fka twigs recently announced a 10-city tour. While, of course, none of the dates are anywhere near me, a tour is a decent indication that new music is on the way. It's been five years since her incredible LP1. If a new album is announced, look for it on my Upcoming Releases page!
This week, Beyoncé announced and released a live album, Homecoming.
Homecoming was recorded at Coachella, where Beyoncé put on a massive set as the festival's 2018 headliner. Her set featured a marching band, step team, her Destiny's Child bandmates, and her sister Solange.
Netflix recently dropped a documentary covering her Coachella performance, also called Homecoming. That is available to stream now if you have Netflix (or access to someone's account).
Homecoming is out now.
Also announced this week:
Flying Lotus - Flamagra (May 24)
Kevin Abstract - Ghettobaby (out now)
Matt Martians - The Last Party (April 26)
ScHoolboy Q - CrasH Talk (April 26)
The Soft Cavalry - The Soft Cavalry (July 5)
YG - 4REAL 4REAL (May 3)
Fémina are a hip hop and folk trio from Argentina. They got their start, and their name, with the realization that there wasn't much female representation in their music scene. Their third album includes a feature from Iggy Pop.
Khalid came onto the scene at 18 years old with the song "Location." He released his debut album, American Teen, a year later in 2017. He's already had several hits, and looks to be continuing that success on this record, with lead single "Talk" performing well on the charts.
Priests is a post-punk band out of DC who released their debut album, Nothing Feels Natural, in 2017. The recorded their follow-up with celebrated produced John Congleton.
Titanic Rising is the fourth album from this artist, also known as Natalie Mering, and follows her spectacular 2016 album, Front Row Seat to Earth. Her baroque pop leanings are on full display on this record, and in the self-directed video for "Everyday."
The Coachella music festival is currently going on and, as part of his set, Childish Gambino released a new short film, Guava Island, filmed with Rihanna. Maybe we can also get a collaborative album from the two... that would be pretty awesome. On the off-chance something like that ever happens, be sure to look for it over on my Upcoming Releases page!
A couple of weeks ago, The Raconteurs announced their third album, Help Us Stranger.
The Raconteurs are one of Jack White's many non-White Stripes projects. He is joined in the band by The Greenhornes' Patrick Keeler (also of The Afghan Whigs) and Jack Lawrence, and Brendan Benson, who is primarily known as a solo artist.
White fairly reliably cycles through his various projects (save for The White Stripes) when releasing new material. We got a solo record in 2014, an album from The Dead Weather in 2015, and another solo record in 2018.
It's The Raconteurs turn now, with a new record announced on April 2. A few songs from the record have already been released, including a cover of Donovan's "Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)."
Help Us Stranger is set for release on June 21.
Also recently announced:
Aurora - A Different Kind of Human (June 7)
Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated (May 17)
Charlie Cunningham - Permanent Way (June 7)
Crumb - Jinx (June 14)
Hayden Thorpe - Diviner (May 24)
Holy Ghost! - Work (June 21)
Hot Chip - A Bathful of Ecstasy (June 21)
Julia Shapiro - Perfect Version (June 14)
The Lumineers - III (September 13)
Mark Ronson - Late Night Feelings (June 21)
Nearly Oratorio - A Comforting Fact (May 24)
Olden Yolk - Living Theatre (May 17)
Omar Apollo - Friends (out now)
Operators - Radiant Dawn (May)
Palehound - Black Friday (June 7)
Thee Oh Sees - Thee Hounds of Foggy Nation Reissue (May 24)
Titus Andronicus - An Obelisk (June 21)
Yeasayer - Erotic Returns (June 7)
Yohuna - Mirroring (June 7)
Zomby - Vanta (May 17)
Billie Eilish - When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
She may be 17, but Eilish has already been making a big splash over the past couple of years. She released her debut, don't smile at me, in 2017, which topped the U.S. alternative chart. It's early to say, but her follow-up may easily outperform on the charts, having already broken records to pre-adds on Apple Music!
The pre-released singles for this album hit me hard and started a weeks-long obsession with this post-metal band from Belgium. I've spent that time listening to their debut, Burst, and playing "War" on repeat. I am beyond excited for this follow-up release and see it as an early contender for one of my favorites for the year!
Cosmic Wind is the second album from this duo of Jillian Hervey and Lucas Goodman, following 2016's Begin. This sees them parting ways with Interscope Records, with a self-released album featuring Leikeli47, Bilal, and Raekwon.
You're the Man is Gaye's first posthumous album since 1997's Vulnerable and was initially intended as a follow-up to What's Going On, though many of the songs have seen release on prior compilations. The album also includes a few new mixes of Gaye's songs, courtesy of Salaam Remi.
Mdou Moctar is a Tuareg singer from Niger. He, along with Bombino and Tinariwen, has been an instrumental artist in the combination of traditional Tuareg music with modern pop and rock. He began his career in 2008 with Anar. Ilana is his fifth album.