New Music Reviews (3/6)

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 Kali Uchis, Tanukichan, Adi Oasis, and more. 

Kali Uchis – Red Room in Venus (Geffen)
This Colombian-American artist’s third album is a well-crafted set of dreamy, psych-tinged R&B, combining a lush, mostly slow-jam sound with her sultry vocals and intimate lyrics of love, desire, heartache and letting go.

Tanukichan – GIZMO (Carpark)
The second Tanukichan album from Bay Area artist Hannah van Loon is a potent set of psych-tinged dream-pop with fuzzy guitars, bright synths, often-breakbeat rhythms and occasional piano, strings and other instrumentation with her breathy, ethereal vocals and lyrics of escape and letting go. Like the debut album, this one was also made in collaboration with Toro Y Moi’s Chaz Bear.

Adi Oasis – Lotus Glow (Unity)
The debut Adi Oasis album from this Brooklyn-based, French Caribbean vocalist/bassist/producer formerly known as Adeline is a promising set of expansive R&B inflected with funk, jazz and other styles, combining pillowy synths, gently propulsive rhythms, guitars, occasional horns and other instrumentation with her soaring vocals and lyrics blending the political and the personal.

Hello Mary – Hello Mary (Frenchkiss)
This Brooklyn-based trio’s debut full-length is a promising set of ‘90s-steeped grunge-pop with distorted guitars, bright harmonies and lyrics of anxiety and acceptance.

Yazmin Lacey – Voice Notes (Own Your Own/Believe)
This British artist’s debut full-length is an impressive set of intimate R&B inflected with jazz, reggae and other styles, combining a warm, soulful sound with her smoky vocals and lyrics of self-discovery.

Steve Mason – Brothers & Sisters (Double Six/Domino)
The latest solo album from this Scottish artist (and former frontman for The Beta Band) is a vibrant, groove-driven blend of psych-pop, electro-pop, gospel, Pakistani pop and other styles, featuring a densely textured sound combining guitars, keyboards, horns and more with gospel backing vocals and lyrics celebrating immigration and multi-culturalism.

Iris DeMent – Workin' on a World (Flariella)
This Iowa City-based, Arkansas-bred artist’s seventh album (and first in eight years) is a well-crafted, often-poignant blend of folk, country, gospel, soul, roots-rock and more, with a warm sound combining piano, organ, guitars, horns, pedal steel and other instrumentation with her high, keening vocals and lyrics ranging from personal ones of love, loss and mortality to more politically charged songs choosing hope, action and inclusion over hate, apathy and inequality.

Jackie Mendoza – Galaxia de Emociones (ZZK)
This San Diego-based artist’s debut album is a well-crafted blend of electro-pop, R&B, trap, Latin pop and other styles, with a moody, rhythm-driven sound combining atmospheric synths, twinkling ukulele and propulsive rhythms with her bilingual vocals and emotive lyrics.

Rogê - Curyman (Diamond West)
The latest album from this LA-based Brazilian artist is a beautifully crafted set of sunny samba-funk. Produced by Thomas Brenneck (Menahan Street Band, Budo Band, The Dap-Kings, etc.) with string arrangements from legendary Brazilian composer/arranger Arthur Verocai, the album combines acoustic guitar, keyboards, lush strings and other instrumentation with glowing harmonies and breezy melodies.

Kate NV – WOW (RVNG Intl.)
This Russian artist’s fifth studio album is a bright, often-exuberant set of experimental electro-pop with a colorful sound featuring an abundance of playful samples, bubbling synths and whimsical melodies.

Slaid Cleaves – Together Through the Dark (Candy House Media)
This Austin-based artist’s latest album is a well-crafted set of country-tinged folk-rock combining a warm, rootsy sound with finely chiseled lyrics of hard times, struggle, loss, resilience and hope.

Taleen Kali – Flower of Life (Dum Dum)
This LA artist’s debut solo album is a promising set of shoegazer dream-pop with fuzzy guitars, shimmering synths, often-driving rhythms, ethereal vocals and soaring song hooks.

Aster Aweke – Soba (self-released)
This veteran Ethiopian vocalist’s latest album is a well-crafted set of Ethiopian pop combining guitars, horns and traditional Ethiopian instrumentation with her soulful, ululating vocals.

Object of Affection – Field of Appearances (Profound Lore)
This LA band’s debut album is a solid set of anthemic post-punk combining fuzzy guitars and atmospheric synths with gloomy vocals and bittersweet melodies.

Wax Tailor – Fishing for Accidents (Lab’Oratoire)
This veteran French producer’s latest album is another solid set of cinematic hip hop alternating between instrumentals and songs with guest vocals, featuring a warm, sample-heavy sound and a variety of guest vocalists including Mr. Lif, Mick Jenkins, Jennifer Charles and other notables.

Constant Smiles – Kenneth Anger (Sacred Bones)
The latest album from this Massachusetts band led by Ben Jones is an evocative blend of ‘80s-inspired synth-pop and shoegazer dream-pop, combining fuzzy guitars, atmospheric synths and occasional strings and piano with hypnotic melodies and lyrics of isolation, anxiety and healing.

Weval – Remember (Technicolour)
This Amsterdam-based duo’s third album is an evocative set of atmospheric electronic grooves with moody synths, propulsive rhythms, airy vocals and hypnotic melodies.

LANNDS – Music for the Future (Run For Cover)
This LA-via-Jacksonville, FL duo’s debut album is a solid set of psych-tinged electro-pop combining shimmering synths, atmospheric guitars, mostly downtempo rhythms, piano, sax and other instrumentation with ethereal vocals and haunting melodies.

Western Haunts – The Bottle (self-released)
This Seattle band’s fifth album is a well-crafted blend of moody post-punk and shoegazer dream-pop, combining shimmering synths and guitars and dramatic drumming with haunting vocals and melancholy melodies.

Ron Gallo – FOREGROUND MUSIC (Kill Rock Stars)
This Philadelphia artist’s fifth solo album is an often-politically charged blend of garage-rock, post-punk, glam-pop and other styles, combining crunchy guitars, energetic rhythms, synths, piano and other instrumentation with lyrics railing against gentrification, entitlement, bigotry and extremism while encouraging empathy and connection.

Waves Crashing – The Viewing EP (Audiomanic)
This Olympia trio’s third EP is a potent set of shoegazer psych-rock inflected at times with New Wave, post-punk and other styles, combining fuzzy guitars, often-driving rhythms, hazy vocals and soaring song hooks.

Dry Cleaning – Swampy EP (4AD)
This British band’s latest release is a five-song EP comprised of two previously unreleased songs, one unreleased demo and remixes of two songs from their previous album (2022’s Stumpwork).

MCM – Stolen Moments EP (self-released)
The debut EP from this Seattle-based duo comprised of Jesse Kogita and King Khazm (aka Mid Century Modern) is a potent blend of hip hop, trip hop and jazz, combining moody, sample-heavy soundscapes and boom-bap beats with airy torch singing and gritty rapping.