We’re keeping things on the low end of the dial this week with regards to the top releases. Sturgill Simpson has been making waves as alt-country’s next crossover into the mainstream. Indie stalwart PJ Harvey is back with her first tape in half a decade, and psych poppers Wild Belle are back with another dose of their groovy, genre-bending goodness. We’ve also got the latest and greatest from the dark dance dudes in Blaqk Audio (check out their premiere of “First To Love”), there’s new material from immortal J Dilla, and many many more. Here are the albums you need to hear this week.
Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
With acts like Jason Isbell, Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, and well, Sturgill Simpson, there seems to be a forced narrative. Not of their own creation, but rather, by a certain set of listeners who find these artists to be somehow more valuable than mainstream country stars. It would be easy to be turned off by this, but please, do not let this steer you away from the fantastic A Sailor’s Guide to Earth. Simpson’s third album is a rich, bruising experience, filled with such soul, as its first single “Brace For Impact (Live A Little)” or its reinterpretation of Nirvana’s “In Bloom” confidently prove. Tune out the noise and turn this record up; you’ll be so much happier that way.
PJ Harvey – The Hope Six Demolition Project
There are few artists in indie rock more seasoned than Polly Jean Harvey. For her ninth studio album, instead of looking inward, she has chosen take on the very real (and controversial) topic of HOPE VI housing. There’s an implicit danger here of someone who is a complete outsider penning an album about a topic that he or she is not affected by in the slightest — will she come across as merely a gawking passerby. But the flip side of that possibility is maybe she is shedding a light about a problem that not everyone knows about. It’s a tightrope walk; that must be conceded. But there are few more capable songwriters of balancing that line than PJ Harvey.
Wild Belle – Dreamland
On their debut three years ago, Wild Belle offered a blissed-out effort with touches crossing so many genres. The combo of Natalie Bergman’s arresting vocals and her brother Elliot Bergman’s bassy sax made for some powerfully groovy alchemy. Now the two are back with the band’s sophomore effort in Dreamland, but despite the name, it’s a little more kinetic than their first release. “Throw Down Your Guns,” the album’s lead single, is a rollicking stomper that is hard to not hand yourself over to and “Giving Up On You” is a disco-punk-inspired kiss off anyone newly liberated would love to crank up. Dreamland proves this duo is too dynamic to ignore.
Here are the rest of the week’s releases:
Blaqk Audio – Material
Royce 5’9″ – Layers
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes – PersonA
J Dilla – The Diary
Musiq Soulchild – Life on Earth
Har Mar Superstar – Best Summer Ever
The Coathangers – Nosebleed Weekend
John Carpenter – Lost Themes II
Kevin Morby – Singing Saw
Eskimeaux – Year of the Rabbit
Bear Hands – You’ll Pay For This
Grand Puba – Black from the Future
Telekinesis – Obey EP
Santana – Santana IV
Suuns – Hold/Still
Otep – Generation Doom
