Best New Releases, April 12: Shabaka, Metz, and more
Another new music Friday, another batch of great new albums to dive into this week. Among our picks for the best new records out today are the solo debut from a prolific jazz artist, the return of a noise rock favorite, a cross-continental industrial collaboration, a few great indie rock records and more.
Blurbs written by Jeff Terich (JT) and Mia Euceda (ME)
Note: When you buy something through our affiliate links, Treble receives a commission. All albums we cover are chosen by our editors and contributors.
Shabaka – Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace
The debut solo album from Shabaka Hutchings, known for his work with groups such as Sons of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming, finds the London jazz musician leaving behind saxophone in favor of a flute-centric set of recordings that’s less fiery and more meditative. It’s also uniformly gorgeous, a work of spiritual jazz that exists within a middle ground between impassioned emotional performances and a more ambient approach. Hutchings is joined by a number of notable guests, including Moses Sumney, Floating Points, Elucid and André 3000 (as a flautist, not an emcee), but it’s the atmospheric quality of the work that stands out most, beautiful and sedate. We’ll have more on this one soon. – JT
Listen/Buy: Spotify | Amazon (vinyl)
Metz – Up on Gravity Hill
On their fifth album Up on Gravity Hill, Toronto post-hardcore trio Metz return with one of their most dynamic and versatile sets of songs to date, exploring new sounds and textures while never letting go of the heaviness at their core. It’s currently our Album of the Week, and in our review of the record, we said it “feel[s] like the work of a group finding inspiration beyond the narrow parameters they once set for themselves, exploring sounds that enchant as much as pummel.” Also read our interview with the group. – JT
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)
Necrot – Lifeless Birth
Oakland trio Necrot are one of the best bands in death metal of the moment, delivering ferocious and efficient riff-driven rippers that are big on hooks and waste no time getting right to the wreckage. Lifeless Birth, their follow-up to 2020’s Mortal hones in even further on their ability to spin dizzying and dynamic bursts of aggression into melodic and memorable anthems, kicking off with the catchy ode to disconnecting from the machines, “Cut the Cord.” Look out for more on this one soon. – JT
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Amazon (vinyl)
Still House Plants – If I Don’t Make It, I Love U
Still House Plants strike gold and refine their raw sound on this expansive slowcore-tinged LP. If I Don’t Make It, I Love U borders on the complex angularities of math rock, though the band sounds unimpressed with these technicalities. Instead, there’s a focus on vulnerability and a desire to be understood. Jessica Hickie-Kallenbach’s croons are full of soul and make for a riveting accompaniment to David Kennedi’s individualistic drumming. The band is less lo-fi and bare-boned this time around, but keep their simple guitar, drums and vocal setup for a complex, yet no-frills work that makes for an engaging listen. I’m stoked to see where they go next. – ME
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Amazon (vinyl)
Avalanche Kaito – Talitakum
Earlier this week we premiered “Tanvusse” from Avalanche Kaito, the tense, noisy Belgian group fronted by Burkinabe vocalist Kaito Winse, and the album it’s featured on is a wild ride of intense textures and frenetic rhythms. Their second album and follow-up to their 2022 debut album intertwines disparate threads of various sounds, including noise rock, post-punk, industrial hip-hop and West African popular music, all of which come together in abrasive, amazing fashion. Yet while Talitakum is undoubtedly even more ferocious than its predecessor, there’s more nuance to be untangled as well, as on dark ambient standouts like “Donle.” – JT
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Amazon (vinyl)
Sunburned Hand of the Man – Nimbus
Prolific psych-rock and free-folk collective Sunburned Hand of the Man have over 100 releases in their catalog, some of which are available only via CD-R (which in some cases might be a bit tricky to track down a physical copy). Their latest album Nimbus is their first in three years, following 2021’s Pick a Day to Die, and it leans more toward the most accessible elements of the group’s sound, though it covers a wide spread: spoken word, twinkling psych-pop, melodic rock ‘n’ roll, bubbling electronics and more. As the group heads toward the close of a third decade together, their musical world only continues to expand. – JT
Listen/Buy: | Amazon (vinyl)
The Reds, Pinks and Purples – Unwishing Well
Prolific San Francisco artist Glenn Donaldson—a.k.a. The Reds, Pinks and Purples—has been releasing gorgeously infectious records of bright but hazy jangle pop since 2019, issuing an impressive three records in 2022 alone. (Which isn’t so surprising given how much larger his overall catalog of recorded music is.) Donaldson’s eighth record continues his streak of outstanding guitar pop, rife with Smiths-like hooks and a romantically gloomy aesthetic that nods to any number of acts from the ’80s, not to mention various Slumberland groups over the years, but with a keen songwriting sensibility that sets it apart as a memorable set of songs all its own. Stay tuned for more on this one soon. – JT
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Amazon (vinyl)
