New Music Reviews (7/22)

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 Childish Gambino, Denzel Curry, GUM & Ambrose Kenny-Smith, and more. 

Childish Gambino - Bando Stone & the New World (RCA)
The fifth and final album from Childish Gambino is a dizzyingly eclectic and expansive send-off for this beloved project. Spanning electronic, rock, hip-hop, R&B and experimental soundscapes, Donald Glover collaborates with exceptional musicians such as Amaarae, Jorja Smith and Khruangbin, alongside notable producers like Ludwig Göransson, Dahi and Sir Dylan. Despite the wide range of sonic influences, Bando Stone & the New World remains a compelling, cohesive listen, offering fans a spectacular swan song to cherish. –CS

Denzel Curry - King Of The Mischievous South Vol. 2 (Loma Vista)
Miami-based Denzel Curry’s sixth studio album pays homage to his southern hip-hop roots. Fueled by inventive flows over 90s beats and captivatingly grimy production, Curry enlists a deep squad of guests including A$AP Rockey, Tia Corine, 2 Chanz, and A$AP Ferg. Whether he’s constructing intricate concept albums like 2022’s Melt My Eyez See Your Future or delivering spontaneous bars as heard on King Of The Mischievous South Vol. 2, Curry continues to establish himself as one of the best MCs in the game. –CS

GUM & Ambrose Kenny-Smith - Ill Times (p(doom) records)
The debut release on King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’z p(doom) records is fittingly a collaboration of GUM (aka Jay Watson of Pond, Tame Impala) and Ambrose Kenny-Smith (of King Gizzard, The Murlocs). While rooted in psych and garage influences, the duo also incorporate funk, soul, jazz and blues elements, creating a fresh fusion that distinguishes itself from their other projects. Featuring hazy vocals, scintillating guitars, and sparking synths with horn and harmonica embellishments, Ill Times is an exciting new venture from two of psych rock’s brightest talents. –CS

BALTHVS - Harvest (Mixto)
The fourth studio album from the Colombian psych-trio is a spellbinding amalgamation of surf, soul, funk and Middle Eastern Music interpreted through their unique cumbia lens. With gripping melodies, intricate guitar work and dreamy vocals, they take listeners on a groovy journey that feeds the heart and soul like a bountiful harvest. –CS

Fana Hues - Moth (Bright Antenna)
The third album from LA-based singer-songwriter Fana Hues is a hazy, seductive collection of alternative R&B. The restraint often practiced in her breathy, emotive vocal delivery leaves a lingering sense of longing as she glides across soulful psychedelic infused sonics. Bolstered by top-tier production from Josh Grant, this album stands as Hues’ most confident and fully realized project yet. –CS

Lava La Rue - STARFACE (Dirty Hit)
West London native Lava La Rue’s highly anticipated debut album marks their proper, fully formed introduction following a couple of tantalizing EPs. Across seventeen shapeshifting tracks, they showcase infectious, guitar driven alt. R&B enriched with compelling psychedelic flourishes and a healthy dose of glam, sci-fi, indie-rock and funk influences. STARFACE finds Lava standing confidently in their artistic vision, proving they are a force to be reckoned with. –CS

salute - TRUE MAGIC (Ninja Tune)
The highly anticipated debut album from the Manchester-based Austrian producer lives up to its title: true magic. Infused with a distinct pop sensibility, they craft a magnetic set of house, garage and techno that is poised for the dance floor. Collaborations with artists like Rina Sawayama, Karma Kid, Disclosure and Empress Of add an extra layer of excitement, keeping the listener engaged from the first to the last beat. TRUE MAGIC finds salute not only meeting, but exceeding the expectations set by the well deserved buzz that surrounds them. –CS

SAULT - Acts of Faith (Forever Living Originals)
The enigmatic and ever prolific soul collective surprised fans once again with another gem, a free download that arrived just as quickly as it left. Their eleventh album, presented as a single continuous track, is deeply steeped in messages of faith and propelled by their hypnotic fusion of R&B, funk, gospel and soul. Featuring groovy guitars, dynamic keys and intoxicatingly smooth vocals, Acts of Faith is another can’t miss stop on their irresistible musical journey. –CS

Star Anna - Love and Sex and Fear of Death (self-released)
The new album from Seattle-based singer-songwriter Star Anna exudes an omnipresent darkness that intriguingly invites rather than repels. Her Americana-tinged indie-rock highlights her rich vocals embellished with a touch of grit as she meditates on themes of transitions, grief and growing pains. Punctuated with distorted guitars and bright keys, Love and Sex and Fear of Death is a sensational new offering from this local powerhouse. –CS

Beautiful Freaks - We Talk to Birds (self-released)
The latest album from Seattle’s Beautiful Freaks is a chaotic fusion of punk, glam, grunge and hardcore, resulting in an irresistible brand of queercore that is entirely their own. With a blend of screams and harmonies set against heavy guitars and explosive drums, they skillfully walk the line between enticingly melodic and alluringly grotesque. We Talk to Birds is bound to speak to many, as their unique musical style welcomes fans new and old to match their freak. –CS

Bizhiki - Unbound (Jagjaguwar)
The debut collaboration from Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings, Joe Rainey Sr., and multi-instrumentalist S. Carey is breathtaking. Throughout Unbound they weave beautiful atmospherics using electronic samples, beats, hand drumming and synthesized voice modulation. Incorporating powwow vocal styles alongside English singing, Bizhiki achieve compelling results that are rooted in tradition while boldly breaking new ground with their powerful messaging. –CS

Cassandra Lewis - Lost In A Dream (Elektra/Low Country Sound)
Portland singer-songwriter Cassandra Lewis makes her major label debut with an album that beautifully fuses Americana, retro country and psychedelic soul. Her powerful vocals, boasting a dynamic range and enchanting vibrato, sit center stage and imbue each note with deep emotion. Lost In A Dream explores themes of love, addiction, abuse and self-discovery, while both sonically and lyrically offering a compelling listen that blurs the lines between past and present, dream and reality. –CS

Chris Cohen - Paint a Room (Hardly Art)
The fourth studio album and Hardly Art debut from singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Chris Cohen is a captivating blend of folk and pop infused indie-rock. Featuring memorable guitar lines and inviting vocals, the album explores heavy themes like violence, power struggles, and overcoming obstacles with a sense of soothing whimsy. His warm and intricate arrangements create a dreamlike quality that effortlessly carries listeners through the journey of Paint a Room.. –CS

Dr. Dog - Dr. Dog (We Buy Gold Records)
On their eleventh studio album, and first in six years, the Philadelphia outfit returns with their signature folk rock sound infused with elements of psych and soul. This self-titled album features engaging harmonies, driving keys and compelling guitars, showcasing the band’s evolution over more than two decades in the indie rock scene. With solid arrangements that feel both tight and free flowing, these mainstays showcase their skill and ability to innovate while staying true to their distinctive style. –CS

Luke Temple and The Cascading Moms - Certain Limitations (Western Vinyl)
The latest offering from prolific LA-based musician Luke Temple – aka Art Feynman, also the frontman and founding member of Here We Go Magic – is the first album credited to him alongside The Cascading Moms (Art Feynman collaborator Kosta Galanopolous and Doug Stuart) and it’s a smartly-crafted set of dreamy, dynamic, nuanced psych-folk gems with Krautrock and art-pop undercurrents that finds the trio locked into a synchronized pocket full of motorik grooves, winsome melodies, and kaleidoscopic backdrops. –AR

Parlor Greens - In Green We Dream (Colemine)
The instrumental trio hailing from Loveland, OH know that sometimes you just gotta put the organ in the spotlight. Their irresistibly funky fusion of jazz and soul hooks listeners within the first notes of this impressive debut album, offering a nostalgic sonic journey filled with expert musicianship and extraordinary vibes. –CS

xiexie - wellwell (P-VINE/NATURAL FOUNDATION)
The debut album from this Tokyo-based four-piece band is a sweet set of dreamy psych-pop and groovy indie pop that pairs the breezy bilingual – but predominantly in Japanese – vocals of lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist Meari with the band’s assured backdrops that revel in a cool, classic, indie-psych terrain. –AR

A/S/L - Signs of Romance (Future God)
The debut EP from this new project of a mysterious LA-based DJ/producer is an infectious set of kaleidoscopic electronic grooves with a shimmery, enveloping, plunderphonic streak akin to The Avalanches, DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ, Fennec, and Rudy Willingham. With its 5 tracks flowing seamlessly over an all-too-brief 15-minute running time, Signs of Romance offers a repeat-worthy summertime dancefloor sound as well as a tasty appetizer for A/S/L’s upcoming full-length album ‘Live From Selby’ that’s due out later this year. –AR

ARI TSUGI  - Simultaneity (同時性) (Rebecca’s Records)
The debut album from Scottish/Japanese Glasgow-based outfit ARI TSUGI is a phenomenal display of expressive psychedelic jazz fusion. Their extraordinary musicianship shines throughout these seven spaced-out tracks with endless grooves, Brazilian rhythms and an effortless flow. Now an eight piece, these mostly self-taught musicians have burst onto the UK jazz scene with live performances and now this debut, leaving listeners eagerly anticipating future releases. –CS

HYUKOH & Sunset Rollercoaster - AAA (DOOROODOOROO ARTIST COMPANY and Sunset Music Productions Co., Ltd.)
Seoul’s HYUKOH and Taipei’s Sunset Rollercoaster – two of the most popular “indie” bands in Asia – join forces for an expansive survey of breezy psych-pop and dreamy space-rock with a loose, freewheeling sensibility that dips into bossa nova, ambient, prog, power-pop, and more. Fueled by their seamless chemistry in the studio and shared appreciation of genre-blurring jam sessions, these two hotly-tipped bands and their 10 total members tap into a cool, chameleonic, creative vision on AAA. –AR

Jake Xerxes Fussell - When I’m Called (Fat Possum)
The fifth album from Durham, NC singer, guitarist, and archivalist Jake Xerses Fussell is a beautiful set of rustic Americana that finds him reviving and reinterpreting traditional folk songs through a pastoral blend of earthy vocals, delicate guitar pickings, and subtle, sweeping orchestral touches. –AR

Manatee Commune - Simultaneity (Bastard Jazz)
The fourth album from Seattle-via-Bellingham electronic producer Manatee Commune (aka Grant Eadie) is another solid set of dreamy, propulsive, beautiful electronic grooves. Full of warm synths, atmospheric textures, flickering vocal samples, and magnetic beats, Simultaneity features organic, unhurried, delicate compositions that often patiently unfold from ambient/neo-classical terrain into gorgeous rhythmic space, yielding some downright blissful dancefloor moments. –AR

Terror/Cactus & Cuervo Cuervo - Agua Mágica (self-released)
Bonding over a shared love of blending Latin American folk traditions with electronic downtempo beats, Seattle-based, Buenos Aires-born artist Terror/Cactus (aka Martin Selasco) teams up with Mexico-based duo Cuervo Cuervo (American producer Benjamin Hill and Argentinian musician Agustin Ganem) for this solid 4-track EP of lush Latin-influenced grooves featuring rich electro-acoustic productions that tap into various Latin folk rhythms such as cumbia, bailecito, and milonga. –AR

toe - NOW I SEE THE LIGHT (Topshelf)
The fourth full-length album from this veteran Japanese four-piece is a sweet set of adventurous rock that continues to find them blurring math-rock, post-rock, jazz, and psych into a potent instrumental brew, with guitarist Yamazaki Hirokazu embracing a rarely adorned vocalist role on a few standout tracks to add to the album’s eclectic range. –AR

ZG - Out of the Unknown (Pacific Rhythm)
The second album from this collaborative project between London-based vocalist/artist Zansika Lachhani and Brooklyn-based electronic producer Grant (aka Anthony Collins, also one-half of Scissor & Thread duo Frank & Tony) is another sultry, alluring, and hypnotic set of atmospheric late-night electronic grooves that taps beautifully into the smoky and seductive spirit of the 1990s trip-hop, downtempo, deep house, spacey disco, breakbeats, and acid jazz, yet gives these nostalgic touchstones their own modernized twist for a perfect afterhours vibe.  –AR