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 Ed Sheeran, Fred Again.. and Brian Eno, SBTRKT and The Lemon Twigs.

Ed Sheeran – –

For Ed Sheeran, when it rains, it pours. The final instalment of his mathematically-titled series of albums diarises his unimaginably difficult 2022, during which his wife Cherry Seaborn was diagnosed with a tumour while six months pregnant, just weeks before the death of his best friend Jamal Edwards. With The National’s Aaron Dessner behind the production desk, it’s made for some of his most raw, bleak work to date, as Sheeran works through his pain out loud and scrambles for a sense of catharsis.

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

Fred again.. and Brian Eno – Secret Life

Fred again.. is the busiest man in British dance music right now, and lately, wherever he goes, Skrillex and Four Tet are usually not too far behind. For his latest musical endeavour, however, he’s leaned into another of his working relationships, teaming up with Brian Eno for a collaborative album released on Four Tet’s label, Text Records. “I know that Fred has sometimes referred to me as a mentor, but actually, it works both ways,” Eno told The New York Times of their working relationship. It’s the backbone of an album that Four Tet himself has called “the most beautiful album of 2023”.

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

SBTRKT – The Rat Road

The British producer born Aaron Jerome has burst back onto the scene with his first album in seven years. Despite his absence, however, he’s been as busy as ever, working on around 1500 tracks in his time away which he then slimmed down his work into a 22-track opus. The album once again brings long time collaborator Sampha on board, but also enlists Toro Y Moi, Teezo Touchdown and D Double E for a series of dynamic guest features.

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

The Lemon Twigs – Everything Harmony

The D’Addario brothers have an affinity for giving the sounds they love from the ’60s and ’70s a modern lick of paint, and they’ve done that with more precision than ever on their fourth album. It runs the gamut from despair to resignation (one song, ‘Every Day Is The Worst Day Of My Life’, repeats the title phrase over and over) with bursts of euphoria in between, while sounding as suavely retro as ever, revelling in its own melting pot of influences. It makes for a curious, delicate listen.