6 albums you need to hear this week

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 Taylor Swift, Richard Ashcroft, Idlewild, Kettama, Dodie and Leon Vynehall.

Taylor Swift – The Life of a Showgirl

Taylor Swift’s twelfth album, as the title suggests, was very much recorded during scarce downtime on her record-breaking Eras tour in Europe. Max Martin is back on board too and pop maximalism is therefore the name of the game. There’s some songs that rank among her best, such as the Fleetwood Mac indebted ‘The Fate of Ophelia’, but on the flip side there’s efforts like ‘Actually Romantic’, a hackneyed and ham-fisted attack against someone who wronged her, with the internet duly going wild to determine that person’s identity. It’s a mixed bag, but expect it to sell by the metric tonne regardless…

Listen on: Spotify | ‎Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music

Richard Ashcroft – Lovin’ You

Fresh off a triumphant stadium tour with Oasis and the prospect of his own arena tour next year, Wigan’s favourite son delivers an album that his legions of fans will lap up. “Everyone needs someone to hold,” he croons on the beautiful L’Amour. No doubt his fans will be heeding this message when this incredibly emotional record gets a full live outing at those shows in 2026.

Listen on: Spotify | ‎Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music

Idlewild – Idlewild

More than 30 years after starting out in Edinburgh, Idlewild are still crafting unique folk gems that allow them to become of the UK’s most beloved cult bands. There’s the joyous ‘Like I Had Before’, while the closer ‘End With Sunrise’ delivers a proper gut punch and ranks among the best things they’ve ever done.

Listen on: Spotify | ‎Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music

Kettama – Archangel

A decade in the making, Kettama’s debut album Archangel arrives at the perfect point, with the Galway-born artist currently one of the most in-demand DJs and producers around. Turns on the decks alongside Fred again.. and Skepta have shown his prowess at lighting up a dancefloor, and Archangel – full of thumping beats, a diverse array of guest vocalists and a constant striving for euphoria – should ensure his continued ascendance to the very top.

Listen on: Spotify | ‎Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music

Dodie – Not for Lack of Trying

The title of Dodie’s new album alludes to the three years spent painstakingly trying to find its core theme and reason for being. “Not For Lack Of Trying is so simple, so sad and it really painted this picture of all these songs, of me trying to figure it out,” she says of the title. The album itself similarly sees her working through feelings both serious (offering support to a friend racially abused online in ‘I Feel Bad For You, Dave’) and more light-hearted (singing to, and about, her cat on ‘Darling, Angel, Baby’).

Listen on: Spotify | ‎Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music

Leon Vynehall – In Daytona Yellow

While he’s primarily known for leftfield dance floorfillers, Leon Vynehall embraces vulnerability on his excellent new album, In Daytona Yellow. Singing himself for the first time alongside a raft of collaborators, the record dips into pop, R&B and beyond. It’s an album themed around imperfection, and while its lyrics point at rough edges and loose threads, it’s the music of a producer more confident and assured than ever.

Listen on: Spotify | ‎Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music