Welcome back! I’m sorry that you’re back at work, too, but the good news is the week is almost over! There wasn’t much in the way of new music on our time off, but there are some huge releases this week. David Bowie is back with his 26th studio album just in time for his 69th birthday. In addition to that, we’ve got new music from Boosie Badazz and a promising debut from Hinds. These are the new albums you need to hear this week.
David Bowie – Blackstar
David Bowie is one of very, very few artists who can say they’ve released albums for 47 years spanning six decades, and you would still actually want to listen to their new material. People don’t merely say they like his contemporary work out of admiration for what he used to be; he still makes fantastic new music.
Oddly enough for the surprisingly youthful 69-year-old, Blackstar is a portrait of the man who realizes his own mortality. “Lazarus” features a man who wonders about the times that have gone by, while trying to fit into these modern times, while title track “Blackstar” ponders the last thoughts of someone staring down the gallows. The album carries a jazz feel atop Bowie’s freewheeling art-rock style, and he specifically cited Kendrick Lamar as an influence here. If you’re making relevant music in 2016, there’s no better place to start than there.
Hinds – Leave Me Alone
Though they’ve been kicking around for a few years as Deers (they were legally forced to change their name last year), the Spanish garage rockers in Hinds have finally released their debut album, Leave Me Alone. The lo-fi group blasts through this 12-song LP with a cheerful, jangly blend of garage rock and ’60s pop. There’s a palpable urgency here, despite the expected aesthetic that usually comes with a throwback record like this.
Leave Me Alone truly feels like one of those albums that’s over before you know it, and yet, you’re starting from the beginning all over again.
Boosie Badazz – In My Feelings (Goin’ Thru It)
Okay, this may have dropped last week, but it still came out in the new year, so it’s up here. Besides, it was too good to exclude. Boosie Badazz had quite the eventful 2015. He got out of prison to come home to the freedoms and joys that all of that entails, including dropping a new album, only to be given a cancer diagnosis. He then got quick treatment and now says he’s cancer-free. All of that is poured into his new release, In My Feelings (Goin’ Thru It).
With tracks like “Stressin’ Me,” “Warning Songs,” and even the bluntly stated “Cancer,” Boosie tackles these topics head on, but still does it in his signature southern, swagged out, and lovable way. There’s no denying that this man has been through a journey, and In My Feelings proudly tells the tale.
Here are the rest of the week’s releases:
Various Artists – Straight Outta Compton: The Soundtrack
Villagers – Where Have You Been All My Life?
