3 New Albums Out this week you Should Listen to Now: The Weeknd, Burial, and Gunna
This week we highlight new music from The Weeknd, Burial, and Gunna.
The Weeknd – Dawn FM
The Dawn is here. A few days ago we weren’t expecting anything from Abel, but yet here we are, at the dawn of a new year listening to an album. Dawn FM is a concept album that The Weeknd conceived of during a low time in the heights of the pandemic in 2020. The album is laden with pop-synth odes that sees Jim Carrey deliver the tracks as a soft-rock radio host. Jim Carrey aside, the album flows from one track to the next seeing The Weeknd perfect his new wave / R&B sound with precision. Throw in a few features from Tyler, The Creator, Lil Wayne, and Quincy Jones and you have the making of an album that’s bound to stay in the charts for the foreseeable future. The album was executive produced by frequent collaborator, Oneohtrix Point Never.
Standout Songs: How Do I Make You Love Me, Take My Breath, Here We Go… Again (feat. Tyler, The Creator), Don’t Break My Heart, Lee Than Zero
8.1
Artist Links:
Burial – ANTIDAWN
Sparse, haunting, minimalistic, slow, and atmospheric. These are some of the words that come to mind when we reflect on Burial’s latest foray into the world of music, ANTIDAWN. The man that gave us 2007’s Untrue has just released some of the most sparse music he’s ever put on record. The ANTIDAWN EP feels like an experiment that sits in a different world when compared to many of his other recordings. Overall it works, though. Faint vocals and instrumentation are abundant. Combined with distant, but soothing church-style organs that are ever-present you come to see the full scope of what Burial has presented to us. Taken as a whole, Burial’s ANTIDAWN EP is an album you have to want to listen to. And when you do, you’ll be rewarded with a simple yet sophisticated and provocative EP that only Burial could create. His record label may have put it best, “ANTIDAWN reduces Burial’s music to just the vapours… The record explores an interzone between dislocated, patchwork songwriting and eerie, open-world game space ambience. In the resulting no man’s land, lyrics take precedence over song, lonely phrases colour the haze, a stark and fragmented structure makes time slow down.”
Standout Songs: Antidawn, Shadow Paradise, New Love
6.5
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Gunna – DS4Ever
Between his public feud with Freddie Gibbs and rumors that he and Chlöe Bailey are dating, Gunna has been dominating headlines as of late. With the release of DS4Ever that continues. The fourth and likely final installment of the Drip Season series is upon us. Gunna’s DS4Ever is a lengthy one and worth the listen. The 19-track, 50+ minute album is the first album since Wunna was released in 2020. The Atlanta-based rapper has filled the album with features upon features. Future, Young Thug, 21 Savage, Kodak Black, Chlöe, Lil Baby, G Herbo, Nechie, Chris Brown, Yung Bleu, and Roddy Ricch all add guest verses on DS4Ever.
Standout Songs: pushin P (feat. Young Thug), mop (feat. Young Thug), alotta cake, you & me, too easy, too easy (Remix) [feat. Future & Roddy Ricch]
6.3
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When you’re done here lose yourself in our full library of 3 Albums Out This Week You Should Listen to Now.