Keep your eyes and ears peeled for these albums next week. But don’t blame me if things change at the last minute:
TOP NEW ALBUMS
Ariana Grande
thank u, next
Hey, I know she’s a supremely talented singer. And after seeing her host Saturday Night Live, it seems clear she’s also got a functional sense of humour (insert your own Pete Davidson joke here). But I have to say: One of the greatest joys of working for myself instead of a daily newspaper is that I won’t have to write a word about this album if I don’t want to.
LCD Soundsystem
Electric Lady Sessions
James Murphy and his dance-rockers release a dozen-track performance — including covers of Human League’s Seconds, Chic’s I Want Your Love and Heaven 17’s (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang — recorded at Jimi Hendrix’s famed Manhattan studio. If wanting to hear this makes me a hipster, so be it.
Cass McCombs
Tip of the Sphere
California singer-songwriter Cass McCombs is one of those guys who should about a billion times more popular and successful than he is. I have no idea why he’s still a cult figure — and in all honestly, he’s been at it so long that I doubt his latest album will do much to change that. Still, as long as he’s writing songs, I’ll listen to them.
Mercury Rev
Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited
Gentry’s 1968 Delta Sweete was an oddball concept album about Southern life, with spoken-word segments and blues covers. Now noise-pop vets Mercury Rev have remade it with an all-star female cast including Norah Jones, Hope Sandoval, Lucinda Williams, Margo Price, Beth Orton and many more. Should be interesting.
Bob Mould
Sunshine Rock
Seems like someone’s in a good mood these days. And no wonder: The former Hüsker Dü and Sugar singer-guitarist says the mindset behind his latest album — “Trying to keep things brighter these days as a way to stay alive,” is how he puts it — was partly inspired by his decision to move to Berlin a few years back. Well, I guess it beats a sequel to Black Sheets of Rain.
OTHER RELEASES
February 8
• Charlotte Adigery | Zandoli EP
• Ageist | Babyface
• And the Kids | When This Life Is Over
• Beast in Black | From Hell With Love
• Be Forest | Knocturne
• Bloodest Saxophone | Texas Queens 5
• Michael Bolton | A Symphony of Hits
• C.J. Boyd | Kin Ships
• Analea Brown | Queendom
• Dave Brubeck | Studio Albums 1973-1983
• Clarence Gatemouth Brown | Live From Austin, TX
• Dave Brubeck | Seven Classic Albums
• Busted | Half Way There
• Matty Carlock | The Jailbirds
• Lou-Adriane Cassidy | C’est La Fin Du Monde Tout Les Jours
• Michael Chapman | True North
• Alex Chilton | Memphis to New Orleans • From Robin Hood Lane
• Albert Collins | Live From Austin, TX
• Colourmusic | Swimsuit
• Dakota | Here’s the 101 On How to Disappear
• Angel Bat Dawid | The Oracle
• Deidre & The Dark | Variety Hour
• Devour the Fetus | Traumatic Birth Delight
• John Diva & the Rockets of Love | Mama Said Rock Is Dead
• Downfall of Gaia | Ethic of Radical Finitude
• Ed Drewett | Ten
• Electrocution | Psychonolatry
• Lara Fabian | Papillon
• Charlie Faye & The Fayettes | The Whole Shebang
• Flat Worms | Into the Iris EP
• Front Line Assembly | Wake Up the Coma
• Eric Gales | The Bookends
• Geezer | Spital Fires EP
• Howe Gelb | Gathered
• Get a Life | Our Band Could Be Your Life
• Ghost Next Door | A Feast for the Sixth Sense
• Greyhound | Black Spring
• Hauschka | A Different Forest
• Health | Vol. 4: Slaves of Fear
• Charlie Heat & Denzel Curry | Aloha
• Host Bodies | Diamond Fruit EP
• Implements of Hell | Sea of Necrophenomena
• International Teachers of Pop | International Teachers of Pop
• Harry Jamison | Gloria Duplex
• Kicker | Pure Drivel
• King of Foxes | Salt & Honey
• Toby Knapp | Blizzard Archer
• Grace LaChance | Grace LaChance EP
• Lau | Midnight and Closedown
• Lemonheads | Varshons II
• Ryan Lott | Pentaptych
• Machineheart | People Change
• Maestus | Deliquesce
• Marley’s Ghost | Traveling Shoes
• Amy McCarley | MECO
• Metronomy | Nights Out 10th Anniversary Edition
• Moes Anthill | Quitter
• MZ.412 | Svartmyrkr
• New York United | New York United
• ONF | We Must Love
• Panda Bear | Buoys
• Jessica Pratt | Quiet Signs
• Prince | Musicology, 3121, Planet Earth Remastered
• Queen Zee | Queen Zee
• Radiant Baby | Restless
• Raped by Pigs | Mental Diseases and Congenital
• Jason Ringenberg | Stand Tall
• Rosy Vista | Unbelievable
• Said the Whale | Cascadia
• Seer | Volume 6
• Silk Road Assassins | State of Ruin
• Sister Hazel | Fire EP
• Skeletoon | They Never Say Die
• Jimmy Smith | Classic Verve Albums Collection
• S R L | Hic Sunt Leones
• Mavis Staples | Live in London
• Talos | Far Out Dust
• Joanna Shaw Taylor | Reckless Heart
• This Means War | Heartstrings
• Thornbridge | Theatrical Masterpiece
• AJ Tracey | AJ Tracey
• Robin Trower | The Studio Albums 1973-1983
• Tullycraft | Railway Prince Hotel
• Tunic | Complexion
• Cosey Fanni Tutti | Tutti
• UB40 | For the Many
• Uluru | Acrophilia
• Joseph Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch | An Attempt to Draw Aside the Veil
• Various Artists | Music Inspired by the Film Roma
• Viviankrist | Morgenrøde
• Wandering Hearts | Wild Silence
• Ward Thomas | Restless Minds
• Gary Wilson | The King of Endicott
• Windswept | The Onlooker
• Xenoblight | Procreation
• Xiu Xiu | Girl With Basket of Fruit
• Y La Bamba | Pursuit of Momentary Happiness
• Yak | Pursuit of Momentary Happiness
• Zedd & Katy Perry | 365
