Listen To Carly Rae Jepsen, Vince Staples, And The Albums You Need To Hear This Week

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Now that we are in a period that is Life AF — After Frank — we can return to some sort of normalcy, in terms of waiting on new albums. And surprisingly, unlike last week, there’s actually a number of high-profile releases coming out.

Carly Rae Jepsen dropped another slew of pop jams as a thank you, Young Thug changed his name (well… kinda), Vince Staples has a new quick set, Prophets of Rage unleashed their EP, and there’s new stuff from De La Soul, Britney Spears, Florida Georgia Line, Glass Animals, Banks & Steelz, and several more. Here are the albums you need to hear this week.

Carly Rae Jepsen – E-mo-tion Side B

Carly Rae Jepsen has absolutely earned her moment in the sun. After being written off initially as a one-hit wonder, she roared back with the critically acclaimed E-mo-tion, proving all of those doubters wrong. Now Jepsen operates in this strange space where some feel she’s too indie to be truly pop or vice versa. Let’s not get bogged down in these labels. At Pitchfork Music Festival this year, Carly Rae was one of the best, most well-received acts from all three days. Sometimes you just have to shut out all the BS and actually enjoy the music.

Emotion: Side B is a thank you to those fans who stuck with the Canadian pop singer, as she explained in a heartfelt letter on Twitter, with eight new tracks that will burrow inside your head. Songs like “First Time” were already out there with a bit of sleuthing, but for the most part, it’s a new collection of tracks from the emerging pop queen. She’s snatching that crown soon enough.

Vince Staples – Prima Donna

The reason Vince Staples has managed to captivate so many in hip-hop is because he always seems like the most clever guy in the room. It’s obvious that he’s got an infectious and intriguing flow, but he’s a lyricist who captivates in such a way that you can’t wait to hear what bar comes next.

And this eight-song collection is a powerful and welcomed follow up to the album of the year candidate in 2015’s Summertime ’06. Opener “War Ready” samples the title track from ATLiens, which coincidentally is celebrating its 20th anniversary this week, and is a tough enough cut to actually earn that use of OutKast. Elsewhere on the EP, we’ve got guest spots from Kilo Kish and A$AP Rocky.

Prophets of Rage – The Party’s Over EP

2016 is a strange time, there is no denying that. The fire that burns in acts like Rage Against The Machine, Public Enemy, and Cypress Hill (in a different manner of speaking on the last one) was well served in the ’80s and ’90s, but is needed critically in the times we are in right now. Maybe that’s why the act Prophets of Rage works so well — there is a definite purpose for these guys to assemble and not let any more of this sh*t slide.

The brief, yet burly set boasts five tracks with two originals and three live tracks and packs a more powerful punch than you’d think. Conventional wisdom would suggest that these old guys need to step aside for the new radicals, but these things aren’t judged in the abstract; they are decided on the proving ground. And as long as these guys can still bring it and make you feel something — angry about something, most likely — then they’re still kings of the yard.

Here are the rest of the week’s releases:

Young Thug – No, My Name Is Jeffrey
Britney Spears – Glory
De La Soul – and the Anonymous Nobody…
Banks & Steelz (RZA and Paul Banks of Interpol) – Anything But Words
Glass Animals – How to be a Human Being
Florida Georgia Line – Dig Your Roots
The Album Leaf – Between Words
Katy Goodman & Greta Morgan – Take It, It’s Yours
Cass McCombs – Mangy Love
Young Dolph – Rich Crack Baby
The Veils – Total Depravity
Cassius – Ibifornia
Ingrid Michaelson – It Doesn’t Have to Make Sense
Butch Walker – Stay Gold
Amos Lee – Spirit
Innanet James – Quebec Place
Sodom – Decision Day
Barbra Streisand – Encore: Movie Partners Sing

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