In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on April 26, 2024:
St. Vincent, All Born Screaming
St. Vincent is back with a new album, All Born Screaming. The self-produced follow-up to Daddy’s Home features contributions from Dave Grohl, Cate Le Bon, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Josh Freese, Stella Mogzawa, Rachel Eckroth, Mark Guiliana, and David Ralicke. It was recorded at Annie Clark’s own Compound Fracture studio in Los Angeles, as well as Electric Lady in New York and Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio in Chicago. “There are some places, emotionally, that you can only get to by taking the long walk into the woods alone—to find out what your heart is really saying,” she said in a statement. “It sounds real because it is real.” The singles ‘Broken Man’, ‘Flea’, and ‘Big Time Nothing’.
Hovvdy, Hovvdy
Hovvdy have released their self-titled album via Arts and Crafts. The follow-up to 2021’s True Love includes the early singles ‘Forever’, ‘Jean,’ ‘Bubba’, ‘Portrait’, ‘Meant’, and ‘Make Ya Proud’. “It had its own set of challenges along the way, but we went in just knowing who we are as a band, more so than ever, knowing our strong suits and wanting to try new things within that,” the duo’s Will Taylor said of the double LP in our Artist Spotlight interview. “Whether it be doing a single vocal take, whereas we usually stack them, or just trying new things and having the dialogue be with ourselves rather than with what’s going on or what music is working at the moment. From my perspective, you can hear that comfortability and commitment on the album to just do what comes naturally rather than trying to respond to anything.”
Thom Yorke, Confidenza OST
Thom Yorke’s score for Confidenza, Daniele Luchetti’s adaptation of Domenico Starnone’s novel, has been released. The Radiohead and Smile frontman shared two songs from the album, ‘Knife Edge’ and ‘Prize Giving’, earlier this week. Following his work on Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 Suspiria remake, Yorke worked on the score with producer Sam Petts-Davies, the London Contemporary Orchestra, and a jazz ensemble featuring his Smile bandmate Tom Skinner.
Adult Jazz, So Sorry So Slow
Adult Jazz have released So Sorry So Slow, their first full-length LP in a decade, via Spare Thought. It was preceded by the singles ‘Suffer One’, ‘Dusk Song’, and ‘Marquee’. “We started writing in 2017 and began recording in 2018,” vocalist Harry Burgess said of the process behind the album. “We genuinely thought it might be finished in 2018! But things kept developing and, having resolutely not struck while the iron was hot, there was no real external push to rush things after that, so we just kept letting things shift and unfold until it felt right. Listening back to my voice notes it’s nice to notice that there are fragments of ideas from the whole period 2017-2023 which have shaped the record.”
Justice, Hyperdrama
Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Augé have returned with their first Justice album in nearly eight years. Following 2016’s Woman, Hyperdrama was previewed by the Tame Impala collab ‘One Night/All Night’, ‘Generator’, ‘Incognito’, and ‘Saturnine’ with Miguel. “Disco/funk and electronic music at large have always been core elements of the music we make as Justice,” the electronic duo said in press materials. “In Hyperdrama, we make them coexist, but not in a peaceful way. We like this idea of making them fight a bit for attention.”
Iron & Wine, Light Verse
Light Verse is singer-songwriter Sam Beam’s first Iron & Wine LP in over seven years. Out now via Sub Pop, the album was produced by Beam, and mixed and engineered by Dave Way at Waystation and Silent Zoo Studios in Los Angeles. It features the previously released Fiona Apple duet ‘All In Good Time’, ‘Anyone’s Game’, ‘You Never Know’, as well as contributions from Tyler Chester (keyboards), Sebastian Steinberg (bass), David Garza (guitar), Griffin Goldsmith, Beth Goodfellow, Kyle Crane (drums/percussion), Paul Cartwright (strings), and a 24-piece orchestra.
Babehoven, Water’s Here in You
Babehoven – the New York-based duo of Maya Bon and Ryan Albert — have dropped their new album, Water’s Here in You, through Double Double Whammy. Following their 2022 debut, Light Moving Time, the LP was written and recorded at the band’s home studio, 12 Lb Genius, throughout the winter of 2022–2023. It includes the previously unveiled tracks ‘Lightness Is Loud’, ‘Birdseye’, ‘Chariot’, and ‘Ella’s From Somewhere Else’.
Ellis, no place that feels like
Ellis has unveiled a new album titled no place that feels like. Ahead of its release, the Canadian singer-songwriter previewed the Born Again follow-up with the songs ‘it’ll be alright’, ‘what i know now’, and ‘obliterate me’. “I was pushing myself to write in ways that I hadn’t before,” Ellis remarked in press materials. “I was trying to think of songwriting more as a craft that I could practice, which made it less intimidating and allowed me to push myself out of my usual comfort zone.”
Bullion, Affection
Nathan Jenkins, the electronic producer and songwriter who records as Bullion, has issued his latest LP, Affection, via Ghostly International. The 12-track effort boasts collaborations with Carly Rae Jepsen, Panda Bear, and Charlotte Adigéry. Influences for the album range from morning swims to adolescent fears and a book of poems Jenkins’ dad wrote as a young man, according to press materials, exploring “how we understand people, but in being more vulnerable at least attempts to care a little less about what they think, too.”
Pet Shop Boys, Nonetheless
Pet Shop Boys are back with Nonetheless, their first album since 2020’s Hotspot. It’s also their first since returning to Parlophone, their label home from 1985 to 2012, and the duo recorded it with producer James Ford. “We wanted this album to be a celebration of the unique and diverse emotions that make us human,” Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe said in a statement. “From the more dance-orientated tracks to the raw poignancy of the introspective ballads, with their beautiful string arrangements, each track tells a story and contributes to the overall narrative of the album.” The singles ‘Loneliness’ and ‘Dancing Star’ dropped ahead of the release.
Greg Saunier, We Sang, Therefore We Were
Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier has released his debut solo album, We Sang, Therefore We Were, via Joyful Noise. The 12-track LP was led by the single ‘Grow Like a Plant’. “When Satomi, Ed, John and I were chatting between shows in Austin in early December, they encouraged me to make a record on my own, as a way to cope with the restlessness I’ve been feeling,” Saunier shared in a statement. “It came together quick. Intrigued by the announcement that the new Rolling Stones record was going to sound ‘angry,’ I thought, ‘Good, I’m angry too.’ But when Hackney Diamonds turned out more like cotton candy than punk rock, I ironically went back to Nirvana: not just the clever melodies over massive distortion, but also that dark Cobain sarcasm which still resonates in this age of phony blue-check-washing of fascism.”
Microwave, Let’s Start Degeneracy
Microwave have come out with a new record, Let’s Start Degeneracy. The follow-up to 2019’s Death Is A Warm Blanket was preceded by the tracks ‘Bored of Being Sad’, ‘Straw Hat’, and ‘Huperzine Dreamz’. According to press materials, the album is “loaded with revelations, some of which came to vocalist/guitarist Nathan Hardy after experiences with ayahuasca in Peru with drummer Timothy ‘Tito’ Pittard.” Hardy commented, “It’s about letting go of attachments and behaviors that aren’t serving you, and trying to shake off your programming and not be motivated by fear and guilt and shame. It’s about learning to be happy and take care of yourself.”
Joyer, Night Songs
Joyer – the duo of brothers Nick and Shane Sullivan – have dropped their new album, Night Songs, via Hit the North Records and Julia’s War. Featuring the advance tracks ‘Silver Moon’, ‘Star’, ‘Drive All Night’, ‘Fall Apart’, and ‘Softer Skin’, the LP was recorded by Bradford Krieger at Big Nice Studios. “We grew up in this small suburban town and there weren’t too many people interested in music so it was convenient to just play with each other and we’ve always had pretty much the same music tastes,” Shane Sullivan explained. Nick added, “I just feel like when I’m in a band with Shane I don’t have to compromise. Being brothers allows us to be really honest and have a lot of productive criticism because we’re so comfortable with one another, we don’t have to hold back and it helps us achieve what we’re going for.”
Mister Goblin, Frog Poems
Mister Goblin – the project of former Two Inch Astronaut leader Sam Goblin – has a new album out via Spartan Records called Frog Poems. The follow-up to 2022’s Bunny includes the advance singles ‘The Notary’, ‘Goodnight Sun’, and ‘Run, Hide, Fight’. “A lot of the songs have to do with traditional ideas about how a human life should unfold and how that’s impacted by the context we currently live in,” Goblin explained in press materials. “There are a lot of nods to children’s literature and other stuff in that zone on Frog Poems – like, ‘Goodnight Sun’ being an inversion of Goodnight Moon, and ‘Run Hide Fight’ is about doing active shooter drills when I worked in a Kindergarten classroom.”
Other albums out today:
Owen, The Falls of Sioux; Tara Jane O’Neil, The Cool Cloud of Okayness; Porij, Teething; The Zutons, The Big Decider; Six Organs of Admittance, Time Is Glass; Nisa, Shapeshifting; Eric Slick, New Age Rage; Corridor, Mimi; Maria Chiara Argirò, Closer; Sega Bodega, Dennis; Anitta, Funk Generation; Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling & Andreas Werliin, Ghosted II; Full of Hell, Coagulated Bliss.