New Music Reviews (8/5)

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 Jack White, Killer Mike, meg elsier, and more. 

Jack White - No Name (Third Man Records)
After secretly slipping unmarked copies of ‘No Name’ into shopping bags at Third Man Records, Jack White officially releases his enigmatic sixth solo album. Packed with seething guitars and a ferocious vocal delivery, his distinct punk and blues-infused alt-rock sounds fresh, rowdy and infectious. Self-recorded, produced and mixed, No Name showcases White’s raucous flavor and delivers a proper rumpus. –CS

Killer Mike - Michael & The Mighty Midnight Revival: Songs For Sinners And Saints (Loma Vista Recordings/Concord)
The new 10-song collection from one of the best MCs in the game serves as an epilogue to his celebrated 2023 album MICHAEL. With a long list of collaborators and a gospel influence on his signature hip-hop style, Michael & The Mighty Midnight Revival: Songs For Sinners And Saints finds Mike eternally inspired, thankful and steadfast in his craft. Of the new album he says: “After the celebratory atmosphere that followed MICHAEL I was reminded that tribulations never cease, but God is always with me and this is a testimonial of my tumultuous times, my trials, and my continued triumph in spite of doubt, outright hate, and fear. I am here to speak to and with my fellow sinners and Saints.”–CS

meg elsier - spittake (self-released)
The debut album from this Nashville-based singer-songwriter is an expansive, explosive set of emotive indie-rock. Featuring clever lyrics, heavy guitars and a dynamic vocal range that veers from powerful to ethereal, these eleven commanding tracks make for an impressive first outing. –CS

Meshell Ndegeocello - No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin (Blue Note)
Released on James Baldwin’s centennial, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin is a moving tribute to the renowned activist and writer. Incorporating powerful spoken word contributions from Staceyann Chin and Hilton Als, in addition to frequent musical collaborators, Ndegeocello crafts a vast and layered experimental jazz soundscape. The album explores themes of race, sexuality, activism and religion, resulting in a fervent homage to a man whose words and actions continue to inspire today. –CS

Moses Sumney - Sophcore EP (TUNTUM)
The latest offering from Ghanaian American multidisciplinary artist Moses Sumney is another stunner. Showcasing his otherworldly vocals and captivating arrangements, ‘Sophcore’ is an expansive exploration of moody alternative R&B that will stop listeners dead in their tracks. –CS

Orville Peck - Stampede (Warner)
The third studio album from South African-born country music phenom Orville Peck is a fifteen-track collection of vibrant duets, spanning classic country ballads to disco-infused pop bangers. Working with a diverse range of collaborators, Peck explores an eclectic mix of genres, resulting in a captivating and varied sonic landscape centered on some truly powerful vocal performances. –CS

Wand - Vertigo (Drag City)
On their sixth studio album, LA-based psych-rock outfit Wand returns with their most ambitious offering to date. Vertigo is lush and immersive, with searing guitars complemented by strings, horns, keys and dynamic percussion, crafting epic, captivating soundscapes. Taking the form of a quartet this time around, the band self-recorded, produced and mixed the album. The result is a richly textured, melodic and experimental endeavor that proves to be an essential addition to their catalog. –CS

X - Smoke & Fiction (Fat Possum)
Legendary punk rock outfit X celebrates forty-seven years together with their final album. Smoke & Fiction features their classic rockabilly-tinged punk sound, characterized by the fervor and urgency fans have come to expect. With ripping guitars, explosive drums and killer vocals from both Exene Cervenka and John Doe, these LA icons are going out with a bang. –CS

Guided By Voices - Strut Of Kings (GBV Inc.)
The 40th studio album from the Dayton, OH outfit that is as prolific as they are living legends highlights everything we’ve come to know and love about this alt-rock mainstay. With memorable guitar lines, catchy hooks and Robert Pollard’s signature vocals, Strut Of Kings is precisely that. –CS

J.R.C.G. - Grim Iconic…(Sadistic Mantra) (Sub Pop)
The sophomore album and Sub Pop debut from Tacoma-based Justin R. Cruz Gallego, aka J.R.C.G., is a loud and frenzied fusion of experimental art-punk, krautrock and so much more. Walls of sound permeate this “sadistic mantra” with warbly synths, layered percussion, riotous guitars, horns and distortions aplenty. There’s catharsis in the chaos, inviting listeners back to process “what the f*ck did I just experience?” time and time again. –CS

Niamh Regan - Come As You Are (Faction Records)
Niamh Regan’s sophomore album is a captivating blend of folk rock that showcases her stunning vocals. With its driving piano, delicate to seething guitar and sweeping crescendos, Come As You Are perfectly encapsulates this invitation, urging listeners to immerse themselves in its beautifully intimate songs. –CS

Orlas - Viver o Mar (Day End)
Orlas is a NYC-based duo composed of Victor Chicri and his son Vic Delnur. Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Victor played with many Brazilian greats, including Gal Costa, Seu Jorge, Bebel Gilberto, and Emilio Sanito. Taking their name from the Portuguese word for coasts/shores, Orlas’ debut album is an aqueous blend of symphonic Brazilian folk-pop, bossa nova, and tropicália with a breezy yacht rock touch. –AR

Soweto Gospel Choir x Groove Terminator - History of House (Umculo)
This team-up between South Africa’s Grammy Award-winning 16-piece Soweto Gospel Choir and veteran Australian DJ/producer Groove Terminator (aka Simon Lewicki) is a sweet reimagining of classic house anthems that pairs the former’s soaring vocals with the latter’s addictive rhythms that lean heavily into Afro house and amapiano styles. Featuring co-production from influential electronic producer Latroit and triumphant reworks of iconic dance songs by Rozalla, Inner Life, Moby, Delerium, Christopher Cross, Ultra Naté, Clivilles & Cole, Robert Miles, The Source, and more, History of House offers up a fresh look at some legendary songs by connecting the genre’s sound to its African roots. –AR

WHY? - The Well I Fell Into (Waterlines)
The eighth full length from the outfit led by Cincinnati songwriter Yoni Wolf is a lush, exhilarating exploration of indie-pop. Featuring stunning vocal harmonies that compliment Wolf’s distinctive timbre, The Well I Fell Into combines strings, woodwinds, guitars, syncopated percussion and dynamic keys to craft a compelling and comforting soundscape. The immersive backdrop enhances the impact of Wolf’s emotive lyrics, creating an engaging listening experience. –CS

Afla Sackey & Afrik Bawantu - Destination (Wah Wah 45s)
The second album from London-based Ghanaian vocalist and djembe drummer Afla Sackey and his band Afrik Bawantu is a vibrant set of lively Afrobeat, highlife, and global funk. Packed with a colorful horn section, infectious rhythms, and communal lyrics that frequently celebrate unity and togetherness, Destination is a consistently engaging, jubilant, feel-good listen. –AR

Afrocop - Afrocop (Wax Thematique)
Now a decade into their career, Seattle trio Afrocop unveil their official debut full-length and it’s a masterful showcase of their improvised, intuitive, and cosmic blend of jazz, soul, psych, ambient, funk, and Kosmische styles that’s brewed together in singular Afrocop fashion. The joint vision of keyboardist and KEXP DJ Noel Brass Jr., drummer Andy Sells, and bassist Carlos Tulloss, Afrocop’s three seasoned, versatile, and exploratory musicians tap into a free-flowing zone across the record’s dynamic, trippy, and groovy 7-track journey. –AR

Elsy Wameyo - Saint Sinner (self-released)
The debut album from this Nairobi-born, Adelaide-based singer, rapper, and producer is a hard-hitting set of triumphant hip-hop infused with Afrobeats, R&B, trap, and pop with a handful of highlights that recall contemporaries such as Little Simz, Sampa the Great, and Moonchild Sanelly. –AR

jigitz - don’t come back (R&R Digital)
The debut album from this NYC-based electronic producer is a beguiling set of hi-NRG melodic dance-pop that pairs pulsating club beats with heavily-treated vocals and a hyperpop undercurrent. With moments that recall Fred again.., PC Music, Robyn, and nightcore edits of The Postal Service (“first time” and “last time”), don’t come back feels designed for TikTok virality as well as a frenetic soundtrack to a youthful, poppy, technicolor rave. –AR

Maya Randle - composure (Pack)
Birmingham, UK-based electronic producer and vocalist Maya Randle quickly follows up her late 2023 7-track mini-album ‘focus’ with another strong mini-album that further showcases her pop-tinted drum and bass sound that packs infectious high-energy rhythms with hypnotic vocals. –AR

Molly Nilsson - Un-American Activities (Night School)
The 11th studio album from this revered Berlin-based Swedish singer, songwriter, and producer is another solid album of dreamy 80s-steeped synth-pop and gauzy charismatic art-pop that combines her glistening vocals, anthemic songwriting, and kaleidoscopic backdrops with a distinctive conceptual narrative. The daughter of communist parents, Molly wrote and recorded the album entirely on location in California at the former home of Lion Feuchtwanger, a German Jewish writer, poet, and playwright who was an early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany, and features lyrics pulled directly from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About Communism in the U.S.A. This transportive and provocative combination of music and politics yields one of Molly’s most unique records as it grapples with “the current resurgence of the far-right throughout modern Europe and the nature of dissent and political opposition in the 2020s.” –AR