New Music Reviews (3/9)

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 Hater, Mitski, Gorillaz, Joshua Idehen, and more. 

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Hater - Mosquito (Fire Records)
The fourth studio album from Scandinavian quartet Hater has an undeniable appeal. Through exceptional builds, bright guitars, emotive lyricism, and dreamy vocals, each infectious track hits harder with each listen, rewarding the audience with deeper resonance on every repeat spin. Aptly titled, Mosquito explores themes of “having your heart scratched, butterflies in your stomach, feeling empty and heartbroken, the physical feeling and rollercoaster of being,” as the four-piece unveil their expansive dream pop evolution infused with indie rock. –CS

Mitski - Nothing’s About to Happen to Me (Dead Oceans) 
Few singer-songwriters can keep their captive audience firmly in their grips the way that Mitski can. Her eighth studio album, Nothing’s About to Happen to Me, is a lush, expansive set of melancholic art pop, featuring elements of indie-rock, alt-country, and jazz. While often steeped in a distinct ennui, these eleven tracks still exude strength and hope through ornate arrangements, captivating theatrics, and her impressive vocal prowess.  –CS

Gorillaz - The Mountain (Kong)
For the ninth Gorillaz album, Damon Albarn captains another fantastical trip through a conceptual technicolor pop universe. Heavily inspired by Damon and fellow Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett both losing their fathers during its production, The Mountain confronts death, grief and the afterlife with communal help from a deep global roster of talented friends both alive and passed on. Dennis Hopper, Bobby Womack, David Jolicoeur of De La Soul, Tony Allen, D12’s Proof and Mark E. Smith make posthumous appearances, which accentuate the album’s bold spiritual undertaking. Anoushka Shankar appears on six tracks – including the album’s mystical bookends and the infectious early single and whistle-laced album peak “Orange County” – and her transportive sitar reflects the album’s extra dose of Indian classical music that gets folded into Gorillaz’s ambitious, all-embracing pop world. Elsewhere along its epic journey, Johnny Marr appears on four tracks, Black Thought on three, and there’s memorable cameos from Yasiin Bey, Omar Souleyman, Sparks, IDLES, and Trueno, just to name a few who attend this kaleidoscopic celebration of life, death, and the beyond. –AR

Joshua Idehen - I know you’re hurting, everyone is hurting, everyone is trying, you have got to try (Heavenly/PIAS)
Joshua Idehen is a British-born, Sweden-based Nigerian spoken word artist and musician who has been steadily showcasing his unique vocal talents over the past 15 years, mainly through a slew of adventurous collaborations with the likes of Sons of Kemet, Metronomy, Daedelus, The Comet Is Coming, Ben Marc, Khalab, LV, Scrimshire and more. Written in collaboration with his creative partner, Swedish musician/producer Ludvig Parment (aka Saturday, Monday), his latest album is a jubilant celebration that pairs his uplifting spoken word poetry with infectious, giddy, loopy dancefloor grooves soaked in disco, soul, and house. As Joshua clearly states in the album’s mission-statement opening track, “There’s so much darkness in this world, but not in this room. You gonna go dance or what?” –AR

Michelle David & The True-tones - Soul Woman (Records Kicks)
This Amsterdam-based outfit fronted by veteran New York-born vocalist Michelle David deliver another rock-solid album of classic soul, upbeat R&B, nostalgic funk, and passionate gospel propelled by Michelle’s powerhouse vocals alongside her band’s tight in-the-pocket grooves. –AR

Natalie Jane Hill - Hopeful Woman (Dear Life) 
Welcome to the whimsical world of Natalie Jane Hill’s Hopeful Woman. Featuring her enchanting vocals, dreamy harmonies, and vivid instrumentation with fiddle, pedal steel, flute, recorders, guitars, and percussion, these ten intimate tracks sink deep into the fiber of one’s being. While channeling the spirit of ‘60s Greenwich Village and ‘70s Laurel Canyon, Hopeful Woman still sounds distinctly contemporary, with an undeniably timeless quality. –CS

Surfbort - Reality Star (TODO Records) 
Brooklyn-bred, LA-based outfit Surfbort return with their captivating third studio album. Led by the gripping vocal stylings and clever lyricism of Dani Miller, the quintet’s ripping guitars and propulsive drumming fuel their charming, raw punk sound. With infectious hooks and a fierce, scrappy energy, Reality Star hits all the right marks. All hail Surfbort for providing some much-needed levity in a WORLD GONE MAD. –CS

Baby Keem - Ca$ino (pgLang/Eerie Times/Columbia)
The second full-length album from California rapper/producer Baby Keem is an at-times thrilling set of expressive, cinematic, charismatic hip-hop that continues to spotlight his animated delivery, melodic gifts, and blockbuster beats. With Baby Keem vividly touching upon his traumatic, turbulent upbringing and shifting self-identity following the breakout success of his 2021 debut album The Melodic Blue, Ca$ino exposes another intriguing shade to Baby Keem’s evolving vision. While he largely dominates the spotlight, his cousin Kendrick Lamar and Infinity Song’s Momo Boyd appear on “Good Flirts,” Too $hort slides on “$ex Appeal,” and Baby Keem’s secret weapon Che Ecru guests on the poppy, psych-tinted, outlier highlight “Dramatic Girl.” Feist’s 2007 song “Honey Honey” gets cleverly flipped on the sleek highlight “Birds & The Bees” and James Blake’s “I Never Learnt to Share” (from his masterful 2011 self-titled album) is sampled on the gripping familial closer “No Blame.” –AR

Bonnie “Prince” Billy - We Are Together Again (No Quarter) 
Masterful storyteller, singer, and songwriter Will Oldham, aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy, returns with a true celebration of friendship, community, and art. Gathering a cast of collaborators in Louisville, KY, Oldham has crafted a triumphant contemporary folk album rich with strings, keys, horns, flute, guitars, accordion, whistles, and harmonies. Effortlessly shifting from quiet reflections to lush swells of sound, We Are Together Again ensures every player is heard, making it feel like a warm hug of a record. –CS

cootie catcher - Something We All Got (Carpark)
The latest from Toronto outfit cootie catcher is a dizzying and delightful trip. With playful arrangements and infectious hooks, the four-piece delivers their biggest and most confident offering yet, boasting memorable guitar lines, dynamic percussion, bright synths, and emotive vocals. Big, bold, and full of compelling quirks, Something We All Got makes a lasting impression. –CS

Denzel Curry & The Scythe - Strictly 4 The Scythe (Loma Vista)
Led by multi-faceted Florida rapper Denzel Curry, The Scythe is a new rap collective featuring BKTHERULA, TiaCorine, A$AP FERG, and Seattle’s Key Nyata. A project that carries a similar sound, energy, and spirit to SpaceGhostPurrp’s Raider Klan collective that Denzel was a part of in the early 2010s, Strictly 4 The Scythe is a hard-hitting set of gritty, murky, Southern-steeped rap. “HOOPTY” kicks off a standout back-half with an addictive Miami Bass-laced jam while fellow B-side highlight “TAN” is a magnetic cloud rap cut that comes off as prime Lyrical Lemonade fare. Juicy J, LAZER DIM 700, Smino, 454, Luh Tyler, Rich the Kid, SadBoi and more make guest appearances to add to the record’s familial-heavy aesthetic. –AR

Flying Lotus - BIG MAMA (Brainfeeder)
Visionary LA-based producer Flying Lotus (aka Steve Ellison) returns with this frenetic, frequently thrilling, and all-too-brief collection of adventurous beats that continues to showcase his dizzying fusion of electronic, hip-hop, jazz, IDM, drill’n’bass, and prog styles. Fittingly self-described as an “experimental, maximalist, hyperfast, electronic burst of energy,” BIG MAMA is surprisingly FlyLo’s first release on his own label, Brainfeeder Records, yet it sonically rests closely alongside Warp Records labelmates like Squarepusher, Aphex Twin, and Oneohtrix Point Never. –AR

Heavenly - Highway to Heavenly (Skep Wax)
Heavenly returns! The beloved British band return after a 30-year break with their fifth album and it’s a delightful collection of bouncy, jangly, propulsive twee-pop and buoyant indie pop that stays true to their influential 1990s formula. –AR

Julianna Riolino - Echo in the Dust (Deluxe) (MoonWhistle)
Southern Ontario singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Julianna Riolino unveils the deluxe edition of her sophomore album. Now clocking in at fourteen captivating tracks, Echo in the Dust is a timeless collection of cosmic americana and indie pop. Her dynamic, commanding vocals take center stage as ornate arrangements of guitars, pedal steel, accordion, keys, horns, and percussion propel this heartfelt opus. –CS

Mute Swan - Skin Slip (Hit The North)
The sophomore album from Tucson outfit Mute Swan is a blissed-out set of melodic dreamgaze. The album comes after the sudden passing of their guitarist Thom Sloane, who was integral to its creation. Now a tribute to their beloved late bandmate, Skin Slip showcases his masterful guitarwork, preserving both his spirit and the band’s magnetic blend of shoegaze, indie rock, and dream pop. –CS

Naïka - ECLESIA (AWAL) 
The debut album from LA-based French-Haitian singer-songwriter Naïka is a vibrant set of pop and alt-R&B steeped in global influences. With bright rhythms and her smooth, seductive vocals, sung in English, French, and Haitian Creole, ECLESIA is a spellbinding listen that reflects her rich cultural experience. On the project Naïka shares, “It’s an eclectic, emotional, and personal reflection of my journey: the cultures, languages, sounds, and experiences that have shaped me throughout my life. As someone who grew up between countries and identities, this project represents freedom, connection, and self-acceptance … it’s a celebration of everything that makes us layered, different, and whole, and I hope you guys love it.” –CS

Photokem - A Mat in the Garden (Crafted Sounds)
A Mat in the Garden is the phenomenal final release from this short-lived Brooklyn-via-Austin outfit fronted by enigmatic frontman Nana Acheampong. Over its world-creating six-song run, this lengthy EP marks the band’s largest artistic document and it boldly fuses avant-rock, art-rock, post-rock, neo-classical, jazz, and hip-hop in adventurous DIY fashion. Nana’s deep baritone voice raps and sings in a captivating style akin to Saul Williams, King Krule, Dean Blunt, and Tunde Adebimpe over the band’s magnificent avant-garde arrangements. “Cactus Flower” and “Tomatoes” offer a jaw-dropping one-two punch, the former a sweeping post-rock duet with Charlotte Weinman of Horsepower and its follow-up an astoundingly beautiful, powerful, piano-led opus. If this is indeed the conclusion to their five-year run that yielded a few earlier EPs and sprinkling of stray singles, it’s a stunning what-could-have-been sendoff. –AR

Snowcuffs - Sweet Gravity EP (self-released) 
The sophomore EP from Chicago outfit Snowcuffs is a tantalizing display of maximalist dream pop. With fuzzy, layered guitars, spellbinding synths, razor sharp percussion, and Stephanie Nikolas’ dreamy, airy vocals, Sweet Gravity strikes a perfect balance between levitating relief and grounded catharsis. –CS

Status/Non-Status - Big Changes (You’ve Changed)
The third album from this London, Ontario-based band led by Anishinaabe musician Adam Sturgeon (also of OMBIIGIZI) is a strong set of evocative, expressive, expansive indie rock infused with a classic grunge touch. Sometimes heavy, sometimes pretty, and oftentimes both, Big Changes is a smartly-crafted collection of Indigenous rock with an absolutely brilliant run in its middle third. –AR

Telenova - The Warning (EMI)
The second full-length album from this Melbourne-based trio led by the hypnotic vocals of Asian-Australian frontwoman and filmmaker Angeline Armstrong is a sharp set of cinematic alt-pop with a smoky, swanky, sophisticated touch. –AR

The Darts (U.S.) - Halloween Love Songs (Adrenalin Fix Music/Meow Hiss Music)
The latest album from this now Seattle-based band fronted by Nicole Laurenne is a super fun and delightfully spooky set of rowdy garage punk rock fueled by a charismatic, snarling, organ-heavy, late-night moxie. With its kitschy inspiration stemming from an interview Nicole gave in 2024 where she “jokingly mentioned that the world needed some new Halloween songs - that the holiday deserved so much more than just “Monster Mash,” and no one seemed serious about filling that void,” Halloween Love Songs takes on that challenge with a devilish glee and emerges with a record that’ll sound great come Halloween time, but also includes up some sweet scuzzy jams, especially on the B-side, that work year-round. –AR

TVAM - Ruins (Invada)
The third album from this solo project of Manchester, UK-based artist Joe Oxley is an immersive, brooding, dimly-lit exploration of darkwave, goth, New Wave, post-punk, industrial, shoegaze, synth-pop, and psychedelic styles. –AR

waterbaby - Memory Be a Blade (Sub Pop)
The debut album from Stockholm-born singer-songwriter waterbaby leans into her classical roots, featuring sweeping strings, twinkling piano, and subtle horns. Paired with these lush, intricate arrangements are her stunning, ethereal vocals, captivating listeners with an intoxicating fusion of bedroom pop and alt-R&B.  –CS