Five 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 Kaytranada, Tom Grennan, Black Honey, Alison Goldfrapp and Jack Garratt

Kaytranada – Ain’t No Damn Way!

On his first album since 2024’s Timeless, the Canadian DJ and producer delivers “an intentional return to his dance music roots”. The results are impressive, whether it’s a TLC sample on the excellent ‘Do It (Again)’ or the joyous 80s beats of lead single ‘Space Invader’. This return to his roots fits the mega-star like the snuggest of gloves.

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

Tom Grennan – Everywhere I Went, Led Me to Where I Didn’t Want to Be

The artwork for Tom Grennan’s fourth album sees the chart-topping singer in a boxing ring, arms sprawled out in triumph after scoring a knockout win. In the other cor-ner? Grennan too, splayed flat on the canvas after being on the receiving end of the knockout.

It’s this conflict which drives the story of Grennan’s latest record, an album that dwells on his triumphs and dissects some of his failures, too. Take the lead single ‘Shadowboxing’, which the singer explains as being “about my fight with a side of me I have a lot of trouble with. It’s still a daily battle.” Under-pinned by a throbbing bass line, it’s the kind of earworm that has allowed Grennan to carve his own radio-friendly place in UK music and ascend to a position that sees him cemented as an arena-headlining pop star.

It doesn’t all work – the 80s-tinged ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ feels a bit hackneyed and platitude heavy – but it’s a solid pop record that will allow Grennan’s position in the pop pantheon to grow even further.

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

Black Honey – Soak

If Black Honey’s 2023 album A Fistful of Peaches lent into Tarantino-inspired cinematics, then this record – as shown on the A Clockwork Orange-esque cover – chooses Kubrick to be at its fore. Fittingly then, it’s a record that proves to be as eclectic and as mind-bending as that very director’s work. The pounding ‘Shallow’ leans into out-there space-rock sounds, while the synth-flecked closer ‘Medication’ sees singer Izzy B.Phillips reflect candidly on her own journey with sobriety. It all makes for a listening experience that proves every bit as thrilling as the work of those aforementioned auteurs.

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

Alison Goldfrapp – Flux

There’s loads for longtime Goldfrapp devotees to love on this second solo effort from the band’s eponymous leader. The lead single ‘Find Xanadu’ is a welcome blast of all out synth pop, while the flip side arrives in the softer, contemplative sounds of ‘Cinnamon Light’. It’s perhaps too safe at times and feels like a continuation of what Goldfrapp has done so well for nearly 30 years, but it’s also fair to argue that there’s little point in fixing something which, in the case of this electronic music icon, is very much not broken.

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

Jack Garratt – Pillars

Jack Garratt is a man reborn on his third album, the first from the singer in five years. Its inception came during a period when Garratt had considered quitting music until the song ‘Catherine Wheel’ – the lynchpin of this particular collection was born. “I was fully ready to quit music,” Garratt said. “But Catherine Wheel became my true north – it reignited my love for creating and set the tone for the entire album.”

It may inform the entire album, but there’s plenty of other moments of brilliance aside. Songs like ‘Worry’ blend his one-man-band approach with a soul and funk-flecked edge, while ‘Higher’ proves to be a club-primed banger. On the basis of this record, Garratt now sounds more revitalised than ever.

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