ANOTHER working week comes to its conclusion, so as always DDW has scoured the charts and perused the weekend playlists to find the biggest new music to be released this week.
Take a look at the five standout albums to have come out in the last seven days, plus a few notable singles that will be doing the rounds this weekend.
Animal Collective – Time Skiffs
US quartet Animal Collective have been together for almost 20 years, and their 11th studio album feels curiously engrossed with the notion of time and how it elapses. From lyrics like “treating every day as an image of a moment that’s passed” in the single Prester John to the sliding guitars of Strung with Everything, listeners might feel like they are on an expedition through time and space, probing the fabric of human perception.
DDW’s standout song: Prester John
2 Chainz – Dope Don’t Sell Itself
It’s been ten years since Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz, formally known as Tity Boi, dropped his first full-length project under the new name. Now seen as a legacy act in most hip-hop circles, the 44-year-old is back with some new music and is doing what he does best – booming production, humorous lyricism, and big features from Roddy Rich, Lil Baby, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Swae Lee and more.
While 2 Chainz may be approaching the moment where he is getting left behind by some of the scene’s bigger, younger names, he still manages to carve out a space for himself in a saturated Atlanta rap scene.
DDW’s standout song: 10 Bracelets (feat. YoungBoy Never Broke Again)
Saba – Few Good Things
Chicago rapper Saba, one-third of the supergroup Ghetto Sage along with Smino and Noname, released his third studio album Few Good Things today. His first release since 2018 is a melodic mix of 14 tracks that approach the hip-hop genre with style, finesse, and a high level of lyrical expertise.
The emphasis on wordplay and storytelling harks back to an earlier form of hip-hop that seems rare in today’s environment, plus Saba has got some great features – the likes of G Herbo, Krayzie Bone, 6LACK, Smino, Eryn Allen Kane and more all make appearances.
DDW’s standout song: Soldier (feat. Pivot Gang)
Bastille – Give Me The Future
British indie-pop band Bastille have been teasing their fourth studio album since last year, with the finished version coming out this week in its entirety. Give Me The Future is a lot like what it sounds like – an amalgamation of songs trying to better understand a rapidly evolving world, with technology at its heart.
The album approaches all sorts of themes – from painful loss on No Bad Days and online dating on Stay Awake to being the true version of yourself on Thelma + Louise and the opportunity for self-empowerment in a virtual world on the uncompromising opening song Distorted Light Beam. Bastille successfully incorporate their trademark thumping drums and indie sound throughout, marking this project as an impressive next step in their career.
DDW’s standout song: Give Me The Future
Mitski – Laurel Hell
Mitski’s 2018 album Be the Cowboy was received with widespread critical acclaim, with tracks like Washing Machine Heart and Nobody garnering hundreds of millions of streams on Spotify. The Japanese American singer-songwriter then announced she’d be quitting music, but much to the elation of her fans, she returns with new music this week after she released another beautifully composed record full of ornate lyricism and enigmatic themes.
Such is the level of songwriting on Laurel Hill that it prompted British newspaper the Guardian to claim she is “the US’s best songwriter”. High praise indeed.
DDW’s standout song: Working for the Knife
Singles
Flume – Say Nothing (feat. MAY-A)
Nicki Minaj – Do We Have A Problem? (feat. Lil Baby)