6 New Albums We Insist You Listen to Immediately
If you don't, we will send the Crash Test Dummies to your workplace, where they will "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" you to the point of Mmmadness.
Sinderlyn
"Remember, remember/the hits of September," is a famous quote that we are absolutely misremembering. But it's an apt expression nonetheless, seeing that this month heralds the arrival of several great records, from smoothed-out R&B epics to artfully calibrated pop-romps to indie-rock epics. Here are six albums we'll be playing for the rest of the year—and beyond.
Boys Don't CryFrank Ocean, Blonde
Admittedly, *Blonde* (*Blond*?) should’ve been on our must-play list in August, but since Frank Ocean decided to surprise-drop this one on a random Saturday last month, we’re including it here. We’re also including it here because to ignore what will likely be one of the best albums of the year would be criminal. Ocean has always lived on the edges of contemporary pop/R&B, but with his latest, he’s proving he’s a genre unto himself. On *Blonde*, ethereal beats meet lush melodies and lyrics that cover everything from romantic sacrifice (“Siegfried”) to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (“Pink + White” and “Nights”). The album has a huge host of contributors (only Ocean can get Beyoncé to sing back up), but this is a pure Ocean album, through and through. *—Angela Watercutter*
Interscope RecordsCarly Rae Jepsen, E•MO•TION Side B
When Carly Rae Jepsen released *E•MO•TION* last year, it was one of the most surprisingly perfect pop records in a long time. Songs about boozy nights, dance floors, and unrequited love were stacked one on top of another and each had more hooks than a tackle box. It’s hard to believe there was anything great that didn’t make it into Jepsen’s last record, yet here is *Side B*. It doesn’t have quite as many certified gems, but with head-nodders like “Fever” and the melancholic melodies of tracks like “Roses,” it’s clear Carly Slay is on her way to being a sure-fire pop master. *—Angela Watercutter*
RCA RecordsUsher, Hard II Love
Ever since Usher's [chart-burning](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5XNWFw5HVw), ["Yeah!"-inducing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBSyx85Kp8) 2004 mega-smash *Confessions*, the 37-year-old R&B champ has fooled around with everything from EDM to dubstep, resulting in several great singles but occasionally scattershot albums. The excellent *Hard II Love* retains Usher’s genre-futzing wanderlust—check the [sinister synths](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w0yqAdJ1iY) on the Young Thug collaboration “No Limit”—but also finds him happily showing off his pure pop-soul prowess: [“Missin U”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAdZMegajug) has a horn-borne, Steely Dan-swiping chorus that’s pure ’70s AM gold, while the falsetto come-ons and cascading melodies of “Crash” would have fit right in on *Confessions*. It’s his most cohesive, multi-layered record in years—and one you’ll wanna take nice and slow.*—Brian Raftery*
SinderlynCymbals Eat Guitars, Pretty Years
2014's transformative, trauma-stricken *LOSE* found Cymbals Eat Guitars making the leap from way-decent guitar outfit to forward-thinking, fawn-worthy Great Indie-Rock Hope. *Pretty Years* is even better: A gorgeous, multi-chromatic collection that plunders and celebrates nearly every strain of post-’60s rock and pop—sometimes all at once, as with the Cure/Crazy Horse team-up “Finally,” or the sax-squawking, ethereal [“Wish,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiuXd807mKI) which sounds like *Born to Run*-era Bruce Springsteen on a bender with Brian Eno. It’s all anchored by frontman Joseph D'Agostino’s deeply personal, decidedly of-the-moment lyrics, as confessional and cryptic as a late-night LiveJournal entry. *Pretty* is pretty much my favorite rock record of the year.*—Brian Raftery*
Bad Seed LtdNick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Skeleton Tree
To no one’s surprise, the 16th album from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds is grim. That’s in the dark soul of the group. But *Skeleton Tree*, largely written and produced after the death of Cave’s 15-year-old son, is unusually raw in its grief. The lyricism and quavering sound of Cave & the Bad Seeds are strongest when covering bleak themes—sin, retribution, theatrical morality—and from the slow swell of “Distant Sky,” featuring the ethereal voice of Else Torp, to the synth-pop “I Need You,” *Skeleton Tree*’s reckoning with that dark place is worth the listen.*—Charley Locke*
Top Dawg EntertainmentIsaiah Rashad, The Sun's Tirade
Isaiah Rashad’s second album begins, appropriately, with the track “where u at”—if you heard *Cilvia Demo*, his 2014 release, you’ve been asking the same thing. During the two-year hiatus, the next great rapper from Top Dawg Entertainment struggled with Xanax and was almost dropped from the label. Now he’s clean, and has channeled the time off into a powerful second album. Labelmate Kendrick Lamar’s influence—vocal layering, schizophrenically varied flows—is obvious on *Tirade* even before he shows up on “Wat’s Wrong.” But “Free Lunch” and “Tity and Dolla”—featuring another TDE rapper, Jay Rock—are the standout tracks.*—Joseph Bien-Kahn*
