New Music Reviews (8/24)

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 Black Marble, Jorja Smith, Westside Cowboy, and more. 

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Black Marble - Life in Small Spaces (Sacred Bones)

The fifth album from this beloved solo project of Brooklyn-based artist Chris Stewart is his first in nearly five years and it’s a glorious return to his propulsive, nostalgic, wonderfully smeared synth-pop sound inflected with a heavy dose of coldwave, post-punk, and New Wave. A love and adoration of late 20th century underground music shines bright through his deft blend of analogue synths, old-school drum machines, ringing guitars, and gauzy vocals, and his buoyant melodies unleash a joyfulness across ‘Life in Small Spaces’ that consistently delights. -AR

Jorja Smith - What Are the Odds (FAMM)

Driven by a desire to make “music to make you move” and for driving and vibing, the third album from acclaimed British singer-songwriter Jorja Smith combines her stunning voice and evocative R&B sensibilities with hard-hitting club beats handled across the board by Nigerian-British producer P2J. Lyrically touching upon intimate themes of friendship, grief, betrayal, loneliness, love and self-discovery over the magnetic syncopated rhythms of UK Garage, Grime, 2-Step, UK Funky, and Afro-House, ‘What Are the Odds’ is a consistently strong collection from one of the premier voices of the UK soul scene, delivering an album that taps into a similar physical energy as her breakthrough (and still great) 2017 single “On My Mind.” -AR

Westside Cowboy - It Goes On (Island)

This young Manchester, UK-based four-piece band follow up a pair of excellent EPs with an equally stellar debut full-length album that puts their dynamic, impassioned, and sophisticated indie rock on full breakthrough display. There’s a classic, consuming, catchy feel to these no-frills songs carried by the band’s sharp songwriting, balanced vocal interplay, and expertly-crafted arrangements that makes it both easy and thrilling to get swept into their galloping momentum. - AR

Wild Pink - Still Coming Down (Fire Talk)

The sixth album from this NYC band led by John Ross is a strong set of towering heartland rock, widescreen alt-country, and soaring indie rock with a compact, consuming, full-bodied sound. Written after battling and beating cancer, as well as becoming a father for the first time, Ross has stated that he finally feels like he’s found his voice on this album, and there’s a fully-in-the-present, take-on-the-world immediacy to these downright huge, anthemic, guitar-forward songs that are able to bring harmonica, horns, keys, saxophone, and pedal steel into its enveloping, triumphant mix. -AR

Antony Szmierek - Decoding Birdsong (Mushroom Music)

The second full-length album from Manchester, UK artist and former English teacher Antony Szmierek is another awesome showcase of his poetic spoken word rapping, pulsating electronic beats, and smart pop sensibilities. With its thoroughly inquisitive, profound, and optimistic energy, ‘Decoding Birdsong’ is a sharp follow-up to his breakout 2025 debut album ‘Service Station at the End of the Universe’ as he delivers a uniquely kinetic sound reminiscent at times of The Streets, Joshua Idehen, Faithless, LCD Soundsystem, Underworld, and Fred again.., yet it ultimately exists in Antony’s own singular lane. -AR

Cleo Sol - Gentlewoman (Forever Living Originals)

Exactly a half-decade to the day of unveiling her immaculate sophomore album ‘Mother,’ London singer-songwriter Cleo Sol emerges with her fifth solo album (and her 1st in 3 years) and it’s another divine set of acoustic neo-soul and sumptuous R&B. Her golden voice continues to find few rivals in regards to its natural beauty; the album’s exquisite organic productions guided by her collaborative partner, husband, and SAULT co-pilot Inflo remain supremely elegant, patient, and delicately arranged with gorgeous intermittent flourishes of harp, strings and piano; and lyrically she’s finally turning the focus primarily on herself – first words she sings, “Finally, I’m looking out for me” – while interjecting her steady gospel/spiritual undertones in a more balanced manner. There’s an honest, tender, uplifting, and (indeed) gentle energy that permeates ‘Gentlewoman’ and it yields arguably her strongest solo outing in five years. -AR

Cornelius - REFRACTIONS (Eat Your Own Ears Recordings)

After a steady run of albums that were more introspective and inward-looking, the 9th studio album from renowned Japanese musician Cornelius (aka Keigo Oyamada) is a brilliant return to his colorful, inventive, shape-shifting electronic-pop world injected with touches of prog, psychedelic, tropicália, and kosmische. Not only does ‘REFRACTIONS’ signal Cornelius’ poppiest album in decades, it also finds him welcoming in a few notable friends to the party, including Brazilian-American legend Arto Linday, Ganesh "Bid" Seshadri of influential UK post-punk band The Monochrome Set, and longtime friends and collaborators Sean Ono Lennon and Shintaro Sakamoto. -AR

Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats - ii (Loma Vista Recordings)

Florida rapper Denzel Curry and chameleonic producer extraordinaire Kenny Beats (aka Kenneth Blume) link-up again for a sequel to their awesome 2020 release ‘UNLOCKED’ and the unmatched chemistry between these two boundary-pushing artists continues to shine bright over a thrilling set of imaginative hip-hop. Denzel’s back in his charismatic bravado bag and Kenny – after professionally embracing his birth name and becoming one of the rock world’s most in-demand producers handling the boards for Geese, IDLES, Weezer, and more – returns to his brilliant sample-heavy beats accented by a psych/prog touch. -AR

Dillom - LA NUEVA VIOLENCIA (Bohemian Groove)

After livestreaming on YouTube for five full days, Argentine artist Dillom surprise-released the 14 tracks that make up La Nueva Violencia. Imagine an album where Viagra Boys’ Sebastian Murphy sings in Spanish, St. Vincent plays guitar and sings backing vocals on not one but two songs, and Amyl and the Sniffers’ Declan “Dickhead” Mehrtens shows up with a bagpipe solo. Dillom’s third album also features contributions from figures in Argentina’s contemporary music scene, including Juana Rozas, Juana Aguirre, Babeblade, Terra, Miranda!, and Adrián Dárgelos of Babasónicos. Emerging from the Southern Cone’s contemporary rap and trap scene, Dillom’s music has long since outgrown those categories. Following POST MORTEM and Por cesárea, he dives deeper into post-punk, electroclash, industrial electronics, noise, and rock & roll. La Nueva Violencia uses excess and satire to explore consumerism, fame, spectacle, and our constant need for stimulation. -Albina Cabrera-

GB - Herzsprung (AD 93)

The second album from Copenhagen-based Danish musician Gustav Berntsen (aka GB) is a stellar set of sophisticated, arty, exploratory guitar-pop with an understated beauty and an evocative, jazzy, freewheeling chamber-pop touch. Written while he was temporarily living in London and absorbing the city’s storied history of pushing the boundaries of rock music, ‘Herzsprung’ marks a breakout moment for GB – and a uniquely approachable indie offering within AD 93’s cutting-edge discography – as he taps into a timeless sound reminiscent at times of The American Analog Set, The Clientele, Junip, Hood, The Sea and Cake, and Ida. -AR

hey, nothing - Hound (Interscope/Music Soup Entertainment)

The second full-length album and major-label debut from this young Athens, Georgia duo composed of childhood best friends Tyler Mabry and Harlow Phillips is an impressive showcase of their raw, explosive, angsty indie rock that’s distinguished by a heart-on-sleeve emo/folk streak. -AR

New Age Healers - Blowing Smoke Through The Choir (self-released)

The sixth album from this Seattle band is another solid set of classic shoegaze and celestial psych-rock that’s soaked in a nostalgic alternative rock sheen. Singer, songwriter, guitarist, and KEXP’s own Owen Murphy shares vocal duties with new member Elisha Nottingham on all tracks, as well as Karate, Guns & Tanning’s Valerie Green on standout track “Sunday Bed,” the duelling deliveries providing a nice reflection of the band’s potent mix of heavy and dreamy that’s able to confidently traverse everything from pummeling, stormy jams to heavenly dream-pop. -AR

The Afghan Whigs - Soft Control (BMG)

The 10th studio album from this veteran Cincinnati band led by Greg Dulli is a consistently solid set of their trademark evocative rock that’s brooding, intense, soulful, and poignant, and now slanted by Dulli entering a more somber, reflective, mindful stage of life. In regards to his at-times volatile past, and where he’s at these days, Greg shares: “I was an angry young man, and it fueled my art, ambition and my drive. I wouldn’t change anything because I can’t.  But as I got into photography and other art forms, I realized that I’m not in competition with anyone – including myself. Now, I know what I’m doing and there’s a quiet confidence that comes with being able to back it up.” -AR

222 - Memory Tap (Den Tapes)

Den Tapes continues their prolific hot-streak with this impressive debut album from Seattle-via-SF band 222 that exists in a crunchy Americana and grungy country-rock lane with a nice balance of male and female vocals. -AR

Darlynn - Dyke Den (Dark Entries)

Darlynn is an Oakland-based duo composed of Daria Lourd (aka Bored Lord) and her wife, vocalist Jaelynn Walls. Billed as “a lesbian love story about two creative individuals finding each other and themselves through effusive and contemplative sonic avenues,” their debut album is a sweet journey that pairs Daria’s chameleonic, reverential, underground club-ready productions with Jaelynn’s R&B-tinted vocals and tells a beautiful love story in the process. Kicking off with the flirty dancefloor-primed lead single “Make Yr Move” and closing out with the cozy, romantic, laidback street-soul of “Love Letter,” ‘Dyke Den’ is a touching nod to their evolving 2-year relationship and their shared love of classic house, iconic R&B, and leftfield grooves. -AR

Guiding Light - Fear On My Own Time (Post Present Medium)

The debut album from this Austin, Texas-based four-piece band that shares two members with Touch Girl Apple Blossom is a blistering blast of urgent, frenetic, in-your-face post-punk jams that’s further distinguished by lead singer Elise Cook who delivers a majority of her lyrics in German. It’s a beguiling combination that works well within the band’s scrappy, propulsive, DIY energy. -AR

Julia Holter - Materia (Domino)

The seventh full-length album from LA-based singer, songwriter, and composer Julia Holter serves as a companion to her 2025 album ‘Something in the Room She Moves’ and it dives even deeper into her immersive, atmospheric, dreamy, amorphous avant-pop lane that’s distinguished by her lush, free-flowing, painterly sensibilities. -AR

Lambchop - Punching the Clown (Merge)

The 17th album from this restless, fascinating, veteran Nashville band led by Kurt Wagner is a pin-drop beautiful set of minimal folk ballads with a majestic gospel/choral influence that was all inspired by hearing a mysterious song on the radio. While his pursuit to identify the song failed, in his quest “he discovered “lined out singing,” a form of acapella call-and-response gospel singing that began in Scotland in the 1800s and became a root of American gospel and country music when Scottish immigrants settled in Appalachia. The song, typically a hymn, is led by a clerk, who begins the verse alone before a choir swells up to accompany them on the rest of the line.” With this model in place, Kurt serves as the stoic storytelling clerk, accompanied throughout here by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon on banjo, close collaborator and current Lambchop member Andrew Broder (aka Fog) on guitar, and both a 12-piece London choir and the Eau Claire Vocal Sextet, who accentuate these songs into often transcendent territory. -AR

Lusine - Melting Days (Ghostly International)

The 10th Lusine album from this long-running project of quietly influential Seattle-based electronic musician Jeff McIlwain is a hypnotic set of atmospheric, introspective, beat-driven ambient music that reflects a particularly challenging period in his life and finds him returning to his immersive minimalist roots. His masterful 2007 ambient album ‘Language Barrier’ serves as the closest forebear to ‘Melting Days,’ both albums emerging from film score work and favoring enveloping tones and intricate textures over traditional songwriting foundations. -AR

Sango - RHYTHM & MELODY (Mass Appeal)

The latest full-length album from Seattle’s Sango (aka Kai Asa Savon Wright) is a super fresh showcase of his both his top-shelf production talents and expansive range as he twists his bass-heavy beats through a myriad of styles while also flexing his collaborative spirit that welcomes in both heavy-hitters and exciting newcomers from across the world. Whether tapping into blockbuster hip-hop, New Orleans bounce, smooth R&B, Chicago footwork, silky Afrobeats, or Baile Funk bangers, Sango covers a ton of ground on ‘RHYTHM & MELODY’ with a cohesive touch and continues to prove he’s quietly one of the most versatile and talented contemporary beat producers. -AR

Sara Hebe - NEGOCIONISMO (self-released)

Sara Hebe is one of the defining voices of Argentine alternative rap, a rapper, songwriter, and performer whose work has been closely tied to feminism, social protest, and independent culture for nearly two decades. On ‘NEGOCIONISMO,’ her seventh album, that confrontational perspective meets heavier electronic production led by Manu Calmet, a producer and DJ from Buenos Aires’ underground scene. Rap, dub, drum and bass, dubstep, punk, and pop coexist across ten songs about money, inequality, work, relationships, and digital overload. The album features collaborations with Barbi Recanati, Mexico’s Malcriada, Dum Chica, and AKA ROMEA, further expanding Sara Hebe’s connection between Latin American rap, punk, and electronic music. -Albina Cabrera