New Music Reviews (1/27)

Each week, Music Director Chris Sanley and Associate Music Director Alex Ruder (joined this week by Albina Cabrera, host of El Sonido and KEXP's Latin Partnerships and Editorial Manager) 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 FKA twigs, Benjamin Booker, DITZ, and more. 

FKA twigs - EUSEXUA (Atlantic)
On her third studio album, the ever enigmatic, innovative and intoxicating FKA twigs presents an immaculate collection of songs steeped in rave culture and primed for the dancefloor. With mesmerizing synths and beats, she explores intimate themes of sex, healing, sensuality and growth, as her hypnotic vocals shift between manipulations and purity. EUSEXUA is a crowning achievement from this avant-pop sensation, who continues to reveal more layers of her creative mind with each release. –CS

Benjamin Booker - LOWER (Fire Next Time Records/Thirty Tigers)
On his first album in seven years, Benjamin Booker steps away from his classic blues and rock sound, embracing a hazy, prismatic fusion of noise-pop, indie-rock, and lo-fi hip hop, all with an experimental edge. Created in collaboration with producer Kenny Segal, LOWER features Booker’s raspy vocals gliding over layers of drum machines, distorted guitars and keys. The album finds the artist searching– for himself, for meaning, and for release– and ushers in an exciting new era as Booker fully embraces reinvention. –CS

DITZ - Never Exhale (Republic Of Music/Domino Publishing)
Brighton outfit DITZ delivers a fierce sonic assault with their sophomore album, Never Exhale. These rippers are fueled by gnarly guitars, epic drums, fiery vocals, and urgent lyricism, creating a dark and captivating fusion of noise-rock, post-punk and post-hardcore. It’s a perfect soundtrack to the perils of modern existence. –CS

Ebo Taylor, Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad - Ebo Taylor JID 022 (Jazz Is Dead)
On his first album in over seven years, this legendary Ghanaian Afrobeat and Highlife trailblazer shows no signs of slowing down, even at 89. With a fiery fusion of West African funk, psychedelia, and jazz, these electric compositions are packed with tantalizing horns, fuzzy guitars, lively percussion and Taylor's raw, unadulterated vocals. This latest offering stands as a testament to his unparalleled musical prowess and his unwavering dedication to his craft. –CS

Jeshi - Airbag Woke Me Up (Because)
The sophomore album from London-based rapper Jeshi is a multifaceted journey, ranging from gritty, dance-floor ready bangers to soulful ruminations on life and love. With dynamic production, compelling flows, and his commanding delivery, Airbag Woke Me Up is an exciting return from this one to watch. –CS

Mogwai - The Bad Fire (Temporary Residence Ltd.)
On their eleventh studio album, Scottish post-rock masterminds return with a cinematic opus of epic proportions. The Bad Fire – a Glaswegian phrase for “Hell” – naturally ventures into darker spaces, but always with the intention of leading listeners toward the light. With massive crescendos, layered guitars, vibrant keys, and propulsive percussion, the balance between minimalism and walls of sound offers a cathartic release. –CS

Risley - Umbra Penumbra (self-released)
The third album from this PDX band led by Michael Deresh (also of longtime KEXP faves Tea For Julie) is a solid set of dreamy, nostalgic, expansive rock that finds strong inspiration in the US and UK alternative rock sounds of the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. -AR

Rose City Band - Sol Y Sombra (Thrill Jockey)
The fifth album from this Portland-based band led by guitarist/vocalist Ripley Johnson (also of Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo) is another stellar set of summery, breezy, '70s-steeped country rock carried by effortless melodies, warm instrumentation, steady rhythms, and exquisite steel guitar flourishes. -AR

Thandii - Halo (HALOHALO)
The fourth album from this Margate, UK-based duo composed of vocalist Jessica Berry and multi-instrumentalist/producer Graham Godfrey continues to mine a dreamy, smoky, sultry soul/funk/pop sound with Halo strongly nodding to 90s trip-hop, especially Portishead and their pair of classic 20th century albums. -AR

Anna B Savage - You & i are Earth (City Slang)
There’s magic here; she says it herself on album highlight “Agnes.” Anna B Savage’s otherworldly vocals, enchanting arrangements and unparalleled lyricism are always immersive–but on her third studio album You & i are Earth, they reach new heights. With moody, mystical soundscapes that are as lush as a mossy forest, immense emotional depth, and the sheer power of THAT VOICE, she’s truly outdone herself on this “love letter to a man and to Ireland.”  –CS

bloom effect - portents (Shore Dive/trembling)
The debut EP from this Vancouver, BC-based band fronted by Argentinean singer/bassist Jula Lafit is a strong set of soaring shoegaze and swirling dream-pop with touches of post-punk and New Wave and the distinction of Jula singing in Spanish on the EP’s standout bookends. -AR

Carolina Durante - Elige tu Propia Aventura (Sonido Muchacho)
If Alcalá Norte was recommended by Rosalía, you can bet money that Diego Ibáñez or the rest of the band had something to do with it. I’m talking about the lead singer and members of Carolina Durante, the spectacular Madrid-based band that lit up the PNW during the first edition of El Sonido Live in 2023 (check out their Live on KEXP session here). In their new album, Elige tu Propia Aventura, the Catalan creator of Motomami and El Mal Querer not only sings on a track but even drops the phrase “más o menos bien,” immortalized by the Argentinian band Él Mató a un Policía Motorizado, a major influence for Carolina. With production by Ali Chant, the songs in this album reach new heights. Elige tu Propia Aventura marks one of the band's finest lyrical moments. Tracks like “Hamburguesas,” “Misil,” “Tomé Café,” and “Normal” stand out, though the album is solid from start to finish (a rarity these days). With sarcasm and unresolved traumas, they paint a portrait of an identity crisis where your friends and your mom are the ones who save you. –AC

Charm School - DEBT FOREVER (Surprise Mind)
The debut album from this Louisville, KY band fronted by Andrew Sellers is a blistering set of intense rock jams that spans a wide range, launching off with pulverizing noise-rock, wiry post-hardcore, rowdy no wave, and gritty garage punk before landing with some brooding indie rock (Interpol-esque highlight “Without A Doubt”) and jammy, motorik post-punk (closing standout “Happiness Is A Warm Sun”). -AR

Mac Miller - Balloonerism (Warner)
Originally written and created in 2014, Balloonerism is the seventh studio album and second posthumous album by Mac Miller, the beloved Pittsburgh-born rapper and musician who tragically passed away from an accidental overdose in September 2018 at the age of 26. The album provides an early glimpse into Mac’s shifting musical world that was moving further into an introspective, exploratory, psychedelic sound. Mac serves as the album’s charismatic, clever, complicated, and candid narrator, addressing his joy, pain, and struggles with drug addiction over loose, soulful, jazz-tinted productions. Mac’s close friend Thundercat appears on eight of the album’s 14 tracks.  -AR

Studio - West Coast (Ghostly International)
Ghostly International lovingly remasters and reissues the cult classic 2006 debut album West Coast by Studio, the enigmatic Swedish duo composed of Dan Lissvik and Rasmus Hägg. Nearly 20 years after being quietly released in limited fashion on their own Information imprint, ‘West Coast’ is now widely available for the first time – alongside a half-dozen alternative takes and b-sides – and it still  sounds great, submerging listeners into their timeless, deep, windswept Balearic world that comfortably handles epic instrumental psychedelic dub excursions alongside more immediate vocal-laced indie-pop fare infused with New Wave tones both melancholic and groovy. -AR

Tikhet - mixtape suite (Eskapaden Musik)
Tikhet is a Munich-based duo composed of producer Sepalot and singer/songwriter Angela Aux, the former responsible for some wonderful albums as a solo artist and as leader of the Sepalot Ensemble over his 20+ year career. Their debut album is an impressive genre-blurring record that filters an amalgam of psych-pop, hip-hop, R&B, funk, jazz, trip-hop, Krautrock, Britpop, and more through a cool beatific prism. -AR

Tokyo Tea Room - No Rush (Nice Guys)
The debut album from this Margate, UK-based band delivers a blissful, pillowy, relaxed journey through romantic dream-pop that rests comfortably alongside the likes of Night Tapes, Men I Trust, TOPS, and The Marías. -AR

Tunng - Love You All Over (Full Time Hobby)
The eighth album from this veteran British outfit further explores their distinctively quirky, self-styled ‘pagan folktronica’ sound through a charming fusion of mystical, melodic, off-kilter British folk and hypnotic, unpredictable, electro-acoustic backdrops. -AR

Winona Riders - No Hagas Que Me Arrepienta (Indie Folks)
The record blends guitars that take on a whole new dimension when experienced live – eternal melodies that induce a trance-like state, and 10-minute tracks like the self-titled piece that crowns this impeccable production. No Hagas Que Me Arrepienta perfectly captures the sensation of living on the edge (even featuring saxophones), the anger against a society governed by emerging far-right ideologies, and the darkness brought on by insecurity and other societal shadows. It’s as if Chile’s Los Ganjas and Monterrey’s Los Mundos had a child with the worst possible temper. –AC