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 Blur, Empire Of The Sun, Sam Tompkins and Cults.

Blur – Live at Wembley Stadium

Though every Blur reunion tour since their first in 2009 has ended with the Britpop heroes insinuating that it will be their last, it does feel more than ever like their recent shows may have been a beautiful swansong. The 2023 and 2024 shows had their downpoints – namely a coolly-received pair of Coachella sets – but their two shows at Wembley Stadium last summer stand as a career high-point, and are immortalised on this energetic and raw album, which arrives alongside a documentary and full-length concert film.

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

Empire of the Sun – Ask That God

Since making an indelible mark on late 2000s indie with omnipresent smashes ‘Walking on a Dream’ and ‘We Are the People’, Empire of the Sun have continued to quietly create fantastical and maximalist pop music. Their love for majesty and otherworldliness in their music is signified by their nicknames – Luke “Emperor” Steele and Nick “Lord” Littlemore – and Ask That God, their first album in eight years, is a return to form that sees their sci-fi-influenced take on indie pop sharpened with renewed energy and imagination.

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

Sam Tompkins – hi, my name is insecure

As the title of Sam Tompkins’ debut album suggests, it’s a record steeped in soul-baring honesty and a frank dissection of the issues that have clouded his life. Take ‘See Me’, which sees Tompkins exploring how issues such as body confidence and self esteem have clouded his life. Elsewhere, the soaring ‘phones in heaven’ may have been written before losing his father to suicide, but Tompkins explains that the song understandably took on another form after this life-changing event occurred last year. It’s a tough listen in parts, but stick with it and you’ll find there’s plenty of beauty within the bleakness.

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

Cults – To The Ghosts

Some thirteen years after their debut album, there’s still moments of greatness to be found on his fifth album from New Yorkers Cults. ‘Hung The Moon’ is a gorgeous, other-worldly ballad, while ‘Crybaby’ is fit to burst with an irrepressible psychedelic spirit. Longtime fans will lap it up, while there’s enough to bring new devotees along for the ride too.

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