10 New Albums to Stream Today

Music Lists New Albums
10 New Albums to Stream Today

As the music discourse shifts between Taylor Swift to Lana Del Rey, you might want a few other albums to drown out the constant chatter. Good thing there’s a bunch of highly-anticipated, diverse new albums out this Friday (Sept. 6). You can hear everything from pop, R&B and deathrock to trip-hop, indie rock and soul. Some of the most-hyped releases include the debut album from country supergroup The Highwomen, a new EP from indie stalwarts Death Cab for Cutie, the debut LP from rising British soul singer Mahalia and the first Bat For Lashes album in three years. Scroll down to hear 10 notable new albums from this New Music Friday.

1. Bat For Lashes: Lost Girls

Bat for Lashes have unveiled their fifth studio album, Lost Girls, which features their first new cut “Kids in the Dark.” Guided by layers of hypnotic synth, “Kids in the Dark” finds Natasha Khan’s lush vocals twisting and twirling around a kinked backbeat and swelling keyboards. The ballad plays out like the score for a prom scene in an ’80s film, fashioned from pots of glitter and the shiny dress shoes of lovestruck teenagers. The track sets the scene for the parallel universe Khan fabricated for Lost Girls, a dreamlike world rife with female energy and populated by roaming gangs of female bikers, and finds Khan toying with the elusive Nikki Pink character. —Savannah Sicurella

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2. Death Cab for Cutie: The Blue EP

Diving into their next venture, Death Cab For Cutie have shared their new five-track release, The Blue EP, with its lead single, “Kids in ’99.” The track pays tribute to the 1999 Bellingham Olympic Pipeline explosion in Seattle and the three children who lost their lives due to it. Featuring frontman Benjamin Gibbard’s signature vocals and a forlorn, melancholic feel over rapid, jumpy drumming and subdued instrumentals, the track dwells on what could’ve been. The release follows their 2018 album Thank You for Today, and was produced by Peter Katis, Rich Costey and the band themselves. —Molly Schramm

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3. Frankie Cosmos: Close It Quietly

Frankie Cosmos’ new bio describes Close It Quietly as “a continual reframing of the known, taking the band’s trademark micro-universe and upending it, spilling outwards into a swirl of referentiality that’s a marked departure from earlier releases, imagining and reimagining motifs and sounds throughout the album.” The album has a whopping 21 tracks (that’s three more than their 2018 album Vessel, for those of you keeping score at home), and features collaborations with Lauren Martin, Luke Pyenson, Alex Bailey and Gabe Wax. —Harry Todd

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4. The Highwomen: The Highwomen

The new (but long-teased) supergroup/collective/movement led by Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris and Amanda Shires are finally ready to share their debut, self-titled album as The Highwomen. One of the highlights is the swinging, empowering country tune “Crowded Table,” a harmonic ballad about family—or, at least, whoever it is you go home to—and inclusivity that will probably make you cry. Think of The Highwomen as the bigger and twangier Americana/country boygenius that packs just as much girl power and lyrical finesse while simultaneously helming a movement. Other features on the record include Jason Isbell, Miranda Lambert, Sheryl Crow, Tanya Tucker and Ray LaMontagne, and that’s not even the whole lot. The Highwomen took the hands of many. —Ellen Johnson

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5. Husky Loops: I Can’t Even Speak English

Italian-born, London-based trio Husky Loops have shared their debut album, I Can’t Even Speak English. Their single “Everyone Is Having Fun Fun Fun But Me” features contributions from friend and collaborator Fred Gibson (Charli XCX, Plan B) and pairs pumping trip-hop beats, icy, electro vocals and lush atmospherics for the perfect grooving, post-night-out downer. It’s for the early hours of the morning when you’re gazing out the window, still awake after a night that was supposed to be life-affirming, but instead felt stale. Husky Loops previously released a mixtape and three EPs—their self-titled debut, EP2 and Spool, and they made their North American live debut at this year’s SXSW. —Lizzie Manno

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6. Iggy Pop: Free

Punk-rock provocateur Iggy Pop continues to have one of the most interesting careers in the music industry. Last year, he collaborated with British electronica producers Underworld for the oddball Teatime Dub Encounters EP, but his last full length was 2016’s rowdy Post Pop Depression, which harkened back to his roots. Pop has now shared Free, a new album that seems to be taking the artist in an ambient, jazzy direction. The album announcement came paired with the album’s title track, a somber and expressionistic tone piece. “Free” is relatively formless, letting trumpets wail in the distance over meandering and heavily processed guitar-scape drum pad. —Harry Todd

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7. Mahalia: Love and Compromise

Paste recently featured this Leceister soul singer and Atlantic Records signee on our list of 15 New British Acts You Need to Know in 2019. Mahalia has taken the world by storm with her silky smooth vocals. A 2017 video of her debut single, “Sober” now boasts 34 million views on YouTube, and she supported the likes of Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sandé and Jorja Smith, all before releasing her album. Her debut full-length Love and Compromise is out now and includes four previously-released tracks—“I Wish I Missed My Ex,” “Do Not Disturb,” “Simmer (feat. Burna Boy)” and “Square 1.” Mahalia’s self-described “psycho-acoustic soul” features squeaky clean production and hinges on her Erykah Badu-esque, mystical vocal superpower. —Lizzie Manno

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8. Moonchild: Little Ghost

Equally appropriate for the bedroom or an intimate evening in the chic lighting of your living room, Moonchild are back with Little Ghost, their third LP of sensually jazzy R&B grooves. The biggest takeaway from Moonchild has always been singer Amber Navran’s gorgeous vocals that tip-toe around the spoils of love, longing and desire, but Navran also flashes on flute, tenor sax and more. Rounding out the trio are Max Bryk and Andris Mattson, who alternate between a bevy of instruments including clarinet, trumpet, guitar, keys, drum programming and even a freakin’ flugelhorn! Moonchild’s sound is fit for R&B purists, as much as modern jazz aficionados and pop enthusiasts, and the group has managed to operate within cross-cultural lines with more grace than most recent outfits. First single, “Too Much To Ask” is a perfect starting point for the uninitiated. —Adrian Spinelli

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9. MUNA: Saves the World

L.A.’s fiercely queer synth-pop trio MUNA have always believed that pop can be political praxis. Their debut 2017 album About U dealt with urgent themes like LGBTQ+ pride, sexual assault and abusive relationships. But “Number One Fan,” the first single off their forthcoming full-length Saves The World, shifts their focus into something off the headlines: the loneliness and insecurity of being single, queer and young. It’s a campy, ridiculous and queer answer that we should expect from some of the oddest indie-pop artists this side of Passion Pit. —Substitute Thapliyal

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10. Secret Shame: Dark Synthetics

Asheville five-piece Secret Shame dropped their debut album Dark Synthetics, featuring the lead single “Dark.” On “Dark,” Secret Shame channel both the tragic beauty and spooky ambience of a graveyard. Drawing on deathrock, goth, punk and psychobilly, the track captures the struggle to remain sane when those around you are in a rough mental state. The spirits that inhabit the rest of Secret Shame’s debut Dark Synthetics are similarly tormented, but ultimately good-natured. Their chunky bass guitar wriggles, their guitars chime, their vocals ooze with tenebrosity, and their lyrics hover like a ghost in search of a host with some emotional reassurance. —Lizzie Manno

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