Ezra Furman – Transangelic Exodus

Ezra’s back to recording purely under his own name and this is the record he’s been building towards his whole career. He’s already proven that he’s got the classic three-chord structure down pat and he’s a wonderful lyricist as well. So here’s a story album that pushes his sound into new territories, brilliant. Transangelic Exodus has been described as a “queer outlaw saga”. It’s romantic and rebellious, throwback rock and roll with a surprising amount of cello and digital beats. Think of it as Easy Rider in the age of hypernormalisation.

Black Panther: The Album – Various Artists

Sourced by Kendrick Lamar and with plenty of in-house TDE production, the Black Panther soundtrack has almost as much of a blockbuster cast as the film itself does (no Michael B. Jordan here, though). This is certainly not a Kendrick solo project and it plays a bit more like a mixtape, albeit still with a consistent, celebratory vision. Any chance to hear King Kenny fill bars is a blessing even if he probably isn’t at his untouchable best here. Instead it’s the likes of Jorja Smith, Vince Staples, ScHoolboy Q and The Weeknd who stand out. Never to be denied though, Kendrick and SZA’s All The Stars duet is numero uno amongst them all. It’s not often that film soundtracks can survive on their own but this is one of those rare cases.

Anna Burch – Quit The Curse

Solid pop-rock tunes with a full-sounding beat that keeps ‘em anchored, that cool kinda emotional distance belying what’s essentially a breakup album (the opening song is literally called 2 Cool 2 Care). Burch has been around a bit with a couple different bands/projects but this is her debut as a solo artist. You wouldn’t know it. The songs are so… assured. There’s a pervading sense of chillness despite the pretty volatile subject matter which definitely lends itself to a few extra listens. Plus it just sounds so good, the production is the definition of lovely.

Marlon Williams – Make Way For Love

Ah Marlon, you silver-tongued devil, you. Eleven tracks of heartache and salvation, immaculately sculpted and impeccably performed. It’s a purest joy to hear that voice in action. For his second album, Williams moves away from his initial country-folk grounding for a more indie sounding album, and a conceptual song-cycle at that. No worries, it works. The man is a born yarn-spinner. And if Make Way For Love doesn’t tug at the heartstrings then you probably need an oil-check.

Car Seat Headrest – Twin Fantasy

You’d have figured when Will Toledo took his bandcamp-famous bedroom project Car Seat Headrest to Matador Records that he was ready to leave his lo-fi stuff behind. In a way he was, bursting out of the gates with Teens of Denial in 2016 which sounded like he’d skipped the clubs and gone straight from his bedroom to playing arenas. CSH was now a full band but there was one thing he wasn’t ready to move past: his Bandcamp opus Twin Fantasy. Thus he got it written in his record deal that he’d be allowed to re-record it once he’d submitted a new album. And here is that re-recording, taking a beloved and deeply personal 2011 work (but one that Toledo always considered incomplete) and filling it out with the professional depth that it deserves – but it’s not just that, he’s also got a more mature outlook on the subject matter which lends itself to a sharper artistic focus. The first effort was great. The second effort is even greater.

Itasca – Morning Flower

Gorgeous acoustic guitar folk with a hint of weirdness and oddity to it. Itasca is the project of Brooklyn-born Kayla Cohen, who’s been based outta LA for several years now and you can hear it in the tunes. They sound desert-worn and yet fresh at the same time, exhibiting that timelessness that the best folk music always possesses. Plenty of instrumental pluckers as well as wistfully sung poetic verse. Plus it’s available on cassette if that’s your jam.

US Girls – In A Poem Unlimited

Political pop sounds like an oxymoron but only if you think that music ought to stick to the rules. Meg Remy obviously doesn’t. She’s made a record here that’s at once got something powerful to say but is also real catchy. She’s a natural storyteller, which shines through on these songs, each a tale or fable in their own right. Plenty of feminist anger, plenty of psychy artpop. In a funny way, the funkiest album she’s ever made is also the most potent. It’s kinda awesome. Pearly Gates, Rage of Plastics, Rosebud… there are jams here, no doubt.

The Soft Moon - Criminal

Luis Vasquez brings the mood down. As the dude behind The Soft Moon, he’s the one responsible for these dark and troubled tunes, one part krautrock nihilism and one part Nine Inch Nails industrialism. Deeply introspective, often loathingly, this is probably not the album to chuck on at your next Sunday barbie. But tell you what, it ain’t a bad listen. Clearly the bloke has dealt with some tough things in his life, you don’t make art this confessional by faking it, and to hear him channel that pain into something creative is a moving experience, a defiant one too. Easily the best thing The Soft Moon has done so far.

Ryan Hendriks – Old Zealand

One more time for the kiwis, Ryan Hendriks is one half of Auckland’s Badcorporation and also a honcho in the Grow Room label. This is his first solo record, a heavy meditation across a dozen tracks on culture and identity and history and Aotearoa, written after time spent travelling and living overseas. It’s an enticing vision and one which Hendriks is more than capable of exploring with his intelligent lyricism and smooth vocal flow. Existential rap, mate. This is the stuff.

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