Six albums you need to hear this week
With music from Amyl & The Sniffers, Florence and The Machine, Halsey, Pixies, Bastille and Courteeners
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 Amyl & The Sniffers, Florence and The Machine, Halsey, Pixies, Bastille and Courteeners.
Amyl & The Sniffers – Cartoon Darkness
Across their first two albums, Amyl & The Sniffers proved to be purveyors of snarling, spit and sawdust punk par excellence. That’s still very much the case here – see the resounding cry of ‘You’re an arsehole!’ on ‘Jerkin’, but they pair it with new found depth too. The unrepentant ‘Do It Do It’ offers a firm two fingers to their critics and sounds all the better for it. They’re as powerful as ever, but here it seems like the Aussie noisemakers have taken on a new voice that suits them like a glove.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Courteeners – Pink Cactus Cafe
A solitary listen to the seventh album from The Courteeners reveals how frontman Liam Fray has managed to manifest a new found assuredness into a record that he believes to be “song for song, the best we’ve ever done”.
There’s a newfound sense of freedom in the breezy pop of lead single ‘Solitude Of The Night Bus’, but it’s an album defined by collaborations too – the likes of which Courteeners haven’t tackled in their past. Rising soul star Brooke Combe and Australian Britpop revivalists DMAs are just two of these, after the toil of lockdown saw Fray realising that there was nothing to be lost in seeking connection.
This sense of constant sonic variety makes for one of their most exciting records to date.
You can read our recent interview with Courteeners here.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Halsey – The Great Impersonator
On their latest album, Halsey mines their trauma of the last few years – including a battle with leukaemia – to deliver an album that’s every bit as personal as it is eclectic. There is the energy of Avril Lavigne’s debut, shades of Michelle Branch and Vanessa Carlton, and a celebratory nod to Bruce Springsteen, the king of New Jersey. It all makes for one of their most constantly evolving and intriguing albums to date.
Read our digital cover interview with Halsey here.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Bastille – &
This latest venture from Bastille frontman Dan Smith sees him delving into the lives of historical figures and satisfying a long-standing creative itch.
There’s the soaring‘Blue Sky & The Painter’, inspired by artist Edvard Munch’s battles with depression and ‘Leonard & Marianne’ and which sees Smith examine the relationship between legendary singer Leonard Cohen and his lover Marianne Ihlen.
It would be easy to dismiss the record as a vanity project, but the sheer amount of variety and power here shows that it’s a true labour of love.
You can read our recent interview with Dan Smith here.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Florence And The Machine – Symphony of Lungs
In 2009, Lungs was the debut album that cemented Florence & The Machine’s star power. Some fifteen years later, this BBC Proms celebration shows just how far she’s come. This live album sees her backed by Jules Buckley and his orchestra as she runs through the record in its entirety. The results, it’s fair to say, are truly stunning.
Pixies – The Night The Zombies Came
There’s zombies to found in the title, but the ninth album from Pixies shows they’re in fact more alive than ever. The pounding horror-punk of ‘You’re so Impatient’ is a welcome shot in the arm, while ‘Mercy Me’ is a more melodic offering. It doesn’t all land with the same power, but there’s more than enough here to show why these punk stalwarts are still going.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
One to watch: Meryl Streek – Songs For The Deceased
There’s state of the nation records and then there’s this. Across 14 impassioned tracks, the Dublin artist mixes hardcore punk with more ethereal, otherworldly sounds to rage against what he deems to be Ireland’s societal ills and injustices. There’s blistering polemics on the raging ‘Bertie’ while the haunting ‘Terrance’ delves into the real life story of a man who took his own life in police custody – though some have disputed that ruling. It’s a tough, but essential listen.