
Jennifer Lopez, This Is Me…Now; Heems & Lapgan, LAFANDAR; Danielle Durack, Escape Artist; Prize Horse, Sound Under; El Perro del Mar, Big Anonymous; Middle Kids, Faith Crisis Pt 1; San Fermin, Arms; William Doyle, Springs Eternal; Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes, HIGH LIFE; Paloma Faith, The Glorification of Sadness; The Obsessed, Gilded Sorrow; Shambolics, Dreams, Schemes & Young Teams; Talk Show, Effigy; Nouvelle Vague, Should I Stay or Should I Go?; Mother Mother, Grief Chapter; Crawlers, The Mess We Seem to Make; Sean Ono Lennon, Asterisms.