5 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 Inhaler, Skrillex, P!nk, Avey Tare and Orbital.

Inhaler – Cuts & Bruises

This second record from the Dublin rockers arrives at the outset of what looks set to be a massive year for them; with huge outdoor support slots to the likes of Harry Styles, Arctic Monkeys and Sam Fender in prospect, this would probably not be the appropriate time to be releasing an intimate acoustic album. Accordingly, Cuts & Bruises is the sound of a band adapting to the stadium aspirations of 2021’s UK number one debut It Won’t Always Be Like This becoming reality, with lead singles ‘These Are the Days’ and ‘Love Will Get You There’ suggesting that soaring anthems are something that run in frontman Eli Hewson’s family.

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

Skrillex – Quest for Fire

Nine years ago, when Skrillex dropped his only previous album proper, Recess, it would have seemed unconceivable that he would take nearly a decade to follow-up; after all, the dubstep pioneer once felt like a ubiquitous presence in the dance world. The star-studded list of collaborators on this long-awaited follow-up, though, suggests he has maintained his position as one of thee genre’s key figures; boasting production from both the old guard and the new, with Four Tet and Fred again.. behind the boards, Skrillex also welcomes everyone from Flowdan and Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz to Missy Elliott and Mr. Oizo, on a typically technicolour EDM odyssey.

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

P!nk – Trustfall

When P!nk surprise released ‘Irrelevant’ last summer, the pop veteran proved herself to be anything but; a protest single in response to the quashing of Roe v. Wade in the U.S., it saw her on the kind of rebellious form she first made her name with over two decades ago. Whilst that track doesn’t appear on this ninth studio album, there’s plenty of evidence of her ongoing vitality to modern pop, not least in some ambitious collaborative choices; there’s production from Fred again.., and some country-tinged team-ups with heavy hitters of the genre like First Aid Kit, Chris Stapleton and The Lumineers.

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

Avey Tare – 7s

Dave Portner’s solo career away from Animal Collective had already been a weird and wonderful affair to begin with, so the prospect of him dropping a lockdown record is one that carries with it the possibility of him leaning further into his electronic eccentricities than ever. In fact, 7s might be his most intimate and thoughtful album yet, serving up off-kilter pop that centres his predilection for hooks and melody more than ever before. With the songs drawn from 12-hour sessions conducted in solitude, 7s might represents the purest and most distilled iteration of the Avey Tare project to date.

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

Orbital – Optical Delusion

Last year, Phil and Paul Hartnoll celebrated more than three decades as a key force in British electronic music with a retrospective compilation album, 30 Something; you get the sense that, having indulged in a look back over a remarkable career, they quickly felt the need to produce something forward-facing. There’s a genuine vitality to Optical Delusion, on which the cast of featured artists suggests that Orbital’s techno stylings remain crucial to UK music, with a colourful supporting array including the likes of Mediæval Bæbes, Anna B Savage and Penelope Isles; the appearance of Sleaford Mods on lead single ‘Dirty Rat’, meanwhile, reminds us of their long-standing position as political firebrands.

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