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 Muse, Nectar Woode, Beth Orton, Sekou, Temples and Downtown Boys.

Muse – The Wow! Signal

In the most Muse idea that Muse have actually never achieved until now, the band’s 10th album, The Wow! Signal, was announced by the video of its lead single ‘Be With You’ being transported into space. If any aliens do get to hear the album, they’ll probably laugh at the Devon band’s grasp on extraterrestrial life, but for us earthlings the record is a tremendously silly and entertaining swing for the fences. Getting bolder and brasher as they continue, it’s their most successful album in many years.

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

Nectar Woode – Naturally

When Nectar Woode spoke to Rolling Stone UK last year, the London vocalist candidly described the sun-soaked disposition within her work. “It’s soulful, warm and summery but a bit deep in meaning,” she said, before explaining how an eclectic love of neo-soul, jazz and reggae had all found their way into her music.

This mantra comes fully formed on Naturally, a nine-track mixtape which sees the singer displaying her mellifluous vocals against eclectic in-strumentals which are capable of lighting a fire within your soul. The result is something incredibly special.

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

Beth Orton – The Ground Above

Beth Orton’s 2022 album, Weather Alive, proved a stunning reinvention for the songwriter. Eight albums in, it was the first album she produced herself, taking the reins of her music and becoming a focal point around which a swelling cast of musicians revolved.  Its follow-up, The Ground Above, continues this evolution gorgeously. Joined by a huge cast of musicians including The Smile’s Tom Skinner, Dave Okumu, Shahzad Ismaily and more, Orton becomes a magnetic bandleader. The songs began their life as jams in a practice room, and keep this instinctive, flowing nature through to their recorded form

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

Sekou – In a World We Don’t Belong Pt. 2

Though a rising soul star in his own right, Sekou’s recent single ‘Dangerous Lover’ showed that he’s able to pair his honeyed vocals with synth-driven sounds to create something altogether more epic.

“When I was making this project, I honestly just wanted to tell my story and express how I feel as a 21-year-old boy,” he says. “Especially being Black, sometimes it feels like you have to work ten times harder. ‘In A World We Don’t Belong’ just felt right to me because I’ve often felt like an outcast in my life, but there’s such a beauty in that. This music is a true reflection of figuring your life out and becoming who you want to be.”

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

Temples – Bliss

Though Temples may be known for psych-tinged soundscapes, Bliss sees them pair that notion with the euphoria of late ’90s and early 2000s dance music, drawing on the joy of the Ibiza scene and European electronica. The band describe their new venture as “melancholic euphoria”, something too apt for these baking but altogether challenging days of summer.

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

Downtown Boys – Public Luxury

While escapism has its place in dystopian, terrifying times, sometimes you need to be righteous and empowered. For that, look no further than the new record from Downtown Boys. Public Luxury reaffirms the idea that a better world is possible no matter how far away it seems. Vocalist Victoria Marie says: “We as the people have the power – and we will have it all. The ultimate burn to injustice is taking the dirt, the shards, the smoke of it all in the struggle for freedom and liberation — finding power in the mundane — I think that is the story to be told.” The story is told through raucous and catchy rock music that makes both the melodies and the message stick.

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