7 albums you need to hear this week
With music from Eminem, BERWYN, Griff, Remi Wolf, Future Utopia, Cat Burns and Clairo.
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 Eminem, BERWYN, Griff, Remi Wolf, Cat Burns and Clairo.
BERWYN – Who Am I
On his debut album, BERWYN wants to let you know that he’s going to do everything in his power to live up to the question posed in its title.
Take the stirring album track ‘I Am Black’, which employs rap and looser hip-hop instrumentals for a frank discussion of the racism that BERWYN faced when he moved over from Trinidad aged nine. “I am Black and I’m not trying to run from myself… Imagine living life scared you could die on the streets / Any day, any week, brothers pray, and they weep,” he offers.
Across 12 remarkable tracks packed with candour and honesty, we’re given a no-holds-barred look into the struggles that have paved BERWYN’s path towards becoming one of Britain’s most important voices. The result is one of the best albums of the year so far.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Eminem – The Death of Slim Shady
Guess who’s back? Eminem’s supposed attempt to kill his notorious alter-ego once and for all feels like the explosive ending we were all anticipating. ‘Renaissance’ shows off classic Eminem word-play and an unrepentant attack on his haters, while the lead track ‘Houdini’ is an ear worm that holds up with the best of the rapper’s catalogue. But at times, it feels dated and crass. There’s unrepentant punching down at trans people on ‘Road Rage’, while ‘Habits’ feels a bit old-man-shouting-at-cloud.
Still, there’s moments of greatness too – ‘Somebody Save Me’ is a touching imagining of what would’ve happened if he hadn’t beaten his drug addictions to be present at key moments in his daughter Hailie’s life. It’s not always big and it’s definitely not clever, but old school Eminem fans will lap it up.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Future Utopia – Django’s High
On his second album since stepping out from behind the mixing desk, star-making producer Fraser T Smith roars off into the desert for something resembling a spaghetti western. Co-produced by Kasabian songwriter and frontman, Sergio Pizzorno, it’s a cinematic record that broadens the horizons of Smith’s musical world.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Clairo – Charm
For Clairo’s third album, Charm, the young singer-songwriter leans further into her warm, retro swerve away from terminally online alt-pop into something more indebted to the 60s and 70s. Led by irresistible first single ‘Sexy to Someone’, it’s a record that sets Clairo up to become a generational and timeless artist. The album was recorded live to tape in the mountains of Woodstock, New York, and carries with it the earthy quality of her influences from decades ago.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Griff – Vertigo
“The real, raw emotion of pain is rarely shiny and with a bow on it,” Griff told Rolling Stone UK recently. “Maybe because of that I struggle to write super polished pop music because it’s not where I see my emotions resonating. Emotions are messy and raw.” On superb debut album vertigo, she eschews tidy narratives in favour of unfiltered truth, presented via thumping pop anthems in conversation with Lorde, Robyn and other beloved left-of-centre pop stars.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Remi Wolf – Big Ideas
“Big Ideas in essence is my mid 20s coming of age album,” Remi Wolf says of her second album. “It documents all my wild nights, situationships, and jet lagged high highs, low lows and evolving thoughts on my identity and purpose in this world.” In line with this, the record is an exploratory gem, full of more questions than answers, and searching for meaning through a vibrant and eclectic palate of pop music.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Cat Burns – early twenties
On her debut album, Cat Burns offers a candid snapshot of adulthood, growing pains and personal storytelling served up with a healthy dose of honesty. The soaring ‘know that you’re not alone is a brilliant take on the very situation of hitting a mid-20s wall, while ‘low self-esteem’ shows she can bring a unique joy to even the darkest of moments.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music