The 12 new albums you should stream right now
Releases from Juice WRLD, 100 Gecs, and Summer Walker are all ready for your listening enjoyment.
Juice WRLD, Legends Never Die
Juice WRLD's third album is the Chicago rapper's first posthumous release since his tragic death of an accidental drug overdose at age 21. The rapper's management pieced together Legends Never Die out of the nearly 2,000 songs Juice WRLD was working on before his death. Legends Never Die was preceded by four singles: "Righteous," "Tell Me U Luv Me" featuring Trippie Redd, the Marshmello collaboration "Come & Go," and "Life's A Mess" with Halsey — Jordan Darville
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music
SahBabii, Barnacles
Few rappers can glide over a beat like SahBabii, the Atlanta rapper behind the 2017 hit "Pull Up Wit Ah Stick." His new, long-awaited album Barnacles dropped on Wednesday, and the project reinforces what makes him great: an ear for unique, almost Balearic beats that glide between R&B and trap as cleanly as SahBabii does. With an absurd sense of humour and a flex as quiet and undeniable as a supernova in space, SahBabii remains an essential figure in rap's underground. — JD
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music
Summer Walker, Life On Earth EP
One of R&B's most adored and closely scrutinized figures, Summer Walker is back to feeding fans hungry for more music after her smash hit debut album Over It. Her five-track EP Life On Earth features PARTYNEXTDOOR and two appearances from NO1-NOAH . — JD
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music
Julianna Barwick, Healing Is A Miracle
The title of Julianna Barwick's new album Healing Is A Miracle comes from the vocalist's increased sense of presence. “You cut your hand, it looks pretty bad, and two weeks later it looks like it never happened," she says in a press release for the album. "That’s kind of amazing, you know?” Across four albums, Barwick has helped listeners achieve that same feeling of unyielding intention with her therapeutic, new-age compositions based around her vocal loops. On Healing Is A Miracle, Barwick is joined by featured artists Jónsi (Sigur Ros), Mary Lattimore, and Nosaj Thing. — JD
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music
Dinner Party (Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, and 9th Wonder), Dinner Party
In a recent interview with The FADER, superproducer Robert Glasper described the intention behind Dinner Party as "pills in the applesauce." To that end, Glasper's supergroup of jazz soothsayer Kamasi Washington, and producers Terrace Martin and 9th Wonder have shared an album of politically charged songs that go down as smooth as honey. — JD
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music
100 gecs, 1000 gecs & The Tree of Clues
No one said a revolution would be easy listening. Whether you think they're overstuffed and unlistenable or nothing short of the saviors of music, 100 gecs have made a new wave that's attracted eyes across the music industry. 1000 gecs & The Tree of Clues is a remix album of the band's debut 1000 gecs. The remix of the band's smash hit "ringtone" featuring Charli XCX, Rico Nasty, Kero Kero Bonito is here, with additional appearances from Fall Out Boy, Injury Reserve, A.G. Cook, Black Dresses, and many more. — JD
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music
The Streets, None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive
The first two albums from The Streets, the alias of Birmingham rapper and producer Mike Skinner, are stone-cold classics. The hardscrabble debut Original Pirate Material, an actual bedroom record, helped introduce the U.K. underground to the world, while his follow-up A Grand Don't Come From Free was more ambitious in its narrative scope (Skinner's established skill at story-telling rap gave him an edge at crafting one story over the course of 11 songs), and the project contains one of Skinner's biggest hits "Dry Your Eyes." Fast forward to 2020, and Skinner has revived The Streets for another mixtape None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive. Even if you haven't been feeling The Streets since their halcyon days (the group's other three albums didn't really hit), the first two efforts mean that the new project is more than worth your time. As is our recent interview with Mike Skinner. — JD
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music
Galcher Lustwerk, Proof EP
On his 2019 album Information, Galcher Lustwerk sounded like a cross between a genie and Barry White as he delivered sultry, slyly motivational sweet nothings over his sweaty blend of house and techno. He's back with another dose of fun with the six-track EP Proof, which sports a remix from fellow New York producer AceMo. — JD
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp
AKAI SOLO, Eleventh Wind
The New York City rapper's third album of 2020 has been in constant rotation on my phone since the project dropped on Monday. SOLO's impressive prolific streak is bolstered by his dense-yet-breezy raps — if you've spent any time getting lost in the wordplay and dusty, soulful beats of rappers like MIKE or Earl Sweatshirt, Eleventh Wind will find a comfortable spot in your listening patterns, too. — JD
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp
The Beths, Jump Rope Gazers
New Zealand four-piece The Beths have delivered their sophomore project Jump Rope Gazers, the follow-up to their acclaimed 2018 debut Future Me Hates Me. Nostalgic title aside, the new album from the indie-pop-punk four-piece isn't content to simply rehash the past. Much of the credit is due to Elizabeth Stokes, who shines with a keen grasp of vocal melody over the gnarly power chords and propulsive drums that help make Jump Rope Gazersan ideal soundtrack for learning how to skateboard at 13 or 30. — JD
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp
YEAR0001, RIFT One
When was the last time you listened to a (mostly) trance album front-to-back? YEAR0001, the Swedish label behind Yung Lean and Bladee, are giving you the perfect opportunity with the new collection RIFT One, released on Thursday. It's 22 tracks of mostly spacey electronica with the occasional rap song from artists like Bladee and Thaiboy Digital. Lean himself revives his ever-unpredictable alias jonatan leandoer96 for a rave-starting song, but the project's highlight is the closer "Sergelized," an aggro-rap track from Nadia Tehran. Best of all, all profits from streams and sales from the project will be donated to benefit "community bail funds, mutual aid funds and racial justice organisers." — JD
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp
Rebel Yell, Fall From Grace
Despite the dissociative pun of its title, the new album from Sydney producer Grace Stevenson, aka Rebel Yell, practically demands attention. A sinewy and sinuous expansion of the hedonistic industrial techno she’s been working on for the past five-odd years, Fall From Grace finds Stevenson tying violent, bone-rattling rhythms to repetitive spoken word lines that play like anxious club conversations. It’s a risky, often revelatory synthesis — Shaad D'Souza
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp