8 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 Kacey Musgraves, Kneecap, Melanie C, American Football, The Black Keys, Pigeon, Maya Hawke and Lip Critic.

Kacey Musgraves – Middle of Nowhere

Kacey Musgraves’ new album was written in the aftermath of a “pretty ridiculous” breakup, and documents her piecing herself back together and learning to value being alone. Led by the hugely catchy and frank single ‘Dry Spell’ – including the all-timer lyrics, “I’ve been sitting on the washing machine” and “nobody but the chickens are gettin’ laid” – the record sees her edging back towards her country roots and imparting wisdom from a period of time where she grew back into herself.

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

Kneecap – Fenian

News headlines and court cases have been the main stories around Kneecap in the past two years, so it must feel like some sort of relief to actually release a new album. Fenian, the follow-up to debut album Fine Art, is full of all the political statements and thunderous beats that the Belfast trio have become known for, but most interesting and powerful is ‘Irish Goodbye’, a collaboration with Kae Tempest that sees Móglaí Bap honouring his late mother, who died by suicide. “A sad day for us that ya had to leave in such a hurry / And it’s not an issue, just want to say I miss you,” he raps on the group’s most tender moment yet.

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

Melanie C – Sweat

Melanie C may no longer be Sporty Spice, but you’d be forgiven for thinking that isn’t the case on this latest record. Sweat careers along like the soundtrack to a punishing 10K that you never know you needed and this joyful identity proves to be its greatest strength. Careering from tinges of disco to all out dance, as seen on ‘Pressure’, it shows that Melanie C is still capable of wild abandon and moments of glorious fun.

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

American Football – American Football

Since their reunion over a decade ago, American Football have slowly but surely been trying to escape the long and hugely influential shadow of their cult classic of a debut album from 1999. With their fourth self-titled effort, Mike Kinsella and co. finally feel like the albatross around their neck is loosening. With darker and more moody sonics and lyrics that move the band from teen angst to middle-aged milieu, it’s the surest sign yet that this band’s once fleeting career is now set for the long haul.

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

The Black Keys – Peaches!

The prolific proclivity of The Black Keys seems to be going nowhere on this latest release, their fifth album in five years. It also happens to be one of their best in that period. Their cover of Ike Turner’s ‘You Got to Lose’ is a deliciously sleazy slice of delta blues, while the chugging power of ‘Nobody But You Baby’ is an excellent late highlight. The storms weathered by these two friends in recent years have been well documented, but records like this prove that they’ve truly emerged out the other side and found their own sunshine.

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

Pigeon – OUTTANATIONAL

OUTTANATIONAL was written while Margate-based Pigeon’s vocalist Falle Nioke was undertaking his British citizenship test. Ideas about cross-cultural pollination dominate this excellent debut album, furthered by their multi-lingual frontman. “It’s hard for me to sing [just] one language in a song,” Nioke told Rolling Stone UK. “I always have to feel it.” Through psychedelia, punk, pop and beyond, Pigeon make music with no boundaries and experimentation at its heart.

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

Maya Hawke – MAITREYA CORSO

As her time in the Stranger Things universe ends, Maya Hawke reminds us with her new album what a gifted and promising songwriter she remains. MAITREYA CORSO, her fourth studio album, brings elements of fantasy and conceptual storytelling to her delicate indie-folk sound. Of the title, she told Rolling Stone: “Corso is a reference to Gregory Corso, and Maitreya is a reference to the Bodhisattva — this idea of new beginnings, this combination of the divine spirit and the human spirit. I was looking for a name of a fantasy heroine to go on this journey that I felt like the record was, and that felt right.”

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

Lip Critic – Theft World

Wherever Lip Critic go, chaos follows. The band recently went viral for performing in a laundromat in their native New York City, and even their ‘regular’ shows feel like whirlwinds of barely contained noise and fervour. Their new album, Theft World, is sure to provide more ammunition for these kinds of experiences. Flitting wildly between hardcore, electronic noise and punk, they’re a band that exist on the edge of total collapse. It’s poetic that their most recent show took place inside a boxing ring, and it’s a twisted pleasure to go 12 rounds with this uncompromising record.

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

And ICYMI…

Johannes Klingbiel – Dolce

Johannes Klingebiel’s Dolce EP, released via dance music label Claptrap, is a study in contrast – indulgent yet precise, playful yet meticulously crafted. Across four tracks, the Berlin-based producer delivers a form of disco-leaning house that feels as texturally rich as it is hypnotic.

The title track glides on warm, organic percussion, its melodic details flickering in and out with an almost surreal dexterity – equal parts soothing and quietly euphoric. There’s a sense of precision beneath the surface throughout, nowhere more evident than on ‘Follow The Line’, where a finely engineered bassline cuts through shuffled rhythms with entrancing clarity. It’s a release that doesn’t demand attention so much as earns it – immersive, and, at its best, genuinely mood-altering.”