Drake – Jungle
https://vimeo.com/119416353
Drake’s unexpected If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late dropped seemingly out of nowhere. This isn’t a huge surprise for most hip hop heads — rappers regularly release mixtapes to keep fans satisfied, while they work on a full length release. However, Drake’s been out front in the rap game for some time now and has been on enough features recently to keep his followers happy. Dropping a 17 track album out of nowhere just pushes him further to the front into pole position.
Those looking for some club bangers will be left wanting, though. The album is moody, digging into Drake’s role as the king of sad hip hop. He’s never been afraid to work out his emotions on a track, and that’s as true as ever on Jungle, where Drake deals with some relationship and fame issues. He asks, over and over, “Are we still good?” and hopes for an answer. For fans of the Canadian rapper, the answer will undoubtably be “yes.”
Florence and the Machine – What Kind of Man
Florence and the Machine have been music darlings since first arriving on the scene in 2007, but it’s been four years since the group released its last album. That changes June of this year, when How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful drops, along with lead single What Kind of Man. Produced by Arcade Fire collaborator Markus Dravs, the athematic rock gene is dominant here. It’s a firecracker of a jam, with searing guitars and Florence Welch’s powerful vocals constantly pushing one another.
Idlewild – Collect Yourself
Edinburgh indie rockers Idlewild took three years off from making music together between 2010 and 2013, but since reforming the group has yet to release a full album — until this week, that is. With the release of Everything Ever Written, the band proves it still has something left in the tank, especially on tracks like Collect Yourself, which features a show down of soaring guitar licks and high flying vocal harmonies that set the album off as a triumphant return.
Chance the Rapper and the Social Experiment – Lady Friend
Chance the Rapper’s highly anticipated follow up to 2013’s Acid Rap is set to arrive later this year, but in the meantime, the 21-year-old rapper has released a joint along with his band the Social Experiment. Backed by striking, sometimes off-kilter piano chords and a jazzy sounding saxophone, Chance waxes about his could-be better half on Lady Friend. “Few compliments and a tear wipe / I’m the best man you’re not marrying,” he raps in regards to his friend who could be more.
The Wave Pictures – Pea Green Coat
England rockers the Wave Pictures have been an impressively productive collective in their nearly two decades of existence, dropping a new album almost every year. The jam band’s latest record, Great Big Flamingo Burning Man, serves as a collaborative effort with author, painter, poet, and all-around talent Billy Childish. Pea Great Coat features Childish both playing and producing, and the result is a pulsing ’60s era rock riff, sharp lyrics, and and a head-nod inducing bass kick.
