4 albums you need to hear this week

In the age of streaming, it’s never been easier to listen to new music — but with over 60,000 new songs added to Spotify every day, it’s also never been harder to know what to put on. Every week, the team at Rolling Stone UK will run down some of the best new releases that have been added to streaming services.

This week we’ve highlighted records by Django Django, Queens of the Stone Age, Killer Mike and Ben Howard.

Django Django – Off Planet

The fifth album by London-based Django Django hears them at their most eclectic. Off Planet comprises four EPs each with its own ‘planet’ of diverse collaborators and sounds. Expect twists on rave, world music, blues-flecked pop, Detroit techno, breakbeat, Krautrock and much more across a 21-track album that bucks the usual Django formula. Highlights include the Self Esteem-featuring ‘Complete Me’ and the Isabelle Woodhouse-featuring ‘Lunar Vibrations’.

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music | Bandcamp

Queens of the Stone Age – In Times New Roman…

Written against a backdrop of personal turmoil for front person Josh Homme, In Times New Roman… finds QOTSA churning out their murkiest, darkest music in years. The US rockers’ eighth album is their rawest since 2007’s Era Vulgaris – a vessel for Homme to offload from his ongoing legal battle with ex-wife Brody Dalle, his recently disclosed cancer battle, and the deaths of his key collaborators and friends Mark Lanegan, Anthony Bourdain and Rio Hackford. The 1970s strut of ‘Made to Parade’ and the riotous discord of ‘Emotional Sickness’ are stand outs.

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music | Bandcamp

Killer Mike – Michael

Michael is Killer Mike’s first solo record since 2012’s R.A.P. Music and is a departure from the bombastic rap sound of his band with El-P, Run the Jewels. A personal portrait of the Atlanta MC born Michael Render hears him traverse topics from teenage pregnancy to the deaths of his mother and his grandmother, the latter of whom raised him. Southern rap reigns supreme on this accomplished record, influenced by the warm and worrisome burrs of gospel, soul and blues.

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music | Bandcamp

Ben Howard – Is It?

The indie folk star, who has veered into more electronic pop territory in recent years, returns with his most bass-heavy and rhythmically explorative record yet. Is It?, Howard’s fifth album, is ripe listening for the summer months. He joins forces with Bullion, producer of Orlando Weeks’ buoyant 2022 album Hop Up, for airy and curious compositions. Howard doesn’t shy away from the darkness he experienced after suffering two small strokes pre-album. “I found it impossible not to dwell on the absurdity of it, that with one tiny clot, one can lose all faculties. It really ate into the writing of the record,” he said, and explores it so on the beautiful ‘Couldn’t Make It Up’.

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music | Bandcamp