This week's crop of 10 new works includes electronic offerings by British duo Disclosure and Welsh musician Kelly Lee Owens, a comeback album by American indie rock stalwarts Bright Eyes and a collaboration between two hip-hop heavy hitters, American DJ Khaled and Canadian star Drake.
1 ALTERNATIVE/INDIE ROCK
DOWN IN THE WEEDS, WHERE THE WORLD ONCE WAS
Bright Eyes
Hear it on: Spotify, Apple Music and other music streaming platforms
Watch it on YouTube.
Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was marks the return of American indie rock luminaries Bright Eyes after they went on hiatus in 2011.
It is also the 10th album by the band, which comprise acclaimed singer-songwriter Conor Oberst and multi-instrumentalists Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott.
It is said to be the band's most collaborative work. Oberst says of the comeback record: "Between kids being born and people dying and divorces and people falling in love and all of the crazy amount of life that's transpired for the three of us, personally, it was just, like, what are we going to do? Let's do the thing we do best. Let's make a record."
The trio enlisted help from two prominent musicians for the record's rhythm section: bassist Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers and drummer Jon Theodore from Mars Volta and Queens Of The Stone Age.
2 ALTERNATIVE ROCK/SYNTH-POP
IMPLODING THE MIRAGE
The Killers
Hear it on: Spotify, Apple Music and other music streaming platforms
Watch it on YouTube.
The Killers' sixth album is their first without founding member and guitarist Dave Keuning, who is on hiatus from the group. The songs are inspired by frontman Brandon Flowers' relocation from his home town of Las Vegas to Utah.
"I'm very interested in the optimistic side of things," he says of the tracks. "I was brought up to have that kind of a perspective and I think you hear it in the songs. It feels triumphant, like there are angels present."
The album features multiple star collaborations, ranging from Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham to Canadian singer-songwriter k.d. lang.
3 GLAM ROCK/POWER POP
SONGS FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC
The Lemon Twigs
Hear it on: Spotify, Apple Music and other music streaming platforms
Watch it on YouTube.
American rockers The Lemon Twigs are back with their third album, Songs For The General Public.
Like in their previous works,the duo, made up of New York brothers Brian and Michael D'Addario, expand on their 1970s rock influences here.
Brian said in an interview with Guitar World magazine: "I think we were both really in on every part of the process at the same time whereas I think, with the last record, there was a lot of, 'Okay, I did my bit on this song - now I'm going to leave and you're gonna take over.'
"Usually it's an instrument or two instruments, if it's not my song, that I play on his song and vice versa, but now it feels more collaborative."
4 HIP-HOP
POPSTAR
DJ Khaled featuring Drake
Hear it on: Spotify, Apple Music and other music streaming platforms
Watch it on YouTube.
Popstar is one of two new songs from American DJ-producer DJ Khaled that features frequent collaborator, Canadian musician Drake. The other track is Greece.
Because they could not physically get together due to the pandemic, they filmed their parts for the music video separately.
The video features Canadian singer Justin Bieber, who seemingly pokes fun at himself by playing the titular role of a pop star caricature. His wife, American model Hailey Bieber, makes a cameo.
Other personalities who appear include Bieber's manager Scooter Braun and social media stars King Bach and Timothy Chantarangsu.
The song is taken from DJ Khaled's upcoming 12th studio album, Khaled Khaled.
5 PSYCHEDELIC/EXPERIMENTAL ROCK
AMERICAN HEAD
The Flaming Lips
Hear it on: Apple Music and other music streaming platforms
Watch it on YouTube.
Frontman Mark Coyne describes the alternative rock elders' 16th album as an attempt to explore their American roots.
"So for the first time in our musical life, we began to think of ourselves as 'an American band', telling ourselves that it would be our identity for our next creative adventure," he says.
"We had become a seven-piece ensemble and were beginning to feel more and more of a kinship with groups that have a lot of members in them. We started to think of classic American bands like The Grateful Dead and Parliament-Funkadelic and how maybe we could embrace this new vibe."
A song from the album, God And The Policeman, features country star and fellow multi-Grammy winner Kacey Musgraves.
6 R&B
HIT DIFFERENT
SZA featuring Ty Dolla $ign
Hear it on: Spotify, Apple Music and other music streaming platforms
Watch it on YouTube.
Hit Different is the first single that features American singer SZA (above) as the main artist since her 2018 debut album Ctrl.
Produced by acclaimed hip-hop producers The Neptunes - made up of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo - the tune also features a chorus by singer Ty Dolla $ign.
SZA, whose real name is Solana Rowe, also makes her debut as a director for the song's music video, which was filmed in several settings including a farm and a junkyard.
7 HOUSE/UK GARAGE/R&B
ENERGY
Disclosure
Hear it on: Spotify, Apple Music and other music streaming platforms
Watch it on YouTube.
After releasing a preview in the form of the Ecstasy EP earlier this year, British electronic duo Disclosure have released a full album, Energy. It is their third album and their first since 2015's acclaimed Caracal.
Brothers Howard and Guy Lawrence have assembled a formidable team of international collaborators, who include American singers Kelis, Kehlani and Syd from The Internet; British rapper Slowthai; Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara and Cameroonian Blick Bassy.
8 TECHNO/DREAM POP
INNER SONG
Kelly Lee Owens
Hear it on: Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music and other music streaming platforms
Watch it on YouTube.
Inner Song is the sophomore album by Welsh singer and producer Kelly Lee Owens.
One of the songs, Corner Of My Sky, features Velvet Underground legend John Cale, who sings in both English and his native Welsh language. Owens said the song is a way for her to connect with her Welsh heritage.
The album also includes Arpeggi, her instrumental interpretation of English rockers Radiohead's Weird Fishes/Arpeggi.
9 ALTERNATIVE/FOLK
GOLD RECORD
Bill Callahan
Hear it on: Spotify, Apple Music and other music streaming platforms
Watch it on YouTube.
American singer-songwriter Bill Callahan took just a week to record the songs in Gold Record, the seventh album released under his own name.
The collection of unfinished and old tracks includes an alternate version of Let's Move To The Country, a track first released in his 1999 album, Knock Knock.
The singles from Gold Record are accompanied by artwork that he drew while preparing for the tour of his 2019 album, Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest.
It is his 18th album overall, including those he released under the moniker Smog.
10 ALTERNATIVE
WHOLE NEW MESS
Angel Olsen
Hear it on: Spotify, Apple Music and other music streaming platforms
Watch it on YouTube.
American singer-songwriter Angel Olsen's fifth album features mostly tracks found in her 2019 album, All Mirror - albeit in a more stripped-down, intimate style.
Recorded in a converted church and making full use of its halls for natural echo, the songs are inspired by a break-up. They are described by Olsen as being "solitary, frank and unflinching examinations of what it's like to love, lose and survive".
