Best New Releases, April 5: Khruangbin, Einstürzende Neubauten, and more
Another new music Friday is upon us, and with it some stellar new additions to the weekend listening queue. Our nine picks for this week’s Best New Releases includes the return of one of the biggest names in psych right now, a new offering from a legendary industrial act, some great metal, some great pop, some great electro post-punk and more.
Blurbs written by Jeff Terich (JT) and Mia Euceda (ME)
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Khruangbin – A La Sala
Following their collaborations with Leon Bridges and Ali Farka Touré and a turn toward pop and disco on 2020’s Mordechai, Texas psych trio Khruangbin return to spacier psychedelic soundscapes on their latest, A La Sala. Opting for a starker instrumental approach on their fourth album, the group leans back toward a subtler approach, highlighting their chemistry as musicians, as evident on the deep grooves of “Pon Pón” or the dazzling openness of “Ada Jean.” It’s a reminder of the kind of gentle mystery with which the group introduced themselves nearly a decade ago, and a gorgeous addition to their expanding and diversifying catalog. – JT
Listen at Bandcamp
Buy at Turntable Lab (vinyl)
Einstürzende Neubauten – Rampen (apm: alien pop music)
Berlin industrial icons Einstürzende Neubauten continue to tinker with their signature noisy sonics as well as quieter, more discreet moments on a new double album from outer space. While Blixa Bargeld’s no longer as shouty and commanding as in the group’s earlier days, his muted, detached vocals interrupted by a whirlwind of crashing percussion give off a bone-crushing chaos that rings true to the band’s roots. This is pop music for an era overridden with dissociative apathy in the midst of turmoil and isolation, akin to listening to trance-inducing new age while on the construction site to forget what’s around. On Rampen (apm: alien pop music), the industrial masters show that they still have a lot to explore, even after its formation 44 years ago.
The band’s hosting a Bandcamp virtual listening party at 2:30 p.m. ET and Bargeld will be there to answer fans’ questions via chat. – ME
Listen at Bandcamp
Buy at Amazon (vinyl)
Mount Kimbie – The Sunset Violent
Mount Kimbie transitioned from future garage into post-punk on their 2017 album Love What Survives, before moving back into more atmospheric electronic, beat-laden sounds on their 2022 album Mk 3.5: Die Cuts/City Planning. With The Sunset Violent, the duo expands into a proper band lineup and once again delves into the dark and sexy sounds of post-punk dance music, which climaxes on the standout King Krule collaboration, “Empty and Silent.” Knowing their history, they’ll probably switch things up again in the future, but this is a fantastic stop on their journey. – JT
Listen at Bandcamp
Buy at Turntable Lab (vinyl)
Drahla – Angeltape
Leeds post-punk group Drahla made their debut in 2019 with Useless Coordinates, a set of sleek, abstract riffs and rhythms that set dissonant grooves against occasional squalls of saxophone. On Angeltape, the grooves cut deeper, the rhythms hit a bit harder, and the saxophone is more prominent than ever. Songs like “Under the Glass” showcase an added urgency and muscle to the group’s sound, while moments like the closer “Grief in Phantasia” are more hallucinatory and intense, showing how much progress the band has made in pushing everything farther into the red. We’ll have more on this one soon. – JT
Listen at Bandcamp
Buy at Rough Trade (vinyl)
Fabiana Palladino – Fabiana Palladino
UK singer Fabiana Palladino, daughter of jazz musician Pino Palladino, makes her debut with this self-titled set of pop and R&B. Palladino’s debut is heavily informed by pop music of the past, particularly ’90s R&B and ’80s sophisti-pop, bringing to mind stellar recent work by the likes of Jessie Ware and Carly Rae Jepsen. It features the previously released Jai Paul collaboration “I Care,” and there are gems to be found throughout this stunning collection, ranging from sleek and funky balladry like “Stay With Me Through the Night” to the beat-driven flash of “Can You Look in the Mirror?” We’ll have more to say on this one soon. – JT
Listen at Bandcamp
Buy at Amazon (vinyl)
Jane Weaver – Love in Constant Spectacle
British artist Jane Weaver has spent the past two decades intertwining dense psychedelia with bright electronic pop and motorik groove, creating what’s now a mesmerizing signature sound. Her eleventh album and fourth through Fire Records continues this pursuit of intricately arranged and melodically stunning pop music, with ten songs that reward deeper, closer listening. On leadoff track “Perfect Storm,” Weaver juxtaposes hypnotic repetitions against bright and jangly guitar riffs, while “Emotional Components” wraps the electronic around the organic, bubbly synth sounds swirling against intricate acoustic guitar plucks. Weaver continues to add more depth and texture to her hallucinogenic world, while anchoring each song with a melodic sensibility that keeps everything grounded. – JT
Listen at Bandcamp
Buy at Amazon (vinyl)
Adam Wiltzie – Eleven Fugues for Sodium Pentothal
The debut solo album from Stars of the Lid/A Winged Victory for the Sullen’s Adam Wiltzie, following a few film scores, showcases the composer’s penchant for gorgeously moving drone music that often evokes a breathtaking feeling of stillness. Despite the title, Eleven Fugues for Sodium Pentothal features nine tracks, most of them relatively brief pieces that feature guitar and string drones, which themselves often feel cinematic in scope. This isn’t quick-reaction music, but rather a record that requires the necessary time to sit with it, meditate on it, let it become part of your life for a little while. The 37-minutes-at-a-time investment is more than worth it. – JT
Witch Vomit – Funeral Sanctum
Portland death metal wreckers Witch Vomit last delivered a full-length in 2019, the concise but absolutely kickass Buried Deep in a Bottomless Grave. They’ve added four minutes to the running time on the follow-up, but the level of kickass remains at an all-time high, the band tearing through one compact, streamlined and ferocious death metal blast after another. This time, they’ve honed their melodic sensibility a bit more, and the hooks are more prominent on songs like “Blood of Abomination.” Catchier than ever, but relentless, raucous and mean. – JT
Iron Monkey – Spleen & Goad
The titanic Nottingham sludge metal group Iron Monkey make their return after seven years with the sufficiently pulverizing new album Spleen & Goad. There’s no radical reinvention here, no string sections, no electronics, just meaty and raucous riffs, and that’s why it’s awesome. Spleen & Goad is the band at their heaviest, riding a mighty groove while delivering caustic barks and thicky, syrupy power chords. It’s exactly what a great sludge metal album should be. – JT
