New Music Reviews (8/25)

Each week, Music Director Chris Sanley and Associate Music Director Alex Ruder share brief insights on new and upcoming releases for KEXP's rotation. These reviews help our DJs decide on what they want to play. See what we added this week below (and on our Charts page), including new releases from Chance the Rapper, Dijon, Hand Habits, and more. 

Chance the Rapper - Star Line (self-released)
Chicago’s Chance the Rapper makes a triumphant return with his first official album in over six years. Powered by an infectious fusion of hip-hop, gospel, house, R&B, and pop, Star Line features effortless flows, memorable samples, intimate storytelling, and an extraordinary guest list including Jamila Woods, Young Thug, Jay Electronica, and Jazmine Sullivan, to name a few. Born out of a deeply introspective period of his life, he shares: “This album is a culmination of my travels, my experiences, and my deep dive into the history that connects us all. It’s about legacy, the resilience of Black people, and the beautiful, complex story of our existence.” –CS

Dijon - Baby (R&R/Warner)
The surprise sophomore album from LA-based, Baltimore-raised visionary Dijon is a showstopper. Marking his first release since his 2021 breakout debut, Baby offers a delectably woozy blend of R&B, experimental pop, and atmospheric rock, resulting in a rich, dynamic, and genre-expansive collection. Featuring Dijon’s expressive, raspy–almost desperate at times–vocal delivery, hypnotic arrangements with bright keys, moody guitars, artfully intertwined samples, and plenty of magnetic grooves, this new album showcases an artist ahead of his time, flexing his irresistible, singular sound. –CS

Hand Habits - Blue Reminder (Fat Possum)
On their fourth studio album as Hand Habits, Meg Duffy’s heart is cracked wide open. Their folk-tinged indie rock sound is propelled by their beautiful vocals that grow richer with each release, and a lush, layered soundscape featuring saxophone, keys, backing vocals, and, of course, their brilliant guitar work. Blue Reminder explores the full spectrum of love: from a profound romantic connection to self-love, and how these experiences can evoke both fear and euphoria. These raw, ornate songs feel simultaneously larger than life and intimate enough to fit in the palm of your hand, striking a delicate, approachable balance that allows them to resonate deeply, whether you’re on your first or fifteenth listen. –CS

Nourished By Time - The Passionate Ones (XL Recordings)
The second full-length album from this singular project of Baltimore-native, London-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Marcus Brown is another stunning collection of visionary R&B jams that distills the peculiarly addictive strains of 1980s and 1990s R&B through a kinetic, funky, leftfield art-pop lens. Written while bouncing between Baltimore, London, and NYC, The Passionate Ones offers a confident evolution from his adored 2023 cult classic debut album Erotic Probiotic 2 as he leans into his raw, genuine, heart-on-sleeve voice, oddball lyrics that reveal deep layers and poetic storytelling, and a consistently fresh dose of retro-futuristic club-tinted beats that don’t shy away from wading into soft rock or confounding psychedelic territory. It’s this authentic, adventurous creative spirit that places Nourished By Time in his own fascinating, distinctive, awesome lane. –AR

Dean Johnson - I Hope We Can Still Be Friends (Saddle Creek)
On his Saddle Creek Records debut, it feels as though Seattle’s Dean Johnson is opening a long-lost time capsule. With his compelling yodel, melodic guitars, timeless song structures, and earnest lyricism, I Hope We Can Still Be Friends positions Johnson as a gentle giant in the contemporary alt-country landscape. –CS

Ami Taf Ra - The Prophet and The Madman (Brainfeeder)
The debut album from North African, LA-based singer-songwriter Ami Taf Ra is a stunner from start to finish. With a spellbinding fusion of spiritual jazz, soul, gospel, Gnawa and Arabic music, she and producer-collaborator Kamasi Washington craft eleven epic, expansive arrangements. The Prophet and The Madman weaves together a myriad of instruments, moods, influences, languages, and intricacies, resulting in a mesmerizing, genre-bending masterpiece. –CS

Emma Louise & Flume - DUMB (self-released)
There’s nothing “dumb” about the sensational collaborative album from multidisciplinary artist Emma Louise and producer-songwriter Flume. Across ten tracks, the pair are in lockstep, blending otherworldly vocals, melodic keys, menacing beats, enticing hooks, and glitchy production into a singular, avant-garde electropop soundscape. DUMB is a triumphant project that could only emerge from the dynamism of their shared vision. –CS

Greg Freeman - Burnover (Canvasback/Transgressive)
The sophomore album from Maryland-born, Vermont-based singer-songwriter Greg Freeman is a boisterous collection of poetic, rock-infused alt-country. Wielding his electric guitar and emphatic vocals, Freeman delivers vivid storytelling backed by a powerful band complete with piano, horns, pedal steel, harmonica, and lively drums. With guitar lines as memorable as his evocative lyricism, ‘Burnover’ stands out as one of the marquee Americana releases of the year. –CS

Hunx and His Punx - Walk Out On This World (Get Better)
On their first album in twelve years, Hunx (Seth Bogart) and His Punks (Shannon Shaw and Erin Emslie) return in prime form. The queercore trio’s signature fusion of sugary ‘60s surf, garage, and punk sounds both fresh and nostalgic as they dive into themes of death, grief, the apocalypse, and having fun while you still can. Walk Out On This World may have faced plenty of hurdles before seeing the light of day, but it’s safe to say it’s been worth the wait. –CS

Jenevieve - CRYSALIS (Interscope)
The second full-length album from this Miami-raised, LA-based vocalist of Cuban and Bahamian descent is another solid set of expansive, sultry, catchy R&B/pop jams that filters a love for '90s slow jams and '80s boogie through a cool, colorful, contemporary prism. –AR

KAYTRANADA - AIN’T NO DAMN WAY! (RCA)
The fourth studio album from this LA-based Haitian-Canadian producer and DJ is, unsurprisingly, dynamic and full of life. AIN’T NO DAMN WAY! is a vivid, funky fusion of house, hip-hop, dance, R&B, and club music, leaning mostly instrumental aside from a few choice vocal samples, including TLC’s 1994 cut “Let’s Do It Again” to close things out. It’s another stellar collection showcasing KAYTRANADA’s signature alchemy, sure to keep folks moving through the dog days of summer. –CS

Kerala Dust - An Echo of Love (Play It Again Sam)
The third studio album from London-formed, Berlin-based Kerala Dust is bound to put listeners in a trance. Blending blues, post-punk, electronica, and Krautrock, the quartet — now featuring new members Tim Gardner and Pascal Karier alongside founding members Edmund Kenny and Lawrence Howarth — weaves sinister guitar lines and captivating grooves into a distinct, moody art-rock sound. An Echo of Love is as irresistible as it is immersive. –CS

Superchunk - Songs in the Key of Yikes (Merge)
The 13th studio album from this veteran Chapel Hill, NC band fronted by Mac McCaughan is another strong showcase of their trademark sound that exists within the intersection of high-energy, hook-filled indie rock and soaring power-pop with an overarching punk-rooted DIY spirit. –AR

TOPS - Bury the Key (Ghostly International)
For their fifth studio album and debut for new label home Ghostly International, Montréal-based band TOPS continue to tinker with their crystalline, immaculate, slinky ‘80s-steeped pop that’s distinguished by the band’s pristine productions and Jane Penny’s coolly hushed delivery. Early standout single “Falling On My Sword” provides a relative outlier within the TOPS sonic universe as its darker, propulsive energy is rarely felt in their catalog.  –AR

Water From Your Eyes - It’s a Beautiful Place (Matador)
The sixth album from this Brooklyn-based duo composed of multi-instrumentalist/producer Nate Amos (aka This Is Lorelei) and vocalist Rachel Brown (aka thanks for coming) is another sharp set of dizzying avant-pop and expansive art-rock that’s dense, restless, and engrossing. Rachel’s droll delivery acts as counterpart to Nate’s maximalist-leaning productions that can tap into both a magnetic dancefloor pulse and a punishing rock energy, and often blurring the lines between the two in an adventurous, enveloping, and progressive fashion that has defined Water From Your Eyes’ beguiling catalog. –AR

Wolf Alice - The Clearing (Columbia/RCA)
The fourth studio album from UK quartet Wolf Alice sees the band taking a step back from their bombastic rock roots in favor of a more pop-forward approach. Walking the line between ‘70s nostalgia and contemporary pop, ‘The Clearing’ blends elements of glam, folk, rock, psych, and chamber pop, offering big, sweeping choruses, dreamy vocals, and tender lyricism. –CS

Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele 2 (Mass Appeal)
The 13th studio album from legendary NYC rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah is a solid set of grimey, soulful, charismatic hip-hop. Billed as a sequel to his 2000 classic, Supreme Clientele 2 doesn’t hit the heights achieved on that 21st century masterpiece, but there’s energetic stretches here – particularly the centerpiece trio of “Break Beats” + “Beat Box” + “Rap Kingpin” – where Tony Stark flexes his captivating wordplay and wild storytelling skills over throwback party-rocking beats in timeless fashion. –AR

Glitterfox - decoder (Jealous Butcher)
The debut album from this Portland-based band is a strong set of sweeping indie pop and catchy indie rock that’s aptly described as music “for driving off into the sunset.” Centered around frontperson Solange Igoa and guitarist/songwriter Andrea Walker who were a couple for 12 years, six of them married, before recently splitting up amicably, Glitterfox’s music has a tight-knit, driving pulse with a sparkling New Wave streak that lyrically explores “queer love, personal transformation, neurodivergence and the emotional aftershocks of a romantic split.” –AR

Mac Demarco - Guitar (Mac’s Record Label)
The sixth studio album from LA-based, BC-born singer-songwriter Mac Demarco is an endearing, mellow set of breezy singer-songwriter tunes. Aptly titled, the album delivers intimate ruminations led by acoustic guitar, understated vocals, and minimal flourishes. –CS

Racing Mount Pleasant - Racing Mount Pleasant (R&R)
Previously releasing their debut album Grip Your Fist, I’m Heaven Bound in 2022 under the name Kingfisher, this Michigan-based seven-piece outfit delivers an eponymous album under their newly adopted name Racing Mount Pleasant and it’s a sprawling set of dynamic post-rock inflected with the heart-on-sleeve tenderness of earnest indie rock and Midwest emo. Their namesake song and early single “Racing Mount Pleasant” is a triumphant statement, an emphatic standout, and a great entry point within a sweeping set carried by the band’s shape-shifting arrangements and robust instrumentation featuring plenty of saxophone, trumpet, and strings.  –AR

Rounak Maiti - Brute Fact/Home Truth (self-released)
The third album from this Mumbai-based Indian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer is an impressive set of ambitious, celestial, swirling electro-acoustic pop that’s psychedelic, kaleidoscopic, dreamy, and propulsive and distinguished by his upfront, honest, yearning vocals. Written through periods of “severe isolation, disillusionment and burnout,” Brute Fact/Home Truth is a cathartic, triumphant, yet slightly chaotic listen and a breakthrough moment from an artist operating out of the South Asian independent scene.  –AR

Winter - Adult Romantix (Winspear)
The latest from Brazil-raised, longtime LA-mainstay, and new NYC resident Samira Winter is a swirling set of shoegaze-inflected dream pop. Featuring her expressive guitar work, gauzy vocals, and infectious hooks, Adult Romantix is enticingly bittersweet. Across thirteen raw and hazy tracks, Winter embraces the tension and growth of living in the in-between, bidding farewell to her beloved Los Angeles while welcoming a new beginning on the east coast. –CS