7 albums you need to hear this week
With music from Charli XCX, Alfie Templeman, Peggy Gou, Swim Deep, Goat Girl, Kaytranada and Becky Hill.
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 Charli XCX, Alfie Templeman, Peggy Gou, Swim Deep, Goat Girl, Kaytranada and Becky Hill.
Charli XCX – Brat
“I would say the Brat era is my rave era,” Charli XCX told Rolling Stone UK of her new album, and the 15-track record sees her go head-first into the hedonistic sounds of the 90s. Across the frenzied and club-ready album, she talks about dancing with her friends and bigging up her reputation with infectious confidence and swagger. “This is my best record, for sure! For sure!” she said in our new cover feature and it’s hard to argue.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Alfie Templeman – Radiosoul
On new album Radiosoul, Alfie Templeman comes of age on an album that’s fearlessly funky and deliriously fun. Led by giddy single ‘Hello Lonely’, he collaborates with Nile Rodgers and more on a record that repositions him sonically while continuing his reputation as a young songwriter with limitless potential. “Every song is intentionally different from the last,” he says of the album, but it’s all tied together by an unrelenting energy and sunny-side-up outlook.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Peggy Gou – I Hear You
Peggy Gou has been making music for a decade leading up to debut album I Hear You, and the full-length record – out via XL Recordings – arrives at a very different point in the DJ and producer’s career. Recent single ’(It Goes Like) Nanana’ became a bona fide chart smash and ushered in a new era for Gou as one of the premier mainstream DJs on the circuit. It’s a role that suits the charismatic, energetic performer well, and should be furthered through this debut album.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Swim Deep – There’s A Big Star Outside
On their first album in five years, these B-Town survivors prove why they’ve still going something to say. With Bill Ryder-Jones on board, it’s an intriguing odyssey of space-rock, guitar-driven Americana (see the gorgeous ‘Don’t Make Me A Stranger’) and honest beauty on ‘Fine Surrounds’. They may have outgrown the scene that birthed them, but there’s enough here to suggest that Swim Deep still remain a brilliant prospect.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Goat Girl – Below the Waste
As the title of Goat Girl’s third album suggests, here is a chance for the South Londoners to seek out something more raw, visceral and grubby. Here, that manifests itself in the wild experimentalism of ‘jump sludge’ and the darkened synths of ‘motorway’. They wear it well and deliver their most ambitious album yet.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Kaytranada – Timeless
Grammy-winning producer and DJ Kaytranada has slowly but surely risen to becoming one of the most respected names in the scene over the last decade and beyond. This summer, he will headline a huge show as part of London’s All Points East, and new album Timeless is set to push him further towards stardom. Across 21 tracks, he travels all over the dance genre spectrum and links up with friends and collaborators including Anderson .Paak, Channel Tres and Childish Gambino.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Becky Hill – Believe Me Now?
Few dance vocalists have become as ubiquitous as Becky Hill in recent years, becoming the de-facto voice on songs from heavyweights such as Rudimental and David Guetta. This album shows she’s a force to be reckoned with in her own right too. There’s Ibiza-primed floor fillers, but more intriguing is the opener ‘True Colours’ – which sees the singer reckoning with the fall out of a sexual assault she experienced in her early 20s. This honesty allows the album to soar.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music