Let’s face it: You can’t listen to everything when it first comes out, and if you’re like most people, a lot of music releases get lost in the shuffle. That’s where we come in.
With less than a month left before spring turns to summer, we’re already wondering where the days have gone these past few months. Music is similar; it’s hard to catch your breath amid all of the deluxe LPs and online-only releases, but whether you listen to every new album that surfaces or you’re a hyper-selective music snob, albums dropped this season that definitely deserve a little more alone time. After we convince you with the selections below, do yourself a favor and take a sonic sampling via our Spotify playlist.
James Blake Overgrown
James Blake is a critical darling selling out mulitple shows in the biggest domestic cities and in Europe, and for good reason. A follow-up to his 2011 self-titled album, Overgrown is generally categorized as dubstep, but with rich soundscapes, Blake takes listeners on an emotional, electronic journey that also weaves in funk, gospel, jazz and R+B elements. Not an artist pandering to radio programming, the UK songwriter and producer continues to maintain his reputation for crafting a cohesive record in the second LP that’s perfect to listen to on a rainy day wandering the streets of New York or in the car during a long drive. A brooding lyricist, Blake’s got soul, and his intricate songs are surely worth getting lost in, again and again.
Stand-Out Tracks: RZA-featured “Take A Fall For Me,” piano-laden “DLM,” the single “Retrograde,” and the haunting title-track.
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Kid Cudi Indicud
Finally owning his status as hip hop’s pseudo-outcast, Kid Cudi no longer minds where his self-professed alien existence has taken him in conventional rap circles. These days, the former G.O.O.D music signee is following his artistic heart and making music that his loyal fan base stands beside, and if you happened to skip over Indicud’s April 16th release, there are more than a few tracks you may want to sample. Using his third studio album to showcase his genre-bending musical taste, Cudder not only produced most of the LP’s songs on his own, but tapped a few very on-trend friends for features. Vocals from Haim, Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky provide powerful assists, and veteran MCs RZA and Too $hort lend a hand as well.
Stand-Out Tracks: Vocal-boasting “Unf*ckwittable” and “Immortal,” Kendrick featured “Solo Dolo, Part II,” bromantical “Brothers,” and “Cold Blooded.”
See for yourself, y’all.