3 New Albums Out This Week You Should Listen to Now: Kendrick Lamar, The Smile, and Kevin Morby
This week we’re highlighting new music from Kendrick Lamar, The Smile, and Kevin Morby.
Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
The five-year wait is finally over. The Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Kendrick Lamar has finally dropped his follow-up to 2017’s DAMN. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers consists of 18 tracks and spans two albums. The final album for longtime label Top Dawg Entertainment, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers boasts a wide variety of features: Beth Gibbons (of Portishead), Summer Walker, Sampha, Ghostface Killah, Kodak Black, and Baby Keem. From track one to eighteen, Kendrick crushes all expectations you may have had walking in. So throw out all those preconceived notions on what this album should be, open your ears and mind, and you will come out on the other side happy to have listened to one of the best hip hop artists in the game.
Standout Songs: N95, Father Time (feat. Sampha), Rich Spirit, We Cry Together, Count Me Out, Savior, Auntie Diaries, Mr. Morale, Mother I Sober (feat. Beth gibbons of Portishead)
9.2
Artist Links:
The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention
Upon first listen, one may mistake A Light for Attracting Attention for the latest Radiohead album, but upon further dissecting, a well-trained ear can tell this is not a typical Radiohead release. Comprised of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner, The Smile was born out of Jonny Greenwood’s desire to work with Thom Yorke during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The band incorporates components of post-punk, progressive, alternative, and electronic music to a stunning outcome. Produced by longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, The Smile explores progressive rock sounds with atypical time signatures to sonic perfection.
Standout Songs: The Opposite, You Will Never Work In Television Again, Pana-vision, The Smoke, Thin Thing, Free In The Knowledge, We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings, Skrting On The Surface
9.1
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Kevin Morby – This Is A Photograph
Drawing inspiration from a recent residency in Memphis, Kevin Morby has released his seventh studio album, This Is A Photograph. On it, Morby captures his curiosity regarding life, the afterlife, and everything in between. Sonically Americana, blues, rock, and folk-driven, the follow-up to 2020’s Sundowner may be heavy at times, but ultimately the album celebrates life to the fullest. Don’t let this moment slip through your fingers — listen to This Is A Photograph today.
Standout Songs: This Is A Photograph, A Random Act of Kindness, A Coat Of Butterflies, Stop Before I Cry, It’s Over
8.4
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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.