4 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 Mumford & Sons, Absolutely, Leigh-Anne and STONE.

Mumford & Sons – Prizefighter

“It felt like being a new band again,” Marcus Mumford told Rolling Stone UK of making new album Prizefighter with Aaron Dessner. “There was no expectation – no-one outside of our world knew what we were doing, and I think that comes through on the writing.” The band’s second LP inside 12 months continues their slow return to the folky sounds that they made their name on, while incorporating the rockier tones they brought through on Wilder Mind and Delta. It reflects a band at their most confident and carefree.

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

Absolutely – Paracosm

Though perhaps best known as RAYE’s sister and, indeed, the supporting act on her big sister’s current tour, here’s an album which proves that talent indeed runs in the family. On her second record, Abby Keen opts for smooth R&B ‘Painting By Numbers’, high drama on ‘Goodbye Glitter’ and the overall sense that anything is within her grasp. It’s eclectic, unpredictable and all the better for it.

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

Leigh-Anne – My Ego Told Me To

Having left her label to go solo, Leigh-Anne’s excellent debut album more than justifies that decision and proves she’s in the place she needs to be. ‘Look Into My Eyes’ is a powerful opportunity to set out the mantra for the artist she always wanted to be, while the reggae-flecked pop of ‘Dead And Gone’ is an excellent highlight. In stepping out and forging her own path, the former Little Mix star proves that greatness surely awaits.

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

STONE – Autonomy

Liverpool’s STONE have made their name on raucous, unhinged live shows, and their second LP, Autonomy, gets this down on tape better than ever before. It’s led by the crazed lead single ‘MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO’, which vocalist Fin Power says focuses on “the tension between authenticity and the image that media prefers”. On this album, they make no accommodations, instead presenting their most fierce and uncompromising selves. It makes for a bone-rattling listen.

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