8 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Makaya McCraven, Nicolas Jaar, and More
With so much good music being released all the time, it can be hard to determine what to listen to first. Every week, Pitchfork offers a run-down of significant new releases available on streaming services. This week’s batch includes new albums, projects, and EPs from Makaya McCraven, Against All Logic, Beatrice Dillon, Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats, Shopping, Obongjayar, Navy Blue, and Pop Smoke. Subscribe to Pitchfork’s New Music Friday newsletter to get our recommendations in your inbox every week. (All releases featured here are independently selected by our editors. When you buy something through our affiliate links, however, Pitchfork may earn an affiliate commission.)
Gil Scott-Heron / Makaya McCraven: We’re New Again: A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven [XL]
Producer and percussionist Makaya McCraven honors the 10th anniversary of Gil-Scot Heron’s final album, I’m New Here, with a full-length reimagining. We’re New Again finds McCraven working with his usual stable of collaborators, including bassist Junius Paul, trumpeter Ben LaMar Gay, and virtuoso guitarist Jeff Parker.
Read the interview “How Makaya McCraven Reimagined Gil Scott-Heron’s Final Album” on the Pitch.
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Buy at Rough Trade
Against All Logic: 2017 – 2019 [Other People]
Back in 2018, Nicolas Jaar released his first Against All Logic album so quietly that almost nobody noticed. He made a lot more noise before releasing his second A.A.L full-length, 2017 – 2019: The LP was preceded by an NTS mix and an EP that features FKA twigs and Lydia Lunch.
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Beatrice Dillon: Workaround [PAN]
Workaround is the debut solo album from London DJ and electronic musician Beatrice Dillon. She made the record at studios in London, Berlin, and New York. The LP features contributions from Kuljit Bhamra, Jonny Lam, Laurel Halo, and more.
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Denzel Curry / Kenny Beats: UNLOCKED [Loma Vista]
Florida’s Denzel Curry is the latest rapper to team up with producer Kenny Beats, who, last year, released collaborative projects with 03 Greedo, Q Da Fool, and Rico Nasty. The duo recorded the 18-minute UNLOCKED in just one day.
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Buy at Vinyl Me, Please
Shopping: All or Nothing [FatCat]
All or Nothing is the fourth album from Shopping, following the UK band’s 2018 album The Official Body. Check out Shopping’s new “For Your Pleasure” music video.
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Obongjayar: Which Way Is Forward? EP [September]
Which Way Is Forward? is the second release from the Nigerian-born, London-based artist Obongjayar, following his 2016 debut HOME EP. In his Pitchfork review, Will Pritchard calls the EP “sonorous” and “enveloping,” adding, “There’s a meditative quality to the interaction between [Obongjayar’s] voice and the arrangements it inhabits.”
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Navy Blue: Àdá Irin [self-released]
Sage Elsesser is a model and professional skateboarder who raps under the name Navy Blue. Elsesser’s new Àdá Irin arrives almost exactly a year after gangway for navy. The new 11-track project features a guest spot from elusive Brownsville rapper Ka.
Pop Smoke: Meet the Woo 2 [Victor Victor]
Meet the Woo 2 is the sequel to Canarsie rapper Pop Smoke’s 2019 debut Meet the Woo. The new release was led by “Christopher Walking” and features guest appearances from Quavo, as well as fellow New Yorkers Lil Tjay, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and Fivio Foreign.
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Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
