New Music Reviews (12/9)

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 Tyler, the Creator, Crazy P, Kassie Krut, and more. 

Tyler, the Creator - CHROMAKOPIA (Columbia)
Tyler, the Creator’s eighth studio album sees the visionary MC further expanding his genre-defying sound and flexing his skills as an innovative producer. Effortlessly ebbing and flowing through theatrical soundscapes that blend elements of hip-hop, R&B, soul, art-pop, and more, CHROMAKOPIA features exceptional hooks, personal storytelling, and standout guest appearances, from Daniel Caesar to Doechii. This album is undoubtedly a crowning achievement in Tyler’s career. –CS

Crazy P - Any Signs of Love (Walk Don’t Walk Limited)
Written and recorded in 2023 before the tragic passing of their beloved front woman Danielle Moore in August 2024, the ninth studio album from this veteran British outfit known for their “dance music with a voice, a heart, and soul” is a stellar record that perfectly showcases their vibrant blend of slinky disco, shimmery synth-pop, and pulsating house grooves that’s all carried by the soulful, soaring, charismatic vocals of Danielle Moore (RIP). -AR

Kassie Krut - Kassie Krut (Fire Talk)
Kassie Krut’s debut EP is nothing short of exhilarating. The self-titled, self-produced collection finds the trio–featuring Kasra and Eve of the now-defunct Philadelphia outfit Palm–carving out a space entirely their own in today’s musical landscape. With a dynamic fusion of club, art-pop, industrial, dub and noise, this inventive EP demands many repeat listens. –CS

Lauren Mayberry - Vicious Creature (EMI)
The debut solo album from CHVRCHES’ Lauren Mayberry is a bright, bold collection of nostalgic synth-pop. With powerful, pristine vocals and plenty of glitz and glam, she confidently steps into the spotlight, delivering sugar-soaked melodies and big hooks as she floats between heartfelt ballads and playful pop bangers. –CS

Lawne - Attic (Wah Wah 45s)
Reminiscent at times of L'Éclair, Glass Beams, Khruangbin, and Surprise Chef, the debut album from London-based duo Lawne (aka multi-instrumentalists, producers, and self-confessed music nerds Joe Nicklin and Joe Martin) is a fresh set of expansive instrumental-heavy grooves that blends funk, psych, dub, jazz, hip-hop, electronic, Afrobeat, Balearic, and more into its heady, propulsive, hypnotic, genre-blurring brew. -AR

Les Breastfeeders - La ville engloutie (Bonsound Inc.)
The fourth full-length album from this Montreal-based band marks their first new record in 13 years and it’s a ripping set of high-energy rock that confidently blends garage, psychedelic, and punk styles, and it’s all accented by the band’s exuberant vocals which are sung entirely in French. -AR

22º Halo - Lily of the Valley (Tiny Library)
The third album from this Philadelphia-based band led by singer/songwriter Will Kennedy is a strong set of autumnal, poignant, lo-fi indie rock with a powerful emotional undercurrent. Written against the backdrop of his wife Kate’s brain cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment, Lily of the Valley served as a balm during this heavy time, with Will sharing that the album is “about our love as a buoy” and that sense of hope amidst devastating uncertainty shines bright throughout this touching, tender record.  -AlR

Cameron Winter - Heavy Metal (Partisan)
On his debut solo album, Geese frontman Cameron Winter places his melancholic, doom-laden lyrics front and center. Showcasing his theatrical vocal range, these timeless, key-driven reflections offer listeners a more personal, intimate glimpse into Winter’s world and his diverse sonic influences. –CS

CIAO MALZ - Safe Then Sorry (Audio Antihero)
The debut EP from this solo project of NYC-via-Connecticut Filipino-American artist Malia DelaCruz is a promising set of charming, expansive, lo-fi indie pop. -AR

Julia Rover - Co z Tob​ą​? (The Very Polish Cut Outs)
The debut EP from Polish singer, songwriter, and DJ Julia Kmiecik (aka Julia Rover, also one-half of the DJ duo Bliss Kiss) is a sweet set of 80s-steeped synth-pop infused with coldwave, Italo disco, and electro styles. Featuring sleek production from a trio of accomplished Polish producers – Pejzaż (aka Earth Trax), TAMTEN, Freux – and Julia singing entirely in Polish, Co z Tob​ą​? (Polish for “What are you?”) is a colorful introduction for Julia Rover and another quality offering from The Very Polish Cut Outs. -AR

Lady Blackbird - Slang Spirituals (BMG)
Powerhouse vocalist Lady Blackbird returns with an explosive set of gospel-infused soul and R&B. With a sense of urgency, she delivers deeply emotional lyrics, enriching her sound with some lively touches of disco, funk and jazz. –CS

Paint - Gift Shop EP (self-released)
The sophomore EP from Perth quartet Paint is an infectious blend of dreamy shoegaze and indie-rock. Emerging from a captivating haze of layered sonics, vocalist Anya delivers a charismatic performance, as the band confidently presents their impressive second outing. –CS

Sofie Royer - Young-Girl Forever (Stones Throw)
The third album from Vienna-based artist Sofie Royer is an enchanting yet, at times, foreboding collection of vivid electro-pop, shifting seamlessly between bright and woozy sonics. Singing in multiple languages–English, French and German–and infusing ‘70s and ‘80s influences into her contemporary pop vision, she’s crafted a timeless set of synth-driven jams. –CS

Tom Noble - House of Spirits (Razor-N-Tape)
Tom Noble is a veteran record collector, DJ, producer, and founder/owner of the NYC-based label/shop Superior Elevation. 15 years in the making, his debut full-length album is an exquisite disco record that feels beamed straight from the 1970s thanks to its lush arrangements, live instrumentation, soaring vocals, and a timeless soul streak. Created in collaboration with renowned West Coast funk outfit Orgone, a Tulsa, Oklahoma gospel choir, and an outlier guest appearance from Washington, DC’s dreamcastmoe, House of Spirits brings a sparkling modern sheen to a nostalgic, anthemic, classic dancefloor sound. -AR

TV Girl & George Clanton - Fauxllennium (Blissful Serenity Industries, LLC)
LA-based artists TV Girl and George Clanton – self-billed as “The Bad Boys of Indie-Electro Pop” – team-up for a fun collaborative album that seamlessly blends their colorful psych-pop, gauzy dance-pop, hypnagogic synth-pop, and groovy vaporwave styles into a trippy, kaleidoscopic, catchy vibe. “Butterflies” features Jordana, samples Shira Small's brilliant “Eternal Life,” and offers up an undeniable album highlight. -AR

White Denim - 12 (Bella Union)
On their latest studio album, indie-rock outfit White Denim blends elements of yacht rock, jazz, psych, soul and avant-pop to create a vibrant soundscape. While the album shifts in tone from track to track, 12 remains a compelling and cohesive listen throughout. –CS

Parcels - Leaveyourlove EP (Because Music)
Australian five-piece Parcels expand upon their joyful, communal, addictive recent single “Leaveyourlove” with five new versions featuring contributions from their global network of musician friends. The result is an eclectic, worldly, and consistently buoyant EP featuring King Stingray singing in his native Yolŋu Matha, Cosmos People and Sunset Rollercoaster’s HAOTING rapping in Mandarin over jazzy sax, Robert Owens and Tobi Neumann veering into classic soulful house territory, Venezuelan band Rawayana and Mexican singer-songwriter Ximena Sariñanaan bringing a lively Latin flair, and Portuguese singer MARO providing a subdued acoustic pop take. -AR

Shoko Igarashi - Onsen Music (Tigersushi)
The third album from Japanese-born, Brussels-based saxophonist, flautist, vocalist, producer and composer Shoko Igarashi is an adventurous set of colorful synth-pop that spotlights her spritely, elastic, dynamic productions and intermittently dips into more immediate vocal-laced terrain. While it’s named after the term for Japanese natural hot springs used for relaxing and restorative soaks, Onsen Music is far from ambient fare, as the album’s constant movement and buoyant electro-heavy beats make it a kinetic, transportive listening experience. -AR

SO.Crates - Be-Sides and Rarities (Bean Pie Fly Records and Tapes)
SO.Crates is a Footscray, Australia-based duo composed of California-born rapper Cazeaux O.S.L.O. and Australian producer Skomes. This 14-track collection of b-sides, re-edits, and remixes spans “every era, every studio, and nearly every creative turn we have taken over the 8+ years we have spent releasing our music into the world” and it serves as a solid showcase of their expansive underground hip-hop sound that’s heavily influenced by jazz, soul, and 90s boom-bap hip-hop. -AR