8 albums you need to hear this week
With music from Matt Maltese, Jin, Peter Doherty, Damiano David, Chloe Qisha, Shanti Celeste, Billy Nomates and Ezra Furman
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 from Matt Maltese, Jin, Peter Doherty, Damiano David, Chloe Qisha, Shanti Celeste, Billy Nomates and Ezra Furman.
Matt Maltese – Hers
“I’m British enough to feel a slight shame of writing so many love songs in the past,” Matt Maltese says of his body of work so far, which has seen him rise to becoming one of the most loved songwriters on the isle. On new album Hers, he meditates more softly and thoughtfully on a long-term relationship, and how feelings change outside the glow of intense new love. He says: “I’ve written a lot of music that comes from a place of infatuation, but this record was written on reflection of a much longer-term love. The complications and wonderful roads that that goes through and the more informed heartaches that come out of it.”
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Jin – Echo
On his second album, BTS star Jin builds on last year’s ‘Happy’ to deliver a record that builds on the sonic palette of his debut while assuring that there’s plenty for fans to love too. “Aiming to connect on a deeper level with fans through music, Echo offers Jin’s perspective on universal life experiences, capturing everyday emotions with warmth and sincerity,” reads a statement announcing the project.
“Built on dynamic band sounds, the album showcases his versatile vocals across a spectrum of moods and styles,” the statement continued. “It reflects a deeper layer of vocal maturity and personal storytelling that underscores Jin’s evolving artistry.”
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Peter Doherty – Felt Better Alive
“The Libertines are stark-raving mad not to want these songs”, was how Pete Doherty put it upon announcing this particular collection earlier this year. Be that as it may, you sense that songs were always destined to belong as Doherty numbers given how intensely personal they are. Here the newly-reformed hell-raiser reflects on domestic bliss in rural France and even offers a tribute to his young daughter on the heart-rending but equally hilarious ‘Pot Of Gold’. “Hush my darling, oh don’t you cry/ Daddy’s trying to write you a lullaby/ And if that lullaby’s a hit, Dad can buy you loads of cool shit,” he offers. It’s a lovely reflection of Pete relishing life in a stage of his own that many of us questioned he would ever reach.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Damiano David – FUNNY little FEARS
If Eurovision conquering behemoths Måneskin were known for spreading their Stooges-esque stompers to that contest and the wider world beyond, then this first outing from frontman Damiano David offers something entirely different. There’s a rock and roll swagger, sure, but the sonics here feel more in common – if we’re being entirely honest – with a Harry Styles record. That’s reflected in the pop-pomp of ‘Born With A Broken Heart’, while ‘Sick Of Myself’ shows off a more classic songbook angle. His fans, no doubt, will lap it up.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Chloe Qisha – Modern Romance EP
In her Rolling Stone UK Future of Music cover feature, Chloe Qisha said that she wants to be a bit of everything in the pop world. “I think most people would think the opposite. They’d be like, ‘Oh, if your music is super concise and everything sounds the same, that’s more authentic and shows the clear direction of what you like to listen to,’” she told us. “But for me, I’ve always listened to every strand of pop, and it will always sound like me.” This manifesto is born out on her excellent new EP Modern Romance, which puts the shiny pop of ‘21st Century Cool Girl’ next to the funk-influenced ‘Sex, Drugs & Existential Dread’ and the slower, more contemplative title track. It’s the building blocks for a special new voice in British pop.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Shanti Celeste – Romance
Shanti Celeste’s blissful 2024 single, ‘Ice Cream Dream Boy’, thrust us into the world of the Chilean-born, Bristol-based DJ and producer’s newfound love, and it’s fleshed out on her gorgeous second album, Romance. On the record, Celeste’s brilliance at writing technicolour house bangers remains, but is joined by slower and more meditative tracks, incorporating the sounds of her Latin heritage and a raft of collaborators. It’s as divine and colourful as falling in love itself.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Billy Nomates – Metalhorse
The recording of this fourth album from the artist born Tor Maries was shaped by huge personal loss, she explained in a recent interview, after the death of her father. But instead of being enveloped by sadness, she let it become a positive force. The result is a swaggering beast of a record – as shown on the rock-flecked ‘Plans – that demands your attention and refuses to get go.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music
Ezra Furman – Goodbye Small Head
Ezra Furman’s 10th studio album, Goodbye Small Head, is, in her own words, “twelve songs, twelve variations on the experience of completely losing control, whether by weakness, illness, mysticism, BDSM, drugs, heartbreak or just living in a sick society with one’s eyes open.” After casting her net towards writing for TV (soundtracking Netflix hit Sex Education) and becoming known for a killer cover version, Goodbye Small Head dives deeper than ever into Furman’s world and emerges with a delightfully rich and nuanced portrait of an intriguing artist.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Music | TIDAL | Amazon Music