6 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 A. G. Cook, Big Special, Kings of Leon, Orville Peck, I. JORDAN and Amen Dunes.

A. G. Cook – Britpop

“Britpop is an interesting title, because both parts of the word have a controversial definition,” A. G. Cook told Rolling Stone UK of his new album. “People can’t agree on Britishness, even as a word. Then you have pop, which is also hard to define. Now there’s not as much of a unified mainstream, is pop just what’s popular?” An artist that thrives on contradictions and juxtaposed sounds and ideas, his mammoth new 24-song, three-part album is divided into Past, Present and Future sections. Across these, he digs into the sound he created with PC Music, diverges into becoming a singer-songwriter in its middle section, before imagining a new and genre-bending future. It’s a sprawling and fascinating next step for an artist who defined a lot of what pop music has become over the last decade.

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

Big Special – POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES

 “We don’t want to give any answers or say that we know the way,” Big Special’s Joe Hicklin told Rolling Stone UK of their debut album earlier this year.

“It’s just us going, ‘This is shit, we know it’s shit, and you know it’s shit, but let’s try and do something together.’”

True to his word, it’s a stellar debut with enough conviction to keep us all dancing through the darkness. ‘This Here Ain’t Water’ skips along with a fire and brimstone groove, while ‘Trees’ is an all out banger. The defiant ‘DiG!’, which ends the whole thing, is a beautiful ode to resilience and putting your best foot forward. Times might be tough, but when bands like Big Special exist, you sense that a whole community has got your back.

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

Kings of Leon – Can We Please Have Fun

Looking for the answer to that titular question posited by the latest Kings Of Leon album? Ask us and we’ll tell you it’s an emphatic yes. After years of being sanitised, safe, stadium main-stays, there’s enough here to capture the essence of the southern beardy-weirdiness that made them such an intriguing prospect in the early noughties. ‘Mustang’ is one of the best things they’ve done in years, while Harry Styles producer Kid Harpoon has injected their sound with more energy than they’ve managed in years. Kings Of Leon fans of old should come and take a dip in the water, it’s nice here..

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

Orville Peck – Stampede: Vol. 1

The mysterious mask and cowboy hat might still be there, but there’s some surprising variety to be found on Orville Peck’s latest album. A team-up with Elton John emerges on their collaborative cover of Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting, while Miénteme sees him exploring a Reggaeton direction.

There is frank exploration of sexuality too, a cover of Ned Sublette’s 1981 song ‘Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Very Fond of Each Other’ sees him team up with Willy Nelson to explore the realities of being a gay cowboy.

There’s enough to be found here to ensure that Peck continues to be one of America’s most interesting voices in music.

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

I. JORDAN – I AM JORDAN

The title of the debut album from Ninja Tune-signed DJ and producer I. JORDAN signals that it’s a statement of intent. I AM JORDAN, written in all caps, is a pulverising and truly exciting debut from the highly-rated artist, and travels from down’n’dirty pop music to thunderous club music and beyond. Their DJ sets have been renowned for being some of the most raucous and unrelenting around, and this energy is brought to the fore on an album of pure, unadulterated energy.

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

Amen Dunes – Death Jokes

Damon McMahon’s 2018 album as Amen Dunes, Freedom, was a slow-burning cult highlight of the late 2010s, where he made classic heartland rock put through a creepy filter. This filter is pushed further to the front on Death Jokes, McMahon’s first album for Sub Pop. Under the innovative production and gloomy atmospheres, though, is the same strong and joyous songwriting.

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