In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on June 7, 2024:
Charli XCX, BRAT
Charli XCX is back with BRAT, the follow-up to 2022’s Crash. She shared a series of singles ahead of its release, including ‘Von Dutch’, ‘Club Classics’, ‘B2B’, and ‘360’, and debuted ‘Everything is romantic’ at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound. “Right now, there’s this alchemy where I’ve somehow been drawn to making a club record – which feels intrinsically who I am – coupled with this new lyrical style,” the singer said in an interview with The Guardian. :It’s very much like texts I would send to friends. I wasn’t worried about rhyme, or the traditional things; it’s really just about capturing a feeling of chaos and saying the most blunt thing that is at the top of my brain.”
Peggy Gou, I Hear You
Peggy Gou has dropped her debut album, I Hear You, through XL Recordings. It includes the hit single ‘(It Goes Like) Nanana’ as well as the Lenny Kravitz collab ‘I Believe in Love Again’, ‘1+1=11’, and ‘Lobster Telephone’. “I Hear You is more than just my debut album,” Gou said in press materials. “It embodies countless hours of dedication in my journey to create something timeless, and is a testament to the power of listening, to ourselves and to each other.”
Good Looks, Lived Here for a While
Austin’s Good Looks have released their latest LP, Lived Here for a While, via Keeled Scales. The follow-up to 2022’s Bummer Year was recorded at Texas’ Dandy Sounds with producer Dan Duszynski (of Loma and Cross Record). It was preceded by the singles ‘If It’s Gone’, ‘Self-destructor’, and ‘Can You See Me Tonight’. “I went through a breakup in early 2020,” frontman Tyler Jordan said in press materials. “Writing felt really free. This is the most open that I’ve ever been.”
Strand of Oaks, Miracle Focus
Strand of Oaks have released their eighth studio album, Miracle Focus, via Western Vinyl. The follow-up to 2021’s In Heaven was preceded by the singles ‘Future Temple’, ‘Party at Monster Lake’, ‘More You’ and finds Tim Showalter reuniting with producer Kevin Ratterman. “Every moment on Miracle Focus is a piece of the architecture that fits together to form a temple of peace in my life,” Showalter said in a statement. “Acceptance of who you are, gratitude of being part of a connected universe, and ultimately, I hope it creates one hell of a dance party.”
Kaytranada, Timeless
Kaytranada has released his third album, Timeless, via RCA Records. The follow-up to 2019’s Bubba boasts collaborations with Childish Gambino, PinkPantheress, Dawn Richard, Anderson .Paak, Thundercat, Tinashe, Channel Tres, Mariah the Scientist, Charlotte Day Wilson, and Lou Phelps. A new version of the previously released song ‘Lover/Friend’ appears on the record.
Pedro the Lion, Santa Cruz
David Bazan has put out a new Pedro the Lion album, Santa Cruz, via Polyvinyl. Continuing a planned five-album arc that began with 2019’s Phoenix and 2022’s Havasu, the LP was previewed by the singles ‘Spend Time’, ‘Don’t Cry Now’, and ‘Modesto’. “Of all the tunes on these records, I can’t think of another tune where I was really expressing my own agency. It was the first time where I really had a choice of what I wanted to do,” Bazan said of ‘Modesto’. “It became really clear in those 6 months when I lived in Modesto that I didn’t want to work any other job – I wanted to try and make music. This song definitely feels like the launch pad for what became the life that I chose.”
Fine, Rocky Top Ballads
Rocky Top Ballads is the debut album by Fine, the solo project of Fine Glindvad Jensen, who comes from the same Copenhagen scene as Erika de Casier and Astrid Sonne. The record was preceded by the tracks ‘Days Incomplete’ and ‘Coasting’. “The whole album is about the moments when you see a crack in something,” Fine explained, “where you briefly see another side of yourself or of someone you’ve known forever.”
Margaux, Inside the Marble
Brooklyn singer-songwriter has shared her debut album, Inside the Marble, today on Massif. It follows her 2019 EP More Brilliant Is the Hand That Throws the Coin. “The album’s common thread is really about making sense of big feelings,” she said in a statement. “I do love songwriting as a craft but I think a lot of the time it is something I turn to amidst a spike in emotion, whether that is rooted in heartbreak, dread, feelings of love, or angst… these things can feel so unruly inside. Writing these songs has helped me gain a sense of direction and clarity in moments that have otherwise felt like complete internal chaos.”
Tems, Born in the Wild
Tems’ debut album, Born in the Wild, has arrived via RCA. The 18-track record features collaborations with Asake (‘Get It Right’) and J. Cole (‘Free Fall’) as well as previously shared singles ‘Love Me JeJe’ and ‘Me & U’. It follows her 2021 EP If Orange Was a Place. “Born in the Wild is actually about my journey,” Tems told Apple Music 1. “It’s about my experience as me and about the experiences I’ve had so far. And it really felt like the life I lived before, the life I was accustomed to, felt like a wilderness.”
Goat Girl, Below the Waste
Goat Girl have released their latest LP, Below the Waste, via Rough Trade. The band’s Lottie Pendlebury, Rosy Jones, and Holly Mullineaux co-produced the follow-up to 2021’s On All Fours with John Spud Murphy, known for his work with black midi and Lankum. In a press release, the group said they wanted to encourage listeners “to imagine a world where oppressive structures are broken and stripped away.” The singles ‘motorway’, ‘ride around’, and ‘words fell out’ arrived ahead of the release.
Actress, Statik
Actress has followed up last year’s LXXXVIII with a new album, Statik, out now via Smalltown Supersound. The British electronic producer previewed the LP with the singles ‘Dolphin Spray’ and ‘Static’. A statement accompanying the record’s announcement begins as such: “In the dark woods, beyond blood-flecked pines, a silent pool (a portal) shimmers. Gaze in. Look hard. Glitch the mind’s eye. See the new moon static in a smoke-hazed sky. Uncanny. You’ve no reflection here.”
Angélica Garcia, Gemelo
Angélica Garcia has issued a new record, her debut for Partisan Records, called Gemelo. Her first largely sung in Spanish, the LP was led by the single ‘Color De Dolor’. “Grief is nuanced, and sometimes pain can be intertwined with beauty,” Garcia said in a press statement. “Gemelo is a body of work that explores the process of grieving – acknowledging the light and shadow within it. ‘Color De Dolor’ was the first song that was written for Gemelo. It’s also the first song on the record where I face grief for what it is. I wanted ‘Color De Dolor’ to feel very textured and lush, like you’re walking through a jungle. To me, its kaleidoscopic quality shows sadness and beauty.”
Other albums out today:
Bonny Light Horseman, Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free; Nat Harvie, New Virginity; AURORA, What Happened to the Heart?; L’Impératrice, Pulsar; CANDY, It’s Inside You; Marina Allen, Eight Pointed Star; Rose Hotel, A Pawn Surrender; Alfie Templeman, Radiosoul; Eels, Eels Time!; Bathe Alone, I Don’t Do Humidity; Bloomsday, Heart of the Artichoke; Casey MQ, Later that day, the day before, or the day before that; All Under Heaven, What Lies Ahead of Me; ATARASHII GAKKO!, AG! Calling; Clara La San, Made Mistakes; Bon Jovi, Forever; Léo Dupleix, Resonant Trees.