Welcome to the new music weekly column.

This is where you’ll find new albums, songs and weekly announcements from your favorite artists.

~ANNOUNCEMENTS~

-Taylor Swift announced at the VMA’s that her next album “Midnight” will be out October 21st.

-Joji has announced his new album “SMITHEREENS,” a 9 track album coming November 9th.

-Arctic Monkeys have announced their newest album “The Car” coming October 21st.

-Famous producer Kenny Beats has announced his debut album “Louie” coming August 31st.

-Björk has confirmed her next album “Fossora” will release September 30th as well as a new single “Atopos” coming soon.

-Andrew VanWyngarden announced that we will finally be getting new MGMT music this year.

-Gorillaz have a new track titled “New Gold” featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown coming soon.

-Dance-Punk legends LCD Soundsystem have their first single in 5 years, “New Body Rhumba” coming as a part of the soundtrack for a new Netflix movie “White Noise” later this year.

-Indie Rock duo Girlpool has announced their disbandment.

~SINGLES~

YUKON (INTERLUDE) by Joji

Genre: Alternative RnB

My Rating: [8/10]

While not being exactly what I expected as a second single for Joji’s upcoming record, it’s still quite good.  “YUKON (INTERLUDE)” doesn’t quite have the same level of maturity, songwriting, or balladry as “Glimpse of Us”, but it’s still a pretty great song, just held back by a somewhat generic beat.

Hold Me Closer by Britney Spears and Elton John

Genre: Dance Pop

My Rating: [6/10]

Kinda sad I didn’t like this one all that much, it’s the return of a recently freed Britney which is fantastic and it’s a fun track, but this one is just really rough around the edges to where it almost sounds like a fan edited a dance track over some Elton John samples and added Britney into it.  But hey. If you like either of these artists, give it a shot, it’s worth your time

Bucktooth by Lowertown

Genre: Indie Rock

My Rating: [9/10]

Lowertown are a very underrated Indie band and “Bucktooth” is not an exception at all, it’s got really well written lyrics, a kickin instrumental, and a lil bit of folk twang thrown in there for the fun of it.  It’s got a little bit for everyone, and be sure to watch out for their 3rd album “I Love to Lie” coming out late October.

Phantom by Rina Sawayama

Genre: Pop Rock

My Rating: [7/10]

Rina’s 4th single for her upcoming sophomore album “Hold the Girl” is a pretty beautiful track.  As someone who has felt kind of hit or miss about Rina’s recent tracks, I would most definitely love to hear more like this from the new album

All You Do by Magdalena Bay

Genre: Electropop

My Rating: [8/10]

A little teaser towards the deluxe edition of their 2021 album “Mercurial World”, and it’s an absolutely splendid track.  Same high level of quality as their last album with even more grooves and beautiful vocals than before.

Dangerous by Madison Beer

Genre: Pop

My Rating: [7/10]

Madison’s music has never really interested me all that much, but this new track is a really beautiful orchestral ballad with gorgeous vocals from Madison and super smooth production to back it up.

~ALBUMS~

GOD DID by DJ Khaled

Genre: Pop, Rap

My Rating: [5/10]

DJ Khaled has plagued the music industry for decades now, and with this new album coming a year after his last, it is admittedly, a slight improvement.  DJ Khaled is an industry giant at this point, he’s a hit-maker with his posse of superstars that make appearances on his albums, but it doesn’t make up for his shallow, uninspired, slogs of albums that he drops.  Last year his album “KHALED KHALED” was one of my most hated albums of the year, not only for its lack of polish and soul, but also because a lot of songs were just plain awful.  Where I think “GOD DID” shines over its predecessor is that there are a fair amount of tracks that are, to a degree, interesting.  There are still mediocre songs riddled throughout, but nothing really goes below that, which is an improvement for Khaled.  If you like any of the artists who feature on this album like Drake, SZA, Eminem, 21 Savage, etc. give those songs a shot, but the rest can just get tossed to the side.

Favorite Songs: Way Past Luck, Beautiful, and Juice WRLD DID

Least Favorites: Use This Gospel (Remix), Staying Alive, and These Streets Know My Name

Will of the People by Muse

Genre: Alternative Rock

My Rating: [5/10]

Muse’s new album was one I expected to be quite a bit worse, and while not being as bad as expected I’m still not going to give it too much credit because it’s still not great.  Muse is a band I used to strongly enjoy, but with their recent output it’s very obvious Muse are slowly slipping off the block, with the main reason being overproduction.  Muse’s last 3 albums have tried way too hard to sound futuristic and more electronically infused which was when things kinda started to go downhill.  While that’s still an issue here I think it works better here because it feels so over the top that it makes it kind of fun.  The commentary here is pretty terribly presented with it coming off very corny and from a very far removed place.  Overall, if you enjoy the likes of Imagine Dragons and many of the other Alternative rock bands of the late 2010’s you will probably enjoy this, and for the rest of y’all maybe just listen to the first track cause that gives you a good picture of the rest of the album.

Favorite Songs: You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween, Kill or Be Killed, and Verona

Least Favorites: Won’t Stand Down, Ghosts (How Can I Move On), and Compliance

Pre-Pleasure by Julia Jacklin

Genre: Indie Pop

Rating: [8/10]

Julia Jacklin’s “Pre-Pleasure” isn’t a reinvention of the Indie Pop genre, but it’s the most rewarding presentation of it this year.  On her 3rd album she hones in her songwriting capabilities and vocals to put together an Indie Pop album that perfectly captures the awkward feelings of love in a way that is unique from her contemporaries.  From the lonely piano melodies of “Love, Try Not To Let Go”, to the bluntness of “Moviegoer”, and the pure perfection “End Of A Friendship”, there is a whole lot to love about this record.  If you are a fan of Mitski or other artists similar to her, you will love this album.

Favorite Songs: End Of A Friendship, Moviegoer, Too In Love To Die, and Love, Try Not To Let Go

Least Favorites: None

The Forever Story by JID

Genre: Southern Hip-Hop

My Rating: [9/10]

Dreamville’s darling’s third album is his most impressive display of his career and the year as an entirety.  “The Forever Story” is an album overflowing with energy as JID has finally taken full advantage of his skill, showing that he’s THE artist out of J. Cole’s Dreamville label.  He balances his introspective lyrics about his past with funny one-liners and personality, and although he has never been the most versatile rapper out there he does have a large range of beats that make up for it.  Although not every track is made the same, all of them have a certain level of style, polish, and feeling that makes them an important addition.  Easily bound to be one of the best Rap releases of the year, if you are a fan of Hip-Hop you owe yourself to listen to this.

Favorite Songs: Raydar, Dance Now, Surround Sound, Money, and Stars

Least Favorites: None

Flood by Stella Donelly

Genre: Indie Pop

My Rating: [7/10]

Stella Donelly’s second album, while not as impressive as her debut, is still a really lovely time.

Stella Donelly comes through with her sophomore studio LP “Flood” an album with loads of calming feels, but also comes with a bit of filler.  The album starts off really strong with “Lungs” and “How Was Your Day?”, two fantastic tracks, but then falls into kind of a mediocre pothole briefly with the following tracks and then picked back up by the second half of the album, so it really is kind of a rollercoaster of an album, albeit not the most exciting roller coaster.  In the end though I don’t doubt Stella’s abilities as a songwriter, it just kinda falls on being released on the same date of a bit better of an  Indie-Pop album and kind of living in the shadow of her debut.

Favorite Songs: Lungs, Flood, Cold, and How Was Your Day?

Least Favorites: This Week