3 New Albums Out this week you Should Listen to Now: Self Esteem, Duran Duran, and Lana Del Rey
Self Esteem – Prioritise Pleasure
Self Esteem’s sophomore effort, Prioritise Pleasure capitalizes on 2019’s Compliments Please and ups the ante 10-fold. The album tackles difficult subject matter (consent, feminism, and self-acceptance) with confidence only Rebecca Lucy Taylor (Self Esteem) could execute. With this latest release, Self Esteem sheds her self-doubt and self-destruction that has followed her most of her life. All of this while turning the formula of how to make a pop album on its head. It’s an album that’s full of emotion that doesn’t hold back. Nor should it. If anything, we need more.
Standout Songs: Fucking Wizardry, Prioritise Pleasure, Moody, How Can I Help You, You Forever, Just Kids
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Duran Duran – Future Past
Duran Duran has been waiting for this moment for 40 years. They finally get the opportunity to work with famed producer, Giorgio Moroder. Add in Mark Ronson on production details and you have the making of a possible pivotal moment in music at large. And while a handful of tracks replicate Duran Duran in their prime, overall this isn’t the band we once remember. The highs are there, but so are the lows. The album feels disjointed, and although full of energy, it feels like a veteran band trying to remain relevant. It’s worth a listen if only to take note of the highlights for future listening.
Standout Songs: Invisible, Anniversary, More Joy!
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Lana Del Rey – Blue Banisters
Lana Del Rey has released her second album of 2021, Blue Banisters. The album was a surprise of sorts. A day after her first release of 2021, Chemtrails over the Country Club, she announced that her next album would be released in June and titled, Rock Candy Sweet. June came and went without the release… Then in mid-July Lana gave us an update, “Sometimes life makes you change just in time for the next chapter.” Well, that change has finally come. Blue Banisters was released on October 22, 2021, through Interscope and Polydor Records. The album is a delicate affair that allows us a glimpse into the personal side of Lana. As a whole, the album sounds as if she’s dancing amongst the clouds while “runnin’ on stardust.” Lana’s voice has never sounded better. The 15-track LP should be on your shortlist of albums to listen to next.
Standout Songs: Blue Banisters, Arcadia, Nectar of the Gods
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