New Music Reviews (3/3)

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 Deep Sea Diver, Panda Bear, Caribombo, and more. 

Deep Sea Diver - Billboard Heart (Sub Pop)
Jessica Dobson has one of those voices, you know? Instantly recognizable, intensely evocative, and capable of effortlessly flowing from a hush to a howl. The new album from these hometown heroes — their fourth and Sub Pop debut — captures a mesmerizing sense of wonder and fierceness, as these guitar-driven indie-rock jams with shimmering synths and captivating drum patterns take root in the hearts and souls of listeners. Billboard Heart is larger than life, showcasing a band in their absolute prime that trusted the process to unearth this raw and heartening triumph of a record. –CS

Panda Bear - Sinister Grift (Domino)
On his first solo album in five years, Noah Lennox has created a warm, lush psych-pop paradise. While still very much a solo project, he enlisted his Animal Collective bandmate Josh Dibb to co-produce, along with collaborations from the rest of the collective, Cindy Lee, and Spirit of the Beehive’s Rivka Ravede. Through inviting arrangements, dreamy vocals and layered instruments (nearly all played by Lennox himself), Sinister Grift feels more like a heartening gift, providing a sense of calm amidst the storm.  –CS

Caribombo - Barrio Popular (Galletas Calientes)
The second album from this solo project of Venezuelan electronic producer Carlos Guillén (aka Caribombo) is a fantastic set of vibrant, addictive, diverse global grooves that fuses his expansive, diasporic Afro-Latin sound through a melting pot prism of hip-hop, club, pop, dub, and soul. The album’s wonderfully eclectic globetrotting sound gets standout assists from its guest vocalists, including Mexican artist Pahua (of Sotomayer), Ugandan rapper Keya Nemesis, Mauritian band Langaz Ravann, Venezuelan singer/rapper Pao Pestana, and London-based soulstress alya isha. -AR

DARKSIDE - Nothing (Matador)
For their third studio album as DARKSIDE, Nicolás Jaar and Dave Harrington welcomed Tlacael Esparza as their third full-time member. Together, the trio crafts an otherworldly, textured soundscape that is playful, challenging, and completely mesmerizing. With intoxicating percussion, intricate synth work, and minimal lyrics, Nothing is everything listeners need for an all-consuming escape. –CS

Doves - Constellations For The Lonely (EMI)
I couldn’t think of a more fitting title for the sixth studio album from UK trio Doves. Their vast, cinematic alt-rock knows no bounds, with complex arrangements, sweeping choruses, and emotive vocals. They’ve created endless constellations of connectivity, reminding listeners that, to quote our own John Richards, “You are not alone.” –CS

Everything Is Recorded - Temporary (XL Recordings)
On the latest album from his collaborative project Everything Is Recorded, producer and XL Recordings head Richard Russell enlisted another all-star cast of musicians — including Sampha, Bill Callahan, and Florence Welch — to bring his vision to life. Beginning with the question, “What if folk music had ‘gone digital’ in the '80s, just as reggae had?” the songs on Temporary traverse countless genres, defying definition, and inviting listeners to explore each individual soundscape with curiosity.  –CS

Marie Davidson - City of Clowns (DEEWEE)
On her sixth studio album, Montreal-based DJ and producer Marie Davidson unleashes a dynamic, chaotic, and absolutely savage electronic masterpiece. With a vocal delivery that is both deadpan and theatrical, this contrarian dishes up her satirical lyricism atop dizzying synths and beats, resulting in a vivid collection of club bangers. City of Clowns leaves an indelible impression as Davidson urges listeners to stick with the weirdos. –CS

Miya Folick - Erotica Veronica (Nettwerk)
The third studio album from LA-based singer-songwriter Miya Folick is a stunning showcase of her signature indie pop/folk/rock fusion, enhanced by horns, flute, keys, woodwinds, and dynamic guitars. Her breathtaking vocals lead the way on this exploration — surrender, even — to queer yearning, sexuality, and connection. Erotica Veronica is raw and honest, with Folick reaching new heights as both songwriter and producer. –CS

Nao - Jupiter (RCA)
On her fourth studio album, East London-based Nao gives us her all with this uplifting collection of intoxicating R&B and soul. With her vocals rightfully front and center, she delivers smooth grooves, hopeful lyrics, and seductive hooks. Jupiter is truly a triumph from one of the standout voices of contemporary R&B. –CS

Shygirl - Club Shy Room 2 (Because)
IN THE NAME OF SHY WE TRUST. Fresh off tour with our favorite BRAT, Shygirl returns with her second installment of Club Shy. These experimental electronic pop cuts are cutting-edge, steeped in club culture, and oozing with innovation. Highlighting Shy’s dreamy vocals, seductive lyrics, and a wealth of exciting collaborators from Saweetie to Jorja Smith, Club Shy Room 2 brings the eclectic party. –CS

The Chills - Spring Board: The Early Unrecorded Songs (Fire)
This excellent 20-song album from The Chills arrives exactly seven months after the tragic passing of Martin Phillipps, the beloved, influential New Zealand band’s founding member, primary singer, songwriter, and “main motivator.” Billed as Phillipps’ final “passion project” and the closing chapter in The Chills’ story, Spring Board finds Phillipps reimagining unreleased songs that he wrote throughout the 1980s just ahead of The Chills and their “Dunedin sound” emerging as cult darlings and achieving international success in the late 1980s. There’s a poignant full circle experience on display here, Phillipps revisiting and revising poetic words written three decades ago and filtering them through a wisened perspective and The Chills’ mature, confident sound. RIP to Phillipps and The Chills, purveyors of some of the most charming jangle-pop ever. -AR

The Men - Buyer Beware (Fuzz Club Records)
On their fifteenth studio album — and fourth for Fuzz Club — Brooklyn’s prolific punks, The Men, unabashedly deliver their no-holds-barred heavy rock goodness. Their undeniable fusion of noise, garage, psych, and post-hardcore results in an urgent, timely set of fiery punk anthems. As they declare in the album opener, “Pony”: “The world is ending / grab a seat / enjoy the ride.” –CS

Abdomen - Yes, I Don’t Know (FatCat Records)
On their sophomore album, Dutch trio Abdomen prove that their fusion of noise rock, punk, garage, and post-grunge is truly undeniable. With fierce guitars, heavy drums and fiery vocals, their jarring hooks on these potent rockers make Yes, I Don’t Know a formidable second outing. –CS

Andy Bell - pinball wanderer (Sonic Cathedral)
The latest solo album from prolific British musician Andy Bell – best known as the co-founding member of Ride – finds the accomplished artist diving into a sweet psychedelic zone that moves confidently, hazily through Krautrock grooves, blissful dream-pop, fuzzy shoegaze, and kaleidoscopic psych-pop. The title track and “music concrete” place his production talents in the spotlight, offering up a pair of vibey instrumental-heavy tracks on an exploratory Kosmische album that’s “perfect for both deep-listening headphones moments as well as cutting across the coolest, most understated dancefloors.” -AR

bdrmm - Microtonic (Rock Action)
The third studio album from UK outfit bdrmm marks an exciting departure for the quartet. Weaving electronic, dream pop, ambient, and experimental elements into their shoegaze, ‘Microtonic’ emerges as a hazy, heady fusion of modern atmospherics. –CS

Boof - Night Blooming Cereus (BubbleTease Communications)
The sixth full-length album from this alias of revered UK-based American house producer Maurice Fulton is another sweet set of exploratory, free-wheeling, psychedelic electronic grooves full of funky basslines, brilliant keyboard solos, magnetic analog synths, rich studio details, and hypnotic, swinging, jazzy rhythms. -AR

Cornelia Murr - Run to the Center (22Twenty)
The second album from London-born, LA-based musician Cornelia Murr is a strong set of earthy, dreamy, arty indie pop with a folky, timeless touch. Her first new album in seven years, Run to the Center was largely written while Cornelia was restoring an abandoned house in Red Cloud, Nebraska, a 948-person town literally in the center of the United States, its unique energy and geography lending a solemn, restorative, painterly streak to the record. -AR

Dean Blunt & Elias Rønnenfelt - lucre (WORLD MUSIC)
Enigmatic British artist Dean Blunt teams up with Danish musician and former Iceage frontman Elias Rønnenfelt for this stellar seven-track foray into moody, melancholic, catchy indie rock with Elias’ impassioned delivery sounding great over murky, gritty, absorbing guitar-heavy backdrops co-produced by Dean Blunt and Vegyn. Packing plenty of highlights within its all-too-brief 16-minute running time, lucre signals some of the most focused and accessible Dean Blunt-affiliated material within his captivating catalog, while still carrying his innately mysterious allure. -AR

Edith Frost - In Space (Drag City)
It’s been two decades since Edith Frost’s last album, and she’s making one hell of a return with In Space. These intimate, cosmic country gems come straight from the heart, perfectly rough around the edges, as she showcases her incredible songwriting craft that strikes an ideal balance between quirky and earnest. –CS

FEM du lit - STIGMATA (La fem)
French for “woman of the bed,” FEM du lit is the solo alias of Seattle-based French/Congolese singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and Day Soul Exquisite frontperson Francesca Eluhu. Their debut album is a lovely brew of acoustic neo-soul, earthy R&B, exploratory jazz, evocative hip-hop, playful bossa nova, and more, all held together by Francesca’s poetic bilingual vocals, homespun and lightly psychedelic sonic vision, and lyrics that “examine the stigma of queerness in the African diaspora and the ruptures in family relationships that ensue.”-AR

Hot 8 Brass Band - Big Tuba (Tru Thoughts)
The sixth album from this beloved New Orleans band is another joyful, infectious, lively affair that brings their big, funky brass sound to the traditional jazz, blues, and hip-hop heritage of their hometown. Their first new album in eight years and first project since 2019, Big Tuba is also a heartfelt tribute to Bennie Pete, the band’s co-founder and sousaphone player who passed away in 2021 at the age of 45 due to complications from sarcoidosis and COVID-19. -AR

Michi - Dirty Talk (Stones Throw)
The debut album from LA-based Latinx vocalist Michelle Guerrero (aka Michi) is a solid set of warm '90s-influenced R&B/soul cuts. Aside from the uptempo housey early single “There’s No Heaven,” Dirty Talk revels in silky midtempo and sultry slow-motion territory, yielding a classic, patient, honeyed sound that smoothly pairs her dulcet voice with rich productions from Blake Rhein (of Durand Jones & the Indications) and Paul Cherry. -AR

Pure Hex - Five of Tears (Neon Bloodbath)
The latest EP from this San Francisco band is another solid set of shoegaze, alternative, and grunge jams that pair their swirling guitar-and-drums attack with sweet, soaring, dreamy vocals from lead singer Marta Alvarez. Five of Tears also serves as the heavier and darker follow-up to their 2024 EP Spilling and rounds out the “second half of their double LP rollout.” -AR

serpentwithfeet - GRIP SEQUEL (Secretly Canadian)
A year after the release of his outstanding album, GRIP, the Baltimore-born, LA-based singer-songwriter returns with its breathtaking sequel. Featuring six new compositions and reworks of favorites from its predecessor, GRIP SEQUEL highlights the more hushed, intimate side of serpent. His immaculate vocals guide listeners through these captivating alt-R&B treasures, making it clear that this companion piece is an essential addition to the GRIP saga. –CS