7 albums you need to hear this week
With music from The Horrors, Japanese Breakfast, Benefits, Greentea Peng, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco, YHWH Nailgun and Gustaffson
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 Horrors, Japanese Breakfast, Benefits, Greentea Peng, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco, YHWH Nailgun and Gustaffson.
The Horrors – Night Life
After shapeshifting for the entirety of their two-decade career, it should rock The Horrors less than most bands to change more than half its line-up. Founding members Faris Badwan and Rhys Webb are now joined by Amelia Kidd on keys and Telegram’s Jordan Cook on drums, saying: “We are always looking to explore new sonic territories and find new ways for the band to sound, it’s probably what we enjoy most about being in The Horrors.” On their sixth album, Night Life, the band use this recalibration as reason enough for yet another overhaul of their sound, diving into glitchy electronics and a vocal interplay between Badwan and Kidd that defines their new sound.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Japanese Breakfast – For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)
For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women), the latest album from Japanese Breakfast, is the crash after the party. With Michelle Zauner having picked up a Grammy nomination for sprightly 2021 album Jubilee, and become a best-selling author with lauded memoir Crying in H Mart, the new album then concerns the pitfalls of always wanting more. “I felt seduced by getting what I always wanted,” she says of the album’s genesis.. “I was flying too close to the sun, and I realised if I kept going I was going to die.” The new album uses soft acoustic guitar and sweeping strings to interrogate these feelings and plot a better path forwards.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Benefits – Constant Noise
As Benefits vocalist Kingsley Hall explained to Rolling Stone UK earlier this week, there was a real need to slightly flip the sound when it came to album two from these Teesside noisemakers. “Repeating ourselves just would have been an absolute fucking waste of time,” explains Hall. “It would have been so boring, and I don’t think Robbie would be that interested in it. I think it’s just a question of being there and done that.”
It means there’s dream-like synths and doom disco on offer, but Benefits have lost none of their bite. Take the internet-dissecting title track which sees Hall talk about “looking up at a mountain of shit”.
It’s the perfect step up.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Greentea Peng – Tell Dem It’s Sunny
On her second album, London neo-soul star Greentea Peng offers a dive into the the very essence of the human condition. The lead single ‘TARDIS (hardest) sees her employ psychedelic beats to take aim at “no successful half hearters”, which reflects the defiance that runs through this record.
It’s a mystical blend of synths, spirituality and even putting your best foot forward through the toughest of circumstances, as shown on the soaring ‘Green’. Old school fans of neo-soul and, as it happens, those looking for a bit of much needed release, will lap it up.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco – I Said I Love You First
“It just is actually what went down, and it describes us,” Selena Gomez told Rolling Stone of her collaborative album I Said I Love You First with her producer and fiancé Benny Blanco. The record sees the pair recount the origins of their love story, and was written and recorded as it continued to blossom. The album’s lead single, ‘Call Me When You Break Up’, sees Gracie Abrams trade verses with Gomez about a budding relationship, while ‘Sunset Blvd’ is a shimmering synth-pop delight drenched in the feelings of a new love.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
YHWH Nailgun – 45 Pounds
After releasing a host of shorter projects and becoming a renowned live act, New York four-piece YHWH Nailgun’s debut album, 45 Pounds, is a brilliantly intense statement of intent. The ending of ‘Pain Mountain’ sounds like a pneumatic drill trying to bulldoze an otherwise somewhat melodic song, while frantic percussion scurries its way through every song. It gives the whole album a nervous energy, making the moments of light relief – the enormous synths that break through the clouds half way through ‘Tear Pusher’ – all the more impactful. Across the record, the band seem equally interested in pursuing harmony and beauty as well as pure dissonance, making for a mixture that is never less than thrilling.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Gustaffson – Black and White Movie
Gustaffson is the side project of actor Andrew Gower, which appropriately means that there’s a decent sprinkling of stardust throughout this accomplished debut album from the band. It’s produced by Elbow’s Craig Potter, while Sir Ben Kingsley – no big deal – is heard on ‘Closer’.
But it’s to Gower’s credit that there’s some real lyrical bite here beyond the A-List cameos. The aforementioned song pulls in soulful organ and gospel backing to offer a dark message on the rising power of technology, while the haunting ‘Flowers’ features a cameo from Emmy-winning composer Bear McCreary. The title may talk of a black and white movie, but the vivid musical world that Gower has created here is truly technicolour.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music