New Music Reviews (9/1)

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 Blood Orange, The Beths, JID, and more. 

Blood Orange - Essex Honey (Domino/RCA)
The brilliance of Dev Hynes remains unmatched. On Essex Honey, the first Blood Orange album in over six years, his dreamy, textured alt-R&B soars with meticulous production, an insane lineup of collaborators, and his smooth, ethereal vocals. Seamlessly shifting from soulful ruminations to buoyant sonic explorations, the album features delightfully hazy, dynamically layered arrangements with keys, saxophone, strings, guitars, field recordings, and drum programming, revealing more intricacies with each listen. –CS

The Beths - Straight Line Was A Lie (ANTI-)
The fourth studio album from Auckland, NZ’s The Beths sees this phenomenal quartet leveling up. Their infectious, guitar-driven indie rock shines across ten tight tracks, boasting sing-along choruses, killer hooks, vulnerable lyricism, and Elizabeth Stokes’ unmistakable vocals. Exploring themes of apathy, mental health, and rebuilding, Straight Line Was A Lie moves with a perfect, bittersweet cadence, wrapping listeners in every note and every word. –CS

JID - God Does Like Ugly (Dreamville)
The fourth studio album from Atlanta rapper JID is another impressive set of hard-hitting Southern hip-hop infused with trap, R&B, soul, and gospel styles that further spotlights JID’s intricate worldplay, commanding flow, and dynamic delivery over blockbuster beats. Fellow Atlanta natives EARTHGANG and Ciara hop on “Sk8” to namecheck Atlanta’s popular skating rinks over a fresh beat that nods to So So Def’s influential Bass All-Stars compilations for a distinctive kinetic highlight. –AR

Myd - Mydnight (Because Music)
The second solo album from French electronic producer, DJ, and singer Myd (aka Quentin Lapourte) is a super groovy set that filters his infectious, optimistic, joyful dancefloor-ready rhythms through an addictive pop lens. Channel Tres, Kacy Hill, Carlita, Trueno, and Calcutta, and Bethanie Home each stop by the festivities to add their own flavor to Myd’s celebratory dance party. -–AR

Prolapse - I Wonder When They’re Going To Destroy Your Face (Tapete Records)
UK outfit Prolapse make a triumphant return with their first album in over 26 years. Featuring a lively dueling vocal performance from Mick Derrick and Linda Steelyard, mesmerizing layered guitars, and bombastic percussion, their fusion of post-punk and krautrock sounds both fresh and potent. Angular, fluid, and urgent, I Wonder When They’re Going To Destroy Your Face is essential listening from these unsung heroes. –CS

Tei Shi - Make believe I make believe (Tei Shi LLC)
The fourth studio album from NYC-based Canadian-Colombian singer-songwriter Valerie Teicher, aka Tei Shi, is a sensation. Working with longtime collaborators Noah Beresin and Tommy English, she delivers a vibrant blend of electro-pop, alt-R&B, and reggaeton. Featuring driving synths, magnetic beats, bilingual lyrics, and gripping hooks, Make believe I make believe is a bold and confident statement that finds Tei Shi at the top of her game. –CS

The Hives - The Hives Forever, Forever The Hives (Play It Again Sam)
Swedish garage rock mainstays The Hives return with their explosive seventh studio album. Packed with ripping guitars, vigorous percussion, fiery vocals, and unforgettable melodies, The Hives Forever, Forever The Hives is a high-octane manifesto from a five-piece clearly in it for the long haul. –CS

Anna Tivel - Animal Poem (Fluff & Gravy)
The latest from Portland-based singer-songwriter Anna Tivel is a heart-wrenching collection of melancholic folk tunes. Featuring tender melodies, breathtaking vocals with a striking vibrato, delicate guitar work, ornate flourishes, and vivid storytelling, Animal Poem is a stunner. Tivel shares: “Every album is a snapshot, a momentary study of the way a mind reaches for understanding. I can feel myself reaching in these songs, for whatever is right beyond my grasp. Mortality and connection. Suffering and meaning. People lead the narratives, come into orbit, spin away again.” –CS

Divine Earth - LAVENDER (Brownswood Recordings)
Divine Earth is the new alias of Davina Adeosun-Bright, a London-based harpist, poet, composer, and musician of Nigerian heritage who previously released music as muva of earth. Her first EP since the name change continues to explore a celestial alt-R&B and adventurous neo-soul lane with early single “ur luv is see through!” offering a bit of a standout outlier amidst the set of cosmic slow jams with its lively dancefloor tempo and anthemic hook. –AR

Ganser - Animal Hospital (Felte)
The third album from this Chicago trio is a strong set of brooding post-punk, stormy art-rock, and edgy alternative with a dense, enveloping sound and a tense yet deceptively rhythmic undercurrent. Vocal duties are shared between founding member Alicia Gaines and new member Sophie Sputnik which gives Animal Hospital a constantly shifting and frequently thrilling unpredictability to the band’s gripping, restless backdrops. –AR

Guedra Guedra - MUTANT (Smugglers Way)
The second Guedra Guedra album (and debut for Domino Records sub-label Smugglers Way) from Moroccan producer Abdellah M. Hassak is another adventurous set of high-energy, cutting-edge, bass-heavy beats infused with musical traditions and field recordings drawn from across the continent of Africa. –AR

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - GUSH (Nettwerk)
The tenth studio album from LA-based, PNW-bred Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith is a hazy yet vivid exploration of experimental electronic music. With hypnotic beats and spellbinding synths, she effortlessly moves through ambient, synthpop, dance, and avant-garde soundscapes, while her artfully manipulated vocals explore themes of synesthesia and the interconnectedness of the world. She shares: “This music is an invitation to experience the genius of everything. Every object, every moment, every sensation offers an opportunity for awe, discovery, deeper understanding. It’s an invitation to see the world in a more connected way, where everything around us is imbued with meaning or passion.” –CS

Lathe of Heaven - Aurora (Sacred Bones)
The sophomore album from Brooklyn-based Lathe of Heaven is a compelling collection of moody, melodic post-punk and new wave featuring shimmering guitars, expressive vocals, and explosive drums. Aurora pairs emotional humanity with punchy, nostalgic soundscapes, driven by socially conscious themes of anti-colonialism, diversity, and equality. –CS

Margo Price - Hard Headed Woman (Loma Vista)
The fifth studio album from Nashville-based singer-songwriter and disrupter Margo Price is an irreverent, no-holds-barred collection. Her first record made in the city she’s called home for over two decades, Hard Headed Woman features her signature rock-infused, classic country sound as she vulnerably reflects on the journey of her career and personal life. She shares: “I always hope to do like Johnny Cash did, which is speak up for the common man and woman. But there have been so many threats and anger and vitriol over the years, when I am only coming from a place of love. So I made the decision to rebuild everything from the ground up. I hope this album inspires people to be fearless and take chances and just be unabashedly themselves, in a culture that tries as hard as it can to beat us into all being the same.”–CS

Nate Smith - LIVE-ACTION (naïve)
The latest solo album from this NYC-based drummer, producer, composer, educator, bandleader and in-demand collaborator brilliantly explores an expansive jazz landscape that embraces hip-hop, R&B, pop, and global flavors with help from a stacked roster of guest artists. R&B royalty Lalah Hathaway, NYC rapper JSWISS, LA-based keyboardist Kiefer, Benin-born guitarist/vocalist Lionel Loueke, Snarky Puppy’s Michael League, American jazz vocal ensemble säje, NYC multi-instrumentalist/producer CARRTOONS, Charlie Hunter, DJ Harrison, and more contribute their talents to the eclectic mixtape-esque LIVE-ACTION, yet it’s all held cohesively together through Nate’s deft drumming and inclusive sonic vision. –AR

Pearly Drops - The Voices Are Coming Back (Music Website)
The third album from this Helsinki duo composed of Sandra Tervonen and Juuso Malin is a solid set of sleek synth-pop, dreamy art-pop, and Y2K-inspired alt-pop. –AR

Runnner - A Welcome Kind of Weakness (Run For Cover)
The sophomore album from Noah Weinman, aka Runnner, is an expressive set of folk-tinged indie rock. His first full studio recording, ‘A Welcome Kind of Weakness’ sounds bright and bold, featuring Weinman’s emphatic falsetto and melodic guitars as he digs deep into the complexities of heartache.  –CS

Spaceface - Lunar Manor (Mothland)
The third album from this Los Angeles band co-led by former The Flaming Lips member Jake Ingalls alongside Eric Martin is a fun set of playful, groovy, technicolor psych-pop. There’s a refreshing carefree streak that runs throughout Lunar Manor, and it’s backed with some seriously catchy hooks and high-end studio wizardry that gives their sound an unpredictable, shape-shifting charm. –AR

T. Hardy Morris - Artificial Tears (Normaltown Records)
The fifth solo album from Athens-based singer, songwriter and guitarist T. Hardy Morris is a solid set of southern folk rock. Featuring his signature vocals, pedal steel, keys, sweet harmonies, and co-production from My Morning Jacket’s Carl Broemel,  Artificial Tears delivers earnest storytelling with a familiar twang. –CS

Various Artists - Sitting on the Moon (Mexican Summer)
This new compilation and “low-key statement of purpose” from the wonderful Brooklyn-based label Mexican Summer Records is a diverse, dreamy, and exploratory collection of new songs from their family and friends written with the seasonal tone of “Summer” in mind. There’s an atmospheric warmth that runs throughout this eclectic set, which kicks off with the stellar one-two punch of Dungen’s sunshine-kissed psych grooves on “Snurra På Hjulet” followed by a supremely hypnotic trip-hop cover of Chris Isaak’s classic song “Wicked Game” by Natural Wonder Beauty Concept, aka Ana Roxanne and DJ Python. -–AR