4 albums you need to hear this week
With music from The Last Dinner Party, Ghetts, L Devine and Holly Macve.
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 The Last Dinner Party, Ghetts, L Devine and Holly Macve.
The Last Dinner Party – Prelude to Ecstasy
The most anticipated debut album of 2024 arrives less than five weeks into the year, and delivers on the promise. After naming them winners of the Rising Star Award at the first ever Rolling Stone UK Awards in collaboration with Rémy Martin last November, the band present a debut album full of drama and passion. As we wrote in our five-star review of Prelude to Ecstasy: “Aided by the deft hand of Arctic Monkeys producer James Ford, it’s an album that proves exciting, unpredictable and gripping at every turn. An opening orchestral blast amps up the drama from the very start, before ‘Burn Alive’ — a frequent opener at their incredible live shows — sees the group showing they’re already experts at crafting intricate guitar anthems that grab your attention from the first note and refuse to let go.”
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Ghetts – On Purpose, With Purpose
The title of Ghetts’ fourth album says a lot about its intentions. Every beat and bar here is deeply purposeful, adding new textures to his signature sound and energy and pushing him forwards into becoming a generational rapper. After third album Conflict of Interest featured a star-studded list of collaborators from Skepta to Stormzy and beyond, picking up a Mercury nomination and BRIT Award win, On Purpose, With Purpose dives deep into Ghetts’ psyche and incorporates new sounds that widen his sonic palette.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
L Devine – Digital Heartifacts
Discussing her long-awaited debut album, L Devine said: “There are all these emotions, but they’re stored digitally. I have these little snapshots on my laptop of my life and of the place I was at mentally during the time I made the album. I just find it fascinating that all those emotions are just code on a computer.” The power of the record comes in how she translates the feeling of trying to find meaning in a cold, digital world into songs that will last far beyond the lifespan of a laptop or phone.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Holly Macve – Time is Forever
“Time is Forever is the start of a new era for me,” Holly Macve said of her new EP, adding: “During the making of it I spent a lot of days and nights alone in strange cigarette stained motels, dreaming big and overcoming certain inhibitions.” These romantic ideas permeate the Irish singer’s new collection, and she even drafted in the master of such storytelling – Lana Del Rey – to lend a hand on the song ‘Suburban House’. Lana said that Macve has “one of the most beautiful singing voices in the world,” and it’s on full, brilliant show here.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music