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 Angel Olsen, Chappaqua Wrestling, Metallica and Temples.

Angel Olsen – Forever Means

Angel Olsen’s last album, 2022’s Big Time, was the product of monumental tumult for the singer, who lost both of her parents a just few months after she told them she was gay, and then experienced her first queer love and heartbreak. Forever Means is a collection of songs recorded at the same time as Big Time that share a universal theme – the knowing that, in Olsen’s words, “there is no finish line, no destination or static end point to life while you’re living it”. While it’s very much its own entity, it certainly hits Big Time‘s emotional crescendoes.

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

Chappaqua Wrestling – Plus Ultra

On their debut album, Chappaqua Wrestling are making their case for why they could be the UK’s next big guitar band. With a sound inspired equally by grunge, shoegaze and indie (not to mention The Clash, who they have professed to be particularly big fans of) , the Brighton quartet are bursting onto the scene with a weighty political message behind them, hoping to be the spark for much-needed conversations about the state of it all. With life in cost of living crisis Britain looking increasingly grim, it’s rather needed.

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

Metallica – 72 Seasons

“72 seasons — the first 18 years of our lives that form our true or false selves,” was James Hetfield’s explanation for the title choice of Metallica’s eleventh album. Returning with their first LP for seven years, the metal titans are digging deeper than ever before, even reaching points where the vulnerability of ‘Nothing Else Matters’ might feel surface level in comparison. It’s also ‘Tallica’s longest album to date, clocking in at a whopping 77 minutes. Strap yourself in – this one’s an odyssey.

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

Temples – Exotico

Kettering’s finest psychedelic rockers have returned with their fourth album, with Sean Ono Lennon behind the production desk. “This record is essentially something we made for ourselves to find joy in at the time we were making it,” said James Bagshaw when the album was first announced. “There are songs to dance to, songs to reflect with, and through that we ended up delving into every aspect of our musical vocabulary.” Its summer-ready, wonky weirdness is timed perfectly for the temperatures climbing up.

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