New Music Reviews (11/24)

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 De La Soul, Boy Deluxe, Danny Brown, and more. 

De La Soul - Cabin in the Sky (Mass Appeal)
The legendary NY hip-hop trio De La Soul return with their 9th and likely final album, which is their first in nine years and first since the death of founding member David Jolicoeur (aka Dave aka Trugoy the Dove aka Plug Two) in February 2023. While Dave’s passing is acknowledged early in emotional fashion on the album’s opening intro, and reflected upon throughout, Cabin in the Sky is a triumphant, soulful, full-of-life celebration of De La Soul’s singular sound, style, and legacy over its steady and solid 20-track, 70-minute journey that still features plenty of Dave and all of the group’s iconic touchstones – impeccable rapping, top-notch beats, sophisticated range, clever samples/interpolations, and plenty of interstitial skits to keep it all moving. De La Soul’s magical three serve as the album’s magnetic hubs and charismatic hosts, welcoming in their extended family to the party with guest appearances from Nas, Q-Tip, Black Thought, Common, Slick Rick, Killer Mike, Bilal, and Yukimi, plus beats cooked up by DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Supa Dave West, Jake One, Nottz, and more. De La’s dearly departed Dave produced the album’s bookends, “YUHDONTSTOP” and “Don’t Push Me,” his crafty boom-bap beats infused with uplifting harp and sweeping strings, which fittingly end the album on a poignant note of ascension. Thank you, Dave, thank you, De La Soul. –AR

Boy Deluxe - HYSTERIA EP (Industry Houseplant)
The latest EP from the LA-via-Seattle duo Boy Deluxe is another exhilarating set of darkwave and electro-punk. With pulsing beats, layered synths, and razor-sharp lyricism, Boy Deluxe delivers “dark electronic music to punch a fascist to” just when we needed it most. –CS

Danny Brown - Stardust (Warp)
The seventh studio album from Detroit rapper Danny Brown is one hell of a trip. With a genre fusion as eclectic and eccentric as he is, and list of collaborators that includes underscores, Jane Remover, and Quadeca, Stardust finds Brown traversing hip-hop, electronic, glitch, hypepop, noise, and club soundscapes as he explores his now-sober existence through his witty lyricism and inventive blend of styles and moods, all delivered with a new sense of clarity and playfulness. –CS

Elujay - A Constant Charade (drink sum wtr)
The latest from Elujay is a big, bold step forward for the Oakland-based singer, songwriter, and producer. His intoxicating fusion of R&B, soul, jazz, pop, and electronic soundscapes shines across twelve captivating tracks as he showcases his stunning vocals, intimate lyricism, and refined production chops. A Constant Charade is anything but that, presenting an artist with a clear sense of self and authentic artistic vision.  –CS

Girls of the Internet & The Gospel of Thomas - Secular Music Vol 1 (House of the Internet)
Girls of the Internet & The Gospel of Thomas is a live dance music outfit fronted by Tom Kerridge, a veteran British DJ/producer  who was also the driving creative force behind RAMP Recordings, a revered late 2000s/early 2010s label that helped catapult the careers of artists such as Flying Lotus, James Blake, and Zomby. The first offering in a triptych of albums set to emphasize the human elements of songwriting, performance and production within the lineage of house, disco and electronic music, Secular Music Vol. 1 is a collaborative affair featuring a different vocalist on each of the album’s six songs and it’s a stellar set of hypnotic, organic, soulful, vocal-laced, spiritual-tinted house songs that are deep, and well worth their slow-burning builds. –AR

Home Front - Watch It Die (La Vida Es Mus Discos)
The second album from this Edmonton-based Canadian duo composed of Graeme MacKinnon and Clint Frazier is a ripping set of anthemic, soaring, synth-infused punk-rock with an impressively expansive range, an infectious pulse, and loads of passion. Existing somewhere between Militarie Gun, Japandroids, and Nation of Language, with inspiration stemming from a steady diet of The Cure, Blitz, Eurythmics, and Suicide, Home Front have made a sharp record “about moving through life while acknowledging death, about humanity, rebirth, dreams, and community – all powered by vintage drum machines, analog synths and screaming guitars.” –AR

Kelly Lee Owens - KELLY EP (dh2)
The new EP from London-based phenom Kelly Lee Owens is a high octane set of dancefloor bangers. With hypnotic beats, frenzied synths, and relentless movement, KELLY is a perfect follow-up to her 2024 album, Dreamstate. She shares: “This EP is about embodying sound and those collective, physical experiences we only really have in clubs or at music events. Sonically, it's very visceral. I've been drawn to sounds that sit on the edge: ominous, uneasy, sometimes even uncomfortable. That's just where I've been emotionally, and I think the world reflects that too. There's this constant push and pull between wanting to rise above the chaos, and sometimes, willingly sinking into it." –CS

London Elektricity - Lunatics & Legends (Fast Soul Music)
The latest full-length album from this long-running project spearheaded by influential British electronic musician and Hospital Records co-founder Tony Colman is a stellar record that fuses his trademark high-energy drum and bass rhythms through a soulful pop prism with the help of an eclectic roster of guest vocalists. With DnB, jungle, and breaks currently experiencing a renaissance and seeping into major-label pop songs, London Elektricity remind us that they’ve been here all along, delivering a confident crossover album full of 170+ BPM bangers that can be appreciated by both purists and novices alike. –AR

Swiimers - Swiimers High (ORM ENT)
The debut album from this Seoul-based trio is a fantastic set of dreamy shoegaze that sways masterfully between heavier feedback-fueled moments and more calm, airier passages. With lead singer Min Kyung Cho singing in both English and Korean over the band’s lush wall-of-sound backdrops, Swiimers deliver a confident record that proudly showcases their self-described “noise rock with the heart of K-pop” sound. –AR

TOBi x Real Bad Man - The Perfect Blue (Real Bad Man Records)
Continuing on a hot streak of creativity and collaboration, LA-based producer extraordinaire Real Bad Man presents his fifth full-length of 2025, this time teaming up with Nigerian-born, Toronto-raised vocalist TOBi. The Perfect Blue finds the pair locked in, delivering a groove-laden fusion of hip-hop, R&B, and soul with woozy, psychedelic electronic undertones. These ten eclectic tracks offer a little something for every mood and highlight both TOBi’s and Real Bad Man’s distinct artistry. –CS

Bug Teeth - Micrographia (State51)
The debut album from Leeds outfit Bug Teeth is a revelation. With lush instrumentation, kaleidoscopic arrangements, and PJ Johnson’s moody, entrancing vocals, Micrographia opens the door to their hazy, spellbinding fusion of dream pop, ambient, and post-punk. –CS

Farao - Magical Thinking (Western Vinyl)
The third album from Norwegian artist Kari Jahnsen (aka Farao) explores a supremely lush and delicately dreamy intersection between R&B, synth-pop, and spiritual jazz. With the apt Bandcamp description of “Think Janet Jackson meets Alice Coltrane,” Farao blends her honeyed vocals, transportive zither, groovy beats, and pillowy ambience through a sophisticated pop lens to create a sound that’s both playful and introspective. –AR

Few Bits - Brick Houses (Mayway Records)
On their first album in nearly a decade, Belgian dream-pop outfit Few Bits make a sensational return. With vocalist Karolien Van Ransbeeck at the helm, the five piece deliver an infectious set of atmospheric bedroom pop and indie rock, filled with bright synths, jangly guitars, and captivating hooks. Brick Houses is a warm and inviting listen that leaves listeners with a message of hope: “love, no hate / love, no chains.” –CS

Haley Heynderickx & Max García Conover - What of Our Nature (Fat Possum)
Hailing from two Portlands, Oregon-based Haley Heynderickx and Maine-based Max García Conover reunite for their second collaborative album inspired by the songwriting, storytelling, and life of Woody Guthrie. Drawing upon their unique respective experiences as a half-Filipina artist and a half-Puerto Rican artist, these acoustic-guitar-driven folk tunes boast memorable melodies and each musician's signature vocals as they explore themes of colonialism, consumerism, equity, and identity with a Guthrie-infused yet distinctly their own tenderness. –CS

Hélène Barbier - Panorama (Bonsound)
The third album from this Montreal-based musician is a consistently sweet set of psych-tinted art-pop that features Hélène singing in both English and French in a cool, non-chalant manner over kaleidoscopic, funky, shifty arrangements. –AR

Me and My Friends - Bring Summer (self-released)
The fifth album from this Bristol, UK-based five-piece outfit is a charming set of jubilant global-minded groove-pop that brews together Highlife, Afrobeat, disco, art-pop, folk, samba, cumbia and other tangential vibrant styles into its optimistic fold. True to its title, Bring Summer was “designed to be danceable from start to finish, reflecting the freedom of summer months,” and it succeeds in being a dose of sonic sunshine all the way through. –AR

Odonis Odonis - Odonis Odonis (Royal Mountain)
The sixth studio album from Toronto duo Odonis Odonis features a potent blend of post-punk, darkwave, industrial, and shoegaze. With moody guitars, affected vocals, and infectious hooks, this aptly named self-titled album plays like a retrospective, artfully showcasing their diverse influences and undeniable musicianship. –CS

Sharp Pins - Balloon Balloon Balloon (perennial)
Still fresh off the breakout reissue of their sophomore album Radio DDR in March 2025, this solo project of prolific Chicago-based musician Kai Slater (also of Matador Records trio Lifeguard) delivers their third album of scrappy, charming, infectious lo-fi pop gems that blend power-pop, jangle-pop, mod, and psych-pop in a fuzzy manner that’s both referential yet refreshing. –AR

The Mary Onettes - SWORN (Welfare Sounds & Records)
Swedish indie pop darlings The Mary Onettes emerge with their first new full-length album in 12 years and it’s a strong return to their melancholic '80s-steeped sound that blends dream-pop, New Wave, and synth-pop in a manner reminiscent of icons such as New Order, The Cure, and The Smiths. –AR

Tristen - Unpopular Music (Well Kept Secret)
The sixth studio album from Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tristen Gaspadarek, known simply as Tristen, is a vibrant slice of folk-tinged indie rock and bedroom pop. With nuanced themes, rich melodies, and lush instrumentation, Unpopular Music feels tailor-made for the outcasts. She proclaims: “So let the good times roll and may your unpopularity be your badge of knowingness.” –CS