New Music Reviews (11/21)

Each week, Music Director Don Yates shares 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 Fousheé, Homeboy Sandman, Fievel Is Glauque, and more. 

Fousheé – softCORE (RCA)
This New Jersey-bred, LA-based artist’s second album is a bracing, adventurous blend of punk, hyperpop, noise-rock, avant R&B and hip hop, acoustic folk-pop and more, with a volatile, shapeshifting sound combining crunchy electric guitars, bright keyboards, noisy textures, energetic rhythms, occasional acoustic guitar, strings and more with her elastic vocals.

Homeboy Sandman – Still Champion (Mello Music Group)
This veteran New York rapper’s latest album is a potent set of hip hop combining warm production and soulful beats courtesy of New York-based producer/rapper Deca with his elastic flow and optimistic rhymes.

Fievel Is Glauque – Flaming Swords (MATH Interactive)
The official debut album from this international group comprised of American bandleader/keyboardist Zach Phillips, Belgian vocalist Ma Clément and a rotating cast of musicians from around the world is a well-crafted set of jazz-tinged prog-pop with an often- shapeshifting sound combining guitars, keyboards, horns and more with Clément’s silky vocals and breezy melodies.

Caitlin Rose – CAZIMI (Pearl Tower/Missing Piece)
This Nashville-based artist’s third album (and first in nine years) is a strong set of sometimes country-tinged indie-pop combining jangly guitars, keyboards, punchy rhythms, occasional cello and other instrumentation with her honeyed vocals and sharply crafted lyrics of love’s ups and downs, along with an abundance of sparkling song hooks.

Smut – How the Light Felt (Bayonet)
This Chicago-based band’s second album is a well-crafted set of ‘90s-influenced indie-rock ranging from shoegazerish dream-pop and atmospheric folk-pop to Manchester dance-rock, combining fuzzy/jangly guitars, keyboards and bouncy rhythms with Tay Roebuck’s plaintive vocals, wistful melodies and lyrics of heartache and loss.

Run The Jewels – RTJ CU4TRO (Jewel Runners/BMG)
The latest release from the duo of Killer Mike and El-P features reimagined, Latin-flavored versions of songs from their last album (2020’s RTJ4), aided by a variety of guest Latin artists including Bomba Estéreo, Mexican Institute of Sound, Zack de la Rocha and other notables.

Adrian Quesada – Jaguar Sound (ATO)
The second solo album from this member of Black Pumas and Grupo Fantasma (among other projects) is comprised of a cinematic set of instrumentals inspired by 1970s-era Italian film scores, blending moody psych-rock, funk, soul, hip hop and more. Special guests include Ikebe Shakedown, Mary Lattimore, Neal Francis and David Garza.

Mugs and Pockets – The Adventures of Mugs and Pockets (self-released)
The debut album from this Seattle-based duo comprised of Scarlet Monk (aka Mugs) and Seattle-via-Orlando rapper/producer Asaan Brooks (aka Swamburger, aka Pockets) is an expansive set ranging from energetic hip hop bangers to moody R&B and some propulsive hip hop/house. Special guests include Chali 2na, Abstract Rude and Gift of Gab.

sunking – SMUG (ANTI-)
The second album from this Seattle duo comprised of keyboardist Antoine Martel and drummer Bobby Granfelt (both of whom are also in High Pulp) is an adventurous blend of atmospheric jazz, ambient, moody instrumental hip hop and other styles, with 18, often-brief tracks featuring guitars, synths, horns, samples and more.

Karolina – All Rivers (Tru Thoughts)
This Israeli artist’s latest album is a well-crafted blend of moody jazz, afrobeats and R&B, with an atmospheric, often-hypnotic sound combining gently ringing guitars, percolating rhythms, keyboards, horns and more with her supple vocals and lyrics of emotional struggle and healing.

Dezron Douglas – Atalaya (International Anthem)
This New York bassist’s latest album is an adventurous set of dynamic post-bop, featuring an impressive lineup including saxophonist Emilio Modeste, keyboardist George Burton and drummer Joe Dyson Jr.

Christine and the Queens – Redcar les adorables etoiles (prologue) (Because Music)
The third Christine and the Queens album from French artist Héloïse Letissier introduces a new masculine persona named Redcar on a set of often-dark, ‘80s-steeped electro-pop combining atmospheric synths and overcast melodies with his elegant vocals and lyrics of love and desire.

Bruce Springsteen – Only the Strong Survive (Columbia)
The New Jersey rock legend’s latest album pays tribute to one of the important foundations of his own sound with a well-crafted set of soul covers ranging from The Temptations and Aretha Franklin to Jerry Butler and The Commodores.

Cory Branan – When I Go I Ghost (Blue Elan)
This Memphis-based artist’s sixth album is a well-crafted set of gritty roots-rock combining guitars, keyboards, occasional horns, strings, steel guitar and more with lyrics of loss, regret and resilience. Special guests include Jason Isbell (who contributed backing vocals to five songs), Garrison Starr and The Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon.

Neil Young with Crazy Horse – World Record (Reprise)
The latest album from this rock legend and his longtime on-again/off-again backing band is a loose, casual-sounding affair produced by Rick Rubin live in the studio. The sound ranges from gentle, reflective ballads to grungier, guitar-driven rockers, with the songs revolving around themes of environmental devastation.

Röyksopp – Profound Mysteries III (Dog Triumph)
This Norwegian duo’s latest album is the third in their Profound Mysteries trilogy. Like the first two volumes (both of which were also released this year), this one features a variety of guest vocalists including Alison Goldfrapp, Pixx and Susanne Sundför on a set of moody electro-pop ranging from propulsive, techno-laced dance-pop to dark, atmospheric ballads.

Noveliss – Vagabond EP (Clear Soul)
The latest solo release from this Detroit rapper (and member of Clear Soul Forces) is a potent seven-song set of reflective hip hop with moody keyboards, warm boom-bap beats and trenchant rhymes of healing and spiritual growth.

Heather Trost – Desert Flowers (Ba Da Bing)
The third solo album from this Albuquerque artist (and former member of A Hawk and a Hacksaw) is a well-crafted set of atmospheric psych-pop combining bright vintage organs and Mellotrons and jangly guitars with lyrics of nature, connection and regeneration.

Nicolas Bougaieff – Begin Within (Mute)
This Berlin-based producer’s latest album is a dark, adventurous blend of ambient, industrial and more, combining dark, often-glitchy soundscapes with occasional vocals and lyrics revolving around mental health, relationships and disconnection.

Robert Glasper – Black Radio III (Supreme Edition) (Loma Vista)
The “Supreme Edition” of this Houston-bred pianist/producer’s 2022 album features nine songs not included on the regular album, most of them jazz-tinged R&B featuring guest vocals from folks ranging from BJ The Chicago Kid and Mac Miller to Estelle, Bilal and Alex Isley.

Actress – Dummy Corporation EP (Ninja Tune)
The latest release from this British producer (aka Darren Cunningham) is a solid EP of adventurous electronic soundscapes with ominous, brooding textures and hypnotic ambient-techno rhythms.

uKhoiKhoi – Nongqawuse EP (Next Movement)
This South African duo’s latest release is an evocative three-song EP blending electronic loops with indigenous chants and operatic vocals.