New Music Tuesday 1/19/16

Does anyone really like #NewMusicFriday since it became the global standard last year? Fridays always seem harder to get the chance to sit down with that new album you’ve been looking forward to for months. You are trying to finish up work, get home quickly, to get out with friends and family, or maybe even hit up a late night show you couldn’t during the week. Most of the weekend is harder to be in places where you can listen to the new albums that just dropped.

It’s time to bring back our favorite day, #NewMusicTuesday. We’ve been keeping up with release dates, a list of notable and interesting new albums, albums we are really excited for. On Tuesdays we will be posting our list of weekly picks from Friday’s new and notable releases, highlighting the albums we are digging the most after first listen over the weekend. Some albums resonate immediately upon listen, others take repeat listens before the beauty fully hits your ears. We hope you will take this weekly list, dig through it, find a new album you love, and serve as a reminder that your favorite band’s new album is out. And for god sakes, tell us about it! What are you digging? What album did we miss from the list? What album should we all be checking into further?

After a short list to start the new year, but a hell of a start for 2016 with Bowie’s final gift to the world, Hinds debut album, and Villagers new album, this Friday’s new releases got a slightly longer, but there is still plenty of quality.

The album that immediately sticks out this week upon first listen has to be Dylan LeBlanc‘s Cautionary Tale The 26-year-old, Dylan came home to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to write a new life for himself, after he walked away from an unlikely major label deal after releasing two critically acclaimed albums. Longtime friend Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes) and John Paul White (formerly of the Civil Wars) both produced and played on Cautionary Tale, which seems like an early contender for one of the top albums of the year. The album is tight but soulful, haunting at times, with gorgeous strings, slide guitar, and Dylan’s striking voice, the music is oozing from this one, you’ll want to listen to this one nonstop.

But don’t stop there. Nearly three years after the release of one of the best debut albums in years, If You Leave, Daughter, the London-based trio of Elena Tonra, Igor Haefeli and Remi Aguilella – return with their sophomore album, entitled Not to Disappear. Daughter continue their sonic exploration. Numbness and self-loathing sit deep at the album’s core, whether it’s crackling guitars, unsettling beats, or Elena Tonra’s ethereal voice, this is an album that can haunt inside and out. Repeat listens will only serve to fall deeper within Not To Disapper, discovering other nuances as you go.

The debut album, Fantasm, from Bushwick band Starlight Girls is another top pick this week. Described as having “siren allure and gothic-tinged theatricality. Their poetic lyrics are inspiring, channeled by a unique energy-driven mix of surf, pop, and noise with a bit of metal for good measure.” The genre bending six piece group have released one of the most compelling indie pop records of the year, able to feel the power the band conveys, all while giving you a reason to dance.

If you are looking for something that feels completely unlike anything else you’ve heard this week, check out the debut album from Atlanta band Slang. This is some kind of theatrical post punk that will challenge you with each song. At times it feels like being in the scene of a horror movie, other times could be the theme to your underground local cabaret. Slang is wearing their weird proudly on their shoulder, providing an album that you should pay attention to. Listen to Slang’s debut album on Bandcamp at: http://slangatlanta.bandcamp.com/album/slang

Other albums worth our ears this week include Mystery Jets fifth album, Curve of the Earth. The West London band hasn’t always gotten the attention it deserves, but you probably already know and love songs like “Young Love”. On their latest, the British indie rockers offer one of their most mature albums yet. Nashville based songwriter, Brooke Waggoner, who has worked with the likes of Jack White, has just released her fifth studio album, Sweven, one of the more compelling this week. This isn’t some standard folk album, Waggoner has a gift for arrangement, using her piano, electric organ and more for a wonderful album that was written while she was pregnant.

Beyond that, there are two very good Eps worth your time this week. Majical Cloudz had one of our top albums of 2015, but there was some leftover songs that he wanted to release to the world. Surprise! This week Majical Cloudz gave us Wait & See! One of our mot anticipated and certainly a favorite this week is the debut from Montreal based She-Devils. The EP is only 4 songs, with one being a remix of the lead single “Come”, but those three songs show the minimalist avant-pop duo Audrey Ann + Kyle Jukka are going to be a force on the music scene, one of our favorites this week. This is only a taste of She-Devils weird erotica vibes of 60’s french pop, and they only leave us wanting more.

This week’s full list of notable and interesting new releases worth checking out with Spotify playlist below: